There's A Comfort in the Truth...

2 Months!

2011-06-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

Click here for an update on our lives :)

Engagement Pictures!

2011-04-20T19:19:00.001-07:00

Click here to see some of our engagement pics!

Why wedding planning is stressing me out...

2011-04-11T21:07:00.001-07:00

Click HERE to find out!

Blog link

2011-04-04T20:36:00.000-07:00

So I realized I never gave anyone the address to our new blog. It's devonandstacey.blogspot.com Anyone who sent me a FB message or left a comment should have been added to the permissions list to see the blog. Let me know if it doesn't work for you :)

Changes!

2011-03-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

There's a lot of changes going on in my life, one of which is I got engaged to Devon :) We're getting married in August, so I decided to create a new blog for both of us to share. It is going to be a private blog. As a result, if you'd like to be invited to read our blog please leave me a comment with your e-mail, or you can send it to me in a message via facebook if you'd prefer. See you there!

PS the first entry is our engagement story, it's a good one!

Trying to make time go faster.

2011-03-22T22:37:00.000-07:00

Devon will be here on Saturday! Finally! I haven't seen him in almost 7 weeks. Time is seriously dragging though so I'm trying to find ways to pass the time...here's a survey for your pleasure.

1. What time did you get up this morning? I finally rolled out of bed at like 10:30 (I love days off, but I was awake way before this)

2. How do you like your steak? Medium, I like it pink in the middle

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? How Do You Know

4. What is your favorite TV show? Grey's Anatomy, Gossip Girl, How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? North Carolina, it's so beautiful!

6. What did you have for breakfast? Ben and Jerry's Late Night Snack Ice cream. It's so good, vanilla bean ice cream, salted caramel swirl, and chocolate covered potato chips. Try it...and this only counts as breakfast because it's the only thing I ate before having dinner :)

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Americanized Italian.

8. What foods do you dislike? Tomatoes and seafood.

9. Favorite place to eat? Carabbas or Melting Pot

10. Favorite dressing? Thousand Island (who names salad dressings anyway?)

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? 2007 Marine Blue Pearl PT Cruiser named Kipper

12. What are your favorite clothes? Oh hands down my boyfriend fit sweatpants from Pink/Victorias Secret! I have 3 pairs and I instantly put one pair on every day when I get off of work.

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? New York City

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? 1/2 full

15. Where would you want to retire? Hmmm no clue.

16. Favorite time of day? Night time when I'm just relaxing.

17. Where were you born? Milwaukee, WI

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Football

22. Bird watcher? am I an 80 year old grandma?

23. Are you a morning person or a night person? definitely a night person.

24. Do you have any pets? no, just a puppy i get to puppy-sit, yay Dino!

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? stay tuned my friends...stay tuned...

26. What did you want to be when you were little? Teacher

27. What is your best childhood memory? our family vacations, or playing baseball in our backyard.

28. Are you a cat or dog person? dog

29. Are you married? Nope

30. Always wear your seat belt? Yes, always

31. Been in a car accident? just like tiny fender benders.

32. Any pet peeves? people chewing on ice, the song Jar of Hearts (nails on the chalkboard is what it sounds like).

33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? Pepperoni and pineapple (try it, you'll like it)

34. Favorite Flower? peonies and gerbera daisies

35. Favorite ice cream? Ben and Jerrys Late Night Snack

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Sonic as far as drinks and treats go, Quiznos for actual food.

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? zero I passed it the first time.

38. From whom did you get your last email? from White House Black Market. I love that store and spend waaay too much money there. But after you spend $300 you're a lifetime member and you get 5% off always, which is easy to do since their sweaters will set you back $100 bucks and their dresses are like $200

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? hmmm probably J Crew.

40. Do anything spontaneous lately? Anna and I had a "rave" while at work to the new CD they play at work. I gotta get some glow sticks! And this is totally a joke, we were dead and our new work CD has a lot of techno songs on it ha ha.

41. Like your job? Yes I do!

42. Broccoli? It's my fav veggie so long as it's cooked.

43. What was your favorite vacation? The times I went to Disney World.

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? My mom and Liz.

45. What are you listening to right now? Forget You by Cee Lo. I adore this song, and I'm so happy it's on our new Aeropostale CD we play in the store.

46. What is your favorite color? Aqua, Red, and buttercream yellow.

47. How many tattoos do you have? None

50. Coffee drinker? No, caffeine and I aren't compatable anymore. It makes me so tired, so I cut out all coffee and caffeine.

My trip to NC!

2011-02-22T20:20:00.000-08:00

I realized I never blogged about my trip to NC that took place a few weeks ago! It was a blast! Here's the rundown:

Thursday: I flew from Milwaukee, to Atlanta, and then on to Charlotte. It was such a short flight compared to when I would fly to Vegas! It took like 2 seconds! I got into Charlotte around midnight so Devon and I just grabbed some food and went to bed (well he slept on the couch ha ha I had the bed).

Friday: Devon had class until 1ish so I lounged around until he got home. We then went to the mall to get Chick-fil-a for lunch!! I love Chick-fil-a but there aren't any around where I live. We browsed the mall for a while and then decided to see a movie. The movie we picked ended up being at the discount theatre and it was totally 80's decor. It had black and white tile floors and some super awesome green and purple walls. The tickets were 2 bucks each, super cheap right? That was until we got 2 sodas and a popcorn which cost us $15!! Yuck! The rest of the night we just stayed up playing card games (since that's our thing) and talking.

Saturday: woo hoo! More mall shopping! Really exciting for me in a variety of ways :) We bought a new game and came home and played it and other card games all night while watching Season 1 of How I Met Your Mother. We're both addicted to that show. It also was our 5 year anniversary of our first date, so we celebrated by eating Jack in the Box tacos and churros. We're classy I know.

