Monday, March 26, 2012

Quote Wall Monday

Monday, March 19, 2012

Quote Wall Monday

Tag, Your It

I've been a bad blogger this month! And I really do have so many things to write about....
Like my vacation from three months ago! Or my awesome Valentines Day! And opening a time capsule!! 
But before I can post about those things, I was tagged!! And I must answer the challenge!! 
I was tagged by my wonderful blogging friend Kristen {She is hilarious by the way!! Her blog will make you laugh, and probably inspire you to become a runner at the same time}!! 
So here are the rules:
1- Post these rules
2- Post a photo of you and 11 things about your life
3- Answer the questions set for you in the original post
4- Create 11 new questions and tag people to answer them
5- Go to their blog and tell them you've tagged them 

As per rule two I posted this picture of me. I kept trying to take pictures of myself
{which can be really awkward}
and none of them were turning out!! No surprise there!!
So all you get are my eyes! 

11 Things About My Life
1- I wake up at pretty much the exact same time, Monday through Friday and go to work from 8:30 to 6:00. I feel like I live at there sometimes!! 
2- I have a goal to read 30 books this year.
3- I think that the best way to eat cake is in a bowl, covered in milk!!
4- I have recently become addicted to watching Toddlers & Tiara's...... It's ridiculous I know! But it's like watching a train wreck.... I just cant turn it off!! Some of those moms are CA-Raaaay-Zeee!! And the attitudes on some of those little girls just blow my mind!! 
5- My new favorite work out is the rowing machine! Especially playing the fish game!! 
6- I have a yellow accent wall in my bedroom. The other colors I used to decorate are black, white and grey. I am loving that color combo right now. 
7- I hate peas!! They have got to be one of the worst vegetables ever! 
8- I am horrible at sewing! But it's a skill that I really want to work on.
9- I used to think that the maxi dress/skirt was a horrible trend. But now I love them!! I have found a bunch of cute tutorials on Pinterest but, as number eight states, I cant make any of them!! 
10- I love to color..... and yes, I have a box a crayons and a stash of coloring books under my bed and break them out every so often.
11- I have a ridiculous amount a DVDs! I love buying and watching movies! And they are alphabetized on my shelf! 

KRISTEN'S QUESTIONS
1.  What was your first memory? I can remember going to the doctors to get my kindergarten shots. I remember the nurse showing me this little gadget and talking about how cool it was. And then all of the sudden it STABBED me!! It was awful!                                
2. What makes you laugh? The Kristen Bell spot on Ellen when she talks about sloths! And my friend Charmaine!! She can always make me laugh!!
3. What is the most challenging thing you've done in the last week? Work was crazy last week!! And making it to Friday was a serious challenge! We were extremely short handed and of course everyone came in for help all at once! I also had some really challenging loans that were hard to deal with!          
4. Why do you blog?  I blog because I am terrible about writing things down in my journal!    
5. Who inspires you? It may be cheesy but my parents inspire me!!  
6 What's the grossest thing you've ever eaten? Seaweed!! We had this really cool Korean guy staying with us awhile and one night he made us an authentic Korean meal. I couldn't handle to seaweed paper. Usually I can choke things down, but I just couldn't with this stuff! I had to go spit it out and rinse my mouth out!!      
7. Jeans or a skirt? This is a hard one. Jeans can be comfy.... but I really do love skirts! I think if I had more skirts that I really loved I would be wearing them all the time!!  
8. You're traveling to Europe, where do you go? Oh my gosh, where to even start!! Bavaria is very high on my list as is Austria!! Oh, and Ireland!! I want to kiss the Blarney Stone!! And I need to get back to Paris just so I can go to the top of the Eiffel Tower!!
9. If you could spend $500 on any one thing what would it be? Only one thing?!? Shoes!! I would probably spend it all on shoes!!
10. What's your favorite quote/ scripture/ saying? "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! And it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed holder a black eye!"
11. What's your favorite flavor of ice cream/ fro-yo/ gelato/ frozen concoction? I LOVE French Silk ice cream by Kroger!! So so SO good!! And Coldstone had a brownie batter ice cream flavor once that was SO good!!

MY QUESTIONS FOR YOU!!! 
1- What's the most played song on your iPod/mp3 player?
2- Would you change your first name if you could? If so what would it be?
3- If you could be a fictional character who would you be?
4- What is the last book/TV show/movie that made you tear up?
5- What is your favorite holiday?
6- How many states have you visited?
7- If you could have a vacation home would it be a mountain cabin, beach house or big city condo?
8- What is your most prized possession?
9- Do you have a favorite ethnic food?
10- If Hollywood made a movie of your life, which actor/actress would you want to play you?
11- Do you have hidden talent?

