How 'bout it?!

Any chance I could be a dog lady instead of a cat lady?

Pretty PLEASE?!

I can't get enough of these cute goldendoodles!  One day....

Images via Google

Bring it on 2014

This year my theme is: 

-Annette Funicello

I'm hoping it will remind me to keep life in perspective.  To help me avoid getting so caught up in the daily worries and help me remember how fantastically wonderful my life is.  I'm going to work on being better at going with the flow; to relax a bit.  Life holds a lot of amazing adventures just waiting for us to find and I don't want to miss a single one! I'm still working on my list of resolutions but I can't wait to get started!  The New Year is one of my favorites because we have a fresh start, endless possibilities and a renewed vigor for life.  It's contagious! 

Who knows where 2014 will take me, but I have a feeling this year will be a good one.  :]  

Let's do this!

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.

Adventure Is Out There

"When ye are in the service of your fellow beings

ye are only in the service of your God."

Mosiah 2:17

Work has been crazy busy as one co-worker is out on maternity leave and will continue to be busy throughout the rest of the year with what our cases have in store for us and with another leaving on maternity leave. there is something in the water up here... ;)  Yesterday I decided I would plan a vacation for sometime in the Spring or Summer next year after all of this craziness settles down. This vacation would be something to look forward to, keep me motivated, plus it will be to celebrate my 5 year mark of working here!  So, I starting thinking about Greece.... Italy.... Spain.... London..... Hawaii... and quickly realized my limitations as I would be traveling by myself.  I could try to come up with people to come with me, but the only person I could count on to make this trip happen was myself.  Then I realized that I have a great opportunity to still see the world, but for a different purpose; to go on a service/humanitarian trip.  

I have always wanted to go on one of these to give back, to embrace and learn about a new culture, to better understand life outside of this Utah bubble and ultimately to serve where I am needed.  I am in an interesting spot in my life, but one that is ideal for a trip like this one.  I don't want to pass up this opportunity just because I'm scared out of my mind to do it alone.  This is bigger than me.  I can get over myself and dedicate some time to someone or a group of people who need the help I am able to give.  It would be a lot easier if I were a nurse or had something I could offer, but oh well, my time is still something right??      

The next question is: Now what? 

I've found websites that match people up with organizations and basically provide the link to exactly what I'm looking for.  Some of these websites are VolunteerForever, VolunteerMatch, and then you can find Humanitarian trips for LDS singles... nice. hahaha  One thing I know for sure is that I want to go with a big company/organization that has "been there done that" many times so to reduce the risk of getting into a bad situation or being scammed.  

So..... if anyone knows of any good opportunities coming up for the early part of next year, or any reputable organizations you've had experiences with then let me know!  Also, if anyone wants to join me, please do!  Once I figure out where I want to go it'll be easier to try and recruit friends, but for now I will be spending all my time researching the world and all it has to offer.   :]

"Service to others is an important characteristic of a disciple of Jesus Christ. A disciple is willing to bear other people’s burdens and to comfort those who need comfort. Often Heavenly Father will meet the needs of others through you."

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!!

Who's this Hailey character??

Too much fun with #bathroomselfies

I am....a Mormon!
I want....to one day make it to Italy and/or Spain.
I have....the 3 best friends anyone could ask for. #kkahforever
I wish....I lived closer to a beach.
I hate....disappointing people and being disappointed. (expectations are the worst)
I fear....being alone.
I search....for new music and opportunities to meet new people.
I wonder....if I will ever be able to follow through with my new years resolutions.
I regret....always being a workaholic and going straight into my career instead of being a normal college student.
I ache....after going to the gym. duh.
I always....need an organized To Do list.
I usually....let my gas tank run on empty for a little too long.
I am not....good at lying. at all.
I am grateful....for my awesome brothers and their humor.
I dance....like a wanna be Jabbawockeez/drill team/80's dancer.
I sing....at the top of my lungs despite being tone deaf. #sorrynotsorry
I never....turn down ice cream.
I love....crazy bright colors, sarcasm & wit, obsessing over a word, movie, song, number, color, etc., clearance racks, goldendoodles, hashtags and being outside.
I like....looking back and realizing the blessing that brought me to where I'm at today.
I sometimes....hate social media.
I miss....having a summer vacation.  Not just a one week thing but the whole summer.
I cry....like any other woman with unpredictable hormones- in most movies/commercials.
I am not always....good at managing my time.
I admit....that I can be stubborn and too independent.
I lose....everything. (Although, I'd rather classify it as being an expert in misplacing things.)
I am confused....when people complain about something but have no intent to do anything about it.
I need....to quit worrying about EVERYTHING.
I should....floss.
I hope....to one day be a Martha Stewart mom/wife.
I....smile, laugh and live.

