Pain is just weakness leaving the body!

Phase One No Fun!!

2010-03-25T23:08:00.000-07:00

Well I've made it 5 days on phase One of South beach! I had forgotten about how badly this phase depleats you of all your energy! I've been lifting in the morning as usual, and have done Power 90 but really really 1/2 arsed! I just wanted to cut a few of the pounds I put on last week. No real weight loss drop yet which is a little frustrating when I have been so diligent at zero carbing it this week. However I have successfully turned down desserts 3 times this week. That even included the uber delicious loft house sugar cookies currently in the cupboards this very moment. Depending on how much weight I've lost by Sunday I may just do phase two and just amp up my workouts. I do feel better though I have to say. It was also very nice to win the fight and regain some self control over my sugar obsession.

Doing phase one also tends to bring out the bitchiness (due to the lack of carbs and sugar detox!) but I think I've done a pretty good job of managing that too! I was worried about my patience or lack there of with the kids at school, but surprisingly I had a lot more than usual and was not as bothered by the "drama" that happens at recess. Even better surprise was how fast this week went by. I thought it would drag due to the fact that last week was spring break and the week prior to that I only worked 2 days. It really flew by though, and the next two weeks are four day weeks! I am hoping to get all caught up and maybe even ahead with my school assignments and projects during these longer weekends. I am just too dang old to be pulling these all nighters like I have been!

Well it is past bed time and 5:15 AM comes awfully fast!

Oh boy!

2010-03-22T20:13:00.001-07:00

Well I hate to say it but I kind of phased out the rest of the week as far as exercise went. My eating was horrible too dang it! I was so motivated to kick it up a knotch this week having access to a fitness center and pool. I love food though and unfortunately like in the past in won out! I'm not throwing in this towel yet though! I normally would have, but I really want to see this through! I'm going to to do my best to do south beach the next two weeks along with my Power90. I really need to knock sugar out completely and when I did south beach the first time it seemed to be the only thing that help me do that.
So I am not giving up I am stayin committed to this little venture of mine! I want to take control of myself again and be the queen of self discipline!

Just keep pushing play!

2010-03-16T13:33:00.000-07:00

Ok so my mind is so on vacation mode. It does not like knowing that exercise is a must! I put off doing P90 forever, but once I "pushed play" as Tony always says I was fine and in workout mode! I was laying on the couch and a P90X informercial came on. How did Tony know I was being lazy and laying on the couch?! I don't know if any of you have seen this informercial, but it really makes you want to get your butt off the couch so I did.
Tony is the main man in my life right now! He has so many quirky sayings that he shares while you are working your butt off. At the start of this adventure you want to press the mute button and punch him after he utters one of his many sayings, but after a while you grow to appreciate them. I've even found myself saying them! Of course instead of "Put the cheeseburger down" I say "Put the cupcake down!".

Back on the wagon!

2010-03-15T09:34:00.000-07:00

Got my workout in and holy crap 4 days off hurt me! It almost felt like the first week again. I hate to see how tomorrow goes with cardio! I'm on it though. Alene and I found our old spreadsheet from a couple of years ago when we did southbeach and power 90. That first month we had pretty awesome results. She did super good because she ate a lot better. I cheated a few times and still lost a good amount of weight an inches. Seeing the numbers got me a little motivated and recharged to eat better and really see this program through. I am in the land of good food though so hopefully I won't go too crazy! Well I'm going to try out the elliptical now. I used to be able to do 45 minutes on that machine, I'm going to see if I can't just do 30 minutes! Yay for spring break!!

Not a good start to Spring Break!

2010-03-14T18:26:00.000-07:00

Ok so I had such plans for my Spring Break! I finished my last class for the week on Thursday and planned on heading to Gilbert on Friday. I had lots to do before leaving so I decided I would save my P90 workout for that evening. That was the first mistake. I should have just got it out of the way. Instead I headed out of town, but my car LaFawnduh, had other plans. I got an hour out of town and she decided to over heat. I stopped at the casino to let her cool down and on the upside I did make $20!! LaFawnduh was just going to cooperate though and so I had to head back home to Safford. I was so stressed and worried that on my way home I stopped at Jack in the box and ate a horribly. Once I got home I thought about doing my workout, but my stomach was so upset and angry with me eating so bad that I couldn't do it. I found out LaFawnduh needs a new water pump grrrr!
I don't want this to be a Debbie Downer blog though! Good news is that I am getting quite a bit back from my taxes so it will cover my water pump. I got a ride up to Gilbert and will get back on my workouts tomorrow. Alene's apartment has a great workout room and the pool is heated so I am stoked. My day 30 will be here soon and I really need to kick it into gear so that there can be a difference between my before stats and pics! Signing off from Gilbert!!

Hump Day Wednesday!

2010-03-10T10:20:00.000-08:00

So I had a lot of comp time at work and so I am starting my spring break early as far as work goes. I'm so ready for spring break, not the lack of pay during it, but what can ya do right?! It was nice to get my Power 90 workout out of the way especially with the addition of two new night classes this semester. I'm really going to have to get my P90 done in the morning now because I'm not going to be getting out of classes till 10PM. Another dilema is the fact that my Tues and Weds class we are given a 30 min dinner break. Well all the girls usually get fast food and it is really hard for me not to join in. I can always find enough change for the dollar menu grrrr. My self discipline will truly be tested for sure. I caved last night and felt like crap so hopefully I can be stronger from now on.
Day 30 will be here quicker than I know it and I will have to take more pictures. I would love for there to be a difference between my before and day 30 pics however slight it my be! Luckily I have no money so I won't have to worry about binging while I'm in Gilbert over spring break! I'm bringing up some ramen and oatmeal wahoo! I can always hit up Costco during the prime hair netting times as well for lunch. I miss that!! It's not really cheating either because all the samples are bite size!!! Well Happy Hump Day!!

Day 15 it's finally a routine!

2010-03-08T19:45:00.000-08:00

Well that's what they say anyways! I have to say it has become pretty routine for me to just "push play". The message boards and this blog also help with the whole accountability thing as well. I really just want to see something through to the finish. I've been doing pretty good on my bucket list as well. It's kind of exciting to cross things off my list!
My eating is still not where it needs to be, but I did do some grilling today for the week so we'll see if that doesn't help. I have to shrink about 4 stomachs so it's very hard to get my stomach to understand that it doesn't need to have something in it every hour! I watched my nephew put away a tv dinner, digorno pizza, 2 boxes of smart one desserts, and a 2 liter of mountain dew! It was frightening and when I realized that I was sitting next to him eating 3 pieces of pizza I was not far behind him! I didn't have the tv dinner but I put away quite few M&Ms. It's frightening how much food you can put away when you're not paying attention to what you're eating and you just watch tv! I'm actually glad I have more classes this next school session so that I will be busy & out of the house Tues, Weds, and Thurs nights.
I only have 3 days of work this week so I'm going to try and get my rythm back as far as jogging. I missed a 5K last month that I really wanted to participate in and was completely bummed! This next 5K is here in town so if I can pull the money together I should be able to run that. I also have the Relay for Life coming up the end of April which is where we walk all night to fight Cancer. This year it is really important to me since my Dad has now been diagnosed! I will be hitting everyone up for donations soon :)

New mantra!

2010-03-05T21:41:00.000-08:00

Ok so I'm not liking how my new mantra covers Gerry's face, but I saw this saying on a poster at the high school gym and liked it a lot. I find myself quoting it quite often when I think that doing the last set of pushups is going to kill me. Or doing the abs I feel a lot of pain so apparently I have a lot of weakness in my abs! The weightlifting has gotten a little harder and so it has kept the whole soreness thing going, but I do have a some extra hop in my step I have noticed. Now I can chase the kids around the playground without hyper ventilatiing at least :) I've decided I am not going to even touch or look at the scale until the 30th day because it is more frustrating then helpful at this point. I also got a lot of good cooking advice from fellow P90 peeps so I will be doign a lot grilling this weekend so that I will have good healthy food for the week. I have cafeteria duty this whole week and those ladies love to feed me so it will be good to have my own food and not be tempted by the food there. Yes, I admit it I love the food there!
Well this is a short post for me, but I am really excited to go to bed and sleep in! I've really learned to love and appreciate 8 hours of sleep since I have turned 30! Sleep is also a favorite past time along with eating and since I have to cut down on the one I don't thing it would be good to do the same with sleep!

Happy Friday Eve!

2010-03-04T21:34:00.000-08:00

Ok so I think this blog might be a very good thing. I didn't post yesterday because I had a lot of homework to do (yes, procrastination might have had something to do with that!)and I'm a giant dork and Ghost Hunters was having a marathon so I did that instead and felt like a total slacker all night. I did exercise though! I did my normal early AM weightlift and then walked the 3.5 mile trail with my sister. I got jacked up on my Power 90 auto tracker so I to get back on track I skipped the sculpt for today. Yes, I am the queen of justification and justified my early morning weight lift session was good enough.
Today it was on again though. It is hard with school getting busier though and next week I will have night classes 3 times a week. I think this means I am going to have to buckle up and actually stay awake after my early AM weightlift and do Power 90 instead of my usual go back to bed routine :) I can do it I just need to get to bed earlier.
I wondered when I would get to see you blog my hartless friend! I have to say I wasn't sure who you were at first, then when I read the trapshooting commment I knew it was my buddy! Go you for starting a walking group! I would love to walk with you but you know me I would want to stop in all the yummy places on Center street!
My motivation for this month and to keep me pushing play is a the 5K a month from now for a friend I went to college with. I figure maybe if I keep setting small goals I'll keep on track.
My goal for next week is the eating. I really have to get it in check. I love food!! It loves me too unfortunately and doesn't want to leave my hips, stomache or thighs unfortunately. Well better get to bed. I'm going to give this early morning stuff a try.

Today I'm hurtin' for certain!

