Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Don't even worry, I posted twice today....

So I am obviously quite behind on posting. Two months behind actually. I have yet to post about the So You Think You Can Dance tour, our last get together at Dell's house (which is the post below this, so please scroll on down to see that), New York, my nephew's birthday party, my little brother and sister's birthday party, etc. Yeah. But at least I killed 2 birds with one stone by posting twice today! Woot! Anyways, this is us at Katie's house for our October party. All but 2 were able to make it!! We had so much fun, her theme was "Favorite Things" like Oprah does on her show. So we all had to bring a favorite thing and then got to go home with someone else's. SUCH a fun idea. She also made taco soup in "pumpkin" bread bowls, hot chocolate, cookies, candy, the works. We ate, swapped favorite things, and then because there are so many of us (and we all talk over each other and have side conversations) we never get to hear all about everyone's lives. So she had these questions in a bowl and each of us picked out 2 questions and then thats how we talked all night. It was SO fun. the questions were like "Whats the most in love you've ever been?", or "what was the most courageous thing you've ever done?", or "What is the best thing you've ever spent money on?". So we went around the circle and listened to everyone and talked specifically with them about their question. I LOVED IT.

This is Katie giving away her favorite thing, which happen to be wearing hoodies. So she gave the cutest hoodie (hello $$$ Katie, we were not suppoed to spend that much, you punk) to Brooke who drew her name.
Sheena and Hadlee Jo. She was wearing the cutest little outfit! Sheena said she was excited cuz she is now just starting to fit into actual baby clothes. I need to eat her one of these days.


This is Tori giving her favorite candle and sent. I think it was citrus flavored. What, you guys don't eat your candles?



The yummy pumpkin bowl taco soup number. Seriously tasty. Kira made mine for me cuz I couldn't cut make my bowl without mauling it. Thanks Kir.

Hi Weight Watchers cookies that tasted like heaven. Thanks for being so delicious to my tummy, AND being low cal. Super nice of you.


Haley being inventive with bread. Always a plus when you can double your hat as a snack.

Miss Meg. I'm not sure what happened but at some point in the night she got crap all over her shirt. Oops. I'm not sure how she's gonna get that out, I hear it stains.... Hehehehehe (I tease, I tease)

Dell showcasing Katie's awesome Halloween cups. Seriously, every detail was thought of. Katie went all out ya'll.

Sheena, Tori, and Dell. Hot sexy mamma's.



So, a tid bit about Katie. Where do you start with this girl? Honestly, she is one of the most fun people I know. She is crazy and daring, silly and sweet, hardworking and dedicated. I have never met anyone as determined as her to meet a goal she sets for herself. She is also one of the most thoughtful people I know. Katie is always doing nice things for people and in any gift she gives, or party she throws, or card she writes, her whole heart goes into it. You can always spot the gift Katie brought because it is always so put together and elaborate. She is an incredibly creative person, and is always putting that to use. This girls got guts and she's not afraid to get up infront of a crowd of people. She is able to laugh at herself, and not take life too seriously. I have so many memories with Katie, it's hard to know where to begin. Tube socks, highschool cheerleading, camps, going on "crime runs", the beetlejuice mask, spying(hehe), the leprechaun, her rap music always blaring in her car (juan was it?), her talking herself out of 8 speeding tickets in about one year (even going as far as getting out of the car to "throw up"), boys, dancing, her being mine and my highschool boyfriend's therapist, Lake Powell, senior trip, Mesquite, her to-die-for 6 pack, her getting in trouble with our guys friends in Vegas cuz they were worried she looked too sexy (she was wearing shorts, she just has THAT bangin of a body), her witch performance in the 9th grade play, her eating cereal 2 inches from her face, her albums and albums of pictures, going to spend a weekend with her at her sisters in Cali with Brooke, the pinky toe, silver toe nail polish, silver jewelry, laying out and her getting tan and me getting burned, living a summer in Hawaii with her and Brooke, skydiving, running for 3 hours in the rain (ok that was just you, we all stopped at like 45 minutes), eating plate fulls of $.25 pineapple and making our mouths raw, doing her hair for her wedding, and watching her be the cutest dang pregnant chick out there. Needless to say, I love this girl. Thanks for your friendship Katie, for being such an example to me, and for all the fun memories we've had and the next to come. Love you!!!

Friday, October 17, 2008

So You Think You Can Rock?

