Random Musings

I was going through my old draft blog posts and feeling grateful I didn't press publish on a lot of them.  Mostly they were heat of the moment posts which in these instances, were better left unsaid.  I had a rant on my pet peeve of mean and nasty comments on the Internet (still a pet peeve), a post titled "Look who's legit!" with nothing written..... and a list of things I would never buy at a yard sale (including but not limited to: a hot tub, used socks, deodorant and hats).  Like I said, good thing they were left as drafts. :]

Since I rarely post anymore, I wanted to do a weekly domination update, so here it goes!

•  Karlie had her babies!!  Two adorable baby girls that have stolen my heart. I feel such an overwhelming love for them.  I feel like I'm their Auntie and I plan to brain wash them to believe that!  It is so strange but ultimately so awesome to watch the first one of the group have babies.  My little friend is all grown up!  I couldn't be more excited for their little family and I'm glad I can watch the twins grow up for a little while before Kar & Jake leave for med school. 

• I have..... an online shopping addiction.  Most people have their little guilty pleasures or addictions (Diet Coke, Hershey Kisses, real-life kisses, crafting, thrifting, sleeping, Parks & Recreation, etc) and mine just happens to be online shopping. I'm so lucky to have found my addiction so early on in life! ;) I LOVE Jane.com right now, I get so many awesome things on there for such good prices! 
• I got a record in bowling recently! A whopping 76.  You read that right, 76.  I know... believe me, I know what you're thinking.  I am ashamed.  To make myself feel better I played Wii bowling the next night and got a 171.

• I went out on a limb and got new glasses.

• We've been rock climbing like crazy which means I'm getting muscles in places I didn't expect and that I get to see this handsome man and his awesome parents every week! 

• We went to the chalk festival which blew my mind!  These people are sooo talented!  I think it would be awesome to enter one year just to do it, I LOVE chalk. 

• I have made it my mission to introduce everyone to Waffle Love.  Hands down the best waffles I've EVER eaten.  They hooked me in and now I'm a stalker of their traveling waffle truck. 

• I started sewing my quilt and it is coming along sooooo great! It's been a lot of work, but I love doing it.  I think quilts might be my "thing" because they are usually just sewing straight lines, fairly easy and so stinkin' cute!  Pictures to come.... can't ruin the surprise! 
• I found "my spot."  Okay there are actually two of them, but one is for sitting and taking in how beautiful this wonderful State is and the other is a tucked away trail I found close to my house. I've always wanted a "spot" and now I've found two!  The other one I didn't get pictures of, but I will eventually! 

• PK has his farewell on Sunday and then leaves for London a week and a half after that.  I don't want him to go...we just got Jordan back!  I'm really going to miss that guy, but I'm so excited for him because I know he's going to dominate. 
• We had family pictures last weekend and they turned out soooo good! Man I love family. 
• I ride the train to and from work as often as I can.  I LOVE it.  It is not financially feasible, nor does it take less time than driving (it's actually more of a pain to get places outside of the station), but I feel so relaxed and wonderful when I ride the train.  All these years driving quite a distance to work I've developed a small case of road rage and I end up at work feeling frazzled. When I ride the train I get to work refreshed, happy to be around people and ready to get the day started.  I HIGHLY recommend it. 

Well, that's all for now, see you in another 4 months when I blog again! ;) 

Life is good.

Liebster Award

Karlito nominated me to answer some sweet questions and pass on the awesomeness of the Liebster Award to other nominees.  Karlie is one of my very best friends.  We've been friends for at least 13 years (holy cow Kar that's awesome!), she's currently prego with twin baby girls, she's such a sweet, caring, smart and beautiful wonder woman.  Check out her blog!

"Liebster" means dearest in German, and it's awarded, blogger to blogger, to up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers.  The rules for accepting and giving the award are pretty simple.  Once you accept the award, you just have to do the following in a blog entry:

Answer the 11 questions posted by the nominator on her blog

Give 11 facts about yourself

Nominate 5-11 other new, up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers

Make up 11 more questions to pass on to the bloggers you choose to nominate

Thank your nominator by linking back to her blog

Upon your post going live, contact your nominees about your nomination for them

Kar's Questions:

1. How do you deal with nerves/anxiety? 
Unfortunately it takes me a little bit longer than I'd like to realize that I'm "freaking out" from anxiety or nerves but once I'm able to realize it I feel like I am able to deal with it better if I talk to friends/family about what is stressing me out.  The longer I keep it in the worse I feel.  Usually while voicing what is bothering me I can see how I'm being ridiculous and I can usually calm myself down and then my friends help validate my anxieties.
2. When something totally awesome happens, who are the top 5 people you want to tell? 