2010-03-02T17:51:00.000-08:00

Ok so as I've mentioned I have been lifting in the morning as well as the Power 90 and boy howdy today's weight lifting session kicked my booty! We did a lot of legs which is good, but I'm definitely feelin it! I am so excited that my friend Rue is doing Power 90 with me now. We have a habit of encouraging each other in our bad habits so we'll see if we can use our powers for good this time! She has amazing low fat protein filled recipes and can cook like no other. She is also going to school to be a nutritionist. Once I get into my workout routine I am a freak and love to work out a lot. I would love to be a personal trainer or aerobics instructor so between the two of us we make quite a team. Hopefully we can stick through this!
I had a break in my classes this week and have been walking a 3.6 mile trail the past 2 days which has been great and quite theraputic. I'm hoping I can get up earlier in the morning and keep it up.
A girl that I went to EA with has a really bad brain tumor and very young kids to look after. Her family is going to have a 5k fun run/walk for her the beginning of April and I would love to show my support and jog it! So that is my motivation this month.

School days school days!

2010-03-01T18:30:00.000-08:00

So I should have posted this one before my P90 but all well! So I am halfway through my spring semester of school! I finished up my lame teaching Social Studies to K-8 class which is good because it was pretty frustrating, but we bonded more together as a class over it which is always a plus. My other class that I have had and will continue to throughout the semester is Literature for Elem kids II. Let me tell you that I have done more crafty, artsy fartsy projects than I have ever done in my life, but it's been fun! We have a few in our cohort that think these projects are stupid and a waste of a good share of our time, but really they are things that we will be doing and can use in our classrooms. I have made my own ABC Book, Smith Family Smith Family Book (like Brown Bear Brown Bear), Halloween Big Book, and book trading cards. We are currently creating our own autobiographies, and Flat Stanly projects this semester. Our class is 4 hours long every Thursday so I personally look forward to days like the one we had last week. We got in groups and did author studies. We did got to make our own butter, decorate "thunder cupcakes" in the dark to thunder sounds (yes, that was mine!), and self portraits made out of tissue paper. It was a hoot! The pictures are of these fun activities! Go Future Teachers!

I've made it a week!

2010-03-01T18:21:00.000-08:00

Ok so I used my two rest days for the weekend and boy was it great! I thought about doing a little work out or something, but cannot tell you how nice it was just to veg! I have a couple of extra days to do homework so I didn't even have to worry about that. I made the bad mistake on Friday though of waiting until 11PM to work out and boy was that dumb. I couldn't get myself to sleep until 3. It worked out nice thought because I got to talk to a friend on facebook who is deployed in the Middle East.
The message group I got into are really supportive too and login daily so it is nice to chat with them. I just really need to work on my eating. I haven't lost any weight and I know it's because of I'm eating way more than I'm working off. I am probably right at my max calorie count right now, and that is with the P90 cardio/abs I just did along with my early weight lift and 3 1/2 mile brisk walk I did. I'm starting to remember that it's not fun to work this hard to work off my calories so hopefully by the end of this week I will eat like a normal human and not have to work out just to keep at 1450 calories.
I actually enjoyed working out too go figure! I kept reminding myself this morning that I could go back to bed and I did! But I'm stoked because one of the moves we did apparently lifts and perks the "girls" up so wahoo for that! I also kept on my sweatpants while I did cardio so I sweat twice as much!! Well keepin this one short because I want to post about my school stuff too.

Day 5 Yay Friday!!

2010-02-26T23:03:00.000-08:00

Do you like how I keep exercising later and later. Apparently I procrastinate as much with exercise as I do with school work. It's a shame too because it was really nice outside and while I was at work I really thought about jogging, but then I got home and it just didn't happen. I almost used today as one of their rest days as well because I just didn't want to exercise. I didn't make it to the gym in the morning so I think that started it. It could also be because I ate to big ol greasy pieces of pizza! The lunch ladies love me what can I say?! It was really greasy though even for me, so in my brilliant mind I thought that by eating more bread type foods I could soak up the grease in my stomach! Trust me I've had a blond day all day today! I feel gross too, but I am not going to beat myself up over it because then I would talk myself out of this whole thing altogether!
I actually found a group of people that started the program the same day as me on the message boards as well so I am giving that shot! Our motto is sexy by summer! I am a moron though and apparently have forgotten how to do some of the ab exercises properly and jacked my neck up! I really think my abs were on strike over this new workout they are getting and just told my body "Nope not gonna do it!"
I actually get to sleep in tomorrow and I am totally excited about that! I also have 2 rest days so wahoo for me! I plan on posting pics from my school classes though because we did a lot of art projects and we all know how good I am at those! It was a super fun night though!

Day 4 WARNING BEFORE PICS BELOW!

2010-02-25T22:56:00.000-08:00

Ok so I finally got my camera and rather than scare half the people I thought I would post my pictures at the end of my little blurb. I know my little blurbs have been novels so far but hey we all know I am long winded! Anywho I actually went to the gym with boys this morning as well as my Power 90 cardio. That's the name of it Darcy by the way. The main company is Beachbody and they have a ton of great stuff like Turbo Jam, Hip Hop Abs, and slim in 6. But Tony is great! You start out annoyed with him, but then you start to look forward to his little comments everyday! I am trying to take this more serious and even posted my before pics on my little profile page on Beachbody's WOWY page. I apologize to anyone that gets grossed out from my pics, but I'm posting them for me. I had to work out late tonight because I'm the queen of procrastination and had homework and school to do. I really wanted to go to bed early to because I've come to realize that after 30 your body really does need sleep to recooperate! I have had the best sleep though which has been nice!
My eating was even better today! Are you ready for this?.... I actually had the opportunity to have 2 cupcakes today and passed them up. I even made some. Now don't get me wrong I had my share of the cake batter because hello?.. I am me after all and it's cake batter! I was bummed to find out though that the energy drink I was drinking while having my Jesse Spano moments contained calories! I hate drinking my calories! I'd rather enjoy cake hello!! I know I know energy drinks are bad, but hey I have to do what I have to do to get my work done! Well I actually want to post about my school projects to so this is a kind of short one! (Ya right!!)
MEASUREMENTS
Arms flexed: L:13" R:12.5" Thighs: L:22.5" R:23"(weird eh that my rt is bigger)
Bust: 39(depressing isn't it!) Calves: L:16.3" R:16
Waist(belly button): 36 BMI: 26.2(according to chart I'm officially ovr wght!)
2" Below Waist: 37.5 Body Fat: 32%
Hips: 41.5
PICS!!

Day 3 Hump day!

2010-02-24T22:08:00.000-08:00

Ok so the wake up call from my measurements really had me geared up to get my workout in. In fact it was the only reason I got up at 5:30 to go work out with a bunch of dudes! Yep I was the only girl! I got home from that workout and weighed myself and found out I gained 2 lbs. I was so sad and wanted to console myself with a cupcake (no I'm not an emotional eater at all :P) Luckily though I posted my dissapoint on facebook and got a lot of good encouraging feedback so instead of going crazy at the potluck today I did pretty dang good! I even skipped the cupcake! Yep it's true! I did have some cookies though. I tell you I have to stop cold turkey on the sweets! I think I might adopt the Catholic's observance of Lent and give sugar up even though Lent started a week ago!
I really wanted to skip doing the Power 90 workout but they have a little workout tracker online and I didn't want to flake out on the 3rd day! Plus I found out that if I stick with this 90 day progam my 90th day will actually be on my 33rd birthday!! So that regenerated my energy to see this through! I did extra abs at the gym as well and I'm excitd that they are sore! Once again I forgot my camera so no pics! I am including my lovely pic from the turkey trot though. How horrid is it?! I mean seriously why would they even post that! Homework time!

Day 2 Wahoo!

2010-02-23T20:59:00.000-08:00

Ok I readily admit it I am completely out of shape and there is no denial anymore! Yesterday's sculpting work out kicked my trash! I woke up pretty sore this morning, you would have thought I ran a marathon or did a Biggest Loser workout. I remember someone said on one of the many health infomercials that I have watched that they said they loved the sore feelings because it meant their body was getting back in shape! I am trying to tell myself that as well.
I ate pretty good during the day but that darn school potluck! A real Native American made Indian fry bread so I couldn't pass that up it would have been very racist of me right?! I didn't put any stuff on it though. One of the girls in my cohort makes these little cookie treats with vanilla waffers, cream cheese and rasberries. I figure it was my fruit intake for the day LOL! So yes the treats and sweet things got me again. I didn't eat lunch today so I still stayed in my 1400 calorie range, but I want to eat better foods. I have another potluck tomorrow at work, and after my downfall at this one I am more determined than ever to rise above the temptations. We'll see how it goes.
I didn't the power 90 cardio in this morning so unfortunately I had to do it after class and the sweet attack! Boy did I pay for it too! I actually felt that nausiated feeling that I hadn't felt since I did bootcamp at the gym. Not a fun feeling and it has definitely cured me of my sweet tooth for now! It felt good to get my heart rate up, but I was really bummed out at how hard my heart was pumping. It's sad that a body can go to pot so quickly! Age is probably a factor too, but I don't want to think about that issue right now :)
Tomorrow I am planning on double duty strength training with power 90 and going to my old high school gym. BB's son Herman and a couple of other guys work out everyday at the gym at 6am. I went off and on for a while and need to get back on the wagon. Drew will be joining me tomorrow to make sure I go. I might regret this decision tomorrow! I took my measurements as well and they aren't pretty my thighs since leaving Gilbert have literally spread 6 inches! So I have grown a whole foot length wise across my legs!! Thinking of things that way really puts things in perspective for me! I will post my measurements with my before pics which I hope to take tomorrow. I keep forgetting to bring my camera home! Well 6am comes quick so I am off to bed!

Day 1 - Oh my buns!

