Something About Mur

All done, a little early...but with good results

2010-05-25T15:31:00.000-07:00

My 21st and final day on the drops was supposed to be tomorrow, Wednesday, but I had to quit 5 days early because I found out I have a herniated disc in my back and they gave me really strong steroids to start taking. So my total weight loss is now at 20lbs. I still have my 3 weeks of maintenance and then 3 weeks to integrate carbs, sugars and starches again so we'll see how that goes. I'm happy with the results. I fit into a couple pairs of pants this weekend that I haven't been able to even button in the past 3 - 4 years, definitely a good feeling. Hopefully my back will start feeling better and they'll get me all fixed up here pretty soon so I can start running and working out again. It was good timing while on the diet, but now I need to get myself back in shape.

If all else fails, I can start round two in July. Another 20 lbs off would be awesome!

12 Days left....

2010-05-17T10:56:00.000-07:00

So it's been 2 weeks today since I started and I've lost 14lbs. I have to say, this stuff really works. From last Sunday until Thursday I was stuck at 199. I had finally broken 200, but was holding strong on a plateau. So Thursday I did my "apple" day. When you do hit a plateau, the diet instructs you to try an apple day. This is where you only eat a max of 6 apples all day, that's it. And, you only drink a little bit of water, just enough to quench your thirst at the time. Wow, that was a long and hungry day. I only made it through 5 apples. But, the next morning I had lost 2 lbs so it worked. Friday, I ate a little more than I should have as far as portions. I went to Qdoba and had a naked chicken salad, which was just lettuce, chicken and pico de gallo, but I noticed they put some kind of sauce on the lettuce before adding the meat. Then for dinner I went to Applebees and had a chicken breast and lettuce, but the chicken was about twice as big as I should have eaten. I had just finished playing 2 coed softball games so I thought it would be okay. Saturday morning I was back up 2lbs back to 199. So Saturday night I cheated. I went to a friends graduation party and they had Hawaiian haystacks and I gave in. The chicken was fresh grilled so still pretty good for me, but I did eat the rice and sauce. I didn't give in to a Dr. Pepper though. I also had a small Cold Stone later. The next morning I had actually lost another lb. So Sunday I ate whatever I wanted again and figured okay I'll start again Monday and be strict again for the last 2 weeks. I didn't pig out or anything and still didn't have a Dr. Pepper, and I tried to make sure I kept my cheating portions small. This morning I had lost another 2 lbs. Not sure if it was just the plateau being broken or if I'm going to have a huge gain in the next couple days, but I'm just going by the scale and it said 196 this morning. So I'm back to being strict and hope I can keep it off and lost another 10 lbs in the next to weeks. Keep your fingers crossed for me :)

HCG update or upchuck...?

2010-05-07T16:20:00.000-07:00

Okay so the first few days have been kind of rough, but not because of the drops. Wednesday, my first day on the 500 calories, I got the stomach flu. I threw up 3 times before lunch, ate my lunch and then threw that up as well. Without going into details, there were other things going on as well so I knew it wasn't the drops. I probably didn't even get 200 calories in my the first day. I tried to go to work again yesterday, but gave up and went home before lunch. I fell asleep on the couch and woke up a few times, but slept for about 8 hours. I had no energy and everything ached. Today I didn't go to work and didn't get out of bed until about 2. I feel a little better, but still dizzy and sluggish. At least the stomach cramps are gone and my food is staying in my body.

So as far as the diet goes, it's been easy. I'm sure because I've been sick and had no appetite it's been easier, but the food I have prepared myself and realize I can eat is really good and more than I thought it would be. I don't think I'm going to have a problem getting through the next 18 days, or even maintaining afterwards. This may be something I continue for a long time without the drops. I've already lost 8 lbs, but again, being sick, probably not typical. The real results will now come in the next few weeks. I'll update again in a few days.

HCG - is it for me...?

2010-05-04T14:40:00.000-07:00

So I've heard a lot about this new weight loss miracle stuff called HCG and actually seen a lot of people who have lost a lot of weight and figured why not. I won't go into the details of the diet because I'm sure just about everyone out there knows about it. What I will tell you is what I've eaten yesterday and today on my two "loading" days. Then I'll try to post my results for the next 21 days and counting.

Day 1 - so planning to eat all my favorites was more fun than actually doing it. I was only halfway successful yesterday.
Breakfast - on my way to work I went to McDonalds and got a sausage mcmuffin with egg and a large Dr. Pepper. While I drove and ate that before even getting to work, I also stopped and got a box of 25 munchkins at Dunkin Donuts. I shared those with others at work, but I still probably polished off about 15 of them.
Lunch - we went to a mexican food place called Valle Luna and I ate tons of greasy chips and bean dip, followed by 4 chicken tacos (mini tacos, but still filling.) On the way back to work I stopped at Sonic and got a route 44 Dr. Pepper with cherry flavor added. When that was empty I refilled it with another bottle of Dr. Pepper. There were also 9 cherries at the bottom that were so yummy. Before leaving from work I also had a half a PayDay bar.
Dinner - stomach cramps, cold sweats and dry heaves, but nothing ever came out. I couldn't even eat anything after all that CRAP. I felt so gross.
Oh, but today I even topped that....
Breakfast - Filibertos chorizo and egg burrito with a large Dr. Pepper. Then snacked on some mini butterfinger bites.
Lunch - Red Robin bottomless steak fries (one basket all to myself with Ranch), a monster chocolate shake and buffalo style clucks and a few more fries and ranch. When I got back to work I looked up the calories and fat content...ready for this....just my lunch, not including breakfast was 3200 calories and over 200 gms of fat. That's more than I'm allowed to eat in 6 total days on this diet!!!
Dinner - we'll see what happens later. I'm planning on Texas Roadhouse, but if anything like last night happens, I think I covered myself at Red Robin .... yummmmmm!

Is there an appropriate time to swear...?

2010-03-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

After this weekend and a few other occasions in my life, I've come to the conclusion that there are most definitely appropriate times to swear.

Example # 1 & 2:
This past weekend I spent my Saturday afternoon doing yard work. After all the wonderful rain we've had for the past little while my yard was growing like crazy. The weeds were spreading everywhere and the grass was about 6 inches high in some spots. I definitely had my work cut out for me. First I had to scoop up the 50 + piles of poop from my dog Aussie. Then I pulled out as many pig weeds as I could get my hands around, nasty buggers. Next I weed whacked around my entire front and back yard. Last but not least it was time to mow. I started on the front yard and moved to the back. The sun was going down and I was running out of energy, but I knew I was almost done. As I'm pushing my mower down the second to last row so I can make the final turn down the one last strip, my mower runs out of gas...D@#% it!! So I went into my shed to get my gas can only to find it bone dry...Oh for S%*#'s sake!

Example # 3:
Today I came home from work and went into the back yard to feed my dogs. To be honest I wasn't totally surprised to find that my dog Aussie had successfully proven to Target that the chew resistant pet bed I bought for him was in fact...Chew Resistant my A$$!

Example # 4:
As I stated in a previous blog, I recently had a hysterectomy. Nothing like going in for an outpatient procedure, expecting to be home that afternoon and waking up with 22 staples down my stomach (or as my mom likes to call it, my zipper) and a 5 day hospital stay...Holy H@#$!!!

There are many, many other times as well, but I don't have any good pictures to back them up... :) Feel free to share your appropriate swearing moments...and don't be a d@#$ liar, you know you have them too.

To be or not to be...that is no longer the question.

