The manner of giving is worth more than the gift

Merry Christmas, readers!
Ok, now that that's out of the way, we can continue. Christmas is a funny time. Months of stressing and planning for one (maybe two, if you count Christmas Eve) day of joy. And I don't know about you, but I stress. From the beginning of November until Christmas, I stress about what to get people, and I hope I get them enough, and I hope that they like what I get them, and that everything works out. Why do we worry so? We're giving someone a gift! Something, for free, that they otherwise wouldn't have, or would have to buy it for themselves. Just the fact that someone took time out of their lives to buy you something should be happiness enough, but oh, no. Some people hate what they get (I'll admit, I have been in this position before, I am ashamed to say) So because of this, I always panic that they'll hate the gift.
This Christmas was the same. I might have even overdone the gifts this year, trying to get people what they wanted, but you know, I don't care. Even though this time of year isn't supposed to be about presents, I love to give them. When someone opens the present you gave them, and you can see in their face that it's something they love, I love the feeling I get from that. It's such a relief, like all my hard work was good, and I did a good thing.
I think this year was a good one. I loved everything I got, and I think I picked good things for people to have. And if I didn't, meh. I always have next year to correct this. One of my favorite holiday quotes is: "As we struggle with shopping lists and invitations, compounded by December's bad weather, it is good to be reminded that there are people in our lives who are worth this aggravation, and people to whom we are worth the same." And its true-I had no issues battling lines this year, to give those closest to me a smile on Christmas. And I hope I did!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow...

Not really! Holy crap what is up with all this snow?! Just a few weeks ago, I remember commenting on how it was unseasonably warm for this time of year. Then all of a sudden, bam! We were hit, like a snowball, unexpectedly, like with a punch in the face, the way a real snowball hits. Today's snow fall was the worst-coming out from work, there was so much freaking snow on my car! Getting it all off was fun, dancing around it, and dodging snowballs from a co-worker was just another adventure.
With all the craziness of today, I thought of several things I'm thankful for, so I'm sharing it with everyone.

I'm thankful for the UPS guy who kept making his rounds, delivering my packages to me at 8 o'clock at night, in the gross weather and traffic.

I'm thankful for my dad getting me new windshield wipers, so I could deal with all this snow properly.

I'm thankful for mama, shoveling off the driveway so's I could drive my car in and out of there without getting stuck.

I'm thankful that my car has a heater, and I can travel in warmth.

I know there's loads more things to be grateful for, but these are the things that are in the front of my brain. I know the weather sucks, but you can find all sorts of things to be glad for. Give it a try!

That's what it says in the script...

With this fabulous season of Christmas, one of my favorite things happens. I'm not talking about the presents, or the food, I'm talking about the awesome movies that are on Lifetime this time of the year. The Christmas movies are my favorite. And every year, I Tivo the heck out of them. There are some days I'm recording 4 or 5 movies. Some of them will get deleted withut watching, I just got a little over-zealous when recording, but for the most part, I'll watch them. It helps that there's nothing else on TV right now, so I can focus my attention on the movies.
I think my favorite thing about watching these is that they're all the same. They start with a sweeping camera view of all things Christmas; decorations, lights, snow, presents, with a song playing in the background, usually a classic holiday song. Then we get a view of our protagonist, and male or female, we know already they will have a love interest (whether it be someone they haven't met yet, or the spouse they have, and will rekindle their flame). You already know, there will be loads of fighting if it's a movie about a family, and if it's a romantic movie, the two leads will fight and bicker, but then come together at the end, of course! They're all predictable movies, but I love them all.
I've also deduced from these movies that should I meet someone during the holiday season with the name Nick or Chris, he's most likely Santa Claus himself, and I should marry that guy as soon as possible. Plus, if any thing happens that's bad, say a fight, or anything, I know that everything will work out for the better, and we'll all be better people after it.
If anyone has the time, and the channels, I am telling you to watch any Christmas movie you can. They're so fun, and they are totally getting me in the Christmas spirit. And it's giving me tips to help with any scenario you could come up with-good since Christmas is just days away!

It's on like Donkey Kong

Today was my parent's 35th wedding anniversary, so a bunch of the family got together to celebrate. We decided playing games would be the best way to have a good time. Let me preface this by saying, we love games. We are a competitive bunch, and there's usually a game pulled out at every family gathering. There are a few rules that are in effect though. I'm usually not allowed to be banker, because I've been known to...embezzle a little. I'm not saying I've done it in a long time, but I used to grease my own bank a little. And certain people aren't usually allowed to sit by each other, so as to discourage cheating as well. Some games are not allowed to be played anymore, but we have favorites that we usually play-one of which is Scattergories. But we wanted to branch out this time.
We started off with Clue-which we haven't played in a long time, because at this game, I cheat like you wouldn't believe. I can't even help myself usually, I just find myself finding ways to look at people's papers and cards, to ensure I'm the best. I know, I'm horrible! But this time, I didn't cheat! I fought the temptation all night, and in the end, it paid off by...me not winning. But I was honest, and I'm sure that is better in the long run. Next we played Apples to Apples, my new addiction. I find that during that game, I am the loudest. I'm arguing with cards, and I'll yell victoriously when my card is showing. Nobody really fights during that one, it's just a LOUD game, but it's always fun. (PS, I won that game)
The last game we did before we had to wrap things up was Life. Ah, the game of Life. I love this game. We haven't played it in a while either, also because of my cheating ways. I used to rig the cards to make sure I got the best career, and the best salary. I'm a little ashamed now, but I'm trying to mend my ways. I wasn't even going to be the banker this time, but I was voted in at the last minute. Don't worry-I was totally honest this way! I think Mom was trying to cheat though-she kept trying to "change in" her money without going through the proper channels. Good thing I was paying attention! I love how in any game, people start to mistrust everyone. You're carefully monitoring everyone's money, you're paying attention to every roll. The people you love most in the world, and during one game of Life, you're pretty sure they're a criminal, out to take you for everything you have.
I had a blast playing the games today, and I can't wait until the next time we get together to play some more. And believe you me, I'm gonna be brushing up on all my skills-and I'll try to keep my cheating in check!

Life off, game on

Tonight, I went to a Jazz game. I know, right, me, to a Jazz game, but yes, we did. We got free tickets through Five's company, and we took advantage. The seats weren't bad either. I don't know how well you can see in that pic, but that's where we were sitting.
Before the game, we took in the lights at Temple Square, that was fun. So cold, since it had snowed (so much!) yesterday, but I bundled up in my warmest stuff, and we braved the cold weather. It was worth it-that is so pretty to take in.
The game was a lot of fun, and it was too bad we lost. I can't believe how many points are scored in a basketball game. To me, it kind of makes every basket less significant, but I'm not really in charge of basketball rules, so whatev. There was this adorable little kid in front of us at the game too, who would dance every time a song came on, and he was a lot of fun-can you believe I even played some games with him a little? I tell ya-I'm growing all the time! Even though I don't like basketball all that much, I can totally get into games when I'm watching them in person. I hope to have more, but if we don't, I'm ok with it. I appreciate it more when it doesn't happen all the time.

Tagged for Christmas

This really is just an easy way to get a blog-follow what someone else has written! I'm gonna try out this tag.

1. Egg nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate-it warms my insides!
2. Do you wrap presents or bag them? Mostly wrap-bags are too easy to look inside!
3. Colored Lights or White? Depends on the theme of the tree.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? No-because there's nobody coming over that I want to kiss.
5. When do you decorate? Depends on how busy we are, but usually about the week after Thanksgiving.
6. Favorite holiday dish? I don't know that I really have one. We don't have a Christmas dish that's the same every year.
7. When & how did you learn about Santa? One of my brothers told me on Christmas morning. Worst. Christmas. Ever.
8. How do you decorate your tree? It changes every year. This year (as I have said) it's black and silver.
9. Snow...love it or dread it? Love to look at it, dread to be in it and drive in it.
10. Can you ice skate? Yes I can. Toe pick!
11. Do you remember your favorite gift? When I was three I got this bear whose eyes and mouth lit up. I still have it to this day-I love it so.
12. What is the most important part of the holidays? I'll get back to you on this one.
13. Favorite holiday dessert? Pumpkin cheesecake, of course!
14. Favorite memory? I don't think I really have one.
15. Do you have a special ornament? Yes, one I made in school. It has me face on it. Adorable!
16. What do you do on Christmas Eve? Hang out...
17. If you could have anything for Christmas this year what would it be? Kyle Beckerman, in my stocking. *sigh*
18. What do you do for neighbors and friends for Christmas? I just do normal things, get them presents, bake them baked goods.

My answers aren't nearly as exciting as you'd think it'd be. We don't really do traditions, nor do half of my family members even show up. But it's still a good time, and I love it every year.