Okay... now the tagging part. I am going to be a rule breaker and not officially tag anyone!! If you are bored and need a Monday afternoon blog post then you should definitely participate!! If you do decide to answer the questions, send me a link to your blog because I'd love to read your answers!!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Quote Wall Monday

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Life Long Friendship

On Tuesday I was able to get together with some of my best friends for lunch at Kneaders. It's not often that we are able to get together due to conflicting schedules, families and distance. So it's always so great when we can be together! I always say I am going to take more pictures when we have these girls nights.... and then I never do!!
So instead, I thought I'd share a few memories about some of my life long friends!!

AMBER: She lived across the street and three houses down from me so we were constantly playing together. I remember that Amber had TONS of cool board games.... Addams Family, Dont Wake Daddy.... I loved them, but I also remember that board games were not her favorite thing to do! So instead of board games we played lots of school! Amber had all kind of cool stuff that we could use. We also played store a lot because she had a sweet cash register that we could use! I remember going down the Amber's house right after I had lost one of my teeth. I remember sitting in her family room with a washcloth in my mouth while we played paper dolls. Amber also had all huge fish tanks at her house that I thought were the coolest thing. I remember Amber had a hamster {or maybe it was a gerbil} at one time and we were in her room playing with it. It started to run under the bed and I put my hand over it to stop it and it bit me on that piece of skin between your thumb and index finger. I remember there was shouting.. and then I remember walking home crying!
Best things about Amber: She will be there to back you up and doesn't put up with anyones crap!

RACHEL: The thing I remember most about Rachel while growing up was her long, beautiful hair!! I remember being so jealous of it! I remember taking interior design together in high school and working together on a big project. We went to a bunch of stores and ended up in some pretty shady places... like a nasty tile store that smelled SO bad!! I remember we didn't get along very well our junior and senior year. I vaguely remember what it was about and it was so stupid!! I should have been a more patient and understanding friend. Rachel always has the cutest outfits, especially jackets! She is a fantastic mom and her sewing skills are awesome!
Best things about Rachel: She is forgiving. She is still my friend even after my brattiness in high school! She is sweet, creative and

EMILY: Emily grew up on the "other side of the neighborhood" and she is also about a year older so I dont remember doing much with her growing up. I think my earliest memories of her are from high school. I remember that she ate a lot of salad.... like a salad every single day for lunch and I never understood how she could do it! I also remember that our personalities slightly clashed in high school. In fact, I remember being so mad at her one time that I slammed my locker door and the hook broke off! But that changed when Emily and I were both students at USU. It was my freshman year and I was a hundred miles from home. I didnt know anyone and I had some really interesting roommates!! But Emily was there! And we started doing all kinds of things together like movie nights and dinner!! I was so grateful for her!!
Best things about Emily: She is not afraid to speak her mind! She is honest and open! She is also very caring and would do anything for a friend!!

AMANDA: Oh the memories I have with Amanda! I remember a Halloween party at her house where we walked, blind folded, on a balance beam stepping on gross stuff and sticking our hands in bowls of brains {spaghetti}. I remember going to Oakcrest with her and I seem to remember something about balloons..... I remember walking home from the bus stop one day and someones dog ran off their porch toward us and barking all the way. Poor Amanda hates dogs and was so freaked out that she started screaming... So loud in fact that if scared the dog and it turned around and ran back to the porch!! I remember giving her a hard time because the boy she liked wore white socks with his sandals! And of course there is the time we went on a Slurpee run and got pulled over for drunk driving!! I also remember calling Amanda a lot while I was at USU and complaining about some of my crazy roommates. And I still remember when she called me to tell me she was engaged!!
Best things about Amanda: She is hilarious! I always a laugh when she is around! She is such a cute mom!! I love getting on her blog and seeing all the fun and creative things she does with her girls!

