Champions

Well... I'm here to report good news!!  Introducing......

Red Devils - SF Women's League Champions 2011

We did it!!   Not only did we pull of the big 'W,'  we did it in style, 8-2 style!  This team was comprised of most of our high school soccer team members just re-living the glory days.  It felt so good to be able to play with 'my team' again.  We still had the same connection we did in high school, even after 3 years of all being apart.   Sad thing is that this is probably the last time we will all get to play together.  Something bogus about school being a higher priority.... weird.  ;) So, after 3 years, where are all of us at and where are we going?  I'll start left top and work my way to the right bottom.

RAE:  Just dominated Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer and has recovered so well!!  If she's not considered a fighter I don't know who is.

KAYLIE:  Has been married to Bryce for about a year now (most adorable married couple I've ever seen) and works as a dental assistant!

KAYLYN:  Just finished her 1st year of the Nursing program at BYU and is officially 33% of a nurse.  She'll be saving lives in no time, nbd.

BRANDI:  This girl is bound to put a smile on your face within the first 30 seconds of meeting here, guaranteed.  Home for the summer, but soon will be returning to living the dream in the SUU scene. 

ME:  Paralegal of 2 years and graduating with Paralegal Degree from UVU after this fall semester! Oh, and recently won the award for most "Dominating" person of 2011. ;) 

KATIE:  Happily married to her Dave and quickly approaching their 1 year anniversary!  She's a high rollin' nurse for a home, health and hospice agency, and a dang good one at that!

KARLIE: Finished school (yay!) and looking to teach teens all about eating disorders, nutrition, diseases and other heath matters.  Mrs. Mitchell is tearin' up the marriage scene with her hubby Jake of 1 year!

ANISA:  Taking over Idaho in one fell swoop.  Just finished her first year of Pharmacy School at ISU and soon will be treating all your prescription needs with that pretty smile!

BETSY:  Just turned in her papers to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!! With her easy going personality and beautiful face how could anyone turn down her invitation to get a little wet?!

And that my friends is what I call a great group of girls. We weren't able to get everyone together for the team, but I'm so glad we were able to get this bunch together.  These ladies will always hold a special spot in my heart, and I wish the best of luck to each of them as they conquer life with such great style.  Who knows how I got so lucky, but nevertheless, I'm grateful.

Champions inside and out.

Back in the Saddle Again

Well hello! My absence from the Utah scene and the lack of blogging this past week was due to a much needed vacation!  My mom and I teamed up with Southwest and the Monte Carlo and headed to VEGAS for some sun, shopping and other adventures.  We had the fantastic opportunity to attend the Phantom of the Opera which knocked my socks off!! Even though we were a little far away, it was a superb performance!  We visited Madame Tussaud's Celebrity Wax Museum, which to be honest was a little creepy.  It was awesome how real they looked, but at the same time I half expected them to turn their head and wonder why I was pretending to kiss their cheek.  Either way, it was pretty cool kickin' it with Michael Jordan, J-Lo (who's booty is surprisingly far from large), Arnold Schwarzenegger yes I had to look up how to spell his name..., Matthew McConaughey and his, Will Smith, Eva Longoria and Marilyn Monroe to name a few.  We shopped our little hearts out and I came back with an overstuffed suitcase filled with goodies!  I added #9 to my Vans family and even converted my mother to her very first pair of Vans!  It wasn't even against her will either, bazinga!  We ate a large spectrum of great foods and sealed the deal with a Haagen Dazs Mint and Brownie Dazzler shake.  It's a good thing food there is so outrageously expensive or else I probably would have had to request two seats on our flight home.  Nevertheless my mom and I hit the gym a few times (testing out my bright new running shoes!) and soaked up plenty of rays by the pool.  Oh I told you that our hotel had it's own wave pool and lazy river right?  No? Well it did, and it blew my mind. nbd.  One of my favorite places though had to have been the Venetian hotel.  We went there for both shows and also to just look around the hotel/shopping center.  Inside the hotel it has a river/canal running through it with gondolas!!  It was a magical place with romantic restaurants, gondolas, fantastic architecture and the smell of somewhere fascinatingly foreign.  It was straight out of my dreams and I loved every second of it.  One day I'm going to go back and ride in one of those gondolas!  Little slice of heaven right there. 

