This year in pictures...

This year has honestly flown by... and I for realizies can't even remember half of what happened... but here is the 2008 recap for ya'll.


I rang in 2008 in the Red Lion hotel in Idaho Falls. This was the view from my room... which is pretty much amazing. I love the Idaho Falls temple, and the river, and all that! It was beautiful! I wasn't ohsoexcited about who I spent my New Years with... but such is life.




I bought Gloria (my absolutely GLORIOUS Toyota Tacoma!)
Oh she is so, so, so, amazing!!!! I ♥ her so much!

My poor kitties Gracie and Roxy died from a hereditary kidney disorder :(


I got a haircut... This picture does it NO justice however :D


I visited my friends in Utah... Brock was super cute!


I took some of my little friends to the baby animal fair! It was super fun!


I went camping with my rad Utah friends!


I spent a week at Dillon Beach with my family!!!


I met my 2nd cousin Collin and my 3rd cousin Hayden!


I had my gall bladder yanked out... and got these amazing flowers!


I ADOPTED PRINCESS!!!! She is the BEST dog ever!!!!


I was Dr. Feel for Halloween!


I adopted 2 kittens, Charlie and Chester!


I had surgery on my toes :( But they are feeling better now!!



I had a great Christmas!!!


Now I'm looking forward to 2009! Happy New Year everyone!

I am.... Spoiled...

Okay, from my last post you can probably tell that I am spoiled. I really didn't want to write a post that covered the real meaning of Christmas. I know that Christmas is about charity and remembering Christ... I am Buddhist, and do not tend to believe that Christ is the savior of the world. I KNOW... Damn me now... But I do believe Christmas should be about the feeling, not the gifts. But, alas... I am spoiled, and I did get a lot of "stuff". I struggled to feel the spirit this year. There was snow... there were lights... there was music... I just missed the feeling. Listening to The Forgotten Carols usually helps.... Because I tend to be like Constance (Conny Lue)... I find Christmas to be too commercialized and overdone... But what do I do? I dropped a bunch of money to buy my family the "perfect gifts". I did get Marisa AMAZING star boots! I did get Parker the coolest skate park for his tech decks... I did get Rebecca a baby pig (a toy of course), that she LOVED! I did get Emily make-up... which she thought was SO grown up! I got mom everything she wanted... Why did I do this? Why did I spend my hard earned money on STUFF? Because I like to buy love... Or something...

But I am spoiled... and I did get amazing shoes, and amazing jewelry, and amazing books, and amazing STUFF!

So... what does this mean? I don't know..... I've confused myself once again...

But my shoes are amazing....

Santa came!

Well, it's official... Santa came. I must have been good this year! So let me break down a few fun things I did... and got, this year!

On Christmas Eve my mom and I listened to the book The Forgotten Carols, by Michael McLean. When I was younger my family went to the play every year. It is beautiful, and I LOVE it! If you haven't seen the play or read the book... you must!

"It tells the story of a nurse whose empty life is changed by her patient, John, who expands her understanding of Christmas. "The Forgotten Carols" are original songs from the perspective of characters such as the innkeeper who turned the young couple away or the shepherd who slept through the angel's announcement. Their personal accounts, until now, have been overlooked or ignored. Together, John and Constance discover what the world has forgotten about Christmas." (review found on www.amazon.com)

Anyway... check it out! I also made sugar cookies for my neighbors... which was super fun! I felt like a kid, but it was great! I of course saved a few for myself and my mom to munch on! They turned out pretty dang good!

My mom and I woke up pretty early today to open our gifts, as we planned to be on speaker phone while my sister and her kids opened their gifts... and after that my brother and his wife and daughter open their gifts. So, let me break down what cool things I got this year!

1. A locket which is basically something I've wanted FOREVER!



2. A St. Christopher necklace!

3. A Zen Day Planner

4. Scrubs season 7 DVD

5. Elf and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the Jim Carrey version)

6. A cat and dog book

7. A camo thermal (and thermal jammies)

8. a jacket

9. A Toa Ching book

10. "Stand Back said the Elephant, I'm going to sneeze!" and "The Giant Jam Sandwich" (If you have not read these children's books... you MUST!)

11. Sharpies! All different colors!

And a few other things I can't think of right now!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

15 more days!

