The Jones'es'es

Hello? Bueler?

2011-06-28T19:31:00.000-07:00

Please don't forget me on my new blog.

I don't post here anymore

j-is-for-jones.blogspot.com

I've missed you

Out with the old... In with the NEW

2010-11-21T18:47:00.000-08:00

Its time we say goodbye to this blog.

Somehow when I started this blog years ago (before I had my own gmail account) my mom's gmail got linked to it and its created much confusion. I've tried switching the email to my own so many times but it just won't work.

I'm finally breaking down and starting a new blog and saying bye to carryingcathy forever.

I also found out that the song "Carrying Cathy" by Ben Folds is about how his girlfriend in high school named Cathy got pregnant and had an abortion.

But thats besides the point.

The point is that you need to come see me at my new blog

j-is-for-jones.blogspot.com

Its a work in progress and I'm not sure how I feel about the name yet but it will make my life just a little easier. And who doesn't want that.

I could say it will make me blog more but that will probably be a lie.

I'm Back!

2010-10-24T20:40:00.000-07:00

So I'm not so good at this whole blogging thing but maybe I'll try and be better.

A lot has happened with us this past month.

1. We bought a house! (pics and post to come)

2. We just had our 2nd anniversary.

I'm sure more stuff has gone on but those two things are definitely the biggest.

For our anniversary we went camping for two days and drove down to see the Gila Valley Temple.

It was so nice to have the weekend to relax and not have to worry about things that need fixing in the house (or doing homework in Ben's case). We just got to hang out together and have fun.

We also saw this ginormous grasshopper... seriously the size of my hand

Ever since we've been married (and pretty much the whole time we were dating) Ben has had jobs where he works on Saturdays. This semester we worked it out so that Ben could quit his job and focus on school... all 19 credits of it. We LOVE getting to see each other on Saturdays even if we're shoveling dirt in the back yard or making the latest trip to Home Depot.

I'm making it a goal to start blogging more.

Maybe like once a week... we'll see though.

Tiffany Haynes Photography

2010-09-05T23:35:00.000-07:00

My good friend Tiffany is hosting a giveaway on her photography blog. She is very talented and I always get jealous of how good her pictures turn out (I secretly wish she would have shot my wedding).

I would tell you to enter too but that would leave less chances for me to win.

Check her out

Tiffany Haynes Photography

I would display one of her pictures but there are too many to choose from.... plus I don't really have permission to do that.

Look for yourself... just don't enter the giveaway.

I want to win so bad.

Surprise Vegas

2010-08-19T14:09:00.000-07:00

This week for work I had to be in Kingman, AZ for 2 days.

Traveling overnight is something I really dislike about my job.

Luckily I have an awesome husband who drove up to stay with me the second night I was there (shhhh... top secret). When Ben got there at around 4pm he said "Let's go to Vegas"... so we did.

First we stopped at the Hoover Dam
to see the construction of the new bridge

which is awesome by the way.

We got onto the Vegas strip right around sundown
so all the lights were just coming on.

We drove down most of the strip to see everything before we parked since we knew it wouldn't be a long visit.

We ate at a nice restaurant and ordered the cheapest things on the menu.

Then we went and watched the fountains at the Bellagio
before heading back Kingman.

It was a fun little trip. We both decided though that if we ever go to Vegas again we'd much rather be there during the day. There are too many people that like to drink too much alcohol there at night.

Undercover Karaoke

2010-08-07T19:24:00.000-07:00

I'm not usually one to post videos I like on to my blog but I thought this was really funny.

Now all I want to do is listen to Jewel songs.

New England--- Highlight #5 and #6

2010-07-31T11:37:00.000-07:00

#5--- the FOOD

Thanks to Abbie and Jake for letting us come on one of their dates to eat LOBSTER.

And then we went out for ice cream.

New England knows its ice cream.

I had the black raspberry oreo... mmmmmm

I wish I would have gotten a picture of the huge roast beef sandwiches.

Those things were good.

I think we all spent the entire week filling up on meat and sugar.

It was glorious.

#6--- The company

I think Ben could spend all day with these kids and never run out of energy.

We had so much fun just playing.

Those kids couldn't get enough of Ben.

Being with family the whole week was such a blast.

I never wanted this trip to be over.

We should probably make this a yearly tradition.

I don't think anyone would have any complaints about that.

New England--- Highlight #4

2010-07-30T07:45:00.000-07:00

ZIP LINING

This was probably our favorite highlight
of our trip here to New Hampshire.
And we couldn't have done it without a little help ($) from Grandad.

(big thanks Grandad)

I totally psyched myself out on the way up to this place which I do any time I convince myself to do crazy things. I was all nervous and a bit sweaty... although I'm pretty sure the sweaty part had a lot to do with the 97% humidity that day. Either way, we had such a blast and this is something I would love to do again. After the first jump I realized it was less scary and more awesome. The longest zip line lasted over a minute and we were so high above the trees that you could see all the beauty that is New Hampshire.

I told Ben that I want to work at a zip lining place so that we could go all the time. Definitely sounds way better than the job I have now.

We loved New Hampshire... a lot

New England--- Highlight #2 and #3

2010-07-26T18:07:00.000-07:00

Highlight #2 for our trip?

SURFING

Thanks to Danny and Lindsi for inviting us on their date night.

Surfing was a blast. I think Lindsi won for most times getting up.

Highlight #3

Candle pin bowling

Ellie definitely won for best style points

New England--- Highlight #1

2010-07-26T12:19:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a week in New England and it was amazing.

Highlight #1 was visiting Grandad

I think I was 7 the last time I got to see him.

All the grandkids warmed up to him really fast and we all loved seeing all his amazing wood carvings.

I hope the 18 of us (10 adults, 8 children) at his house wasn't too overwhelming.

We miss you already Grandad.

Mesa's Historical Landmark

2010-07-08T13:24:00.000-07:00

If you know Mesa, you know Dizzy.

The legendary street preacher of

Stapley and Main

died last weekend of bone marrow cancer.

He's been there ever since I can remember and I get an occasional wave of the middle finger when I drive by and smile at him. Mesa won't be the same without you Dizzy.

Memorial services will be held this Saturday July 10th at 6:30pm at Pioneer Park. Following the memorial there will be a candlelight vigil walk to Stapley and Main to walk his corner.

Funny hats and large headphones are encouraged.

We will miss you Dizzy

Fail

2010-07-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

I tried to make this...

found here

And it turned out like this...

I wish I could bake cool things.

Maybe some day.

The frosting turned out really good though.

And we made some tasty strawberry ice cream.

I'll stick to what I know for now.

One day I might attempt this

found here

But I'm a little discouraged after my failed attempt at a much simpler cake this weekend.
I want to learn though because how pretty is that?

I Love AZ

2010-06-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

How cute is this?

Enter the giveaway here

Or buy one for yourself here

(you can choose any state)

Doppelgänger

2010-06-10T11:03:00.000-07:00

In the vernacular, the word "doppelgänger" has come to refer (as in German) to any double or look-alike of a person.

I have been told a few different times that I look like different celebrities each of which seems weird to me. Twice in college I was told that I look like Avril Lavigne and both times the person asked if I got that "all the time" like it was a compliment to look like a slutty singer.

Next was just a few weeks ago at Sam's wedding when some relative of the Jones or Gilespie family (I really don't know who it was) told me that he and his wife thought I looked exactly like Gweneth Paltrow

which seems like a better compliment but I still don't get it.

There was also a period of time in elementary school when Hanson was super popular that I was told MULTIPLE times that I looked like the super hunky youngest brother Zack... Not something I wanted to hear as a 10 year old girl that I looked like a boy... even though I was a huge tom-boy

Who's your doppelganger?

Live and Learn

2010-05-27T10:36:00.000-07:00

To get in and out of our humble little one bedroom apartment you have to pass through 2 doors (one regular door and one screen door) and 4 locks. The doors are old and sometimes the locks are hard to turn with the old keys we have.

So in efforts to make our lives a bit easier Ben and I decided that when we leave the house we would lock the handle, shut the door and then lock the top one with our keys.

One day we locked the handle, shut the door and then realized neither of us had our keys.
We were locked out of our own house.
Very embarrassed, we called our landlord to come rescue us.