2010-02-22T23:20:00.001-08:00

Ok so I actually up and did Sculpt 1-2 of Power 90 and holy crap it actually kicked my butt! I was shocked, I used to do this program with little effort and today I struggled. Quite the wake up call for me and I can't live in my little world of denial dang it! I ate pretty good, but I did over indulge in this cream cheese, cream of chicken, green chile dip that my sister had made. I did keep my calories under 1500 which was good. Tommorow I need to be more strict and avoid the bad stuff. I also had some hot cocoa because it was rainy and cold outside and I couldn't resist. I know I know weak sauce!! Hence why I have to do better tomorrow. We are supposed to have a potluck for the last day of my class tomorrow so hopefully I will be stronger tomorrow. I will post pictures tomorrow I forgot my camera at school. I will also post my measurements which will be embarrassing but I need to see those numbers! If I got a wake up call from my work out today I can only imagine what will happen when I see my measurements!
We'll see what tomorrow brings! It is the cardio 1-2 and I am already dreading it! I will do it though I am committed! Go team!

Enough is Enough!!

2010-02-21T20:30:00.001-08:00

A little less than two years ago I had this body! Unfortunately due to laziness and poor time management skills I have let it go to pot! (What does that even really mean anyways go to pot?) Yes, a few pity parties have been had by myself since I have moved back home and attend school with people 10 to 12 years younger than me, but I am not going to let these excuse my actions any longer! I want my body back, I want my love of life back! My long lasting and don't get me wrong deliscious relationship with food has got to stop! I am from here on out going to use my blog as a form of accountability. I got Power 90 a long time ago (one of the many late night informercial impulse buys!) I saw great results especially when I had fun people to do it with like my UT friend Kilee and my old roommie Alene! Well I am going to put those 90 days to the test! I am making it official by posting on here that starting tomorrow I start Power 90. I am going to see it through to the 90th day! Does this mean I will be blogging everyday? Yes, that is what it means. I also plan to post what I ate, how I felt, and all that other stuff you are supposed to do. Will this be interesting to anyone else?....Nope can't say that it will be, but like I said it's about accountability. By posting what I ate I'm pretty sure I'll change my usual habit of oh 2000 + calories a day down to 1400 I hope! I will also be posting before pictures of me so that I can see if this whole process really does work like they say on their infomercials.
I just really want my life back! Laziness and lack of self discipline have been my friends for too long! On New Year's I made a bucket list of 10 things I wanted to do this year. I will also post those on this blog too for accountability purposes. If anyone does read this feel free to post back any helpful suggestions or ideas you might have for me as well. Anyone that knows me, knows how I feel about odd numbers and I will be turning 33 this year (yes, that is two uneven #'s!) I would like to be in a good frame of mind and comfortable with myself when this day comes. Otherwise you will see a Jesse Spano from Saved by the bell moment that will not be pretty! Well there it is. I have put it out there and now must follow through! For better or worse! I better get my butt to bed so that I can be ready for day 1!

Jakey's Blankies campaign #2

2010-02-02T10:13:00.000-08:00

Hey Friends,

A year ago my friends the Dennison's welcomed a beautiful baby boy Jake to their family. Jakey was born with HLHS and unfortunately only stayed with us for 19 short days! Jakey earned his wings February 9th. Mind you though that this little guy was a fighter, and shared his sweet spirit with all that came into contact with him. I never got the honor or privledge to meet him, but let me tell you I felt his sweet spirit many times! Jake's amazing mom Liz, wanted to do something for the special heart babies and their families so she decided to make fabulous minkie blankets for these amazing kiddos. Last year I believe enough money was raised for 150 blankies! In honor of Jake, Liz wants to provide more "Jakey Blankies" to the Heart Hospital on February 9th, the day Jakey received his wings! Please check out her blog for all the info. She has a paypal account set up and everything. Times are tough I know, but any help would be greatly appreciated!

Liz's family blog is http://www.tylerelizabethdennison.blogspot.com

Love these kids!!

2009-11-13T08:36:00.001-08:00

So I just wanted to give a little shout out to the Quinn kiddos! I really miss them especially around this time of year! Donelle had told me the story of Trevor praying for my Pops and it just melted my heart! I am so lucky that I got to be there when Nicolas and Kira were born. I totally think I am bad luck, but Donelle still let me be part of Kira's big day! I will never forget those experiences for multiple reasons LOL! This Thanksgiving season I am really trying to focus on being Thankful and so I want to spotlight each of the Clique's kiddos because they mean so much to me and I am so thankful to have these kids in my life! So this post is all about the Quinn kids!
Nicolas, you my friend are so grown up I have to look twice at pictures your Mom posts because of how big you've gotten! You are tons of fun and I enjoy hanging out with you a lot! I remember playing and throwing the football with you when I visited in Texas a while back that was fun stuff! I am also so glad you got baptized here in Safford and allowed me to be a part of that amazing day! You got to be baptized in the same font as me! How cool does that make us?!! You are awesome and such a help to your parents! Thanks for being such a great kid!
Trevor, my little buddy! I can't say enough about you! You and I got to make that long drive to Texas together when you first moved and you were such a great kid! You wanted to ride with your family, but got stuck with me and you didn't complain once! I am so glad you are my buddy! You are so fun and I love hanging out with you! I can't wait till you move back and we can hang out more!
Kira, You are awesome! I have so much fun hanging out with you and playing games! Your laugh just brightens my day! You are big help to your Mom and that is so cool! We have a lot of hanging out to do when you move back to Arizona and I can't wait! I love you a whole lot!!!
Brooklyn, You don't really even know me but I love you bunches too, and am excited to get to know you and hang out with you when you move back too!
High fives to the Quinn kids!

Tasia's wedding highlights

2009-10-26T23:54:00.001-07:00

K so I am really supposed to be reading 5 chapters of textbook right now and big surprise after an hour of solid reading already in need of a break!! I thought I would post some of my favorite pics of Tasia's wedding. She became Tasia Berry (hehe that last name still makes me laugh!) on June 12th at the Logan Temple. We had a reception around Layton it turned out dang good I thought considering that we decorated it ourselves! Shawna did an amazing job and I am really proud of her! While we were waiting I managed to get some good shots! Anyone who knows my nephew Steve knows he loves to hug my Dad because it just bugs him to death so I am posting this pic for that reason! Steven also got a loving shot with Shawna as well!
I suppose I should also post a pic of the happy couple too! The others following it are just some of the favorite pics! Like Pops standing on a bench thats on top of the hill waving his hands to his peeps! We always do Charlie's Angel pics to so those had to be added!

Holy Crap it's been a while!

2009-10-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

Ok so I haven't been a good blogger and haven't posted since April! Lots has happened as you can imagine! I finally got my associates from good ol' EAC, a niece got married, Pops had double bi-pass surgery, and now is now part of the crappy club of "Cancer"! It is called GIST Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors is its long name it's rare and ugly! Luckily we have a good oncologist that thinks he can maintain it with a medication called Gleevec. Needless to say I have a whole new drive and determination to participate in the Relay For Life this next year so be on the lookout for my website on that! Pops is hangin strong though and seems in good spirits. This is good considering how rumors spread in small towns, Thatcher has him on his death bed down and out! If they could have seen him dancin it up this morning in the living room to his bluegrass CD they would have died of shock! I died of amusement!
I don't really want to bore people with catch up posts from April till now, but I will just highlight some of the things mentioned above with some pics. So be on the lookout for those!

ALENE!!!!

2009-04-16T15:39:00.000-07:00

Ok so I wanted to post this yesterday but due to the fact that the electricity was out for like 4 hours yesterday I didn't. I just wanted to wish my very great friend and old roommate Alene Angle a very happy birthday! She is amazing I mean look at these pole skills! I am so grateful to have Alene as a friend! We've had so many late night talks that it's a wonder we ever made it to work on time! It's great to have someone to relate and share "super awesome" dates with! I'm thinking she tops me at this point! Just so everyone knows we have a strict Twins rule now. Neither one of us will be set up unless the guys are twins, have jobs, at least 6 ft tall and church goers! Anyways sorry about the tangent! Back to the one and only fabulous Alene! I am so lucky that I got to live with her and Melody for almost 4 years! I got to see her overcome so many trials (Dave!!), raise Melody into the smart cute cookie she is today, serve others, and grow her already amazingly strong testimony! I'm telling ya I had the life! What a great example I had on a daily basis! Spiritual,Intelligent, Funny, and Beautiful I am tell you what guys out there do not know what they are missing! I've appreciated her friendship for so long! Who would have guessed when we were roomies at EFY that we would be roommies how many years later?! I just can't even watch TV the same anymore or do Power 90! Alene is just plain fabulous I can't say anymore! Heart ya big Sister friend!!!

My friend Tanisha!

2009-04-03T15:05:00.000-07:00

Well, Slap mah fro! It was one of my great friend's and even cousin's (it's true!) birthday a while back and I am posting pictures from her brunch we had last weekend. I am a sucky friend and didn't even acknowledge this African princess on her actual birthday so I hope this makes up for it. I might just get my butt kicked by this too either way I'm letting the blogging world know how awesome Tanisha Gardner is! She is one of a kind, a super Mom to 5 amazing boys!, supportive wife, super hilarious (hello PerkyO's!), generous, great party thrower, and a beyond amazing friend! Some of the "cliquers" have put together some "spice racks" for their lucky hubby's and much to Tanisha and Cole's shagrin (I just wanted to use that word!) we started one for her for her birthday! We also went to the very delicious Cracker's for brunch (good job planning Liz!) and ate very well! Although it was kind of funny that they somehow for got the bday girl's order. The picture above is one of the "spices" our lucky lady received.. These are the other spices. Alene and I had a good time putting the jars together! Alene and Donelle deserve the credit for the "super great" Police, Nurse, school girl,and Ghetto, spices! There was also a "kitchen" spice with a very cute apron made by Chrissy! Some of us even got our toes done by this ghettorific place that has more paint options than you can even imagine. Ya my toes would be the one's with the generic purple flip flops sorry I didn't have cute shoes that day! It was a great time and I think our birthday girl had a great time. Below are some pictures of the girls that came to celebrate and a slide show of some of the "spice" wear!!

