My Big Day

Hello from Utah! I just can't stay away from blogging...so here I am! I created a little slide show of my happy birthday before boarding the plane to Utah, and I think it's about time I post it. What do you think? But before I do, let me give you a quick little recap of my happiest day. I all started on Thursday night. My mom invited me to go to enrichment with her to make some magnet boards. Super cute! While at enrichment, my very sneaky father took a trip to my house and installed my first birthday present(see slide show for more details). So that was exciting. Then the big day arrived. I woke up freaking early and took some mug shots of myself on the first day of my 27th year of life. Couldn't resist that one. Then I opened my door only to see that my roomie went to town decorating the house so that I could be surprised (love her)...and I was! But who wouldn't be happy to wake up to pink streamers, hawaiian flowers and flip flops everywhere? I drove to mom's house and we went to Paradise Bakery for breakfast. Then I dropped off the car (yep, needed new brake pads and tires too...)and then went to the hair salon. I wanted a drastic change and my hair dresser was eager to oblige. I told her to dye my hair brown and then let her decide the rest. Well, she chose copper high lights. At first, I loved my hair. Then I went in the bathroom and I got a little scared. Now, every minute it's a love/hate debate. Some days I like it, other days I don't. I think it's the redness in it...I have never been a red head fan (sorry cousins...you know I still love you). Then mom and I met daddy-o for lunch. His face told me that he did not approve of my new hair style. Oh well. But lunch was delicious. And, of course, I walked away with a birthday brownie. Mmmmmm!! Then I paid lots of money to have my car given back to me and then my mom paid lots of money for us to get pedicures! It was fun, until the pedicure lady decided to dig my toe off!! A little painful, but loving the end result. Then it was back to mom's house for some relaxation and then I decided I should probably go home and start packing for my Utah trip. My friends came over around 7 and we went to Bj's for dinner. Food was great, but pizzookies were even better! After dinner we decided to try our luck at miniature golf. You would think my friends would be nice to me on my birthday and let me win, but they didn't. I came in dead last! If it weren't for hole #13 and #17 (and the fact that I suck) I maybe could have won. Oh yes, I will blame it on the frogs too... However, if it weren't for Katy hitting my ball into the hole with her ball, I could not have said that I got a hole in one! {A little explanation about the picture, when Katy hit my ball into the hole, I laughed so hard with an open mouth that my gum fell out. That is my gum on the ground in the pic...} After golfing my last drop of energy was spent. It was bedtime and my day was over. Definitely a great birthday. Thanks for all who helped make it so special! Utah updates later... Enjoy the pics:

a little self-indulgence

So I know I said that I would not be selfish this week. But heck, tomorrow is my birthday and I think I deserve to be a little bit selfish right? The main point of this little bloggity blog post is to let you know that I will be missing in action for the next week and a half. Tomorrow is the blessed day to celebrate my {one foot in the grave} BIG DAY and then the next morning I am flying off to the great state of...drum roll please....UTAH. I know you are all jealous...

But before I take my hiatus, let me fill you in on a little bit of my birthday plannings so you can live vicariously through me:

First I will drive to the wonderful world of: mom's house where we will drive to the ever delicious Paradise Bakery for some fruit and oatmeal bowl goodness. Next we head to a car man's heaven {a.k.a Big O Tires} to drop off my cute little Camry for some oily refreshment, tire rotating and brake checkage. We then proceed north to a little place called...the hair place (can't remember the name) where I will get butchered {my hairs} and dyed {again, my hairs}. That should take a while. After I complete my sassy makeover, I will either go pick up my cute little Camry (and fork over loads of cash) or drive to Crackers for the birthday tradish luncheon with both the parentals. Good times I am sure. Hey, it's free chocolate cake... After feasting again, the mother and I will probably head back south and visit a little salon for some pedicuring. Cuteness will cover my toes. Then after that, things are a bit foggy. The friends and I are meeting at BJs for some dinner goodness {don't forget the pizzookie} and then who knows what fun will ensue afterwards.