It was very festive

So, we went to Festival of Trees this weekend, like so many of the people in this fair state. We got free tickets since we donated the tree. That wasn't the only reason we went, we would have gone otherwise, but yippee for free! We got there at some point in the afternoon, and even though it was busy, it wasn't crazy packed. The parking lot was insane, we only managed to get a spot because some nice woman showed us where she had just left a spot open. I wish I could have said thank you to her! We got in and went through the small trees first, there were some nice ones there. The thing I was most excited to see, was that our tree had sold. I was sure that it would, but of course, I was worrying a little. But some lucky duck had snapped it up, good for him.
We were going through the big trees, working our way back from the end of the alphabet, and after a while, I was sick of looking at trees. I was sure we must have been almost finished, so I looked at the aisle we were in. It was only the M's! We were only halfway finished! I don't know why it felt so long, but oh my goodness. I guess my adage this year was 'if you've seen one tree, you've seen 'em all'. There were some awesome trees there-I didn't take pictures of any because it seemed like too much work to get the camera out, and stop to take the pictures. I do think its funny that a lot of people thought of the same theme for their trees. There were definitely a lot of Twilight trees this year, holy crap. And a lot of U of U trees.
I liked it this year, I just guess I might not have been in the mood. I would post pics of our tree, but I'm sure everyone that reads this has already seen it, plus I'm too lazy right now to go get the camera and the cable, and hook it up, and blah blah blah. But good times for a Saturday, and it just makes me get into the holiday spirit even more!

Knowledge is power!

This has been another week where I have learned a bunch of things! I will share them with you.

1. When your keyboard isn't working, instead of beating the keyboard (with both your fists and banging it against the desk) maybe look around to make sure all the cords are plugged in and working.

2. Running on a treadmill + singing your heart out = you gasping for breath, unable to keep running.

3. Another treadmill thing: when you have an itch on your leg, don't for one second think you can hop on one leg while you itch it. It doesn't work the same as it does when running on regular roads.

4. I have a name for one of my afflictions: TiVo guilt. According to CNN, this affects millions of Americans. I just happen to be one of them. Read the article if you have time.

5.Apparently, red hair is super ugly on me. I get it! It was a test!

6. People will volunteer way too much information of themselves-if given the opportunity.

7. I am literally the least crafty/creative person in the world. I'm pretty sure there are 8 year old girls who can do crafts better than I can.

I think that's about it. Some of the learning was painful, others were just enlightening. Use my learnings to enhance your life!

The secret is out

Ok, the other day, I blogged about how PJ and I thought of a theme for something that was going to come to pass. Since it all starts tomorrow (well, open to the public anyway) I decided to make it known here and now. PJ and I decorated a tree for the Festival of Trees this year. It was a total split decision, we had talked about it for a little, but then one day, I got an email from PJ about it, and we just jumped on it. It took a while to get a theme and work out our ideas, but once we thought of it, ideas flowed. We only had two weeks-but really, only like, two Saturdays, so we had to pull things together quickly.
We had a dry run to see how long it would take to put the tree together, so we would know how long it would take us on Monday, since there was a time limit. We had only just gotten started when PJ picked up an ornament, and shattered it in her hand. It cut her pretty deep and bled like crazy, but we got it under control. We had decorated the tree, and were about to work on the tree skirt when we ran out of a key material, so we had to quickly run to the craft store before it closed. Luckily, we did. We got everything finished that night, and were pretty confident about our Monday chances.
We finally decorated it at the Festival on Monday. I broke an ornament during the decorating, but luckily, didn't cut myself or anyone else. It looked pretty good when we were done, and it only took us a few hours. The theme we picked was to have a ribbon tree, but I won't include pictures-for now at least. I want everyone to go see it-if possible. I'll probably post some pics of it on Saturday, after we've been to the Festival ourselves, to see all of them. It was a great thing to do, and I'm already looking forward to doing one next year. We already have our theme!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it is now kosher to celebrate Christmas. Start your music, decorate your houses, it's now fine to do so. My mom puts up the tree the day after Thanksgiving-there is no waiting. I am in charge of decorating it, and I usually put it off for a few days or week or so, so we just have an empty tree in the living room. This year, I had time to decorate it today. I choose a theme for the tree every year-just a color theme, and this year's theme was black and silver. I know, it's weird not to have Christmas-y colors, but I like to keep things unique.
It took me a couple of hours to complete, but finally, I finished it, and stepped back to see how it looked. If I do say so myself, it looks pretty good. Unfortunately, the black doesn't show up that well against the tree, but it still looks okay. I like the way the two colors look together, and I like that it's not the normal colors. If you look on the tree, there are a few bits of color there, those are the ornaments we made as kids that have our pictures on them. No matter what colors I choose every year, those ornaments are always included-I just love them.

I'm glad to be done with it for this year, decorating the tree is always so stressful-I think I put too much pressure on myself to make it look perfect, which I know it doesn't need to do. But I like what I did, and I'm looking forward to the next time I get to decorate a tree. Which is tomorrow! (more on that later...)

The results are in...

I didn't do quite as well in the race as I'd hoped I would. I had high hopes for it, of course, but then when it came down to execution, my body had other ideas for me. It started at 8-and we were supposed to check in at about 7 or so. We got there at the crack of dawn (it seemed!) and then just had to wait around for the hour. Luckily, we could do all the waiting inside, since it was raining. Thank goodness the rain wasn't falling too hard though. We gathered at the starting line, heard the gunshot, and took off. After about a half a mile, my shoelace came untied! I couldn't believe, I had to quickly stop and tie it. Of course, wearing gloves made this a difficult task, but I got it, finally, and resumed pace.
The four miles went pretty quickly, and I did ok until about the last mile and a half, when I felt pretty sure I was going to throw up. I just had to breathe through that, and slow down a bit, hope I wouldn't get sick. PJ was a champ though-she slowed down with me and talked me through it. When we rounded the corner to the last little bit before the finish line, PJ took off, and I stayed my pace. At this point, I was just hoping to finish the race-I didn't care about placing. So PJ beat me, fair and square, and I'm just happy I ran the whole thing. Our times were pretty good-I know we can improve, though. We'll get better. And because I had ran that whole thing, I felt pretty good about eating my giant Thanksgiving dinner, complete with two pieces of pie. Hey, I earned it!

Black...like my soul.

Today, the day following Thanksgiving, is, as everyone knows, Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year. I was part of it yet again this year. I have a blast during it. People are all crazy, running around with their massive amounts of stuff, and their shopping baskets, and we're just casually walking around, finding stuff we like, etc. I was up so early this morning (because my brother woke me up at bleeding 3:30 IN THE MORNING...so I was up for it. I was in the line for Target at like, 5:20, raring to go.
We got all of our shopping done by like, ten. We hit up a billion different stores, took advantage of tons of deals, and then were done before noon! It was so much fun-I love this day. I got tons of stuff for people, so my Christmas shopping is almost done (yea!) but I also got loads for myself also. (I couldn't pass up these deals!) I am about dead on my feet right now, though. So excuse the lack of information about the race-that'll be coming later, when I haven't been awake for a long time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

That's it. Did you expect more? Sheesh.

Less than twelve hours....

Tomorrow, tomorrow! The big race is tomorrow! Ok, technically, it's not like a giant race, but its the first one I've done in a long time. I am hoping so much that I'll do ok, but my running lately has been off, so at this point, I'm just hoping to finish. I run this much pretty much all the time, but doing it in a race makes me think weird. I keep thinking that I have to do awesome, so then I start off running quicker than I should (or usually do) so then I'm tired more quickly. I'm going to try to think it out this time-I need to race smart.
I'll let everyone know tomorrow how I did (if I even finished...) and how awesome it was, running in the freezing cold. I prepared for it today, by eating my pre-race meal of pasta. No need to carb-load with such a short race, but I always eat it before a race, to get into the spirit of things. Wish me luck, ya'all!

They just don't make sense!

Lately, I seem to hear a lot of phrases that are used a lot, but I swear I don't get them. They're all cliched sayings, and I'm going to get it off my chest-I use them, but I hate them.

"You made your bed, now you have to lie in it". What the heck does that even mean? Just because you made your bed, doesn't mean you have to lie in it. Someone else can lie in it, you can lay somewhere else.

"You gotta be sh**ing me" What? I had a client say this on the phone to me a little bit ago. I just stammered, "Uh, no. I'm not"

"The Acorn doesn't fall far from the tree" What kind of acorn falls off a tree and shoots across the forest? Of course it doesn't fall far!

"If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" If that actually happened, people would never talk. I'm just saying.

Pretty much those are the only ones that are bugging me right now. I hate cliches-I try hard not to use them, but sometimes they slip out!

Blondes are wild, brunettes are true, but you just never know what a redhead will do!

Ok, so the great hair debate is over! The color has been chosen and applied. Pretty much everyone has seen me with it, but I just figured I'd write the results here, since I talked about the debate here as well. The winning color was...red! I realize now that I should have taken a picture to include here, but I didn't, and my hair is now in a ponytail, so there's not really a chance of a good picture here. You'll all see it anyway.
It was an impulse to do it this color, but so far, I'm pretty pleased with the results. It is very bright, and when I look in the mirror, I still do a little double take, because I'm not quite used to it. I will have to get used to having red/pink wash out every time I wash my hair-but I'll hope my color doesn't fade that much. I've only had one person outright say he thought the old color was better (that would be the Stallion....) but other than that, the reactions have been mostly positive.
I know I'm not keeping it this color for forever, but for now, it's fun! And at least now it's dyed, so my roots aren't crazy coming in. And I'm starting to think of what color I'll do next time...