Families!

2009-03-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

Families are such a great thing! I used to make fun of that church commercial that truly does play over and over if you ever go to the MTC to drop a missionary of that says "Family, isn't it about time!" Lately I have been really seconding that very thought! I am so very grateful for mine, and the constant source of love, strength and support they are to me! Recently I have been thinking a lot of families and the importance of them. These times are so scary and turbulent and are only going to get more so and how smart was our Heavenly Father to bless us with a source such as the family to cleave to. The fact that our families can be Eternal is another precious gift from our loving Heavenly Father and how grateful I am for that as well. This fact has really been weighing on me as a dear family I am friends with recently lost their precious baby boy! It really made me realize how probationary and temporal this mortal state is. The strength that my friends have is amazing by the way, and I cannot tell you how moved and touched I was to see the love this family has for each other. They are a true example to and for me! On Saturday I attended a funeral service for a friend's brother who had been diagnosed with MELAS when he was 12 and made it to the age of 27. This is another amazing family who's love for each other is above and beyond! This family was not LDS and in my ignorance I was suprised but also comforted to find that the main message given at this service was on the importance of family. One of my favorite and biggest examples from high school, BB Andrews spoke about families and the fact that we need to be there for each other and how important the family is.
I also then got to thinking about my friends and how really when I was living away from my "home" in Safford they became my family in a sense! I have truly been blessed in every move that I have made and(yes, they have been many) that I have gained a second family of friends to strengthen and support me when I needed it! I have a second Mom in Utah, Leanne who played Mom and friend for me more times then I can count. My roommates have been sisters and listening ears that helped me out many of times. Most recently the "Clique" as I like to refer to us as has been the biggest strength, example and support group yet! They and their husbands are examples to me of what I want when and if the day should come for me to find a man! The men in the clique could not me better examples of what true Priesthood holders should be and on more than one occassion have provided the Priesthood Power to Alene and I when it was needed. They are great husbands, dads, and friends! The lovely ladies of the clique are equally if not more amazing! I mean there aren't too many ladies out there who willingly donate their husbands to two single "very attractive" :)females when a man is needed at their house! They give their time, service, listening ear, support and love without thought! If that isn't family I don't know what is! I am grateful for my friend family as much as my own! You all rock!!!

Jakey's Blankies Needs your help!

2009-02-28T08:13:00.000-08:00

This is post from my friend Liz. I just want to put the word out as well!

WAIT!!----UPDATE!!! Apparently there are some people who have donated that are getting their mail returned to them. If you are mailing them, send them to Bishop Anderson, but make the checks payable to Summerfield Ward. Sorry for the confusion!!!

We are getting ready to start making "Jakey's Blankies!" (The soft white one under Jake's head). Jake had 2 of these. One for his blessing and one that was brown with a giraffe print that we held him with while he died. We even buried him in the white one so he would be extra comfy! These blankies meant a lot to us. They are made out of a special material called Minky and it is SOOOOOO soft!! You can't help but want to snuggle with it!! We think that every child should have one of these to snuggle with so we want to make a BUNCH of these for the heart unit up at St. Joseph's hospital in memory of Jake. We are needing donations to make these, so if you were wanting to donate, but haven't, please send your donation BY MARCH 8TH at 8:43pm!!!! We really want to make a lot of these, and possibly make a bunch every year, but we need more funds, even $5 would be GREAT!! Thank you all for your generosity and THANK YOU to those that have already donated!! If you have any questions, please e-mail me at edennison78@yahoo.com

You can send the donations to:
Bishop Anderson
Summerfield Ward (Jakey's Blankies)
2791 E Los Alamos Ct
Gilbert, AZ 85295
Make checks payable to: Summerfield Ward

Thank you very much, and if you don't mind posting this on your blogs to help spread the word, I would really appreciate it!

I just want a hand made something from Shelley!!!

2009-02-26T19:38:00.001-08:00

Found this on my friends blog I want to switch it up a bit though. So this is how it works..... The 1st, 5th, and 10th person to leave a comment on this post will receive a hand made gift from me during this year. When and what will be a surprise. this means you might have to leave a few coments to be one of the three. :)
There's a small catch...You knew there would be didn't you? Post this on your blog then come back and leave a comment, telling me you're in. Fun, huh? i'm excited!

Now I need to figure out what to make!!!
Please remember I am craft challenged but I will do my best!!
I also won't be hurt if no one comments either, I just really wanted to be the recepiant of one of Shelley's awesome crafty crafts!

Sexy People

2009-02-26T19:18:00.001-08:00

Ok so as much as I would love to take credit for finding this treasure of a blog or website or whatever it is I can't. I actually found it on my cousin's blog first. She is hilarious and has the best sense of humor so when I saw Sexy People I knew it had to be something special! I was so not disappointed! This blog just brings a smile to my face daily! I mean Tom here is one of the fine examples you can find on this site! Tom makes me smile, so I say kudos and thank you to you Tom! Your exquisite cheerleading jump of joy makes me joyful! The fact that you keep your button up shirt so neatly buttoned and tucked into your shorts is amazing! There was a post (with sexy examples of course) of those oh so sexy profile shots that have the same picture faded above the other one. I laughed for a good long while reminiscing about those beauties. The thing is I remember always being upset my Mom wouldn't buy those for us. Now I say "Thank you Mom!" although she also didn't believe in retakes and trust me I needed several! I don't feel the need to apologize of my love of this blog either. It is just good fun and I bet even my buddy Tom above gets a good laugh at it. In the 7th Grade my picture was so hiliarious to my home room teacher that he showed the entire class and then bribed them not to tell me. At my old job we had a contest for the worst school photo. Would you like to guess who won? Oh that's right yours truly! For those of you lucky enough to have a Safford Middle School yearbook from I believe 89 you can see the lovely pic that won that envious title of "worst school photo" I would like to note that my hair actually was long enough to touch my shoulders though, crazy huh! Well anyways I just felt like I needed to give some love to the Sexy People blog site.

Only 4 Jenn!!

2009-02-20T18:47:00.000-08:00

So this is a little late but, as the saying goes better late then never right?! Actually after seeing the pictures never might be better! As many who read this blog know the amazing and wonderful Jenn Winninger is a big fan of the movie "Mama Mia"! Don't get me wrong she and I are still Phantom Fanatics, but this comes close! Anyways, her sister and husband wanted to surprise Jenn with a big Mama Mia themed party. We are talking the works, however due to timing, lack of a few things, and I'll be honest stage fright on my part we had to cancel the big surprise party. Not all was cancelled though Jenn's sister Christina, Alene, and I had put together a little lip syncing number for Jenn. We had the costumes and had practiced a little so we figured what the heck! There were a few priviledged people that got to see it (by priviledged I mean people that Alene & I really didn't know! Less embarrassement that way!) I think we scarred her poor boys! Please note Alene's awesome pants! She is an amazing seamstress and took her pants that were exactly like the "beauties" mine are and made them into the awesome party pants shown! We also have matching Elvis costumes like the one Christine is wearing but really, not so flattering unless you are a super model! We enjoyed our shoes the most though! As many of you know we have quite a few theme parties and I love me some Halloween so they are the gift that keeps on giving! Donelle I want you to know I wore the cape just for you! I did a few Gerry cape flips just for you!! Anyways I hope Jenn enjoyed it and for those of you in the Spice Rack club wanting an Elvis spice talk to Alene or me! I put the pics in a slide show (view at your own discretion!)

My Job!

2009-02-14T11:15:00.001-08:00

I love my job! I don't get paid much, but it is great! Right before Christmas Break all of the teachers and office staff put on a talent show for all the kids who hadn't gotten a pink slip. I of course had to be part of this because I am a big dork so I did the song "Boogars" with the office staff. It was great, I mean just look at the sweet dress I got to wear! I also got to throw boogars on the kids (candy really) that was fun times for sure! Although the fact that I am now called the "boogar lady" by the kids might not be so good. I saw one of the kids at Walmart a couple of days later and they told there Mom I was the "boogar lady" and that I threw boogars on them! That was fun trying to explain that! I get bouquets of weeds daily, rocks from one of my favorite kindergartners, and hugs and high fives that I wouldn't trade in for anything. I have had great times with these kids! I had a really bad cold and had taken some medicine that left me quite drowsy and had a hard time keeping my eyes open one day. I was doing site words with one of my 1st graders and apparently my eyes kept closing and doing fun things because after a while he tells me "Miss Leslie I didn't know you had a lazy eye?" I started laughing so hard bless his heart! Another time doing site words we were working on long o words. Well one of the words was coke so I told this precious innocent child :) "Oh this is one of Miss Leslie's favorite things!" and bless her heart she practically shouts "cock, is that it Miss Leslie Cock?" Oh if you didn't think I turned bright red as well as turn the heads of the teacher Mrs. Lewis! I was surprisingly very mature though and said "No the word is coke, coke is one of my favorite things! Mrs. Lewis got a good laugh and I was just glad the principal wasn't in there that day! I also work with awesome people, Janeen Jones, Joanne Andrews, Jane Aguayo, and Sarah Pace all who are pictured below. The teachers are great too I work with Mrs. Lewis, Mrs. Hillman, and Kristi Smith! They are great teacher friends and I hope I can be as good as them when I get to that point.

Ok it's been a while!!