So I am an AWESOME rock star. Pretty sure in my next life I'm coming back as Rhianna post Disturbia....I mean, the "sleeve tattoo's" I rocked at this month's get together WERE purchased at Walmart for $4. But Still. I play a mean drum set, and even meaner guitar. September's get together was at Dell's house. She threw a "Rockstar Party" and we played Rock Band and had to come dressed the part. Hence the sleeve's. Although don't put it past me to just randomly sport them to places that have no need. Ok, I'm lying. Maybe. Anyways, Dell went ALL out for her party and it was so much fun! She even did HER OWN mohawk. It was seriously impressive. We rocked it out all night, ate pizza, drank Rockstars (naturally), took pictures, and chatted. My favorite thing of the night was that Haley went and bought a Hannah Montana shirt and microphone that lit up all different colors. Seriously, what's more rockstar than that? Absolutely nothing. Again, people keep coming up with themes and it makes it so fun. And we're super dorky, you won't find one of us denying it....This is Dell all sorts of rocked out. Doesn't she look hard core? And I cant get over the fact that she did her own hair...you should have seen it in person.

T and Sheena. We forgave Sheena for not coming in character, you know, since she just gave birth and all....
This is Haley giving it her all at the drums. She was ALMOST as good as me. Almost.


Kira and Haley. Please notice the black in Kira's hair and Haley's face tat. You're not a rocker unless you've got your face inked....So she's totally got it covered.


Please appreciate our rocker "I'm really hard core" faces.


(not sure why mines in black and white...)

(and Sheena....it's cute. You needed a rocker face)



Haley mid-performance. She doesn't mess around. She totally represented Hannah here, wouldn't you say? Or is this more Miley? I'm not sure....
So, my story of Dell. She's one of the most amazing people I've ever had the privilege of knowing in my life, and I'm not sure how to properly write her "shout out" and NOT write a novel. So I warn whoever is reading this that the rest of this post will in fact be very long, and probably seem somewhat dramatic. But I don't care. It's pretty much just for her anyway, and to tell people how cool I think she is :) Dellany and I have known each other since 2nd grade. We have been best friends since , and she is the first person I met and KNEW I had known before this life. She has lived enough life for 10 people, and then some. I don't know anyone that has conquered as much as she has. I have looked up to her and what she is capable of, for as long as I can remember. In fact, this is a journal entry I wrote about her when I was in junior high and it pretty much sums up how I feel about her (and definitely captures the emotional pre-teen in me...)
"My best friend in the entire world is and always will be Dellany Joy Carroll. She is the most amazing person I have ever been fortunate enough to know. She is more than words can express. There is no one on this entire earth that I love more than her. I can't explain her, she just isn't definable. There isn't a way I could begin to tell you how she does it, how she affects people so deeply. You are strangely changed once you know her. I have never met any one stronger, more honest and trustworthy, or as enjoyable as she is. When we are together, we can say absolutely nothing for as long as we choose, and have had an entire conversation. We will have known exactly what each other thought, and felt. All my best memories include her, they begin with her. Her contribution to my happiness and sanity in my life is enormous. she has never failed me, never let me down. She couldn't disappoint me if she tried. She is one of those people that when you are around her, you know she is different - that she is important in a greater sense. She affects people in a way that you could only dream YOU could. She has this magnetic force that draws people to her. You could be in a room and you would know when she comes in without even seeing her, the room suddenly shifts, and everyone knows of her presence. I know she has angels surrounding her wherever she goes. God knew of her importance, and the protection she would need, so He sent angels to guard her. Maybe that is why people feel changed, because her connection to Heaven is almost tangible..."
Yep. That's honestly how I still feel. There are so many memories that we have together, good and bad. So many places we've been, and things we've done, that it would be impossible to try to write them down. We went through silly things like braces, first boyfriends, Backstreet Boys mania, and Jenko jeans together. We tried out and made Cheer together. Our senior year, we got our schedules switched to have EVERY single class together but one: I had Drill and she had Art. We got detention together, and got thrown out of detention together (ha). We sluffed school and went on adventures everywhere. We ate goldfish and Mt. Dew. G-Squad! We loved school lunch, and shared a locker that was full of clothes from bottom to top. We spent our summers bare foot no matter where we went, even in gas stations (I know, trust me, I KNOW) We made up songs in my dad's suburban when the radio was broken, took naps together, and I had her come on every family vacation we took. She is the most hilarious person I know. She was there for me through my parents divorce, and I tried to be there for her the best I knew how through some of the hardest years she would face. I was there to see her beautiful baby girl Stella born. I watched her do the most selfless thing I have ever seen as she placed her child in the arms of another to raise her, and give her the best life she could possibly imagine. She has been so fortunate to be a part of Stella's life as she has grown up. I have watched Dellany dying, her organs shutting down one by one as she lay in a hospital bed, suffering from a bacterial infection. My dad drove me to the hospital with me thinking I was saying my final goodbye. I watched her family break down in the waiting room as they were told to prepare for the same. It wouldn't be the first time I had thought she was leaving me forever. She was rushed to emergency surgery, had a colostomy bag for months, and now has a 13 inch scar down her abdomen to prove it, which she wears proudly. Not a day has gone by that she has ever wasted time being self conscious about it. By nothing short of a miracle from God, Dellany lived. She has work to do here. Her will to fight on amazes me everyday. She is the most spiritual person I know. The most foul-mouthed spiritual person, but hey :) She has such a deep understanding of things. She has never been afraid to be who she is, and has never once been sorry for it. She's crazy, and fun, sensitive, and caring. She is one of those people that when you really know her, you feel blessed. I am incredibly lucky to have crossed paths with such a person as her. She has been tried more than any other person I know. She has been through literal hell and back, more than once. I admire her in every way. She is going to be the BEST mom ever. She is working every day to fight for that blessing. I am SO proud of her. Thanks for teaching me so many things, I am a better person because I know you. I love you Delly.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