Sunday: We spent the morning lounging around and Devon played the guitar for me while I was getting ready. It was so cute!! Unfortunately Devon's church is at 2:30!! How gross is that? 2:30-5:30 church and it was fast sunday, yuck. It actually was a really good, and I learned a lot, and was humbled a lot too. Everyone was super nice! That night was the SUPER BOWL!! It was so fun to watch considering the PACKERS WON! Booyah! My team rocks!! It was so good to rub that in Devon's face in person. We spent the rest of the night playing games and we ended up staying up til 4:30 am playing the question game. It was so fun!

Monday: I had to leave this day, but not until 6pm. Devon had class til 3, so I spent the morning cleaning his place for him and hiding little love notes all over. I also stocked his fridge with ice cream and bought cleaning supplies since he had none. I'm such a good girlfriend ha ha.

It was a fast trip, but I so love North Carolina. So much so that I'm probably moving there this summer :) maybe...hopefully...we'll see. I was dumb and didn't take any pictures on my trip but here is one I did take with my cell phone. Notice how Devon was trying to be anti-packers during the superbowl by wearing a Raiders t-shirt, even though they didn't even play in the game, while I'm wearing my Aaron Rodgers jersey with pride! (and blogger keeps putting this upside down even though its right side up on my computer)

Oh and my brother and Liz got back their wedding pictures and this one is my absolute fave, I have such a cute family:

5 months!

2011-01-05T21:53:00.000-08:00

This post is extremely random and pointless, but I was sitting here and realized that tomorrow (in 6 minutes actually) is my 5 month-a-versary with Devon. We decided to count the day that we both told each other we still loved the other person as the day we got back together, even though it wasn't really "official" until September when he came out here. I seriously can't believe it's been 5 months! Time has flown and it has been amazing, but it's also hard to be so far apart. Right now as I type this Devon is driving across the country from Utah, to Mississippi to spend a week with his brother, and then onto law school in Charlotte. He starts on the 26th! It's 1600 miles from here to Cedar City, UT, whereas it's only 900 miles from here to Charlotte. Definitely a major improvement, but still not quite close enough.

I do get to go to Charlotte in less than a month, and I have never been there before! Everyone I talk to LOVES it, so I'm definitely excited for the trip. I'm also excited because that's the weekend of not only our 6 month-a-versary but also the Super Bowl! The funny thing is that our first date waaaaay back in 2005 was watching the Super Bowl! It's weird how things come full circle!

New Years Resolution

2010-12-29T21:33:00.000-08:00

I came across this list today on Yahoo Shine and I wanted to post it here so I can remember where I put it. I think I'm going to make my new years resolution this year to incorporate all 13 things into my life by the end of the year. I think overall it will make me into a better person :)

13 Things for Joyful Living

1. Honor your health. Make time every day to tend to your body, mind and spirit.

2. Start! Do it now.

3. Thoughts are things. Are you creating the life you want?

4. Speak your word. Mean it.

5. Love is the basis for everything. Love yourself best and first. Then sprinkle freely!

6. Show up! Be present.

7. We all have choices. Choose what is right for you while respecting others.

8. Have fun! Smile. Laugh. Play. Celebrate.

9. Give. Be generous. There is plenty for everyone.

10. Jump. Risk it. Action banishes fear.

11. Release what you don’t need or it will slow you down.

12. Be grateful. Give thanks.

13. Believe in good things. Have faith!

2010 wrap up!!

2010-12-28T10:19:00.000-08:00

I don't know why I like to do these surveys so much, probably because I'm a little self-centered and like to remember the days when you e-mailed these surveys to everyone and their dog in your e-mail address book. Anyway, since I'm enjoying a lazy day off (it's 12:20 pm and I'm still in sweats, my hairs still undone and I have zero make-up on) I thought I'd wrap up 2010 in a survey.

2010 Survey!

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
Got a full time job with benefits, and honestly thats it.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s Resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't think I kept any, although I vaguely remember making a resolution to get a full time job, so I guess I did keep one!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
A few of my friends did.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
My Grandpa passed away in April. I still miss him every single day.

5. What countries did you visit?
Just the good old USA

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
Motivation and the will-power to stick to a diet/exercise plan.

7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
August 6th, it's the night I told Devon that I still loved him. I wanted him to tell me to forget about it so I could move on and live the life I was living. It kind of didn't work out that way for me, but I think it worked out for the better.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Probably various things at my new job, we've had a lot of great successes over the past few months.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I failed at handling certain situations in better ways.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
just your run of the mill strep throat/colds/ear infections/etc.

11. What was the best thing someone bought you?
Bob! Hands down, I love my Bob! (my abominable snowman from Build a Bear made to look like Devon ha ha)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My co-workers, the sales associates we have are awesome and always go the extra mile.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
customers! Seriously since when did people in retail get designated to be everyone's punching bag?

14. Where did most of your money go?
Student Loans

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My trip to Utah, Devon coming to visit, and my brother's wedding.

16. What song will always remind you of 2010?
probably Airplanes

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? way happier
b) fatter or skinner? fatter, but thats ok.
c) richer or poorer? Richer, just barely.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Saving money and working out.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
spending money and being lazy

20. How do you plan to spend Christmas?
I spent it at home with my parents, my brother and his wife, and most of my extended family.

21. Did you fall in love in 2010?
Yes

22. How many one night stands?
None.

23. What was your favorite TV program?
Dexter, Grey's Anatomy, Gossip Girl, Glee, and Modern Family

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Not really.

25. What was the best book you read?
The Help. I really suggest that book to everyone, it's so good.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I can't really think of one actually, I did re-discover how much I like Train though.

27. What did you want and get?
I wanted to be sure of my future and where it's heading and to stop panicking about it, and I got all that.