The Cup...is taken

The MLS Cup was today, a showdown between the New York Red Bulls and the Columbus Crew. As everyone remembers, New York beat us last weekend for the ticket to the game, so I was not at all voting for them to win. Plus, I actually like Columbus, so I wanted them to win. The Columbus guys all did a thing where nobody shaved their beards until the end of this game. Some of the beards looked pretty good, but most of them were all scraggly and not very good looking. One of the guys-Frankie Hejduk, has long hair, and with his beard, he looked kinda like Jesus. I'm not even the one that thought of that-PJ made that comment during the game. And good news, Columbus won! They finished the game with a score of 3-1. It was a great game.
My favorite parts though, weren't even in the game. Before the game, the commentators were sitting around talking, and one of them, Alexi Lalas said that if New York defeated RSL, and moved into the final spot for the cup, he would shotgun a can of Red Bull. Well, they did, so he did, and it was actually pretty funny. He didn't do it right at all, so he looked kinda dumb. But good for him, he actually stayed true to his word.
The game was pretty awesome, and I know that nobody really cares about the game, especially since RSL wasn't even in it, but coming up with something new every day is hard, so I'm just trying to finish this month with writing every day.The game was good, the celebrations were better. Columbus guys sure know how to dance!

(Not really)

I'm supposed to eat all this?!

We went to Ruby River tonight, to use our gift certificate thingy that I got from work. Everyone who reads this knows already of this, so I don't need to explain. We had this last year too, but last year when we went I didn't like steak, so this year was better, in that respect at least. And this year, I love steak. Meat is just so fantastic-I don't know how there are people that don't eat it!
There is so much food that Ruby River gives to you! I can't even believe it. We had only finished our appetizers, and I was full already. Of course, then our meal came, and I couldn't believe the amount of food on the plate. I ate a little of the steak that came, but then, I was just out of room in my belly. We had to wrap our desserts to go-I couldn't bear to eat anything else. Why they give you that amount of food, I will never figure out. But we ate so much delicious stuff, it was great! I don't think I could eat like this all the time, but doing it every once in a while is kinda nice. I've included pictures of our appetizers and the meal, so you can see just how much food we had.

We're on our way!

PJ and I are working on something that's going to come to pass in the next few weeks. We've thought of a theme for it! I'll give more details later...

It's a jungle out there!

It's that time of year-when the TV cancel list is coming out. I hate shows getting canceled. Some of my favorite shows are ones that have been taken off the air long before it was their time. Firefly, Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me, Arrested Development. All fabulous shows, all canceled way too early. Come to think of it, some of these shows were created by the same people...that should tell us something. Some people just can't seem to catch a break.
There have been a few shows canceled this year already. The Ex List was one that I was watching, but it wasn't that good, and same with My Own Worst Enemy, so when they were canceled, I was like, meh. Makes no difference to me. But now, things are being canceled that I actually care about! I found out that one of my favorite shows, Pushing Daisies, was canceled today. I love that show. I don't know if you guys have seen it (probably not, since it's getting canceled...) but it's so good. It's so quirky and funny. That's probably why its gone-because it was original, and quirky. Another show was cancelled today, Eli Stone. Another good, original show, and canceled. I guess I should be grateful for the writers strike, because it extended these shows for another season, where they probably would have been cancelled at the end of last year, but still! These were great shows, and I'll totally miss them when they're gone. I also lost one called Valentine-we only actually got 4 episodes of that one.
Of course, the upside of this is that I will now have extra time on the nights that these shows were on. I can find other things to fill it, I know, but I'll totally miss these. Getting attached to shows is never a good things, but I can't help it. Hopefully, I won't lose any more that I love, and if I do, I'll take solace in the fact that I can buy the DVD's-and watch over and over.

Thought-Topia 2008: The November Edition

All right, I'm just gonna have to go with the little tidbits today. I can't think of a whole blog right now, that would require too much thinking.
I feel like I gotta get out of town. I know that I had a vacation like 3 weeks ago, but I already feel like I need to get out again. We have a trip planned next month-at the end-but I feel like that's so far away. Now that soccer is over, and the weather is turning cold, I am mourning the end of summer. I miss it already. I don't want it to turn cold.
Today was mom's birthday, (Happy Birthday, Mama!) and we went out to dinner at the Pizza Factory. There was a little person (ok, a child) that was sitting at the table next to us who I think was trying to play games with me. She kept look over and smiling and laughing and hiding and all that stuff, but I'm not into playing games with kids at places. I just stared at her, not smiling, hoping she would get the hint. She didn't, she kept going for a long time. When she finally stopped, I was happy. I understand most people like to play with the childrens, but I am not one of them.
Work will be depressing for the next couple of days because I won't have my comrade with me. Chelle will be off, doing fun things, while I am stuck at work, talking to nobody, and sharing all my oodles of information with no one. I understand that she needs to take the time off, and she's entitled to get out of work sometimes, but I will be sad being all by myself.
I still couldn't come up with a hair color. I'm getting such conflicting votes from everyone, and the voting is pretty much even, there are two votes for every color. I'm thinking that when I dye it (probably this weekend...) it'll be an impulse decision. Sometimes, they can be the best choices, but once in a while, two days later, I'm totally regretting the color I chose. Let's hope that doesn't happen this time.
No more thoughts at this time, really. Join us next time, when our topics will be "If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?" and Bewitched: Fun-loving show or brainwashing us into the occult? Until then, I am Setenta Sports.

Take a picture, it'd last longer

Today, I was looking through photo albums with my sister, Rory, and we were reminiscing about the old days. Ok, not really reminiscing. There aren't a whole lot of pictures in these books of us for us to remember, just the same ones we've been looking at for years. I am barely in this book. I am in 1 1/2 pictures. I say 1/2 because there is some debate as to whether or not the little girl in the picture is me, but I say it is, I recognize the dress-I know it's mine. But others are saying its not. You can't see the face of the girl, just the top of the head, so there's no way to ever know, but it's still raging on. Maybe one day we'll come to an agreement, but for now, no way. There are, however, about 70 pictures of Rory in there. I don't know why we all loved Rory more than me, but she's all over that book. Actually, every person in the family is in the book many times over, but I for some reason am MIA. Combine that with my lack of knowledge about my childhood, and I say that something is fishy.
I do have extensive photo albums of myself from about the time I'm 18. I have so many photo albums, and they're all categorized. (Of course, if you know me, you know this is normal) They're divided into Family, Friends, Misc (which is mostly just pictures of scenery and my animals), and a couple of photo albums dedicated to just pictures of me and Rory. There are more albums than that, but you get the idea. I'm a fan of taking pictures. I hate looking at them afterwards, sometimes. I always think in my head of how I must be looking, then when I see it, and it doesn't look that way, I'm so disappointed! I look at a flaw in the picture, and I focus on that. Never mind that there are probably good things in the picture, because my one eye is looking off, I hate the picture. But I keep them all, and we love to go back and look at them, because we remember everything that was going on in that picture. One of my favorite pictures is when Rory and I were fighting-and we were taking pictures for Christmas-and she's so angry. You can see it in the pictures-she's about ready to kill someone. They still make me laugh every time I see them!
Pictures are a fun thing, and I wish everyone enjoyed them like I do. Whether you're someone who hates getting their picture taken, or someone who smiles big every time a camera is whipped out, everyone has at least had one taken-and then probably dissected it. I'm going to include my fav picture of myself here, just because. I try to do pictures with all my blogs, but sometimes, there's not one to attach! The reason I love this picture is because it's not posed for or anything. Rory called my name as we were out in our older sister's backyard, I look over, and she snapped it. Plus, it reminds me of how much fun we were having that day, just hanging out. If you have time, maybe go through some old photo albums on your own, and get lost in the memories. You've maybe forgotten some of the best times!

Maybe I'm too smart... so smart it's off-putting.

Ok, know in advance that this blog is a rant. And I'm not trying to brag (very much...) in here, I just need to get something off my chest.
When I was younger, I was a pretty smart kid. I didn't outgrow it or anything-don't make those jokes, silly peeps. I started reading at a young age, and, although I know this doesn't indicate smartness, I read incredibly fast. I was in all the higher math classes in school-I was the only sophomore in my class full of seniors. I'd probably consider myself pretty intelligent, if I had to admit it.
I understand that people don't think I'm very bright. Maybe because I laugh at dumb things, or just laugh/giggle a lot in general, have a super-sunny disposition, or because I do the 'That's What She Said' jokes-which I find hilarious. I'm constantly finding myself having things explained to me-things which I already understand. Mostly at work-people who have been there longer than I seem to want to explain simple things to me. I get it all-I understand how to do it. But there they are-and of course, they're always pretty condescending about it. I'm not alone in this particular instance-others have actually noticed it as well. I don't like to be talked down to, I don't like having things "dumbed down" for me-I already get what you're trying to explain to me.
So dear friends who read this (all four of you) please understand this and spread the word. I not dumb-contrary to the vibe I might give off. Regardless, always know that when you're talking, I'm more than listening. I'm probably thinking of more than you realize.

