Just me & the cat...

Why I shouldn't have roommates...

2010-02-17T14:13:00.000-08:00

Sunday morning... ahh... house to myself. Love these days, just relaxing and taking my time to get ready for church. I shower and decide to watch a little Olympics while I'm doing my makeup. Roommate shouldn't be home from church for a while, I'll do this in my garments and a t-shirt... who needs a bra at this point. Boy am I glad I had the t-shirt on.

Guess who comes home early? Yeah, my roommate and her new boyfriend. With no warning I might add. Perfect. So I casually pull the wet towel off my head and drape it across my lap and act like everything is perfectly normal. So what if I'm not wearing pants. Situation gets worse. They stand in the dining room and precede to have a 5 min convo with me. Then my roommate says to the boyfriend (whom I'm meeting for the first time- did I mention that?) why don't you go in and watch the Olympics with Katie while I go change my clothes. Luckily he has to go to the bathroom and I bolted.

Yeah, I need my own house where I can wear pants if and I when want.

Winning Team, Losing Team

2010-02-08T09:59:00.000-08:00

the family ward

2009-11-08T18:16:00.001-08:00

So I'm trying out the old family ward these days. I may have been in the single ward scene for a while but as far as I remember cheerios and fruit snacks (and pink mints if you sat by Grandpa Coy) were a staple for little kids at church.

So imagine my surprise when the little family in front of me had the following "treats" during sacrament meeting: peppermints, oranges, pickles, bananas and peanut butter sandwiches.

Last time I checked Sacrament was only an hour. I didn't realize I needed to pack a lunch.

Saving Souls...

2009-11-05T08:34:00.000-08:00

I'm tired... like need a stiff drink and a massage tired. Diet Coke can only do so much ya know?

It's the craziest time of the year for us: travel, presentations, events, tours, open houses, more travel. We're all just really, really tired.

We just finished out 8th of 12 open houses. Last night we were in Provo- Cougar Country. We had over 500 people in attendance. I like to think of it as saving souls from Utah County. Last night we saved a lot of souls. Kate reminded me of a very appropriate quote last night..."And if it so be that ye should labor, all your days and bring just one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy".

I'm joyful... and tired.

No sad faces Niners fans...

2009-10-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

You know what I love? Sleeping in hotel beds, couches and air matresses that deflate during the night and the plastic sticks to you when you wake up in the morning. It is so much nicer than sleeping in my own bed... especially since I got that 3 inch memory foam on there. It's that time of year again... when no one gets to sleep in their own beds because we are on the road recruiting ALL THE TIME.

I've spent the last three weeks in Arizona and California, but I did throw a few days in there to spend with my new nephew. I'm lucky to work with such great people though. They all give up their lives this time of year and who wouldn't want to have this guy in the room next door right... diet coke and all?

I flew to Cali a couple days earliy to spend a couple days with the nephew. He's 8 weeks old and couldn't be more perfect. We had a couple days to hang out...just the two amigos.
We slept...

hung out...
ate...
drooled... (well he did)
laughed...
... and cried.
and we loved every minute of it.

Then the next weekend my whole fam (including surprise visits by the extended fam) came out for TC's blessing. We decided to cram as much in two days as possible. We started off with family pictures that included David, the homeless man who told my brother and dad how haaaaaaaunted Hanford was. He heard people died... at 12 midnight.

We had the blessing (which my dad did such a great job with) and then a bbq.

I guess there was some confusion on who rented the facilites for the bbq because when we got there there was already a party going on with loots of booz, poker, rap music and lots of 4 letter words that burned our baby's ears. It was kind of like if Carrot Top got stuck in a room with 50 Cent... yeah it was awkward, no one knew what to do and I loved every second of it.

It cost me $50 bones but it was worth it to watch my cousing Chels yell cannonball and jump in the pool fully dressed. (see ab's blog for video proof)

Then the next day we went up to see the 49ers game. Now, I'm not much of a Football fan, but I'm not going to lie I've always loved the Niners. I love Jerry Rice and Jo Montana and like every other mormon girl on earth, I was positive I was going to marry Steve Young. I have never been to a NFL, and I have never seen so many crazy, drunk fans in fb jerzees in my entire life. A fight almost broke out on the row in front of us becuase someone had touched one of his 'boyz'. It was awesome. They lost but that didn't dampen spirits... one guy stood at the bottom of the escalator and gave every single person a high five and said "no sad faces niners fans... no sad faces".

So good to be home, but miss Ab, Matt and that little bug already.

Go Cougars... Priceless

2009-09-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

Learning the words to Rise and Shout: $ 0
BYU license plate tee from bookstore: $25
Stylish sunglasses: $49
Dinner with date at the Brick Oven before the game: $50
Below the knee length cargo shorts: $55
Gold CTR ring in the language of my mission: $150
Sony camcorder to tape the big game: $399
Enjoying a good smoke at halftime: Priceless

Crackle, Pop... Snapped

2009-07-08T17:45:00.000-07:00

So I realize I'm getting old. That I don't live the "freshmen" life anymore. I love having the house to myself. I love my flower garden. I love quiet.

Luckily, I get some dumb ass 17 year old boys next door to me this summer that remind me why I'm so glad I'm getting old. These boys are a real treat. One of them has such long hair that for the first month I swore he was a girl. They like to do really fun things like jump the curb on their scateboards into my yard, sit on my side lawn and drink beer all night, play hacky sack for hours on end and smoke weed in the lazy boys they have on the porch. These are some real classy boys living the life.

So a couple nights ago they thought it would be fun to light fireworks... until 2:30 am. Then when I went to work the next day they were all over my lawn, and luckily the sprinklers had gone on so they were nice and wet for me to pick up. Then last night they started a little earlier, lighting all sorts of fun ones like fountains, firecrackers, roman candles and something that had this nice screaching sound for a good 10 seconds. They did them so close to my roommates car that she went outside, chewed them out and moved her car. So I guess to be nice they moved them to the back of the driveway... right by my bedroom window... till 1 am.

Now I've always hated it when "old people" complained and ruined the fun, and I always vowed I would never do that person, but guess what... the patience is wearing thin. Very thin.

God Bless the USA

2009-07-06T16:25:00.000-07:00

If you know anything about me (and Lisa Watkins) you know I love the good old USA. I love fireworks, rodeos, parades and hot dog eating contests. (Seriously though did you see that guy in NY that ate 68 hot dogs in 10 min... totally impressed). I think we are so blessed to have the freedoms that we have. So in turn, I love anything that celebrates the red, white and blue.

I'm not going to lie, I get a little teary when I hear lyrics like:

"Only in America... where they dream in red, white and blue.