28. What did you want and not get?
A million dollars, but the bank robbery didn't go so well ;)

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
Toy Story 3, call me a nerd but I loved it

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I worked and then hung out with my parents and Brian

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Probably ending something when I knew I should have, instead of drawing it out and trying to make it work for months. If you're panicking constantly over something, it's probably your body's way of letting you know it's not right ha ha. I learned that lesson well.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
Aeropostale. Not really my personal style, I'm more of the J Crew, Francesca's Collection, Anthro type, but when you work 50+ hours a week at a clothing store, their stuff tends to invade your closet. And when I only get 2 days a week to wear my personal style, I can't really justify buying more than like 3 or 4 outfits to rotate between on these days.

33. What kept you sane?
Cami!! That girl rocks.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
No one really

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
Probably still the gay marriage issue.

36. Who do you miss?
my grandpa, Devon, and all my utah peoples.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
My co-workers!

38. What was the best thing you ate?
Hmmm I have not had any outstanding meals the past year I guess, although I did discover Buca de Beppos and I love their salads and food in general.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010?
Be patient, and trust your instinct. It's their for a reason even if you don't want to listen to it.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
"you made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter, you are the best thing that's ever been mine"

Wedding post to come...

2010-12-06T20:42:00.000-08:00

Someday in the near future when I have free time I'll write a whole big post on my brother's wedding. For now I'll just post one of my favorite pictures from the night that pretty much sums up how fun it was:

Yes that's us dancing the macarena at the reception with the Klement's Racing Sausages from the Milwaukee Brewer's games. My sister in law works for the Brewers and the sausages came as a surprise. It was hilarious. I just love Devon's, my, Brian's, and Liz's faces. We were having a blast!! If you look hard enough and play "I Spy" you can also see my mom in this picture :)

Utah trip 2010 recap!!!!

2010-11-19T21:40:00.001-08:00

Holy moly, I've been back from Utah for practically a whole week now and I still have yet to blog about it. Here it is, in all it's wonderment, the Utah trip recap (with lots of pics!):

Day 1, Tuesday

I finally got into St. George from Vegas at around 4:30. I was greeted by Devon and we drove up to Cedar! I love that drive, I don't know why but it's so my favorite drive. The very first thing we did when we got to Cedar was go straight to the music store to see my BFF/partner in crime Cami. I seriously think that she's my soul sister ha ha. I love that girl! Then we went to Bulloch Drug to get some chocolate covered cinnamon bears (2 pounds, there's still a few left, but not many. I share them with everyone, including the delivery guys at my work and the computer tech, no one appreciates them as much as I do). Finally it was time to meet up with some of my favorite Cedar people for dinner at the ever amazing Pizza Factory. We convinced the waitress to take our picture, and it was a little weird to see how grown up we all look. See for yourself:

That night Cami and I stayed up until like 3 watching our old HOPE Choir shows. It was so much fun seeing us all back in our younger/crazier/dramatic days. I kind of miss those days (kinda).

Day 2, Wednesday

On Wednesday Devon and I headed for Centralish Utah. It was so much fun to drive that stretch of road again, Utah is just so pretty. On the way it started to SNOW!!! I love snow!!! It hasn't snowed yet here in Wisconsin PERIOD. I was so excited that I took pictures of it out the window (I mean who cares that semis couldn't make it through the canyons by Cove Fort and what not, we made it just fine!)

Here I am excited about the snow:

Heres Devon not so excited about driving in the snow:

Our first stop was in Gunnison to say hi to Quinn (Devon's old boss whom I met when we dated the first time in 2005) and his brother Shelby (whom I never met the first time we dated because he was on his mission to Brazil), Shelby's wife Alice, and son Charlie. I was told it's very important to make a good impression upon Charlie because he won't change his mind about you. I did what any grown-up would do in this situation and bribed him with candy. It totally worked. I know, I'm going to be an awesome parent some day.

After visiting for a bit we went to Manti and had lunch with two of Devon's former co-workers. They were hilarious, I liked them a lot, and they told Devon to marry me because I'm normal. Sweet. I'm glad someone thinks I'm normal.

We then headed to Devon's mom's house in Oak City to hang out for the night with her as well as Shelby, Alice, and Charlie. I even got to go to the great metropolis of Delta! Oh how I missed Delta. I mean any place that's in the Guiness Book of World Records for the worlds largest bunny hop is definitely a place to go. That night we cooked dinner and hung out. I even learned how to properly build with Lincoln Logs, something I apparently was doing wrong all these years (yes, it's possible...). At night Charlie wanted to cuddle with me (the candy bribe totally worked, and I found his missing truck) and Devon and we got this cute little picture out of it:

Day 3, Thursday!

Thursday was so much fun. We headed north to Salt Lake for a day of doing random things and dinner with our friends. Our first stop was a celebratory lunch because Devon found out that morning that HE GOT INTO LAW SCHOOL!!! I'm so proud of him! (He's since gotten into 3 more and just has to select one to go to) Our next stop was to an outlet mall that Devon (note, not me but Devon) wanted to go to for some shopping. Along the way I passed a cupcake store that I always hear about on the NieNie blog, the Sweet Tooth Fairy. Devon gladly obliged my request/demand to stop there and we got super yummy vanilla and chocolate cupcakes. I was so excited I even took a picture of mine :)

We then went to Temple Square for a few hours to do all the fun visitor center type things to do. I was kind of sad because I've never seen the lights at Temple Square at christmas time and they were just starting to put them up. Maybe someday I can see them.

We still had quite a bit of time to kill before going to dinner so we decided to head to the Gateway Mall. We walked past Build a Bear and Devon had the idea we should build each other a bear (seriously do you all see why I love this man and why he's perfect for me?). He then took it a step further and said we should build one that looks like us. I present to you Bob (Devon's look a like) and Fluffernutter (my look a like):

Don't you just love Bob's University of Utah t-shirt and Fluffernutter's furry purse. Bob roars if you press his foot, and Fluffernutter goes "I love you" really kind of creepy if you press hers. It was so much fun to do.

We then headed to Olive Garden to meet up with a bunch of our friends for dinner. It's so fun that our group of friends all kind of married within each other so we all get along so great. It was kind of weird though because before our dinner conversation would consist of really random and stupid things, and that night we started talking about 401k plans, insurance, and babies. I'm still not ready for the grown-up things in life like that. Here's a cute group shot we took of all of us!