Get going. Get up and walk if you have to, but finish the damned race

I went on an afternoon run today, while the weather was the most warm. I laced up my shoes, cranked the iPod up to 11, and set out. I'm trying to run outside right now, to prepare. I'm doing another race! I haven't done one in a long time-and I don't think the time between has been kind. In the beginning of the year, when we were doing races, I was good, I did them with no problem. But then came the summer, and things were just way too busy to run every day, and my fitness dropped a little. PJ told me about this race about a week ago, and we just knew we had to do it. It's on Thanksgiving day, and it's a 4-miler. I'm totally looking forward to this.
Running is my drug. Sometimes I bitch about it before I have to do it, but I love it. I know some people like to drink or do drugs, or whatever, to forget a problem, or try to think it out, but not me. My drink is running. I love that if I need to think something out, I can just run. I just have to put on my shoes, and after the initial 5 minutes where I'm getting used to the breathing, I'm in. I just let my mind go, and I can think about nothing, or I can think everything out. I don't have to hear other people jabbering about anything, and I don't have to get a group together to do my thing. It's just me. I love it.
I can't wait for this race, and seeing how it's in 11 days, I better start getting prepared. Of course, this means I now give up my favorite foods. We did this for the last race, and it totally helped, so here I go. Wish me luck in not eating my delicious chocolates and similar foods for the next two weeks. Of course, that night is Thanksgiving, so I'll be eating it all then and more, so it'll be ok, at least I have an end goal in sight. And good news, if I finish in the top 5 (of women) I get a free turkey! Wish me luck!

Sugar, we're going down swinging

As everyone who knows me knows, Real had another playoff game tonight. It was the final one before the MLS cup game next weekend. Whoever won this one would advance to the finals. I hated that the game was so late, at 7:30, but that's only because it was so cold. But I wore two pairs of thick socks, 2 jackets, a couple of shirts, and I was still cold. There was no escaping the cold! We played the New York Red Bulls, and sadly...we didn't win. Not for lack of trying, we played so hard, particularly towards the end. We lost, 1-0. They scored off a crappy judgment call by our defense. It was unfortunate, but nothing we can do to control that. We barely limped toward the half, trying to defend ourselves. When we came back, we were ready to play. We came out swinging, and thats how we went down. We were all-out until the final whistle. Real was just terribly unlucky. I can't even count the number of times a shot of ours bounced off the bar, or barely missed. By the end of the game, I just had to laugh when we missed, to stop from crying.
It was our first year getting into the playoffs, and it won't be our last. I'm so sad that now the season is over. No more MLS until the season begins next March/April. I'll have to get my soccer fix now from the EPL games. And while I love any soccer game, of any team, it's just not the same. I know the players and coaches in our league. I know some of the guys over in England, but not nearly enough. But at least I have some games to tide me over. I'm hoping in the off season, Real can improve in their consistency, to be the team I know they can be. Then next year, when we advance to the MLS Cup, I'll be there to cheer my team on.

Vieve: International Woman of Mystery

I would love to be a spy. It'd be so awesome to be constantly changing names, appearances, and jetting around the world, doing secret things. There are different kinds of spies though-I've learned this from the movies. (where everything is real!) I'm not going to spell out all the different types, but I'll choose between two. I think I'd rather be the Sydney Bristow-Alias spy than the James Bond type of spy. While Bond is awesome and full of rage, and has no second thoughts about killing anybody he doesn't need. He's all muscles and hot...ok, I think I'm getting off the subject here. But Sydney has the cooler job. She knows practically every language, and she gets to dress up all the times for her missions. I would love to do that.
The one thing that always bugged me about James Bond is that everyone knows about him. Surely, he's the worst spy in the world if all the bad guys know him-it would make him such an easy target! No one ever seems to acknowledge that though. He's still just used in all the missions, trying to be all secretive, which he never is. Every Bond thing ends in a big explosion, or bodies everywhere, or bullets being fired in a crowded place. Everyone knows!
Bristow, on the other hand, nobody knows. She changes her look for every mission-and she really does a good job of blending in. Her missions usually always have a hitch-while she's obtaining the secret documents or whatever, the person she's getting it from always seems to have a need to go into the room where they are, so the pressure is there. She always gets out in the nick of time, though, and that's whats important. Doesn't matter how the mission finishes, so long as it finishes with the best results.
I already know I'd hate to train to be a spy. You'd have to be in great shape (which I kinda am, but not like these people) and there'd be a lot of scary situations that you'd have to go into, which I know would always make me nervous, and spies aren't supposed to be nervous. They're supposed to be suave and cool, and they blend into the background. I can blend, but I don't know how cool I could be in any of these situations. But I'll dream it about it-and thats about as far as it can go.

I'm so excited, I'm so excited, I'm so, I'm so... scared!

I was watching the Ellen Degeneres show today, and Steve Carrell is on, and they're talking about getting scared. Not in the sense of like, a horror movie scaring, but like, people surprising you kind of scary. I hate being scared-in either sense of the word. I do watch the scary movies, but I hate being scared in them. I hav to watch in full light, hanging onto someone as tight as can be. Usually, I choose my sister to do this, but when I don't have a person, I choose my Troop. She just lays there and lets me cuddle her.
But I'm getting away from the point. I do get scared very easily. I sit in the middle desk at work, between Chelle and Jules, but I used to sit in the back desk. Whenever anybody would walk up behind me, not making noise, I would get scared. Every time! I don't even know how it would happen, but it did. I have one really good scare-and it actually happened at work. The story unfolds:
So one day, I'm at work, and it's when we have a different set up than we do now. Now we have cubicles-and all of our desks are the same, in a row, but they used to be all different, and the desks were huge-taller than I. I was over talking to...Fred (to use a name Chelle already picked out) and then I hear my phone ring. Let me preface-I was wearing some high heels this day. I sprint over to get my phone, sliding a little on the plasticy thing on the ground that protects it from the chair. As I rounded the corner and grabbed my phone, out popped Tyler from behind my desk, scaring the hell out of me. I screamed into the phone, threw it, and then I just started to laugh. I was laughing so hard I was crying, and could barely get a breath. I think it might have taken a few years off, but it was well played, I had to tip my hat to him. Luckily, the person on the phone wasn't a business call-it was just my dad, who was very confused as to why I just picked up the phone and yelled. We got it sorted, though.
I don't think I'll ever get past getting scared. I am getting better though-I don't get scared when people come up behind me. I'm hoping to maybe get it under control so that when someone does scare me, I can just keep it contained-they'll never know they scared me! And until then-please don't anybody who read this try to scare me. Because thats just mean.

Gentlemen prefer blondes... but gentlemen marry brunettes

I've got a secret. Are you ready? It's something you'll never guess, but I need to get it off my chest. I....color my hair. I know, it's a shocking revelation. Ok, maybe not so much. Especially when it's times like now, and my roots have started to grow in. I hate that. I wish that once you dyed your hair, your new hair would grow in, matching the one you chose. But dang it, that's just not how things work! It's getting to be that time again, when I need to dye it again. I sorta hate dyeing my hair. No matter if I get it done professionally, or do it myself at home (which is how I usually do it-it's so much cheaper that way!) it takes so long, and there's always dye left over on my face or ears or something.
The reason I'm telling everyone this, is because I'm trying to make a decision. Every time I need to choose a new color, I always debate it. There are so many choices. But this time-I'm thinking of changing it up completely, but I want input from people. I never know which color looks best on me-which is where you guys come in. Yes, I do get that only like, 4 people read this, but I need all the help I can get. I think I've had my hair all the colors that it can be (without being crazy like blue or purple or something) but I don't know that everyone that reads this has seen me with it. I'm leaving it easy-I'm just trying to choose between 3, basically. I'm going between blonde, brown, or red. I like my hair all three, that's why the choice is so difficult. I know the blonde won't be totally completely blonde, (that takes time and way more money than I'm willing to pay) but enough in there to be noticably blonder. The brown is the same brown-just a little darker than what I have right now, I think. The red I'm choosing is red-not just auburny, but I want it like, fiery red red. I'm not sure when I'm going to dye my hair, but I just want people's inputs on what looks best on me. So speak up, people. Let me know your thoughts.

Dogs' lives are too short. Their only fault, really

This day was actually pretty sad. Technically, last night was sad, and today is just a continuation. Last night, our dog Sweet Pea passed away. (Can that phrase be used for dogs? I've only heard it used in respect to humans. Whatev.) She was one of the three dogs we have. I've written about the other two, Troop and Gretl, when they've done something to warrant a blog, but Sweet Pea was our chill dog. She never did anything bad, or particularly good, she just was here. Its kind of a blessing for her to have passed, she was getting old. I think we had her for 13 years, give or take, so thats defnitely up there in years. The past few weeks, she had been getting sick, and generally had just been getting bad, so it's kind of a blessing she's gone; she doesn't have to suffer or anything anymore.
It was really hard for me, when I heard she was gone. I knew it was coming, but that doesn't make it any less hard. My dogs are like little members of the family. Actually, in my case, I like the dogs more than I like some of the members of my own family. Luckily, I still have Troop here, since she's my dog, and I think she'll be sticking around for a while. Which is good, because I don't think I could handle saying goodbye to another pet.

PS I would have included a picture, but my computer is retarded, and I couldn't get it to work.