My Mom, Dad, Karlie, Anisa and Kaylyn
3. When you are having a rough day, what is the one thing you can always do that will cheer you up?
Listen to the song Red Red Wine by UB40.  For some reason that song ALWAYS makes me feel good.  Perfect vacation on the beach song.  If only I drank red wine.

4. What is your favorite memory from Elementary School years? 

Honestly, one of my favorite memories from elementary school is when we would play SLAM during lunch.  Eventually we got to be good enough to play against a teacher and that was a huge victory in and of itself.
5. If you could get paid to do absolutely anything, what would you want to get paid for doing? 

I would love to get paid to do crafts or creative projects all day.  I love making things, sewing, cooking, creating, etc.  Or I'd love to have a business with my mom where we fix up houses and sell them. HGTV here we come!
6. What is one item that is always found in your purse that you always need?  

My wallet. :) Other than that, I'm always searching for a hair elastic or bobby pin.  I always seem to lose them and I can only last so long with my hair down in my face.
7. What do you do when you have absolutely nothing to do and are bored out of your mind?
Watch Netflix.  I never thought I'd be such a Netflix junkie but I'm obsessed.  I love watching random documentaries and trying out new TV shows.
8. What is your favorite month of the year?
July is tied with December.  July is full of summer, corn on the cob, BBQ, family and fireworks which I can never get enough of.  December is full of snow, scarves, sweaters, charity, selflessness, family and hot chocolate - a month full of warm fuzzies.
9. What are 3 words that describe you perfectly and why?
I'll describe myself physically because that's self explanatory and less awkward: blonde, white and mediumlyaverage (totally one word)
10. If you had to decorate one room and live in it for the rest of your life, what colors and theme would you give the room?
I would choose my bedroom which is connected to my bathroom.... does that count? haha and I would decorate it with a Beachy feel.  Blues, lots of white, tan, flowy, light, relaxing and awesome.
11. If  you were to go on a road trip where would you go and what would you do?
It is on my bucket list to visit each state in the United States.  I don't want to just drive through each state and stop at their gas station, I want to visit something special and unique to that state. Amusement park, national park, crazy diners, historical landmark, infamous gems and movie scenes.

Facts About Me: 

• I'm a scaredy cat when it comes to changing my hair color/cut.  I have a slight panic attack after a bad hair cut and feel as if the world is over. I'm not sure why, but it is what it is. 
• I have a hard time finishing projects. 
• I love coupons and getting a killer deal. 
• I like to be the center of attention if I am putting myself there, otherwise I hate it. 
• My favorite flowers are Sunflowers and Daisies.
• I really like going shopping by myself.
• I'm terrible at gardening and don't care much for it. 
• I don't like taking medication. I like to believe that my body can usually take care of itself. 
• I have the potential to be a hoarder.  Luckily I received my mom's joy of organizing so it doesn't get out of hand. 
• I laugh at my own jokes.  (because they are funny... duh)
• I don't like dealing with car issues, which I happen to have a lot of. I should probably date a mechanic.

So now I get to pass the Liebster Award torch to some new people and I choose..... 

Amy Allen, Jessie & Sean and Erin Fleming. (Yeah I know it's only 3 people, but that's all I've got!)  

Alright, here are your questions to answer:

1. What's your favorite flavor of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream? (Or just favorite in general)

2. What has been your favorite vacation so far? 

3. What would be your dream vacation? 

4. What is your favorite perfume and favorite cologne?

5. How many kids do you hope to have? (If any) 

6. I've always wanted to have my own secret spot that few people know about that I visit to be alone to think, but haven't found the perfect one yet. (The last one had too many bugs....) Do you have a "special spot" you like to escape to? 

7. Name a band/singer that you have always loved that most people may not know.

8. What is your favorite workout class you've been to? 

9. Do you have any dating advise for me??  

10. Share/describe a moment in your life when you have truly been HAPPY, something other than a grand occassion.

11. In what way(s) have you turned out just like your parents?

Alright, go for it guys!!

Home Sweet Home

Wellllllllllll the secret is out.  I'm not very good at keeping exciting secrets anyways. Friends, you've been warned  I have a new nickname around my family, "Hailey Homeowner."  BOOYAH!!!!