Now every time we leave the house I make sure to ask Ben if he has his keys.
Most of the time he closes the door and pretends he doesn't have them.
Then one time (again) he really didn't have his keys... and neither did I.

We were embarrassed again.
But this time we remembered that one of our windows wasn't locked.
So Ben (in his church clothes) pried off the window screen, slid open the window, and jumped through the blinds to let me in.
The whole time I was on the look out for others in our ward to be walking home so I could just act casual like taking the screen off our windows was something we did all the time.

It was then that I realized that we don't learn from our mistakes.
So I changed that (in a way) and put the key to the back door of our apartment on with the spare key to my car and took it over to my parents house.

Since then, I have (by myself) locked myself out of my house two more times... most recently on Tuesday
Each time one of my parents has so graciously brought me the key to my back door.
And each time I tell them to wait for me so I can give the key back because lets face it... it will probably happen again.

This also worked the time I locked my keys in my car at my old job

Things I've Learned...

2010-05-06T11:25:00.000-07:00

While sitting at a desk on the 3rd floor of an office building in Phoenix in front of a window.

1. Planes fly into Sky Harbor two by two
2. Rarely is the roof to Chase Field closed (D-backs)
3. I'm easily distracted by birds
4. And I now have an odd appreciation for palm trees. How do they stay standing with their skinny, ridiculously tall trunks and top heavy fanned out leaves?

Normally I'm out of the office a few times a week but this month I will be sitting here at my desk EVERY SINGLE DAY. So please, for my sanity, update your blogs on a more regular basis so that I have something to read when I need a break from writing reports. If anyone has any blogs they recommend I am totally open to blog stalking people I don't know.

And for your viewing pleasure. Meet baby Elliot.

We Crossed the Border

2010-03-24T16:04:00.000-07:00

And they almost didn't let us come back

My passport is in the mail I swear

Last week we spent our days playing with our favorite beach buddies

Walking in the cold water

Looking for sea shells

Getting chased by big wet dogs

And eating fish tacos every day

It was perfect

25 years old... my mother she told me so

2010-03-21T16:47:00.000-07:00

(what's the next line to that song?)

Last week Ben turned 25 years old

That's 5 times older than when he wore cowboy boots and shorts to kindergarden

He's a quarter of the way to being 100 and

he's now closer to 30 than he is to 20.

To celebrate we went out to dinner at a Venesuelan place called

My Arepa, which we highly recommend

and then met up with Brittany and Brady for an Improv Comedy show

The next day we packed ourselves up and headed off to go hiking and camping

On the hike we got to have our last snowball fight of the season

Hiking was a lot of fun but we didn't plan for enough time. It wasn't too long of a hike but we couldn't finish because the sun was starting to go down and we still needed to set up camp.

We plan on making time for this one again

On our way to the campsite we saw a bunch of wild turkeys

We forgot to bring the converter pump for the air mattress

so we slept on the cold, hard ground

inside the cold, small tent...

It was cold... real cold

Besides our sleeping arrangements it was a fun trip.

We were the only ones on our hike and the only ones at the campsite.

This is not where we camped

but we found this sweet spot where we'll be camping next time...

Anyone want to come?

Happy Birthday Ben!

Yogurt Yo' Way

2010-02-16T15:31:00.000-08:00

Attention all frozen yogurt lovers!

Yodipity is the new Mesa Frozen Yogurt

Better selection of flavors

Too many toppings to count

Colorful, friendly environment

and awesome management.

Come check it out this weekend!

Get your BUY 1 GET 1 FREE coupon.
Free yogurt for bloggers, click here for details.

New Year... New Job

2009-12-27T12:11:00.000-08:00

Steak anyone?

I think Tiffany started a great tradition.

When you get a new job

you should celebrate with steak.

So we did.

I just got hired to work with a new company

and start on Jan. 6th

It's going to be bitter sweet

I love my job now and those I work with

Its been my second home for the past 5 1/2 years
Its going to be hard to leave

and I'll probably cry

But with a new job comes better pay

much better

And that will be sweet

Wish me luck!

Thank You Melissa and Sam

2009-12-19T22:42:00.000-08:00

Dear Melissa and Sam,

Thank you for selling me this wonderful bike just 4 years ago for the generous price of only $10.

I have loved this bike and used it often.

It got me through that time when my car died and I rode it to work for a few weeks in the cold winter.

I rode that bike to friend's houses and on plenty of casual rides through the neighborhoods.

My first kiss with Ben when we were dating was after a ride on this bike you sold me.

And now the tires are worn, and need to be pumped before each time we take it for a ride.

The seat shows of sun damage, and the chain is a bit rusty.

It's time to say goodbye.

This thank you goes more out to Melissa for not knowing the real worth of this bike and for not consulting your husband before selling it to me just 4 years ago.

Because today I sold this bike to a nice gentleman for $80

I loved this bike and the memories I have with it are priceless.

Merry Christmas Melissa and Sam!

Happy Birthday to ME!

2009-11-16T00:09:00.000-08:00

This past Monday the 9th was my birthday. My present to myself was a day off of work... and I did absolutly nothing... it was perfect. I didn't have a care in the world. Ben had school but on his break he took me out to lunch.

Wed was Veterans Day so we had the day to spend together. Ben tried to surprize me but I was too good at guessing... not that it made the day any less fun cause it was AWESOME. We drove up to Out of Africa wildlife park.

Here's two of my favorite pictures of the day...

Warning... I took a lot of pictures that day so be prepared to scroll down through a lot more pics.

This giraffe love the smell of my hair so much he wanted to eat it.

Does this picture make anyone else want some gum?

This bear and tiger's tummies say "I'm Hungry"

(as Sophie would say)

And this last picture is of the TIGER SPLASH

(the video wouldn't upload)

Traditions

2009-10-27T09:31:00.000-07:00

Apparently there's this tradition of cutting into the top layer of your wedding cake on your first anniversary. My mom took the liberty of freezing ours and we cut into it the other day (about a week late)

It was discusting.

There IS Fall in Arizona!

2009-10-19T22:34:00.000-07:00

You just have to find it.

Our anniversary surprise #2 was heading up to Sedona for some hiking and camping. The camping part kind of leaked out when I was telling Ben a story but I had to tell him eventually so he could help pack and make sure we had all the right stuff (even though we still forgot a bunch of stuff). I just didn't tell him where we were headed.

When we got into Sedona it was SO crowded. I've never seen that many people in such a small area. We tried to just keep driving until there was less people but it was very difficult. I had forgotten that it was the end of Fall Break for everyone... plus it was a Saturday

Sedona is so amazingly beautiful in the Fall. The weather is perfect and the colors are so pretty and Fall-like. We found a hike to go on but then didn't end up staying on the trail. Ben and I are more of explorers than trail followers... plus we don't like to follow other people on trails or feel like we're being followed. So instead we explored the creek and hopped on rocks.

I'm laughing really hard in this picture because we had to put the camera on a timer to get both of us in the shot. I sat on the rock while Ben got the camera ready and on his way over to me he slipped in the water and disappeared for a few seconds behind a different large rock.

After exploring the canyon we needed to go find a place to camp and knew of only one area close by that didn't make us pay a fee. It was just past Jarome on the top of Mingus Mountain. It was dark when we set up so we didn't realize how awesome it was until the morning.

From our campsite we only had to walk a little ways to see off the side of the mountain. Then we were driving out and got a little lost but ended up finding this launch pad for hang gliders.

All in all I'd say it was a great weekend... just not nearly long enough

One Year Celebrations!

2009-10-17T08:02:00.000-07:00

Today Ben and I have been married for one year. It seems weird to me that this year already came and went but we enjoyed every second of it. I told Ben that I would plan our first anniversary and wanted it to be a total surprize.

I think he's been surprized so far...

We made it home safe and now we're off to do some hiking and camping.

Amazing Dates... I mean Jakes

2009-09-20T12:11:00.000-07:00

A few months ago Ben and I decided that we would switch off each month planning a special date night doing something that we don't normally do. Last night was the first night that it actually happened because in July and August things kept comming up that prevented us from doing it. Last night we went to Amazing Jakes... here's why.

A few years ago I was taking a break from work and as I got in my car and turned the radio on I heard "Be caller 10 right now". I used to always try my luck at those things and that afternoon I was the lucky winner... although I honestly had no idea of what I was trying to win. Turns out it was a Tim McGraw CD and a $50 gift card to Amazing Jakes... that card had been sitting in my wallet form maybe 3 years and almost forgotten about until we used it last night. It got us a dinner buffet, 3 hours of unlimited rides and attractions, and $14 worth of token games.

