M.I.A.

So....I've been missing in action the past week or so. For this, I apologize. Being sick really threw me for a loop. After spending all day Saturday in Ogden I had to play catch up at home with my chores/other responsibilities. I have a lot on my plate right now and I'm getting really close to the end of my rope. Here's hoping things calm down before I blow a gasket or something along those lines.

I have so many random things to tell you that I think we'll do a little  Friday Things! :o) Enjoy!

• I keep trying to participate in the photo-a-day meme on Instagram, but I have failed miserably for the past three months. Maybe when life isn't trying to kill me....

• The year-end show for my company is in 3 short weeks. I'm excited to get things said and done for this year, I'm beyond burnt out with teaching and I am very much looking forward to not teaching this summer.

• The next two weeks should be pretty awesome. I have a three-day weekend (yay for Memorial Day! Paid Holiday! WOO HOO!!) then a three-day work week followed by another three-day weekend (yay day off!) so the next week or so should be GRAND.

• I get to spend all this weekend up in L* I'm rather stoked to spend the entire weekend chillaxin' with Soldier Boy + daughter.

• I got a new phone last weekend! Nothing super fancy - I'm still in the world of non-smart phones. But he's pretty cute and I'm a fan.

• Yesterday was just awful. I had a horrid dentist call me at work and yell at me. It was not fun times.

• Oh! I'm trying to find a cute craft to do for Soldier Boy for Father's Day. He's the best dad ever and I want him to know that. If you have ideas, please share! Pinterest only takes me so far....

• Pandora and I have  been really good friends as of late. I've got a shuffle of the 80s pop station, Today's Hits and Contemporary Country playing and oh man, oh man. GOOD STUFF y'all! I'm in love.

• My visiting teachers visited me earlier this week. I love visiting teaching. It always manages to lift my spirits.

• Today is a ridiculously busy day as I get ready for my long weekend not in O-town. It's okay, I can deal.

• I feel like I'm forgetting to tell you something. :P oh well....

 HAVE A FANTASTIC WEEKEND EVERYONE!! :o) Party Hard!

Holiday Hangover

I am not wanting to be at work this morning, I have an awful holiday hangover. It's definitely a Monday morning around here and I'm hoping that I don't die from the insanity of it all.

I had the most lovely Sunday yesterday. I waxed domestic yesterday and made a pot roast in the crockpot with potatoes and carrots. I also had prepared a green salad, my favorite holiday jello salad and a pumpkin pie. OH! And crescent rolls. I had a major craving for those. So, I made a lot of food. :o) Then, I invited Monkey Man and a couple that are really good friends with him. (I like them too, for the record.) We had a blast eating good food and playing Ticket to Ride. It was fun times. After the friends left Monkey Man and I decorated my Christmas tree.

I rather enjoyed decorating my tree with someone. It was fun. After we were done, (it didn't take long, it's a tiny tree) we were sitting in the glow of the tiny twinkling lights and we started talking about the month of December. Now, December is a  busy month for anyone and there's always so much going on and as we started discussing the different activities (i.e. parties, wedding receptions, date nights etc) that we had planned we both pulled out our planners and started writing everything down. We are very busy in the month of December. :o) However, I am so excited. Monkey Man definitely wants me involved in his life and that makes me happy.

Also, we talked about New Year's Eve. We have an idea of what we want to do. It is a crazy idea, but it could be a lot of fun. I don't want to tell you what it is yet in case I jinx it and make it so we can't go....but let's suffice it to say that it would be my most adventurous New Year's Eve ever. :o)

Anyways, it's been a good weekend. I am thoroughly enjoying my relationship with Monkey Man and I know that the next 3.5 weeks are going to just FLY by and I will suddenly find myself in Virginia celebrating Christmas. :o)

The Grandest Wish of all....

At 11:11 today (11/11/11) I will be driving to Spanish Fork whilst on my lunch break to take care of a stupid ticket from my car accident on Halloween. pooh. BUT it means that I probably won't miss this auspicious event. :o)

All morning long I've been thinking of what I should wish for because a wish made on such a day as this is bound to be pretty amazing AND I would think it has the highest chance of coming true. :o) So...what does one wish for on this great event?

I have no idea.

While I continue to ponder my wishes so I can make that great wish in just a matter of hours, I want to take this time to thank all of the veterans - including both of my grandfathers. They have done so much to help keep our country safe and I'm grateful for their sacrifice. The world would be a much scarier place right now without them.

And finally, a little jovial Friday Fill-ins for ya today. I hope this day brings you the most happiness possible. Loves!