TIFFANY: I have SO many memories with Tiffany!! Countless sleepovers and trips to the mall!! Playing with walkie talkies in her house and pretending like we were on a sinking ship! Going to girls camp and hating the dreaded hikes! Writing notes to each other with code symbols for the boys we liked! I remember doing school musicals with her, standing on a "porch" while drinking champagne {sparkling cider} out of cool glasses. Going on choir tour together to San Francisco and getting in trouble in Chinatown for taking pictures inside one of the stores!! Doing dance together and Colette's and wearing our interesting burgundy costumes!   Getting in stupid, pointless fights over the dumbest things and then making up because that's what you do with one of your best friends!! I even caught the bouquet at her wedding!!
Best things about Tiffany: She has been my friend, no matter what... even during times when I wasnt such a good friend to her! She is a friend that understands me like not many others can and I know that I can talk to her about anything!! She is a Super Mom with a three year old and twins! I dont know how she does it but she's amazing!!

LACEY: My best friend since the day my family moved in across the street at one and a half. My list of memories with her could go on forever! Playing on the swing set and pretending like we could see Disneyland. Jumping on the trampoline and practicing flips. Taking everything out of the cubby hole in her wall and sitting there reading books.Riding our bikes to school sometimes and having the same teachers all the way up to sixth grade. Drawing bracelets on our wrists and playing Power Rangers with our brothers. Watching Remember the Titans in my basement and following along to the dance. Going on our first dates in the same group to Morp {I was actually on my first date with her future husband}. Going to Blockbuster almost every Friday night for weeks..... so often that the guy recognized us as regulars!! Going to the UofU together and playing cards in between classes and then graduating with our Bachelors degrees together.
Best things about Lacey: I know I can call her any time, for anything. She is compassionate, friendly and just and all around good person! 

THANKS for putting up with me for so long girls!! I dont think I can thank each of your enough for your friendship!! I love being able to say that I am still friends with people that I went to elementary school with!!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Book 5

Thirteen-year-old Jonah has always known that he was adopted, and he's never thought it was any big deal. Then he and a new friend, Chip, who's also adopted, begin receiving mysterious letters. The first one says, "You are one of the missing." The second one says, "Beware! They're coming back to get you."
Jonah, Chip, and Jonah's sister, Katherine, are plunged into a mystery that involves the FBI, a vast smuggling operation, an airplane that appeared out of nowhere -- and people who seem to appear and disappear at will. The kids discover they are caught in a battle between two opposing forces that want very different things for Jonah and Chip's lives.
Do Jonah and Chip have any choice in the matter? And what should they choose when both alternatives are horrifying?

I was sick this weekend. And although that was no my favorite way to spend my days off it did give me a chance to catch up on my reading!! I finished Eldest and was eager to start this book. Yes, I know that it sounds like this is a story written for middle school kids, but I loved it!! I loved reading it so much in fact that I had finished it by Sunday evening!! I wished I would have had the next book the series to start reading immediately!! But I wont have to wait long because I picked up the next three books from the library yesterday! I cant wait to start reading them!! 

Monday, March 5, 2012

Quote Wall Monday

I'm working on this with myself!! The having faith part.......
Having faith when everything seems to be going wrong is hard!!
Sometimes I wonder why I just cant catch a break!!
I just have to some how remember that it's test of my faith!!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Book 4

Darkness falls…despair abounds…evil reigns…

Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have just saved the rebel state from destruction by the mighty forces of King Galbatorix, cruel ruler of the Empire. Now Eragon must travel to Ellesmera, land of the elves, for further training in the skills of the Dragon Rider: magic and swordsmanship. Soon he is on the journey of a lifetime, his eyes open to awe-inspring new places and people, his days filled with fresh adventure. But chaos and betrayal plague him at every turn, and nothing is what it seems. Before long, Eragon doesn't know whom he can trust.

Meanwhile, his cousin Roran must fight a new battle–one that might put Eragon in even graver danger.

Will the king's dark hand strangle all resistance? Eragon may not escape with even his life. . . .





Still not entirely sure how I feel about this series! These books are long.... like Harry Potter long!! And sometimes I feel like the author is dragging the story out. Did he really need a whole chapter about a storm and how Eragon struggles to close the window and how Saphira gets stuck in the tree trying to make sure he's okay?! And the author uses a plethora of advanced words! It reminded me of my high schools days when we would have certain words in our books that we were required to look up and memorize as part of our vocab list! It also gets kind of old flipping to the back of the book to look up the interpretation of the different languages! It got the point where I didn't look anything up any more and just tried to infer the meaning from what was going on at the time. I took me much longer to get through this book than I anticipated and seriously considered stopping at some points!!  
But then I get closer to the end of the book, when the story is starting to reach it's climax, with plot lines converging, and then I cant put it down! There are some crazy twists that happen at the end and it made me excited to read the next book!! 
Two down, two to go!! It might be a little while though before I pick up Brisigr though!