Found this from this lady and decided to join in!  Repost it on your blog with your own answers and give me a link so I can check it out!!

WHO ARE YOU?! 

New Goals

I found this lovely on Pinterest and it made me think that I really want to make a few changes in my interactions with people.

Anyone else want to join?  I'm going to take one each week to work on/be aware of and see what happens! Why not?! So far my favorite one on this list is "Give people you don't know a fair chance."  I really need to be better at that so I'm excited to make that change!

This week: "Free yourself from negative people."  Interesting...

Hunting

I'm on the hunt.  The hunt for the best Cafe Rio burrito out there!  Ever since I discovered the beauty of these burritos I've decided to face the fact that I am definitely obsessed with them.

"I'm so excited! And I just can't hide it!"
Photo courtesy of Cafe Rio. 

Burrito Numero Uno*: Pork with Mild Sauce (El Paso Tomatillo) and Pinto Beans
Review: Super good!  Although after awhile I realized that I didn't love how sweet the pork is... for me it just didn't flow with the spicy sauce flavor. 

Burrito Numero Dos: Grilled Chicken with Medium Sauce (Sante Fe Green Chile) and Pinto Beans
Review: The chicken was so good, but I wasn't the biggest fan of the Medium sauce. It was less spicy than the Mild and didn't really fit for me.  Thanks for the tip though Holly!

Burrito Numero Tres:  Shredded Beef with Mild Sauce (El Paso Tomatillo) and Pinto Beans on a WHEAT tortilla
Review: This was soooo good!  I even loved the wheat tortilla!  (Which makes it healthy so now I can eat it as many times a week as I want right...? Cue mom's eye rolling.... haha) 

Next up:  Shredded Beef with Hot Sauce (Red Chile) and Black Beans.  I'm a little nervous about the hot sauce, but I figure I'll take my brother with me and if it burns a hole through my stomach I'll have Parker finish the rest.  He's a crazy person when it comes to hot sauce.  I also wonder if they would do half black beans and half pinto beans for me.... I love them both!  Anyone else have a favorite burrito combination for me to try?  I'd love to drain my savings account trying to figure out the BEST burrito, who's with me?! ;)

Yup, that's right, I just shared a whole blog post with you about Cafe Rio burritos.  Sorry, unfortunately you'll never get the time it took to read this back, but I may have helped you decide what you want for dinner? You'll forgive me when you take a big bite of a juicy, saucy, delicious burrito.  Promise.

*Spanish class paying off!  Booyah! ;)

Impulsivity

B.S. I'm not entirely sure Impulsivity is an actual word.  Oh well.  (B.S. - Before script... aah man I'm so funny!)

I have a problem.  I like to pretend that I don't have this problem, but lately it has manifested itself a lot and I can no longer ignore it.  I get it from my dad.  He will get hooked on the idea of something (this time around - switching to a Macbook) and research everything about it.  He'll read reviews, discuss practicality, quickly weigh all possible options, wallow in the decision making process and then run out and buy it.  All within the matter of a few days, sometimes hours.  So, what's the problem with that??

I'm impulsive.  NBD.  Like father like daughter.  Except I didn't get a Macbook.