1. Turkey is delicious. I love eating turkey - especially turkey sandwiches!

2. I love pumpkin pie. And plan on making plenty of it this year. :o)

3. On and on and on we go day in and day out.

4. The last time I saw my good former roommate Peximus Maximus was three years ago - until Wednesday afternoon! It was so fabulous to get to see and visit with her. She makes my heart happy.

5. Can you believe there are less than 2 weeks to Thanksgiving? This year is going to be over before we know it!

6. I need a personal assistant. There are too many things that I need to take care of that I just don't want to deal with right now.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to my dinner date with Monkey Man, tomorrow my plans include rehearsal and cleaning my house and the Ward Dinner + Talent Show and Sunday, I want to make something yummy!

Tender Mercy Tuesday - 45th Edition

I was so sad to have missed Tender Mercy Tuesday last week, but I'm back this week! I have had a good past couple of weeks filled with so many different tender mercies that it is hard to pick which one(s) to share with you.

Let me start with last week - Last week we had Stake Conference and it was the most wonderful thing. It was exactly what I needed that weekend and it lifted my spirits and answered questions for me in my life. 

My other tender mercy comes from last night. I had to make a decision whether or not to spend some one-on-one time with Monkey Man and most likely stay up late OR go to the gym and get to bed at a decent hour. I had told myself when I got into a relationship again that I didn't want to drop things that I like to do (like going to the gym) just to hang out with my significant other. However, last night I felt like it would be more beneficial to me AND my relationship with Monkey Man if I stayed and hung out with him.

BEST. DECISION. EVER.

Even though I only got 4.5 hours of sleep last night (i know, i know), the benefits of getting to be with Monkey Man were TOTALLY worth it. We watched a movie and after the movie was over, Monkey Man and I sat talking for over an hour and I learned so many things and got to know him even more and I found something out - he's committed to me. I mean, he didn't SAY those words exactly, but we were talking about the holidays and things coming up and Monkey Man told me he'd go to my work Christmas party w/me (we got our save the dates yesterday) and he's already put into his phone when I'm going to be gone to see my family. He told me he'd love it if I took him to DC someday, we're going to do something on New Year’s, he put my birthday in his phone...etc etc. And while that is just a whole bunch of little things that could or could not happen it's a BIG deal to me, because I’ve had past boyfriends that don’t like to commit to things in the future. Lots of guys feel that way. They don’t like to plan for things to far in advance just in case “it doesn't work out.”  I HATED that about those guys (or guys who would never plan ANYTHING *cough Grizzly Bear cough*.) Because, so what if we're not together THEN at least commit now and show me that I'm important to you! And Monkey Man did that. He hinted about meeting his family (well...warned me that I had no idea what they were like yet...and then kind of told me about them. It was fun) Also, he just....is amazing. I could tell when we were talking and discussing things that he cares about me and he wants to plan on spending time with me, and I love that so much. So there you go. A little insight to my current relationship, and while we haven't sat down and had a "DTR," I feel like I know where things stand based off of his actions and to me that is much better than any kind of DTR conversation we could have right now. :o) 

Basically, I'm happy. Monkey Man and I are dating and it's so great. It's gone so smoothly and effortlessly that I can't help but wonder what is in store for us in the future. It's just GOOD and I like it. 

Have a great Tuesday y'all!

Fridayness

I am so happy it is Friday! The weekend is here again! I'm excited for the few plans I have this weekend, but first I must catch you up on my life. I really have been super busy, but no worries! I am taking the time now to blog about my life. I love life. It has been so great to me as of late. I've been thinking on how I want to do this - either by day or by subject matter, and I think we'll go with by day. Seems like a great way to go, in my opinion.

Friday, July 1st

I didn't have to work this day. I was so super happy about this! A four-day weekend just for me! (well, and half of my company...) Regardless, I was excited to have an extra day off. I started the day off by having lunch with my best friend from high school, her husband and her husband's best friend from high school. It was good times. They had really wanted me to meet this friend - to see if anything clicked. He seemed like a great guy, but not much clicked. It was all good though - I got to eat lunch with really fun people at the Pizza Pie Cafe so I was a happy camper.

After that I went to the Draper Utah Temple and then came home to eat some dinner before going to rehearsal. Rehearsal was good that night and I realized that I have to memorize the words to the songs I'm singing. I sort of forgot about that. I'm happy to report that since then I have memorized 1.5 of my 3 songs. GO me!

After rehearsal I went over to Grizzly Bear's house and watched The Adjustment Bureau.  I liked this movie a lot. I always love movies with dancers in them - the people who danced in this film were phenomenal. I loved watching it even if it was just for a brief moment. I enjoy hanging out with Grizzly Bear. We cuddled a little bit, but that was it. Since then we haven't really texted or anything. I think he's lost interest. I don't really know that for sure, but that's my guess.