I would never actually spend my own hard earned money at this place but knowing that it was all free made for a fun night. Next months date night...

1 year anniversary

This is Quincy

2009-08-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

We were kitten sitting for this cute slash crazy thing all week.

(and yes Ben and I do own this orange couch... jealous?)

Abbie was busy in the hospital this week making this dimpled chin baby
Meet Samuel Jay

Congrats Abbie and Jake on yet another amazing baby... this one comes complete with dolphin noises. He's perfect

You Don't Wan Breafas?

2009-07-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

Going in late to work plus making breakfast with my husband equals awesome

These French Crepes did not disappoint

Swine Flu?

2009-05-24T20:36:00.000-07:00

This last week Ben and I traveled down to Mexico with Danny, Lindsi and Ellie who graciously let us stay at their time share with them... (we did not where masks nor were we infected by the swine flu). We could only stay for a couple of days but it was well worth it. The resort was fancy, the beach was deserted and the water was nice... very nice.

We spent our 2 days there swimming in the ocean, building sand castles, skim boarding, eating fish tacos, laying out, and hanging out. It was a relaxing few days to celebrate the end of another semester of school... for Ben.

Thank you Danny and Lindsi for allowing us to accompany you on this amazing trip.

The drive home was delayed for 2 hours just as we crossed the border because of a roll over accident. We distracted ourselves by eating oreos and milk, playing about 10 games of Uno, and almost a full game of Yatzee.
It also rain slash hailed on us in our delay. The 4 hour car ride turned into 6 hours but we made it fun.

Spring Break 09

2009-03-28T16:53:00.000-07:00

This is the first Spring Break in a very long time that I did not go to Mexico. Since most of my siblings did not go and we are trying to save money, Ben and I decided to make our own fun.

Monday we spray painted a desk I bought the Saturday before for $5. We turned it from wood color to black and it looks awesome. We also went to IKEA and did other random errands.

Tuesday we went to the zoo

(Ben looks silly in this pic but hey there's an elephant in it)

Wednesday we had Mexico Day

we ate mexican pastries, drank soda out of glass bottles, flew kites, and ate burritos at some run down, very small, authentic, could have been straight from Mexico restaurant... And it may have been the best burrito I've ever had

Thursday we relaxed and gave our blood to the United Blood Services

Friday to Saturday we went camping in Payson
It was a good spring break

Also, Ben's birthday was the week before so we went on an adventurous hike. HAPPY 24h!

Open to the Public

2009-02-23T09:53:00.000-08:00

My blog is officially not on private anymore. I went through and deleted any incriminating posts that had gotten me in trouble with my work a few years ago. I learned my lesson and its time to move on with life.

In other news, Ben and I are in the market to buy a new truck... and by new I don't really mean new... just new to us. The truck he is driving right now belongs to his parents and will soon be driven by his little brother Sam who returns from his mission at the end of April. If you know of any good deals please let us know.

Sorry Grandad...

2009-02-21T11:52:00.001-08:00

Sorry that I never blog anymore and that you have to harass me through e-mail to get me motivated again. And sorry to the other 4 and a half people that look at my blog randomly. Ben and I don't have a computer or the internet so we don't get on much and plus I feel like my life is pretty boring and unblogworthy right now.

Ben and I have been married for 4 months now and its been pretty fun. I've learned a lot more about him in this past little while being married than when we were dating. Like the fact that Ben has this amazing talent of falling asleep ridiculously fast. He always falls asleep before me which is fine but the other night we were talking in bed and he seriously fell asleep mid word. When I started laughing he woke up and realized what had happened. I think we were talking about stuff that happened when we were dating and he wanted to say "Remember when..." but ended up saying "Remememmm.........."

How's that for talent?

I'm Graduated

2009-01-03T10:53:00.000-08:00

You're looking at the newest graduate of Arizona State University.

Thank you. Thank you.

Wedding Pictures

2008-12-04T17:55:00.001-08:00

We got our wedding pictures back on Sunday so I thought I'd post a few for the three people that actually read my blog.

I Swear We Got Married

2008-11-15T12:29:00.000-08:00

I don't have internet at my new house so not much blogging will get done for a while. Not that I was very religious about it before. The only time I get to be online is when I go to my parents house and that usually means I need to turn in an assignment for my internet class. I'll try and post updates from the last 4 weeks sooner than later cause a lot has been going on.

Post worthy blogs will be:

The temple

Reception

Mountainous weekend in Greer, AZ

Halloween and,

San Diego/ birthday

4 Days Left!

2008-10-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

My wedding is definitely this week! I've been super busy with reception plans and school work and trying to spend as little time as possible at my job. Wish me luck, I still have lots to do.

18 More Days!

2008-09-29T13:43:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel like there's not enough hours in the day to get everything accomplished that I need to. If my body didn't rely so much on sleep I think I could manage but as for right now... I'M STRESSED!!! I think I've been focusing too much on wedding plans that my school work has been getting the minimum attention and its starting to affect me. People keep asking if I need help with wedding plans and I do appreciate it and really everyone has been more than helpful but now if you could just read a few text books and take some tests or quizzes that would take the biggest load off my shoulders. Thanks

Thank Goodness For Boys

2008-09-16T00:44:00.000-07:00

Especially for a fiance who knows a thing or two about cars.

(sometimes he forgets to put his shoes on the right feet though)

Ben makes my life better in more ways than I can count.

I'm pretty lucky that I get to marry him in just 4 more weeks!

Update Time

2008-09-08T12:35:00.000-07:00

I realize I've been neglecting my blog since I've been engaged so here's a little update on what we've gotten accomplished in the last 3 weeks.

bought a dress
decided on a date (Oct. 17)
took announcement pictures
ordered invitations
registered at Target and Bed Bath & Beyond
bought potential bridesmaids dresses
chose a reception location
hired a decorator
hired a caterer
bought a guest book
my parents met Ben's parents
found groomsmen vests
meeting with cake lady tonight

In only 3 weeks we've gotten so much done but I feel like the list is never ending. Our top 3 things to get done next is to find a photographer, someone to do flowers, and find a place to live in Mesa. If you or anyone you know can help with these it would be much appreciated.

The Inside Scoop

2008-08-19T18:22:00.000-07:00

I promised I would share the events of my engagement story so sorry it took so long.

So on Friday Ben and I had both taken the day off of work. We started off the morning eating breakfast together and then headed off to Wildlife World Zoo. It was so much better than the regular Phoenix Zoo because there was hardly anyone there and all the animals were so much closer.

(neither of these pictures is zoomed in at all... we were just that close)

We got to pet the porcupines and antelope... although I don't think we were supposed to but no one was there to stop us. The monkeys were awesome and this little guy even managed to get on the outside of his cage. My favorite part of the zoo was feeding the giraffe. You go up on this platform so you are eye level with the giraffe and then stick out your hand with giraffe food and he just comes right over. I even got to kiss the giraffe on his big fat hairy lips... How many people can say they've done that?

Anyways, back to my story. After the zoo we both went home and took naps and Ben picked me back up at around 5. He took me down to Main Street and we walked around for a bit, revisiting our favorite places. Then we went to eat at Olive Garden and headed over to a park in Chandler that we had rode bikes in when we first started dating. We walked down the bike path and found a bridge over the canal and stopped on it. Ben told me that this was the exact spot where he first fell in love with me and then got down on his knee and proposed.

I think my exact words were "SHUT UP"... I was so excited that I almost forgot to say yes... But of coarse I did and now we're getting married!

Its Officially Official

2008-08-16T14:48:00.000-07:00

As of last night Ben and I are engaged!

More on the events leading up to this time in later blogs...

Sedona Recap

2008-07-28T00:26:00.000-07:00

This last Saturday Ben and I decided to take a spur of the moment road trip to Sedona. We had both had long work weeks and were in need of something different so that morning when I got to his house we were trying to figure out what to do I jokingly suggested that we go up to Sedona. We thought about it for a second and then packed up a few snacky snacks and hit the road. Neither of us had ever been before and we had a great time... despite the construction traffic and tons of tourists. First we hit up Slide Rock (but didn't go swimming)

After that we just drove around doing some sight seeing, stopping at whatever looked pretty or interesting.