Then Cameron was teaching Devon how to move his hips latin-ballroomy like and I had to get a pic of that too!

After dinner we went and saw Life as We Know It, which was really cute. The weird thing was when you buy tickets at Thanksgiving Point you have to select your seats like at a real play or musical. It was kind of weird, but I guess in some way it's a good idea.

Day 4, Friday

This was my last day in Utah, it was kind of sad. We headed back to Cedar and spent the afternoon playing games and doing our usual things. We used to play Phase 10, Skip-bo, and Racko all the time. Well Devon hasn't played with them since I left and we found this card in the deck that I don't even remember making (and here's a cute pick of us too being all cuddly):

It's true! I am way cooler! Not much has changed.

That night I had a girl's night with Cami and we stayed in a hotel as a treat. We had dinner at Brad's Food Hut, and played at wal-mart. While there we ran into a lot of old friends which was fun. We also played this random crane game in the wal-mart arcade and won a lot of random stuff including fake mustaches. Here's us with our 'staches:

Day 5, Saturday
Sadly this was the day I left. Devon drove me to Vegas and we stopped at the outlet to get some Christmas presents for Devon's family. I was sad to leave, but I really enjoyed my trip and seeing everyone again.

So there you go, there's my trip recap :)

To-do

2010-11-04T11:49:00.001-07:00

Here's a rundown of the things I have to get done in order to get to vacation:

Today: work 5-10

Friday: work 8-1 (no i'm not slacking on work hours, I've already worked 30 hours in 3 days, and I'm working 17 more in the next 3, yay for huge overtime check!). Then meeting with Tan about our adopt-a-family for Christmas for Aero, then Toy Story marathon.

Saturday: work 3-10

Sunday: First annual Aero 380 thanksgiving dinner! I'm making the turkey, the first time I'm ever making a turkey in my life. Hopefully we all survive to Monday to run our store.

Monday: pack, clean, work on my brother's wedding presents, etc.

Then vacation starts! Really I only need to make it through Saturday because Sunday and Monday are just fun days off anyway :)

These Boots are made for walkin...

2010-10-27T22:56:00.000-07:00

So that's just what they're gonna do. Ok well, not really, I mean I will walk in them but not in the way the song means.

I worked 68 hours in 8 days at work, with no day off in those 8 days. My boss got married last weekend, which is great :) , it just meant I was basically left in charge of our store. We actually had a pretty good weekend so I decided I would get a treat.

You can bet when I got off of work yesterday and saw that the boots I've been DYING to have for months were on sale at piperlime.com I bought them. They were $190 originally, on sale for $150, I had $40 in gap card rewards certificates, a 15% off coupon on top of that, and there's always free shipping. I got my boots for $90 and because it was piperlime's birthday I also got a free $25.00 gift certificate. I guess then that means my boots came to $60 (kinda, I mean the gift certificate is for a future purchase but hey free money for me!).

Why am I blogging about boots? Because I'm too lazy to write a post about what's going on in my life, and I also made a goal to blog once a week. I made that goal exactly a week ago so this is the post that you get this week.

Oh and 13 more days until I get to go to Utah, see my amazing boyfriend, my super amazing best friend Camithala, and maybe with some bribing and the agreement to meet in like Provo I can see the super amazing Grant and Corry families (hint hint...Emily and Lindsey)

Oh and here's my super cute new boots:

100 truths

2010-10-13T22:20:00.000-07:00

This is really kind of pointless, but I took a nap for 3 hours today after work so of course now I'm not tired, so here you go! I suggest you all do it if you're bored too!

WHAT WAS YOUR:
1. Last beverage: Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper
2. Last phone call: Devon telling me about some flight info he found for me.
3. Last text message: "Goodnight babe. Love you lots and lots" from Devon (mushy, I know)
4. Last song you listened to: the duet Rachel and Kurt sing at the end of this week's Glee
5. Last time you cried: Today. I was so tired and upset after work that I just cried myself to sleep.

HAVE YOU EVER:
6. Dated someone twice: Yes, in fact 4 times. 4th times a charm I hear...
7. Been cheated on: not really
8. Kissed someone & regretted it: HA yes
9. Lost someone special: my grandpa passed away in April, I miss him lots.
10. Been depressed: Yes I have in the past
11. Been drunk and threw up: nope!

LIST THREE FAVORITE COLOURS:
12. Red
13. Tiffany Blue
14. Buttercream yellow

THIS YEAR HAVE YOU:
(2009)
15. Made a new friend: Yes lots of new friends at Aero
16. Fallen out of love: Yes actually, which is something I never really knew could happen, but it did. Consolation: I fell back in love with someone amazing and I love them 10 times more than I ever loved the person I fell out of love with. Weird how that happens, but I'm so happy :)
17. Laughed until you cried: Yes!
18. Met someone who changed you: yes I guess you could say that.
19. Found out who your true friends were: Yes and they're all amazing!
20. Found out someone was talking about you: Yes, but I talk about other people sometimes so I guess I deserve it.
21. Kissed anyone on your friend's list: Yes, 2 haha
22. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life: On my blog friend list I know everyone, well at least one person of the couple if they so happen to be married.
23. How many kids do you want to have: 2 at the very most.
24. Do you have any pets: no but I wish!
25. Do you want to change your name: I would love to get rid of my last name because I hate spelling it out and having it mispronounced.
26. What did you do for your last birthday: I went to Texas Roadhouse with Brian and my parents, then hung out.
27. What time did you wake up today: 3:55 am, ew.
28. What were you doing at midnight last night: sleeping
29. Name something you CANNOT wait for: Utah trip in like roughly 24ish days
30. Last time you saw your Mother: a little bit ago.
31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life: I would be living in the same place as Devon.
32. What are you listening to right now: the new Darius Rucker CD I just downloaded.
33. Have you ever talked to a person name Tom: Uh yeah a few...but honestly I have never met a Tom i've liked.
34. What's getting on your nerves right now: work!
35. Most visited webpage: probably facebook.
36. Whats your real name: Stacey Beth
37. Nicknames: Special K, Stace
38. Relationship Status: very happily taken
39. Zodiac sign: Gemini
40. Male or female?: Female
41. Elementary? : Prairie Elementary
42. Middle School?: Central Middle
43. High school/college?: Waukesha West
44. Hair colour: brown but I want to get highlights
45. tall or short: Short! But mighty!
46. Height: 5'3.75"
47. Do you have a crush on someone?: Heck yes!
48: What do you like about yourself?: Um...I like to be goofy.
49. Piercings: One hole in each ear.
50. Tattoos: none.
51. Righty or lefty: righty