Taken with my embarrassingly organized binder of documents for closing.
They hadn't seen something like this in over 30 years.
All thanks to my mom for giving me the obsessively organized gene :)

Once upon a new years resolution, I made a list of things I hoped to accomplish in the year 2013.  This month I put a big check mark next to #5: Buy my own place.   :]  That's right, I signed my life away for the next 30 years for the most adorable little condo and I could NOT be more happy about it.  I was worried about the forewarned "buyer's remorse" but so far I have had none of that.  I was able to walk away with a steal of a deal, thanks to Sean at Summit Realty and Maralee at 1st Home Mortgage.  These people were so great to me and so helpful!  This lovely pad o' mine has given me purpose, something to work on, take care of and progress with.

To celebrate this awesome milestone in my life I held a proper ribbon cutting ceremony with some of my besties for the first time I entered my Home Sweet Home as its owner. That's what normal people do right....?   It was pretty much the greatest welcome home I've ever received and I couldn't have done it without my friends! (Shoutout to you Kar, Jake, Kay and Joe - Anisa and Bronzson were there via video recording and were missed terribly)

First project: PAINTING.  My mom and I are taking on the massive job to paint the whole place and we just finished with the baseboards.  I'm excited about some killer before and after pictures but until then my evenings have been consumed by taping off baseboards, ceilings, doors, outlets, myself, carpet, people and anything else that needs a good covering.  I'm so lucky to have such a fantastic mom who is an expert in this area and willing to help me out.  We make a pretty good team, she and I.  (Is that grammatically correct?)

See, having a house is teaching me relationship lessons! Bonus! haha

I am HAPPY.  Life is GOOD.  I love EVERYONE I've been able to surround myself with lately.... and I love SUMMER.  Times like these make me look back and be grateful for all I've had to go through to get to this point.  So why not be happy for where I'm at now and what is ahead?!

P.S. Isn't it pretty awesome that this quote session began and ended with the Hinckleys?  They are so great!

Murder Mystery Dinner

Two weekends ago Anisa and Bronzson came down specifically to visit me!  Aren't they so nice?!  ...... Alright, maybe they came down for other reasons (like celebrating Anisa's birthday) but I don't want to get caught up in semantics.  :]

To celebrate, Bronzson got together and organized a murder mystery and the rest of us put on an awesome dinner!  The whole night was a HUGE success and everyone did a fantastic job at making that happen.

So, let me introduce you to the guests of the evening:

Enrique Suave Graves:
Elizabeth's Handyman/Grounds keeper,
all around ladies man

Kathryn Lawless:
Town Librarian, best friend of Elizabeth (the deceased)

Dr. Chelsea Barren:
Elizabeth's next door neighbor, celebrity Psychiatrist
and author of murder mystery novels

Michael Nightshade:
Real Estate Agent here to buy Elizabeth's house
 and secretly Kathryn's nephew

Norman D'Adly:
Vicki's husband but also Elizabeth's previous lover

Vicki D'Adly:
Elizabeth's sister, visiting with husband (Norman) 

Moderator/brains of the whole operation!

Whoever wrote this script did a FANTASTIC job, and props to Bronzson for finding it!  Each person had quite the dirty secrets they had been hiding and interestingly intertwined relationships with one another that had us questioning every single person as the potential killer.  When it was time to guess 'who done it', Anisa and Kaylyn correctly guessed the murderer!  The rest of us.... were close!  And we all got cake so it worked out in the end.

4 points for Kay who came up with a birthday candle just in time

I am obsessed with these murder mystery dinners now and I'm trying to find a reason to do another one as soon as possible.  It was sooo much fun! Who's up to joining in on the next one?!

P.S. I love you guys, best. friends. ever.
P.P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHOUT OUT TO ANISA!
P.P.P.S. Karlie and Jake gave THE best present.  Can't top that. :]

Sometimes I Need A Little Pick-Me-Up

Alright, thanks to Karlie and Jake I cannot stop watching this video.  It gets to me every time! :)

Favorite Quotes:

"I found Fido! Hey guys, I found Fido!"
"An orange peanut, for me?!"
"Pretty female parts."
"I want it now! I want cake now!"

Sooo good.  I want them to make another one!

Where to start.... I can't believe it's already Thursday.  Partying on Monday and not working Tuesday has thrown the week off for me, but I'm certainly not complaining! :)

• Just Dance 4 - so embarrassing but soo fun! 
• Real Estate Agents with an adorable baby
• Jean Friday
• Family
• Good health (knock on wood)
• Homemade soup
• Cute cousins 
• Traditions
• Ticket to Ride
• Hanging out and Pitch Perfect with my besties
• Grown up dreams and possibilities

I'm so excited for some big changes I'm working on right now!! Patience is definitely something I continually have to re-learn..... Hopefully I'll have something good to share soon! 