Okay, it's 15 days until Christmas! I am actually getting pretty excited. The packages I sent to my friends have gotten to them... I am done shopping... I am almost done wrapping gifts... My family party is on Saturday... I am excited. Everything is going quite well actually. I am getting an ingrown toenail removed tomorrow, YUCK! But, it will feel better after I'm sure. Today was the last day of my Personal Growth Seminar class for graduate school! I'm off until January 5th! I am off work from the 19th until the 5th! I can't wait until the 19th! We are only in school that day until 11:10.

I don't have much more to say, other than I'm still grossed out by the Oprah episode yesterday!

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Okay, I do NOT have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)... I have Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) (or in my opinion I do). OCD is an anxiety disorder that is characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts and obsessions and/or repetitive behaviors. Repetitive behaviors can include hand washing, counting, checking, and cleaning.

Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder is a preoccupation with rules, orderliness, and control. The person often has difficulty expressing tender feelings, and rarely pays compliments. There is a big difference between OCD and OCPD.

BUT....... I think I developed OCD after watching Opera today. They were doing a show about OCD in which they made people touch the inside of dumpsters, toilet seats, floors, etc... and then LICK THEIR HANDS AFTER! OMG, are you kidding? Honestly, would perfectly healthy people touch the inside of a dumpster then lick their hand??????? I am thinking that would be H to the ELL NO!

So, I am quite traumatized and have banned Opera from my viewing material! How dare she create another mental illness for me?

SNOWWWWWW!!

So, yesterday I wrote a bummed out post about not being in the Christmas spirit because there isn't snow... Well, I woke up this morning to about 3 inches of snow!!!!!! So all day I could sing, "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!" BECAUSE IT DOES!!!!!! YAY!

I had to update :)

P.S. Rachel, give me back my power!
haha!

Christmas, money, personal power, etc...

Christmas is soon approaching. Although we don't have one drop of snow on the ground, I am trying my best to get in the spirit. I've done all my Christmas shopping, I've wrapped, I've shipped, I've listened to the Christmas music... I really do want to be excited for Christmas. But there Isn't any snow... There isn't anymore money, there isn't family around... So, it is hard. So, anyway... I have just decided that I am going to be happy anyway. I am going to enjoy the fact that I got my friends and family the perfect gifts, even if they did cost too much money. I am going to be happy that I don't have to drive in the snow. I am going to be happy that I get 3 weeks off work. I am going to be happy that I am alive and healthy. I am going to be happy that gas prices are SO dang cheap these days. I am going to be happy that I have pretty much the coolest Iphone ever. Anyway, I could go on... but I won't bore you :)

I was really logging on to write about personal power, and how I am really starting to understand what that means. I understand now that you can give away power just like you can give away sugar cookies. I never thought it was possible to hand over power... but it is. So now the hard part is figuring out who in the hell has my power and how I can get it back! So, this is my new journey. I need to work on this power thing, so I don't go through life weak and powerless like I have been. Who knew?

Just happy it's Friday

Well, I don't really have anything important to blog about today... which has been pretty normal lately. I am happy it's Friday, it has been a long week! The kids preformed in the Christmas program this week, they were so cute! (I tried posting pictures, but it isn't workin' tonight). But they were very cute.

My mom and I decorated for Christmas on Saturday. It was pretty fun! Our tree is only 4 feet tall, but it's on top of a radio thing, so it looks tall :) I put the lights on the outside of the house too, which was coolio.

I went to therapy today, which was okay. We just had a pretty chill convo, which was actually nice. Sometimes it's nice to be able to just chill and talk about random stuff. I was pretty proud of myself for talking... even if it was kinda lame stuff I talked about.

Anyway... that's basically all I can think to say at the moment... I promise I'll get more interesting soon :)

I've lost all hope...

