The Art Of Being Awesome

Wedding!

2011-12-18T00:50:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I made a post about anything interesting, this post will only really be interesting for me since it's all about....me.

Some of you may already know that I'm getting married 2-1-12, but what you don't know is that I haven't really done much planning, and i only have about 6 weeks left! Time is cruising by, but I finally finished one major part of the wedding...the invitations. With a lot of help from my design minded friends I finally came up with the following...

Front..

Back...

I'm pretty in love with these invites, but if anyone has a comment to add, let me know!

Thor

2011-10-20T23:57:00.001-07:00

Limelight Photography

2011-08-28T20:41:00.000-07:00

I finally have a company name and logo. I love this. It's my final choice Limelight Photography is in business.

Bluth's Frozen Banana Stand

2011-08-28T12:24:00.001-07:00

I just needed the image up for something else..enjoy!

Stefanie Anne Photography!

2011-02-07T23:09:00.000-08:00

I really like this logo...let's go with it! Visit my interim blog.. StefanieAnnePhotography.blogspot.com until I have an actual working site which, let's be honest, probably won't be up for a long time :) Enjoy and email me if you want to schedule a session!

Forerunner 305

2011-01-29T23:23:00.000-08:00

Today, I purchased the Garmin Forerunner 305. It not only keeps time, it also tracks distance, heart rate and speed. I'm excited to start using it, I would have gone running today, but it was raining (as usual). I'm hoping the weather will clear up in the next little while and I'll get to use it on a regular basis, or maybe I should just go run in the rain..?

Kelly Moore Bag

2010-12-16T23:19:00.000-08:00

I'm ecstatic. Have you ever heard of Kelly Moore? She's an amazing photographer, and an amazing bag designer! I always thought fashion had to be sacrificed for functionality, but I've seen the light and it's pointed in the direction of the www.kellymoorebag.com. The camera/equipment bags she has designed look just like regualr purses, but are designed for holding cameras, lenses and more. I don't own one yet, but I will very soon! This is the one that I will be purchasing...

The Kelly Moore Bag, if you are a photographer, go get one!

Merry Christmas 2010

2010-11-24T00:36:00.000-08:00

Christmas is coming and for once I am ahead of the game. I'm pretty excited about the design for my Christmas card, it's simple, but awesome!

Awesome is back

2010-10-11T00:10:00.001-07:00

Back to my original title, this is way better since it is indisputable that I am, in fact, Awesome.

Slacker

2010-08-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

I've been a SLACKER with my diet and exercise and some other things too. Anyways, I have a new goal in mind for diet and exercise. The goal is a loose fitting size 4 pants by Dec 31. If I make my goal great - if I don't, then I have to dye my hair black - that's right, black. So I'm super-motivated.

the one with Wendy and Dan's wedding

2010-06-06T00:23:00.000-07:00

I was pretty nervous about shooting my first wedding solo, but it was fun! Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and it was raining and windy. We didn't get many photos at the temple, so we will go back another day for that. Enjoy!

the one with Wendy & Dan's engagement photos

2010-02-20T19:25:00.000-08:00

Wendy is a good friend of mine and is AWESOME - so is her fiance Dan. I had fun shooting them! Only 1 photo for now!

the one with the Bridal Faire logo

2010-01-26T21:15:00.000-08:00

I created this logo for Crin, You Like?

the one with Quinn | Cooper

2010-01-22T01:06:00.000-08:00

No Name Photography strikes again..2 real cute kiddies! Cooper was very uncooperative, so we only got a few good ones of him, I got about a zillion of Quinn though - she loves getting her picture taken.

the one with loretta

2010-01-18T20:20:00.000-08:00

I have no name for my photography business...boo. Oh well, I will keep posting suggestions. I need to figure it out soon though so I can get my website going.

The sun came out today...the first time in a long time, so I called Loretta to see if she would be my subject for a photoshoot at Coulan beach park. She agreed and we had a good time. Afterwards we got milkshakes, fun times - and Loretta is such a great subject to shoot - she's beautiful!

the one with the Business card

2010-01-05T23:15:00.000-08:00

I am moving right along with my business...I am getting some business cards printed and would like your opinions..