(Here we are at Midgley Bridge)

Sedona was a nice cool 80 degrees with scattered sprinkley showers the whole time. It was beautiful... not to mention the full rainbow we saw on the way out. It was nice to get out of Mesa and the heat even if it was for just a day.

The Greatest Show on Earth?

2008-07-01T13:13:00.001-07:00

Ben and I went to the circus on Saturday night. We bought the cheapest tickets, sat in the highest row, and could barely see anything that had to do with people that were performing. We still had so much fun though cause really the elephants were the best part.

I'm Seeing Double

2008-05-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

If you didn't already know, my dad is running for AZ State Representative. So if you live in Mesa in District 18, we're counting on your vote.

Happy Kite Flying Day!

2008-05-12T17:43:00.000-07:00

Before and After

2008-04-27T14:37:00.000-07:00

Ben hasn't had a hair cut in about 5 months

He let me buzz it for him on Thursday
I've never given anyone a hair cut before but I think it turned out pretty alright.

Its Too Hot for a Hike

2008-04-16T01:26:00.000-07:00

Saturday Ben and I hiked Camelback Mountain. It will probably be the last hike we'll be able to do for a while cause it was extremely hot. It was a nice hike with lots of steep climbs, we had to take lots of breaks but it was worth it to finally make it to the top and be able to see the whole Valley

(I know, he still looks pretty homeless)

Then on the way down we took a little detour and found this sweet shady cave. The whether was actually nice without the sun beating down on us. We both just laid down and enjoyed the breeze and scenery.

I Went to the Airport...

2008-04-12T18:07:00.001-07:00

And brought back this homeless man...

(sorry for the sideways pic, I don't really know how to fix it)

After 8 long weeks Ben is finally home... 5 weeks earlier than originally scheduled. I'm so happy to have him back, even if he does have pretty long hair and a narly looking beard.

Now we've got some catching up to do this weekend.

Two Spring Breaks?

2008-03-23T16:15:00.000-07:00

It sounds nice, right? Although it was fun getting out of town for 2 weekends in March, it was all too short. After my classes on Thursday I took off down to Mexico where the rest of my family was. I barely missed seeing Danny and Lindsi, we passed each other on the road pretty close to the border without even knowing it. I stayed from Thursday night to Saturday afternoon and soaked up as much sun as possible on Friday (probably a little too much). I bought the token pair of sunglasses from a vendor and ate fish tacos at the Blue Marlin which is a definite must. Those tacos were the only thing on my "to do list" while I was there, and they didn't let me down.Mabel and I spent a lot of time playing on the beach together. We got in the cold water and wrote our names in the sand. We made a good team. Hopefully next year Spring Break will work out better to my favor so I can be there for the whole week.

Spring Break 2008

2008-03-16T23:24:00.000-07:00

ASU likes to ruin my life in many different ways. The latest way is how they did spring break this year. I just finished my spring break last week and my family is starting theirs this week. Every year my family goes to Rocky Point, Mexico for a whole week while everyone is out of school but this year I can't go because of the different schedules. I'm actually going to try and drive down Thursday after school and be back Saturday... Its not much but if I don't get a fish taco in my belly soon, I might go crazy.

So last week for my "break" I went to Tucson to visit Abbie. I was there from Saturday till Tuesday. I had a good time just being able to relax and not have to worry about mid terms or going to work. Sophie did this a lot for some reason.

I'm not quite sure what it means but as soon as I got to their house she just laid on the ground and started rolling around. And then at the park this happened a few more times.

Spending time in Tucson did get Sophie used to me so it made me super happy when Abbie and Jake came down to Mesa this weekend and Sophie came and gave me a big hug. I'm pretty excited for the whole family to be in Mexico together. I just wish I would be able to spend more time down there with them. I guess there's always next year... and by then I won't have to worry about school anymore!!!

Hike for the Homeless

2008-03-01T20:55:00.001-08:00

This past Saturday a couple friends and I did the Hike for the Homeless at Estrella Mountain. The whole hike was a total of 6 miles.

So basically with the Climb to Conquer Cancer last week and the Hike for the Homeless this week, you could say that I'm like a modern day Mother Teressa. Right?

I'm Losing My Mind... Again

2008-02-29T00:56:00.000-08:00

When I got home from work today I decided to lay down and take a break before starting on some homework. I laid down on the couch at 7 and woke up at 9:15pm thinking it was morning. I knew I was already late for work but I wasn't ready to wake up yet so I set my alarm on my phone for 9:30am and went back to sleep. I woke up again at 10:15 (still pm) and got really frustrated wondering why my alarm didn't wake me up. I text my boss and told her I was sorry for sleeping in and that I'd be at work soon. When she text back a confused response I then realized my embarrassing mistake and had to explain to her what had happened. She... and her whole family, who she was with at the time of all the texting... got a good laugh... As I'm sure will all my co-workers will when the story gets passed around work tomorrow.

If you have been keeping up with my blog since the early stages you might recall a similar story when I woke up at night in a panic to get to school for a test.

I must be going crazy... or need a break from school and work

The Triple C

2008-02-23T20:31:00.000-08:00

Today I participated in the Climb to Conquer Cancer with some friends from work. It was a five and a half mile hike up South Mountain with hundreds of other people wearing purple shirts. When we finally made it to the top (2 and a half hours later), Ron Hoon from Fox 10 News put a sticker on me. It was a beautiful day for a hike... but I think I may be sore tomorrow.

The Reason I Don't Blog So Much Anymore...

2008-02-17T13:02:00.000-08:00

Meet Ben...

Ben has been keeping me occupied for the last couple of months... but he left on Saturday to go backpacking in New Zealand for an undetermined amount of time (3 months at the most).

Stella's Blessing

2008-01-06T23:41:00.001-08:00

I spent this last weekend at a cabin in Pinetop with some friends. I knew that Mike and Stephanie were planning on blessing Stella on Sunday at 11am so I made sure with my friends before going up that we would be back in time for it. It's a three hour drive from Pinetop to Mesa so I told everyone that we would need to leave the cabin by 7am at the very latest but of course time deadlines are almost never met when traveling. We ended up leaving at 7:30am.

The road conditions were the worst I have ever been in. First of all, its hard enough driving on those winding mountain roads as it is, then you add in a down pour of rain, extremely bad visibility (it was VERY foggy) and giant rocks in the road. Those roadway signs that say "Watch For Rocks" had no meaning until now. I'm not even joking we went around two very large boulders that were at least four to five feet tall and just as wide.

Then at 10am traffic just completely stopped. There were about a quarter mile of cars ahead of me but with the foggy sky and the curvy mountain road we couldn't tell what was happening. Before I was stressed and couldn't do anything but laugh from all these elements working against me and my driving. Then when we weren't moving at all I was upset, we found out that it was a rock slide that was blocking traffic in both directions. I thought for sure I wouldn't make it to the blessing. Then after about ten minutes of waiting a plow truck came and moved all the rocks to one side of the road and we were able to start moving again

When we got passed that point Briley called her sister and she offered to meet us at a gas station off the freeway so that I wouldn't have to drive all the way into Queen Creek to drop the other 4 passengers in my car. When we unloaded all their stuff I took off again with less than 15 minutes before the start of their sacrament meeting... (not to mention I've had to pee for the last two and a half hours, but there is no time for that)

I made it to the church building at 11:05, parked on the street and ran into the church building... still in my jeans and sweater, no make-up on, and my greasy unwashed hair pulled back in a pony tail. I walked to the very back of the cultural hall and sat down to hear the very end of the opening prayer. The bishop then stands up and invites Mike and the other priesthood holders in my family to the front to bless Stella.

I barely made it!

Question...

2007-12-05T17:58:00.000-08:00

What do you get when you cross a bored employee with a fan of "The Office"?

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office pranks

It sure was a tasty prank though

Zoo Lights

2007-12-04T21:51:00.000-08:00

I went with my family to zoo lights on Monday. Who knew that the fake talking giraffe was more interesting than the actual real life zebras.

Embracing My Roots

2007-11-24T14:25:00.000-08:00

Somehow in my family I was the only one born with curly hair, even in my extended family (with the exception of my cousin Ted who became curly at puberty). We don't know where it came from, both sides of my family show no signs of this trait. When I was young I had these little blond ringlets and my dad used to call me Dolly.