Okay, so I have totally lost all hope in the medical profession. Why is it absolutely necessary for doctors to think that because you are on anti-depressants you are PSYCHO, and therefore not medically sick, but emotionally sick? I refuse to go to the doctor, like, EVER again. Let me break this down for ya'll... So, I went to the gyno, which is like the WORST experience EVER... I mean, who wants cold, metal, speculum rapers in their vag? NOT ME! So, anyway... I sucked up all my mental health, which is like -17%, and went. I mean, I have like super-de-duper bad endometriosis and have felt like my insides have been ripped out by a dull ice cream scoop... no biggie. So I go in to the doc with my super sweaty hands and muster the courage to look him in the face and tell him all about my pain and that birth control DOESN'T work and that I want other options. So, said speculum man tells me that the only option is birth control... And I was like, hey I had a surgery once that helped like a ton! And it is like, totally safe and I went back to work the next day... And he got all wacky and was like, OH hell no, you have to try birth control again... and I was like, hey shiz head... NO! And so he was like, Do you have a history of abuse....... and I was like WTF? But finally told him that yes... I do have a history... So he tells me that my "pelvic pain" is a symptom of my past and therefore I need therapy. So, I was like... um... I have endometriosis... So do something... and he said, no birth control... no help. Nice to meet you. And there was NO pelvic exam....... Which, trust me...... I wasn't SO sad about... BUT, I was like... Um, WTF do I pay you for???
It isn't just the gyno... trust me... All doctors are this way. So, basically, I am going to stop all medications, and stop seeing doctors, and stop being crazy, and stop being unhealthy.

So, WHATEV... I am NEVER, EVER, EVER, going to the doc again....... Apparently I am just not stable enough... and all my physical pain is a symptom of my crazies...

On a good note... Unicycling is now a sport. I don't know how to unicycle, but if I did, I would DEF go the olympics... or whatever competition they show off their skills in.

Gas prices, vet bills, Matthew Gray Gubler.......

Okay, so this blog thing has been way harder than I expected. I have tons of stuff I want to write about... and yet I am to L too the AZY to do so! Anywhozies. Let me break this down for ya'll...

1. Gas prices: Like WTF? It was like 4.00 Dizollars/gallon! But today I went to the doc (which is another subject) and as I drove by Maverick gas was totally like $2.25/gallon! When did this happen? Hoo rah! So, I'm forshiz happy about it! (P.S. It is like 2.15 now!)

2. Vet bills: Okay, I'll try to make this long story short! So, you know how 4 months ago my kitty Roxie died from a weird-o kidney disease? I was like totally, crazy sad and all. So, my kitty Gracie was like my love after that. Well, 2 weeks ago Gracie started getting sicky... So we took her to the vet and they did blood tests and all. So anyhow, they found out her kidneys were failing, and she died the next day. AHHHH. I wanted to bawl like a baby! (but of course crying is totally not my thing). So, I was left alone with my dog Princess (who is pretty much the raddest dog ever!) My mom was S to the AD like crazy, so she and I decided to get 2 more kittens from my mom's friend. So, we did... and they are super-de-duper cute! But, the little orange one (Charley) was sick-o... and I was like oh-hell-no! BUT, I couldn't bear to let her go back to the cold. So, I took him to the vet. He had like a bizillion worms (as well as Chester). So, they neutered them and all that jazz, and Charley was STILL a sick little kitty. So, he had to stay at the vet for a few days, and when he came home he was still sick. Whatev! So, anyway, after lots of nasty medicine, he is finally better... So, now I owe the vet like 9 trillion-billion-gazillion dollars! But all my babies are healthy now... so that's good.

3. Matthew Gray Gubler: Okay, so I am so super obsessed with this guy! I honestly ♥ him with all the love-ness I have! I should not be infatuated with a TV character! Honestly, I like his character Spencer Reed on Criminal Minds better than I like the actual star. I am pretty much a wack!



4. I signed up for ESPANOL! Like... WTF? I'm not so good at the foreign language thing... but it's fun anway. I only missed 1 on my first test (which threw my OCD craziness into the light...Causing me SUPER-STRESS) but whatev. So, ?Como Esta Usted? I'll keep you updated on my foreign language awesome-ness!

5. A few days ago I wake up and I am like almost totally blind in my right eye... AHHH... So, I go on with my day and it eventually goes away. Then, later in the day my right eye goes all F to the UZZY and my LEFT eye gets the same FUZZ! I was like totally blind!! I freaked OUT! So my mom took me to the eye doctor STAT! They dilated my eyes to make sure my retinas were still attached... THEY WERE! WHEW.... Apparently it was an Ocular Migraine. A migraine without pain that made me temporarily blind. Work was pretty much impossible, but I still tried!

6. Therapy................................................................. SUCKS............................................................ and I'm pretty much done with it. I am NO good at the whole "open up and tell me how you feel" thing. Honestly, I am like, "um... I don't know what the H.E.L.L. is wrong with me." So, I basically just want to Q...U...I...T! But how do you do that without your 'T' thinkin' you are like sui...ci...dal...???? Whatev... Healing is pretty much LAME-A-ZOID!!!