Front

Back

the one with the happy new year

2010-01-01T15:03:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!! 2009 was awesome - 2010 is going to be better!

the one with the random wedding

2009-12-24T23:41:00.000-08:00

I had a great opportunity to be a 2nd shooter at a wedding. It was a ton of fun. The couple looked amazing and the photos turned out really well. Since I was the 2nd shooter, I don't have many shots of the couple looking at my camera, but I still got some good shots in..

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-09T09:06:00.000-08:00

Christmas Gifts

2009-12-06T16:55:00.000-08:00

This year, I'm going to make my dad cry like a little baby. I'm making a photo album of my parents' long lost engagement photos. They look really cute together and it's going to be fantastic. Here are a few photos (edited) photos from the book.

Thanxgiving

2009-11-26T22:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanxgiving!

Fun in Utah

2009-11-18T00:35:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I got to go see some good friends in Utah. I had a blast catching up and hanging out for a few days. I won a pampered chef recipe book (it feels so good to win!), ate Brazilian food with Crin and Janalyn ( soooo good!), saw 2012 (pretty good flick - but go to the matinee, not full price), ate at Pounders (teri burger!), made Mousse de Maracuja, reminisced good times, played with some babies and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I also got to take some pictures of some cute kids (I'm still honing my photography skills). see some of the pics below..

The Art of Being Awesome

2009-11-08T20:38:00.000-08:00

looking at my previous blog entries, I noticed I use the word 'awesome' more than any other word, so I decided to rename my blog yet again.."The Art of Being Awesome"..I'm pretty excited for the awesomeness that is my blog...

P.S. Here are a few more photos from our photo shoot...

Fun Fotos with Loretta

2009-11-07T01:53:00.000-08:00

Loretta and I had some fun tonight..we are trying to come up with an edgy idea for our family photo this year. We haven't had a good photo taken of us in a long time and since there are no little kids in our family yet, we thought we could do something fun..our idea is wearing jeans, collared shirts, ties (even the girls), heels (girls only), and maybe some other fun accessory. We figure getting my brothers to do this will be no problem, its getting my folks on board that will be the challenge. Anyways, below are some test photos we took to show the fam to get them interested in the idea. I think they are awesome!

An Awesome Life

2009-11-05T00:54:00.000-08:00

Ok, so this post is going to be about how my life has not turned out at like I expected, and thankfully so, because I could not imagine a more awesome life for myself than the one I am living. When I was a teenager I always expected that I would get married super young and have lots of babies and that would be my life...WRONG. I graduated from high school in 1998 and I went off to college. For the next few years I pursued several different majors, never really deciding on a career, but fully expecting I wouldn't have to because I was going to marry a wonderful guy who would have a great job and I would have a degree that I wouldn't really use because I would be too busy raising lots of babies to work a career...WRONG. I graduated from BYUH in 2003 still single, but just before graduation I had decided to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I was so excited when I received my call to serve in Brazil. I spent 18 mostly awesome months teaching Brazilians the Gospel of Jesus Christ and then returned home to Washington. I expected I would meet the man of my dreams right after my mission (like Crin) and then I would have an awesome family raising lots of babies...WRONG... I've been home from my mission for 4.5 years now and still looking for that mr. right-for-me, but while I am looking I am having a lot of fun. I have tons of friends, tons of interests, more $$ than ever in my life and I quite enjoy all the free time I have (most moms I hear dedicate most of their day to their kids). I look forward to the day when I will be raising all those babies, but for now, I sure enjoy singleness, and oh so glad I didn't get married at 18 and have tons of babies..I would have missed out on a lot great experiences and I wouldn't have met all my awesome friends. I'll still get to have the awesome family and I'm so glad I had my awesome 20's.

Carey's Photoshoot

2009-11-02T00:39:00.000-08:00

I got a new camera lens last week and I couldn't wait to use it. I had a lot of fun shooting some photos of my friend, Carey. She loves the camera, and the camera loves her!

Emily's Photoshoot

2009-10-26T10:42:00.000-07:00

I took my roommate, Emily, out to the dock for a photo shoot on Saturday. It was a lot of fun - let me know what you think of the photos and would you hire me???

Carving Pumpkins

2009-10-21T15:19:00.000-07:00

It's Halloween time and I thought I would carve some pumpkins. I am by no means a skilled carver, but I gave it my best shot!

The art of retouching

2009-10-17T01:10:00.000-07:00

I have been learning how to retouch photos in Photoshop recently.let me know which photo you like best...