As I grew older and my hair grew longer we didn't know how to maintain it anymore. My parents blame it on me but what does a 4 year old know about hair care? So as my hair grew longer the curls faded and were brushed out. I always had a slight wave to it but there was so much hair that it would get tangled very easily and my mom would have to spend time at night brushing it out... many times with me fighting through it. It was also kept in a permi-ponytail...I guess I was scared of change.

In high school I discovered the world of hair straighteners and then spent every morning after that trying to make my hair look like everyone else's. I assumed that I would never have hair like my baby pictures again so I fixed it in the only way I knew how. About a year after I graduated I got rid of the ponytail and when I chopped it off too short for any rubber band. I loved my hair and got such a good response from my friends and family that I kept this look up for quite a while.

Then when I went to Hawaii this past summer for six weeks I realized that it was too hard to try and keep it straight. The humidity was so strong and we were always playing in the ocean that it wasn't worth trying to straighten every day. Here is when I learned that my curly hair wasn't just a phase from my child hood. Having short curly hair was such perfect beach hair. It was easy to do and maintain and didn't ever have to worry about it. My new friends that I made there didn't know that was a new style for me. No one knew me beforehand so I wasn't afraid to change my look. For them it was different on the few Sunday's when I did straighten my hair.

When I came home, half the time I would style it curly, and the other half I would straighten it. Now, I don't know if I'm lazy, or the fact that I really like it, but most days you'll see me with curly hair.I literally only wash it every three or four days. In the mornings I either just get up and go without really having to touch it, or if I have some serious bed head then I just have to spray it with a little water and scrunch a little gel into it.

So there it is, the life story of my hair.

Stay Strong Little Phone

2007-11-20T22:00:00.001-08:00

This is currently what my phone looks like... and surprisingly it still works. There is just one life-line of a string holding it together but I'm still able to talk and text with it.

I've had this phone for almost two years now. I'm about a month away from being able to renew my contract and get a new one so I'm still going to hold out with this sorry looking mess. We've been through a lot together and I'm not ready to get rid of it yet.

And I've been thinking lately that I like all the new fancy phones on the market right now but I'm not sure my lifestyle is ready to own something that nice. I'm not very careful with cell phones... as you can tell... and by not careful, I mean I once threw it in the air and let someone hit it with a blow up bat. It flew across the room and into a wall...oopsies. The cell phone I had before this one went through the washing machine... I just took it apart and let it dry out for a day and it worked fine.

How much longer do you give this one? I'm not giving up hope yet

I Love This Baby

2007-11-18T13:00:00.000-08:00

Mike and Stephanie had baby number 3 on Friday November 16, Stella Rose Court. She is so cute and small. I've been to the hospital twice now to see her and each time I didn't want to give her back. Yesterday she fell asleep on my chest so I ended up staying a little longer than I had planned.

Way to go Mike and Steph! You sure do make cute babies.

To see more pictures of baby Stella go to
Mike's tumbelog

(Her toes are always stretched out)

One Year Older... Not Much Wiser

2007-11-11T22:10:00.001-08:00

Friday was my 22nd birthday and I loved every minute of it. First of all my work let me sleep in, and I got woken up by Mabel and Oliver... which usually doesn't happen till Saturday so it was a nice surprise. Mabel drew me a picture of the two of us on a horse, she is becoming quite the artist. Then I went outside to see that my friends Brittany, Chris and Doug had decorated my car windows... Stephanie almost had to drive to her doctor's appointment in it which might have been a little embarrassing for her.

At work, everyone was awesome and wished me a happy birthday all day long and my boss even bought me lunch (shhhh... don't tell my other co-workers cause they don't get that kind of treatment). Then when I got home at 6 my parents and Mike's family were there to surprise me with cake and ice cream complete with trick candles. Oliver started to get a little worried after a few times of trying to blow them out. He asked me to move the cake not so close to him.(notice Olivers big cheesy smile)

After that, I went out to dinner with Katie, Brittany, and Briley at a restaurant called BJ's. They gave us a free, delicious, birthday pazookie. The four of us then drove over to Graham's Central Station for a night of cowgirl fun. We met up with Briley's brother Wyatt and a few of his friends.

I had never been go Graham's before but it was so much fun. It had four rooms we could wander through. Karaoke, Hip Hop, 80's dance, and Country Western. We spent most of our time in the Country one and even rode the mechanical bullI rocked that bull but it sure was a full body workout. My inner thighs are very sore.

We ended the night with a little karaoke... The lady working there let us sneak to the top of the list so we didn't have to wait for an hour. After that I took everyone home and I crashed on my bed. It was an awesome day and I feel very blessed to have the family and friends that I do.

I Hate Reserch Papers

2007-11-06T01:05:00.000-08:00

They only magnify how much of a procrastinator I really am. Hence being awake at 2 in the morning on a Monday... Well technically it is Tuesday now. Of course I've known about this paper all semester, and my professor even gave us a week extra to do it, but did I make use of that time? Not a lick. I hope you all enjoyed your sleep cause I'll be waking up in just a few more hours.

Halloween is Finally over

2007-11-02T23:04:00.000-07:00

Does having Halloween in the middle of the week mess anyone else up? By the time my work got done with our Fall Festival on Friday and our ward Trunk or Treat on Saturday I felt like it should have been over by then... but no, there was still 4 more days. Then on the real Halloween my kids at work had a little party so it made it feel like Friday. I was so messed up.

On Wednesday (Halloween night) Brittany and I went to a YSA party dressed as cops and robbers. My clothes came from Goodwill and the accessories came in a pack from Fry's for $3. If I was standing by myself at the party people would ask me if I was a security guard or a cop, but if Brit and I were together they usually got it. The party was fun... no one fun or interesting to meet though... I'm starting to give up hope on that... I mean, I will be 22 next week. Thats pretty much considered an old hag in Mormon standards.
Just jokes... not that I like being single but I'm not in a rush to get married... although it would be nice to have a scrabble partner for family game night.

Then on Thursday the ASU institute did a "Jack-O-Smash" where people could bring their carved pumpkins to the top of the 4 story parking structure and throw it off. Awesome idea.

Did You Miss Me?

2007-10-25T21:34:00.000-07:00

Look at me, I'm back and blogging!

I've been super busy with school and working on not getting fired. Lately I've been having a long and tiring schedule with work and school. Tues and Thurs I leave the house by 7 for school and then go strait to work and get done at 6... except for Tues nights when I have soccer games, then I don't get home till much later. One of my co-workers had to have surgery so I've been filling in for her on MWF, so on those days I would go to work at 7 and get home at 6... except for on Wed when I have a 4 week night class from 6-9 at ASU. Plus homework and research papers on top of that... so needless to say I've been very tired and a little burned out. That's why I plan on being in bed by 8 or 9 tonight to catch up on a little sleepy time.

And speaking of soccer, it is my new love. I played one season in high school my senior year and had fun with it but haven't played much since then. So this season Laura and I decided to get a team together and play for Mesa Parks and Rec instead of softball, which we've done for the last year. Our team is called the Slackers since none of the team members had ever played with each other before and we never practiced. The season just ended on Tuesday and we lost every single game. Somehow our team got put in the highest division so we were playing against some teams that have been together for years. I still had so much fun and it makes me feel good about myself to run that much, and that hard, for that long. We improved so much throughout the season so I can't wait till the next one starts so we can get put in the right division and maybe win some games.

I Never Get Sick

2007-09-15T20:35:00.000-07:00

Since I've started working for Kindercare three years ago I truly can't remember being sick. Its pretty common after being around that many kids that your immune system will build up and the many sicknesses that go around won't affect you. This has been very true for me... except for these last two weeks. I don't know anyone else that has lost their voice for a week for no reason (its actually still not completely back, I can't do a high girly voice) so I'm guessing it was some kind of bug or virus. Not sure who I caught it from either and hopefully I didn't pass it on to anyone else. I was fine during the day but at night I would have bad coughing attacks.