Overall the vacation went really well!!  Most were curious why we were in Vegas if we didn't drink, gamble or attend clubs, and sometimes they had me wondering as well, but it turned out to be a really great time! Thanks mom for a fantastic week!!

Now back for some adventures in the (801)!

Kid History

Since yesterday was so fantastic I'd like to start today off right as well! If you're having the morning blues and need a little pick me up, you've come to the right place. One of my besties Karlie told me to watch these, and I haven't been able to stop laughing since I did! So far I've only watched the first two, but I will be back to watch the rest! that's for sure.

Warning: Be careful where you watch these because laughter will undoubtably be exploding from your face.

Here's the second one!



Happy Wednesday :)

IKEA!!!!

What a weekend! Saturday Kaylyn and I went to one of my favorite places in the entire world....

If you've never been, go. Now. Or tomorrow.

We ate food at the little restaurant (more like cafeteria) while watching people filter in and out. I don't know why people watching is so captivating, but for some reason I can't get enough of it. Also while eating we noticed a kids play area down below. Our discussion started with, "Oh that's so nice to be able to have some place to put your kids while you shop throughout this huge store!" and ended with, "I would NEVER leave my kid in one of those places!" Quite the change I know, but once we watched the whole "check-in" procedure it made me think twice. It went a little something like this:

1] Bring child to check-in counter

2] Fill out a waiver (undoubtedly releasing IKEA from any liability if their child loses a finger, gets rabies or needs stitches)

3] Receive a bin for the child's shoes, socks and jackets

4] Receive a sticker with a number that corresponds with the aforementioned waiver

5] Place said sticker on child's back

6] Receive a blinky disk that vibrates when your child has encountered one of the previous conditions

7] Open the big check-in counter and release your child into the unknown

Sounds pretty great eh? I understand that this is probably a lot like daycare, but it still makes me nervous. You don't know these people, and for all we know some 14 year old could be practicing voodoo on my child. Maybe we were over-exaggerating, but Kaylyn and I came to the conclusion that we wouldn't bring our kids to IKEA if it meant we had to lock them in the child prison.

After eating we started to wander in and out of bathrooms, bedrooms and kitchens. We played house and tested out a few appliances. (surprisingly all of them weren't working.... weird) We tested the chairs for support and overall comfy-ness and marveled at the luxurious kitchen set ups. We both decided a big kitchen is a must in our future houses.

Isn't she the cutest??

We continued on our adventure, until we met this.

What is it? Who even knows. What was my first reaction? To grab a newspaper and pop a squat. Gross? Definitely. I have reason to instantly think this cabinet thing is made for such activities because we found it in the bathroom decor section. If you ask me, this seems quite odd.... but hey it's modern so it's okay right? Not okay.

Question: What is modern? I believe it to be the new, slightly odd but radiating cool-ness that only the artsy people can pull off. However, haven't we had this "modern" stuff around for at least 10 years now? Does the "modern" style ever change? If not, can it still be considered "modern?" Obviously I don't understand decorating, but this subject really baffles me. Hey, let's make a table that looks like a banana, surround it with chairs that are too small for anyone over the age of 4, paint it a metallicy color and call it modern. Huzzah!

Joking aside, I liked looking at all the modern stuff, I just don't quite understand it yet. Maybe when I get a few more wrinkles I'll start to figure it out. Until then.... Huzzah to those that love the modern marvels!

Advertising

Whenever I see an awesome commercial or advertisement I always have this urge to tell the company how great it was. I know that it must have taken a lot of time to produce that 30 second ad, and I think they should get the credit they deserve! You know, some first hand feed back, not just looking at sales percentages to see if the ad was effective. Well I still haven't figured out a way to do that, but it's constantly on my mind. Especially when I see ads like this one:

hahaha Watch it again. Go ahead, watch it again. It gets even more funny the 3rd and 4th time. Maybe I could invent a like button that would attach to your phone or car. You could simply push this button as soon as you witnessed one of these jems. It would track where you were at, what you just saw and send the "like" to the corresponding company. Even though this may be a stretch, I certainly hope those that work on these ads realize how truly great they are.