Awesome or Creepy?

2009-10-08T23:48:00.000-07:00

Is this photo totally awesome, or creepy? What say you?

Afro

2009-10-04T14:13:00.000-07:00

Loretta (sister-in-law) and I are going to be running a Halloween 5K called the 'Pumpkin Push' in a few weeks, and we decided to wear matching costumes. Yesterday we were shopping for our costumes and we found these awesome fros. Immediately we knew they were to be ours, so we purchased them and devised the rest of our costume. The fro is probably the best part, but rest is pretty awesome too, more photos to follow. Enjoy the preview!

Good Night

2009-09-30T00:08:00.000-07:00

My body wants to sleep, but my brain won't let me, so I'll make a posting. First, I changed my blog title and Image - what do you think? Obviously I think it's amazing :) Anyways, now my brain is sleepy too, so.. GOOD NIGHT!

125!

2009-09-11T00:00:00.001-07:00

Here it is folks..125 lbs in Hawaii - I love it when a plan comes together:) Ok, so I made it to the 125 which is awesome, my next goals are performance based. When I was 23, I could do 10 pull ups and run 5 miles with an average time of 7 min/mile. Eventhough I met my weight goal, I would like to perform like I did in my early 20's - now that the big 3-0 is staring at me in the face. Alright, enough about that...

So last week, I went to Hawaii. I had an awesome time. My friend Carey is going on a mission and she wanted to visit Hawaii before she goes. It didn't take much to get me to go with her:) Check out some of the photos from our trip..

We began by making some stops at some of my favorite places..The Hawaii Temple and Sunset Beach.

We stopped at Wal-Mart with the intention of buying cheap food, so we wouldn't eat out as much..I didn't eat any of the cheap food, I ate crap and ended up giving most of the food to Jamie's roomies. Well, at least I had good intentions. Anyways, it was so awesome to see my friend Jamie! I've known her for 8 years now ever since I started at BYUH. We were in the same math class and have been friends ever since, we don't always stay in the best of contact, but when we get together it's like no time has passed.

Jamie and Stef

Stef and Carey at the Pali Look Out

Chinaman's Hat - a cool little island you can walk out too, just be sure and park near lots of people and life guards, or the below might happen...

So, while we were walking out to Chinaman's Hat someone decided to break into our car. We were very blessed, as we had our wallets, a GPS and an iPOD hidden in various compartments around the car. The thieves did not take any of these items, only broke the window, which I will gladly take over having my credit cards and ID taken. Thankfully we only had to take the car back to the rental place and get a new one, and then we were on our way again...

We went snorkeling at Shark's Cove! A must see for any visitor to the island.

Waikiki Beach!

Arizona Memorial!

Matsumoto's Shave Ice - do it!

Cute snorkelers!

The Point - Laie, HI

gum on my foot!

Best ice cream ever - thanks Lickety Split!

Waimea Bay!

PCC! Another must see!

31 down, 6 to go

2009-06-07T21:42:00.000-07:00

In my first post regarding my Biggest Loser challenge, I had lost 6 lbs and I had 31 to go. I am pleased to say those numbers are now reversed. 31 down, 6 to go. I am quite pleased with my progress. I will post an after photo when I have reached my goal...6 lbs from now:)

Past the middle mark photo

2009-04-22T23:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a visual of the 25 lbs lost...15 to go...

25!!!!

2009-04-09T23:08:00.000-07:00

I'll give you 1 guess as to what this post is about...

Update

2009-02-27T17:06:00.000-08:00

Hello friends! I have an update for those of you curious to know my current weight loss. Drum roll please....18 pounds as of this morning! I can't believe I've lost that much weight since Jan 1, 2009. Sometimes I think the scale is lying to me, but how can it? it's an inanimate object. Well, I am feeling GREAT, and hope to lose another 19 pounds by May 1. Wish me luck!