2010-01-23T21:04:00.000-08:00

I couldn't have asked for a better week to have to be home bound. The weather has been awesome for staying in my PJ's and cuddling up on the couch with my feather blanket. Although it wasn't like I really had a choice. I'm not supposed to be driving and have been blessed to have such wonderful family and friends who have done so much for me this week.
When I went into the hospital last Tuesday, I didn't take anything with me except my phone and wallet thinking I was going to be home that afternoon and back to work the next Monday. Long story short, it was a 5 day hospital stay and won't be back to work for about 5 more weeks.
Almost 7 years ago I had a similar incident where my dr. found I had an endometrioma (strike one) and I was in the hospital for 3 days after they cut me open and removed it. I also found out at the time I had stage 5 endometriosis and they had to do a little clean up while they were in there. My left ovary and tube had been completely destroyed by the endo thing and I was left with the right that was still damaged, but still there, still with the possibility of children. All I had to do was find someone willing to try with me (strike two).
Since that time I have lived with the complications and pain thinking it was my lot and I would deal with it. In the last year the pains continued to get worse and I had some other things happening that I won't share in detail, but gave me reason to feel a lot more was going on than normal. When I went in on Tuesday, it was scheduled to be a routine scope to see what was going on with a hysterectomy as the worst case scenario. Well, when I woke up, worst case it was and it didn't get any better that week (strike three).
I apologize to most or all of those that came to the hospital to see me. I was so drugged up the first three days I hardly remember who came and went, but thank you for being there for me. The first three days were pretty horrible. The morphine and drugs were so bad that I couldn't hold hardly anything down and with 22 staples holding me together, throwing up was the worst torture to add to all of it. Apparently I wasn't too shy about showing everyone my staples and a little more of me either, so again, I apologize.
So now I'm home and not allowed to drive for 2 weeks. It's a good thing I love my house because I think I've spent more time in it than I have the total of all last year. People have been so awesome to come and get me, bring me food and entertain me this week so I haven't had much time to be alone. That's been the real challenge now. And to make it worse, I'm not sleeping very well so I have too much time left to my thoughts and they haven't been very happy ones.
I put up a good front when people are around, but this has been one of the hardest weeks of my life. There are very few people that can understand where I'm coming from, and I don't expect any sympathy, like I said, it's my lot and I'll deal with it, but to put it lightly, this sucks!!!
At least before there was a chance, a very small one, but still a chance of having my own kids. I still had to find a husband, which seems to be working out so well, obviously, but still, there was a chance. Now that chance is gone and I'm having a really hard time dealing with it. I have so many questions why and it's hard not to be angry, frustrated, hatefull and bitter. And don't tell me not to be because I have a right to and it may make me mad enough to go off on you if you do. And I don't want any pat answers because they don't help. The only thing that will help is time. Time to let my emotions play out and get used to these feelings. It may take years, but I'm sure I'll get through it.

Ghosts of Christmas Past...?

2009-12-21T22:26:00.000-08:00

Last night or early this morning, I woke up around 4:30 or 5 and heard this low, annoying sound. I laid there for a few minutes trying to fall back to sleep, but it kept going and was starting to get on my nerves. I thought at first it was my neighbor's truck across the street, but it was to inconsistent. It sounded like two people having a conversation. I had been up until 1:30 in the morning making jewelry with my TV on in my craft room so I thought maybe I had left it on when I walked out and shut the door. I got up and went into the front room to try to find the source. It was still dark not being quite 5 yet and I didn't turn on any lights. When I opened my bedroom door, the sound grew a little louder, but didn't go away. I looked out my front door window to see if anyone was out there or if my neighbor was up. He usually starts his truck for work around that time in the morning, but nothing was going on outside. I saw my computer lights on in the den, but the noise wasn't coming from there. Again, it still sounded like people having a conversation. Not animated, just low voices, talking back and forth kind of monotone and not pausing very long in response to each other. I never could hear anything specific or distinct, but it was definitely talking. I walked to my craft room door which was closed and when I got closer, I was sure at that point I had left the TV on because it was coming from that room and got a little louder as I got nearer. When I opened the door, the conversation stopped mid sentence, it was pitch black and the TV was not on. I shut the door and went back to bed and never heard the sound again.

Now at this point I have some questions...and no this definitely was not a dream. 99.9% of the time when I dream, it's of or in a place that I have never knowingly been or that I even know to exist and I knew exactly where I was and what was going on this morning.

Questions :
#1 - Who was it?
#2 - Why were they in my house?
#3 - What were they talking about?
#4 - Was it really that in depth of a conversation that they didn't even realize they woke me up talking so loud and so long?
#5 - Why was I able to hear them?
#6 - And if I was "allowed" to hear them, why couldn't I hear what they were really talking about?
#7 - Should I be concerned that they were so close and talking?
#8 - Should I be comforted that they were so close and talking?
#9 - Why are they so close...?

I never once felt scared, or creeped out, or in danger. I was more annoyed than anything that they woke me up 2 hours before my alarm. I think if it happens again I'm just going to yell "SHUT UP!" or "I CAN HEAR YOU YOU KNOW!"

So what or who do you think it was???

Mary Maydems

2009-11-20T11:59:00.000-08:00

So in my spare time, now that I quit two of my 3 jobs, I have had more time to work on one of my hobbies, beading. I have created another blog specifically for the stuff I have made. Unfortunately, a lot of my best stuff I sold before I was able to take pictures so I had to put on what I could. Some of the items I still have and are for sale, but I am more than willing to take custom orders or run with a few ideas when given sizes and color preferences.

So take a look and let me know what you think. Please feel free to share any comments. There's always room for improvement, especially the quality of my pictures I'm sorry to say.

www.marymaydems.blogspot.com

Double Trouble

2009-10-01T09:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my mom called me and said someone was giving away free puppies exactly like my dog Sydney. She's an Australian Cattle Dog/Queensland Heeler/Blue Heeler, whatever you want to call it. I couldn't resist, especially since it was free. So this is my new addition. His name is Aussie (but say it like Ozzy) and he's 8 weeks old.
Hopefully he will be as good as Sydney is now, but I've got two years of chewing up everything in site to look forward to. Luckily there isn't much in my backyard to chew except the sprinkler heads. Sydney already took care of removing all the drip lines.

I also need to get his dingle berries cut off before I have to rename him Prince Humperdink!

Everybody needs a friend.

WTF!!!

2009-08-10T23:35:00.000-07:00

So I guess it takes a dramatic event for me to blog again and I had one tonight. I've lived in my house now for a year and a half and have loved every second of it. Well, that was all shot to heck tonight when I walked in my kitchen and found a scorpion in the middle of the floor. I know a lot of you have this problem as well and you're probably thinking suck it up, however there are very few things that truly scare me in life and scorpions and spiders are among those. Now I just have a constant tickle like something is crawling all over my body. I doubt I'll get very much sleep tonight and it really ticks me off. Why? Why! Why are these things on this earth?! Whoever (or whomever?) created these types of creatures to be on this earth should be stuck in a special place in burning hot hell fire and damnation with them for the rest of their after life existence. They are not pleasing to look at. Not friendly. They hurt. And, I honestly can't remember the last time I screamed like that. After I pinched it with my special scorpion catcher (it's really a screw grabber,) doused it with alcohol and burnt it to a crisp in the toilet, I took my black light all through the house, inside and out and didn't see anything. Granted I did this just a week ago as well after my friend found one in her new house. Why did it all of a sudden decide to show up now? Then I got my vacuum out and vacuumed every inch of carpet in my house. If I couldn't see them at least I could try to suck them up. We've had hotter weeks of temperature so why now? I'm so mad!!! I hate the fact that I have to be so uncomfortable now in my own home. I know this isn't a very good picture, but I wasn't going to get too close. It was about 2 inches long which I guess for this type of scorpion is kind of big. GAG! As much as I hate them as well, I would have rather found a big fat spider. Either one would give me nightmares, which they usually do, but something about a scorpion is even worse. You can add Vinegaroons to that list too (also known as a camel spider or whip tail scorpion, but they are neither.) I stepped on one of these in our cabin in Prescott when I was little. Talk about heebie jeebies. These suckers are mean. If they could they would sit and chew and eat you up until they popped. Once when I was at work about 7 years ago, a guy in our area found a dead one of these outside and brought it in to show everyone. It was about an inch long and gross. He saw my reaction and thought it would be cute to put in on my keyboard when I left my cube to go to the restroom. When I came back and sat down and almost put my hand on it, I jumped back so fast my chair went flying and I immediately started to cry. Didn't see that coming, but that's how terrified I am of these types of things, dead or alive. Just sick and wrong. I don't want anyone out there getting any cute ideas about planting anything on me, you won't like the reaction. I have a good sense of humor, but some things just are not funny.