Saturday, July 2nd

The only plans I had for this day were that of going to the Stadium of Fire with Percy.  I slept in that morning and then ran some errands and stuff. I also cleaned my room. I love having a clean room. Makes me happy.  I curled my hair super cute and Percy met me at my apartment just before 6 pm. We drove down to Cougartown and picked up a pizza at Papa John's. We then went to campus (where I found THE BEST PLACE to park in the whole wide world! Seriously! NOBODY parked there!) were we had a picnic dinner. Percy is a great conversationalist and I really enjoy sitting and talking with him. It's fun times. After our picnic, and after we had taken the picnic stuff back to my car we walked over to LaVell Edwards Stadium. We played a game of people watching (which I totally won. I think.) and then went into the stadium. We didn't have AMAZING seats, but they weren't horrid either.

The Stadium of Fire was AMAZING. I loved being able to see my friend The Whits perform (even though they didn't win) and David Archuleta was cute as always. My favorite performance of the night? Brad Paisley. Hands down! Not only does that man sing well, and is attractive as all get out - but he performs a great concert! He was fun to see and it was a really fun show. The fireworks that followed were incredible and I loved seeing them from inside the stadium. It had been 15 years since I last saw the fireworks from inside the stadium and I was much impressed. Percy put his arm around me and we sat there enjoying the awesome display.

We ended up going to Walmart together to pick up some things for our individual Sunday dinners and we just continued to have a blast together. He asked me if we could go out again and I agreed. A date hasn't been set because with my rehearsal schedule and his busy life we haven't been able to find a time that works. I'm sure that we'll make it work sometime very soon.

Sunday, July 3rd

This day was uneventful. Had dinner with Truit and her husband. Played games with friends. Went to church. Not necessarily in that order. ;)

Monday, July 4th

Happy Independence Day! I started off celebrating the day by sleeping in, cleaning my kitchen, and making some yummy food. Then Sister B, her husband, and I all went to Seven Peaks. We had a blast spending the afternoon playing in the water and riding awesome slides. After our adventures there we went back to their apartment and BBQ'd yummy food on their new grill and played Yahtzee. Such fun times!

So there you go. I had an amazing holiday weekend and I'm looking forward to some fun times this weekend as well. I have rehearsal tonight and then I plan on going to bed ridiculously early since I've been up way too late the past three nights. Tomorrow I'm going to pick up my Bountiful Basket, visit my sister and go to rehearsal. I don't have any solid plans for tomorrow evening yet, but if all else fails I plan on breaking in my brand new sewing machine by either making an apron or some new throw pillows for the living room. :o) I live a crazy life, I know. ;)

Memorial Friday

It's finally Friday my friends! I honestly thought today would never come. I feel like this week was one of the longest weeks EVER! However, the weekend is just moments away and it's a 3-day weekend at that! huzzah!!

I am hoping that today is less crazy than yesterday (it was a crazy mess here yesterday!) since it IS a holiday weekend, I'm hoping people have taken off early. :-)

Speaking of taking off early, I get to do that today! Mostly because I get to go and do Sister B's hair for her bridals today. :o) I can't believe she is getting married in less than 3 weeks. That's a little crazy to think about.

In other news I have a new "interest" in my life. We've been chatting for a couple of weeks and he finally got the gumption to ask to meet in "real life." He's really nice and I think we got along (as much as one can tell via emails) really well. He's cute and asked for my number so that he can call and ask me out properly. I think that's a good a sign! He called me last night, but I was at the gym. I called him back, but  right now we're in a game of phone tag. I'll keep you posted. This boy doesn't have a 'nym yet, but I will get you one when I decide to blog more about him.

Speaking of the gym, I finally got my butt in gear and got myself back there after being MIA for more than 2 weeks. Sigh. I pushed myself and walked/ran for 30 minutes which ended up equaling 2.6 miles. go me! It felt good and I'm nice and sore today. woo hoo!

Finally, I saw this from a blog I stalk  this morning and I've decided that it is going to be my answer to every person that asks me why I am not married yet while at my younger sister's wedding. :o)

I can just change the "you're" with "someone" and it works perfectly! ha! Have a lovely 3-day weekend my lovelies. muah!

Dating Battle Stories: Sweetums - Part Two

{artwork by Roommate A}

Before we get started, I just want to point out to all you feed reader peoples that I changed my background. I haven't done this in a long time, mostly because I loved that cute little owl! However, I just decided I was bored with him. What do you think?

And now, as I am sure you have all been waiting on pins and needles for this, I bring you Part Two of the Recap on Sweetums. (make sure you've read Part One, or this is going to make NO sense whatsoever.)