So that's it on my BIG DAY. How does that sound? I was thinking that I might post some pics of my b-day fun on Saturday morning before heading to the plane, but I don't really want to. I kind of want my sassy makeover to be a surprise to all parties in UT...

So for now it's goodbye. But when I get back...BRACE YOURSELF! I have {pleasurable} things in store:

*pics of my BIG DAY
*pics of my sassy-ness
*pics from Utah
*a new, sassy-er looking blog template

{oh boy, oh boy I can't wait!!!}

and the winner is...

A few weeks ago I had a poll up on my blog about how long I would last before I cheated on my diet. I believe the options were:

1. She won't last one week
2. She will be stricken by the 14 day curse
3. She will not cheat until she goes to Utah
4. She will be so motivated she won't even cheat in Utah.

The majority of you chose #3 and even one person (dear sweet chocolate covered Mern) chose #4. Then at the very last minute of my poll, one person chose #1. Well guess what brave little last minute entry person? YOU WIN!!

I had every intention of losing weight before making my appearance in Utah this weekend, but my head got the best of me. I have failed!!! I think my heart knew that I would be cheating in Utah, so my brain thought I was crazy to start dieting. And now, I have a few days before I see my friends and family for the first time in 6 months, and I am nowhere near where I thought I would be (weight wise). You all still love me right? So now I am just living it up. A couple more weeks of freedom until the real dieting begins. Oh well...

{can you tell I don't want to work today?}

quiet reflection

So, for those of you who know me really well, you know that this week is my birthday. The big 2-7...not loving that number. You may also know that I really like it when a big deal is made about my birthday. And I like to make big deals out of others' birthdays as well. So I had a big plan to make a big deal about ME on my blog this week. I had planned to write a blog everyday focusing on me and what I really love so you can get to know me a little better. And then the strangest thing happened. Well, it was tragic really. A 30 year old boy in my ward was discovered dead in his house by 2 girls from my ward. He had been murdered and had been dead for about 5 days before he was discovered (read article here). At church yesterday we focused a lot on him and it was AMAZING to see how my ward has really come together because of this tragedy. And it really made me realize that life is too short to be selfish...


We are having a memorial for him tonight and the linger longer committee (of which I am a proud member) is doing a light dinner afterward. I was amazed at how many people are willing to help out in this endeavor. I am so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful ward. I am so blessed to be a member of an amazing church (click on word church to see what I am talking about) that always lends a helping hand in time of need. I am grateful for the knowledge I have of the plan of Salvation, for our Savior's sacrifice for us that we can return to live with our Father in Heaven again. We can be forgiven of our sins. We can see our family members who have passed on again. Life is eternal. Death is not the end. We have a Father in Heaven and a Savior who know how we feel. We can turn to Them and They will ALWAYS be there to help us. For this, I am eternally grateful...


So, this is my challenge to all of you this week: take the time to forget about yourself. Search for ways that you can help someone else in need. This world is scary, but I know that we can come together to make it a better place. And that's all I have to say about that...

{thanks Travis}

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

So, I was feeling a little guilty that today is Father's Day and I haven't posted anything about my Daddy-O yet. But, when you don't have internet access at home and you have to travel to post blogs, I am sure my Dad will understand. So here's to you dad: 26 reasons why I think you're great:1. You're my dad

2. You love me

3. You fix broken things in my house

4: You hang things on my walls for me (measured & leveled)

5: You made one amazing perpendicular fire pit (see picture in post about Slitherus)

6: You bought a cabin...just for ME!!

7: You help me when I am in a bind

8: You are not afraid to wear tall black socks with shorts and sandals

9: You did my Spanish homework for me in high school (without even knowing it)

10: You will talk to me on the phone (when mom is not home)

11: You are patient

12: You never hear me yelling things at you, but you always hear me whisper

13: You always call on me to say the prayer for family dinner

14: You give me "masculine" advice

15: You are sensitive

16: You are not afraid to show emotion (a good quality to pass on to the daughter)

17: You taught me how to ride a bike

18: You make me feel like your only daughter

19: You are always willing to lend a helping hand

20: You've got some mad building skills

21: You are proud of me (no matter how much I screw up)

22: Your wallet is always open

23: You are dependable

24: You make me want to be a better person

25: You make some delicious steak

26: You are simply amazing

I love you dad. Thanks for being YOU!