Only in America... where we dream as big as we want to."

or the ever popular...

"I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free.

Ain't no doubt I love this land... God Bless the USA"

and for our Neil Diamond fans...

"We're comin to America.

Today... My country tis of thee... Today... Sweet land of liberty."

and for all you country lovers...

"Yes there's a lady that stands in a harbor for what we believe.

And there's a bell that still echoes the price that it cost to be free."

(Ok, but seriously, when I was in Philly at the Liberty Bell this is the only thing I could think about and I couldn't stop crying).

Anyway. So we had a fun filled patriotic weekend. Started with Logan fireworks and ended with the Cache Valley Cruise-In. Nothing says USA like old cars... especially since foreign cars are taking over.

The best part about it though is my parents and I did it all on our scooters... yeah the three amigos were three happy chappys. We didn't drive a car once all weekend. Farmers market, shopping, fireworks, cruise-in. Nothing could hold us back, not even when my dad bought 6 pairs of shoes. I'm totally obsessed with the scoots. Seriously was one of the funniest (and funnest) weekends ever.

Where the stars and stripes and the eagle fly.

Loving Summer? No Doubt about it...

2009-05-30T21:49:00.000-07:00

Summer vs Winter... or as I like to call it Good vs Evil. I mean seriously. Everything good happens in the summer, evil in the winter. Let's just break it down.

Winter:

Let's see there is snow, ice and cold. I don't enjoy winter activities so I guess my winter activities include shoveling snow, slipping on ice and just being cold. It's always dark, dirty and cold.

Summer:

-Sunshine.

- Pool. Plus subscription to People magazine.

-BBQ's. Curt's Juicy Lucy's and Blue Mandarin Steaks. um delicious.

-Scooters. Uh yeah, I bought this.

- Moochs. Diet Coke with fresh limes.

- Snow Cones. 6 within 5 min of my house.

- Hammocks. The perfect summer nap.

- 4 Wheeling and camping. Bring it.

- Concerts. No Doubt last weekend was fantastic.

I love summer. K bye.

Curse?... or Blessing

2009-05-17T15:01:00.000-07:00

Allergies. Horrible allergies. Like the kind that close your throat off, make your eyes swell shut and nose constantly plugged. I get these allergies in the spring, the summer, the fall. Ouside, inside, on the farm, around animals. It's very convenient.

So after years of double to triple doses of claritin, allegra, zyrtec I decided to go to the doc and see if I could get some shots or something. Luckily it wasn't just allergies... apparently I had a deviated setpum and some pissed pollups in my sinuses that blocked 95% of my breating capacity. Oh and did I mention I had lost my sense of smell? So luckily I had this $10,000 surgery which did absolutley nothing. Now I take some medicine that makes my nose bleed and tastes like acid is going down the back of my throat. It's very pleasant.

If you're wondering if my smell came back the answer is no. Going on three years now. Sometimes it's nice... like when a family member or co-worker has gas or when someone cooks fish in the microwave. Other times it sucks... like when you can't smell perfume and have a nervous breakdown in the mens section at Nordstroms... or so I hear.

I know at times I've had a baditute about this and I just need to make some lemonade, whatever the hell that means. Abbey sent me the following article on CNN which I think puts everything in perspective:

"(CNN) -- We've all been there: reached for our food in the office refrigerator, only to recoil from the stench from the crammed containers of decomposing food. When a worker at an AT&T building in San Jose, California, took it upon herself to clean out an office refrigerator during her lunch hour Tuesday, the smell from the moldy food was so noxious that it sent seven of her co-workers to the hospital and prompted the evacuation of all 325 people in the building.

The refrigerator had been unplugged for some time and moved into a conference room for cleaning. When the woman tried to scrub down the mess, the stench from the cleaning chemicals combined with the rotting food. "It caused some to vomit, some to just get nauseous. And it, for us, activated a hazardous incident," Capt. Barry Stallard of the San Jose fire department told the television station.

Firefighters set up a triage area in the building's parking lot. In all, 28 workers reported feeling sick. Seven were taken to hospitals for evaluation. Not among them: the woman who volunteered to clean the fridge. She suffers from allergies, firefighters said, and had had nasal surgery. She didn't smell a thing."

This lady has now become my mentor and my hero. I have a lot to live up to.

May the Fourth be with you...

2009-05-04T09:36:00.000-07:00

As my Jedi friends would say... May the Fourth be with you.

I'm sorry, I couldn't help it.

Look Both Ways...

2009-05-03T18:32:00.000-07:00

Ever since I was little I've learned that when you cross the street you wait till the light is red, you get a light up sign of a man telling you it's ok to walk, you look right, you look left and IF and only if there are no cars coming you cross the street.

So imagine my surprise when a grown man darts in front of my car. I had two choices... slam on the breaks and hit the man... OR... swerve and miss. I chose the latter. I'd like to call that defensive driving.

Apparently that was the wrong choice becuase next thing I know I got the red and blue flashing lights behind me. As I pull over I see cop cars lined up down the side streets. hmmm.
Come to find out the man sacrificing his life is a cop and they've staged the whole thing to see who will yeild to the pedestrian darting in front of your car.

Some vital things to keep in mind:

It is about 7:40 pm and I'm heading East which equals the sun is about eye level
I was going the speed limit
The man was in a crosswalk, but not at a light or stop sign... just the middle of a street
Do I find it a coincidence that it was the last day of the month? Well not really. Quotas perhaps?

As the cop pulled up he explained that they were running an expirement to see how many people stopped for the man. They had pulled over 30+ people that evening alone. He was very impressed that I was not on my cell phone and said things like "you look responsible, I'm sure you have license and registration on you"... well no shit sherlock, I'm a law abiding citizen doing everything I should be doing and a man just jumped in front of my car. He apologized that would have to give me a ticket (undisclosed amount so this should be fun) but he would knock of $10 for wearing my seatbelt. Thank you so much officer... you've always been so good to me... like when you came over with my hate crime and did absolutley nothing.

So next time a man runs out in the middle of the road I'll try and decide whether it is better to kill the man or get a ticket. I'll decide this when I see the amount of my ticket.

Welcome to Wingers

2009-03-29T16:17:00.001-07:00

So we just survived the week from Hell... Scholars Day and A-Day. So to celebrate we thought we should do the challenge some can only dream of. Wingers is having $10 all-you-can-eat sticky fingers. Name on the board in the front and bragging rights.

The competitors:

Corey Mikkelsen- previous accomplishments include eating his height in subway sandwiches.

Trent Hunsaker- previous accomplishments include eating so much on superbowl sunday that he had to have his head propped up with pillows to see over his stomach.