How was your New Years??  One day I want to go watch the ball drop in person, amongst all the crazy. One day.... Thank heavens for a bucket list right?!

Isn't life lovely?

This week has been full of lovelies!!!!

• Little Miss Syd coming into town
• SNOW!
• Annual family Christmas weekend getaway (obviously we're still looking for a snappier name for this new tradition....)
• Being stuck in traffic instead of being the one causing the traffic.
• Hi-Chews:  I'm OBSESSED with Peach and Green Apple right now :)
• Continuing education
• Re-discovering Old iPod music - Jamming to my old favorites (Garth Brooks, Thrice, Jacks Mannequin, Relient K, etc.....)
• A new addition for one of my besties!  Check it out over HERE.

23 years under one name

I decided to stray from the alliterations and went with "Life's Lovelies" for my weekly Thursday post.  There are so many lovely things in the world, and I'd like to take more time to recognize the ones in my life.  So.... read it or don't, but this is a new personal goal for me that I am super excited about. 

So this week I've had lots of things to be grateful for, but I'm narrowing it down to 10 things:

• Olive Garden's endless salad and bread sticks (with Alfredo dipping sauce of course)
• Mini pizzas and quality time spent with friends
• Groupon.... hello massage :)
• Better than Sex cake
• Trying something new at a restaurant and LOVING it
• No-Rush, music blasting mornings
• Social Media (finally jumped into Instagram!! @haystack04)
• End of the year Settlements
• Falling asleep on the couch where the fireplace be a-blazin'
• The perfect excuse:  Her: "Game at 9:30 tonight!" Me: "Sorry, I can't come, it's my birthday today so I'm going to celebrate with lots of cake, and no exercising." BOOYAH!

Looking for the first post?  Well it's right HERE!

P.S. I've definitely adopted Kay's idea of birthday weeks and it's been fantastic. :)  Oh and I heard someone say that on his birthday he watches movies all day long, and that's all he wants for his birthday.  Going to the theater and staying there all day, or renting a bunch of movies and gluing your backside to the couch....either way it's a pretty cool tradition!  Anyone have any awesome birthday traditions I could adopt??

The Dirty Dozen

RAGNAR.

I have no idea what it stands for, but I did it.  BOOM!  June 15th through the 16th, 3 legs a piece, 6 sweaty runners per van and probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my entire life. Though I haven't tackled child birth and I've heard that's a winner. I personally ran a total of 14.6 miles over the two days, and I couldn't be more surprised that I'm sitting here today.  It is quite amazing to see what your body really can accomplish.  It makes me feel a little guilty that I don't always use it to it's maximum potential, but unfortunately that feeling doesn't last too long. :)

Our team, The Dirty Dozen, killed this relay like it was no one's business.  We finished in 65th place out of the 805 teams among our division, and 123rd place out of all 1092 total teams.  Not bad!  Not bad at all.   We finished in 30:07:27 when our estimated time was 32:14:43.  Yeah you could say I'm bragging.  Actually, I am bragging, I'll admit it.  I am so proud of everyone and for how hard they pushed themselves!  Embarrassingly enough this race was really emotional for me.   Karlie used to always talk about her experience and how she had to hold back the tears when people finished their legs.  I always thought it was a little funny, especially since I'm not a crying type of a person.  "Like a vault baby locked down."  Todd that quote was for you... haha Well I was right back then to say that I'm not that type of a person.   However after seeing how hard everyone was pushing themselves, knowing how hard it was for me to do the same, then to finally see the relief on their face after they finished - sheesh I had no chance.  I was constantly looking away to conceal the overflowing tear ducts.

On a lighter note, there were a lot of teams that were so clever in their name choice as well in their team decorations.  Example:

There were a lot off potty jokes, some not so nice, but overall I just couldn't stop laughing at every van that we saw.  I took note of a few team names that were my favorite: 
-RMFAO (Running My Fat A Off),
-Holy Cramp,
-You Better Wasatch Your Back,
-Lettuce Turnip the Beet (took me a second... had to say it out loud to get it...), and
-Just Another Manic Run-Day.