FIRSTS:
52. First surgery: -Wisdom Teeth
53. First piercing: -Ears when I was in 2nd grade.
54. First best friend: Kyle
55. First sport you joined: T-ball
56. First vacation: Probably Minnesota.
58. First pair of trainers: ?

RIGHT NOW:
59. Eating: some pumpkin seeds
60. Drinking: - Diet cherry dr. pepper
61. I'm about to: read a book or try to sleep.
62. Listening to: Darius Rucker's new CD
63. Waiting for: November 9th!!

YOUR FUTURE:
64. Want kids?: yes, but no more than 2!
65. Get Married?: Yes please :)
66. Career: I'm not entirely sure. I actually love working retail so probably sticking with that.

WHICH IS BETTER:
67. Lips or eyes: eyes
68. Hugs or kisses: kisses
69. Shorter or taller: taller, but not by much
70. Older or Younger: definately older.
71. Romantic or spontaneous: a good combination of both
72. Nice stomach or nice arms: nice arms
73. Sensitive or loud: again a good combo of both.
74. Hook-up or relationship: relationship of course.
75. Trouble maker or hesitant: trouble maker

HAVE YOU EVER:
76. Kissed a stranger: not really.
77. Drank hard liquor: probably once or twice.
78. Lost glasses/contacts: haha yes all the time
80. Broken someone's heart: yes, it makes me think of the song that goes "I'm only gonna break break your break break your heart"
82. Been arrested: no
83. Turned someone down: yes.
84. Cried when someone died: yes.
85. Fallen for a friend?: eh kind of?

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
86. Yourself: sometimes
87. Miracles: most definitely
88. Love at first sight: no that would be lust
89. Heaven: yup sure do
90. Santa Claus: Yes!
91. Kiss on the first date: I guess so.
92. Angels: sure!

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
94. Had more than 1 girlfriend/boyfriend at a time: no
95. Did you sing today?: of course! I always sing in my car
96. Ever cheated on somebody?: Well, technically yes, but its a complicated story and no it's nothing I'm proud of.
97. If you could go back in time what will you do?: I would eat healthier from day 1
98. If you could pick a day from last year and re-live it, what would it be?: Hmmmm the day Devon and I went down the lakefront and spent the day talking and playing cards. It was perfect!
99. Are you afraid of falling in love?: yes a little.
100. Post this as 100 truths: okay

33!

2010-10-04T22:47:00.000-07:00

Apparently when I have nothing to really write in my blog but I'm in the mood to blog I just post countdown updates.

In case you all cared as much as I do, only 33 more days until I get to be in Utah again! Who is up for a visitor??? ;)

Seriously, do you know how hard it is to have your boyfriend and best friends 1500 miles away? And I get a serious case of jealousy when I think of how they can see each other every day if they wanted and I don't get to see either unless an airplane or 26 hours of driving is involved. Jerks! J/k...but seriously it's not fair. Why is Utah so far away from everything anyway? I mean really it should be like, hmm, Nebraska, pretty much dead center of the country. I know Judy at least will agree with me on this on some level :)

33 days!

4 years later...

2010-09-26T22:29:00.000-07:00

2006 (sorry for the quality, it's a pic of a pic):

2010:

I guess after 4 years not a lot changes. I guess we're older and a little more mature the 4th time around.

side note: I really miss those bling-bling glasses. I should totally get new lenses with my current prescription put in those again.

9

2010-09-08T17:56:00.001-07:00

more days until I get a visitor from Utah!!!

16

2010-09-02T20:02:00.001-07:00

more days!

17

2010-08-31T22:33:00.000-07:00

more days...

Heres a rundown of my life...

2010-08-22T21:29:00.000-07:00

-I spend my days folding and selling jeans due to back to school. I kind of like it.

-I hate the word jeggings, it sounds so stupid, but I sell lots of jeggings (try them, you'll love them, for reals ha ha, it's like wearing sweatpants all day...though I personally am not skinny enough to actually buy a pair. My co-workers swear by them).

-I'm single. And ok with this.

-I have the best co-workers ever.

-in the last week i've eaten at Olive Garden twice (never ending pasta bowls, need I say more?).

-I'm having a visitor from Utah in 25 days.

-I love visitors from Utah. Sadly, I've only ever had 2 (but they were Corrys, who doesn't love when a Corry comes to visit you. I heart you Lindsey and Steve!).

-I gave up Starbucks...serious withdrawals. Thank goodness for shaken passion tea lemonades (and I swear to God if it turns out these aren't "friendly" I'll cry).

-This is vague, I know, if you want details then you'll just have to chat with me sometime on FB or the phone.

Nonsense

2010-08-10T23:09:00.000-07:00

I never post. Mostly because I have nothing new to say.

I have had some fantastic adventures lately, which maybe I'll get around to posting.

My brain has been mushy lately.

Let's just say it's hard to think one way about something for 3+ years, only to learn that nothing is as you thought it was.

I'm spent emotionally.

So once I'm emotionally un-spent I'll post something more productive than this nonsense.

My new favorite quote

2010-05-10T22:39:00.001-07:00

I found this quote tonight and I love it!