Happy Trails

2009-04-04T13:47:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago my neighbor across the street had a buddy of his bring over this rusty old boat trailer that a person he had been doing a job for asked him to get rid of. We were standing around looking at it while he was unhitching it and I laughed and commented that it would be perfect for my quad and after a minute or two he had his son pull it over to my house and just gave it to me. I couldn't believe he would just give it to me like that.

The next day on Saturday I spent the afternoon stripping all the extra bolts, carpet, spiders and crap off to get down to the bare bones to figure out what to do. I also stripped a nice long chunk of skin off down my arm. I was disappointed at first because after measuring the base and then my quad I found it was actually too small for my quad to sit on, but I was trying to see the forest for the trees and come up with something I could rig to make it work. The dilemma was how to make a platform long enough, wide enough and stable enough for my quad to fit on and not fall off.

After pondering for a bit, I remembered that my neighbor across the street from my parents house did metal work and stuff for a living so the next day on Sunday after mom fed me some very delectable grub, he happened to be out in his driveway so I walked across the street and told him the situation and asked if he thought it was doable. He was excited and told me to get it to him and he would do the rest. Um...problem, I didn't have a hitch on my little XD to pull it. Well two days later that problem was fixed by Quality Bumper.

So long story short, after two new tires, a new light kit, a few nuts and bolts and some spray paint on my end, he finished the rest and it is AMAZING. Okay to me anyway. No one else realizes the beauty of this to me. It's FREEDOM and that's priceless. He didn't even charge me to do it. I kept telling him I would pay him and he wouldn't hear it. He told me when he has the opportunity to do these kind of things for someone that someday someone would do something for him, even if it wasn't the person he did it for originally (pay it forward). I seriously started to tear up last night when I was pulling it out of his driveway. I know that sounds cheesy to some of you, but that's how much it means to me. Not necessarily the trailer itself, but that there still are people out there who are willing to do something for others, and no he's not even a member.

When I got it home last night I spray painted all the metal and this morning I sanded all the wood and put a polyurethane finish on it to make it last and seal it from the rain.

So here's the final product. I still need to get it registered at the DMV but all in time. It's done!!!

Here's grand baby niece # 12

2009-03-25T22:22:00.000-07:00

As I alluded to before, my niece Amy had her baby today. This is Bette Rose, named after my mom. Not sure how big she was but hopefully not as proportionate as those cheeks. Why are chubby cheeks so cute on babies and not adults? I would be friggin' adorable!!!

Well no more baby updates until about October now, unless someone surprises us before then.

Yes I am a great aunt for the 12th time now. My nieces and nephews are having babies and I can't even find a husband. One of them even found 2!!!

Crazy 8's

2009-03-23T16:13:00.000-07:00

Okay I stole this from someone's blog even though I wasn't really tagged. Yes, I admit it. But hey, at least it's something new for you all to read and not another baby update (even though my niece Amy is ready to pop any day now too.) I actually added a few sections to make it all 8's and I'm not going to tag anyone in particular. If you want to do it, go for it.

8 Shows I watch...
1. Lost
2. Heros
3. The Office
4. 30 Rock
5. Saturday Night Live
6. Dog Whisperer
7. Man vs. Wild
8. Survivor Man

8 Favorite Restaurants...
1. Costa Vida
2. Texas Roadhouse
3. Costa Vida
4. Geckos
5. Costa Vida
6. Macaroni Grill
7. Costa Vida
8. Valle Luna

8 Things that happened yesterday...
1. Church
2. Ate lunch at Mom's
3. Showed her and Dad how to look up a blog
4. Made a Texas Sheet cake
5. Ate too much Texas Sheet cake
6. Finished my tapes
7. Read the BOM
8. Set my alarm for 7 PM instead of AM which made me an hour late for work this morning.

8 Things I'm looking forward to...
1. Being engaged
2. Getting married
3. Being a wife
4. Having a Husband
5. Getting pregnant
6. Being a mom
7. Being a grandma
8. Everything that comes with all of the above

8 Things on my wish list...
See above

8 Things people say that bug me...(and you don't want to know my answers)
1. How come you're not dating anyone?
2. You should hang out with my daughter, she single and lonely too.
3. Why don't you go to the singles ward?
4. Have you tried the online dating thing?
5. It will happen when you least expect it.
6. You're just too picky.
7. I'll be there at... (and show up 2 hours later or not at all.)
8. Oh I know exactly how you feel.

8 Places I've been in the last 8 years...
1. Korea (6 times in the last two years)
2. Japan
3. Taiwan
4. China
5. Philippines
6. Singapore
7. Hawaii
8. Mexico (okay so this was 13 years ago, but I had to throw it in there)

8 Smells I love...
1. The smell of a forest (camp fires and pines)
2. Just after it rains
3. Fresh cut grass
4. Citrus trees in bloom (not good on my allergies though)
5. Baby lotion on a baby just after a bath
6. Puppy breath
7. Clean laundry with Tide and Bounce
8. New car smell (not in a bottle, but from the new car)

Here's another one...

2009-03-23T15:52:00.001-07:00

So here's the next addition to our family. This is my niece Micah's baby girl, Jonnie Belle. She was born Saturday morning at 1:03 am. She was 8 lbs 9 oz and 21 1/2 inches long. Sweet little girl started having some breathing problems so they are keeping her on oxygen until sometime this week. I can't wait to fly up there and hold her and love her and squeeze her and kiss her and pinch her...

Congrats Micah and JD! I can't wait to see her.

Another one...

2009-02-24T20:36:00.001-08:00

Here's another one to add to the ever growing never ending clan. This is my baby grand niece Saylor, daughter of my nephew Taylor and Amanda. She was 9lbs 2 ounces and 21 inches long. Good thing it was C section, owie.

My two other nieces, Amy and Micah, are due in a few days or weeks in March and just found out Sunday night that Brian's wife is due with their first in October.

Seriously, our family is single handedly trying to multiply and replenish the Earth!

No pressure...

Status Update

2009-02-02T10:13:00.001-08:00

Okay so I'm still looking for Roommate option # 1, but I no longer need option # 2. With a few cut backs and a little (okay a lot of) self restraint on spending money, I'm pretty sure I can still make it on my own. No that I even had one tiny little nibble on finding a roommate anyway. But it's a good thing because I love my house and I love LOVE living alone.