Currently there are awesome McDonalds ads that say, "Any size drink for a (insert picture of a buck/bone)." I LOVE these ones! So clever. I couldn't find a picture of any of them on the internet, but I did come across some more advertising treasures! McDonalds seems to have the best ads, especially the ads in different countries.

How about inspiring advertisements?

How about these?

I love seeing these Mormon Channel ads. They have done such a good job on them!! Also, the Mormon Channel app is absolutely FANTASTIC! I highly recommend everyone who can, to download it. Every time I see one of these ads the phrase, "To bring the world his truth!" always pops in my head. Slowly but surely, the church is spreading and bringing more members to the truth. All I can do is smile at the knowledge of what really is spreading... happiness.

Weekend Warriors

Sun. Friends. Volleyball. Soccer. Softball. Free time.

I'd like to make a shout out to a fantastic weekend. Jam packed with Domination as well as the fun things listed above, it was a great way to kick off the summer! Since my apt complex has a sand volleyball court we have played every night this weekend and I'm slowly getting better! Volleyball and Softball are the two sports (that I am currently aware of) that rip up my previously claimed title of the "Athletic Type" and smash it in the trash can. To say the least, I struggle. However, practice and a lot of pity cheers have definitely proved to be helping! Thankfully I have the best friends in the entire world who like to compliment each other even when we fail miserably. Some might find it embarrassing that you are being told "good job!" every time you touch the ball, even when you project it into the parking lot repeatedly, nearly missing the tight rope walkers; but not me. I love it.

Now to touch base on the last two words in my list above.

Free time.

Personally I didn't know this even existed in real life. Wanna know a secret? It does, and I was apart of it this Saturday! I woke up in the morning feeling like P-Diddy then grabbed my cleats, brushed my teeth with a bottle of water... and headed to my soccer game. (Yup, I just made a Kesha reference) Guess what, we killed it! I won't lie, we are a little rusty due to aging, and the lack of Virginia here to whip us into shape. Pulling out the "W" with 6-1 felt pretty great, and even better to be doing it with some of my best friends! After soccer, we went to the pool to soak up some rays. Utah weather finally pulled through for the weekend and I received a little more rays than I probably should have. Feeling pretty warm and toasty we headed back inside to just hang out. I even watched tv. I watched 20 minutes worth of an infomercial on the Genie Bra, just because I could. Life at my new apartment seems to be working out quite well, and I'm loving every second of it. Coming up this week: Bowling League, Soccer Practice, Softball Game, Soccer Game and some volleyball thrown in there somewhere. Bring it on!

Slightly Stealing....

Okay Ashley was the real one that posted this first.... and I don't want to take it..... but I have to let you all read this! It is sooo fantastic! I shortened it a little since it was really long. Check out her blog here..... or just read below :) Nice find Ashes!

RANDOM THOUGHTS OF PEOPLE OUR AGE

By: Aaron Karo

1. Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy.

2. The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.

3. Do you remember when you were a kid playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

4. There is a great need for sarcasm font.

5. Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

6. I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then make sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really really gets it.

7. How the heck are you suppose to fold a fitted sheet?

8. I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

9. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

10. Was learning cursive really necessary?

11. Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud," to "I have nothing else to say."

12. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

13. Answering the same letter 3 times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

14. Whenever someone says, "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart." All I hear is, "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart."

15. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

16. Every time I have to spell a word over the phone for 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss' last name to an attorney and said, "Yes that's G as in....(10 second lapse)... umm.. Goonies."

17. What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

18. While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instictively swerved to avoid it... thanks Mario Kart.

19. MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

20. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

21. I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

22. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

23. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

24. Bad decisions make good stories.

25. Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!

26. Is it just me or do High School girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?

27. If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

28. Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem...

29. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

30. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

31. There is no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to fall after leaning your chair back a little too far.
32. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

33. I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

34. I hate when I just miss a call by the last right (Hello? Hello? Shoot!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

35. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

36. When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

37. I like all the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every 15 songs in my iTunes.

38. As a driver I hate pedestrians, as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

39. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

40. I keep some people's phone number in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

41. Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what to do with it.

42. I wonder if cops ever get mad at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

43. The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag I saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the resaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself.