We're gonna rock, we're gonna roll, we're gonna bop, we're gonna bowl

Everyone brace yourselves. Are you sitting down? Ok, this evening I went to a ward activity! I know what you're thinking. The words 'Vieve' and 'ward activity' don't belong in the same sentence unless the words 'skipped' and 'another' are also there, but I went. I was informed of said activity like, two hours before it was going to happen, but it sounded like it could be fun, so we went.
We hooked up with this other ward for bowling at BYU. I'd never been there, but it was ok. Unfortunately, planning for it went a little awry, so we didn't have all the lanes we were promised, but it worked out. It was me, PJ, PJ's sister Annie B, and this new fellow we had met there who I actually had known years before, who I re-met tonight. Because there weren't enough lanes, we pulled out a deck of cards and played Egyptian Rat Screw until we got a lane. I love that game-and we had a new twist on it last night which was a blast. I'll have to be more careful when I play it though, I kept hurting myself.
We finally got our lane and starting bowling, and it was a lot of fun. And, to top it all off, I won! I beat all six people in our group with my dazzlingly high score of 122. I never win at bowling-I'm so awful-but I totally did well last night. But even though it was a ward activity, we didn't hang out with anyone in our ward, we just hung out with the people in the other ward. But I had a blast-maybe I'll go to more activities in the future!

Lazy Sunday

Sunday is my favorite day of the week. It's my designated "Vieve" day. Don't get me wrong-I love my weekends, even when they're busy, and we're running all over the place, trying to get to a billion different places. I love the weekends when we have no plans, and we're just hanging out, doing a movie night. Sometimes, I can even appreciate the week-going to work, watching my TV, and being busy there. But nothing can compare to Sunday. It's when I listen to no one and answer to no one. I don't have to get dressed if I don't want to, I don't even have to get out of bed! Ok, usually, I do have church and that takes up time, and makes me shower and get dressed, etc, but on the days we don't go, it is pure bliss.
Today, this Sunday was really awesome for me. There's no real reason for it-nothing really special happened, but it was great just the same. I got all the things I wanted to do done-and I wasn't rushing or anything all day. I got my car cleaned (on the inside, I'm not dumb enough to be washing it right now), I gave myself a pedicure (mostly because there was nobody here I could con into giving me one...shoot), I cleaned my bathroom, and I got all my junk unpacked from my overnight stay in Ogden. I can't believe the amount of junk I pack for one night. I suppose it makes sense, because you have to have all of your toiletries, but it always just enters into my brain that I'd never be one of those girls who can just shove a couple of clothes into a bag, and leave for a trip at a moments notice. Oh well, I can live with that. I cleared out more of my Tivo, had a great run, and even got to read a little. And on the plus side-New York defeated Houston, so now we play New York next Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium! You better believe I'm getting my tickets right now.
I know that if I had this type of day always, I'd get so sick of it, but it's nice to have once in a while. And now I'm totally relaxed, and ready for the week to start. With Sundays like these...who needs to have Mondays?

Movin' on!

Holy crap! We're doing it! We're advancing! Real played Chivas tonight for the second game of the first round of playoffs, and we are moving on! We had the goal advantage from last week, since we won 1-0, so we were a little comfortable, but we knew we'd have to work hard. Chivas scored first, in the first half hour, and my heart hurt a little. Then about 10 minutes later, we scored also! Dema scored for us (the guy getting 'choked' in the above picture) The equalizer, and I breathed a little easier. In the 77th minute, we scored again-Morales did this one for us! Here we are, up 2-1, and with our goal from last week, 3-1 is really how it is. Sadly, about 5 minutes later, Chivas scores, so we're tied again. Luckily, the game ended in the 2-2 tie, so because of our previous win, we actually won! We're in the playoffs-well, we're still in, is what I should say.
We don't know who we play next. Houston plays New York tomorrow, and whoever wins out of that is the team we play. I don't know who's going to win, because, people thought we were going to lose, and we totally didn't, so it's anyone's game. Of the two, I want New York to win, because of the two teams, I think that's the one we have a better chance of beating. I know that's bad to think, but whatev. At this point, I just want to win every game. To go to the top of this is so a dream-and it could be possible! I'm just trying to be positive about everything, but trying to keep reality in view. The game is most likely going to be next Saturday (at least, that's what I'm thinking) and I can't wait. Real '08!

A little disappointing...

So, this Friday evening, PJ and I went to a concert. It was up in beautiful, scenic Ogden, so we had left work a little early to get up there, check into the hotel, and eat before hitting the concert. We were going to see Spill Canvas (who I don't really know) Augustana, and OneRepublic. I like all these guys, but the one I was most looking forward to was Augustana. I heart them. So we are going to the concert, and it's at the Dee Events Center at Weber State. It took us a bloody half an hour to get there, after being lost on Weber campus for that amount of time. That campus is impossible to navigate! Finally we found a map, so I dashed out of the car to the map, figured out where we were, and we tried to find it. Turns out, I actually can't read a map, so I led us in the wrong direction. But, we found it, and we only missed the opening band, who I didn't know. I want to say their name was like, Hush Sound or something, I'm really not sure.
When we got to the Center, there was a sign outside on the door that said that Augustana would not be playing, because the lead singer was in an accident. I was crushed! The entire reason for my going-and they weren't even there! I was a little sad, but we went in to have a good time anyway, and we totally did. We actually sat into seats this time, not on the floor, so it was kinda low-key. It's weird to sit during a concert-I'm used to being up and about, dancing and singing my lungs out. I didn't even get coarse during this-just my ears were ringing. During the concert, the OneRepublic lead singer informed us that the accident that the Augustana singer had was that he had fallen off the stage-10 days earlier. I couldn't believe it! I'm hoping to someday see them, but until then, at least I have to CD to keep me company.

It's not technology I'm against. It's people like you.

Sometimes I hate technology. I know that it's fantastic, that it has given us so much. I appreciate very much that with the click of a few buttons, I can find out anything about anything. Wikipedia, one of my favorite websites, along with IMDB. I love texting-something technology has given us. To have a conversation without actually talking, or to be able to send people pictures? Mind-blowing to me-and I love it. To be able to carry the internet around is a fantastic tool. I understand that all of this is good and great and necessary for the world.
Now, my problem with technology is that the douches of the world seem to have the latest stuff, and boy do they want to let you know about it. One of the biggest things I hate is the bluetooth headset. Are you really so important that you have to wear that all the time? Or do you just like to feel important, so you wear it? Story: PJ and I were on Pirates of the Caribbean, the ride, last year at Disneyland. The lady sitting in front of us in the ride had a headset on, and it blinked THE ENTIRE RIDE. There is nothing more irritating than sitting in a really dark room, trying to get into the spirit of the ride, and having a blinking blue light in your face. I know, some of you are like, Vieve, why did you not just lean forward and ask her to turn it off? Here's why: I'm not good at confrontation with strangers. If I know you, I have absolutely no problem with telling you what I think and what I want (all of you know this) but if I don't know you, I don't want to approach you to tell you something! So we just suffered in silence.
Nobody will change their ways regarding this, but at least I'm getting my thoughts out there. But if you're around me-don't use your headset. Put your phone to your head, like it's intended to be. If you can't talk on the phone like that, maybe you shouldn't talk at all. Learn how to text, and have all your conversations quietly. which is better for everyone. Then I don't have to hear about your problems, and you won't get my glare of disapproval, complete with the scoff of disbelief.

You're right, I do look awesome.

I was told today that this month is National Blog Every Day month. This is another one of those fake holidays you read about, like National Welding month, Find a Rainbow day, or Valentines Day. I always laugh at these days, and never do anything about it. But, I decided, I might try this one! I could try to blog every day, and reach to the inner soul of myself to pull out a subject every day. Now, already, I know this probably isn’t completely possible. There are just some days that I don’t have time to blog, especially on the weekends, when there’s barely time to sleep, let alone jot down my thoughts onto a computer. But, I’m going to try my best, and now, without further ado, is day one of my efforts.
I understand that it’s hard to take compliments. I am not very good at taking them, nor am I actually good at giving them. I always think of something I want to say to a person, but then I usually chicken out of actually saying to them. I don’t know why it makes me so nervous to, say, tell someone their hair looks cute, but it does! And I debate it for the longest time: Do I say something? Keep it quiet? Usually by the time I’ve about decided, they walk away, making the decision for me. I am trying to be better at it though-I’m trying hard to tell people, because I think it just has to perk up someone’s day, to hear something nice about themselves!
Now, the taking of the compliments. It always embarrasses me-when someone tells me something nice about me, I just shrug it off, or shake my head, and try to argue with that person. Why do we do that? Someone tells you you look nice, and you try to argue with them. “You look good today, Sue” “Oh Sandy, I do not. My hair didn’t do what I wanted, and these clothes are just not fitting me like they used to” Like, what do we have to gain by being right? “Oh, you’re right, Sue. You don’t look good at all. I’m surprised I could have made such a mistake.” Is that going to make you feel better? It drives me crazy in the times when I actually have the guts to say something and someone argues with me! Seriously, people-the next time someone gives you a compliment, turn to them, flash those pearly whites, and say…Thank you. That’s it. That’s all you gotta do! It might make you feel better, and for someone to actually pay you a compliment is a pretty good thing as well, so take it and move on. And maybe later, see if you can make someone else’s day by giving them one as well.

Like the sticker says...

