Before and After

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

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...

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?

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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...

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




Scroll down to find the answer
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
<`)
( > )>
~ ~

office pranks

It sure was a tasty prank though

Zoo Lights

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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.