So as I got on the plane to fly to Virginia - utterly exhausted mind you - I was very happy. I don't think things could have gone any better than they did. Sweetums and I didn't talk for several days (beyond a happy holidays text to each other) but that makes sense seeing as how we were both spending time with family - and there is a two hour time difference. We did talk about two days before I flew back to Utah and he asked some specifics on how I was getting home from the airport, what time would I land, etc.

When I landed in Utah and turned my phone back on I found a couple of text messages - one from Roommate R (who was picking me up) and one from Sweetums. He told me to give him call after I landed. So...I called him. Sweetums told me that I should gcome down to Elk Ridge where he was hanging out with Mighty Mouse and his wife, (you can search mighty mouse on my blog, i have mentioned him a few times and I used to have a huge crush on him a long time ago) SC and his wife (yes, the famous SC from this post) and SC's family. I agree to meet him down there - so off I go. It was an adventure getting to SC's parent's house - but I eventually made it.  Sweetums met me in the driveway and walked me inside. I met several new people, said hello to the people I knew and sat down to play some games.

Then...it was time to ring in the new year. We stood up to countdown and Sweetums and I are standing right next to each other. As the clock struck midnight and we yell Happy New Year, our married friends celebrated with a kiss and Sweetums put his arm around me. He leaned in and whispered in my ear, "this doesn't change anything, but it is tradition" and then he kissed me. I have to say, I was very pleased with his tactic. I had thought earlier that day while sitting in the Dallas/Fort Worth airport for four hours that I would be okay with a New Years kiss, but I wasn't sure how to convey that to Sweetums. Luckily, he must have thought about it as well seeing as how he went about it that night. :o) It was a very sweet kiss - a very good first kiss in my opinion. I'm not going to lie, after kissing someone for 2+ years I was a little worried about kissing someone new, but I am no longer worried about that. :)

{this is pretty much how that kiss went down... :o) }

After that - I tried sushi (yes, I tried sushi. I wasn't a fan of the texture, but the flavor was good.) and then SC and wife, Mighty Mouse and wife, and Sweetums and I left to go to SC and wife's house. We had so much fun making jokes, laughing SUPER hard, playing scum and just generally hanging out. We stayed up until 3:30 in the morning at which point we all went out to our cars. I'd started my car a few minutes earlier so it would be warm, but Sweetums hadn't. So while his car was heating up, he sat in my car and we talked. We talked about everything under the sun. I shared some secrets with him, we talked about how we still planned on moving slow, we talked about the weather...you name it, I'm pretty sure we talked about it. I don't remember everything we talked about, mostly because by this point I had been up for 24+ hours. (having to leave my parent's house at 6:45a to get to the airport before our flight. ugh.) By the time Sweetums and I finally decided to call it a day and I drove myself home - it was 6 am. I was up for 26 straight hours. Crazy eh? I went to sleep and then spent the day with Roommate A, her boyfriend, and The Australian.

Since then Sweetums and I have talked a couple of times and have made plans to make plans. ha ha. His schedule is still being finalized, but once it has then we'll probably end up doing stuff. :o)

So there you go. My adventures with Sweetums are now up-to date. In fact, all of my Dating Battle Stories are up to date! I will have a new update after this weekend seeing as how I have my first date with the Blindman on Friday. :o) Woo hoo! Have a great day y'all!

Dating Battle Stories: Sweetums - Part One

{artwork by Roommate A}

Mondays are usually no fun at all. So, to make coming back from the weekend a little bit better I have my last dating recap for you! This one has to be my favorite - which is why it has been saved for last! :o) Today's recap is all about Sweetums. This story ended up being really long, so I've decided to post it in two different posts. :o)

so, without further ado - Part One.

So, I have to start off this story with a little bit of background by saying that Sweetums and I did, in fact, go to high school together. Our groups of friends overlapped, but I never went out with him or hung out with him on a regular basis in high school. After graduating we got to be better friends and talked online all the time. I developed a huge crush on him. During our first semester as freshman at BYU he would stop by my place of employment and say hi all the time. He took me on a group date with his friends once and then about a month later I took him to Fall Preference. It was tons of fun. Then, he went on a mission for our Church. He got back and I was kind of dating someone, then he was dating someone, then we were both dating someones. During this time (aka the past 3 years) we would hang out from time to time, see each other at friends' weddings, talk online, etc. Every time I saw him I was reminded of how awesome this guy is, but wouldn't do anything about it. (usually because of the current relationship status.)

About 6 weeks before SwingKid and I broke up, Sweetums and I had a really good, long conversation about life and what I was doing and how my relationship was going. I got the feeling that Sweetums wished I was single...but didn't dwell on that fact. 3 days after SwingKid and I broke up I got the feeling that I needed to call up Sweetums. Using my favorite social media site Facebook, I sent a message to Sweetums telling him we need to hang out. We talked about 4 days after that and had a really good long conversation that I vaguely mentioned here.