Super terrific awesome 13.5

2009-02-05T23:09:00.000-08:00

Giddy-up fans! I've lost 13.5 lbs since Jan 1, 2009. How am I doing this? A combination of a healthy diet and exercise. You might be surprised to learn this is not the first time I have endeavored to lose weight. When I was 20, I was considered very over-weight. Believe me, I had no idea I was that heavy. It took me 1 year, but I lost 60 lbs. The problem was I didn't really learn healthy habits during that time period. I attribute my previous weight loss to living in Hawaii on a student's salary, I ate hot pockets and still managed to drop 60 lbs...this time I am learning about healthy eating and exercise. After I have lost another 22.5 lbs, I'm positive I will have learned the necessary lessons to keep weight off the rest of my life. I can't wait to go rock-climbing!

3

2009-01-16T17:36:00.000-08:00

The dreaded week 2 results are in . . .3 pounds lost, never to be found again! I worked my tail off this week! If you've ever been on a diet you will notice that in the first week, you lose a bunch of weight (6 pounds exceeded my expectations last week), the 2nd week is tougher, most people see a much smaller weight loss even though they've been working out the same and keeping up their diets (did anyone catch the 2nd episode of The Biggest Loser?). This can be discouraging if you were expecting to see those same dramatic results in the 2nd week as the 1st week. I expect it's because the first week was a dramatic change in eating and exercise habits which shocks your body, by the second week, you are in a routine and lose less. It took many years to put on the weight, I can't expect it to come off in a month. I expect from here on out I will be losing 2-3 lbs per week. I will report again when I reach 140 lbs...one of my goals on the way to 125 lbs. I'll keep you posted..wish me luck and determination!

6

2009-01-08T22:41:00.000-08:00

Thursdays are weigh-in days. My roommate and I started our diet/exercise program 1 week ago. Today was the first week weigh-in....and the number is ..

That's right. I've lost 6 lbs in 1 week. It might not be Biggest Loser high numbers, but since I'm starting out much smaller than Biggest Loser Contestants I feel I have done a very good job. 6 down, 31 to go...

Paleo! Paleo! Paleo!

2009-01-05T16:14:00.000-08:00

I'm going to live like a Paleolithic Era Hunter/Gatherer. Confused? I'll explain...Hunters/Gatherers were a naturally lean people. They only ate what they could gather/kill. They were also very active, needing to perform many manual tasks each day for survival. The results were lean/healthy bodies. I want to be a Hunter/Gatherer! The Paleo Diet is designed to help melt away the fat and become the body I was always meant to have.

The goal is to take me from this:

To this:

Wish me luck! I'll periodically post photos to show my progress.

SCUBA

2008-12-24T10:07:00.000-08:00

I make no promises, but it appears I have been in the mood for blogging lately. Let me take you back to mid September...I was chillin at my friend Dave's house one night watching Law & Order when Dave said to me..."do you want to get SCUBA certified?" I immediately responded "YES!" I'd been wanting to do that for years. So, we signed up for classes in October. Yes, it was SUPER cold. I think we must have been crazy. I'm sill pretty shocked that I actually got in the water. Certification consists of 4 classroom days, 4 pool sessions, and 4 open water dives. The book part was super easy. Our instructor, Randy, tended to ramble on and on about things that I didn't care about. Randy has been diving for over 10 years, and he's the types to just talk and talk without rhyme or reason. He was pretty nice though, he laughed at my quick-witted humor. During class we read about certain skills that divers need to possess when entering the water. It didn't occur to me that I would have to do them too... During the pool session we were asked to do the following... purposely half-fill and completely fill our masks with water and then clear the mask. We were also asked to remove our masks and then put them on and clear out the water. This was extremely scary/difficult mostly because I can't open my eyes under water..so I did these things blind. Super scary, but I was successful. We were also asked to perform numerous other skills, but none compared to removing the mask and putting it back on. It was also super tiring, we usually didn't get home from class until about midnight, which made for some too early mornings. We made it through class and were ready to finish with our open water dives. We went to a place called Alki Beach in Seattle. It was very cold. Again, for some reason it never occurred to me we would be demonstrating the skils we learned in the pool in the open water. I freaked! Basically what happened is we would descend about 20-30 ft down to the bottom and then form a line. We would sit and wait for our turn to demonstrate skills. It was very discomforting, it felt claustorphobic because visibility was terrible. I was only able to see 1 person on each side. I'm still in shock I was able to do all the skills - even removing the mask and clearing it when it was replaced. SCUBA diving is a lot of fun if you can make through the skills! There wasn't much to see in the Puget Sound. We saw an octopus, crabs and starfish. I can't wait to go tropical!