"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles."
— Audrey Hepburn

I Guess I'm a Grown-up Now...

2010-04-02T21:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I officially have my first real grown up job. We're talking full-time, benefits, paid vacation, the whole shebang. I'm now an Assistant Manager for Aeropostale at the mall closer to my house. I'm really really excited about this change, but I am so super sad to leave the Gap. I love the people I work for (for the most part), but I think this will be a good change, plus I'll get to see everyone often.

I'm really excited that I finally realized that retail is what I love to do, and that I want to make it my career. I would be miserable doing a desk job, and sure even retail get's stressful and crazy at times, but I'm actually really good at it too. Perhaps getting an MBA is in my future, but for now I'm going to enjoy my first real grown up job.

Totally a time killer...

2010-03-24T22:34:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I did a survey, and since I can't sleep (surprise, surprise) I thought I'd do this one. It actually has some fun questions to answer.

1) What is your current obsession?
Reading recipes and day dreaming about my future house someday.

2) Who was the last person you hugged?
My dad :)

3) What's your favorite dinner?
Chicken alfredo, garlic bread/breadsticks, with red velvet cheesecake from Cheesecake factory for dessert. Yum!

4) What was the last movie you saw in theatres?
Up In the Air. It was a really good movie!

5) What was the last thing you bought (to wear)?
black leather flip-flops from the Gap, or a button up shirt from Aeropostale. I can't remember which store I was in first.

6) What are you listening to right now?
My television, but I honestly couldn't tell you what show is on. I'm not really paying attention to it.

7) What is your favorite weather?
When it's sunny and warm enough to wear a hoodie and flip flops (quite the combo I know).

8) Say something to the person who tagged you.
I stole this from some random blog, but I'm sure that person is just fantastic!

9) Tea or coffee?
Oh my! Dark cherry mochas (non-fat, no whip, no chocolate shavings, iced) seriously are what makes my world go round. Basically this was a fancy pants answer for coffee.

10) What did you want to become as a child?
I really wanted to be a medical research scientists, or a scientist that studied the hole in the o-zone over antarctica. Yeah I'm neither, but I really love that I realized that what I love most in life is working retail. Glamarous? no...but I love it!

11) If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
I would first go to New Berlin and pick up the boyfriend, then he and I would go to Brookfield for an hour (inside joke). But really I want to go to Hawaii super bad lately.

12) Who do you want to meet in person?
Oh I would love, love, love to meet Jen Lancaster because I think she'd be hilarious to talk to!

13) What is your most challenging goal right now?
Probably figuring out what my next career move is going to be (fingers and toes still crossed for my last interview to work out! I want that job so badly! I'm not jinxing it by talking about it in detail though!)

14) What is your weirdest obsession?
I'm totally obsessed with ants on a log lately (celery, peanut butter, chocolate chips or craisins), dinosaurs, and stalking craft blogs.

15) Why did you start your blog?
Boredom one night before I moved back to Wisconsin.

16) What is your blog about?
Just myself...and whatever little random things I feel the need to write about.

17) Which blogs are you obsessed with at the moment?
Peachycheap.com (not technically a blog at all, but still totally obsessed)
nieniedialogues.blogspot.com
postsecret.com
and pretty much any craft related blog out there.

18) What is your dream job (realistic or unrealistic)?
Something combining retail and charity work.

19) If you could change professions or careers, what would you try (realistically speaking)?
I would absolutely love to see what it would be like to be a broadway actress for a day.

20) Who is your favorite designer at the moment?
I don't really follow designers that much, but I LOVE Project Runway and Jay is my favorite this season!

21) What is your favorite brand of jeans?
I have yet to find a pair of jeans that I love...I mostly have Gap though due to my discount.

22) One thing you would snitch out of someone's closet, with no regrets?
If someone somewhere has the Bobbi Blu moccasins that I have and adore I would totally take them. I have worn mine to the point of nastiness.

23) What designer piece of clothing would you most like to own (new or vintage)?
Again, I'm not much with designers but I totally would love to be outfitted head to toe in something from Anthropologie.

I tag everyone! Ha now you all have to do it!

Go Gap!

2010-03-03T21:58:00.001-08:00

So way back in Sept. of 2008 I was looking for a part-time job to keep me occupied while looking for a real grown up job. I decided to stick with what I knew, which was retail, but I didn't want to just work for any company. I did some research and really wanted to work at the Gap because they are a company that encourages social responsibility. They fulfill this through donating proceeds to charity through their friends and family sale (5% of proceeds that weekend go to charity, they do it 3 times a year, and so far 9 million dollars has been donated to various charities since they started this program), encouraging stores to participate in charity events, matching the charitable donations of employees (if I were to personally donate 25 bucks to like the children's hospital they would match it), and helping improve the lives of the people who work in the factories over seas.

The 5-14 of March, Gap is doing a denim drive in every store. If you bring in old denim (of any brand) to the store you can get 30% off of your purchase of new denim! The cool thing is they're going to recycle the old denim and turn it into eco-friendly insulation for new houses! Isn't that the coolest idea? I love working for a company that is making strides to make the world a little bit better. I seriously love my job!

Our friends and family sale is the 18-21 of March and once again my charity of choice for the proceeds is Feeding America. Feeding America helps stock food bands and provide food the underprivelaged people across the US. If you want a coupon (even if you're a blog stalker who never comments on my blog or someone I don't know!) leave your e-mail in a comment (or e-mail me at staceyjuntunen at gmail . com). The coupon is good at Gap/Gap Kids/Baby Gap/Gap Maternity/Outlet, Banana Republic/Outlet, Old Navy, and piperlime.com It's a great way to score some great deals and help others at the same time!

Dear Mayfair Mall/Wisconsin/Utah

2010-02-20T20:26:00.001-08:00

Free Pretzel day at Aunt Anne's

combined with a board breaking competition for the kiddos

combined with the fact it was a Saturday

equals one very not so happy Baby Gap employee.