{HAPPY FATHER'S DAY}

crafty-ness

Ok, Mern...this one's for you. You wanted pics of the crafty things I was working on at the cabin (and I forgot to post them with my other cabin post), so here they are:

You only get a snipit (is that how you spell it?) of the biggest project...cause if I showed the whole thing it would ruin the surprise. I have been a painting fool! I painted those two beach plaques and also a mini beach house for my beach room {a.k.a. retro room}. I didn't take pics of the beach house, but it's not that cute anyway. I also made a decorated flower vase (and sadly, had to buy myself flowers to put in it). So there you have it, Mern. My crafty assortment. I hope you enjoyed it. I know I sure did...

Story of Slitherus

Ok, so you all (or just maybe Nikki) have been asking me to tell the story of the snake. So here goes. Let me first just preface this by saying that at my cabin we live among many of God's creatures. For example:

We have tons of rabbits and jack rabbits that run around, coyotes are abundant, and mice/rats are even more abundant. They all love our cabin. So this weekend when my parents and I went to visit again, we were not surprised to see some mice running inside the cabin as we found many a dead carcass living inside the walls since doing some renovation. Last weekend (ok, two weekends ago) my dad went up to the cabin by himself to do some work. He built a staircase. So my mom and I were excited to see the improvements and look at the stairs. All was fine and dandy...looked great! Then, all of the sudden my mom says, "Oh my heck (insert other word here), there's a snake!" My dad and I don't believe it. We go to where my mom is standing and sure enough there is a snake slithering out from under the new stairs! We were practically peeing our pants! My mom made all sorts of comments like, "It's six feet long..." and other exaggerated things. So good old dad came to the rescue and squished the snake with a broom until he could pick it up (with gloves on mind you) and dispose of it properly. Before I go further in my story, here are picks of our snake friend we'll call Slitherus:

Does he look six feet long and poisonous to you? I didn't think so. Anyway, once poor Slitherus was caught (and just chillin' in my dad's hands for quite a while) we had to let him go. But my poor mother couldn't bear the thought of turning old Slitherus loose by the cabin for fear that he would just find his way back. So, sadly, we chose to dispose of him. And this is how we did it:

It was painful to watch. Funny thing is, my mom said she wanted to dispose of Slitherus in the most humane way possible. I think my dad went back into the cabin and shed a tear after it was over. I, on the other hand, watched him swell and smolder...

Bless him, poor Slitherus. Rest in peace good buddy.

{HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEATHER!!!}

good times at work

Look what I did at work today:

Yep, I decorated candy canes with ribbon. Good times. I love days like this at work. Something a little out of the ordinary and actually fun to do. Special projects are the best!!!

How was your day??

One week later...

Sorry I have been slacking in the old blog department. Truthfully I was just hoping that someone I didn't know or know where they were from would leave a comment on my previous blog. But no such luck. Oh well...
So I had a pretty eventful/not so eventful week last week. Can't remember exactly what I did really, so it must not have been that great. But this weekend was pretty fun. I took work off on Friday and packed up with the parentals and headed to the cabin again. I basically spent the weekend being lazy and doing crafty things again, but it's always a fun adventure. Stories of the snake (with pictures) to come soon...

{Happy Monday}

Where are you from?

So, I don't know if any of you noticed, but a little while ago I added an element to my blog that tracks the location of people who have stumbled across my blog. I think it has been fun to see where people are who frequent my blog. So now it's your turn. I want you to do one thing: Just tell me who you are and where you are from. I have made it extra easy for you because I allow anonymous users to leave comments for me. So get crackin'! Leave me a comment and let me know where you are.

And for all of you blog stalkers who know me, I am in the process of adding another poll (but blogger is having issues accepting it). So be sure to check back and cast a vote.