Elder Jordan Tyler Francis

Today was the day that one of my best friends left his family and friends to serve the Lord. Last night Jordan was set apart as a missionary and that was a really fantastic experience. I wasn't going to be able to make it at first, (but then I realized who is in charge) and randomly my class got out just in time for me to speed down to Mapleton. He has turned into such a responsible and confident man and I am so proud of him. Of course for some reason my body associates the feeling of pride with crying, and so without my control there have been some water works the past few days. Luckily I've been able to keep my cool and not have to deal with gasping sobs. That in and of itself is a blessing for anyone around me.

All last night my mom went through Jordan's whole suitcases and explained detailed instructions for usage, dosage and washage for everything she had packed. It took about 4 times longer than it probably should have due to sarcasm and humor, but nevertheless it was still entertaining to sit and watch. After, Jordan and I went through his room and 'de-junked.' Or in our house that means, "give to someone else so that it may clutter their room instead of mine." I scored with all my new treasures!

This morning the whole family went to Cracker Barrell for breakfast after finally convincing Jordan that he could in fact leave the house as a missionary. Breakfast was great, and we had fun, but those stupid butterflies would not leave my stomach. After taking a bunch of pictures, it finally came time for us to pack up and head to the MTC.

I couldn't bring myself to talk much on the way there, because the pit in my stomach just wouldn't allow it. We drove in, parked next to a bajillion waving missionary hosts, unloaded, snapped a few pictures really quickly and left. Of course, not before I got a final hug. Again, I felt sooo proud of my little brother for being brave enough to venture off into the MTC and then off to Albania. And again, pride equaled tears.

I love you Jordan.

P.S. For my own selfishness I'd like you to hurry it up and come back already, but I know you will be the best stinking missionary Albania has ever seen. God be with you till we meet again.

Tangled

Okay okay.... Princess and the Frog previously was my favorite Disney princess movie until this came out.

It is so stinking funny!! I love all the characters in this movie, especially this guy. haha so great!

Kay, D rag and I saw it last night in 3D at the not so dollar theater. There were a few cool 3D parts that I had to sit on my hands to resist from reaching out and grabbing the lantern (oh wait I did actually reach out and grab for it), but for the most part 3D isn't anything toooooo crazy. It is pretty cool that we have the ability to view things in 3D though! The best part is that I kept my 3D glasses, and when I put them on outside of the movie theater everything around me is still in 3D!! It's so great! ;)

Really one of the biggest reasons why I love this movie is because for once Disney made a princess movie with a full family. Usually all Disney movies have only one parent around, but this one Rapunzel had both parents and they were both fantastic people! At least I assume they were as they were the King and Queen... although those two weren't very chatty... Granted Rapunzel did live with the crazy lady that kidnapped her for 18 years, but still, she found her family and they all lived happily ever after!

P.S. I just researched all on the kidnapping statute for my research class, so I can tell you whether or not this actually constituted a kidnapping if it were to take place in Utah. Fascinating, I know.

So at the conclusion of this post I would like to recommend this movie to each and every one of you and that a happily ever after will surely come shortly thereafter!

P.P.S. wanna know something else super great?!

ANISA IS COMING TO UTAH TODAY!!!!!!!!

Hooray!! Sheesh we have such a good weekend ahead of us. Let the fun begin!

Something Tells Me We Should Celebrate

I've decided that for the most part, packaging makes or breaks an item. As shown above, this bottle looks like a party is about to happen and I want to be invited. Although this same bottle could be covered in a brown paper bag and I would start to get uncomfortable... even though inside it is still just bubbly apple cider. Now the boxes of Rocky Mountain chocolates made me want to re-enact I Love Lucy and play "taste tester" for the day. Sooo good.

I received these wonderful items from work which were sent by another attorney in our area. Huzzah for how likeable my attorneys are and for how they love to share their goodies! Immediately when that green bottle was set on my desk I felt a spark of excitement inside of me. Is it the fact that it looks like a cheap imitation of a bottle of wine? Who knows. I never remember what sparkling cider actually tastes like anyways so why else would I be excited? I brought it home and received the same excitement from my brother. We felt all fancy when we found an occasion to create a toast to and to finally "break open the bottle." Well looks like we still have some work to do on the fancy part because we drank it from paper cups, no clinking or swirling. However, we were celebrating conference so that's toast worthy right?! ....Irony?