I voted today! This year is such an important voting year. We're either going to have the first black president, or the first woman president. Come on, lets be honest. Poor Ol' McCain is going to die soon, and Palin will take over. I was concerned that there would be a giant long line, so I left work a little early, but I was totally worrying for nothing. We walked in, told them my name (which of course they didn't say right) and then stepped right up to the booth and cast my ballot.
I'm not going to say who I voted for (thats what privacy laws are for!) but I'm not sure I think any of the candidates are good choices. I was actually still deciding on the way to the polls. I don't know how good my vote did, because our voting system is kinda screwed, but I do get that little good feeling in my belly that I'm helping America along.
I am so psyched that the election is over because now I will have to stop hearing about it all the freaking time. You can't turn around without hearing more accusations and things of that nature. Election years are crazy, but yea for us that its all over and done. In just a few hours (or something, I don't really know how the whole thing works, really) we'll find out who won, and who we'll welcome as our next Commander in Chief. I will say this-I can't wait to find out the results!

One down...

RSL had the first playoff game in its franchise history yesterday. We played Chivas, and, even though I had high hopes for us, I still wasn't sure that we could win. There are two games in this first "seed"-and whoever has the most goals after the two games advances. I thought maybe we could tie, but of course, hoping for a win. My boys didn't disappoint! In a crazy coincidence, Yura scored in the 90th minute-just like he did last week-and we won the game! We dominated the whole game, and had so many missed chances. After you miss like, 17 goals in a row, you start to believe that maybe you're not meant to win the game. But we pressed through, and next week, we're headed to Chivas to play the second game. We don't do that well at away games usually, but I'm hoping we play the way we've been playing lately. We either have to win or tie this game. If we tie-we have one goal up on them, so we'll be ok. This type of pressure is killing me-I can't even imagine what the players are going through!

Oh! And-we were on TV! The game was on a channel I have, so I recorded it, and in the like, 92nd minute, we were on the screen! I'm famous!

It's so not time yet!

I'm not a fan of holidays, in general. Its fun to get ready for them, and anticipate them, but that's about it. Christmas is my favorite time-I love the shopping and decorating and baking and everything, but then when the day actually arrives, I'm not really into it. They're never that fun, and you don't get to do what you want to do. Halloween is the same-I like to think of costumes, and how other people will be dressed, but then the day gets here, and its never anything big. It's just me, wrapped in a blanket, sitting outside eating popcorn.
Which is what happened last night. PJ's fam has a popcorn machine, so they handed out popcorn to people. We were all outside, chatting and whatnot, when everyone left Peej and me out there. We took on the duties of handing out stuff. I was cold, so I was wrapped up in the aforementioned blanket, eating a nutritious dinner of popcorn. We did get some carrots later, because we felt like we needed to eat something healthy. At the end of the night, we watched the top 100 scary movie moments! They were pretty scary....not really.
When I was on my way home, maybe 10 minutes after midnight, I was flipping through the radio stations, trying to find a good song, when I happened upon Kozy (106.5). They were playing Christmas music already! I couldn't believe it-it's too early! I'm not ready for there to be Christmas stuff yet. I know there's no such thing as Thanksgiving music, but I don't think we should have the holiday music until it's almost Thanksgiving. I'm just saying-there should be no festivities until it's time for the actual holiday. Lets hold off on the Christmas music-at least for 3 weeks or so.

Here's the whole story

Ok, now that there is more time, I will elaborate on the things I teased you with earlier. To be honest, I could stretch out the events over several blogs, but lets be honest, that would be boring. Plus, there's pictures!

The facts are these:

Our boys in white (away jerseys!) did a great game. Sadly, Colorado scored first, and we were on pins and needles...until the 90th minute, when we scored. It was fantastic. I spent the last 5 minutes of the game on my feet, praying for the ref to end the game. When he finally did, we went wild. We high fived Rimando and Borchers. It was awesome.

We had given a ride to some other fans to the stadium, because their taxi didn't show up. Halfway to the game, we found out we were giving a ride to the mother of one of the players, Will Johnson. She introduced us to him after the game-I could not have been more excited. He's adorable in real life! I just wanted to give him a hug, but I don't know how people would be if you just leaned in for a hug while they put out the hand for the shake. I'll try it sometime.

I got a smile from one of the players in the Reserves game-which we also won. I tossed him the ball after it came out and landed at my feet. Its nice to get a smile!

We went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. For those of you who don't know, and can't deduce from the name, its a zoo that is in the mountain. So seeing the animals, you actually have to hike. Its nice for the legs, but because you're up in the mountains, its colder. I was freezing the entire time, but it was fun. We got to feed the giraffes some crackers, thus the touching of the giraffe tongue.



I ran on the best treadmill of my whole life. There was a TV attached to it-which was awesome! Plus, you could have your own little personal trainer gal pop up and talk to you, plus you could choose the "terrain" you were running on. Basically, it would tell you how far it was in track circles, or up the mountain, that sort of thing. I wish I had that treadmill in real life.

We also went to the Air Force Academy, and went to the chapel there. It was amazing! I totally want to get married there. Which, as I understand it, I can't do until I marry a cadet. I better get working!
The inside:

The outside:

That's really about it, I think, the tiny stories that most of you already know, so I'm sorry you had to hear about it twice. I am doing good on my Tivo watching-for anyone who was wondering. I got down to 13 hours-but then recorded 4 more today, so I really haven't made any progress at all. I feel so overwhelmed by my television.

We're in!

I'm back! I don't at all have time to write in here, so, the highlights:

We are in the playoffs! We didn't win the game, we tied, but whatever, because we're in!

I met some Real guys! I touched some too.

We defaced a Book of Mormon.

I touched a giraffes tongue.

There will be entire stories to come-I'm off now to start watching the 21 hours of TV my Tivo recorded whilst I was gone.

See ya later, Suckers.

It’s here! The time has come! The time we have all been waiting for is upon us! Ok, so not everyone has been waiting, but I’ve been waiting enough for everyone. It’s the last regular season game for RSL. The games have all been played, save for this one. And like I’ve already told everyone about, this is the big game of the season. Of course, every game is great and necessary, but this is what it comes down to. An entire season of doing great comes down to one 90 minute game. This is it, and I could not be more excited. We are traveling down to the game in Colorado, which will be fantastic. We did this last year, and it was such a great game, we won it. I’m hoping for a repeat performance this year, and I’m sure my boys won’t disappoint. I’m just hoping that this year, I won’t get whacked in the head with a horn.
Being an away fan at games is always weird. You’re definitely outnumbered, and you have to watch your step. If you piss off a fan, you could find yourself in hot water very quickly. Luckily, PJ and I are ridiculously good looking, so people don’t get mad at us, they just think we’re adorable. Ok, that’s a lie. But we look pure, which is just as good. And I’ve been told we’re fun to sit by in a game-because we yell so much, so maybe the Coloradians will think we’re great and just want to befriend us. It doesn’t really matter if we’re liked, because at the end of the day, we’ll never see them again. Plus they’ll be mad when our team beats them.
So there’ll be no blogs the next few days (not like I blog all the time anyways!) but there’ll be plenty to tell you all later. And on Saturday, everyone cheer for our team even though you probably won’t be watching the game. I want us to go to the playoffs for the first year ever.

I've got high hopes!

As mostly everyone has heard, Real got their own stadium. A new, specially designed for soccer only, awesome new stadium. Rio Tinto is the name-which I kinda hate. I'm trying out different nicknames for it. So far, I have The Tint and The Rits. I'm coming up with more, we're just seeing what works. I was going to blog about it when we had the first game there, but I decided to combine entries. The first game there was awesome. Not the end result-we tied, but being in the great atmosphere with all other fans was amazing. I don't like the people we're sitting by-for now at least. Nobody around us yells or cheers really. And of course, I'm a screamer. By the end of the night, I've usually screamed myself somewhat hoarse. I always laugh at people that seem annoyed at me at games when I'm yelling and they're not. I'm not gonna keep quiet-its a soccer game. I'll be quiet at church, where it's appropriate.
The second game we had there was last night, and sadly, the last home game for us this year. Unless we get into the playoffs, that is. We played Dallas-and going into the game, I was so confident we could win them. We've won them before, we'd be at home, so we'd have the advantage there. My boys in red did not disappoint. After a great game full of cards, fights, and injuries, we came out on top, 3-1. It was a fantastic game. We still had hopes alive of being in the playoffs. The way to ensure that we'd get into the playoffs was for Colorado to lose to Chivas-and the game was on Sunday. I anticipated this game, and was cheering for Chivas, a team I usually hate.
We watched the game on Sunday, in high hopes that Colorado would lose. They haven't been that good this year, so I totally thought they would not win. I was wrong! Colorado won-2-1. I was so disappointed. Chivas, who is a pretty good team, couldn't beat Colorado, even with Colorado in their ridiculous light blue uniforms. I always feel like they should lose away games just because of the girly color of their kits, but things don't work like that, I guess.
Now, the way for us to advance is to win (or tie, I suppose, but who wants a tie?) in the game in Colorado next Saturday-which I will be attending. Its the last game for everyone-and it is literally for all the marbles. Whoever wins goes on-and I want it so badly for it to be us. We've never been to the playoffs-and after how great we've been playing this year, I don't want it to be over. I don't know how far we'll advance once we get to the playoffs, but I want to find out! Go Real!