-Impulsivity would explain the new dresser I bought on Saturday (my first big girl furniture purchase!).
-Impulsivity would explain the nine pairs of Vans shoes I have.
-Impulsivity would explain the customized bowling ball and new bowling shoes after only bowling a few times (wait that one probably falls under instant obsession....).
-Impulsivity would explain my new years resolution to learn Spanish (Ugh. I need to master the art of osmosis....)
-Impulsivity would explain the sweater I just bought after seeing it on Elizabeth.  Check it out!
-Impulsivity is what will explain the Delta airline ticket I am thinking about purchasing to visit my cousins in sunny California.... (Still in the early stages of Impulsivity on this one.  If it goes according to the usual Impuslivity timeline, I should have everything figured out by the weekend! ;) Anyone want in on a little weekend getaway from this Utah winter?!)

I'm accepting that I have an Impulsivity problem.  Luckily I'm not impuslive about huge purchases..... yet. Dun, dun, dun.

All My Single Ladies!

Unfortunately I don't have a man to sing me KC & Jojo this Valentines Day - Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby..... - so Holli and I are going Beyonce style (her old style I guess, since now she's married) this year!  I write about this to let all my single ladies know that they are more than welcome to join us to watch the new movie Safe Haven this Thursday evening.  In addition to watching the epitome of a chick flick, we will probably also fill our time creating dialogue for all those first daters (like in the movie Date Night) and maybe even make a Coldstone run afterwards.  Who's with me!

Plus I'll be doorbell ditching some Valentines gifts to randoms that night to keep my tradition alive.  This year I really had a struggle trying to figure out what to get.  I planned on making some delicious sugar cookies but then my mom mentioned awhile back that she wouldn't eat anything homemade that some random person dropped off on her doorstep for fear of contamination.  Although this was after we received two sketchy looking cupcakes on our doorstep.... understandable.  Also one time when I thought about dropping off a plate of homemade cookies to a police officer in my neighborhood for letting me off a ticket my mom said that even if he knew who they were from he probably wouldn't be able to eat them and would end up throwing them away.  Sad.

Don't get me wrong, I completely understand the need to be realistic about potential poisons or the unsanitary kitchens that the homemade goods could have come from, but it's still a little sad that I feel like we can't drop off homemade cookies anymore without the motives being questioned.  Even with this secret Valentines tradition I have, this year I wondered, what if I give some person a Valentine and they think it's from their boyfriend/girlfriend.  When they thank their bf/gf for getting them a Valentine... then find out that their significant other did NOT in fact get them a gift..... that could cause a problem for both of them.  Jealousy could creep in and then one thinks that the other has been cheating.  Oh man it could be more problems than it's worth!

So I almost stopped this tradition and gave up.  Almost.

Then I thought of the reason I started this weird tradition in the first place.  I thought of a person who maybe really needs to know that someone out there is thinking about them.  Maybe there is someone out there that just needs a little chocolate (because don't we all?!) and a nice note.  So I bought two big heart shaped boxes of chocolates and I'm going to try to write non-creepy notes to go with them.

I plan on praying a ton to know who's car I can leave them on that will cause the least amount of problems.
Any suggestions on where to drop them?? :)

Organization Intentions

So I was reading another blog post over HERE about grocery shopping and meal planning dilemmas.  This is a constant mystery to me, and I am always interested to hear how people survive so I was browsing through the comments to the post.  That's when I came across THIS.

Oh. My. Gosh.  Color-coded, organized AND adorable?!  It's a magnetic calendar with little magnets for recipes with side dishes, night out days, leftover days, etc. so you can plan your meals in advance and grocery shop accordingly.  You print out the cute little magnets so they can say whatever you want them to!  The original idea came from HERE and hers looks like this:

These women are good. I wish I could just become them because I'm sure they are great cooks and great mothers if they have their monthly meal plans looking like this!  I want to make my own, especially because in each of the posts they give fool proof instructions on how do so but then I realized I don't have very many recipes. Oh, and I'm cooking for 1. :) So maybe I'll tuck this away and save it for when I've got a family I'm cooking for?   Either way, I had to post this so that I could remember it forever, and because maybe someone else will want to do this for their house!!  Anyone else think this is awesome?! Buhler....?