Snow Darth Vader

2008-12-23T21:33:00.000-08:00

OK Crin, I made a snowman, or rather a Snowvader.

2 Days in Pajamas and Counting

2008-12-23T00:34:00.000-08:00

I haven't dressed in street clothes in 2 whole days. I've been stuck in my house thanks to the blessed white stuff we call snow. I really want to go to the gym, but I probably won't get my Bu (Chevy Malibu) back up my steep hill, and if I tried going down my hill the Bu would probably roll right into the lake. I am tired of snow ! We've had 4-5 Xs more snow in the last week than we normally get all winter long...we are not snow people...please, please make the snow go away! I can't live off 7-11 food forever! At least I have a nice view, and I work from home anyways so I don't have to bother with traffic. I would probably attempt driving if my tires weren't bald, but I procrastinated the day of buying new tires. Oh well, this year I am going to purchase an all weather vehicle - probably a Subaru. Also, I discivered a new and glorious scent from Bath & Body Works - 'Twisted Peppermint' - it is amazing, and it's %75 off, I bought lotion, bath fizzies and sugar scrub. The smell is so invigorating and sweet at the same time. Delicious! However I issue this warning, you may be tempted to eat your own skin, but that's just the scent - you're arm won't actually taste like sweet peppermint.

8 Things Tag

2008-12-21T23:10:00.000-08:00

Haha - fooled you! I bet you thought I was going to actually keep my blog up to date! HAHAHAHAHA...

8 Shows I watch:

1. The Office

2. Ugly Betty

3. Kath & Kim

4. Private Practice

5. Desperate Housewives

6. CSI

7. House

8. Grey's Anatomy

8 Restaurants I Love (I don't eat fancy very often):

1. Cheesecake Factory

2. Red Robin

3. Olive Garden

4. Chipotle

5. Qdoba

6. That Mexican Restaurant by Karen's house

7. P.F. Changs

8. Yeas Wok 

8 Things I did yesterday:

1. Played Rock Band 2 for 5.5 hours

2. Walked in the snow

3. Shopped at Costco

4. slept in

5. laundry

6. ate little smokies

7. read parts of "breaking dawn" whilst walking in snow

8. ate an apple

8 Things I look forward to:

1. Starting school in Fall

2. Visiting friends/family in UT

3. Disneyland with Dri and Crin :)

4. running a marathon

5. competing in a triathlon

6. buying a Subaru Impreza or Legacy

7. launch new website

8. New Moon movie ;)

8 Wishes:

1. That my family will always be happy and healthy.

2. That I can afford school

3. that I can buy a condo

4. that I can find something fun to do next weekend

5. That I won't be the next Sherri Dew

6. That the snow melts soon so I can drive my car again

7. that the snow goes away

8. and doesn't come back until next winter

8 People I Tag:

1. Liz

2. Loretta

3. Lindsey

4. Cristin

5. Karen

6. Jamie

7. Lindsay

8. Lisa

Still breathing

2008-09-21T21:33:00.001-07:00

Ok, so it's been a while since my last post. I keep making a goal to post every week at the least, but I usually find myself unmotivated to do so. This is me, making a goal (again) to post on a weekly basis even if there is nothing remotely interesting going on in my life. I'll try and post everyday this week to catch up on some of the past happenings. I'll start with this week and work my way back wards.

I've recently been introduced to the pen stylings of Stephenie Meyer. If you're in the mood for a good romance/adventure then I highly recommend the "Twilight" series. I read all 4 books in 4 days (I stayed up until 4 AM on the last day). It is the sometimes tragic, yet happily ending tale of a romance between a vampire and a human. I had no idea how huge "Twilight" has become, I heard about it from my roommates who were all reading the series. Lisa was the most convincing, everytime she looked up from the book she had this huge smile on her face. I decided it couldn't be half bad, so I picked it up and I couldn't stop. It was realy good timing for me since I didn't have to wait for the other books to be released before reading - it was instant gratification. If you haven't already been caught up in the craze, then just jump on in - if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. If you are a woman, you will enjoy this tale. I got my mom hooked last Sunday - she's on the 4th book already:) So, run, run as fast as you can to the bookstore or library and dive in. P.s. there's a movie coming out in exactly 2 months - you'll want to watch that too.