Scott Klein- he's a rookie but previous accomplishments include eating 37 pieces of pizza in one hour and 12 Del Tacos in 10 minutes.

The challenge:
Make the top three names on the board. Personal best.
$5 buy-in, choose the winner and the number of fingers.

Tactics:
Drowning in ranch, dunking in water (apparently goes down easier), belching... and other bodily functions, baby bites and soda. After 20 or so... they didn't look quite so happy to be there. There were meat sweats, pants undone and laying down in the booth. Yet they ate through the pain.

Accomplishment:
Combined total= 82.5 strips...30,000 calories...1,350 fat grams...450% recommended daily intake...three very full boys.

Board now reads:
1. Trent Hunsaker- 30
2. Scott Klein- 28
3. Corey Mikkelsen- 24.5
4. Who knows...
5. Who cares...

Congratulations boys- you made us proud!

The 801...

2009-03-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

Thank you Dave Ackerman.
He's an Aggie... An Ambassador... A Bingham Miner. I thought we had a lot in common. Guess not.

Wedding Weekend

2009-03-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

It's been an eventful furlough so far. Ab and Matt had their wedding reception, Matt's best friend Trevor came into town from Atlanta for a few days, the assholes that are working on our road busted the sewer line out front so it floods our basement every five minutes. So we get to shower at the gym and go to the bathroom at the neighbors...real cool. In fact it got a little ugly this morning with my dad the the project manager almost came to blows... all I heard was things like "I'm going to sue your ass and the sons a bitches". Curt had to literally step in between the two of them... who would have ever thought of Curt as the peacemaker. Sorry dad but that guy was huge, my money would have been on him.
Oh, and Curt bought a new handgun. So naturally we had to go try it out... along with the shotguns, rifles, muzzleloaders and two black city boys who had never shot guns "legally" before. Let's just say it was entertaining.

The latest family photo.

My brother is trying to talk me into getting a little handgun. So if "anyone tries to go all Katie Gildea on you, you can take matters into your own hands". I guess that his new phrase for being robbed.

Pretty sure Matt looks like some sort of sniper here.

Trevor thought he looked pretty bad ass in this one.

Someone please tell my mom not to close her eyes when she shoots.

Old Dead Eye.

This is us trying to look tough. Abbey just looks like she smells something rotten.

I know you were expecting wedding pictures, but this is what you get. JaLae don't act like you don't love this about me... you knew what I was when you picked me up. Can't wait to see what the rest of this week of furlough has to offer.

I'm a dating machine...

2009-02-23T10:20:00.001-08:00

So work has pretty much been crazy lately and I feel like I don't even have time to breathe, let alone do anything fun. So this weekend was a great break. Three days, three dates. It was a pretty big deal.

Date #1(Friday): Casey. Trent and I doubled this weekend with our gay dates... he went with Isaac and I went with Casey. We attended the Shakespear's play "Much Ado About Nothing" at the Morgan Theatre. Five actors from the London Stage performed mutiple roles. There were cheers, there were tears. I was touched.

Date #2 (Saturday): My brother. So for Christmas my brother, Curt, bought me tickets to the Jazz game vs the Hornets. Little did we know this would be the game after Larry H Miller's death. So yes... we saw the tribute... in person. It started with a single white rose and a spotlight on Larry's chair. Then we all sang the national anthem because "Larry would have wanted it that way". There were signs that said "We knew him, we loved him, we'll miss him" and "The game won't be the same without you Larry". After the game Derron Williams gave Mrs. Miller the game ball, after all the won the game for him. There were cheers, there were tears. I was touched. This is a pic of my brother, myself and the annoying kid sitting next to us.

Date #3 (Sunday): Putty. Many of you know I loved to be entertained... and my favorite form of entertainment is concerts. I'll see anyone, any kind of music and I love it. So Jenn took me to to see the one, the only Celine Dion. Wow what a voice. I was amazed at how many hand movements, bows, winks and surprised facial expressions she shared with the audience, but seriously what a voice. You know I love wardrobe changes and dancers. She looked fabulous and wow...what a voice. Larry would have loved it. There were cheers, there were tears. I was touched.

A Day of Love...

2009-02-14T21:12:00.000-08:00

In honor of the big day... the big day of love. It only makes sense.

Every now and then I get a little bit lonely that you're never coming round. Every now and then I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears. Every now and then I get nervous that the best of all the years have gone by. Every now and then I fall apart.

...and then I remember how lucky I am.

Valentine Day:

About 1 billion Valentine's Day cards are exchanged in US each year. I received a valentines card in the mail this year... it was from my cat, Boo.
Women purchase 85% of all valentines. I was surprised this morning with a massage appointment from my friend, Jenn Putnam.
Worldwide, over 50 million roses are given for Valentine's Day each year. I received a rose from my valentine, Jason Sanders. It was in a Southern Comfort Liqour bottle.

So thank you all those people in my life who remind me how lucky I am. I need you more than ever... your love is like a shadow on me all of the time.

Inversion Voice

2009-01-22T07:42:00.001-08:00

I live here...

I want to live here...

On the news last night I found out that worst air quality in the nation is:

1. Provo, UT

2. Salt Lake City, UT

3. Logan, UT

4. Bakersfield, CA

5. Ogden, UT

Congratulations Utah. I'm happy to see that within a 2 hour radius of me I have 4 of the 5 worst air quality places in the nation... oh and my sister lives in the other one.

So NO... I don't have a cold. No... you didn't just wake me up... I just have a nice raspy voice and can't breathe because of the inversion.

Sixties, Sunny & Sister

2009-01-15T17:11:00.000-08:00

I knew my recruiting trip to CA was going to be great this week when at the airport started talking to a lady with old grey sweats, swede boots, bright pink lipstick and a mink coat.

Then Abbey pulled up in our 2009 black Cadilac CTS... yeah, I drove a $60,000 car all week. I just felt rich, especially with my JLo sunglasses and nine west purse from Ross. From what I hear President Obama's new limo is by Cadilac... and if Caddy's are good enough for the president... they are good enough for me.

The week consisted of high school visit after high school visit. I think I'm a bad recuriter because the thought of visiting another high school right now makes me want to crawl in bed and never get out. We had a pretty packed schedule every day with visits but we were able to sneak away one afternoon and head over to San Francisco.

The seals were hilarious. I could have watched them all day. How would it be to just lay in the sun all day, swim around when you get hot. dream come true.

The taffy... delicious. I will not disclose how much we spent on taffy, let's just say we're not proud of it.

I saw the famous bushman. terrible disguise. 4-5 twigs hiding him on a cement sidewalk with no other shrubs around. Yet, he gets people every time... and I laugh... every time.