Lost! Not found...yet

Ok, here's the thing. Things get lost around me all the time. I don't even lose them-I just realize, usually after a long period of time, that I haven't seen something in a while. Sometimes, it's just fallen behind my bed (where a lot of my pictures and remotes seem to end up) or behind my dresser or something, and when I find it later, I'm psyched! But lately, I'm noticing that things are coming up missing, and I have no idea where they could even be. I've lost video games, (that I'm pretty sure family members have "borrowed", only to never return again) shoes, books, and so much more stuff that I'm sure that I don't even know yet that I've lost.
When we first moved into the SF house from the Orem house, I lost a soccer bag in the move. True to my form, I don't think I noticed I had lost it until we had lived here for like a year or something, when I was trying to find the bag. The kicker is, I have absolutely no idea what was even in the bag. I don't know if I had soccer stuff in there, or random nothingness, but it's gone now. But the good news (for me) in that, is that Rory lost her bag-which is identical to mine. (creepy!) Still now, I wonder where that bag could be. Did we throw it away accidentally? Is it at the old house? I'll never know!
The thing that made me think of this recently is that my favorite towels have mysteriously disappeared. They're these big fluffy gray towels, and I didn't know I hadn't seen them for a while until a couple of days ago. I was trying to figure out the last time I had seen them, and I can't pinpoint the last time. I remember putting them into the laundry room, but other than that, I have no idea where they could have gotten to. I'm not saying someone in my house has stolen them, I'm just saying...there's nowhere else they really could have gone. But if they're returned shortly, I won't wage an all-out war on anybody. And I'll keep you people informed if they just randomly show up again.

It's a hazy shade of winter

I love all the seasons. For a short period of time, at least, during every season, I love it. I love spring and fall because the weather is perfect. It's not too hot, it's not too cold, it's just lovely. I love summer because its so hot, and there are so many great activities to do. Swimming, running, hiking, the list is endless. Winter is usually good too. I'm always ready for the weather to be cold, at least for a little bit, and I do like the snow. It's so pretty, and makes everything seem new and fresh.
I am so hating the cold right now though! I wasn't ready for this! I want it to still be warm! Today is actually when it hit me the most. For a few days now, things have been chilly, but manageable. For instance, at the Real game the other night, it was cold. But I combated that by wearing two jackets, a scarf, some gloves, and I had a blanket. I was ready for it, and I expected it, so it wasn't too bad.
This morning, the cold hit me like a ton of bricks. When I left my house this morning, I had on a warm-ish shirt and a jacket, I thought I'd be fine at work. I was cold for a bit, until the car heated up, but then I was good. Unfortunately, work was so cold! I couldn't figure it out-I wasn't heating up, and my hands were starting to stiffen from the cold. It wasn't until I'd been there for an hour, freezing all the while, that someone figured out the heat wasn't even on in our part of the building-the air had been on. I could not warm up all day! Not until the end of the day did I start to feel like it wasn't super cold. But then when I walked outside to go home, the cold came at me again, I wasn't expecting it to be that cold outside, for some dumb reason.
I know it's dumb to complain about the cold, especially when you live in freezing Utah, but I always hate it when I'm not expecting it. It dropped so suddenly, from being good weather to freezing. Know this-I will be wearing far more layers tomorrow. And I'm even thinking about wearing shoes other than my flip flops.

What else could go wrong?

People always talk about how they are using a blow dryer when it stops working on them, and they are left with half a head of wet hair, and no way to finish the job. This always worries me, so when mine starts acting up, I replace it before it can do anything like that on me. For the last little while, though, my blow dryer has been doing shady things. Its been making a noise like a dying elephant, and the drying it does is...mediocre at best. It also started to smell a little burny when I used it. But, I was determined to stick this out until the end. That is, until about two days ago, when I looked into the drying shaft (I'm not sure that's what it's called. The nozzle? Where the air comes out?) and saw sparks popping out. That freaked me out quite a bit, so I decided to fold and buy a new one. The next day, I had the new one, a Vidal Sassoon, purpley-blue 1875W Professional Turbo Dryer. I couldn't wait to use it.
So, I hop into the shower. (this might seem like too much information, but go with it. It's relevant) I wash my hair with the shampoo, then put in the conditioner. I always put in the conditioner, then lather up the body with soap. Yes, TMI, I'm trying to get through it quickly. As soon as I finished lathering up, the lights flicker, then go out completely. Now, I'm trying to stay calm, but with it being pitch black in my bathroom, that's a little hard to do. There is no window or anything in my bathroom. There is no light in there at all, and with the walls being dark, there is nothing reflecting or anything. I quickly got the soap off, then hopped out of the shower (sopping wet) and opened the door, hoping that the light from the one window in the basement would give me a little light to be able to find things. It helped! I could see a little.
I washed out my hair, then decided that with the light, I would try to shave my legs. As soon as I took the first swipe, my razor BROKE IN HALF. I gave up on the idea of anything, decided I'd better not try my luck. I didn't get to use my blow dryer, and I had no power to do anything in. Getting ready was a trick in very little light. I don't recommend it. The power stayed out for like 4 hours, apparently some semi hit into a power line that took out the power in a chunk of the city. I'm thinking of getting myself a generator, so that at least when I don't have power, I can still get around the house and look alright.

I'll put you on the creepy train headed for creepy island where the creepy natives drink creepy nectar out of creepy coconuts...

I was watching a TV show tonight, and was completely creeped out by a storyline going on, and it made me realize that lately, I've been noticing things that really creep me out, and I want to share these with everyone.

1. Adult twins that are identical. I think it's adorable when they're small children, but as adults, I find it unnatural. Especially when they dress alike.
2. Newscasters hairstyles. They're so stiff and they don't move! What happened to having natural hair?
3. Children choirs, especially when it's just made of boys. There's something very creepy about boys with those high voices.
4. Cherubs. I know people think they're cute, but oh no. I hate looking at those.
5. Hairless animals.
6. Riverdance. How are they so in sync?!
7. Super skinny people. Eat a sandwich!
8. Really old people. I'm sorry, I'm an ageist. But when you get to be a certain age, you less resemble a person and more resemble...a skeleton wearing skin.
9. The phrase "make love" I'm sorry to those of you who think this is romantic, I've never been more creeped out by a single phrase in my whole life.
10. Mullets. Get your hair cut.
11. Michael Emerson-Ben from Lost. His eyes and voice are what do it. And his hair.
12. People who dress up their dogs like people and carry them around like children. Get a friend, please.

I know that this is a ridiculous list of things that are creepy, but everyone has their own things that they're creeped out by or afraid of. Hopefully, I will hardly ever encounter these things-I don't know for sure if I'd stand there frozen with fear, or run faster than I've ever run before. Please nobody try to put any of these near me to find out. Because chances are, I'll fight my way out.

The ABC's of Me

Ok, Michelle sorta tagged me. None of this information is new to any of you, but these are fun to do anyways.

The ABC's of Me!
A. ATTACHED OR SINGLE? Single, but with prospects. I went on two dates last weekend! They’ll actually not amount to anything, but at least I’m out.
B. BEST FRIEND? PJ for sure. Even though we haven’t seen in other in forever.
C. CAKE OR PIE? It depends on the day, but usually cakedy cake. Yellow especially.
D. DAY OF THE WEEK? I love Saturdays-there’s always something fun going on.
E. ESSENTIAL ITEMS? TiVo, chapstick, Troop. I’m sure there are more important things, but I treasure those the most.
F. FAVORITE COLOR? Gray, of course!
G. GUMMY BEARS OR WORMS? Worms because they’re so long.
H. HOMETOWN? Orem, baby!
I. INDULGENCE? Movies.
J. JANUARY OR JULY? July-because I think it’s against nature to be as cold as it is in January.
K. KIDS? None-and I hope it stays that way forever.
L. LIFE ISN'T COMPLETE WITHOUT? Soccer.
M. MARRIAGE DATE? The Eleventeeth of Febtober.
N. NUMBER OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS? 4 Brothers, 2 Sisters, And the parrot-I’m pretty sure dad thinks its one of his kids.
O. ORANGES OR APPLES? Apples. Oranges take too much work to eat-apples, you just wash and bite. I totally want an apple right now.
P. PHOBIAS OR FEARS? Accidentally ingesting dishwashing soap, cats, peoples of a certain race. (If you know me, you know which race this is…)
Q. QUOTE? I think frosting makes me lie.
R. REASONS TO SMILE? Soccer, movies, good food, TV shows. So much to smile about!
S. SUPERMAN OR WONDER WOMAN? Superman!
T. TAG 5 PEOPLE? If you want to do this, more power to you. I’m not gonna make anyone do anything they don’t want to do.
U. UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME? I get embarrassed/self conscious when I have to run in front of or with other people.
V. VEGETABLES? Vegetables are so delicious! I am craving them so much lately.
W. WORST HABIT? The swears.
X. X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND? Let’s see…I don’t really think I have a preference here. I”ve had them both and enjoy them equally.
Y. YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? I have so many for this category. Nachos, pizza, steak, rice. Naming them all would take up pages.
Z. ZODIAC SIGN? Virgo-which is pretty obvious.

I have the memory of a goldfish!

