Having the Best Day Ever

This past Saturday was great. It was the best day ever. After having a sleepless Friday night, I got out of bed at 7am to be to class by 8. Class(Advanced Technical Communication) which is suppose to go from 8-10:30 went to about 8:45 with a small lecture and a fun activity. Leaving class I decided to go grocery shopping, at the Orem Walmart on a Saturday. If you have ever been to this Walmart you know it is ALWAYS crowded and you can never get in and out quickly even at 3am on a Tuesday. Well not only did I get front row parking without having to wait for one to open, but I was in and out in 30min. I did not have to wait in the checkout line, and everything was clean and in its right place. So at 9:30 I was back in the car headed home. Cindy and I decided to have a DI day. We started of at IKEA to get these. Then we made our way up to Salt Lake City to start and work our way back down to Provo. After going to the Sugar House DI, where we didn't find any treasures, Cindy mentioned going to Rodizios for lunch at Trolley Square. I was a little skeptical because I had only been to Tucanos and because Trolley Square had some bad publicity. My mind was quickly changed when Cindy told me that there were Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, and Restoration Hardware stores there. Needless to say we went. Rodizios was great. I did not know Utah had Pottery Barn stores. I thought they were located in NYC and CA, and the rest of us just had to order from the catalog or online. So after lunch we went to PB and I was in HEAVEN. Think of a kid in a candy store. Once we finished there we started our way back to Provo, which included a stop at the American Fork DI, where we did find a couple of treasures. We arrived home 20 minutes before the LSU/Miss St. game started. The Tigers won 34-24 and are now ranked 2nd or 3rd depending on what poll you are looking at. The day was great. There were a few things that I did see while we were shopping that I wanted to try, they look easy enough to do, if you had the time. butterfly mobile. I would pick a different shape/object, more of the idea I like. They also had washcloths in the shape of a pirate hook and sharks. I love the bed sheet designs, and not because they are pink. I also like this set.

Lesson learned from all this: to have a great day just take me to a furniture/home decor store.

You would think it was common knowledge

I have found recently that people do not know anything about where they live. Have they stopped teaching geography in schools?? This past weekend at ward prayer, I was taking to a group of friends and one asked me where I was from and before I could answer another friend answered another southern state. I quickly replied NO, and so he started to guess. I told him it was the state shaped like a boot. He finally got it right. And then today I was playing on Facebook and came across this:

forgive my ignorance of geography, but is Barcelona ANYWHERE near Brazil??? ...Barcelona is in Spain, and Brazil is in... south america?? I just don't know how close Spain and South America are... lol.

Ummm those are two really well known countries! I could understand if it was some small remote country near Russia. Maybe I was just blessed with the knowledge of geography. Now I am not saying I am a master but I am better than most.
On an episode of Friends, which I will include below they take a 6 minute test to see if they can name all the states in America. I did this my self and came out with 49 of 50. I forgot Ohio. But can you name all the Capitals??

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Here are a few vidieos I found. One is from a Miss Teen USA 2007 contest and the other 2 are from Animaniacs, a cartoon, naming all the countries in the world and the USA states and capitals. I also found this and it was pretty fun.


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A look into the past

I found this fun website, yearbookyourself.com
Take a picture of yourself and then play with different hairstyles of the past.
I will include a couple I did.

Jumping on the Bandwagon

Well since everyone else (kelly,libby,manda) is doing it.

10 years ago I

1. was attending my first year of seminary
2. was crushing on Mike Billings
3. was trying to fit in as a freshman at Captian Shreve High School
4. was realizing I can't dance
5. wishing I was older

5 things on today's "to do" list:

1. go to class
2. check craigslist.com for a Christmas tree
3. clean room
4. pick up camera from Libby's
5. be in bed before 11:30pm

5 snacks I enjoy

1. chocolate
2. chips and salsa
3. popcorn kernels
4. graham crackers
5. carrots

5 things I would do if I were a multimillionaire:

1. pay off all my bills
2. build and design my dream homes
3. shoe shopping
4. give back to a worthwhile charity
5. buy happiness

5 places I have lived:

1. Shreveport, LA
2. Provo/Orem, UT
3. Mesa, AZ
4. St. George, Ut
5. Pleasant Grove, UT

Five jobs I have had:

1. personal assistant @ Field Welding
2. assistant project manager/estimator/designer @ Classic Construction
3. personal assistant @ National Federation of the Blind
4. data entry @ Storrs
5. cafe chic @ Borders bookstore