2009-02-14T10:53:00.000-08:00

So if you haven't figured it out by now I am the worst blogger ever! Now you know why I don't even attempt to scrapbook! I could blog about Christmas but really, it was quite a while ago. It was nice for the fact that my sister Kerri was able to come down, and all of my sister Shawna's family. It was great seeing Steven's family, Caden is so big now and Eli is already smarter than me! We got to meet Tasia's fiance Mr. Berry! We've already decided he's a good guy because he let's us make fun of the last name! That's when you know you know you are truly part of the family though... if we make fun of you, you are in! We don't make fun of Steven's wife Angie too much not because we don't like her, but basically we know what a pain Steven can be and so we sing her praises for putting up with him! Truly and honestly though I love all my family they are great and I would be lost without them. I have put together my pictures that I took at Christmas in a slideshow though so that should make up for not blogging right?!

Turkey Day!!

2008-11-30T18:25:00.000-08:00

So another Thanksgiving has come and gone. Time is flying by it seems! My sister Shawna and I were going to go to Utah for Thanksgiving so she could help Tasia get some wedding stuff planned and I wanted to tag along because I love a good Utah visit. Mother Nature did not get our agenda however and decided to give Arizona a storm that weekend. I can't remember the last time it was even cold on Thanksgiving much less rained! It was a disappointment not to go, but I didn't forgoing the 12 hour drive, and it meant that I could do the annual Pima Turkey Trot. I did it last year and was really excited to do it again. Waking up at 6:30 AM to a rain storm though I thought my Plan B for Thanksgiving would be shot down as well, but oh no! Those Pima Planners are die hard trotters! They did change the course to be on all paved roads which was nice and very smart of them! I decided I would attempt to job the 3 mile trot (with no previous warm up or training mind you!) and didn't do to horrible. The fact that I had a 60 year old man in front of me kicking my butt and my ex-brother in laws step kid neck and neck with me the whole time kept me motivated! With only half a mile left the rain came down and hard! By this time I was hyperventilating, snot freezing like icecycles down my nose, and my long sleeve soak shirt I swore could brake off into little tiny shards of frozen glass. Me being the dork that I am thought of the Jack and Rose in the Titantic when Jack's hand is frozen to hers and she brakes it off. Why I was thinking this I don't know! Let's be honest though, none of you are really surprised are you?! As I am quoting Titanic movie lines outloud I notice that the step son whose name is Jacob by the way is starting to pass me, well I can't let this happen and I stop quoting Titanic and try to beat the kid. I didn't but I did at least finish the race. So between Titanic and my need to beat or keep up with an old man and 11 year old brat I did it rain and all!
My sister and I took off to Gilbert after dinner so we could wake up at 4AM and start the shopping. I did manage to fit in Twilight and oh what an Emo-riffic Spanish Soap Opera it was. I actually enjoyed it. I just hope they spend a little bit more money on the next one! I survived shopping and actually got a few good deals! I hope everyone had a great Turkey Day as well. I am very grateful to have such awesome friends and family. You all rock!!!

Create Your Own

My new Job!

2008-11-09T20:23:00.001-08:00

So after almost 4 months of unemployement I finally got a job! It's part time and pays a lot less then what I used to make but hey I get to wear a fanny pack so who can complain right?! I have to say you can store all kinds of things in them. I can see why Hulk Hulgan held on to his for so long! I also get to wear a whistle while I am on lunch and recess duty! I opted for the bright yellow neck lanyard I mean why stop at just the fanny pack! I am an aide at Lafe Nelson Elementary and every 30 or 40 minutes I am doing something different with different kids all day. I start by helping 2nd graders who need extra help in reading and good grief I have forgotten all the rules there are! I mean it's a wonder I learnded to read with all the rules and different sounds a letter can make; who ever thought up the English language had a wicked sense of humor! I then read with two 3rd grade boys, and can I just say this is funny considering the fact that I am not a fan of reading! I have to say I am getting into it though, those Goosebump books are genius! I then get to spend a whole hour with a 1st grade class that I love! I can be having the worst day and then one of them will come up and say "Hi Miss Leslie" and give me a hug its great! I work with the slower readers in that class as well, but the teacher Mrs. Lewis is great and lets me do other things as well. After that it is Kindergarten recess duty and owe the drama these kids have! A day does not go by that a little girl or boy does not come up to me crying because their friends don't want to be their friends anymore! There are also some Pop Warner cheerleaders that give me a cheer everyday! For those of you that know my "love" of cheerleading this is always a fun time! I then get the lovely job of lunch duty with the 6th graders. Now I ask you...how in the Heck does one try to show that they are in charge and should be respected when they are wearing a freaking fanny pack?! Seriously? would you I wouldn't! I have learned to use it as a source of punishment though and if or when a kid gets out of line they get threatened with the fanny pack and having to wear it for the duration of lunch. I have to say it works like a charm! Once that is done I finish my day with 2nd graders in math! Many of you are laughing at this and I can understand as it has been my nemisis all my life. I get to work with the kids that need a lot of help so we are about on the same level so it works just fine! It has been fun and I enjoy it a lot. Don't be surprised if you all get fanny packs from me for Christmas though!

NKOTB The Sequel!

2008-11-09T19:43:00.000-08:00

So as many of you know I was pretty much the biggest New Kids on the Block fan ever! It was border line over the top my best friend at the time Erika Baysinger and I ate,slept, breathed everything New Kids. The ultimate was going to their concert back in the 8th grade! By the way if anyone who reads this knows or keeps in contact with Erika I would love to get back in touch with her. Back to the subject though. My dear caring friend Randy Quinn was nice enough to get me into the New Kids fan club and on the email list when they first made their come back! Bless his heart! I won't lie when they were on the Today show I was planning on mocking the upper 30-40 year old "boy wonders", but no it was like I was 13 again and Jordan Knight was singing directly to me! I got as giddy as a school girl and planned right then and there that some way I would go to their concert again! As luck would have it a couple of friends thought the same thing (they were no where near the die hard I was LOL!) so sure enough we got out tickets and oh my goodness I am not ashamed to say it was by far in the top 2 of the best concerts I have ever attended. Mind you I have not kept up on their music old and definitely not new, however all I needed to hear was the first 3 notes and I was "Hangin Tough" all night! I screamed all night and new Jordan Knight heard my many pledges of unfailing love to him. I only wish I had my camara, my friends took pictures but as mentioned above they are not the devoted fan like I am and do not understand the critical importance of getting me the pics ASAP. It was a great night and I have to give a big thank you to my friend Randy Quinn! I'll I have to say is "You got the Right Stuff!"

A little old school for ya!
And a little new school!
a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_b1qzKgGWuH8/SRexfjfWRKI/AAAAAAAAAGo/YB-aO0QaGyM/s1600-h/New+pic+group.jpg">
Same sweet moves!

Math Aarghhh!

2008-09-30T12:14:00.001-07:00

Ok so this whole going back to school thing has been quite an adjustment especially since I have been out of school for about 10 years. I wasn't the brightest student then and so it makes it a lot of fun now! Most of the classes are ok as long as you actually read the chapters in the book. This is new to me, but I'll be darned if the answers to the tests really aren't in there! The one class that has been my biggest worry is the Math for Elementary Teachers. You would think it would be easy, and for most it is, just a bit of a refresher course and learning the teaching techniques. I am what they would call math challenged though and have been my whole life. As many of you probably know since you are all parents yourself a lot of schools are now going to a new method for teaching math which involves using "manipulatives" and the "base 10" blocks. Let me just tell you that I had a hard enough time learning the basics as it was now they want us to teach the kids how to show how math works. Fractions in particular are my newest pain. We have to show with blocks what 1/2 of 2/3 looks like. Back in the day this would be a multiplication problem that you just multiply and reduce if possible. Not so much now! It's been fun! I drive to Willcox every Monday and spend 4 hours learning this stuff because the teacher at EA is a Freak! Seriously 4 of us are driving and I know that 3 others just dropped the class because he's so special! The teacher over at Willcox is awesome though and totally understands my math anxiety! In fact she even gave me a paper on it with the Math Bill of Rights. I have to share these because if any of the rest of you feel the way I do about Math you will love these! At the end of the semester I will do a blog just on this class as well because it is a very small class being offered my Cochise Community and each person it that class is quite interesting. So I'll keep you posted on that as well.

Math Bill of Rights

* I have the right to learn at my own pace and not feel put down or stupid if I'm slower than someone else.
* I have the right to ask whatever questions I have.
* I have the right to need extra help.
* I have the right to ask a teacher or tutor for help.
* I have the right to say I don't understand.
* I have the right to not understand.
* I have the right to feel good about myself regardless of my abilities in math.
* I have the right not to base my self-worth on my math skills.
* I have the right to feel view myself as capable of learning math.
* I have the right to evaluate my math instructors and how they teach.
* I have the right to relax.
* I have the right to be treated as a competent person.
* I have the right to dislike math.
* I have the right to difine success in my own terms.

Here's a quick run down!