So this weekend I became a great aunt for the 9th time with 3 more still on the way. This is Taylor Marie Garner, 2nd girl for Scott and Britney. She's about 10 hours old here and the little stinker already has thicker hair then me!
She was so sweet though. I got to hold and love her for about 2 hours. She cries just like her big sister. I already warned Britney that I will be at Shellene's every Sunday to hold her.
I'm going to love her and kiss her and pinch her and spank her...then give her back when she poops :)

Possible Roommate Needed

2009-01-09T13:34:00.000-08:00

Times are hard for everyone so I know I'm not the exception. A few weeks ago I got an email (as did everyone in my company) that we were all getting a 10% pay cut starting this January. As I have already been working 2 jobs to even stay afloat, this is really not good. So in order to keep my house, I'm probably going to have to get a roommate.

Roommate option # 1...

Roommate option # 2...
If anyone does knows of any girls looking for a place, I have an extra bedroom I'll rent out. They will have their own bathroom and living area. I'm close to GCC and less than a mile from the freeway for easy and fast access all over town. Keep your eyes and ears open for room option # 1, but I'll settle for # 2, I guess.

Worst Blogger Ever...!?!?!

2008-11-24T15:42:00.000-08:00

Okay okay I know I've been a total slacker and haven't posted anything forever, and even though you have all been nice enough not to comment on my blog itself, I have heard it. So thank you for the "gentle" reminders and I'll try to do better, although I don't see any free time in my future still.

Updates...

This morning at 10:15 A.M. was one of the best moments of my life so far. No I'm not engaged or even dating for that matter, thanks for reminding me....
I GOT MY #*%& BRACES OFF!!! I can't tell you how excited I am and have had perm-a-grin all day. I would take a picture, but then you would all just make fun of my straight but yellow teeth. I can't help it, I have Davis teeth and they are naturally yellow okay. Lay off!

Tonight my nephew Geoff comes home from his mission in Panama City, Panama. This is the 5th nephew of mine to go so far, but for my sister Shellene it's her last boy. Then in about 6 weeks he leaves to go to college on a full ride football scholarship to play for the BEAVERS!!!
Of course we all know what Thursday is... Yummy yummy to my tummy!!!

Then on Saturday my oldest niece is getting married (again). Gotta give props to Tricky for being able to find 2 husbands when I can't even find one!

So to say the least, it's going to be a pretty busy week for me. I'll try to do better with my posts, but without a husband or kids, it's hard to find something worth posting. Just love me for who I am, not what I blog!!!

Now! Right now you have to go do this. Now!

2008-09-29T23:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, so last time I really was tagged by Micah, even though many of you think I really did tag myself...I didn't, even if I may have eluded to that. So anyways... this time I was tagged by phone so there is no proof of it within the blog itself, but I was pretty much told I had to do this or else...

So here's the thing. NOW right now. Not later, not AFTER you clean up, it has to be now, as is. Go take a picture of these 10 different things in your house (or as you will see in my case, a lack there of...).
NO CHEATING. That's the fun part, so I've heard.

# 1 - Kitchen Sink.
Now I really lucked out here because there is nothing actually in the sink. What you don't see are the 3 pots and crock pot sitting next to the sink all yucky from my Fast Sunday dinner. First time using a crock pot, thank you very much. I'm a big girl now and I'm not just talking about my pant size, although...
#2 Bathroom.
Nothing too spectacular here. I cleaned it on Saturday so I kinda got a break on this one.
#3 Laundry.
Again not too spectacular. I will point out the lovely pillow case in pink and green gingham with the black lace trim that I made all by myself to commemorate my viewing of WICKED. Get it, pink, green, black. Okay moving on...

#4 Refrigerator.
So in case you haven't heard, I am single. Yes yes it's true. Why you may ask? I too ask that question...but I dare say it's true my friends...speaking of friends if you have any that are also single, tall, male...oh yeah the fridge. You may notice the two Crisper draws are a little lonely, empty, vacant, lacking there of...well it's hard to keep green stuff green when you only cook for yourself. Some nights I don't even feel like eating much so the Fruit Punch and Apple Juice are good filler uppers. There are Fast Sunday left overs on the top shelves. It was yummy. And of course there is cold Dr. Pepper waiting succulently on the side. Never a day without. It's my AIR!!!
#5 Closet.
Notice all the shoes...well those are just the ones that I wear in the winter. I don't even think I have put one of those pairs on since I moved into this house. My other closet has probably as many if not more of my summer attire. No I wouldn't call it a fetish...more like food storage or maybe foot storage...
#6 Favorite shoes or shoes worn the most (may or may not be the same, your choice).
My favorite pair or shoes right now are my reef sandals. Notice the sandal tan line on my feet. I have worked very hard to obtain it and am very proud dang it! It's about the only part of my body that actually has any color.

#7 Spouse and Kids.
hum...

#8 Favorite Room.
My favorite room is my only room other than a bedroom. I love my living room. I love my couch and my ceiling. I long for the time when I can lay on my couch and stare up at the wood ceiling and all my cares go drifting away...so that doesn't really happen anymore or ever did for that matter. It's just a nice room and I love it. Wish I could spend more time in it. Seems lately I'm either in my bedroom or in my office working, which I'm still in the middle of now (at 12:15 am). Had to take a ME break.
#9 Dream Vacation.
I want to go to Europe!!!

10. Me right now, as of this moment.
Yes, I still have the braces on. How can I put this subtly...I HATE THEM!!! Okay that works too. At my last visit my ortho told me I may be done by Christmas instead of next May. Everyone keep your fingers crossed for me!!! Oh one more thing... I like your cow!

Holy September Birthdays Batman!!!

2008-09-09T00:42:00.000-07:00

Well I guess we know how people like to celebrate new years...
We have a lot of birthdays this month. Mostly family and some of my friends too...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

September 6th: Taylor and Micah

September 9th: Amy and Grace

September 11: Milisa

September 12: Marissa (sorry Marissa I don't have any recent pictures of you, but you're still cute at any age!!)

September 14: Maren

September 19: Steven (Bebo)

That's hot!

September 20: Me!

September 22: Aaron and Karen (I don't have any pictures of my friend Karen but happy birthday to her anyway!!!)

September 30: Helen

Happy Birthday to the most awesomest people born in this month!!!

! INTRUDER ALERT !

2008-09-05T21:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday a guy I work with got a call while we were at lunch from a Sheriff deputy. He told my friend that he was at him mom's house and they were trying to get a hold of her because her house had just been burglarized. It seemed a little strange and my friend couldn't figure out how they got his personal cell #. Long story short, the sheriff called back again while my friend was talking to his mom and it turns out it was HIS house that has been broken into and they had the thief there in custody. Come to find out, a little after he and his wife left for work, two guys went in his back yard, kicked in the back door and stole pretty much everything they could grab. Luckily a neighbor saw them lifting his TV over the fence and called the police and they caught them about a block away. My friend got all of his stuff back and there wasn't very much damage. He also got some pretty solid evidence. Besides getting caught in possession of all the stuff, the dorks actually stole and used his video camera to tape themselves stealing all the stuff. He even has a dog that lives in the house, but that didn't stop them and luckily they didn't hurt the dog.
Point of me writing this is just to make you all aware that there are idiots out there who do watch us and see us come and go. This was out in Queen Creek and I have a lot of friends and family out there. I have also heard of guys who ring the doorbell just to see if anyone answers. When they don't they know or think no one is home and take the chance. So even if you are home alone, don't just not answer. Let them know someone is home even if you don't open the door. I had 2 security doors installed and it's nice cause I can see them, but they can't see me and I don't have to unlock the door for them.

Tagged Again... Hey this isn't pin the tail on the donkey is it?

2008-08-28T22:05:00.000-07:00

Okay I haven't posted anything for a while and I'm sure you're all sick of seeing my table so I figured I better get something out here. I'm really not sure if I did get tagged, but it looked fun so Me tagged Myself and I played along. Hey when you live alone, sometimes the three have pretty good conversations. Yes, yes I do have some pretty good ones with myself. I agree. Me too! I could be one of the Heroes like that one girl that looks in the mirror and sees her "other" self. I could have two of those. Just think of the possibilities!?!?!