Have you Forgotten by: Darryl Worley

I hear people saying we don't need this war. I say there's some things worth fighting for. What about our freedom and this piece of ground? We didn't get to keep 'em by backing down. They say we don't realize the mess we're getting in. Before you start preaching. Let me ask you this my friend
CHORUS 1Have you forgotten how it felt that day To see your homeland under fire And her people blown away?Have you forgotten when those towers fell?We had neighbors still inside Going through a living hell And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout Bin Laden Have you forgotten?
They took all the footage off my T.V.Said it's too disturbing for you and me It'll just breed anger that's what the experts say If it was up to me I'd show it every day Some say this country's just out looking for a fight After 9/11 man I'd have to say that's right
CHORUS 1Have you forgotten how it felt that day To see your homeland under fire And her people blown away?Have you forgotten when those towers fell?We had neighbors still inside Going through a living hell And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout Bin Laden Have you forgotten?
I've been there with the soldiers Who've gone away to war And you can bet they remember Just what they're fighting for
CHORUS 2Have you forgotten all the people killed?Some went down like heroes in that Pennsylvania field Have you forgotten about our Pentagon?All the loved ones that we lost And those left to carry on Don't you tell me not to worry about Bin Laden Have you forgotten?
Have you forgotten?Have you forgotten?

It was my senior year. We had just left Seminary. I was in the car with Ryan Amy, Manda, and Jonathan Luke. The song we were listening to was abruptly interrupted. A plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. Being the naive kid I was, I laughed this off and said it was probably some dumb drunk guy in a crop plane. Lights should have gone off there, a crop plane in downtown Manhattan!!! I remember being rebuked by Jonathan, he was really involved with politics and stuff like that. I was just a silly girl, with thoughts of my happily after future that was quickly approaching. I walked into Pottery AP (yes it was a hard senior year) and the news was on. I disregarded this and went to get set up on the pottery wheel. As I walked back to my desk to put my books down the second plane hit. Everything seemed to stop. We all forgot about the projects due, no one worked on the wheel. We all just sat there with our jaws dropped in disbelief. The end of class bell rang, no one moved. Our teacher then got our attention and we went to our next class. So I walked next door to Painting with Mr. Allen. As we walked into the class room he told each of us there would be no work today to sit in our seats and try and let what happened sink in. As we continued to watch the news, and I forget in what order they happened, the Pentagon was hit, the towers fell and another plane went down in a field in PA. The principal came over the loud speaker and informed us that President Bush would soon be landing at Barksdale Air Force Base and to expect a loud thunderous sound(the school was across the river from the base). There was the thought of panic, what if they hit the base? Should we cancel school? there were a bunch of blank stares. School was not canceled and for the rest of the day I felt horrible not only for those families that had been affected but for what I had said to Jonathan. That night when the news came on nothing else seemed to matter. One vivid image I have is that night my dad showed us a video someone had made and posted online(this was before youtube) The video consisted of images from the day in NYC. There is one part of it I will never forget. The sound for the video was Only Time by Enya. It was a picture of a guy jumping out of the WTC building. This was something I had only heard of from history books about the day the Stock Markets fell and the Great Depression Started. I had an image of what that must of been like but to see it rather that hear about it was one of the greatest eye openers I've had. No longer did I have the thoughts of a perfect life. It would still be years before I would experience what it was like to have my own paycheck and not have the Bank of Dad, or any of the struggles that come from moving away from home for the first time. I think America also realized in a sense that 'Dad' wouldn't be there to protect us always. The weeks that followed were some of the greatest and worst. America united as one and threw our differences out the window. We stood United. You couldn't go anywhere without seeing an American Flag waving in the wind. I grew up in a patriotic house. We flew the flag on Holidays participated in parades, and there was just a basic understanding of respect and proudness that came with the Red, White, and Blue. Along with the surge of patriotism came new American pride songs. One of my favorites is Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue by Toby Keith. I think this song really captures the American spirit after the attacks. Another song that I really like is Proud to be an American, I will spare you the video of that one and just quote my favorite line :

I’m proud to be an American,

where at least I know I’m free.

And I wont forget the men who died,

who gave that right to me.