7. Weight Watchers fudge bars have saved my sanity! (for the most part)



TO BE CONTINUED...
Adios!

More pictures

Okay, so writing right now is super lame for me because nothing new is really happening in my life... So, I am going to post pictures instead (again!) I'll try to write something super fantastically rad soon... For now, enjoy the pics :)


Me and Princess posing
Yep, that is a sweater with a skull and crossbones! ♥
Gracie loves her new tube toy!
My mom got these flowers after her surgery... I just thought they were awesome!
Yep, a hoodie for my pup. She really does get cold outside, and shivers... I feel bad for her, therefore she gets spoiled with sweaters! ☻

The newest joy of my life!

On Saturday I adopted a new member to my household. Her name is Princess and she is the cutest Chihuahua mix you'll ever see! She is 3 years old and was living in the humane society. I ♥ her already! She is the best dog, hands down! She is so calm, never barks, LOVES to go for walks! AND, she sleeps through the night on the foot of my bed. She is great! Isn't she great??



She so calm!!
She loves me!
She loves the park!
She's a great jogging partner!

Isn't her sweater cute??!!

Alphabetized rantings

A: Anaesthesia. I abso.freaking.lutely hate the stuff! I have been BFF with the toilet for a week now... bleh...

B: Bills. They suck... especially after taking a week off and being poor from it.

C: Chills. I absolutely hate it when I am so hot from fever but shaking with chills!

D: Dieting. What does that mean anyway? I mean, to lose weight you have to be on a diet... but when does the dieting end??? Can't I just be healthy??

E: Eggs... They are probably the freak-nastiest things in the world! I don't even want to smell them... Just writing about them makes me want to chill out with the toilet again...

F: Fast Food. It is basically the root of all evil!

G: Gall Bladder. I don't have one anymore... I want to go back in time and not have the surgery because it was the.most.painful.thing.ever!

H: Hate. I hate... hate... hahaha... It is one thing to hate a food or a place... but to hate a person... it's just wrong.

I: Insurance. It doesn't pay enough.

J: Jealousy. Why does it plague me?

K: Karma. I think mine is screwed!

L: Laundry. It is honestly never ending.

M: Monsters... They do exist.

N: Nicotine. my neighbors smoke all the time and it comes into my window... I think I'm addicted to 2nd hand smoke. Dang them.

O: Onions. They are just nasty.

P: PowerPoints. I never-ever-ever want to do one again. I had to do 2 this quarter and they sucked.

Q: Quality over Quantity. Does anyone even believe that?

R: Recliner. I usually ♥ my recliner... but I've had to sleep in it for over a week now. I never want to sit here again!

S: Spiders. They are very disgusting.

T: Temper-Tantrums. The kids at school throw them often... over nothing... It gets old.

U: Uber. What a dumb freaking word!

V: Vests. Why in the world are they coming back into style?

W: Wind. It's noisy and keeps me awake all night.

X: X-rays. They are wayyy to expensive!

Y: Yaking. Puking. Throwing up. Vomiting. Purging.

Z: Zits. Do I really need to even need to expand on this?

gas prices, gall bladders, grades, and other awful 'g' words...

Gas prices: They suck! I know everyone is feeling the same way... but this week they are really pissing me off. I just filled up... $60! Now I'm poor.

Gall bladder: I spent my Labor Day vacation in the Emergency Room with serious pain! Now, I have to have surgery to have my gall bladder removed... I am going to the doc tomorrow to get it scheduled. Bleh.

Grades: I hate them... I have waiting for them... I hate wondering if I'll pass or fail.... another bleh....

Okay, that is all for now...

New cousins

My mom and I decided to make a quick trip to Utah this past weekend. My cousin Carrie had a baby boy (Collin) on June 7th and I was really excited to see him! My other cousin Mandi had a baby boy (Haden) on June 17th! I was really excited to see him too, especially because he is my first 3rd cousin!!! I know, I have a small family. I am not totally excited that Mandi had a baby because she is only 17, but I can't really change it... So my tiny little family got tIt ogether at my cousin Carrie's house. It was great to see everyone. I haven't seen Mandi in about a year and my other cousin's in about 6 months. I try to keep in touch, but everyone is super busy.