Speaking of Heroes, it's starting again on September 22, Yay! Too bad I'll be in Korea again. I'll probably catch it on the military channel over there with subscripts at the bottom. That should be interesting.

So back to the Tagged thing. It's not very long this time and I don't know who to tag. Let's just say, if you read this and you have a blog, you're tagged!!! Then just copy and paste all the stuff below, take out my answers and put in your own. Have fun!

Rules:
Each player answers the questions themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment letting them know that they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answers.
---
"Ten years ago"…
1. My best friend Jacob died.
2. My dog Brandy died.
3. I was in my last season of volleyball at NAU and in the best shape of my life.
4. Steven got married. Or maybe that was '97...? Not sure, my coach wouldn't let me go to his wedding.
5. I was driving home from Flagstaff every Thursday night, working on Saturdays in the hardware store and driving back up to Flag on Sunday night. That was when gas was only .98 a gallon.
---
Five things on today’s “to do” list...
1. Finish this post...
2. Brush my teeth...
3. Wash my face...
4. Take my pills...
5. Get off the computer and go sleepy night night!
---
Five snacks I enjoy...
1. Dr. Pepper
2. Marshmallow popcorn (made the same as rice crispy treats, just use popcorn instead. So yummy to my tummy!)
3. Dr. Pepper
4. Red Vines
5. Dr. Pepper
---
Five things I would do if I was a millionaire…
1. Pay off all my debts (house, car, etc...)
2. Strip and re-landscape my back yard.
3. Add onto my house.
4. Buy a cabin in Prescott.
5. Buy Mom a Jeep. (Bet you all didn't know that was her dream car...)
---
Five places I have lived…
1. Mesa
2. Prescott
3. Flagstaff
4. Salt Lake City
5. Gilbert

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go...

2008-08-25T10:44:00.000-07:00

So it's obviously been a while since my last blog. I've been preoccupied with trying to find a second job so I can keep the wonderful house you see below. I filled out a couple of job apps online and walked into about 5 places personally, but no one was hiring, at least not me. So I did actually find one. I needed a job in the evenings or weekends, not on Sunday, and that would also allow me to continue to play softball and volleyball on week nights. Good luck you say...? That's what I thought too. Well, like I said, I found one, and I even get to work from home. My niece told me to go to this website and then call the # for a transcription place here in town. Long story short, I took a week of vacation time from my full time job last week, went to the week long training for the transcription job and as of Friday, I'm live! All the tapes are for insurance companies, all different types of claims. For example, if you were in a car accident and had to give a statement with an adjuster, your conversation would possibly be taped and then sent to me to type it all up. So far I'm really enjoying it. Although it can be difficult because you have to type every little sound and stutter they make. Have you ever listened to a speaker in sacrament and been annoyed or counted how many times they used the word Um? Well I have to type them all! Well uh I uh was like um going to ah around the um corner and um like I seen him coming and he just like um hit me..... Throw out your grammar books! It does make you really think about how you talk and what you say. And when you think you hear one thing, someone else may hear something completely different. It's kind of like play that game Mad Gab. So if I don't answer my phone between the hours of 6 pm and 10 pm, don't be offended, I just really need to concentrate on some morons slaughtering the English language.

La Mesa

2008-07-19T19:29:00.000-07:00

I got this table from my sister when I got my house and she had not really taken very good care of it, and I needed another project, so I decided to refinish it. It started off as a pine color, darker because of age, and I wanted to stain it dark brown to match the rest of the furniture in my house.

I started Tuesday night and just sanded the top. I didn't sand the legs because it would take for ever and be almost impossible to get around them. The top is lighter in this picture, but it was the same color as the legs before I sanded it. Also, she had some cats that chewed and scratched it up all over. Not so much on the top, but the legs were worked over pretty well and there was no way I was going to get them sanded out.

Wednesday night after 2 softball games I stained it and applied the first coat of finish. The grain looks so good and it totally sucked in the stain. I also stained the legs so you can see all the scratches. It totally gives it character and I personally think it looks so cool.

Thursday night I sanded it one last time and applied the final coat of finish while I watched So You Think You Can Dance. I did have to rewind it a couple of times cause I missed the dances (thank you DVR!!!)

So this is the final product. Now I have something to put my Ensign on and make people think I really read it. Oh wait, I guess I better get one first...

Home Sweet Home

2008-07-13T20:54:00.001-07:00

So I had been wanting to get out and get a place of my own for a long time and had come really close to getting a condo this past December, but it didn't work out. I'm so glad it didn't because I was able to get a house instead. It happened really fast. On a Friday in February, my brother called me and said there was a house that had gone into foreclosure and I really had to see it. So the next day, which was Saturday, I went and did a walk through, really liked what I saw and two days later on Monday, I was signing the loan papers to get it all going. Less than a month after that, it was all in my name and I was in. The getting in part wasn't as easy though. Even though the previous owners had lost the house, they had left it in good condition structurally. The rest was a different story. The yard was totally over grown and I'm still working weekly on that. The entire house was painted in only two colors, white and a tan purplish color that I can't even describe. Pretty blah though. So with the help of my best friend and a solid week off of work, I spent about 16 hours a day and painted every single room in the house a different color (but my craft room, which I just finished this week and I'll get to that.) My arms hurt, my hands hurt, my neck hurt, my feet hurt, EVERYTHING hurt!!! And that was all before I even moved anything in. I started with the kitchen and went pretty bold with red, but it's awesome. This is a picture of the before and after. Notice the new tile in the second picture. I had tile put in the kitchen and master bathroom. They had carpet in the bathroom, gross! I also changed out two existing ceiling fans, added ceiling fans to every other room and put track lighting and a new ceiling light in the kitchen. Much, much better.

They also took everything when they lost it so I had to get a new stove, fridge, washer and dryer and dishwasher. The carpet was in good shape so I only had to get it cleaned. I didn't have any furniture so I ordered a big swede, chocolate brown, 3 piece sectional couch and it is soooo comfy. It took 6 weeks to come in, but gave me time to get all my other projects done without it being in the way. I had to go get it and once I took it, there was no returning it. My wonderful friend Carolee and her husband helped me move it in. We got the first two pieces in without too much trouble, but when we tried to get the last part in we were stuck. There was no way we could get it through any door, it was too big. So matter how we tried to twist, flip and turn, it wasn't coming in. So we took the legs off, took the screen off the back window and were able to squeeze it through. It was really awkward to have to hold it up and step through without pinching off my hands or falling over and dropping the whole thing. But as you can see, we did it and it's my favorite Sunday nap place :)

To the side of my house there is a big double RV gate with a huge patio. Along the wall there were huge overgrown bushes and bags of trash that had been sitting there for months. It took me an entire day, but I cut them all down and trimmed them to the nub. You can see the huge pile which also included evil EVIL bogunvia clippings. Those dang bushes are Nasty!!! I still have scars on my legs from the thorns that I trimmed off the 5 bushes planted along my back wall.

The yard was pretty nasty too. The first time I mowed it, I destroyed 2 sprinkler heads because I couldn't see them. It's coming along now, and I planted a new Ash tree, naval and lemon tree also. I even found a 10 x 10 foot flagstone area I never knew was there cause it was totally covered with grass.

My other big addition was tongue and grove wood on the ceiling. I love the look and the smell of the wood and it totally gives the house a new personality and character. And it's not just another white ceiling, boring house. I also had a 20ft beam put up on the arch. It made the whole thing.