Seriously this is about how I felt when 5 o'clock rolled around: (cept buried in baby and kid's clothes, and not so skinny)

Oh and our main register was broken and un-fixable til monday, but Mayfair Mall that's not your fault.

At least I got to go to PF Changs afterward and have dinner with Brian and his family :)

But seriously Mayfair you need to get your act together, or pay to have a mall cop patrolling my store 24/7 to catch all the freaking shady shoplifters we have to follow and baby-sit on days like today(which is totally against Gap policy but a girl can dream right).

Sincerely,
the leader on duty from 10-6 today
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Wisconsin,

6-10 more inches of snow tomorrow eh? Ok let's make a deal, I'll be happy with that as long as you keep your flakes to yourself til 7:30 pm CST. Unless you're sending me these snowflakes:

These are the Utah commercial snowflakes...go to youtube and find the commercials if you don't know what I'm talking about. Then I'd be happy because I'm sure they magically could get me to Utah somehow so I could spend time with my bff's there and eat some fry sauce...and in-and-out, and shop at DownEast, and go to St. George where it's warm, and see a mountain or two, and see a polygamist (because Big Love makes me miss the polygs so much).

Love,

Your resident for 19 years

PS sorry I escaped for those 5 years and moved to Utah, but you'll forgive me by holding out your snow til 7:30 right? right? ok.

Snow Day!

2010-02-09T23:36:00.000-08:00

Today we had a very snowy day here in Wisconsin. It has been snowing non stop and as of 10 p.m. we had 14" and it is expected to snow throughout the night. I had a most excellent snow day with Brian! He had two court hearings 3 hours apart at the courthouse that isn't too far from my house. His office is about 40 minutes away so it didn't really make sense for him to drive back and forth, especially in this weather. He came over for lunch and I made a really yummy spicy chicken macaroni dish (I love exercising my somewhat decent domestic skills for him).

The plan was he'd come back after his last hearing to come get me (I'm still petrified of driving in the snow from last years icy hill debacle) and take me to work since the mall I work at is like down the street from his office. Well we were driving to the mall when I got a call saying the mall was closing due to the snow and I didn't have to work! Yes! The mall NEVER closes early, I mean seriously every school and business known to man will be shut down but not the mall, so this was a great treat. We spent the rest of the day playing Super Mario Bros. Wii, went to Chili's for dinner, and then watched a few Criminal Minds episodes. It seriously was such a fun day, and it felt like we were playing hooky even though we really weren't. My one wish was that the snow wasn't the dry powdery kind because I really wanted to make a snowman, but alas it wasn't snowman building snow.

Advice from you parent types out there...

2010-02-04T21:14:00.000-08:00

Ok so I've got a few friends here in Wisconsin who are going to be having babies. You'd think seeing that I work at baby gap I would have instant gift ideas but one of the people works with me (and really won't need clothes I bet) and the other isn't going to find out the gender of the baby, and with a 60 day return policy that makes buying clothes a little difficult (and how much yellow and green clothing does a baby need right?). I came across this idea of something that would be neat to make and I was wondering if as parents this would be something you'd actually want, or if it really isn't practical. It's a growth chart in a box, and you pull out the chart thing and then pin the tag where the height is and date it and what not. Please be honest and let me know!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11974319

and here are a few pictures from her etsy page too on it in case you don't want to go to the listing or it is gone.

ooey, gooey, and oh so good!

2010-02-01T21:07:00.000-08:00

We're just going to ignore the fact I started weight watchers today for the sake of this post. We're also going to ignore my bad photography skills with my blackberry's camera.

We had a rockin' weekend at work. We seriously kicked major butt, and everyone who worked was in a GREAT mood. I decided as a treat to make some cupcakes. I'm pretty much obsessed with anything s'mores. Since we can't have bonfires in Wisconsin (at least the city I live in, oh and it's the middle of winter so that kind of puts a damper on it) I get my s'more fix through World Market's s'more hot chocolate and Caribou Coffee's Campfire Mocha (espresso, skim milk, dark, white or milk (or all 3!) chocolate, and marshmallows on top). I'm also pretty much obsessed with bakerella's website and recently she posted a recipe for s'mores cupcakes. I've been dyin gto make them so this was a perfect excuse to do so. The bottoms are graham cracker cupcake batter, a marshmallow then chocolate cake batter, and you sprinkle a bit of graham cracker topping (graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and butter) in between the layers and on top. Then you top it off with a marshmallow after they're done baking, drizzle with chocolate ganache and end up with a super ooey gooey treat. I'm hooked...and weight watchers thanks me for being a member for like 2 weeks longer now because of these!

Time keeps on ticking...

2010-01-26T18:55:00.000-08:00

Saturday marked the 18-month-a-versary of Brian and I dating. I just wanted to take the time to say that I love this boy...a freaking lot.

Yeah, we're cute, and very pasty white.

Sickly

2010-01-24T21:21:00.000-08:00

Those of you who know me well know that I never had a car in college. In fact, I didn't get my driver's license until I was 24. I hated driving and I had absolutely no desire to get my license and buy a car.

Then I got my car.

Then I got dependent on my car (seen below).

(uh, except picture a big white patch of scratches on the bottom of the front bumper from where I drove my car into a rock wall on my way to a job interview)

Then my car (aka Kipper) got sickly. It needs a new engine, it only is a 2007 with 40,000 miles.

Then I realized why people thought I was crazy in college for not wanting a car. I miss it so much! I miss the freedom and I miss the ability to actually do stuff. Though, Cedar City was a small town and you could walk pretty much anywhere. I wouldn't dare walk in most parts of Waukesha/Milwaukee ha ha.

Dear Kipper, please please please get well soon! It's been a great car! It's taken me all over Milwaukee and on a road trip to St. Louis! It also got to chauffeur around my first Utah visitors (yes Steve and Lindsey were brave enough to drive with me!), and I'm sure many more adventures will be had once it gets a new engine. I did just put new brakes on it too less than a month ago, so really it will be like a new car again. I will find out tomorrow if Chrysler is going to pay for part (or hopefully all) of the cost of my engine.