Conference brought a lot of golden nuggets this time around! I loved spending time with my family watching conference, always do. and going to dinner with Kaylyn, Terryl & my mom for a girls getaway during Priesthood session. I also had the wonderful opportunity to join D-rag (the nickname he proudly gave himself....?) in the Sunday afternoon session and boy was that great. The spirit was so strong throughout all the heart felt messages that were shared. Conference never fails to humble, motivate and rejuvenate me. I'm excited to start in on re-reading/listening to the sessions so I can pick up on where I overlooked. Also, with all the talk about marriage I'm curious to see how many engagements arise within the next few months. Bring on the flood of receptions! Joking aside, I do think that everything said was needed for one person or another, and everything I heard, I needed. I loved having two people in front of me that were frantically taking notes on each talk given. Curious, I leaned forward to see what they had both just written on the last talk. To my surprise their notes were not even close to the same. What a great lesson: The spirit speaks to each of us individually, our Heavenly Father knows each of us personally and the messages we specifically need to hear. Thanks.

This weekend also brought a few more surprises......

All I could think about was how I could definitely handle listening to our Prophet's voice from here....

Come on Utah.... realize that Winter is now being selfish. Give summer a chance to shine. :)

Happy 4 day!!

Today is a day that is better than almost any day. Today is 4 day. April 4th (4/4) is my favorite day because we get two 4's instead of one this month! I can't wait until I'm 44 in year 2044 on April 4th. Oh yeah, it's going to happen. Not really, but it would have been awesome. Maybe I'll lie about my age on that day. Who knows if blogs will even exist, but if they do, you better believe there will be a blogtastic post that day. I already missed 4:44 am (barely) and so I'm really looking forward to 4:44 pm... and trying to come up with 4 awesome things I can do at that time. Any ideas? There is really no other reason for this post besides the fact that I haven't posted in awhile, and to make you all aware of the greatest day ever! At 4:44 pm today, I hope you take a second and do 4 crazy cool things. So far, all I've got is 1) give a high four to a stranger 2) celebrate with 4 friends 3) sign up for a soccer league as #4 and 4) wear a 4 pendant that I made out of a paperclip around for the rest of the day. Obviously I'm needing a bit of help in the creativity area today.

HAPPY 4 DAY!!!!!!!!!

Donut Dilemma

Who knows what I have done right in my life recently, but nevertheless I receive these blessings openly. I have had 3 opportunities for free donuts this week! Woohoo! I of course took complete advantage of these opportunities and have adjusted my attendance to the gym accordingly. :) Today, the 3rd option for free donuts came from a lovely coworker to celebrate the season of Jean Friday! Not only is it a fantastic day when Jean Friday comes around, but we get free donuts on top of that? Can life get any better? I submit that it cannot! Insert movie name here of which I received this quote from but have failed to remember. As I was deciding which delectable treat to choose I had a thought come over me. The #2 opportunity for free donuts played out quite differently:

Opportunity #2:

Setting: Mediation Class

Giver: Professor

Donuts: Krispy Kreme plain & chocolate options

Reaction: Mild hesitation and consideration of the enlargement of certain "problem areas."

Opportunity #3:

Setting: Work

Giver: Co-worker

Donuts: Beyond Glaze Specialty Donuts

Reaction: Immediate motivation to forget all new years resolutions.

Why the difference in reactions? In both instances the only reason why I would not take a donut would be because I knew they were loaded with yummy calories that my backside could probably do without. However, the donut that has significantly more calories (due to the elaborate icing flavors and decorations shown below) is the donut that I don't think twice about eating. Apparently the sports mindset of "Go big or go home" has translated into my subconscious. Could be a problem? Na. That donut was super good.

Take your pick:

OR.......

Poor Little Guys

Today, after I finished taking a big bite of the most wonderful beef jerky I've ever had, I noticed I had a lot of that fantastic jerky stuck in my teeth. Shoot. While trying to pick it all out I started to feel like a carnivor. --> In feeling like a carnivor I thought about lions. --> In thinking about lions I realized that they eat mass amounts of meat. --> When they eat mass amounts of meat, I wonder if they ever get it stuck in their teeth.... I found a peice of floss and then realized, lions don't even have floss to help them out! Sheesh I don't know how those guys do it. Maybe they use grass? There is nothing worse than getting something stuck in between your teeth and not being able to get it out. First off it hurts, and secondly my mind is constantly focused on what started out as a slight disturbance. So hang in there little guys, I'm going to invent some Lion Floss for you.