Utah Day 2! - finally

2008-08-10T02:07:00.000-07:00

ok, ok - I am not the greatest with posting in a timely manner, but I guess late is better than never:) I slept over at Crin's house on Saturday night and then headed down to Provo on Sunday morning. I arrived at Dri's apartment just in time to assist making Pao de Queijo (cheese bread) and a docinho made from Caju (a Brazilian fruit). It was delicioso! Afterwards, Dri and I headed back up to Salt Lake to meet up with Crin and take a stroll around the temple. It was a lovely day.

Utah! - Day 1

2008-07-17T22:42:00.000-07:00

I had a great time this past weekend visiting friends and family in Utah. It was a quick trip, too quick, but it was much needed. I landed in SLC about 7 ish, picked up my sweet rental - a PT Cruiser and drove up to Logan to hang out with BFF Crin and her husband, Jer and baby, Clay. The last time I was down in Logan was for Clay's baby blessing, which was nice, but since he was only a couple months old he just ate, slept and pooped. This time he was much more fun!

On Saturday we went to a beautiful mountain lake for lunch. I can't think of a better spot to eat Subway sandwiches. We ate lunch looked at the water and decided to head back to the truck. Jer said we should go back the other way around the lake. It looked like the same distance we had traveled to get to the picnic tables so we agreed. It was not the same distance..it must have been twice as long to get back to the truck! At least we got to burn off some of the calories from our foot longs. We went to see "Get Smart" after driving back into town- which was hilarious, then burgers at Mark & Cristin's place. On the way back to Crin's house Jer drove us by the Logan Temple - so gorgeous! I took a couple of shots in passing. Finally at night Crin and I snuck out for some ice cream - so good.

Should I...?

2008-06-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

I'm posting at work, a little naughty -yes, but I'm doing it anyways!
I've been wanting one of these for a while...

This one is on sale and I am so tempted....

5 Things

2008-06-24T18:03:00.000-07:00

5 things on my list to do today:
1. update blog
2. work out
3. get a date
4. study gmat
5. update website

5 Snacks I enjoy:
1. chocolate
2. cheetos
3. Flipz pretzels
4. junior mints
5. mountain dew

5 things I would do if I were suddenly a billionaire:
1. quit my job
2. Take all my friends and family on an extravagant vacation First class all the way..
3. buy an assortment of fancy cars, I believe I already have the list on an earlier post
4. buy an a square house with a pool in the middle, and buy houses for my family
5. buy Hawaii

5 bad habits:
1. eating while reading
2. road rage
3. fling my clothes all over the place
4. making fun of people during testimony meeting
5. Watching too much TV

5 places I have lived:
1. Laie, HI
2. Ribeirao Preto, SP Brasil
3. Provo, UT
4. Bellevue, WA
5. Rexburg, ID

5 jobs I have had:
1. Catalog Database Manager - SanMar
2. Cashier, Sam's Club
3. Supervisor - cafeteria -BYUH
4. Parking specialist - Wild Waves
5. crew, cook, shift supervisor- Dairy Queen

5 things people don't know about me:
1. I'm a dual citizen to Canada
2. I've qualified for College Tournament Jeopardy
3. I like to climb trees
4. I've seen the end of a rainbow- no gold, leprechauns or skittles:(
5. I've climbed a 5-10A rockface

Which Disney Princess are YOU?

2008-06-20T11:13:00.000-07:00

You Are Ariel!

Headstrong and fiesty. You have a mind of your own that's full of romantic dreams about the world around you. Exploring exotic places is your ultimate dream, and although you can be a little naive you'll realize that there is something to be gained from your family's wisdom.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

IMac Photos

2008-05-28T20:07:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics taken with my brand new totally amazing Imac...

Birthday!

2008-05-27T22:47:00.000-07:00

Would it surprise anyone to know that I rarely write in my journal? Me neither. I turned 28 on Friday. 28 is not very significant, except I can now say I've been graduated from high school for 10 years. I will post more tomorrow - this is for Crin:)

My baby

2008-05-07T20:19:00.000-07:00

I call her Storm and she's my baby:) Aint she cute! p.s. I only have 1 cat, so I'm not the crazy cat lady at the end of the street.

This is why I love kitties so much - you can often find them in strange positions all around the house. He's Storm lying almost directly on her back on the stairs.

If I were a rich woman...