We were also able to meet Erin and Jon for dinner at Toto's (shout out to the Gildea family for telling us about this deliciousness).

All in all, I wish I could keep the weather and sister and get rid of the traffic.

New Years Resolutions

2009-01-02T15:11:00.000-08:00

I'm all about New Year's Resolutions. It's a serious thing. I write them down, with reasons, explanations, goals and rewards. Unfortunately I usually write the majority of the same ones down every year... weird. My goals usually attempt a 180 degree turn in my life and it amazes me that I don't always accomplish them.

So hopefully next year you won't even recognize me because I will be thinner, healthier, wiser, more spiritual and in-love with tall, dark and handsome. By then I should also have a brand new ward-robe from all of my efforts.

I think my friend Kim said it best with her goals from last year... lose weight, get a date, pro-create... in 08. Now I just have to figure out what rhyms with 09. hmmm.

Things that have changed my life...

2008-12-30T08:16:00.000-08:00

(in no paticular order)
1. Gospel
2. CHI
3. IPOD
4. DVR

new addition...
5. my new Memory Foam on my bed.

I could die happy.
Thank you Santa.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-15T09:20:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

the sequel...

2008-12-15T08:29:00.000-08:00

I like this one even better...

Don't Apply to Utah State

2008-12-09T11:53:00.000-08:00

Please watch and send to everyone you know... k bye.

Welcome to the Spectrum... oh wait...

2008-12-08T17:01:00.000-08:00

So the Aggies played those Cougs at the Delta Center on Saturday. Won't play us at home? That's ok we'll go to Salt Lake. Ok, so we lost... it sucked. Cliffy and I sure had fun though.

Now I have a lot to say about this game, the fans, just BYU in general... but I'm going to keep them to myself. However, I couldn't pass up this quote in the Deseret News:

"While both sides drew great fan support, we learned the Aggies can transfer their legendary spirit of the Spectrum home court. The Aggie student section killed the BYU side. They arrived earlier and were louder. It was like USU students came wired for an organized, orchestrated cage fight with a script. BYU's side sounded like they were at family home evening without a lesson plan leader."

Priceless.

USU vs BYU student sections: hmmm. The Aggies also had the whole upper bowl.

Go Aggies.

California... knows how to party...

2008-11-30T17:47:00.000-08:00

So I went to CA to visit my sisi pants for Thanksgiving. I've missed her so much so it was so fun to spend some time with her and Matt.

- Thanksgiving dinner for three. So Matt was worried about the dinner... and that we would have enought food and more specifically... enough "variety". Hello Matt have you met our family? We know how to cook, and we definately cook enough. Have I mentioned how much Abbey loves stuffing? She once cried when my mom made it for her...

- Black Friday. Shopping the day after Thanksgiving is a big deal. Moms and cousins meet that night and make a plan of attack. We meet at 4 am Fri morning, divide and conquer. It's usually freezing and we stampede through the store with the other million crazy women (I promise we don't trample anyone to death). So Abbey and I decided to face the crowds in CA and we were prepared for the worst. We get to Target at 5:40 am and could not believe it... seriously 70-80 people there total. Everyone walks in single file. No makeupless, crazy mothers in their pajamas. No cheering. No running. I really missed my money saving mormons. By 7:30 am we were back home in bed.

-Biggest trees on earth. On Saturday, Abbey and I went to Seqioua National Park. Abbey and turned into five year olds in a candy store. We loved these massive trees. One tree, the General Sherman, is 3,100 years old, over 300 feet tall and weighs 1200 tons. Of course the asians were going crazy with pictures, but I think we even beat them. Better than Disneyland (sorry Jenn).

Catch Up...

2008-11-07T08:48:00.000-08:00

I love my life every Fall. I don't have to worry about a social life (who has time for friends), I don't have to clean my room (because I sleep in my own bed a total of like 3 nights), I don't have to cook (it's just easier to eat out every meal), and I don't have to pay for gas (because I'm sporting a chevy impala these days). Yeah life is awesome. I figured I was in Logan a total of 6 days last month... and yes that included weekends.

Even though work is insane, there have been some funny highlights:

1. Witches Night Out @ Gardner Village- For some reason, women... of all ages... go crazy when they put on a witch costume. Dancing, cackling, shopping... couldn't be happier.

Jess and Em both work at Archibalds- have you ever had deep fried Avacado? Delicious.

2. Phoenix, AZ- We did a recruitment reception in Mesa AZ- which was awesome. Craig used his magic to get us "conciere service" which included cookies and milk delivered to our room every day. I could get used to that treatment... I also could get used to 85 degree weather in October. (I've already asked Jenn for a transfer)

Kate also decided to wear her dad's newest gift... in public.

3. Portland, OR- We went to a conference (PACRAO) in Portland this last week. We managed to squeeze in multiple sports bars (you know how I am with my sports) and some shopping along with this nice lady... man...she...he...oh well welcome to Portland.

Of course I also got my needed palm reading from Maria. I'm afraid I can't tell you about the palm reading, Maria asked us not to and I must respect Maria's wishes. Let's just say it was insightful and probably the best $5 I've ever spent.

At PACRAO, they had a "gala' that included dueling pianos. They did requests and sing-a-longs. Does the term "Registrars Gone Wild" mean anything to you?

All in all it's been an eventful and exhausting month. Its sad when my dream weekend includes cleaning my house, sleeping and catching up on some needed tv!

Viva La Reba

2008-10-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

My obsession with Reba started when I was very young. I remember as a little kid singing “Cathy’s Clown”. All five of us in the front of the pick-up driving up the mountain blasting “Does He Love You”. Joining the Reba fan club- shirts, mugs, a backstage pass (yeah I just found it at the end of one of the concerts, but I kept it anyway). Sleeping out in front of the Smiths for 3rd row seats and Reba doing Abbey and I’s actions to “Till You Love Me”. Going to Nashville over Thanksgiving and visiting her house… she wasn’t there… but I was. I own every cd. I know every song. I’ve seen the infamous red dress. Yeah, I’m a fan.

So of course I went to the Reebs (just a little nick-name Abbey and I gave her) concert. Yeah, it was my 7th one. My friend Amelia got great seats. I also had Tara (huge Kelly Clarkson fan), Nick (I dare say as big of Reba fan as me- together we’ve seen her a total of 12 times in concert) and Kate, who wasn’t as quite as excited as the rest of us but is now singing a different tune. (I wouldn’t be surprised if she stopped on her way home last night and bough Reba #1’s)
Highlights of the evening:

-I had a very large man sitting next to me, decided he needed 1 ½ seats and he took his other ½ out of mine. The fact of the matter is I need an entire seat and that didn’t include sitting on his lap. I should have asked for half of my ticket.