And now I've got some kind of stomach bug. I came home from work on Thursday and just didn't feel like eating dinner so I went to bed kind of early. The next morning I woke up feeling pretty nasty but I just figured it was the free hot dog I had for lunch the day before so I went to work at 8:30 thinking that it would pass.(I'll spare the dirty details) I was only there for an hour and a half when my boss came up to me and asked if I was feeling okay. When I told her no, she worked out a few peoples schedules and found a way that I didn't have to work till 2. So I went home and slept for the next three hours. I came back feeling slightly better but not 100%. The next four hours drug on and on. I didn't eat anything all day and I haven't eaten anything today (Saturday) except a little soda.

I don't know what is going on with my body but I don't like it.

You Don't Know What You've Got Till Its Gone

2007-09-08T15:28:00.000-07:00

I've never lost my voice before but it sure picked a bad week to up and leave. On Tuesday I went to school and everything was normal and then I went to work and about an hour after I got there my voice just started to go. I have not been sick or straining it in any way. It just left.

Tuesday night we had our first soccer game of the season.
Wednesday night I went to the Diamondbacks game.
Friday night I went to the Toby Keith concert.

All things I'd need to scream for and I couldn't.... I sure did try anyways, which probably didn't help my situation any, but I couldn't help it.

Wednesday nights D-Backs game
There was also a few friends from work sitting in front of us that are not featured in this picture

An these are from the Toby Keith concert. I love country music but I have never been a fan of Toby Keith... however, he sure puts on a good show. My FRIEND Patrick got free tickets from his work. (the word friend is bolded cause I know how people like to jump to conclusions)

I Lost My Voice

2007-09-05T19:04:00.000-07:00

I would like it back. Any suggestions?

I Was Wrong... Skateboarding IS a Crime

2007-08-27T17:14:00.000-07:00

I just got home from my hearing for "Skateboarding on the Roadway". My mom represented me as my attorney and did an amazing job. I was surprised how official it was. Judge Hazel sat up on his high throne in front of us. My lawyer and I sat at the desk on the left and Officer Smith sat across from us on the right. Both the officer and I had to be sworn in to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth while raising our right hands.

My attorney plead our case in 3 aspects.

First: The ticket was written to a Miss Catherine COOK... not Court

Second: The ticket was written under sanction 10-3-10 which states that no persons riding rollerskates, coasters, or any such devices may be on the roadway except in crosswalks... It says nothing about skateboards. Skateboards have their own separate law which clearly defines skateboarding as not being allowed on stairways or various government properties.

Third: The fact that this law is selectively enforced in the area of Las Sendas... where the chief of police lives.

My attorney did an amazing job but the Judge still favored on the side of Officer Smith on the terms that the bike lane (where I was riding) is "exclusively" for bicycles.

He did, however, reduce the fine by $7... How's that for stickin it to the man... Right?

Say It Ain't So

2007-08-26T01:12:00.000-07:00

This week two of my friends had baby showers. I'm pretty sure they're too young to be having babies, both of them are younger than me... only by a couple of weeks but still. I also have two more friends on top of that who are expecting. I can't take it anymore!

I mentioned this to a girl in one of my classes and she was completely taken back by it. I tried to explain that both of them were married but she came right back with "Did they get married because they were pregnant?"... The Mormon culture is a tough one to explain, especially at such a liberal school like ASU.

Californ-i-a

2007-08-22T23:21:00.000-07:00

This past weekend my friend Mike and I drove to California to visit some friends of mine that I met in Hawaii. We stayed with a girl named Courtney in Valencia. On Thursday we spent the day in LA. Mike, Courtney and I met up with Rob, who I had met 2 years ago in Hawaii, and his 3 little brothers at the LA temple. We did baptisms and then got some food and headed off for the Dodgers game. Rob and his bros are die hard Dodgers fans so it made the game so much fun.

Friday me, Mike and Courtney spent the day in Hollywood. I'd never been there before so it was fun doing the walk of fame and seeing all the street performers. We also went to the House of Wax and the Guinness Book of World Records.
Then at night we went to 3rd Street and the Santa Monica pier. It was fun but those street performers were so greedy. Any time we would stop to watch one of them they would stop what they were doing and yell at us to put money in their bucket. I understand that its mostly how they earn their income but I'm not going to give money to someone that's rude to me.

Saturday we spent the day at the beach making sand castles and enjoying the weather.
Then that night we went and saw Hairspray. Me and Mike had already seen it but Courtney hadn't and there are really no other good movies out right now that one of us hadn't already seen. I probably loved Hairspray even more the second time. Its such a cute movie.

We drove home on Sunday since Mike and I both started school this week.

Not in the Budget

2007-08-02T11:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday me, Mike and Jordan went down to the Mesa Municipal Court to take care of our longboarding tickets. I thought the hearing would be right then and there but really we each just had to go up to a window and say if we wanted to pay the fine or schedule a hearing.

(Mike wore this on his shirt)

Apparently the fine for "Skateboarding on the Roadway" is $57 So while the other boys paid their fines, I still thought it was an injustice so I opted for a hearing. We were on a residential street at 11 o'clock at night in the bike lane! Now I am due to appear in front of a judge on the 27th of this month. Really the worst that could happen on that day is that I will have to pay the fine so why not try and fight it? Maybe the officer won't even show up then I don't have to pay anything.

And plus, if I would have paid the fine I would have over withdrawn from my bank account because T-Mobile decided to abuse the automatic bill pay by taking out $130 instead of $50. I'll have the $80 back into my account but not till sometime next week.

And Then There Were 28

2007-07-27T12:50:00.000-07:00

I officially went from 32 teeth to 28 yesterday and I'd do it all over again just to get put under. All I remember is laying in the dental chair looking at the light above my head and then getting into my dad's car. I don't remember falling asleep or standing up out of the chair or if anyone said anything to me in the process. I barely remember seeing my dad's bright blue car and then I fell asleep again on the way home. When I got home into the kitchen my dad had me take the gauze out of my mouth to take my medication and then I stumbled down the stairs and passed out on my bed for the next 3 hours. I woke up a few times to wipe the drool from my face but other than that I was just out cold.

Don't read this next part if you have a weak stomach...

When I woke up from that state of unconsciousness I went into the bathroom to discover that it wasn't saliva I was wiping from my face. When I took the gauze out of my mouth to take my medicine I didn't put any back in and I had just been bleeding everywhere... not drooling.

Other than that I've just been keeping frozen vegetables on my face, sleeping and watching the beginning of movies... it doesn't help that I already have a movie watching disease that I never stay awake anyways, but add some good strong drugs on top of that and its a sleepy combination.

Wish me Luck!

2007-07-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

I'm finally going in to get my wisdom teeth out today at 2. I've been putting it off for a while with the excuse that I couldn't afford to take the time off. So now that its summer and the weekend and my teeth are starting to bother me, I think its about time. It kind of happened all of the sudden though, so I don't have much time to prepare. I called the dental office yesterday at 11:45 after I got home from school to set up a consultation and the receptionist said "Can you be here at 12?" So I called work and told them I would be late and went down to their office. Then after an x-ray the doctor said he had a cancelation for today (thursday) and they could fit me in at 2. So here I am, I haven't eaten since dinner last night and will probably only be on soft foods for the next day or so.

Can anyone recommend any good movies or stay at home activities?

I Like Smiling, Smiling's My Favorite

2007-07-16T21:23:00.000-07:00

When I lived in Hawaii I fell in love with Melona Bars. They are an ice cream bar that tastes like you're eating a freshly cut honey dew but colder and 37 times better. Ever since I've been home(3weeks) I've been craving them but no store I've seen has carried them. So last night I went on a Melona Bar google scavenger hunt and ended up on some random person's blog who was having a similar predicament. This man said that he found them at a Korean market, so I continued on with my scavenger hunt and found an Asian Market right by MCC where I'm taking summer school. So today after class I went to this Asian market and felt completely uncomfortable and out of place being the only non-Asian in the store, but ended in victory with the precious Melona treasure. I bought two boxes and opened one as soon as I got in my car and became overwhelmed with the glorious Melona flavor that brought back so many wonderful memories. I was literally smiling and laughing out of pure glee for the rest of my drive home while I enjoyed the sweet sensations filling my mouth. I am happy.