2008-05-07T19:54:00.000-07:00

I'd buy all of these ...2009 Camaro - I nearly busted with joy when I learned Chevy was remaking Camaro with the 60's in mind. Since I was young I've been wanting a Camaro with the 60's style and current technology - 09 is going to be the year my dream comes true! I CAN'T WAIT (still not rich, but I'm going to buy it anyways)

2009 Vette - Need I say more? Maybe one day this will be in my garage. I'm a Chevy girl!

2009 Wrangler Sport - In my opinion everyone needs a Jeep, for those off-road days. If I owned a Jeep, I would be going climbing and camping every weekend. This is the fun vehicle.

2009 Cadilac Escalade - This is my family vehicle. If I ever get to be a soccer mom, this is my vehicle of choice - rollin to the soccer game in style.2009 Toyota Tacoma - Most definitely best truck EVER! It's beautiful and well put together. If I ever own a truck, it will be this - double cab, v6, 4x4 and light blue. So sweet!

New Shoes!

2008-05-06T23:27:00.000-07:00

I have a new favorite store - DSW Shoes. I walked in with an insatiable desire to buy a new pair of shoes, and I was not disappointed. Shoe, shoes and more shoes! It was shoe heaven for the shopper on a budget. No, I didn't get Jimmy Choos, but I did get Steve Madden. Another pair to add to my shoeshelf. Oh, and I got a fabulous new bag! How do I love shopping? Let me count the ways..

Return of Ryan

2008-04-26T21:11:00.001-07:00

Woo Hoo! Ryan's home from his mission. Here are the airport pics, and since I was the one taking the pictures I'm not in any of them..

Mom was the first to get her hug - there's a story behind this. Back in 2000 when Rolf returned from his mission dad had said that mom would be the first to get hug, but in the final seconds dad pushed mom out of the way and was the first to hug Rolf. This year, we made sure mom would get the first hug.

Here are the rest of the hug pics, and yes, dad got his hug too :)

This is my favorite. Ryan and Loretta (Rolf's wife) barely knew each other when he left. This is the "uh, I don't really know you hug" notice Ryan's arm hanging off the side, also it lasted about 1 second.

Chocolate Party

2008-04-26T20:35:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law, Loretta, is an amazing cook. A week ago she invited a bunch of friends to her home for a chocolate party. Well, I hear the word "chocolate" and I come running! I was the first to arrive, and since I love photography I decided to take some pictures of the food. A few minutes later I realized Loretta was running behind on the food prep, so I traded my camera for a cutting board and knife to cut up the strawberries and pineapple. Soon after the other guests started to arrive, it became evident that most of Loretta's friends were married and pregnant. I decided it was time to leave when they all started talking about being pregnant and giving birth and baby showers. Now, I've had plenty of good friends get married and have babies, but I was in no mood to hear strangers talk about it. So, the only pictures I have are of food and some candles because I left after 15 minutes;)

GMAT

2008-04-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

I have decided to go to grad school. I'm going to take the GMAT in June. Hopefully my score will be high enough to get me into BYU. It's the best school for the price and I have my heart set on it. Also, if anyone has any tips on how to prepare for the application (other than amazing test scores) I would love to hear from you!

Ultimate frisbee

2008-04-26T19:38:00.000-07:00

Today was a beautiful day, and a few of us got together to play some Ultimate frisbee. I was a little rusty at first, but it didn't take long to remember how to play. It was a ton of fun. The sun was shining and I was on my game. I had several amazing catches and defensive moves which makes me a valuable player even if I can't throw worth a darn. What really made the difference, was 1) was playing with a guy I like and I wanted to impress and 2) halfway through the game I was elbowed in the face, which would have been fine except I was wearing sunglasses - I now have a nice puncture in the side of my head. After receiving my injury I didn't want the guy to feel bad for hitting me, so I played extra hard so he would know I was ok. It was so much fun!

The best day since Jan 1, 2008

2008-04-12T22:58:00.000-07:00

This was the best day all year so far. First of all - the sun came out and stayed out all day long (an unusual, but exciting eperience in Seattle) - this was amaza-zing! Loretta and i left at about 9AM to hit the mountain for some snowboarding. I learned that I ride "goofy" meaning I lead with my right foot - this was a great discovery and has made things 'click' a lot better. I was however nervous to ride as last week I fell pretty hard on my bum, and it was still sore. It was a great day even with the few spills I took (even a few on my bum - it's gonna hurt tomorrow and for the next 1-2 weeks). I also biffed it pretty good getting on the lift (something I had NEVER done before). Still great:) OK, follow that up with a few hours of paintballing and you have the best day of 2008, so far. Sorry, I forgot my camera all day, so no pics:(

Which is better?