Tonight, I hung out with my younger sister, Rory. She was giving me a pedicure (which just goes to show you that the little gal loves me!) and while doing so, was commenting on the retardedness of my pinkie toe nails. For those of you who haven't seen it, or haven't heard me talk about it, it barely qualifies as a nail. The toe itself is barely a nubbin, so the nail itself is the smallest thing ever. Every time someone is painting my nails, they always comment on it, and laugh at it. I've gotten over my complex about it, but it hasn't been easy. Anyway, as she was ridiculing my freakishly small nail, she was telling a story about when we were young, and something happened with my brother and I playing basketball, and she had always thought that was why my nail is so small. I, however, had no recollection of said event.
I pride myself on having a somewhat good memory. I can recite many movies on command, I have a song memorized after only a couple of listenings to it. I can recall obscure things that I didn't even realize I had kept in my brain. But for some reason, I remember little to none about my childhood. There are so many family gatherings that we have where everyone is sitting around, laughing about something that happened back when we were small, and I laugh with them, but about 75-80 percent of the time, I don't remember it at all. I can vaguely remember some things happening, but as for details or anything, forget about it. I think the time my memory kicks in is when I'm about twelve or thirteen. And even then, it's the big things I remember-not anything small. I think I've really only retained info for the last 10 years or so. And that might even be pushing it.
I don't know why this is. Maybe with all my useless knowledge I have knocking about up there, I got rid of the essential stuff. The memory warehouse was full, and I've thrown out the old stuff to make room for the new. Luckily, I've held onto some of it, names and locations and stuff, but I wish I remembered as much about my childhood as everyone else in my family. But on the plus side, if there are any bad memories in there, I've forgotten them also, so I just think everything as a young child was happy. If ever I need to know anything though, alls I have to do is ask my sister-who probably will already know what I'm trying to remember.

Once you go relaxed, you'll never go back

Many people don't like to be touched. I sorta don't like to be touched. If I initiate it, I'm more than happy to touch someone. None of this is in a dirty way, BTW. But if I offer a hug, or a hand holding, a momentous occasion. You've broken my inner sanctum. If I have never let it seem like I'd want to do any of this, you better stay away. I'll break an arm if you try to get it near me without permission. This also goes for massages. People, I find, usually hate them. Me, I love them. They feel awesome, and the effects last for hours, if you get a good one.
For my birthday, I got a free massage from a friend of mine who is a masseuse. I've been wanting to get one from her for a while, and this was the perfect gift. I have gotten many a massage before, and was looking forward to this one. As the date got nearer, I was getting more nervous, because it occurred to me, the closer we got to the date, that I would be in my skivvies for this! Now, I have had many massages before, and I've stripped down with nary a second thought. The different thing this time, is that its a person I knew who'd be seeing me in my skin. I'd have to look her in the eye the next day!
Ok, it wasn't actually that bad. I was a little nervous to get it done, but when I arrived there, and I relaxed and laid down, it was ok. I was calm, and totally looking forward to it. And let me tell you-it felt awesome! She did such a great job, and by the time I was done, I was totally and completely relaxed. I even almost fell asleep. It was a great time-and I feel really good now. I'm so glad I got this great gift. I totally recommend that everyone get one-if they don't mind people touching them.

Is this a real holiday?

As I was watching the Emmy's last Sunday, they kept hyping that it was "National Stay-At-Home Week". I wondered why they would even have such a week. Was it because nobody can afford to go anywhere right now? Was there something going on that I didn't know about? But then, it dawned on me. Last week started the new seasons of everything on TV. They want you to stay at home, they want you to watch all of their shows, and not go anywhere. For the most part, their ploys are working.
I have survived the first week of TV shows being back on. I have signed on to too many shows this year. I'm not sure I want to give out the exact numbers, because I don't want to be too harshly judged, but it's a lot. If you can think of a show that's on right now, chances are, I'm probably watching it. But because there is so much to watch, I end up starting Monday shows, not having enough time, so then I have to finish those shows on Tuesday, which pushes those shows back, and so on and so forth. I know what you're thinking, because people keep saying it to me. Why don't I just stop watching so many shows? Here's why: mostly everything I watch, I've been watching for a long time. I've invested my time and attention into these shows, and I'll be darned if I stop watching now. I gotta find out what's happening to my characters and the plot lines, however ridiculous they might be. And I know that people nowadays don't have the time for TV, but I do. I make the time to watch my shows. Someone said to me the other day that if I stopped watching all these shows, I would have time to do what I want. But the thing is, this is what I want. I don't know what else I'd do!
I realize, now, that admitting all this is maybe a bad thing. I do have a TV problem, and everyone who reads this does know that, so its not horrible, but still. I'm sure someday, when I have other things going on, I'll not watch as much as I do know. But as it stands, I'm ok with my addiction. I'll cling to it, at least until winter, when I get a break. Until then, I'll sleep with the knowledge that my Tivo is always filling up.

Learning is great for kids of all ages!

Lately, I have been learning so much! From both real life and TV shows, I want to share some of my new knowledge with all of you readers. (All 3 of you)

Taco Tuesday at Del Taco is a great idea! But...eating 4 tacos, half an order of chili-cheese fries and then running three miles? Pretty much the worst idea in the history of the world.

It's very easy to pretend to be a psychic. Just zero in on small, insignificant details around the room, and you can know everything there is to know about a person you've never met before.

TV season seems like such a good idea, and something I was really excited for. Until the new seasons of everything started, and I have 6 bloody hours of TV recording a night. Who can stand this?!

Plucking various hairs off of my brother is really fun. The trick is to wait until he's not paying attention, then quickly grab some eyebrow hair and tug while trying to get away.

$700 billion dollars is a lot of money. Who knew?

If you want to have a serious conversation with a close friend, it's best to pick a room with flattering lighting, wear lots and lots of black eyeliner, then make sure to cry. You'll really get the point across that you're serious about what you're talking about.

Closing your eyes while walking on an uneven sidewalk is so the wrong thing to do. Those dang things will trip you if you're not careful!

Apparently, when I'm sleeping and my dog makes noise at night, I will throw water bottles at her. I woke up one morning, and there were water bottles all around where my dog was, and I vaguely remember throwing them that night. I felt bad. But, to be fair, they were empty.

I'm sure there's more I learned, but in the interest of time (meaning, I'm barely awake right now and wanting to go to sleep, even though it's barely after ten...) I'm just going to share these. I hope all of you are also learning loads in your daily life, and if you're not...try to put yourself in a situation where you can learn a lot!

There's no crying in baseball!

…Or anywhere else, for that matter. I’m not a crier. I don’t get teary very often. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I really cried. I probably just don’t have the drama in my life that some people do. Things are casual and easy-going, so there’s never anything for me to get worked up about. I think it’s weak to cry (for me, not for others, I don’t mean to offend anyone here who cries) and so I try not to. Usually, when something is painful is when the tears come.
Of course, there are exceptions. I cry in movies and TV shows all the time. I went to the movies this last weekend; saw Ghost Town (good movie, by the way. I recommend) and I teared up in it! I didn’t cry a lot, it wasn’t like sobbing or anything, but I definitely got misty. And this last Monday, I was watching One Tree Hill (don’t judge me, people. I love this show despite how ridiculous it is) and I definitely cried a little there too. I don’t know what it is about TV that makes me cry. I know it’s not real, but they have a way of pulling at my heartstrings! And I’m always so embarrassed when I cry while watching. I’m hoping that nobody will come downstairs (where I’m usually watching TV) or that nobody will hear my quiet sniffle or glance over at me at the theater.
The worst is when I’m working out and something makes me cry. While I’m running indoors on the treadmill, I’m watching TV. I have to watch something, or else I get bored within 2 minutes of running. Sometimes, I’m watching a movie that makes me cry, and there’s nothing more embarrassing then crying and running at the same time. I feel so ridiculous. In addition to my shows and movies, I also do sometimes cry during commercials. That’s right; I’m one of those girls. I don’t even consider myself very sensitive or anything, and here I am, crying at the drop of a hat. I sometimes can’t believe myself.
Most times it’s just a tear or two, and once in a while, I’ve got tears streaming down my cheeks. Maybe someday I’ll move past this business of crying during everything I watch. Until then, I’ll see if I can stay away from the really sad movies-while I’m running, at least.

I'm staying young and beautiful until the day I die.

I know I'm a young chicken. All around me are people that are older than me, whether it be by a month or twenty years. I only recently turned 25, and I know how young that is. I didn't even have a hard time turning 25, even though it's halfway to fifty, which means halfway to dead. (Just kidding, ya'll.) There are a few things that make me feel my age-or even older than I am. Those few moments make me a little sad.
One of these moments is when I was filling out a form shortly after my birthday. I realized then that I had moved up a bracket. When filling things out previous, I was in the bracket 18-24. Now, I'm in the 25-35 box. I know thats a dumb thing to feel bad about, but for some inexplicable reason, that tugged at my heartstrings a little. I know longer am in that "young" demographic-I'm actually probably starting to be an adult.
Another instance is when I was at the store today. I had bought a bookcase, and the 17 (I think) year old kid who brought it up to me also carried out to my car. I thought this was polite, and a good show of customer service. When he loaded it into my car, he turned to me and said, "Have a good night, ma'am" and I almost died. Am I now a ma'am? I feel like I'm not even that much older than him, and I'm getting called ma'am. I know, it's a polite way of addressing women, but I feel like ma'am should only be used to address older woman. Someone of my still relatively young age should not be called this yet!
I know that none of this is really a big deal to people, and everyone who reads this is older than I, but different people have hard times with different things. And I'm not even having too hard a time with it, but I just have these few little issues with getting older. There are many good things, and I'm just trying to focus on those. Renting a car without paying that extra fee-woo hoo! I'll stay focused on the positives-until I have another of these moments.