Also: I've decided that I'm moving to Tooele some day. They grow the best jerky I've ever tasted! I feel like an expletive should be placed in between "best" and "jerky" so that you realize how great it is.

Also, Also: I heard on the news that two guys were lost in a snow cave and survived for two days on beef jerky. That made me think that I should start keeping beef jerky around because I would LOVE to be stranded and only have beef jerky to eat. So the decision has been made; I will now buy a massive bag of beef jerky to keep in my car for some rainy day. Done and Done

Vans = Domination

Finally! The post that you all have been waiting for! We'll pretend. So... I like to obsess over weird things. Thus, I am weird. Logical reasoning eh? Believe me, I don't mind one bit. I quite enjoy it actually. I figure, why not love the little things in life? I'm just appreciating beauty where it isn't normally found. Right? Sure Hailey, whatever helps you sleep at night. :) However, I do believe this obsession isn't completely my fault. Somehow it is a direct genetic connection. For my mom, it's purses. For me, it's Vans Shoes :)

Weird thing to obsess over? Maybe, but why not?? They are so colorful, bright and super cool!

Now you are thinking, holy crap! How many pairs of Vans does this girl have? I'll happily answer that for you, 8. for now. I started with the light blue, then HAD to get pink, and then the obsession began.

My room at my apartment even has a shelf for them! Isn't it so great that the contractors were genius enough to know that some girl was going to need a spot for all of her darling shoes?! Books on a bookshelf? Na. At first it would only fit the 8, but I have now strategically placed them so that I can easily fit two more pairs! I thought I was done at 8, but since I have more room.... we may be welcoming Yellow and Black soon... Just warning you.


The real reason I know it's alright that I'm obsessed with Vans is because they are made just for me! Check it out, my initials are engraved on the bottom of them.
Told ya.

Think what you want, but I love them. So there you have it, my secret is out! If there was ever a secret to be kept.. What's your obsession? What sets you apart?

My Dear Shirley

There is such a place, that serves only the most delectable of all baked goods. She has recently become my temporary 5th best friend. the rest of you 4 are staples, don't you worry :) I am in love with baking, and even more so with other people's baking. Less mess and clean up, better outcome. One bakery creation that I usually do not have a sweet tooth for are cinnamon rolls. Usually they are too gooey, or too doughy, or just too much. The closest to enjoying cinnamon rolls was been from our high school luncheon days at Anisa's house. I liked them, but was never in love with cinnamon rolls. However, I had forgotten about my dear friend Shirley and her magic touch. In class yesterday our professor brought in cinnamon rolls from Shirley's, and my opinion on the generalized cinnamon roll changed! Those things are fantasmic! I would even go as far as to say they are the BEST cinnamon rolls I have EVER tasted in my entire life. I will probably never eat another cinnamon roll, unless Shirley made it specifically for me. I highly recommend you visit this little slice of heaven.

Anyone wanna pay Shirley a visit with me??

P.S. I was going to take a picture of my exact cinnamon roll that I gratefully received yesterday, but it was gone before I could take my camera out. This picture seems to be a decent stand in.

Jordan Has Grown A Foot or Two......

GUESS WHAT!!!!!! This cool dude....

Just opened his mission call last night and has been called to serve for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the ALBANIA TIRANA MISSION!!!!!!!!!!!! He'll be speaking Albanian and leaving for the MTC April 20, 2011. Holy canoli! I'm so proud of my brother! He's such a great example and he's going to DOMINATE! :) Can you say that about a mission....? After he read that he was going to Albania we all scrambled for the map to try and figure out where the heck that was. Turns out it is in between Greece and the Adratic Sea, just above Africa and a boat ride away from Italy! Sooooooo cool! We immediately started googling about Albania to try and figure out what type of a place it is. I'm getting excited all over again just thinking about it! Also, his mission president is from Palo Alto, California where my dad grew up! Crazy random? With Jordan's permission Kaylyn, Karlie and Jake had come over to watch him open his call after bowling and I'm glad they came! Needless to say there was a lot more screaming and jumping up and down :) So there you have it, Jordan has 9 weeks here in the U.S.A and then he's shipped off to Albania for two years. Crazy. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from last night:

"Miss Albania is hot. That's definitely a good sign."