There are 3 bedrooms and an office. One bedroom I use as a sewing, craft room and the other is my spare bedroom. In my office and 2nd bedroom I painted one color 3 feet up and another color on top and separated the division with white chair rail. The bedroom is light pink and chocolate brown, as you can see above. The office is blue and gray, but my favorite part (which I finally finished this weekend) is the dark walnut stained crown molding around the top. I think it looks awesome and the grain in the wood is beautiful. Crown molding is a pain in the butt though. Don't think I'll ever do it again, but had to try it and it turned out great. I even made the shelf above the window.

In my craft room, I cut all the extra tongue and grove pieces I had to 3ft and nailed them around the room. I also framed around the window and put a cap and baseboard around to finish it all off. I did this room completely alone. Did a pretty dang good job if I don't say so myself. I also painted the top a very very light blue.

Memorial day weekend, my mom and dad came over and helped me build a shed on the back of my house. It actually took us 2 days to finish, but it's so sturdy and so solid.
Funny story now...
We finished the shed on a Saturday and the next Monday I had bought some hooks and silicon and other stuff to finish it off. I was home from work and had just told my friend I was going to a movie and wouldn't be talking to her again until the next day and left my cell phone in the house. I was standing inside the shed twisting a large hook in the back wall when the wind started blowing, everything went dark and I heard "click." I was locked inside!!! No no no no no no NO!!! We made the door so it closes with a gate latch on the outside. No cell phone, nobody to check on me, I was totally stuck and alone. I tried to shake the door thinking I could wiggle the latch up, but no luck. I pounded and yelled for my neighbors for about 10 minutes, but again, no luck. We built it with thick paneling and trimmed around every edge so there was no way to knock the wood off. We had worked so hard and done it so well, I would have had to destroy the door or a whole side to get out and I wasn't going to do it. I figured I had a bag of dog food in there so I wouldn't starve, but I would roast with a tin roof and no water the next day. I could see my dog walking back and forth and I was thinking "come on Lassie, push the latch up." Too bad her name is Sydney. So after about 15 minutes I realized it was up to me to get myself out. There was enough light coming through the cracks to see, but the sun would be going down in about 15 more minutes. On the inside of the door, we put a backing strip so the door would hit it and not swing through. I realized if I pried it off, there may be enough of a gap to stick something through and lift the latch. So I used my hammer to pry the strip off and sure enough, I could see the latch. Only thing was, it wasn't the latch, it was the bar that went into the latch so I couldn't push it straight up. I wasn't discouraged yet. My dog had recently chewed and pulled out a bunch of drip line tubing in my yard so I had rolled it up and put it in the shed. It was thin enough and flexible yet stiff enough to slide through the gap, bend to the left and after about 3 tries the latch lifted and I was OUT! Yes, you can call me MURgiver. Since then I have put a pull lever on the inside so that will never happen again. I also make sure my cell phone is always clipped on my body no matter where I go.

Fun Guy Made It!

2008-07-08T10:25:00.000-07:00

Well, he's alive, for now. Fun Guy is my dad, grandpa Larry to all the grandkids. A few weeks ago we found out he had Prostate Cancer. Because of a few other procedures he has had in the past, his best option for treatment was to have the prostate completely removed. So on July 2nd, he went into surgery at 7 am. Poor Mom had to take him in at 5 am and stay there with him the whole time. I was able to get off work and met her down there around 1. When I got there, half the nursing staff was laughing and having a grand ole time. If you know my mom, you know why. She had them all rolling and joking the whole time. We left to get lunch and they were all sad and asking when she would be back. She's a great woman.
They brought my dad into his room around 2:30 and he was still out of it from the anesthesia. So out of it in fact, he doesn't remember rolling his head back and forth and saying "Oh Sh$%!" over and over. He said some other things too, but I won't write those. The position they had him in during the surgery was with his head down a little, but for 7 hours, it did a number on him, at least it looked like someone had. His eyes were all swollen and his upper lip was huge. Looked like someone had slapped him around. After 2 days there, the staff was all wishing they could! He's not a good patient and has no pain tolerance. It's hard for Mom and I to be sympathetic since she had 11 babies naturally among other things and you've probably already read about my surgeries. But, we were as nice as possible, and since he didn't have his hearing aids and is deaf, we could say what we wanted and he never knew any better. We actually had a good time :)
Friday morning they released him at 7 am (couldn't wait to get him out of there...) He's home now and is doing better. He's up and around with his long white circulation socks and a catheter filled pee bag strapped to his leg. It's not a pretty site. My mom is hanging in there too, helping him as much as she can without killing him. Again, she's a great woman!
So give some shout outs to Fun Guy, he'll be around for a while longer now, dang it :)

Tagged!

2008-06-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, I too have been tagged. I love to be IT! So here are the rules...How to play the game of Tag: Post these rules on your blog. Answer these 15 questions about yourself on your blog. List 3 Joys, 3 Fears, 3 Goals, 3 Current Obsessions/Collections and 3 Random/Surprising facts. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

3 JOYS...
1. Right now my biggest joy is that I am done coaching club volleyball!!! It was a rough 6 months and I finally have my Mondays, Wednesday and every other weekend free again. Wait, I take that back, Mondays are free. I went and said yes to another softball league on Wednesdays. Oh well, at least it's only an hour and I don't have to do anything but show up. And I do have my weekends.
2. My second joy is having my own house. I meant for my next blog to be all about it so I'll save the details for that and just keep you all in suspense.
3. My third joy is my best friend Carolee. She does so much for me that I don't even know where to begin. She's the best and I don't know what I would do without her.

3 FEARS...
1. My biggest fear right now is that Carolee's husband will get a new job and she will move out of state. I can't tell you how sad I will be when that day comes...
2. My second biggest fear is that I will lose my job and lose my house. Not that I have any indication that that will happen, it's just a fear. New homeowner anxiety I guess.
3. My third biggest fear is SPIDERS!!! I hate them! Big, small, whatever size, they're all the same and will all die if they come in my sight. Little story... I couple of weeks after I moved into my house, I was working on the sprinklers in the back yard. The drip line on the outside edge of my backyard was cracked and when I turned it on, it shot out about 6 feet in the air. Since it was about 6 inches underground, it had worked a hole above the split line. So I had turned the line on to find the exact place and after I shut it off, I went over to find the split. I was digging down in the hole to try to get the rocks and mud out and just as I pulled my arm out at one point, a HUGE wolf spider ran right across the opening in the whole. Every hair on my body stood up straight on end and I jumped back about 5 feet and screamed. GAGGAGAGAGAGAGAG! I couldn't just let it go cause I had to still find the split in the line in THAT hole. So I grabbed some wire flags I had to mark the sprinkler heads and tried to grab it with two of them and pull it out. Oh yes, I could still see it. Burrowed down in the grass about 3 inches from the opening still, just waiting for me, evil bugger. So it kept squirming around getting out of my grip in the wires so I finally just stabbed it in the butt and cut it in half. Gross I know, but it was not going to live and I had to make sure it was dead. So then I got a pair of pliers on my work bench and reached down in the whole to pull out what was left of it. I put it on the flagstone and took a picture. What you see here is HALF, the Small Half, of it next to the head of the pliers. I still can't walk out in my grass without shoes. I get the heebie jeebies still just thinking about it.

3 GOALS...
1. My fist goal is to finish some of the projects I have left in my house. Wood in my craft room, crown molding in my office and fixing the sprinkler lines that still cracked.
2. My second goal is to finish a quilt I started last year. It's all my city softball and volleyball league shirts from the past 7 or 8 years. I got them all cut out and sew together. I just need to put it up and tie it at this point.
3. My third goal I would like to say is to get married, but it's not something that I can do alone so I can't really justify saying it's a goal. It's a hope or a wish or a want, but not really a goal. It's not something I can set a date for or put a time frame on.