-Tara never sitting down, regardless if the entire North side of the Delta Center was sitting. Snide comments from beside us and behind us did not stop her enthusiasm for this concert.

- Calling my sisi pants during “Does He Love You”… it’s our song…she’s always Linda and I’m always Reebs. I know it’s weird to have a song about a wife and a mistress be your favorite song between sisters, but it is. Kate can do a pretty good rendition of Linda herself as well.

-The usher from the floor talking to us multiple times during the concert. He was old but I’m pretty sure he had a crush on Tara. You can see creepy smiling in the background.

-Nick and I singing EVERY word to EVERY Reba song…and loving EVERY one.

-Nick deciding that he should be on-stage with Reba during Fancy. No I take that back, Nick deciding he was Reba during Fancy. Singing, dancing, actions. No Nick you were not “born just plain white trash, and Fancy isn’t your name”.

Reba, thank you. Thank you for teaching me that “Love will find its way to me”, that “There is life out there” and that “I am a survivor”. As usual, I was not disappointed. Great concert.

CLIFFY...

2008-10-07T17:01:00.000-07:00

If you don't know my dad, then you are missing out. He is probably the funniest person I've ever met... no really...and if you encourage his behavior he only gets funnier. One of the best things about my dad are his sayings.

He has a saying for everything, I can't really explain them, so just enjoy:

"Born yesterday and lived all day for nothin"

"I know that's right"

"Hello der"

"Eat through the pain"

"Cramin' for the Famin"

"Put an egg in your shoe and beat it"

"That's the shits"

"Can't afford yesterday's newspaper"

"Them sonsabitches"

"It aint me"

"Let's make like a sheep herder and get the flock out of here"

"Balder then Ted Maynard"
"Got to go talk to a man about a horse"

"Bound up tighter than Brandy"

"Not wet enough to dry"
"More nervous than a dog shitting peach pits"

"I don't think there's anybody back there"
"You can shit the fans but you can't shit the players" huh?

"I'm tapped"

Names of Cars include: "Rice Gobbler", "Toyodle", "the Pumpkin", "Exploder", "the Taco", "Very fine mo-chine"

He usually only calls people by one of the following names: "Tina", "Evelyn", "Jeffy", "Tommy", "Tiny", "Swootie", "Carla three babies" dogs are called "un-vopers"

Thanks dad- for always making me laugh... love you!

Supportive and Sensitive...

2008-10-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

Today is a sad day. Abbey and Matt moved to CA today. Matt's parents flew in Tuesday and they and my parents are helping Matt and Sister move this weekend. So my mom made a great dinner last night for the whole crew. So after dinner I walked Gramps home and we had the following conversation:

Gramps: "What are you going to do when Abbey leaves tomorrow? She is your best friend so I'll bet this will be sad"

(at this point I'm thinking... yeah Grandpa, way to be sensitive)

Me: "Yeah, I will definately miss her... don't know what I will do without her"

Gramps: "Well now that she is married, she has a new best friend"

Me: " I know, but Matt is going to have to share her with me"

(this is where I thought Grandpa would agree with me and take the supportive role that he should... instead he said the following...)

Gramps: "You know if you don't get married, you're just going to be all alone"

Oh to be 86 and not have to worry about what you say... or remember it for that matter. Love him.

Mr & Mrs Matthew Mann

2008-09-22T17:48:00.000-07:00

Always Patsy...

2008-09-10T15:48:00.000-07:00

If the words "Crazy... crazy for being so lonely", "I go out walking... after midnight... out in the moonlight...", and "You walk by and I fall to pieces" mean anything to you then you should go to "Always Patsy Cline" the play... I did.

The night started out with Abbey, Matt and I rushing to the marriage license place. Literally. I'm talking them jumping out of the car and running hand-in-hand at 4:59 pm. They were a lot more prepared than the other couple who had to call home and ask not only her mothers middle name, but also her mom's maiden name. (People like that should not be allowed to marry)

Then we were off to Chuck-a-Rama...dinner of champions. I knew the choices would be Sizzler, OG never-ending pasta or Chuck-a-Rama. Gauranteed the never ending pasta was better than that mac n' cheese look-a-like I had... sick.

Then we were off to Patsy. The woman, the myth, the legend. We're talking a two-person, two-hour play of Patsy herself. Aunt Terri on my left singing every word and Matt on my right not knowing who the hell she was. Dad just beaming from ear to ear... no seriously he's been talking about this play for over a year now.

The play was actually great... lots' of fringe, sparkles and boots... loved every minute of it.

My mom dared us to take a picture with Patsy after... no dare needed.
I wouldn't have it any other way.

Thanks Cliff & Patsy for the memorable evening.

Sisi's Getting Married...

2008-09-10T08:09:00.000-07:00

The happy couple...

Mr Matthew Raymann Mann and the soon to be Mrs Abbey Rae Mann

Here is Matt and Abbey showing us their excited engaged faces...Yeah, he's going to fit in this family just fine! (Thanks Curt for the bunny ears)

Abbey will explain the whole engagement and her plans on her blog- missabbeygal.blogspot.com but I wanted to give you a couple funny things that happened the last couple of days:

1. Ruining the proposal. So Matt had big plans to propose to Abbey at my house Sunday night, with close friends and family. Only I didn't know that... so close friends and family included some people from work and their roommates, my gay friend and his boyfriend, etc. So when I said things like ... "put that ring in your pocket, you cannot propose right now" I had no idea I was ruining everything. My mother then called and confirmed that I had in-fact ruined everything. So I frantically text Matt... appologizing profusely... with no repsonse. I couldn't sleep that night, knowing that this was all my fault. Fact is I was actually texting Matt's old number... no wonder her never responds. The best part about this whole thing was that Matt, my mom, and my dad all knew about this little plan... they just forgot to inform me. Thanks family.

2. Another Grandpa-ism. So if having a little sis get married isn't hard enought... let's throw Grandpa Coy in the mix. Grandpa needs to work on a little thing called tact. So we set off for a day of shopping and wedding planning on Tuesday. Grandpa stopped by to see what we were doing.

Conversation went a little something like this:

Gramps: So what are you are you guys doing today?

Me: We're going wedding dress shopping...

Gramps: Not for you (with a little fist tap to the chin... yeah you know how that goes)

Thanks Gramps...you've out-done yourself...yet again.

Congrats to the happy couple... I'm so excited for you!!!

Raging Waters...