The second Saturday in December I had plans to get some Christmas gifts made for my ballet company, but those plans fell through when the supplies were giving me issues. Sweetums happened to see my online, asked if I'd be available and later called me to hang out. We got some food and then ended up at his place (with a real fireplace!) and roasted marshmallows, starbursts and played video games. Much flirting ensued. We also watched a Muppet movie. I vaguely mentioned this event in this post.

Right before I left to go to Virginia he and I made plans to watch a movie and hang out. I mentioned that here and here. That night was a blast. As I mentioned here, I ended up pulling an all-nighter. We watched the movie and then just got to talking. We were also hanging out with Roommate A and her boyfriend and ended up playing Guitar Hero for several hours. We made mac and cheese at 2 am (such a single thing to do!) and then watched Invader Zim for a little bit. As Roommate A and her boyfriend fell asleep in the cuddle chair, Sweetums and I cuddled on the couch. We ended up talking about a ton of different things and he asked me if he could kiss me. Unfortunately for him I had decided to not kiss anyone until the new year. (I had several reasons for this) We also talked about "us." Some might say we had a DTR. It wasn't meant to be that...but it's kind of what it turned into. Basically...we both admitted to feeling attracted to the other person (and having those feelings for a long time) and we want to explore the possibility of a relationship, but we don't want to rush into anything. I want to date lots of people and he said he wasn't ready to commit to a serious relationship yet. (key word being yet. :o) ) The evening (or should I say morning?) ended about 15 minutes before Roommate A and I left for the airport. Sweetums and I had tentative plans for New Year's Eve - and I knew he and I would be in touch. I was one happy camper getting on the plane that morning. :o)

...........to be continued..........

Thursday Things

whew. I am so glad it is FINALLY Thursday! I just have one more day of work and then it will be the weekend. Love me some weekend!

things that are on my mind right now:

• I LOST SIX pounds during the holidays. This made me so super happy. Also, I'm going faster on the couch-5k program + I've added some strength training exercises. go me!
• I got my hair did last night. I love it. Makes my heart happy.
• I proclaimed to the world the other day that I'm available for suitors...bring on the men!
• My best friend gets married in one week. I love her.
• My parent's house is under contract! YAY! This is SUCH HAPPY NEWS!
• Work has been crazy busy the past few days. My poor head hurts from all of it.
• The SLC Utah Food Bank is getting $1 million dollars. Cool, huh?!
• I have my second rehearsal for my piece that I'm performing in LESS THAN A MONTH tonight. I'm excited!
• Speaking of said show...y'all should come. I'll give you more details next week on how/where to buy tickets and all that jazz.

I think that's it. Life is busy around here, but busy is good. I like busy.

Happy Christmas Eve!!!

I love, love, love Christmas Eve. I have posted about it several times in past years. It is just a happy day in our house.  This year I am more excited for what gift my siblings and I got my parents. I could care less as to what I got - I know I will love my gifts, but this year it doesn't seem to matter to me that much.

It has been odd being here in some ways. I have never been out to see my family without leaving a significant other on the other side of the country. I am a little jealous of Sister B and her boyfriend....but at the same time I am okay with it. It feels right and I'm okay being single this year. I know I say this almost every year in my journal - but I can't help but think that this could be the last year of the holidays being JUST our family.  I wouldn't be surprised if there is at least one significant other here next year...or something. I don't know. Someday things will change and it will be interesting when they do.

Enough of me waxing poetic...Happy Christmas Eve!!! enjoy all of your lovely traditions. :o)

Thursday things...in Virginia!!

Well my dear internet friends, I am in Virginia! I am here with my family freezing my toes off. It is really cold (and there's even a tad bit of snow on the ground!) but I am so happy! I love hanging out with my family.  Before I leave you today, let me list off a few things that have happened:

• Part of my flight here included me flying American Airlines. Did you know that AA gives you the whole can of whatever you get when it comes to drink time? This made me heart super happy. One whole can of Coke for me!

• Went and saw Tangled this afternoon. Adorable movie with fun dialog and a cute story.

• I pulled an all-nighter Tue-Wed. It was fun times. 

• I know I've promised an update and nyms on boys and that IS coming...maybe I'll make it my Christmas gift to you. I'll work on that.

• I'm having a wonderful holiday - I hope you do too!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Happy Black Friday!

I have, on occasion, gone shopping on Black Friday. Only when I'm in dire need of something someone has on sale. This year, I'm not in dire need. :o) This year, I'm going to clean my house (it looks like a mini-tornado swept through here), listen to Christmas music and decorate my house for Christmas. I love Christmas. :o)

With that said, here's some Friday Fill-in for you!