2008-09-30T12:12:00.000-07:00

Ok so it's been a while! I did a little slide show of some pictures that I meant to post oh...two months ago! I have left Varsity Gold after 4 great years and decided to go back to school. Not just any school but the hallowed halls of EAC! Yep that's right! I am hoping that whole 3rd times a charm thing is legit! The pictures are from my last day there, which everyone really made me feel loved and decorated my cube and made me a really awesome poster that was signed by my co-workers. It has been a big adjustment to not have that has part of my life anymore! Especially the money!! Lucky for me though the awesome girls in the neighborhood were there for me and suprised me with a trip to California for a "Wicked" weekend and cupcakes! Singing and butter cream, who could ask for more! As soon as I got home from my last day at VG there were all the girls ready to road trip! I had no time to feel sorry for myself! I really suck at Thank you cards so girls, this is a pathetic thank you and long over due, but you will not ever know the support you were to me that weekend and it meant a lot to me! The fact that Wicked is about true friendship and sisterhood and that I got to see it with my "clique" it couldn't have been better. I got to go to the ocean which it had been about 15 years since I've actually swam in the ocean. Jenn and I got to be bed buddies and we had cupcakes seriously I was spoiled! Thanks again ladies!
School has been going for little over a month now which in itself deserves its own blog which I will do. For those of you lucky enough to be EA Alumni you know exactly why it needs it's own blog! 10 years has passed since I went and it's funny how some things haven't changed! I am living at home with my parents which has been a big change too! It's cheap which is great, definitely humbling, and pretty fun I have to say! Since I have no social life nor plan to it works out pretty good. The fair is coming up which much like EA will get it's own blog! After the pictures you will understand why! For those of you that know about the "Your Team" Game let's just say it's a free for all! I moved down with the intention of working at the new Marriott Springhill Suites and up until the 2nd interview pretty much thought it was a for sure deal. Not the case though and really it was a blessing in disguise! After finding a few things out I don't think I could have worked there, and my school work would have been neglected. I did find it funny though that after they didn't hire me they asked my Dad to cook for their staff! How funny is that?! FREAKS!! I got even more humbled when pretty much the crappiest grocery store wouldn't even hire me to stock! It's true! I am currently waiting for my background check to clear though at Lafe Nelson to be an aide. I am excited and can't wait! Apparently I get to help with lunch time duty! How fun is that going to be! Thanks to Donelle, Alene, and Tracy for being my references! If this doesn't pan out I may very well have to start selling body parts because we all know I have no hair to sell!
I also got to go to Utah and spend a week with my sisters and some friends which was great! I got to ride up with the Winingers which was awesome! I love Jenn's boys they are great! My sister and I met up with them at Lagoon which is another happy place of mine. Josh rode with us and I was impressed that he didn't mind hanging out with the old spinsters! I just wish I had taken pictures! Hangin out with Jenn is always a good time and I am grateful for the opportunity I had to bond with her and talk Gerry since we drive everyone else crazy with it! I rode back with her sister which was fun too and the trip went by really fast. Thanks Jenn for the good times!
Well that is about it as far as what I've been up to. Stay tuned for the Graham County Fair post it should be a hoot!

Shock and Awe I'm posting!!!

2008-09-30T11:17:00.000-07:00

TAG I'M IT!!

2008-07-01T14:28:00.001-07:00

So Igot tagged, but to be honest I love these things! I love reading other people's especially! I was rolling after reading what you would do if you saw a midget Becky! I might have to find one when I move back just to watch that happen! (I'm kidding I wouldn't be mean like that!) Anyways, here it goes!
3 JOYS
Family
Butter Cream Frosting
Friends

3 FEARS
Anything with wings & can fly
Calling people on the phone
Never finishing school

3 GOALS
Actually Finish School
Compete in a Trialthon
Have long hair!

3 CURRENT OBSESSIONS
My new Great Nephew Caden Joseph Hardesty (see pic above!)
Cupcakes with Butter Cream frosting
Going to the gym (due to the obsession listed above!)

3 Surprising Facts
That getting marred is not one of my 3 main Goals, obsessions or fears!
I moved to California for 2 days!(That's for you Nells!)
I am going to the NKOTB concert in November! (yes you can be jealous!)

Cupcakes n Hotdog Reunion tour!!

2008-06-20T10:12:00.001-07:00

Ok so back in September my great friend Sarah and I took a road trip down to LA for three things 1. Sprinkle's Cupcakes 2. Pink's Hotdogs 3. See my best friend Rich. Yes, in case you are wondering that was the priority level of all three as well! We'd heard a lot about how amazing Sprinkle's cupcakes were in Beverly Hills and you all know my love of the buttercream and cake so the fact that we had to stand outside an hour and half outside to get them was a no brainer! We happened to pass another cupcake shop along the way called Crumbs with no lines and ended up hitting that on the way back. Let me tell you Crumbs wins hands down so that was the cupcake destination for the 2nd road trip. Apparently Pink's is a popular celebrity hotdog joint that has amazing hotdogs. Hotdogs would be the 2nd thing on our top food list so we had to check it out. We were so amazed and in hotdog heaven that it quickly jumped to the #1 reason for the 2nd roadtrip!
With this background information I can now discuss the 2nd roadtrip, that I have to honestly say in my opinion outshined the 1st one! One of the great things was my new phone has GPS on it and what a life saver it was! We got where we needed to go without getting lost once it was great! We did not mess around and got straight to business the 1st day there. We walked Hollywood blvd. and did the wax and Guinness museum tours. I did provide some pictures. Not the greatest wax jobs, but it killed some time! While we were walking the strip we got free tickets to be part of the "According to Jim" TV show. We were pumped. A little factoid I was not aware of before this was that its not a quick event. We had to be there at the taping for 5 hours. So if any of you ever want to do that, just keep in mind its kind of an all day or night thing! The show will air in Jan. Back to the good stuff. After the blvd. walk we went to Pink's I truly believe I heard Angles singing from the roof tops when we got there! Keep in mind that you wil have at least a half hour wait at this joint, but it is well worth it! The craziest things are put on hotdogs and people love it (yes the thing that looks like a burrito that my friend Rich is eating is really a hotdog!) Their french fries defintely deserve an award for the greasiest yet crispiest bites of heaven! You know you've had a successful Pink's visit when you walk out holding your gut with your pants undone! The next day we hit up Universal Studios which was a lot of fun and Crumbs! Believe it or not though I did not actually purchase one cupcake for myself! I think I was still in buttercream and cake overload from my birthday! They are divine though and worth every cent 375 cents to be exact! So anyone going to LA anytime soon I highly recommend a stop at Pink's Hotdogs for lunch and dessert at Crumbs! And don't forget your GPS it will save your life! Stay tuned for road trip part three!!

Happy Late BDay to my bud Trevor!!!

2008-05-19T15:20:00.001-07:00

This is one of my most favorite pictures of one of my best buddy's Trevor Quinn! He is so cool and I miss him a lot. He has the best personality and you never know what he's gonna say! I have been lucky enough to be with Donelle 2 out of the 4 times she's given birth. I'm pretty sure I'm not a good luck charm (take note any of you future mom's!) but I'm very grateful to have shared those experiences. I wasn't able to be there for Trevor's birth and go figure it was an easy time for Nells! I love him all the same though. He is so creative and friendly! I was lucky enough to have him ride with me to Dallas, and even though he wanted to go with his Mom he was a trooper and rode with me the whole time. We sang our hearts out to the Disney CD and played a few games it was a great memory for me. One of my other favorite Trevor things is when he says "What the heck?!" I don't know if he says it anymore, but it would crack me up everytime. Or the classic line "I'm taking a rest!" He is a kid after my own heart! Happy late Birthday buddy!

5 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT TREVOR QUINN
1. Playing Football and Basketball with him
2. His funny sense of humor
3. Playing Star Wars and fighting/wrestling with him
4. His loving personality
5. His Creativity

My Puma skating party! Oh Behave!!

2008-05-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

So for the past two years I have wanted to go skating like they used to back in the day. Of course back in the day it was all the rage, times have changed a bit!! Some girls from work and a couple of people from the gym totally made my skating dream come true! Of course as with anything with me there had to be a theme. Because I am not yet a "Cougar" my friend Christina and I have been classified as "Pumas" so we had a Puma skating party! Tube socks or headbands were mandatory! We had one guy bring a fro wig which I of course took over by the end of the night. Let me tell you that much hair really throws of your balance when you are trying to skate! It was great though! Everyone knows my love of buttercream and so my friend Drea got me a cupcake cake in the shape of a skate. It was awesome! I thought we'd be the oldest people there, but there were a couple of "distinguished" men there that had some really sweet moves! Alene and I tried to do a few moves from "Blades of Glory" but it didn't quite work out. We did almost run into each other and I ended up copping a feel. Be jealous boys! We never fell though I think it was due to the many nights we'd go skating in the "Hood"! It was fun and I had a great time. I'm looking forward to the end of the month when Donelle is down and we get to concert it up with the good looking boys of Country Music! Concerts are twice as fun with Nells! Something eventful always happens which makes it good times. Here I come 31!!!

Baseball Season!!!

2008-05-18T20:06:00.001-07:00

It's Baseball season once again so I had to go support the DBacks. Since Donelle and Randy aren't here this year I feel it my duty to represent! I get discount tickets from work so that helps too! The fact that I love popcorn and crackerjacks is a bonus, don't even get me started on my appreciation for the diamond dog! They didn't win this game but I have hopes for them! Of course one my favorite parts of being at a game is the condiment race and as usual it was "Team Mustard" for me! Mustard won and my whole section gave me high fives. I must be a little loud! It's great to have good friends to go with as well, and the girls I went with to this game were great! Go DBacks!!

It ain't nothing but a Pole thang!!!

2008-04-27T22:08:00.000-07:00

So my awesome roommate Alene joined the "Dirty 30" Club this year and so what better way to celebrate than learning how to Pole Dance!! We had a neighborhood party for both Alene and LIz the week before and because it has already been blogged by a few people. It was a great time too and man do we have amazing friends and parties! Pole Dancing has always been a hobby, fascination, talent or whatever you want to call it of Alene's! And after our little party I can definitely call it a "kick your butt" work out! I have also been fanscinated with the art of the "Pole" and so I immediately looked into a possible pole dancing party/classes! It was a hoot! The place was called "Pole Dancing Divas!" and the chic that taught the class was amazing! She made sure and pointed out telling us at the beginning of the evening that she was not a stripper and never had been. She was just a fan of the pole like us. Man could she do some tricks! The place was in downtown Phoenix which is a shame. If it were closer to here I would sign up our whole neighborhood click for classes!! We went with some of the girls we go to the gym with and had a blast! Of course Alene was the most skilled! Already having previous pole experience we knew we were going to be getting a work out so we left the stilletos at home, however the next time, and oh yes there will be a next time! it's all about the stilletos!! There was a party before us for a 50 year old lady that her daughters booked for her. She had a snazzy gold shiny shirt that said something about turning 50 it was great! I do have a new respect for pole dancers though, man does it take some muscles and grace! Muscles I might have but the whole graceful, sexy thing not so much! As you can tell from my upside slide compared to Alene's! I hate to mention but feel that I should so proper dues are given the 90 pound teacher had to help me get my leg up the last few inches by boosting my butt up! Now if that isn't pure sexiness I don't know what is!! Nothing like having a 90 pound tooth pick help your fat butt up a pole! Rest easy pole dancing strippers out there, your profession is safe with me!! I hope Alene had a great birthday and I am very glad that she is also a fan of Pole Dancing too! Some day we will have a pole in the house!!