2008-09-04T15:17:00.000-07:00

Raging Waters is one of those places that attracts all kinds of people... kind of like the State Fair. Some have massive tattoos, some are wearing swimsuites that reveal a bit too much, and others I wonder how they could be seeing the sun for the first time of the summer.

I also believe Raging Waters brings people together. It's ok to be 30 years old and standing in line with 12 year old boys, 50 year old men and mothers with their small children. So the 5 amigos (Casey, Kate, Lisa, Scott and I) set off for an exciting day that consisted of Waimea Waves, Blue Thunder, White Lightening, Serpentine Slides, The Rampage and the Acapulco Cliff Dive. This was not a day to lay out and relax... this was a day to ride the rides (have I mentioned that I'm pretty scared of things like this?).

Funny moments of the day consisted of us riding out the wave pool (at least 10 times) without tubes... almost drowned, but continued to do it over and over again until all our strength was gone. Watching Casey pull himself across the rope ladder. Watching Scott and Kate play stiff as a board in the water. Me never making it down the slide still in-tact with the tube. Kate has also written about raging waters experience... which I cannot duplicate... so get the whole story at singletonliving.blogspot.com.

Needless to say, we had a great time... but not without injuries. Lisa and Scott hit heads on the double tubes, Casey hit his nose and scraped up his feet, Kate... well she landed on her not-small chest and me? well I broke a couple of toes... on the 2nd ride...

Was it worth it? Absolutely.

A Constant Reminder...

2008-08-27T08:23:00.000-07:00

Utah State and the University of Utah compete in two things every fall- football and donating blood. Since we know we don't stand a chance at football, we put our efforts into the blood battle. Each school has the American Red Cross on campus for one week and whoever donates the most wins... which is always USU.

Needless to say, I've been invited by many students and co-workers this week to donate blood... which I cannot do... because the last time I donated they said I tested positive for HIV.

Many of you know my dedication to the American Red Cross... not only have I worked there, volunteered there, donated my time and money, but I have also been a faithful blood donor. So imagine my surprise when I received a letter in the mail that basically said... thanks for your donation but your blood tested HIV positive, please go get tested. Wow... don't sugar coat it... just tell it like it is I guess. If you're wondering if I was in hysterics, the answer is yes.

First of all... I don't have HIV (I would like to make that very clear). I've never shared needles, had promiscuous partners, etc. Still, I can't ever give blood again. I can't ever contribute to the blood battle. Still a reminder of those few moments in my life when I was HIV positive. Thank you, American Red Cross, for the constant reminder...

Why I love the Olympics...

2008-08-22T15:02:00.000-07:00

Many of you know I am pretty much obsessed with the Olympics. Since the good old days of 2002, I've been equipt with my purple volunteer coat, my lanyard of pins and my USU beret (you know you all payed an arm and a leg for them). I've been reminiscent of my days at Olympic Village... being a bridesmaid at the Brazilian bobslet team wedding, ripping my pants when the Canadian Hockey player fell on me, my sign getting ripped on the Today Show by our very own Al Roker.

I am one of those people that feels extensive amounts of USA pride during the Olympics. I love the red, white and blue. I wear my olympic pins daily and change my desktop background on a daily basis. I often feel that my cheering helps our teams to victory and in turn I take their accomplishments as part of my own. I use phrases like "we took home the gold" and "that was one of our best times yet". When they break the world record... I break the world record... when they drop the baton... I drop the baton... when they cry... I cry. I've shed many a tear, both happy and sad.

So hears to you Michael Phelps, May and Walsh, Shawn Johnson and that little 12 year old Chinese gymnast. We did a great job...Go USA!

Single & Steadfast: Lessons in Hope

2008-08-10T16:25:00.001-07:00

Apparently being single affects my self-worth, significance and success. As much as I love the Ensign, I have to admit this just confirmed my fear that there is in fact a line between being married and being single, and the "marrieds" of the world just don't know quite what to do with us "singles" out there.

One of my favorite lines in the article is ... "Watching younger siblings marry and begine their families has been painful. Prone to depression, (we'll insert Katie Jo here) doesn't feel socially skilled. She hasn't had a date in four years." Prone to depression? Seriously? I could think of a lot of things that would push me into depression before being single would. (and I have had a date in the last 4 years- not going to say how many, that's not the point).

So I guess I'm supposed to set some goals to become "attractive to my potential marriage partner". Again...Seriously? Have they been to my ward? My FHE? My Institute classes? Not a lot of options out there people. My satisfaction, meaning and happiness is not based on being single.

After reading this you might think I am one of those cynical singles. I promise I'm not a menace-to-society as many people think. In fact, I think I contribute quite a bit to society. I have a great job (with many other successful singles I might add) and I enjoy my life. I haven't lost hope ... if anything I consider myself lucky. I get to do things in my life that most people will never experience, and when marriage comes along it comes along, but it doesn't define who I am.

Tribute to Tim

2008-07-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

So I have to tell you about my student worker Tim. He has "claimed" all year long that he can cook... really cook... and yet I had not seen anything to prove that this was true. So now he is getting ready to leave on his mission to Ireland (yeah I hang out with 19 year olds... back off) and he decided to show us this hidden talent.

Tim decided made dinner, well actually he had to bring it out in courses... and yes...it was delicious. First we started off with the burchetta with fresh tomatoes, olive oil, basil and cheese.

Next we had salad: fresh greens, pears, toasted pecans (which Tim toasted himself), feta cheese and a rasperry vinagarette dressing.

Main Course: Crusted parmesan chicken with fettuccini. Sauteed zucchini.
Dessert: homeade rasperry cheesecake.

So Tim, you've proven yourself... you've proven that you are an ok student worker, a great cook and an all around incredible person. We sure are going to miss you!

Look how happy you've made us:

My Hate Crime...

2008-07-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

As many of you know I have pride that Logan, UT is nationally ranked as the "safest metropolitan area". Usually weekly police blotter includes things like sheep escaping on main street. In all my years in Logan, I think I've just witnessed my first hate crime ... against me.

So I woke up Wednesday morning to see my favorite, yes- favorite, trumpet vine (that crawls up the South end of my house) cut off and thrown about 30 ft away in the neighbors back yard. Not just pulled down, I'm talking sawed off and wires clipped.

Evidence A

Evidence B

Evidence C

Evidence D

After talking to the neighbors (or I as I like to call them witnesses)... I found out that they heard something in the middle of the night, still don't know who... or why. Do know one neighbor drug it to the back yard so they could get in and out of their house but everything else... still a mystery.

Did I call the police? You bet I did (and it only took them about 40 min to respond). The first question Logan Police Department asked me was ... "Is someone upset with you?" Seriously? Mad enough to cut down a tree?