1. Three things I must have on my Thanksgiving table: rolls, Turkey, and my mom's Cranberry Jello salad (i made it this year).

2. I love being with SwingKid sacked out on the couch.

3. This is one of the best Thanksgivings without my family I've ever had.

4. I believe it is time to decorate my house for the holidays!

5. Oh, man, thankfully it's my mini-vacation. I need this time off!

6. Someday I want to perfect the art of amazing rolls.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to nothing special, tomorrow my plans include probably babysitting and the BYU-Utah Football game! aka the HOLY WAR and Sunday, I want to enjoy the last little bit of my holiday break!

two years ago

tuesday!

well guys there's like this huge storm coming my way and stuff. Winter warnings, blizzard talk...it should prove for an exciting evening in with SwingKid. (canceled the ballet classes for tonight. no driving on the crazy I-15 for me!)

anyways. I'm getting very excited for the rest of this week (just have to get through 9 hours of work tomorrow!) and then the rest of the holiday season. :o)

And now I bring you (before I get back to my crazy busy desk) Ten on Tuesday.

1. What are your plans for the holidays? Do you travel at Thanksgiving? If you celebrate Christmas, do you travel then, too?
This year I am spending Thanksgiving with SwingKid and his family. Sister B is spending the holiday with HER boyfriend's family...so it will be a very different year for everyone involved.  I am traveling to VA to see my family at Christmas time and I am very much looking forward to that because I get 10 whole days to be with them! (well...more like 8 when you minus two days for flying...but still!)

2. How do you make the plans for the holiday? If you have a significant other, how do you decide which family to visit?
I make plans on how I feel. SwingKid hasn't ever come out to VA for the holidays...it's really expensive and until we're engaged it will probably stay that way. We just...decide I guess?

3. Do you have your Thanksgiving meal at lunch or later in the day?
I'm a fan of having the meal in the early afternoon. Around 2pm. Which is exactly when I'll be eating this year. :o)

4. Do you have a favorite Thanksgiving tradition?
uh. no. eating good food and being with family is about as crazy as I get.

5. After a big meal do you lounge around or get up and take a walk?
hmm. usually I lounge. Maybe play a game or two of something festive.

6. Do you shop on “Black Friday” or do you avoid it?
Sometimes I shop on Black Friday, sometimes I don't. It honestly depends on what deals are out there and if I want anything bad enough to get up that early in the morning.

7. When do you usually finish your Christmas shopping?
Early. I'm a planner and very organized with my Christmas shopping. I should have it all done before December 10th this year. (probably the latest yet...but SwingKid is HARD to shop for and he's being difficult this year)

8. Do you and your significant other exchange gifts? Is there a budget?
Yes we do. We don't have a set budget...seeing as how one of us has always been in school while we've been dating the budget has been "don't go broke."

9. When do you decorate for the holidays?
Thanksgiving weekend. After Thanksgiving. I plan on doing it Friday/Saturday/Sunday this year. :o)


10. Do you go “all out” with the decor or do you keep it simple?
um....I live in an apt. so I can't really decorate the outside...but I do go pretty "far out" in the living room. I love christmas decor!


one year ago
two years ago

Snow??

So I woke up to find 2 inches of snow on the ground this morning. I was not so happy about this. Also...my coworkers came in singing Christmas music. I am one of "those" people that doesn't like Christmas music until AFTER Thanksgiving. Not to be a scrooge or anything, but I like my holidays to each have their own moments. So I am not a fan of listening to Christmas until after Thanksgiving is over. :o)

In other news I went to they gym yesterday and started day one of MY couch to 5k program. It felt pretty good. The downside is that I was supposed to go Monday - but something got in the way (read: SwingKid) so I went last night, but I can't go tomorrow so in order to get my 3x in this week I have to go tonight and then Saturday morning (which I was already planning on). So...two days in a row! Today will be hard. BUT I WILL DO IT.

Finally, I have a really good Thur-Sunday planned and I'm very much looking forward to all of my awesome plans. I first have to get through today - the ever hated Wednesday. :P

Have a good day y'all!!


two years ago

It's Friday, I'm in love...

{source}

I don't care if Monday's blue
Tuesday's gray and Wednesday too
Thursday I don't care about you
It's Friday, I'm in love.....

I'm a singin' this song today. I'm in love. Yay for Fridays. Even if I have to work this one...I'm still VERY glad it is Friday. Today is also a holiday weekend for us Utah folks. It's Pioneer Day tomorrow! Not that that means anything special for me. I don't get work off today (we're a national company. so no little state holidays for us), there are no big plans for tomorrow, and basically, it's just a weekend. I am SO okay with that!