We saw a suburban that had tusks and was decorated like a Mammoth, a team that each took a sport and ran in the gear (ie: one with a mountain goat tied to back pack with hiking poles, one in a wet suit and carrying a surf board, one running in snow shoes, etc), saw a man running in a gas mask, a woman running in a viking costume and this:

This race was also very educational as well as contained a lot of firsts!  I compiled a list for you, because you know how much I like organized lists :)

   1] Honey buckets are the greatest things on the planet.  I had more fear of not having a honey bucket within 1 minute of me at all times, than I did of getting eaten by a bear on my night run. (which was a logical fear for some - ask Natalie)
   2] 3 hours of sleep is a beautiful thing
   3] Sleeping in a hotel, even if it is on the floor, will always be counted twice in my prayers
   4] Matt has a special spot in his heart for cottonelle wipes
   5] I love killing people, and I killed 38 people in two days*
   6] Having the right music can be the difference between life or death.
   7] Words/Actions like poop, wedgie, fart, sweat, pee and WATER were probably used more in those two days than ever will be in my lifetime.
   8]  It is possible for the Oakey boys to sweat.  It only takes running Avon pass, but it's possible!
   9]  Kendall's name is not Wendall. But it happens to be his new favorite nickname.
  10] No one can do the running man like Natalie can.
  11] Chocolate Outrage Gu is the best thing I've ever tasted.
  12] Road Rage is expected, Volunteers we had to pay for are idiots but Jeff is one that will always get you where you need to be -even if it takes playing chicken with the other lane aka Mexican driving.
  13] Camie makes the best chicken salad, thank heavens.
  14] I have never loved sleep more than Sunday evening after my 14 hour nap.
  15] And finally, the most important lesson I learned is this: 
                SPANDEX IS A PRIVILEDGE, NOT A RIGHT.

Now for some pictures!

*A kill is someone that you passed on your run.   No injury or violence took place in order to get any of these kills.  And yes, I can use runner terminology because after this, I am a runner!

Happy Birthday Kar!

Hey what do you say?  I say, Karlie's birthday is today! 
What a great day this 18th day of June,  one where we can celebrate even past noon!
I hope it's grand, I hope it's wonderful; I especially hope it's splendenderful!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KARLITO!!!!

Poem courtesy of Domination Studios. 

All Four Seasons!

Yesterday Todd and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary of our first date!  Well, it was more of a whole weekend of celebrations.  Friday we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner!!!! I had never been there and so we figured this was the perfect chance to try it out. 

WOW..... it was absolutely amazing!  Todd met me up here in SLC, picked me up and we only had to wait 10 minutes to be seated.  Thank heavens for being the early birds. Love that worm.  Of course we had to get cheesecake too, so I picked out Red Velvet cheesecake and Todd chose the White Chocolate Raspberry cheesecake.  Again, WOW.  SOOOOO GOOOD.  This might be our new favorite anniversary spot. 











Afterwards, we took a drive up the canyon, relaxed and enjoyed each others company.  This girl (thumb directed to my own chest) is a big fan of drives up the canyon.  There is something so peaceful about watching the scenery pass by.  Also, I was once again reminded of the fact that I am like a little child.  That car puts me to sleep faster than anything else, and I was having a hard time stifling the yawns on our way back.

Saturday day was filled with sun, outside chores and the procrastination of inside chores.  That night we got together with KKAH (now KJKJABHT haha) to celebrate Kaylyn's 22nd birthday!!!!!!  We successfully carried out our new tradition of making dinner together and it all turned out so good!  Happy birthday Kay!!  Such an adult.  Such a beauty. :)  After dinner we all headed over to the picture show and saw The Avengers!!  I really really liked that movie.  I highly recommend it to anyone. 

Sunday I helped Todd celebrate our anniversary by making him wake up early and come to our ward at 9:00 am! He loved that.  After church we played Ticket to Ride with my family (our new obsession) and just hung out for a bit.  Later we went over to Todd's for their belated Mothers Day get together.  It was a lot of fun to hang out with everyone, have some friendly competition and to celebrate wonderful mothers.  That night we decided to take our trains game to another level.  Two boards, two games, two winners from each game played for the title.  Guess who won........ this girl (thumb directed to my own chest).  nbd. :) actually. vbd.

After that eventful weekend I can't wait for what this week holds!

What's up Weekend?

I love weekends. A break from work and a chance to relax.  Plus, hang out with some besties! Anisa and Bronzson are in town now and I'm so excited for the fun we'll all have together! Maybe if we're really good we can convince them to never leave!  ;)

Here's a photo dump of the recents:

 

Karlie sneaked out!

Woops now Todd's gone...

I'm really sad this one is blurry, it's such a good one of Jake and Kar!

My first Reeses smore!

Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point!

My new running shoes!!!!! 

Fully committed, no turning back now.  Ragnar here I come! 

My view for the past few months.  I love watching these guys and Todd does such a good job coaching!