So if I've upset you... I'm sorry, but maybe we could have talked about it instead of cutting down my trees- or if you insist on the tree cutting, at least cut down that damn Russion Olive in my back yard, but leave the trumpet vine alone.

If you have any information on the crime, please let me know. I'll be looking at some tapes, gathering evidence. If you think you're getting away with this, you're not. I have a case number and everything. I mean I have my suspisions... the EFY kids have been on campus this whole week. Sketchy.

Finding the Perfect Gift...

2008-07-14T11:59:00.000-07:00

I know many of you have struggled like I have when buying gifts for other people. You want to find that PERFECT thing.

My advice: do something that shows you actually thought about what to give them. I'm going to give you an example. For my birthday this year I got two very unique gifts, I guess you could say they both put a lot of thought into their gifts.

Gift #1: Trent
I got a text from my dear friend Trent saying he needed to give me a my present... that it included 2 wheels and ended in rasperry shakes. For the next two hours I was on motorcycle ride to Bear Lake. Could this gift be any better ?...out in the sun... straddling a beautiful man... on a Harley. (I don't think so)

Gift #2: we'll call him "Rusty"
When I bought my house, I worked with a wonderful Loan Officer. He was great to work with and I get things in the mail from him periodically. So I wasn't surprised when I got a birthday card in the mail from him. I was a little thrown off when I opened the card and out dropped a $1 lottery ticket from ID with the words "win big". Wonder what that means... hmmm. Now I'm not going to lie, I thought this gift was hilarious...just a little odd coming from the man who helped me get my house.

So obviously these two people knew me very well... and knew the perfect gift for me. So good luck with that perfect gift and when all else fails, buy a lottery ticket.

(Thanks Trent)

EUROPE...

2008-07-04T11:03:00.001-07:00

Ok get ready for the worlds longest post...

For as long as I can remember I've wanted to go to Europe. This was a pretty big year in my life... turning 30, finishing the masters, etc so I decided to reward myself with my long awaited trip. My friend Jenn and I did a 14 day cruise to Northern Europe. What an incredible experience.

This was one of the only problems I encountered. It equaled an 11 hour plane ride and a diet coke this size. This seems more like a shot glass to me. I'll have you know I did very well with the diet coke consumption on the trip... I told myself I was trying to cut back when in fact I think I was just too cheap to buy it. I'm saying this with a 32 oz sitting on my desk right now.

The first stop on the trip was London, England. Absolutley loved London- love the accent, love the phrases "lovely"and "brilliant". Learned that "holiday" is vacation... I love being on holiday.

THe second day we were in Europe, Jenn and I split up. We both had life-long dreams to fulfill: She wanted to go to Wimbledon and I needed to go the Queens Birthday. So I spent the morning at Buckingham Palace with thousands of my closest British friends, paying tribute to the Queen.

This was our ship. Yeah it was huge. It was actually ranked the best ship in the world the last three years in a row. I was so excited to meet some young, wealthy eligible young men on our cruise, or at least some nice gay guys to hang out with. I even had a $50 reward if I could get Jenn to kiss someone on this trip. As you can see in the background of this picture, the average age on this trip was about 80 years old, which made the trip hilarious. Nothing like drunk senior citizens dancing.

Amsterdam, Netherlands: No I didn't hang out at the red light district the whole time, we actually went on a tour of the windmills and were able to see how they make wooden shoes.

Berlin, Germany: Jenn's favorite place next to Disneyland. This is me at the Berlin Wall... and yes I ate some bratworst and sourcrout (I have no idea how to spell that). Now that I've tried it I don't think I should ever have to do it again.

Stockholm, Sweden: by far one of my favorite countries. Everything is on the water and it is beautiful! As we left the country we went through all these little islands listening to Abba songs- nothing like a little "dancing queen" to make your trip complete.

Helsinki, Finland: Incredible churches. Most of the town was shut down for mid-summer... I'm talking the whole city was deserted. ps- the lady didnt' really enjoy me trying on these furs... I think she could tell I didn't quite have the funding to buy.

St Petersburg, Russia: Wow is all I can say. Such amazing history. The first day we were there we did a canal tour around the city and then the second day we did a tour of all the Romonof Castles.

This sunset in Russia was about 12:30 am. Then the sun comes up about 3:30... never actually gets dark there in the summer. Somehow the day we did the tour of the castles we got in the most disfunctional tour group possible. Most of the group would wander off and we would spend half the time looking for them. THe picture above is my least favorite member of the group. He ran into me at least 20 times... apparently his pictures were most important.

Copenhagen, Denmark: I was so excited to go to Denmark. My dad's side of the family is from here and ever since I could talk I learned things like "ka da snuka da dansk?" (That's do you speak Danish for those of you that don't know the language... it's spelled phonetically mostly because I don't know how to spell it). Spent two full days looking for this damn licorice my brother just had to have but it was well worth it... you're welcome Curt.

This is Fredericksburg Castle in Denmark.
One of my favorite things about a cruise is the people you meet. This is a picture of our dinner group on the cruise- Charniel and Imade our servers and Sam and Jean were our dinner guests.

Sam and Jean are from Scotland originally, but now live in England. They were wonderful. They helped me learn my British words, couldn't believe I didn't eat with my fork and knife together and Jean had a way of making me the guinea pig and trying all the strange things on the menu.

This is Alex, our Maître de. He was my crush for the trip, beautiful man... beautiful accent.

One of the funniest things ont he trip were these purell hand sanitizers. I guess they had some sickness on the ship the week before we came so these little babies were everywhere. In the bathrooms, dining rooms, halls, elevators. They met you with them as you entered the ship, any food establishment and might as well have set them by the side of your bed. I probably went through 3-4 gallons myself (and yet I was still sick).

It was an amazing trip... saw the most incredible things and will laugh about many things for years to come!

Turning the BIG 3-0!

2008-07-01T17:24:00.001-07:00

So any of you that know me know that I have been dreading turning 30 ever since I hit 25. I planned on sneaking away to a hotel and spending the night with my friend jack daniels, but my friends and family decided a surprise party and drawing even more attention to my age was a better idea. I had suspected this would happen, but I'll give them credit they seemed so unorganized that they really did get me.

So I would like to do a quick tribute to the year 1978:

- The President of the United States was Jimmy Carter
- A new home cost $54,750... a new car $5,400... gas $0.63 per gallon
- Famous People: Ashton Kutcher, Topher Grace and Katie Holmes were born in 1978 as well as Kobe Bryant (not really proud of that one)

-Movies: Grease, Superman and Animal House

- TV: Taxi, Mork and Mindy (you all tried the nanu-nanu thing didn't you... if you didn't then yes, I am old)

- Music: We Are the Champions, Kiss You All Over, Hot Child in the City and Take a Chance on Me

As you can see, 1978 was a great year and we all have a lot to be thankful for.