Little Miss Crafty Pants

Well I do have to say, the sewing machine and I are becoming really great friends.  Lately I've made a bunch of things and they were so easy!! I'm posting them so I can save them and they'll eventually go into my blog book I'm making :)

Rice hand warmers for co-worker gifts
(Put in the microwave for 30 seconds then stuff them in your coat pockets. They're awesome!)

Kaylyn's make-up brush holder

Pattern adapted from HERE

Zen garden I made for Dad's Christmas present for his office
(obviously didn't come from the sewing machine, but it was still crafty so that counts right?!)

 My next project is to make a quilt!! I'm thinking this pattern, and using this fabric somewhere.... :)  I'm so excited!

To Be... Me

Do you ever feel like if you were raised in a different area, or with different friends that were involved in different things that you would be... different?  I was thinking about this yesterday for some reason.  Probably because with this online dating stuff you have a chance to tell people you like whatever the heck you want.  I'd like to think that I could have been super into art, maybe hiking/rock climbing, maybe in a band, maybe I'd even like dance?  I was in gymnastics when I was younger and did pretty well...what if I would have kept doing that?  While in high school we get sucked into groups and labels - I was apart of the 'soccer girls' and proud of it.  I wouldn't trade my experiences in high school for anything.  What if I decided to play soccer in college? Not saying that I had offers, but maybe I could have found scouts. 

What if....

THEN, I thought, that's what I have my whole life to experience.  I can do whatever I want. I can try out snowshoeing and maybe I'll even love it.  I've never been skiing or snowboarding in my entire life, maybe I should try it out?!  Why not??   Karlie and I went through a time where all we wanted to do was longboard down the canyon.  It was something different, and my mom didn't entirely understand its appeal but I LOVED every second of it. We met a lot of guys and made a lot of friends.

I think the reason why it's a little hard to 'appear' as someone other than what we have previously been known for is that we don't want to give that part of us up.  I love being considered a 'soccer girl,' but I'm also more than that.  I'm a bowling nerd, a warped tour junkie, obsessed with sewing, crafting and scrapbooking and can't get enough of playing board/card games.  Plus, there's even more to me that I haven't even discovered yet.

So guess what this year's theme is going to be?

Discovery:

Definition:  To stretch my capacities and boundaries.  The act of trying new things.  

To expand  likes and dislikes. To discover the awesome that's inside of me. 

Yeah, I think it's going to be a good year. :)

Oh hey there 2013!

I am loving all the New Years resolution blog posts.  Can I hop on the bandwagon??  I love that everyone is feeling motivated, reflective and excited about all the possibilities this year could have for each of us.  For me, this year is going to be the bomb.com.  I can just feel it.  Also maybe because I can't stop finding reasons to use 'the bomb.com' to describe things in my life.... can't be a bad sign. 

I too made some New Years resolutions that I'm particularly stoked about:

1. Learn Spanish....again.
2. Complete my Vans collection (only 3 more to go!)
3. Read 12 books
4. Go on a road trip
5. Buy my own place

I have a few others, but those will be kept to my journal only. :)  For the past few years I've tried to have a theme for the year.  One year it was "Weightless."  Originally it stemmed from the All Time Low song entitled, Weightless, and it seemed so fitting. 

"Maybe it's not my weekend, but it's gonna be my year.  

I'm so sick of watching all the minutes pass as I go nowhere." 

I even typed out my resolutions along with what I felt my definition of Weightless meant to me. 

P.S. If you haven't heard of All Time Low.....

palm smacking forehead 

Try them out! They are one of the best live performers I've seen.

 Plus it's a great song to run too. 