MARCH MADNESS BABY!

2008-03-21T14:04:00.000-07:00

It is once again one my favorite times of the year! I don't have any BBall pics really so I picked this cat because I think he means business! Go figure that I pretty much hate cats yet have used them twice in my posts. My Dad was stuck in a house with 6 girls, and somehow he lucked out and got us all hooked on sports. College basketball is definitely no exception! We all have our brackets (usually 3 each) that we will all converse with each other on and compare our pics. You can never have just one bracket that would just be silly! It's also great when I can go home during this time because my Dad will have 3 tv's going all next to each other so that nothing is missed. Of course thanks to the magic of DVR no free throw is left unaccounted for! This was a sad year and out of pure respect I like to put U of A going through to the Magic 8 round, but I just could not do it this year. Ok well in my 3rd bracket I did. (I can't help it) I have had several upsets already and I'm quite put out (GONZAGA!), but my top teams are still hanging in or haven't played yet. I'm hoping to go down to Safford next weekend and watch the sweet 16 with my family! There's nothing like eating chips n dip/salsa, drinking soda or water in my case and yelling/cheering for you pics! Well that's about all I have going on in my neck of the woods!
I would also like to post a special congrats to Debbie on finally having her baby! I'm not sure if Yvonne has had her baby or not, but I would like to give her a big congrats as well as a big happy birthday to baby Elise! That baby girl is going to grow up with a designer bag in one hand and some sort of ball in the other!

Random Leslie Facts!

2008-03-07T09:52:00.001-08:00

Ok so Tanisha "Tagged" me a long time ago, and after much harrassment I am posting the random things of Leslie! Really is there anything that is not random about me?! I got some help from Donelle as she has known me the longest. She thought it would be good to share with those that might read this all the places I've lived and for her enjoyment how long! #1 is for you chica! Enjoy and don't judge or do either way as long as you're entertained it's good times right?! I wanted to add a pic of Gerry just because if I'm writing about me he needs to be included!

1. All the places I've lived besides Safford and here in Gilbert of course!

*Indiana for 2 months - Sold Fireworks for a summer
*California 2 days - Donelle & Randy's favorite!
*Orem, UT 1 & 1/2 yrs - Young and stupid
*Flagstaff 2 yrs - School, no I did not graduate!!
*Provo, UT 2 yrs - UT was just not the place for me, sorry Brigham!
*Las Vegas 3 mos - Another Quinn Favorite! No comment!

2. I love to Crochet, and watch either Murder She Wrote or Days of Our Lives while doing it!

3. Taught Swim aerobics to senior citizens and college students

4. Related to the guy that used to do the Mr. Clean commercials

5.Hate and deathly afraid of anything with wings! (yes that includes butterflies!)

6.Have the weirdest shaped skull ever! I have two bones or one massive 1 at the top of my head that pointy! I think I was meant to be one of the "Coneheads"

SARS HAS LEFT THE HOUSE HOLD!!

2008-02-11T17:54:00.000-08:00

Ok so Starting Wednesday afternoon I swore I got the SARS disease! Working in the lovely cubicle atmosphere that I do with little to no ventilation it was only a matter of time! Little did I know this little virus would run amuk as it did! Alene got hit with it Thursday so the two of us were in sad shape that night. Luckily Melody was going to Dave's so she hopefully missed out on this crap! Our weekened was spent couch high in snot vaults "dirty kleenex" and Sonic Slush cups. I don't know what we would have done w/out Sonic and their grape slushes! Not sure about the healthy factor but they made us feel better dang it! I went and saw Sweeney Todd while under this SARS epidemic and let me tell you, the play on its own is pretty trippy, but when you add a fever, nyquil, and lack of sleep it really is quite the show! Johnny Depp was amazing though! (I know I know it's Rated R, but well...nothing I got nothing!)

I have no idea what I taught my poor Primary kids Sunday! I was way overdosed on Nyquil and couldn't breath to save my life! It was really fun when Debbie had the kids Hum part of a song during singing time. I don't know how many of you have ever tried to hum when you're nose is congested, but I would not reccommend it. I literally thought I was going to pop my eyes out of their socket. I blame the fact that I just didn't stop humming on being over medicated! I was very relieved to be able to breathe threw the nose once again this morning. I sound like I smoke at least 2 packs a day, but I can breathe again and that's all that matters! I now have to make sense out of the "work" I did on Thursday and Friday because I'm not quite sure what I was thinking when I did it. My poor reps! Well I hope all of those who read this are spared the SARS epidemic. If you do get it, my condolences to you. I will also spot you your first large grape slush and box of Puff Pluses (do not even attempt generic on this!).

NKOTB for Life Baby!!

2008-01-29T06:25:00.000-08:00

So to my amazement I saw on the internet that NKOTB might be getting back together again. Now for those of you who know me at all this is very big news!!! I of course had to immediately research this further and came to find out that so far it is just hear say. I am starting to think though that this is just a ploy and they want to see how many people go to their official website (which I have posted under "friends") before they launch anything for sure. My dear friend Randy Quinn (bless his heart!) signed me up to receive email updates! That's when you truly learn who your real friends are!!! I of course heard about the website this morning on the radio and thought to myself as I was driving to work that I needed to check this website out so I could be in the know. How suprised I was to open up my email and to see an email already in my inbox from NKOTB.com welcoming me to the official update club. I surely thought this was divine intervention! You could almost hear the angels singing "You Got The Right Stuff" above my computer I swear! After reading that email I saw the one from Randy and realized that it was him who signed me up. Ladies its true the men in our church really do have divine insight! (there's my blaspheme for this week!!) I know many of you are probably to young, but for those of you who were also part of the NKOTB band wagon I will gladly keep you all in the loop! We will just keep "Hangin Tough" because we know "We have the right stuff" and they will never have to worry about saying "Please don't go girl" to me!! This blog gets my blaspheme and nerd alert out of the way for the week by the way!!

One of the Greatest Men

2008-01-28T14:28:00.000-08:00

President Gordon B. Hinckley emphasizes the value of the Book of Mormon to all Christians.

So I can only imagine the reunion that took place up in Heaven last night! All the high fives by all the previous profits! Can you even imagine him getting to talk face to face with all the old school profits like Nephi and Moroni, as well as Josephe Smith etc? How cool that would be to witness! As for us here though, there is definitely a sense of loss. How great to have the knowledge we do though to know that this is not the end. President Hinkley magnified his calling a thousand times over! The growth in membership and number of temples is truly amazing. How priviledged we are to have been a alive during his time as president! He asked us all to read the Book of Mormon by year end, and I am so excited that I can say that I was one of the members who did this. (That doesn't happen very often!) Looking through the different pictures of him posted on the LDS website I found this one with the heading listed above. I have already given you all my New Year's Resolution and I plan on keeping that one and seeing it through to the end of the year; but I feel like this one has a little bit more importance so I am adding this to my list, to read the BofM before the end of the year. I am sure to many this would be easily done and could probably be done several times in a year, but I know myself so I am keeping it realistic! I am glad that in Primary this is a goal as well so along with my fellow 7 turning 8 year olds I will be reading the BofM every day. I again so grateful President Hinkley and the great Man, Leader and example that he was and is to me.

IS THE CHURCH STILL TRUE?!!!!

2008-01-23T06:39:00.000-08:00

Holy Crap! So I was just informed this morning that Matta's has closed down! I'm pretty sure they did not check with church officials on this to make sure it was ok! Pretty much this restaurant has been a Mormon Staple and a standard post marriage eatery! Where will we go? What will we eat now? Pete's Fish and Chips? Denny's?! I am perplexed! Apparently the owners retired and the sons are going to be opening up something somewhere else. Granted the area around the temple has become quite the "Ghetto Fabulous" Hood, but I'm pretty sure Matta's had some kind of Divine Angelic protection guarding it! I also feel that way about calories there! How could a place so Divine have calories? Surely the all the bad fattening ingredients turned into pure muscle! (Ok that might be stretching things a bit!), but I do believe had it been there during Brigham Young's time he would have stopped and ate there and would've totally said "This is the Place!" I feel that way about a lot of restaurants actually, but because this one is such a Mormon Staple I think it's true! I fear I may never marry now! I would have no where to eat afterwards! Well there is my blasphemous posting for the month! May we all take a moment of silence today for the loss of Matta's!

Twilight!!!!

2008-01-22T08:11:00.000-08:00

Ladies! Mark your calendars!!! Donelle we will fly you down for this if needs be, but December 12th we have a date with Edward! Or with Jacob for you werewolf fans! I'm still not excited about who they cast as Edward, but he does look the part in this little pic. I think I might have to start a countdown calendar for this! Good times ladies, good times!!!

My New Job!

2008-01-18T23:23:00.000-08:00

My new boys! Lew is the one with the beer and he is basically Director over all the K-8 Sales Reps. Love him! Michael is the Operations Mgr. at the home office and a great friend (owner of retreivers!) The guy sneakin in the pic. is one my new Reps who coincidentally was the top selling rep for our Elementary div. and made $200,000.00 this last year! Go Arthur! (He's from DFW Nells!)