So instead of having a breakdown about my age, I had a breakdown about how lucky I was to have such wonderful people in my life... no, seriously there were tears. Thanks for such a great birthday!

No Need To Be Picky...

2008-06-09T13:59:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I called my Grandpa Coy for the weekly phone call and the conversation went a little something like this:

Grandpa Coy: "You know you've got a birthday coming up... you're gettin up there...pretty old"

KJN: "Thanks for the reminder..."

Grandpa Coy: "Well I've been thinking you've got to stop being so 'particular' or you're never going to get married"

KJN: "Oh so I need to stop being picky and just take anything that comes along?"

Grandpa Coy: "Well I'm just saying you need to start lookin or there isn't going to be anything left"

Thank you grandpa for the self-esteem boost... awesome.

Speaking of getting old- I do have a birthday coming up. Not quite excited about it, but I'm doing everything I can to help my depression- I'm going on a cruise to Europe for the next 2 1/2 weeks. I've been sucking up to my dad that all I wanted for graduation (and now I'm moving to the birthday stage) is to BORROW the vespa scooter for the summer. So I'm going to need your help. If you see either of my mom or dad I need you to put in a plug for the scooter. Blame it on gas prices, my depression, anything as long as I get it in Logan. The scooter actually looks very similar to this one except it has a nice basket on the front to carry my purse.

summer, summer, summertime

2008-05-18T15:24:00.000-07:00

In the words of Will Smith

(yeah I saw him sing this in concert)...

"Summer, summer, summertime,

Time to sit back and unwind;

The temperatures about 88,

Hop in the water plug just for old times sake;

Break to ya crib change your clothes once more,

Cause youre invited to a barbeque thats starting at 4;

Every moment frontin and maxin,

Chillin in the car they spent all day waxin;

Theres an air of love and of happiness,

And this is the fresh princes new defintion of summer madness"

So I basically love summer... no more seasonal depression, shoveling my driveway (again), walking up that damn hill when it's zero degrees. Logan would be the perfect place if you just took out the 6 months of winter. (don't worry Lara you're going to love it here!)

Luckily it's now time for flip-flops, hammocks and snow cones and I couldn't be happier. Days at the pool, 4-wheeling, rodeos and BBQ's- I can't think of a better life! Now if only I could get rid of these alergies!

By popular demand... The GORGE!

2008-05-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, so Kate actually has all of this info documented on her blog: singletonliving.blogspot.com but I thought I would share just a few pics of our miserable experience. Some friends and I got in a conversation about what we could eat… you know, in one sitting. Well it grew and grew and pretty soon we decided to make this dream a reality. Needless to say we accomplished the first (and last) annual GORGE. This was not a competition, but a personal best on what you could consume. I don't want you to think that the item I chose was because of how much I liked it, but more something I was willing to give up. I knew I would probably never be able to eat this item again after the challenge, so as much as I wanted to eat my mom's oatmeal picnic cake (oh how I love that cake) I knew it was probably a bad idea if I ever wanted to eat it again.

The Challenges

Tim-2 Marie Calendar Pies
Mission- not accomplished- 1 apple pie down
Marie Calendars Apple Pie = 4,296 calories, 180 grams of fat

Sister- 1 dozen Krispy Kremes and a gallon of milk
Didn't quite make it- 9 doughnuts and 3/4 gallon of milk... almost kiddoDoughnuts= 240 cal, 15 g of fat X 9 = 2,160 cal, 135 g of fat

Carrie-1 loaf french bread & box of Mac&Cheese
Mission Accomplished

Kate- the whole bird
Mission Accomplished- accompanied by the meat sweats
Rotisserie bird- 680 calories, 16 grams of fat

MJ- 1/2 gallon ice cream & bag of cookies
Mission Accomplished- and we were all impressed
ice cream & cookies = 1,120 calories for ice cream, 72 g of fat for ice cream, still checking on the cookies…

Casey- 2 large Little Caesars Pizzas
Mission Accomplished
little caesars pizza- 2300 cal, 90 g of fat X 2 = 4,600 cal, 180 g of fat

Lisa-1 better than sex cake

I'm not going to say I expected more out of her but I did... little less than 1/2, but I do believe she had the hardest challenge

Jenn- a whole loaf of PB&J sandwiches

Only about 1/2 way I'm afraid, but great technique on stacking the sandwiches

Me- 8 rodeo cheeseburgers

Mission- not accomplished, but oh so close...

rodeo burger = 390 cal, 22 g of fat X 7= 2,730 cal, 154 g of fat

Let's just say it wasn't pretty.

Was it worth it? actually NO.
But it was hilarious.

In the words of Jenn Putnam... GO AGGIES!

2008-05-05T16:12:00.000-07:00

So my mother spent countless hours and many late nights and transformed 10 years of USU sweatshirts and t-shirts into my Aggies Quilt. She got my first sweatshirt, my nasty "THINK" shirt along my favorite baby blue sweatshirt... zipper and all. With my left-over shirts she managed to whip one up for sister as well. Just tells you what my wardrobe must be like huh?

FINALLY...

2008-05-03T19:37:00.000-07:00

Graduation- after years of homework, classes, internships and thousands of dollars on books and tuition I finally got that piece of paper that said I'm finished (well technically it comes in 6-8 weeks but they do give you a great alumni donation request in your fancy folder).

It was such a great weekend- we had three graduates, me, mom and sister. Mom finished her general studies degree at SLCC (with a 3.9 I might add), sisi pants got her Bachelors in Interdisciplinary Studies and I got my Masters in School Counseling.

The whole fam came up and stayed the weekend, even Grandpa Coy made the trip!

I had such great support from family, friends and I even got a special gift from Patrick Svedin (thank you for your special gift patrick).

My dad was on picture detail... he refused to use a digital camera, count to three or even make sure you are actually looking at him when he takes the picture- says he prefers action shots. He did go through 4 roles of film and will have them printed for all to see. I will say he would go to any lengths to get the "perfect shot".

So basically, mom and dad are proud and I'm done with school!

2008-04-30T17:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog. I'm hoping to update this regularly, but I'm not going to make any promises. The reason this is called "just me and the cat"- so Abbey brought home a kitten from the farm a while ago and somehow it looks like I inherited this cat... her name is Boo. She is mean and she has attitude, and for some reason, I really like her. Biggest fear? ...that I'll never get married and I'll turn into the cat lady. Please don't let that happen.