"Toronto? Canada? Ooohh Tirana!"

"Should I be worried that when I type in Albania, the first two searches are Albania flags and then Albania riots....?"

"Albania only has 10 branches in the whole country?!"

"Their flag has dragons on it! I'm going to like this place."

Congrats Elder Jordan Tyler Francis. You're a stud. :)

A Zits A Day Keeps The Doctor Away

I'm not being gross.... I'm talking about this--> http://www.zitscomics.com/ !! Need a pick me up? Check this and I promise you'll find some good stuff here. I'm considering buying a t-shirt or something. Plus, they have a blog!! Here's a little sneak peak for you:

P.S. This reminds me of something else I can put on my to do list...

You betta watch out...

Watch this video. Your life will never be the same.... but for the better. If you are amused, you should then click on the rap/song they made out of this news report. Fantastic. :)

Pie = Pizza

After attending an exciting Jazz basketball game yesterday, I was able to finally visit a historic monument in the form of a restaurant.... THE PIE! I've been able to enjoy or should I say devour their wonderful pizza before, but only at a few parties, and never at the actual restaurant. Boy was that a cross off my bucket list with a smile on my face. The Pie is fantastic. It's a bomb shelter type building with writing covering every inch of the walls, funny posters, and a bunch of crazies. I loved every second of it. We did a half and half pie: half Hawaii-o Pie-o (or something like that) and half Stromboli. Let's just say that Pizza has stolen the number one spot on my list of favorite foods. Thank you for making my stomach stop talking, and for superbly satisfying my taste buds. Until we meet again, I will never ever be the same.

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For Reals This Time.

I have anxiously anticipated this day for quite some time..... Monday teased me with some rain/slushy almost snow, but today we received the greatest blessing yet. SNOW! I checked the weather this morning and loved seeing the little image of snow flakes falling. While I was getting ready for the day I started the cocoamotion. Thanks Kar! I made sure to be prepared, so I dressed in layers. Thermals - of course.

This morning was a very eventful morning and here is how it played out:

My LAST follow up knee appointment with Dr. Wallentine. The verdict....... drum roll please.... I'm cleared!!!!! He said everything looks great and I'm good to go! I contemplated admitting to him that I have infact been playing soccer since October 18th Best. Day. Ever. and figured it would probably be for the best. Of course, this was only because he had already given me clearance... oops. He asked about how soccer has been going and I told him honestly. FANTASTIC! I feel great, my knee doesn't hurt, it feels perfectly stable, and I can run like no other. The first time I stepped on that soccer field I will admit I was shaking like a leaf, had visited the bathroom 3 times in the past 20 minutes and prayed A LOT. Once that game started and I began running around, all my cares went away. I felt free. By the way in case you didn't know, our bodies are amazing. While I wasn't able to walk for awhile the fact that I can run full force was liberating. Bringing me back Dr. Wallentine made sure that I knew to keep up on strengthening my knee and assured me it will only get better from here. Isn't he so great?!

Once I left Dr. Wallentine's office, my smile got even bigger when I stepped outside. Carelessly falling snow flakes greeted me and I responded with a cheerful "Good Morning!" I thought, it's only 8:04 am and I wonder how this day can get any better. I stopped by WalMart on my way to school to pick up a super cute umbrella for Kaylyn and I (zebra for me, purple and lime green polka dots for Kay) and headed to class. While I was driving, I glanced upon a single duck eating among 15 goats. so random, but so great.

What's up ahead for the rest of the day:

Bowling League. Yeah that's right, I'm super nerdy and bowl in a league at BYU. :D Someday I'll have my own ball, shoes and personalized bowling button up. It is sooo much fun! Spencer, Adrian and I are on a team and I'm not gonna lie.... we DOMINATE!! So far we have the best record out of the league and on many occassions have beat a team by 140+ pins.... Mostly due to the amazing bowling skills of the rest of my team, but I try to help out as much as I can. Hopefully today I'll be able to beat my high score of 179 and break 200!!

That'll be the day.