I know I've stated this before I think on another American holiday, but I think its something we should remember always. At our basic knowledge we know we have Freedoms. It should be as simple a knowledge of what the colors of the flag are. We have the right to go about our daily adventures because our fellow Americans chose to sign up and go fight to protect us. Be thankful to those that give you the FREEDOM to talk about America and her policies, and her government in any manner that you like.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Fall is HERE !!! I think this has to be one of my favoriest times of the year. From now until Christmas Day life gets just a little sweeter. Today I went to Robert's looking for fodder, its tracing paper but on a roll for my Architectural Rendering class. I got out of my car, which by the way I had front row parking. The sky was cloudy and looked cold. Its about 75-80 degrees, perfect fall weather, the wind was blowing just enough for a small crisp breeze, it really is a perfect fall day. When entering the store I almost walked into their front display, Thanksgiving items. As I looked towards/walked to the back of the store, where they keep the drawing paper, I saw a plethora of golds, oranges, browns, coppers, deep reds, and a few burnt yellows. I smelt cinnamon, my favorite smell. I was on my lunch break so time was limited, but I knew my priorities, looking at all the fall stuff over lunch. I did a quick walk threw for 2 reasons. I have class until 9 tonight before returning home for the day, and 2 I don't have an unlimited budget. Also last night I made a trip to Cracker Barrel to get some Blue Bell Ice Cream. They too had their Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas items on display. They had some of the cutest trees. They were red and green thick wiggly stripped, they could easily be in the Dr. Seuss story of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I think this will be the theme for this years tree. I want to go back and look in more detail at their ornaments to see if I could attempt to make them. Call me thrifty, but I can't justify $5 on one ornament. I am tempted to go to Tai Pan and Kirkland's. I just love this time of the year, the changing of the leaves, the crisp air, college football games, getting in the mood for cooking stews, and baking treats. Oh what a wondrous time.

Color Change

Okay, I have been playing with the idea of coloring my hair all summer. I need a change but I don't want to cut it, I'm growing it out. This past week i've gotten more serious about it. I really want to add honey, caramel, auburn colors to the flat brown. I don't want streaks or the skunk look. I want it to look somewhat natural- meaning I want it to blend. Here are a few pics I found. Let me know what you think.

I really like this one but I dont know if it would be better to do it chunky.

This one has more of the red hint to it

More of the blonde hint

More of the blendedness I want

S-M-R-T, S-M-R-T

School has begun, and after taking the summer off I have been slow to want to get back into the swing of things. In my classes I have ran into old friends and that has made it better. Last night was AudoCad. In this class I am the only girl in the class of 23. I don't have any previous fiends in this class. Last night after the lecture it was our turn to do an assignment on the computer. It was simple, we had to draw different shapes and show a basic understanding of what we learned. As I finished before 3/4 of the class (this made me feel pretty cool) a guy came over and asked for my help. This might not seem like a big deal to most, but this is a guy class, a guy major, you never ask the girls for help, basically you never ask for help. So I helped him finish his project and then left for home. It was 8:30 at night and most would have walked slowly out to the car, be out since 8 that morning, just wanting to get home, but that wasn't me. I wasn't skipping to the car, but there was a little skip to my walk. I had a smile from ear to ear. Most people like to be validated, I get the greatest joy when its about construction. At that moment I feel as if I am unstoppable. I can accomplish anything. I'm not just some silly girl, I have a feast to bring to the table. I guess the Lord really does show us tender mercies when we least expect them.

Wake Me Up When September Ends -Green Day

DISCLAIMER : this is MY blog, its for ME to write MY thoughts. Read at your own risk. September is not my favorite month. I know you only want to be supportive, but I've heard every line. ie.- someone better will come along, this will pass, look at the bright side.



I have come to the conclusion that September is NOT a good month, horrible thing have happened in this month. Below is a list that I found, some have been added to by me and some are my own.

World War II began with the Nazi invasion of Poland, 1939
The attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford, by Lynette A. "Squeaky" Fromme, a follower of Charles mansion, occurred in Sacramento, California, 1975
A coal mine disaster occurred in Avondale, Pennsylvania, killing 108 miners by suffocation, 1869
President William McKinley was shot and mortally wounded in the Temple of Music at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, 1901
Food Stamps were authorized by the US Congress in a program to distribute surplus food to impoverished Americans, 1959
The Civil War Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg) Maryland; the single bloodiest day in American history occurred, 1862
Cyanide placed in Tylenol capsules caused the deaths of seven people in the Chicago area. The makers of Tylenol recalled 264,000 bottles of the drug. The killer was never found, 1982
The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, 2001
Hurricane Katrina aftermath, 2005
Hurricane Gastav, 2008
Broken engagement, 2005
Car accident, 2006
First weeks of school, summers over, cold weather starts
other events can be found at aboutfamouspeople.com

I first heard the following song one day, in September 06, while I was at work. I have determined it is the anthem of September.


Now, I know what most of you are thinking, just let it die, its been 3 years. Quit dragging it out.
To this, I say, I'm trying, I need something to take its place. I don't want to think about it because it still makes me cry and I hate to cry.

I went to dictionary.com and typed in 'plea.' Plea just sounds like a pitiful word but the definition summed up how I feel - To ask or ask for as charity - I'm looking for something/one to change my thoughts about September.