This year I've been struggling with what my theme should be... Quotes, Songs, a single Word, anything can qualify. Maybe I'll just go back to my roots and have DOMINATION be my theme for this year.  (Not Dominatrix.... don't worry Mom)  Who knows, but I'll figure it out. I'll probably be blowing up Pinterest searching for some adorable and inspiring quotes.

Well, here's to a fantastic new year that I'm soo excited for! 

Oh hey Hayward!

This past weekend held my annual work Christmas party, and this year was quite and interesting one for many reasons!!  Everyone dresses up all fancy, we eat great food (the prime rib was to DIE for!), and it was spent among fantastic friends and family! Every year we do a raffle for different prizes to give away to employees, and it's always AWESOME stuff. This year guess who won an awesome prize?  This girl. double thumb point at my own chest

Here's how it all went down:

My name is called out of the blue and I jump up to claim my prize!!  There is something about winning by having your name called out...... so satisfying.   I bring it back to my table and everyone crowds around trying to see what it is.  It's a GoPro camera that connects to your helmet or to a head strap! Sa-weet!  As I looked more into it I realized...... I am never going to use this.   I started to feel guilty that I won something that would not be put to good use, that we'd probably strap to the dog instead of use it for awesome adventures like other people might.  Don't get me wrong, I was more than overjoyed to have won, and I would have never complained to anyone about it because I didn't want to be ungrateful.  The night went on and the way the raffle works is that your name can be called multiple times, you just get the opportunity to trade your previously won item or keep it.  Up comes a Gordon Hayward signed Jazz jersey..... I wanted it so bad, and secretly crossed my fingers that my name would be called.   Waiting and waiting for them to call out a name, everyone was wondering what was taking so long.  Vanna White and my dad (did I mention he's the designated MC for this?) were whispering to each other and kept picking out names and putting them back over and over again.  Finally my dad makes a side comment, "Sheesh Hailey's name keeps coming up."  I leaped up with my hands in the air and said, "I want it!! Can I have it?!" before I could control myself.... Everyone looks at me and as you could guess, my face went the color of a lobster.  No one really said anything for a second so I said, "Can I trade for the jersey......?"  I started to slowly walk my way up to the front, unsure what I was supposed to do now.  Once everyone realized I was serious they started exclaiming and yelling at me to keep the camera.  Everyone thought I was CRAZY for wanting to trade and it turned into this all out battle.  (Maybe that's a little dramatic)  After pacing back and forth while people tried to convince me one way or another I finally just said, "No, I don't care, I want the jersey!"  I grabbed it and hurried back to my seat. 

Well I caused quite the stir apparently because I had so many people come up to me afterwards who were just baffled by my decision.  I explained to them my feelings about not being able to really take advantage of how awesome that camera really is, and while I could find ways to use it, I felt that someone else would be much happier to have it.   Sure enough, the person who won the camera after I traded it back came up to me afterwards and said they were so excited to use the camera!  There was my validation, I knew that someone else could use it more than I could, and I'm so glad that we both were able to win :)  Plus, I'm in LOVE with this over sized jersey.  Who knows, this jersey could be an investment.  Hayward is single you know..... ;)

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??

Happy Halloween!!

I usually hate Halloween.  I like the decorations, and I LOVE dressing up, but I HATE all the scary, spooky-ness that comes with Halloween. Luckily I figured out a long time ago that I don't have to watch scary movies or go through haunted houses.  Us sissies can still have fun during the Halloween season.

Every year we all dress up for work, have a grand old time, eat amazing chili from bread bowls, bring our kids (for those that have them) to trick or treat around the office and fit some work in there some place.

This years conclusion: Dressing up is only fun if everyone does it.   The people that feel embarrassed or dumb about dressing up, and end up coming in jeans, just end up making the rest of us that actually dressed up feel stupid.  If that makes sense.  I think we need to instill a little more of the "go big or go home" mindset into these people.  Coming from someone who's previous costume was pinning cotton balls on blue scrubs and carrying a squirt gun as "Cloudy with a Chance of Rain,"  I can tell you that your costumes do not have to be elaborate or even expensive! 

Anyways.... rant over.