3 CURRENT OBSESSIONS/COLLECTIONS...
1. One of my collections lately are little dolls, figurines or some kind of items from each of the countries or places I have visited. I have some really cool bobble head dolls from Korea and 3 awesome fat little Sumo wrestlers from Japan. One of my favorites though is a little stuffed chicken from Kauai that when you squeeze it, it crows. Seriously, my favorite part of the trip. If you read my Hawaii post, you will get it.
2. Another collection is Hard Rock t-shirts also from every place I visit. Currently I have Hollywood, Vegas, Japan, Singapore, Philippines and Korea. I almost got one in Hawaii, but were didn't quite know how to get there and we were going to be late for our flight so I didn't want to risk it. Gives me a good reason to go back. I also just found out a few days ago that there is a Hard Rock in Scottsdale. Need to make a trip across town soon.
3. Don't really know if you could call this a collection because I haven't really done it consciously, but I do have a lot of watches. I'm trying to think, but if I'm correct, I currently have approximately 16 watches. I wear a different one pretty much every day depending on the outfit. There are about 5 that I haven't worn for a long time and the batteries are dead, but I still have them so I have to count them.

3 RANDOM / SURPRISING FACTS...
1. Well, I'm not really accident prone, cause when it happens, it's not an accident. Although they have all been quit random. So far (and I say that because I'm not dead yet) I have had 5 different surgeries. Pres Hinkley was almost dead before he had his first surgery! Yes, I'm counting my wisdom teeth as one because it was my first time going under and I am so not good with anesthesia. It's so hard for me to wake up and I totally shake and throw up after. Yummy. My last year of college I tore the sheath off a nerve in my foot that caused a bad neuroma that they had to cut out from the bottom. Random part, they usually cut in from the top, but mine was so big, they had to cut and scrape to almost the top of my foot. Good times. Again anesthesia sucked. Next surgery was my tummy in Utah. Long story short, I had a canteloupe size endometrioma that had completely destroyed my left ovary and tube. Surprise!! I went in to the dr. on Monday, had an MRI on Wednesday and they scheduled me for surgery the next Thursday. That surgery SUCKED. Three days in the hospital and it was so not fun. Five weeks after my tummy surgery, I had my next one. I tore my rotator cuff playing in a volleyball tournament a few month earlier. This one wasn't too random, but the doctor was surprised when he opened me up, it was more than halfway torn. He said he was surprised I could even lift my arm. Another surprise...he kind of did the wrong surgery. Because it was so torn, he should have sewed it back together. Instead he just cleaned up the frayed ends and ground down my clavicle bone so it would snag on it anymore. So it's still torn. Good times. It was outpatient surgery and my brother Jon took me home from the hospital. When we got there, I hadn't driven so I didn't have my keys to the house and my roommates had all left so we were locked out. While I was standing on the patio waiting for them, the anesthesia hit me and I threw up in the bushes. Poor Jon was so uncomfortable, I felt bad. We didn't wait long though, I think Helen showed up pretty soon. My last surgery, as of yet, was my left shoulder. I was playing softball and when I swung the bat hitting, my arm twisted in instead of out and I tore the back part of the sheath around my shoulder capsule. The surprise here, normally, when this capsule is torn, it's in the front. I had to go and do it in the back. I lasted a good year with it slipping in and out until I couldn't stand it anymore. So now I have 3 titanium screws in my shoulder holding me together. No, I don't trip the alarms in the airport, although I was worried about it. In the recovery room after the surgery, I couldn't wake up. I would open my eyes and look around and fall right back under. The nurses almost readmitted me cause they couldn't get me to respond a few times. I finally pulled myself out of it and got out of there. Then just got home to throw up some more. They performed a nerve block to do the surgery so my arm stayed numb for about a day after. Good thing cause it hurt like HE#$!!! And it never stopped hurting for almost a month. Can't say I'd ever wish that surgery and physical therapy on anyone.
2. Wow, that was only # 1. Don't know that I have anymore. If anyone else can think of anything about me, you can post a comment about it.
3. ...

So I guess that's it. Don't know who to tag just yet so I won't leave any names. I'll just tag your blog if I get around to it.

Kauai 2008

2008-06-08T20:38:00.000-07:00

My sister Shellene and I work for the same company. She does all the marketing and in January there was a trade show on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. We joked at first about how fun it would be to be able to go and thought there would be no way they would actually send her, but sure enough, it happened. Because I had traveled so much the previous year, I had enough frequent flyer miles that I didn't even have to pay for my ticket. Then, staying with her, we had the room and rental car paid for. So literally, it was a paid vacation for both of us. Who could pass that up?! Of course because we're both nerds, the first night we got there we had to check our emails. Even though we are 18 years apart, she is one of my best friends and loved every minute I was able to be there with her. It was a chance of a lifetime!
This was the view from our balcony. It was so beautiful, although we were lucky to find it. When we finally got there it was about 9 pm and we had had 3 different plane changes and all day of traveling and we were beat. The guy at the lobby told us our room just down to the left on the second floor. We had to park in the lot across the street and after hauling our 6-8 suitcases and bags across the street I asked Shellene what our room # was. 8021 she said. I looked at the room signs and didn't see it. We walked around for a bit and I dragged the bags up two flights of stairs and still didn't see it. I came back down and we walked on this path that took us right down by the beach (so pretty and scary at night, by the way.) There was a couple sitting on a bench enjoying the view and no rooms starting with 8 in sight. So we went back around the walkway, still dragging all of our luggage and crap and I asked her if she was sure about the #. She handed me the room key and on the pouch it was in, sure enough, it said 8021.....UPSIDE DOWN! It was actually 1208. We had walked past it about 3 times! It was hilarious. I'm sure we gave a few people a good laugh that night.

A few years ago, there was a hurricane on the island and all the chickens that were penned up got loose and now they roam free all over. You can go on line and read about them, but it's true. And, it was probably my favorite part of the trip. They are so retarded that they don't even know they are only supposed to crow in the morning. So any time of day you will hear them. It cracked me up and I laughed out loud every time. It didn't matter where you went, they were there. I think the prettiest ones I saw were in the Walmart parking lot. We were frequent shoppers :)

The island was so small that you could drive the whole thing in a day, but the roads were only two lanes and you couldn't go fast. So we took our time and drove one side at a time. It comes to a point on the north end where you can't drive any further. That's where the most beautiful cliffs in the world are. It was amazing. We couldn't get any closer to this lighthouse , but even from a distance, it was awesome. Shellene had a tourist book that would tell us every little site to see and what mile marker to stop or turn at. It was so fun. No schedule, no worries, nothing but time and freedom. It was great.

Well, most of it. On one of the nights, the trade show had a luau for all the attendees. I was excited to see some hot polynesian dancers! It was out on the grass at the hotel, next to the beach and while we were sitting there waiting we were able to see whales breaching just a couple hundred yards off shore. It was sooo cool, but that's where it ended. When they finally started, one of the singers was flat the whole time and hard to listen to. Then the hot dancers...not so much. The oldest one couldn't have been older than 20 and 135 lbs soaking wet. It was the longest 3 hours I have ever spent. And the food, well lets just say I would have enjoyed Taco Bell much, much better. But then again, I do love Taco Bell. Then to top it all off, the battery in my camera died. I went back to the room and got my spare and found that it was too old and didn't have a charge and I hadn't brought my charger. Arrggg. So that just meant we had to make another trip to Walmart :) Seriously, I got some of my best souvenirs there. That and Hilo Hatties. The last full day we were there we did a Zip line tour that took about 4 hours. It was awesome. We were in a group of about 12 people so it did go a little slow because we had to wait for everyone to get across before we could move on. Our tour guides were cool. One was the step mom of Laird Hamilton who is one of the best surfers in the world and his wife Gabriella Reese - pro beach volleyball player. It was her claim to fame. The other was a school teacher from Boston who just moved over to Hawaii and hitch hiked her way to work everyday. Island people are pretty interesting. Can honestly say it is so not the life for me. It was so very fun and absolutely beautiful to visit, but I love my hot, dry air and my office job. Besides, that's what paid for me to get there. Aloha

Brace yourself!