Only in Las Sendas

2007-07-01T00:36:00.000-07:00

Saturday night me and 4 friends went to go longboarding down the hills of Las Sendas. We would all take turns, one person drives the car down behind the other four going down the hill. We were on our fifth run of the night and I was at the head of the pack when a cop pulls up coming the opposite direction and shines his big spot light on me and tells me to go sit on the sidewalk. As I'm getting up and looking back at the other guys coming down the hill I see Mike biff it and skid on his back and then start rolling. He ended up getting a little bit of road rash on his elbow and a soreness in his shoulder. The officer informed us that it was a violation to be skateboarding on the streets in Mesa but they only enforce it in Las Sendas. (no signs posted about this law in the area) He took all four of our IDs (not the driver of the car though) and wrote us all tickets... not even a warning.
Officer Smith wasn't aware of the fine associated with this violation but gave us a number to call and a court date for a month from now. He was then nice enough to give Mike some first aid for his elbow and went on his merry ticket writing way. Blasted Mesa City Cops!

The fine shouldn't be more than $20... Do I pay it? Or go to court and fight it...

I'm HOME!

2007-06-23T14:07:00.000-07:00

I'm back in AZ, back in the heat...(how did I ever live like this?) and back to reality. It's kind of weird not to have people around that want to just play all day. I go back to work on Monday and then a week from Monday I start summer school. Play time is over for me. I made a lot of awesome friends that I know I'll stay in touch with... and got a decent tan. I'm very happy I went but its nice to be back in Mesa with my family and friends.

And contrary to Abbie's blog, I'm not looking to move out just yet. My bed was so amazing to sleep in last night and my shower actually got all the shampoo out of my hair.

Sea Life Park & Stairway to Heaven

2007-06-19T01:21:00.000-07:00

On Monday Erik, Heather, Matt, and I all went to Sea Life Park. Its kind of a very very small, not as interesting version of Sea World. They had an exhibit for sea turtles, penguins, sea lions, and a 10 minute dolphin show.
It may have been more worth it if we wanted to pay the hundred bucks to swim with the dolphins but that didn't seem worth it to me... heck I've done that in the ocean with just fins and a snorkel.

Then that evening we met up with a few more people to do a hike called Stairway to Heaven... Not even lying its literally just stairs all the way up the side of a mountain. The group made it about 45 minutes or so and stopped at a platform.

(this is a tricky picture because that's not really the top, it just keeps going)

Me and a three others kept on truckin another 30 minutes to see how high we could get. We made it pretty far up, high enough to be engulfed in a cloud, but ended up turning around because it started getting dark and we knew we had a long hike down. I think if we would have had another 30 minutes of daylight we probably could have made it to the top but I am completely satisfied with where we ended. I think going down was way harder because of the darkness and the shaky, jello-y legs. I am going to be completely sore from the waist down for the next few days. I can already tell

(The fogginess of this pic is because of the cloud)

Waimea Falls and Swap Meet

2007-06-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

Friday we went on a hike called Waimea Falls. It cost $5 to get in and the whole thing was paved and was only about a mile and a half there and back. The hike ends at a waterfall that we swam out to and played around a bit.

Then on Saturday we headed out to the swap meet to get some needed souvenirs and then down to Honolulu to do more shopping and get some lunch. I had to buy some new tennis shoes at Nordstrom Rack because I haven't seen mine in about 4 weeks. I have no idea where they ended up.

Its Dark at Night

2007-06-15T03:26:00.000-07:00

Jumping off rocks is definitely scarier at night. This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago but we all just went and jumped off that same rock at Waimea in the dark. Do you ever have those times where a scream comes out of your mouth when you weren't planning on it? Its just an uncontrollable urge that happens sometimes when scary things happen. Well I experienced that midway down the jump. Wasn't planning on screaming, but it sure belted out without any warning.

I've also become reacquainted with the love of tennis. I hadn't played since 9th grade but I've played quite a bit here in Hawaii. So if anyone wants to challenge me to a match in 5 months when the weather cools off in AZ, I'm game to play.

She's Gonna Blow!

2007-06-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been drinking lots of fluids to keep me hydrated since I know that I'll be out in the sun quite a bit. And with consuming more beverages comes one vital consequence... the need to excrete these liquids. Now my body doesn't like to give me a warning when the need to tinkle comes about, its more like "You better go now or you'll wet yourself". I'm not always in a place where a restroom is readily available and most places around my area don't offer public bathrooms anyways. Sometimes the ocean works cause no one knows whats happening but what about today, when I was by myself and not wearing a bathing suit? I was walking back to my house from this little surf shop but still a good 15 minutes from home. I had to walk across the street to a public beach and find a bush that was mostly hidden from any humans and passing cars and piddle there. I guess I was blessed to have some good friends who showed me that this act can be done at any place and any time and not think twice about it ... (ie. Brittany, Briley, and Deb)

The Way It Should Be

2007-06-10T02:52:00.000-07:00

I'm not usually a big movie goer but since I've been in Hawaii I've seen three movies in the theater.

Shrek the 3rd,

Surf's Up.

and Ocean's 13,

All of them good movies but I extremely recommend Ocean's 13, Its a lot like the first one of the series.

Now I'm not just here waisting my money... a student ticket only costs $3.
I watched all three movies for the same price as one regular ticket on the mainland.
In my opinion, movies are way over priced... Hawaii just knows what they're doing.

Good Riddance

2007-06-06T13:37:00.000-07:00

My new cheap sandals hurt my feet... so I burned them

Dole Makes the Best Pineapples

2007-06-04T23:09:00.000-07:00

Today we were planning on going on a hike but the rain did not stop all day long. In the morning it was coming down really hard but then through out the day it was usually just a light mist of rain but very constant. So instead we ended up going to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. There's not much to do here but see how pineapples grow and shop for things that say "Dole" on them. We always make it fun though with photo opps. Then before the sun went down we went over to Pounders Beach so a few people could do some body surfing and buggy boarding.
This picture is a kid I met here named Cory, I found out that he served in the same mission as my friend Jonny Barnes... its definitely a small world isn't it.

Rope Swings are Funtasgreat!

2007-06-02T23:46:00.000-07:00

Today we drove about 40 minutes to a rope swing. The hike down takes less than 5 minutes and it was totally fun. I was the first girl to try it because everyone else was too nervous so I had to lead the way. Everyone ended up doing it and thankfully no one got hurt. I even got to spend a little time with my friend Rob who I met in Hawaii 2 years ago. He moved down to Honolulu and got a girlfriend there so this is only the second time I've seen him since I've been over here, the first was when he picked me up from the airport. I wanted to get a picture with him but my camera battery died right at the end of the trip. I know I'll see him again so its not a big deal.

The Last Sunset of May

2007-06-01T12:38:00.000-07:00

Does it get much better than this?

You weren't supposed to see this yet...

2007-05-28T13:11:00.000-07:00

Blast! I was waiting to post this until I got some more pictures from other girls but thanks to nosey Abbie its already starting to spread. So in case you haven't seen it yet, here is an unfinished version...

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Waikiki

2007-05-27T04:04:00.000-07:00

Friday night a big group of us drove down to Waikiki to stay in a hotel. We ate at Cheesecake Factory and then walked around the strip and ended up playing games at a grassy knoll of a different hotel. I think we ended up craming 15 people into one room that night.
Then Saturday morning we got up and rented scooters to drive around for the day. We had them for a total of 6 hours and just drove around to some different beaches, Hanauma Bay, and to Diamondhead Crater.

That night I had my first experience eating sushi... not too bad... When we got back to Laie, everyone was just so worn out by the long day in the sun that all efforts to hang out failed and everyone ended up going to home to sleep.

Waimea Bay

2007-05-24T02:34:00.000-07:00

Today's adventure started with a stop at Waimea Bay.

It wasn't a long stop, just maybe an hour long because everyone started to get hungry for lunch. A couple of us jumped off the rock and others just laid out.

Then Erik, McKay, Levi and I went over to Haleiwa to eat at Cholo's restaurant. Its probably the only Mexican food place close by.
The trip home ended with McKay entertaining us with some hilarious freestyle rap. That kid is truly amazing. Later on that night we had a little game night and then took a freezing cold dip in the ocean. All in all it was a pretty fun day.

I can breathe clearly now

2007-05-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

They other day I got my nose hairs waxed! I have never even heard of doing that before but one of my friends here, Beana, offered to do it and I accepted. It truly is amazing. You don't have any little creepers sticking out or buggers that hang out accidentally on the end. She heated up Brazilian hard wax and put it on a stick and then up my nose. You lay down and wait till the wax hardens and then yank it out... I let Erik pull mine out.