This year my whole family dressed up!  I don't have the picture of everyone yet, but here's a few that I do have....

MOM:

 

She's so great! 
All the ladies at her work dressed like this
but in their own super hero.  Adorable :)

DAD:

 

Player from the Minecraft game

Only a few people will get this one,
but it's still a cool costume!

 

ME:

Scary, I know.



Parker used my costume idea from last year and taped numbers all over his shirt.  He's "Someone you can count on!" :)  I didn't get a picture of him before I left, but he's looking pretty spiffy! Hopefully I'll have more pictures to come! Happy Halloween!!

P.S. Songza failed me on Halloween music stations, turned back to Pandora and found some awesome playlists! 





Good Reads

Found this post last week and I think it's one that will be re-visited quite often.  I felt awkward sharing this with my parents and friends because I'm not married, but I really do think that this has a lot of great advise for ANY relationship.  So read it..... go HERE.  I'm now following his blog too because I think he writes so well, and could have a lot of good insight.  When I find things like this it really makes me feel sooo grateful for the Internet and for the raw honesty people put into their blogs.  We all go through our own lives, but to be able to share experiences and learn from others mistakes is a true gift in my opinion. Of course this all doesn't have to happen on the Internet with complete strangers, I've learned a lot from my parents and other family members/friends.  Keep on keepin' on people!  We can dominate life together! :)

Oh What a Wonderful Weeekenddd!!

I'm still hurting from this weekend, but man it was a good one!  Friday night PK, J-bird, Jessica Rabbit (inside joke... sorry mom) and I went to dinner then hit the Quarry for some weekend climbing!  I was a little wary when Parker said he wanted to go rock climbing, because the only memories that have ever stuck with me about this activity is PAIN.  The next day I always have a hard time holding on to anything because my weak arm muscles have been destroyed.  However, Parker was dead set on the idea so we went!

Look kids! Spiderman!

Look who we bumped into! What's up Levi!

Almost over the ledge!

Domination.

 

 

Notice how the majority of the pictures are of Parker..... that should give you a good clue as to who had the most endurance.  Me... duh.  Belaying is hard work people! ;)  Well despite being extremely tired afterwards, I did have a lot of fun!  I might even do it again!  I think that this is something that if you did it often enough, you'd have a killer body in no time. 

 

Saturday morning my family and my cousins next door all helped my grandparents out by winterizing their front and back yards.  We filled two trailers full of weeds and dead things!  It was a lot of work, and it did quite a number on my already sore hands, arms and shoulders, but in the end it looked sooo good!  Grandpa was still out there helping where he could, but I'm glad we could do this for him. He's 91 for crying out loud, the guy deserves a break!

 

Sunday brought church with Holli (it only took us 3 tries and a lot of wandering to find a singles ward in Provo), lounging around to rest our poor muscles and a history making tournament of Yahtzee!  In 2 games, we totaled 10 Yahtzees between all of us!  What the?!  The first game no one got a Yahtzee, and by the end dad had 3 Yahtzees in one game! Wow, it was so crazy and so much fun.  Every single time someone would get a Yahtzee we would throw our hands up in the air screaming while the lucky man/woman would dance around the table.  And, would you guess that my Yahztee was with all 4's?  That's right, I'm kind of a big deal. :)

 

 

Traffic and Updates!

Yeah maybe I'll be a little more patient with our construction induced traffic after looking at the traffic in Albania....  Elder Francis.... good luck keeping your sanity while driving in that!

Updates:

Parker and I went bowling this weekend - my first time dusting off my bowling ball and shoes in about a year! I'm pretty sure I'm a little sore from the 3 games we played.  It was a lot of fun though :)

I finished the Office season 5!  My mom just re-activated her Netflix account so now I can watch seasons 6-8 too! I'm obsessed....

I started my messenger bag that I mentioned back here!  Sewed my first lined pockets all by myself :)  Huge personal victory.  Fist pump.

And last but not least, my grandpa turns 91 this Wednesday!!!!