:o)

Now for some Friday Fill-in stuff


1. I feel like it is definitely the weekend. I need to regroup.

2. I hate having to catch up.

3. Do you have any exciting festivities planned this weekend? SwingKid and I need something fun to do!

4. I like to be completely unique.

5. It's hard to know how much time will go by before my dreams come true.

6. I love when a younger sibling follows suit.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to nothing in particular. I have several things to get done, but nothing is set in stone, tomorrow my plans include basically the same as tonight. nothing earth shattering and different and Sunday, I want to catch up on some zzzz's before church!

FRIDAY!!!

Well folks. I didn't post last night, and for that I am sorry. The question now is, do you want a recap from the holidays with pictures or without pictures??

Anyways..It if finally Friday and I am much excited by this. This whole coming in to work at 7 am has been really rough. For example, last night I went to bed at 9:45pm!!! Sigh. Early to bed, early to rise. That's me!!!

Anyways, I'll try to post again later today with a recap from last weekend since this weekend is basically here - but I make no more promises. ;)

Friday Fill-In!

And...here we go!

1. Layers of sunscreen still didn't make a difference last weekend.

2. Sometimes I wish I had a lot of insight.

3. I'd be willing to bet hmm...I'm not sure what I would bet on right now. lame i know.

4. Sister B's cat scares the dog.

5. I'm fond of chocolate covered cinnamon bears. In fact, I could go for some right now.....

6. Sometimes I worry too much!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Laser Tag date night with SwingKid, tomorrow my plans include cycling, shopping, and cleaning and Sunday, I want to teach my lesson!

i'm not feeling creative so this title sucks.

well yesterday went fairly well. I'm happy with everything - for the most part. there are some complaints, but not many. mostly because my girls are awesome. :o)

also. I ran outside last night for the first time in a LONG time (just been doing the treadmill thing) and man ALIVE it was HARD-sauce. I thought I was going to die. Going to have to do more of that running outside business in order to survive the 5k. ugh.

and now...Ten on Tuesday. then more work. then more dress rehearsal (i'm only going to part of today. yay me). woot.

1. What would the title of your autobiography be?
Title: My Awesome Life (not very creative I realize. I can't think this morning)


2. What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever heard a child say or seen him/her do?
oh. teaching ballet to 3 year-olds and babysitting for much of my teenage years has led to several funny, funny things. I think my favorite though is when my dad was trying to discipline the youngest when she was about 2 and he said to her "young lady, i'm not very happy with you" and my little sister put her hands on her hips and repeated the phrase right back at my dad. It was hilarious.

3. What is your favorite kids game to play?
I love just going to a park and swinging like there are no cares in the world. I'm totally counting that.

4. If you got invited to a potluck BBQ tomorrow, what would you bring?
Seeing as I have not very much food in my fridge and I can't go grocery shopping until Friday...I'd probably jsut make some cookies. I think I have stuff for cookies...




5. If your ears are pierced, how old were you when you got your ears pierced?
I was 12. That was the rule at my house, and I'm okay with that.




6. If you were celebrating your 30th anniversary, where would you want to go?
I would want to go on a Mediterranean cruise. So many awesome places. Now, if that wasn't feasable - Disneyland sounds pretty awesome. Then again, Disneyland always sounds awesome since I have never been ever.


7. What one blogger would you love to meet and why? And what would you want to plan to do with them?
You know, I blog stalk alot of people and there are some really, really cool people out in the blogging world. I'm not sure who I would want to meet at this time. I think in some ways I'd love to meet someone who isn't as noticed in the blogging world and we could hang out and create awesome posts about our adventures and then the world would love us. Or something awesome like that.

8. On a scale from 1-10, how good at you at home decor? (Pictures welcome.)
Probably a 7. I'm fairly crafty and make some  cute things for my house. However, I'm not always good at creating "themes" and my house is sort of hodge-podgey right now. Granted, I live in an apt. with 2 other girls. That could be part of it.

9. Do you have good fingernails?
Ugh. fingernails and I aren't always good friends. mine right now are pretty good in length, but i've been getting hangnails like CRAZY.

10. Pickles: Dill or sweet? Baby, spears, or chips? Plain or on a burger?
Oh i love pickles. Dill and sweet. Cucumber chips are AWESOME. I love sweet pickles - especially during the holidays. I eat pickles however I can get them. They are awesome.

one year ago
four years ago 
five years ago 

the ABC's of VA

So this year, to document my little trip to visit my family in VA I'm going to do the ABC's of my trip. I had a wonderful trip and did many fun things.

A is for Avatar. This was an AMAZING movie. I really enjoyed it. It was visually stimulating and the soundtrack was just freakin' awesome.