Chinaman's Hat

2007-05-21T21:02:00.000-07:00

Today we went on a hike called Chinaman's Hat.

To get to this island you first have to swim out to it and then hike your way up to the top, and in some points you're basically rock climbing. I was smart and bought some water shoes right before and was able to walk most of the way on top of the corral in waist to chest deep ocean. On the way back I had to do a little more swimming because the tide had come up. The whole voyage took us about 2 and a half hours to complete. There was quite a bit of resting on the island though, so that we could enjoy the view from the top of Chinaman's Hat.

Say NO to Humidity

2007-05-20T17:44:00.000-07:00

This is my hair...

This is my hair on humidity...

Any questions?

No wireless

2007-05-19T16:25:00.000-07:00

I haven't had wireless internet access since I've been here so I haven't had a chance to post anything yet. I've talked to a girl in the next apartment over so that she can hook me up tomorrow and then I can post pictures and adventure stories from Hawaii. I've miss you all!

I Passed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-05-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

I did it! I passed statistics. I needed to get a 65 on the final exam to get a 'C' in the class so I went one step ahead of that to earn a 66. Now this may not seem like something to praise over but there was something about that class that didn't click in my head, not to mention the boring teacher with a monotone voice. I felt like everyone around me was understanding and as much as they tried to help me, I just couldn't comprehend.My heart was literally pounding every time I checked my grades this weekend to see how I did.I'm relieved that I never have to take that class ever again.

3 finals down, 1 more to go. Wish me luck and pray for me on this one because I'm in almost the same situation. For some reason I kind of checked out in the middle of this semester and I'm definitely paying for it now with 2 of my classes totally relying on finals. If all goes well with my last test I'll have earned two A's and two C's. Not my best work but its not the end of the world.

Ps... I leave for Hawaii on Thursday!!!

I'm going crazy!

2007-05-03T23:12:00.000-07:00

The semester is winding down and finals are now at hand. I normally go to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays but this week was a little different. Tuesday was the last day of classes and I have two finals on Friday. Today (thursday) I woke up 2 different times in a complete panic thinking that I was going to miss my first final. Normally on school days I am out of the house by about 7am to get to my 7:40 class. This morning I woke up at about 7:30 and knew that it was Thursday and panicked thinking I was going to be late to take the final and thought that I wouldn't be allowed to take it at all. I then got ahold of myself and remembered what was going on and went back to sleep.

Then when I got home from work this evening I ate dinner and decided that I needed a little bit of down time before studying. So I went downstairs to watch one tv show and ended up falling asleep on the couch. I woke up at 7:45pm and looked at my phone thinking it was morning. I panicked yet again and made a mad dash to my room jumping over whatever objects were in the way. I got to my room in a frenzy not knowing what to do first to get ready when it hit me again that I was making a mistake.

I'M GOING CRAZY!!!

WHY?

2007-04-23T20:34:00.000-07:00

Why do I attract crazies and only crazies? Do I have a large sign on my forehead that says "Hey weirdos! I'm single" Take for examle tonight at my mom's law firm party at Freestone Park. We ate dinner and then went over to the little train ride to take Mabel and Oliver on it. Grampa sat next to Oliver, Nana sat next to Mabel, Mike and Steph sat next to each other, and I sat next to Joe. I could tell right off that Joe was a little special (literally) so I thought I would be nice a hold a conversation with him... first mistake... especially after the first words out of his mouth were "I'm single, my name is Joe". After introducing ourselves and about 2 minutes of small talk Joe told me he had a crush on me, followed by many compliments, and an offer to buy me a new phone. Then he asked for my phone number; I knew that I didn't want to give him my cell number so I made my second mistake of the night of giving him our house number. A thought went through my head to give him the rejection hotline but that would just be too wrong. I left to do "homework" as soon as the train ride ended, and not even an hour after we got home Joe was calling. I made my dad lie to Joe and tell him that I wasn't home. I guess I'm lucky that I lead a fairly busy life and that as soon as school is over and I would normally have more free time, I leave for Hawaii... only 2 and a half weeks by the way.

Do crazies live in Hawaii too?

Nose and March of Dimes

2007-04-23T01:09:00.000-07:00

Friday when I got into work I was playing peek-a-boo with a little one year old girl. She had a bucket on her head and would just barely lift it up so I could see her eyes and then put it back down. After about the third time she must have been done playing cause she took the bucket off and slammed it right into my nose leaving me this pretty mark just in time for the weekend.
Then on Saturday morning a few of my co-workers and I went over to Peoria Sports Complex for the March of Dimes. It is a 4 mile walk that raises awareness and benefits premature babies. My work has been raising money for the past couple of months. I like to dress up like I'm running a marathon and have now gotten some others to do the same.
We try to make it as fun and interesting as possible since it is just walking. We played leap frog, ran around the bases of the baseball field, and just had a fun time.
At the end of the walk I swiped a loaf of bread from some booth and Laura and I had a contest to see how many pieces we could fit in our mouths. I choked after 4 but Laura went on to be victorious with 6 whole pieces of wheat bread. Truly amazing.We do LOVE bread!!!

There's no turning back now!

2007-03-30T19:08:00.000-07:00

I just officially paid for my ticket to Hawaii. I leave May 10 ( 2 days after my last final) and return on June 22. Wish me luck cause I'm still scared to not know anyone 600 miles from home. (Not completely true, I will have my friend Erik there... just no girls) But I think its something I have to do to keep some sanity and get away from school and work for a few weeks. Mahalo!

Acoustic Show #2

2007-03-25T18:31:00.000-07:00

The show was awesome and we almost had no troubles this time. Just because a few of the 3 Fountains residents didn't know about my party they started freaking out and calling each other and coming up to the clubhouse and asking random people what was going on. So I had my mom talk to a few people and get everything straitened out and it was fine the rest of the night. I even had a few people come up to me at church today saying that I did a nice job cleaning up and that they were happy that there was no problems.

My friends Joshua and McKay, from Utah, were doing a little mini weekend tour this past weekend so that's why we had the show at my clubhouse. They played in St. George on Thurs, Las Vegas on Fri, and then Mesa on Saturday. Joshua James who is on the right hand side, has just recently sent some of his material into itunes and they love his music so his album is now on sale there. He is actually on the "Staff Favorites" list on the main page so you should definitely check him out, he will blow your mind.

McKay is on the left side and he is also an amazing performer.

A few other people played at the show as well and they all rocked the house.

All in all, I'd say it was a success!

Its the Worlds Biggest Tea Party

2007-03-21T21:34:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I won some tickets on the radio to go see My Little Pony Live on stage. I could honestly only think of one little girl that would be completely excited to go. Who is 4 years old, loves the color pink, Ponies, and tea parties? MABEL of coarse. I couldn't tell her about it until two days before the show cause I new she would just be asking about it everyday up until that point and it killed me every time I saw her cause I knew how much she would love it and I just wanted to spill the beans, but I held my ground. I had 4 tickets so I invited Brittany and her niece to join us.

Kmle Country even gave us our own special private tea party before the show complete with cookies, lemonade, coloring pages, necklaces, and a tiara.

I figured that I got the tickets for free so I went ahead and bought her a little flag so that she could wave it when the ponies came out

We all had lots of fun watching the show and doing the "I'm a little teapot" dance

The seats were awesome, Thanks Kmle Country!!!

He sprung a leak!

2007-03-07T22:11:00.000-08:00

So every day at work at the end of the day this little 2 year old boy Marcus has to come see me and let me love on him like 10 minutes before he goes home with his mom. Today he was sitting on my lap and we were playing with some magnets when I feel this warm sensation on my pants... yes, Marcus was peeing on me. I picked him up and tried to run him to the bathroom holding him with my arms extended out in front of me. By the time we got to the potty he had finished. All he left was a trail of pee from my chair to the bathroom door and a large wet spot on my crotch and down the inside of my leg... so basically it looked like I wet myself. One parent came in, looked down, and without saying a word, just cracked up laughing. When other parents came in the first thing their kid would say was "Marcus peed on Ms. Cathy" then they would look at me and laugh. Its probably a good thing that I love Marcus so much or I don't think I could have been in such good spirits about it. Everyone got a good chuckle at my expense, but I'm the one that go to go home early... Who's laughing now?

Probably still everyone else cause I'm sure I'll still get made fun of for the rest of the week.