2008-04-06T13:41:00.000-07:00

I'm going to take advantage of the after season sales... which do you like better?

Snowboarding part 2

2008-04-06T13:34:00.000-07:00

Ok, it's official. I am a snowboarder. On my second day I went back up Holiday and rode the whole way down only falling while attempting semi-difficult turns. I love this sport. I get to go back in 2 weeks, thanks to the extended season this year. I'm re-thinking a move to Utah where it is said to have the best snow...

Disney World!

2008-04-06T12:58:00.000-07:00

Disney World was fun! I love it, yes I know that it is a place for kids, but I still love it.

We left Washington in the middle of a freak snow storm ( we NEVER get snow in March). It made our trip to Orlando and sunshine that much sweeter.

These are photos of some of my favorite things at WDW.

Cheesecake - yum!

2008-04-06T12:49:00.000-07:00

Baking is one of my loves - of course the only things I like to bake have about 1000 calories per serving, so I don't bake very often. Oh, but when I do, it is delicious! This chocolate cheesecake was amazingly good - not just saying that because I made it;)

Police Chase!!

2008-03-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

CRAZY...I've seen it on TV and I didn't think I would EVER see it in reality. I was on my way home from work on I-90, when I drove past what appeared to be a crash site - a truck, a car and several police vehicles. I thought nothing of it, slowed, moved into the left lane and passed continuing on my way. 30 seconds later I looked in my rearview mirror and saw the same truck that had been on the side of the road nearly on top of my car with 5 or 6 police vehicles in hot pursuit. In an instant I swerved my car to the left nearly missing being run down by the truck and police vehicles. It was insane! I am LUCKY! Upon further thought I remembered seeing a man that had been standing near the truck with his hands up. I'm not sure how he did it, but the purp managed to get back in his vehicle and speed away, right up on my bumper.

Ear Re-Peircing

2008-03-23T19:56:00.001-07:00

After 5 years of forgetting to wear earings, the holes in my ears closed up. I had been wearing clip-ons, but after being teased almost daily, I gave into the peer pressure and went to Claire's. I sat in the big chair and got em re-peirced. I must say they look fabulous.

Snowboarding!

2008-03-22T23:17:00.000-07:00

Can I just say that snowboarding is amazing. I left work at noon and met up with my sister in law to go up to the mountain. We were super excited - we had been looking forward to this for several months. We got our gear and prepared to be taught the ways of snowboarding. (below are photos of me+Loretta, Me, Kenny - instructor.

We spent a couple of hours on the kiddie slopes learning the basics - we can go foward and turn, but stopping was a problem for us...

At the end of our lesson we decided to go up the lift and take a run down - ummm can I just say that we weren't ready for that...Loretta and I fell about 20 times coming down. I finally decided to go down backwards and loretta went down on her bum. In the end we decided that we need to master the art of stopping the snowboard, and then we'll feel better about riding...even though I'm pretty sore today, I think I fell in love with a new sport. We're going back next weekend!

Dance

2008-03-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

The good ole YSA sponsored a semi-formal dance last night - I really like dressing up, so I went eventhough I didn't have a date ( p.s. neither did 70% of the people there - I am not alone in this). I went with friends and danced the night away - well actually, I only danced a few songs. The DJ blew - who plays "Swing Swing" by The All-American Rejects at a dance? I love the song, but the only way to dance to this is if you are in a mosh pit. Also, I am a magnet for strange guys - for some reason they really like to ask me to dance..grrr. But it was still fun - it's all about the attitude;)

Birth of a blog

2008-03-16T19:37:00.000-07:00

One of the main reasons for my blog is to keep in better touch with one of my favorite people in the world - Crin! I knew she was good people whe she shared her Valentine's Day candy with me at a Super P-Day while on our missions in Brazil - we later became Mission comps and a BFF was born. Here are some pics from Brazil ( see Crin's blog for more) - Good times!!