B is for Bowl games. Specifically the Maaco Bowl Game Las Vegas. aka the Las Vegas Bowl Game. BYU vs. Oregon St. BYU WON!! (Also Utah won, that is good for the conference)

C is for CHRISTMAS!!!! woot woot! The wonderful things I got this year include: a waffle maker, gift cards, money, slippers, chocolate, a super cute apron, etc. It was a lovely Christmas.

D is for Dinner. I helped out a TON more this year than I have in years past. My favorite part was decorating the table for our feast. It looks gorgeous.

E is for equality. specifically, sibling equality. I forget what it's like to have to share chores and other things with my siblings. Lately, it's only been Brother C and Sister D living at home. So having me and Sister B at home again throws things out of whack and the other two are demanding equality. It sort of drives me nuts, to be honest. sigh. oh well.

F is for Family. I love my family. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them. At the same time, I'm glad to be back in MY BED and closer to the BF and all that jazz. I definitely missed him a ton.

G is for Grandpas. I only have my 2 grandpas alive these days. My maternal grandfather lives with my family, and I enjoyed being able to spend a little bit of time with him. I haven't seen him in a year and so it was fun to be around him again. Grandparents are just awesome.

H is for a House. Specifically, our new house. My parents did a great job of not making us feel like just workhorses to help move the family across town. It was weird to spend the holidays in a different house from last year.

I is for ICE. Our new driveway really likes to attract the ice. This is not fun when wearing 3.5 inch heels. Just sayin'

J is for jokes. My family loves to make fun of me and they didn't disappoint this year. i don't remember all the things we laughed at, but we laughed a lot.

K is for Kangroos. and lions, or more specifically Food Lion. Random, I know, but it's a grocery store in VA and close to my fam and well...I went there. It was festive. Or something.

L is for Love. I love my family. and SwingKid and vacations that I get paid for. :o) Mmm...love.

M is for Money. I got some Money for Christmas. YAY money!!!

N is for Nutella. Which I did not eat at all while in VA, BUT I saw it at the Food Lion store...so it counts right?

O is for O Christmas Tree. I got to decorate our tree this year for the first time in many years. It was pleasant. And enjoyable.

P is for Planes. I rode two of them and sat on three. Long story. See previous postage for explanations.

Q is for quagmires. I spelled this word in a spelling game. I am awesome.

R is for Ratatouille. I got this movie for Christmas, and I'm rather excited by that fact. :o) Woo hoo for building up my movie collection!!

S is for Star Trek. I got this movie for my daddy for Christmas. We watched it the evening of Christmas. It was a fun watch. What was even more fun was the fact that it had a digital copy and I put it on my iPod. :o) Now I can watch it too. WEE!!

T is for Twitter. I twittered quite a bit in VA. Are you following me? Cause you should.

U is for uhh.....

V is for vacation. I needed a vacation. this little trip was a great vacation. that I got paid for it was a HUGE plus.

W is for White Christmas. I watched the movie with my fam Christmas Eve (LOVE IT!) and then there's the fact that I HAD a white Christmas. :o)

X you know how hard it is to find words that start with X? I know. Lots of word gaming played this weekend. I know. Trust me.

Y is for Yellow. My mom and I are both very yellow people. We like to play when we're together. We played. It was fun. :o)

Z is for......nothing. It's the end. Hope you had a great holiday. I know I did.

Christmas Eve!!

I love Christmas Eve. It's one of my favorite parts of the holidays. Part of this is because we eat our big meal on Christmas Eve. Ham, yummy potatoes (funeral potatoes some peeps call them in UT), my favorite cranberry salad and so many other Christmas favorites. I'm very much looking forward to dinner tonight. yum.

THEN all of us kids sleep on the floor (or mattresses, or whatever) on the floor in a room together - far from the tree so no one can peek. :o) We all wake up around the same time and trek into the room where the tree is residing and see what Santa has brought us. I don't know what it is about Christmas Eve - but even though I'm growing up, I STILL can't sleep. I'm too anxious. It's kind of crazy.

So, wherever you are tonight, whatever your traditions, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas Eve and enjoy yourselves.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

a VERY COLD Friday!

It has been SO FREAKING cold here in UT. It's supposed to start to get warmer this weekend, but since I'm spending tomorrow in Logan, I will not enjoy the "warmer."


1. Good times: are had by all during the holidays. (i hope). 

2. Virginia is not my home. But i am going there to see my family in 9 days.


3. Sleigh bells ring are you listening?.


4. I remember how awesome Christmas was when I was little.


5. Once more with GUSTO.


6. When will this cold weather end?


7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to the Festival of Lights with SwingKid, Sister B and her date, tomorrow my plans include seeing a whole bunch of my cousins at my cousin's wedding in Logan (BRR!) and Sunday, I want to do really well on my talk. eek!