My Man is 28...

I have to give a little shout out to my hubster. He doesn't love a lot of blog time (especially pictures), but it was his birthday on Sunday so here are 28 reasons why I love his awesome self:
1. He's tall. Real tall.
2. He loves the Gieco lizard. Loves it. Tries to talk like it.
3. He loves his family SOOO much
4. He loves me even more (word)
5. He calls me everyday at work, sometimes more than once, just to see how I'm doing
6. He lets me watch Harry Potter every night while going to sleep (I seriously have no explanation for this one, except that I am weird)
7. He would do anything for the people he loves
8. He seems shy, but is secretly obnoxious and dorky. I wish more people, including his family, got to see this side of him more.
9. He loves to make me laugh. But I love HIS laugh. His full on, bust a gut, can't breathe laugh. It makes me happy.
10. He brings me dinner on my days I work at the salon. They are usually 14-16 hour days, so he takes care of me. (Double word)
11. He rubs my feet when I get home from the salon. He's pretty much my slave.
12. He is a football fanatic, and still has hopes and dreams of playing in the NFL one day. Cross your fingers for him...
13. He always encourages me to have hobbies, and do things I love. He loves when I paint and wants to hang the crazy things I come up with in the house. He bought me an awesome camera because I said I'd love to get into photography, and he lets me read, blog, and be creative at any opportunity. Muchos gracias for this, it makes me so happy
14. He cares more about me being happy than sometimes I do. He watches out for me when I don't watch out for me. He protects me when I don't protect myself.
15. He loves kids and can't wait to be a Daddy someday
16. He works so hard and has come so far in what he does. He is lucky to be in the position he is in right now, and I couldn't feel more blessed to have such a hardworking fella.
17. He is honest. In everything he does, he does it with integrity and honesty.
18. He does laundry (boo-yah)
19. If we have a boy someday, he wants to name him Rock. Like, for real he LOVES this name. It's cute because he thinks he will get his way on that one. Awe...
20. He caught me dancing like a dork by myself in the kitchen one day and laughed and said he wishes I would do that more often....sweetness. I've currently got a pretty impressive routine I'm working on...
21. He acts like he HAS to be tortured to sit through American Idol and SYTYCD with me. Loves it. LOVES it. I just know it.
22. Totally sings in the shower. It's quite the treat.
23. Thinks he's going to own about 10 cars some day. All at the same time.
24. He wears his watch with the face on the INSIDE of his wrist. So every time he looks at his watch, it's palms up.
25. He sends me flowers every Valentines Day even though I don't like flowers. He feels bad if every other girl got them and not me.
26. He loves taking drives and walks with me. Just the other day he said, "Ya know, we need to take more walks together". I smiled and thought, "We sure do."
27. He dutifully eats whatever I cook (on the days miracles decide to happen, and pots of gold are sitting at the ends of rainbows) and says it's yummy. I can tell when he's lying (almost always) but I love him for it.
28. And most importantly, I love him for loving me, and taking all the good with the bad that comes with me. He never tries to change who I am. He encourages me to become whatever I want to become and is there for me every step of the way. So when I quit my jobs to become a professional shopper, and then try out for Paris Hilton's new BFF reality show, just know I had his full support.

Love you babe!