So, here is a run down. Carrie has 5 girls and her 6th baby was finally a boy!!

Here is my cute little cousin Collin ♥

My not.so.little cousins Spencer, Skyler, and Sarah

Here is Collin on the left and Haden on the right

Haden is sooo dang cute!

Spencer and Haden...

Spencer... I took him to his first day of Kindergarten and now he is 18 years old! This isn't his baby obviously, but he is old enough to have one! I.feel.so.dang.old!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eww??

Okay, it's taken me a few days to write this blog...

Some background: I live near Rexburg Idaho, home of Brigham Young University-Idaho. If you are not familiar with BYU or BYU-I, it is made up of mostly Mormon students. The community is made up of probably 85-90% Mormon people. They are therefore very, very close minded.

Well, the other night my mom and I went out to Applebee's to have dinner. We were dressed up because we had just gone to a wedding. I was wearing a skirt that was knee length, therefore showing my tattoos.

Here are pictures of my 3 tattoos: Look and finish reading the story...

So, I'm walking out of Applebee's and a lady says, "EWWWWWW". Not just "hmm" or "ahh"... Nope, she looked right at my tattoo and said "EWWWWWWW"... She said it pretty loud and drug the word out. Now, I would understand if my tattoo looked like this:

I would understand "EWWWWW"... But come on... A sun-moon-lightning bolt-frog... Those aren't "EWWWW" type tattoos.

So, I have been offended for a few days now and needed to write it out. Some people really make me angry.

Have you missed me?

Well, it sure has been awhile since I wrote. It isn't that I haven't had anything to say... I just have been busy as heck. My mom and I drove my nieces and nephew half way back to California last weekend. We have spent this week getting back to normal.

My 26th birthday is August 11th... Because of that fact I thought I would give you 26 random facts about me... Mainly because I am really bored...

1. I am a graduate student...

2. I LOVE my nieces and nephew more than anything!

3. I LOVE children's books

4. I was a drama geek in high school

5. I've always wanted to be a photographer

6. I love the show Scrubs

7. I finally got a Toyota Tacoma... which was a life dream

8. I love alphabetizing things!

9. I enjoy plucking my eyebrows

10. My cat is super smart!

11. I read anytime I have a few minutes.

12. I love non-fiction

13. I heart Adam Sandler

14. I HATE avocado!

15. I went into a coma from a car accident, then went to prom the next night

16. I'm allergic to bananas

17. I like cheesy kids movies

18. I live with my mom

19. I wrote a play in 4th grade called Cinderocka... It was a rock and roll version of Cinderella.

20. I know sign language

21. I was married at 17 and divorced at 21

22. I've had the same best friend for 17 years

23. I love music of any kind

24. I took piano lessons for 3 weeks

25. Root Beer and Lemonade give me a migraine headache

26. I could eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches everyday of my life.

An actual post... finally...

Okay, I have posted a lot of pictures probably making ya'll bored to tears. California was awesome... I literally felt like I was in heaven. Every window had a view of the ocean, the smells were amazing, the weather was awesome, the rest was very much needed. I hadn't seen my sister's kids in over a year. I hadn't seen my brother, his girlfriend, and their daughter in almost 2 years. It was really great to see them all. I honestly can't believe how fast the kids grow between visits. My mom and I brought my sisters 3 kids back to Idaho with us for 2 1/2 weeks. We drove back on Monday... the 14 hour drive wasn't fun at all... but it has been fun to have them here so far. They live in Sacramento, so it isn't easy for them to just ride bikes and play with neighbor kids, so it is a treat for them to come to small little Sugar City. They have spent a lot of time outside playing.

I am suffering from my horrible sunburn! I can't be outside without crying in pain. I am hoping by Monday it is feeling better because I want to take the kids to the splash park and zoo and bear world and all those fun things.

My classes have started up. Well, I am actually only taking one class right now. Human Sexuality... yeah, so far I'm struggling. I am so not open when it comes to these topics, but I am trying.

Well, I have an assignment due in like 2 hours, so I better get it done. I'll write more soon.

More pictures!

Saying goodbye is always hard...
Marisa is such a happy girl!
My sunburn hurts so bad! I just want all my skin to fall off!
Sleepy girls
Emily, Parker, and Rebecca on the car ride to Idaho...... They didn't look this happy after 13 hours in the car!