This as a great pic of Jacksonville bridge right outside our hotel. Two blocks further down was the Landing that was great for people watching!
That's right I rode a mechanical bull while I was in Jvillle! It was a hoot! 8 Seconds baby!!!
This a really bad fuzzy picture of my new team. These are all sales reps for the elementary schools throughout TX, WA, OH, SC, AZ, & MO. I am over all the AZ reps and a few TX and OH reps. 14 total and boy do I have my hands full! I needed something after doing Player's Pass for 3 year's, but I wanted to stay with the main company of Varsity Gold. I have been friends with the Operation Mgr. of VG2 or the K-8 Division as they are now calling us and a position became open and I said what the heck. Right now I am a little overwelmed with my new job as there are so many new things and so many people that I am helping at one time, but I'm hoping I'll find my niche! The people are great and really accepted me at the Jan Mtg. The main company Varsity Gold holds two national meetings a year where all 600 plus of us all come together as one company. For the most part and the high school reps. it is one big frat party as most of the sales reps there are old athletes or coaches. In January they have an awards banquet for all the top sellers for that year. Every body gets all done up, hence my shiny shirt! I decided since I was in JVille I might as well rock it JVille style a.k.a "Ghetto Fab!" I got the fab gold shirt for a total of $1o! Then by dear southern friend Dalinda, told me "Gurl, you gotta have sum asseries!" So she hooked me up with the big gold necklace and earrings! My outfit, besides the pants cost me a grand total of $23!!!

The meeting is a lot of work and you are seriously exhausted by the third day! It was fun to go to Fl though because I have never been there, and I got to meet a lot of great people and now have a fabulous gold shiny shirt! They also had Karoake one night, and yes I got up there with some girls and sang "Heartbreaker". It was crazy though because they had a live band that we had to sing to so it was bad!

My Varsity Gold dreams finally came true this trip as well. One of the HS reps used to dance back up for Vanilla Ice (yes, its true!) and we finally got him to do the dance for us! It was great! The guy looks like the elf in Rudolf that wants to be a dentist! Also, one of the HS reps used to be a semi pro wrestler and during one of the general sessions he totally pile drove someone! It was great! Ok so I think this is long enough and you are all probably very sad you told me to post something!

Christmas n New Year's Baby!

2008-01-18T23:07:00.001-08:00

Ok so it's a little late, but better late than never right?! Christmas was an adventure as I watched my bosses two cracked out golden retrievers. Not that big of a deal but they did get to travel with me to Safford for two days! Coop who was an abused dog I think is even more tramautized now! It was good though, and hangin with my family is always good times! As with the rest of the "neighborhood click" I was really looking forward to the week after Christmas when the Quinn Family would once again be in good ol' AZ with us. Oh yeah I survived my talk in church, it wasn't great, but I did it!

As with all Donelle involved events there was an itinerary and outline of events the entire time they would be down. I forget how nice it is to not have to try and come up with things to do. Nells is a natural born planner and big bonus that the things she plans are always fun. I am very glad that I did get to get some Movie and Youtube time with Randy! I'm sad we didn't get to see Christmas Vacation, but the fact that you had the dickey makes it better! Let's face it "You're kind of a big deal, and people know you!"

New Year's Eve was interesting this year! The food was great and the friends were fabulous, but I'm pretty sure we can put the Newly Wed game to rest! I did post two of my favorite pics from that night. I wish I could remember which question we were discussing in the picture of the group, it must have been a good one though. I am giving up Chocolate and soda for my New Year's Resolution. I have already done this one, so those of you that think you have me cooking dinner in the bag don't start polishing your silverware just yet! I can be stubborn!

Twas the week before Christmas!

2007-12-16T17:37:00.000-08:00

Twas the week before Christmas and all Hell's broken loose! Ha Ha just kidding I just didn't want you all thinking I got all crafty and rythmy on ya! Sorry for the swearing! Truly though it's not too bad. Most of the Christmas shopping is done, with only 1 more trip to the mall needed. Those that know me, know that people crowds are not a favorite and a high anxiety attacks happen frequently. Road rage is another fun issue around this time. I've already accomplished being flipped the bird. The lady went all out though to do it, honking her horn severaly times to make sure I noticed. I gave her 3 points for flair! Being the peacemaker that I am I just idled up next to her in the next lane and mouthed Merry Christmas which she then hid her face and quickly sped on! Tis the season right! I might have to make up my own version of the12 Days of Christmas that would include the annual flip off. I'll keep ya posted.
We got Donelle & Randy's package off successfully this past week and we all had a lot of fun putting it together and coming up with the different days! I think Jen and I had the most fun though and I was very grateful to have her assistance!
I recently attended a funeral for one of my co-w0rkers sister's who lost her battle with cancer. It was really sad, she left behind 3 young kids. They were Catholic and it was very different to go to another denomination's servce (I haven't been to a funeral service any where else). I was glad that they did celebrate her life, but the fact that they couldn't mention the eternal aspect was so sad and made me truly grateful for the knowledge I have and the opportunity I have to be part of an Eternal Family. We lost a great family friend after Thanksgiving to Cancer which was unexpected and truly one of the only things that made it bareable was the knowledge that we have of forever families.
So I was trying to be a good member and paid my tithing after church to Bro. Anderson and wouldn't ya know it he asked me if I would speak on the 30th in Sacrament Mtg. For those of you who will be out of town or were thinking about not being there feel free to miss that Sunday. I am speaking with Casey Taylor though before he leaves on his mission. This is truly an honor as I love this kid. He was Alene and my home teacher for a whilie and he is really impressive. For this reason I feel that I should leave as much time for him to speak as possible! My topic is Faith (Could it be any broader?!) which is good, but then he threw in the ultimate...he wants me to emphasize the works of Faith with Resolutions & GOAL SETTING and ACHIEVING! Oh Brother Anderson, Bless his heart! If he only knew my issue with this very topic! So of course there is only one person that I know that would get the most joy from hearing this new assignment I was given...Randy Quinn! Randy has been trying to get me to set goals, and achieve them for what 10 years now! Randy and I always get each other random dumb gifts at Christmas and birthday time, well I couldn't think of a better one for him! I'm not sayin that giving a talk on Faith and goal setting is random or dumb, but will Randy get a kick out of this? That would be a ginormous YES! If any of you have any suggestions or helpful ideas to aid me in my talk I am open for all help!
Well this is short of a novel so I will end this little post. Love everyone tons, appreciate all of you and the great friends you are to me and all that other mushy stuff people say at this time of year too! Oh yeah a little plug for my husband Gerry Butler's new movie!!! P.S. I love you opens on the 21st, it definitely looks like a must see, so it might have to be our next Girls Night Out activity! Chrissy thanks again for the cupcakes you are so thoughtful! Tanisha, thanks for the caffeine today so that I didn't have to break the Sabbath. Bye

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T14:54:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

Yes, as many of you know this is one of my favorite times of the year! My work goes all out for this holiday! This year was no exception except in my area. I know I know shame on me. Kind of a weird time for me right now though. This might actually be my last Halloween here too so I wanted to make sure and write about it. We had all kinds of themes this year, with "The Office"" TV show olympics, Pirates of the Carribbean, Freak show Carnival, Witches, Super Heroville, and my area's mutilated Christmas. I hope I can get as many pictures on here as I can so you can see all the different people and things. I am anxious to see all the neighborhood kids in their costumes. Donelle I will miss taking the annual pic with you and seeing your kids. Be sure and post them so I can see the kiddos. Happy Happy Everyone!

Chubby Cheeks

2007-10-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

Well I need to get crackin on this since, all the other neighborhood clickers have their blogs up and runnin! Umm lets see we'll start with the obvious and title of this post. On Tuesday I got one of my lower wisdom teeth pulled. I have to go back next Wednesday to yank the other one, yes I realize now that was stupid and I should've had both pulled at the same time. All well its a good diet tool for me I guess. We all know how much I love the sugar and I'll be getting the other one out the day after Halloween. Just enough time for the swelling and pain to be gone from the other side! Alene has been the best roommate, friend, nurse ever! I don't know if I would have survived the past few days with out her kindness and awesome bedside manner! Gosh that sounds gay, but all well I'm pretty sure all our neighbors assume we are anyways!

I am still in a quandry about the job situation. I could stay with VG and switch positions but have a lot more duties or I could venture back out into the hotel world. The latter is a little bit scarier for the fact that I haven't been in that industry for like 5 years and I would have to start back near the beginning. The plus is it is something that I love doing and I get great perks which you all would be able to enjoy as well. Especially around Disney Vacation time!
For the first time in the 3 years I have been at VG I have nothing officially decorated or planned for Halloween. Yes, it is a shock to me too! We're thinking of being scary clowns so if any of you have any old baggy clothing please let me know.

I, in spite of all my complaints really do love my primary job. The kids are fun and have about as big of attention span as I do so when we switch to the 3 hour block it should make for some intersting time. I got set apart last Sunday and holy crap, did I get a bonus blessing. It just helped me to realize that the Gospel is true and that our Heavenly Father does know each of us individually. We just had the primary program and it was great. A few of the "click" kids had parts and you parents should be so proud (eventhough we're not supposed to be!) they were so cute and did such a great job! My class did a good job too and it was a hoot sitting my Eric Gardner (my crack baby!). I think I egged him on more during the program then he would normally act, but it was fun for me!

Ok long enough book! I took some sweet pictures of my fat cheek so I'll have to post them later.

I have no idea what I'm doing!

2007-09-21T16:26:00.000-07:00

Ok so here this goes. Donelle you were told to start a blog. Well I decided to put on my "big girl pants" and be the one to try this out and start it. Shocked and suprised? Me too! Well it's Friday and I could not be more excited. It's going to be hectic the next few weeks. I've got dog sitting, a nephew getting married in Vegas (retard!), and a super fun trip to California planned! Work is work and I am always ready to be done with it, but hey what can ya do right?