2008-05-18T14:14:00.000-07:00

In may 2007 I got braces and have hated every single second of them. I went in originally back in 2004 because I was getting a little bit of space in my bottom teeth (thanks Mom) and wanted to know if I could just get a retainer to pull them together. Well, when the doc did the whole work up, he found that my jaw was popping and locking (and jam and break - for those of you High School Musical lovers) and said that I had to get braces to fix it. I ran out of there pretty darn quick, only to return 3 years later with headaches and lockjaw a few times from the stresses of being a manager.
This is Micah and I at Brye's wedding in Utah in September. Notice the color difference, I don't get out much. The other two are my baby nieces Grace and Maren on Thanksgiving.

I know this isn't the best picture, but how could any of them be? Those thick metal rods you see on the sides at least made me lose 10 lbs in less than 2 months because I COULDN'T EAT! If you have ever seen Men in Black, I felt like the bug when he opened his mouth and those things were sticking out of the sides. My girls at volleyball would laugh at me when I tried to yell at them because I sounded like Daffy Duck. Luckily I only had them in for 2 months. So her I am, little over a year later with only a few months to get them off (keep your fingers crossed for September.) I paid more for this pain and torture than I did for my quad!

Konichiwa! An nyoung ha seh yo!

2008-05-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

That's me in the bunny suit. SEXY!!! For the past 5 years I have worked in the AR department of a test and assembly semiconductor computer company. Our factories are all over the world and as a manager, they have sent me to almost all of them. In the past 3 years I have been to Japan, China, Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines and Korea. I've been to Korea 4 times now and will be going again 2 more times this year in June and September. It's been amazing! It's really weird to leave on Saturday at 10 am and get home on Saturday at noon...or to fly all night and never see the sun set. For those of you who used to watch Alias, there's no freaking way Sydney didn't ever have jet lag! It's a killer. But, like I said, it's been amazing. Every 16 year old kid should be sent over to a foreign country to live for about 3-6 months to truly appreciate how blessed we are to live in America. Not saying other countries are all that bad. I'm just saying how much I love the USA! Even if we are rude, lazy, and unappreciative.....I love my Super Size! Obviously. Oh and Dr. Pepper. The first time I was in Korea, it took me a week and a half to finally find a place that sold Dr. Pepper. It was an American owned restaurant down near the US military base. He imported products in from the states. I had to get two of them just for good measure. Matter of fact, my boss saw how happy I was after I got them that the next night she made me go back and get 4 more just to take with me into our meetings for the next few days. Simple pleasures :) So I like to think of these trips as my "mini missions." I know I'm not out preaching the Gospel, but when you are with a group of about 40 other people drinking non stop and you're the only one ordering sprite, they tend to ask questions. Our last night in Korea after a long 2 week work session we all went out to the Big Dinner. Korean tradition is to eat, drink Soju and Karaoke all night long with their American counterparts. While we were eating, one Korean was pouring drinks for everyone. When I politely said no thank you, he asked why not? with a very confused look on his face. I told him it was for religious reasons. That had worked well on other occasions as no one usually asked any more questions. So he then asked what religion and I told him I was Mormon. The next thing I knew, he pulled out an electronic Korean/English dictionary and looked up Mormon. If I thought his face was confused before, this took the cake. He showed me the definition and I knew why...it said "Mormon - one man, many wives." NICE! So I had to try to translate that for the rest of the night. It was pretty funny. I actually got a few more questions the rest of the night from my other American workers and had some pretty good conversations. One being about my "magic underwear." I won't go into that :)

The monkey and I met in Singapore. (Oh and by the way, the gas prices in Singapore are controlled by the government. I think at the time, it was only 1.80 a gallon. Don't think we'll ever see those prices again.) This was in a place call Sentosa. It's an island tourist attraction in Singapore. It was really fun. This little guy was doing tricks at an open show along the beach. We didn't actually see the show, just happened to walk up on the end and everyone leaving. It was funky, I thought his fur would be really rough, but it was soft. What you don't see is the big red butt sitting on my neck. It was warm and gross. Luckily nothing was left behind from his behind.

I was born in the Year of the Dragon. Don't know if you can see it very well, but that's a little Dragon. Here are the attributes of a "Dragon": "It would be right to say that people born in the year of the dragon have a natural charisma and are certainly gifted with power and luck. It is unlikely for them to escape unnoticed from a party or to take second place in a competition. The dragon person has an active mind and shows an unfeigned interest in the world around him/her. This person is also self-confident enough to know how to create a necessary impression. Because they are larger than life themselves, dragon people like to do everything on a grand scale. They will stop at nothing to get what they want. A person born in this year wears the crown of destiny, and is capable of great achievements if he or she knows how to harness his or her tremendous energy, intelligence and talent. While these people enjoy being the center of attention, they also have a brave and charitable side to their personality. If a dragon's friend faces a problem or dilemma, he or she will be there to offer help, and when others leave the field of battle the dragon takes a step forward to solve the problem with authority and dignity. Dragons set a high standard of actions for themselves as well as for other people and are surprised when others cannot cope with a task."
I don't think that really sounds like me :)

As I had to explain to my dad, No, this is not a real soldier or gun at the DMZ in Korea. Talk about being uncomfortable...The DMZ is the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea (who are still at war, by the way. It's not over, they are just in a cease fire...yikes yikes yikes!) We took a tour bus to the DMZ where armed guards, just like the wax figure, got on the bus with their live AK47s and checked all of our passports and made us take of any hats and glasses as they stared us down comparing us to our pictures. This was done more than once. Then as we are pulling into the lot, they tell us not to wander off the paved pathways because there are still live land mines all around. You can see some of them marked by the little yellow flags with pictures of body parts flying in the air. Oh so comforting that they found them. Feel sorry for the guy that actually did. I assume that's where the picture on the flag came from. It really is a sad story and feel ignorant that I didn't know more about it before. If you ever go to Korea, I suggest this is a must see/do. Just stay on the PATHWAYS!

Last but not least, if you have to go to the bathroom, I hope you have strong leg muscles and good aim. Yes, that's it, a hole in the floor. And no flushing the paper. That's what the garbage basket is for. So by the end of the day, and if it's a hot and humid day, you better have a strong stomach or be able to hold your breath. And most of the time, you better have your own paper and PURELL!!! This is one of the cleaner ones.

Like I said, it has been amazing. I have been humbled by living circumstances, generosity, human nature and everyday blessings of life. I have been blessed to have the opportunities to travel and have it all paid for. I'm taking advantage of every opportunity because I may never have the chance again. As Pres Kimball once said, "Do it, Do it right, Do it right now."

If at first you don't succeed, try try again...

2008-05-09T23:50:00.000-07:00

So I'm joining the world of blog. "Blogger" hmm, I guess I have been called worse, so I'm ok with it. So much has happened in the past few years for me that none of this can even sum it up. No, I didn't get married, have 5 kids or run a marathon, but this is my life, my time and my story. So, to me, yes, it's a lot. I haven't been the best at keeping in touch with friends and hopefully this will make up for it.

To be continued...