A Sweet Escape

Ok so this Arizona trip was way too fun. I loved every minute of it. Except for coming home when I got super sick suddenly. Real lame. But it went away just as suddenly which is real great. So instead of giving a play by play of the trip I will just list a bunch of highlights.

-Having the whole back seat of the mini-van to myself. Sleeping the whole way was wonderful.
-The amazingly nice weather.
-Seeing Gavin smile and coo at me.
-Getting what looked like a ginormous egg yoke with my dinner at the world famous Cow Palace. If you haven't been there, try it out. You won't be disappointed.
-Playing Rock Band until 2 with the cousins.
-Learning to play hand and foot and not doing too badly.
-Finding out my Wii Fit age is 20.
-Hearing Trevor, Zak, and Jason talk about their missions. So interesting.
-Jen telling me I should hang around her more often because I think she's funny.
-Tucking Sam and Hailey in for bed which included kisses and singing "You are my sunshine".
-Playing with whipped cream with Zak. Smelling it for hours afterward- not so much a highlight.
-Buying way more than I should have at the mall but am going to look hot!
-Eating at Paradise cafe. A couple times.
-Eating at Cheesecake Factory (although I didn't get to eat my white chocolate raspberry truffle cheesecake. Sad.)
-Having 2 great friends drive up from Tucson to come to dinner. (Thanks again Linds and Whit! Love you girls!)
-Wearing socks with flip flops cause it was FREEZING!
-Taking a bath for the first time since I was, I don't know, 6 maybe?
-Seeing the giant hole. Also known as the Grand Canyon.
-Visiting so much family that I love and miss. Who could ask for more?

I'm it!!!

I've been tagged! This is my first time being tagged so I'm kind of excited. Thanks Jaron! Yes I am still in Arizona having a blast with the fam! Update of the trip will come soon. Including pictures :) But for now, on with the tag...

8 things I am passionate about:
1- My family
2- Helping others see their potential and reach it
3- Dancing
4- Church/spiritual stuff
5- Friends
6- Cereal
7- Guitar Hero ;)
8- Traveling

8 words or phrases I use often:
1- Goo
2- Crapface
3- Really...???
4- Perfect/Fantastic
5- Opa!
6- Faith not Fear
7- Can I please tell you...
8- Remember the time...

8 things I have learned from the past:
1- Parents really are smart. I owe A LOT to them
2- You're never too old for cereal and you can eat at any time
3- I should have played sports more
4- ... ok fine, I was spoiled. :)
5- Everything happens for a reason
6- Don't judge too quickly
7- I procrastinate (still learning that one)
8- You may never know the impact you have on someone else

8 places I want to go to or see:
1- Greece
2- Egypt
3- New Zealand
4- Thailand
5- Africa
6- Most of Europe really
7- Guatemala/Peru/Brazil, etc
8- China

8 things I currently need or want:
1- A finished room... NOW
2- To go skydiving
3- To travel any place in the previous 8
4- A new ipod
5- Tickets to Odyssey's Thriller
6- Better scrapbooking ability
7- My new shoes that are being shipped
8- Actually just more clothes. You can't really have enough

I guess now is the time to tag all you faithful followers of my blog! (which I could probably count on one hand but I have to tag 8). And the winners are... Mom, Jen, Bethany, Kim, Davies (so you have something to blog about), Ann, Fez, and Zak/Weezie.

Arizona... HERE WE COME!!!

So about a month ago we were supposed to take a trip to Arizona for my dad's work. Well that didn't happen because he ended up getting uber sick (sadness). He is loads better now which is fabulous because we are going to Arizona today! We will be gone until next Thursday so if you want to hang out with me and you are not in the state of AZ, sorry, you're out of luck. Get back to me next Friday and we'll party it up!

There are multiple reasons I am excited for this trip. Here are a few in no particular order:

*See Jason and Jen

*See baby Gavin!!!

*Visit uncle's family in Tucson

*See cousins I haven't seen in 2 years!

*Play Rock Band, Wii, and other games for who cares how long

*Be in the warm sunshine

*Shopping

*Visit dear friend Lindsey (hopefully!)

*Who doesn't love road trips?

Brace yourself. Good times are about to take place.

Project Time

Who wants a project? I do! I do! Pick me!

Ok, so it wasn't quite as enthusiastic as that but the idea of redoing the upstairs, which includes my bedroom, was pretty exciting. It has been the same since we moved in 15 years ago with the exception of Brian moving out and Tyler moving into his room and the never ending dejunking I seem to have to do. So the idea of a change? Bring it on.

My parents went shopping for new carpet a few weeks ago and found some they liked. I will no longer have pink carpet. Yes. Then my mom brought up the option to get new furniture. What? I can get a new bedroom set? Yee-haw. I don't know why this idea didn't occur to me but then it was all exciting to try and find just what I liked. My mom and I went out looking and oddly enough both ended up buying the first sets we saw. Love at first sight if you will. So the dates were set for installation and delivery. Hm, what to do between now and then... Oh yeah, take down wallpaper, move everything downstairs, and paint the walls. Oh joy...

This is me looking happy to take down wallpaper. False. It was a HUGE pain and I will never ever have wallpaper in my home.


With the wallpaper finally off next I had pack up my room and move it downstairs. To the right is a picture of what I am currently living in. It's a good thing we're leaving for Arizona next week. It's not so bad actually, except I can't remember what is in each box. By the time I figure it out I'll have new stuff to move it into. Yahoo!

So now that the bedroom is empty, minus my bed, time to paint. The taping wasn't bad at all. Cake walk. My mom and Ann are champs and painted along the trimming and corners of each room so I was ready to paint the walls. Seems pretty easy right? Goo. The color is only slightly darker than what was there before but when wet is about the same color. It was hard to tell where I'd already painted and not go out of control and get the trimming. I decided to try the ceiling and that was even worse. Its so awkward looking up, dodging dropping paint, and using muscles I didn't know I had. Luckily my dad is a sweetheart and took over for me. Thanks dad! Once that was dry I switched the tape and painted the trim and closet doors. That wasn't so bad actually except when your brush bristles separate and start to curl.


Taping around the toilet. Gross. Oh yeah, we painted the bathroom walls too.

Ann and I in a paint fight. Ok not really, but that would have been very fun.

Ask me if I like painting. No, no I don't. Except for maybe finger painting. Ask me if I'm still debating painting one or all of my walls a color because I love that look. Yes, yes I am. My furniture is a dark brown and I keep leaning towards green and blue colors. I'm still looking for the bedspread I love and am having a hard time imagining the look that's me.

Why am I going to do this to myself? I don't know. Maybe because my room is going to be smashing when it's done. Suggestions are welcome as I am still in the brainstorming stage. Updates to come soon.

FINISHED. sigh.

Yay! I finished the vampire obsession series!
Verdict? Neutral. Liked some things and others were just weird.
Happy with the ending? Surely.
Will I see the movie? Probably. Even though the trailers have given me a chuckle, I didn't read the whole series just to not see the movie.
Next book? No clue. Like stated in the previous post, I'm not much of a reader. But I found that if the story is good or it gets me hooked, even though I may not like it in the moment (aka-stupid vampires), I really do enjoy a good read.
Suggestions???