Now I just need to get that new car smell in it somehow :)

Why hello 2010...

2010-01-11T22:14:00.000-08:00

I've been a really bad blogger lately, but it seems most people have been lately. I blame the hustle and bustle of the holidays and what not. I know I never finished blogging about my Utah/Vegas trip, and I still haven't gotten started on those projects that I talked about in my last post. I have, however, decided on my motto for the year. I actually found it today, and I decided to throw all of my resolutions (you know, lose weight, save money, etc...) out of the window and just focus on one quote for the new year. It is:

"Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means you've decided to look beyond the imperfections." -anonymous

I am focusing on that for this year because I truly feel that if I focus on that quote everything else will fall into place. I do have to lose weight though because in December I will be sporting this dress (in navy blue, and the other color of the wedding is silver so we'll have silver accessories):

My brother proposed to his girlfriend in the early part of December. They are getting married December 4, 2010 and I get to be the maid of honor. My dad is the best man, which means I get to walk down the aisle with my daddy and it isn't even my own wedding. I am so beyond excited, but I am in no shape to be sporting this lovely strapless gown. You can bet that after the wedding I'm going to be making this into a tea length gown to wear for other occasions, so I want it to be the size that I want to be permanently.

But I'm not making a resolution to lose weight...

Uh...slacker confession...

2009-12-09T23:00:00.000-08:00

Remember this post I made waaaaaaaaay back in March? It was the post where you committed to making some homemade gifts by the end of the year for the first 3 people who commented on that post. In return then they promised to post the same thing on their blog.

Yeah I just remembered about it tonight. Only like 21 days before the end of the year. Needless to say, dear 3 people who commented on my blog for it can I get an extended deadline and re-commit to have it by February of 2010? Please? Christmas+retail management=no free time, unless I get unexpected snow days (like the last two days...but that's besides the point).

Utah Trip! Part One!

2009-11-05T21:30:00.000-08:00

So October 9-11 Brian and I spent a few days visiting good old Cedar City, UT. It was so amazing to see all of my friends again. It's hard living in Wisconsin because I really don't have any friends here, minus the dear boyfriend, and I miss having girl time with the girls.

We flew into Las Vegas super early Friday morning, got our rental car, and headed off to Utah. We made a pit stop in Mesquite, NV to grab lunch (Del Taco woo woo), and I decided I'm going to move there someday. This was also Brian's first introduction to seeing a mormon church on every corner and I think it weirded him out a bit. When we got to Utah and crossed the border I started to get super excited, and once we got close to Cedar I started freaking out!

We checked into the lovely Hampton Inn, only to learn it was also the weekend of the High School Shakespear Competition. Needless to say, our hotel was overrun by high schoolers, as was the majority of the city. I always hated this weekend when I lived in town. Poor Brian, I wouldn't let him rest because I immediately made him come with me to visit Bulloch Drug (I worked there for 3 years). I got to see a lot of my favorite people, and I got some chocolate covered cinnamon bears (the one candy I can't find in WI, also I can't find uncooked tortillas, but I digress...). Then we went and surprised Cami at work!! She didn't know we were going to stop by, and I made Brian go in first and I hid behind him. She freaked out when she saw me, and we spent a few hours at the music store catching up. That night the three of us went to the Pizza Factory for dinner, and then Brian was nice enough to let Cami and me have a girls night. We watched Mamma Mia, colored, drank fuzzies from Brad's Food Hut, and ate chococlate covered cinnamon bears. It was totally what I needed, and just spending the few hours with her made me feel like my old self!

The next day Brian and I went up Cedar Mountain and drove to Cedar Breaks. It was gorgeous and windy! We took a lot of pictures, so here is a small sampling of some of my favorites:

Snow! I got to see snow! I love snow!

We also drove to one of the lookouts, and there were chairs randomly set up with an aisle between them leading to the edge of the outlook. We concluded it was either a wedding (hence the aisle) or people scattering someone's ashes since it was a super windy day and a lot of the arriving guests were wearing black. While at this lookout a nice man took pity on my bad self-portrait skills and took a picture of us together. I adore this picture, and it really is my favorite picture of Brian and me ever.

I really miss having mountains in my backyard, but I do suppose living in the flatland makes me appreciate them more when I am able to see them. My one regret while being in Utah again was not making the time to go hiking in Zion National Park. I suppose though a full on Utah trip is now in order so that I can get everything done that I want to do!

I'll continue with part two of our Utah trip tomorrow so y'all better be excited for that!

Majorly Needed Update!

2009-11-04T22:18:00.000-08:00

Holy cow I can't believe it's been two months since I last blogged. I kind of got out of the blogging mood so that explains the update. I still have to blog about my awesome trip to Utah and Vegas, but that I will save for another time.

Life for me is going well, but work is crazy as we're gearing up for Holiday 2009! Woo woo! Ok not so much. I wouldn't mind work so much if people were in better moods and I didn't always feel like an idiot when I'm there. I'll learn to deal with it though. I do have an application in for a job I really want, but I won't jinx it by saying what it is. Needless to say, if I were to get it I would be the happiest girl alive! There are some fun things in the future for the Gap and Gap Kids so keep your eyes peeled for some pretty sweet sales and other fun things.

My mom had her surgery at the beginning of last month and her vision is back to normal, minus the fact she needs a new perscription for her glasses. I'm so glad she can see again because she is definitely back to her more cheery self. I seriously wouldn't know what I would do without my mom seeing as she really is my best friend.

Other than that I just get to hang out with Brian a lot, which is super fantastic! We're still watching all of the seasons of the West Wing, and we've managed to make it to Season 3 in the 15 months we've been dating, but really it's a great show :)

Sorry this update was really pointless but I just wanted to let whomever reads this blog know that I wasn't dead yet :)

Downgraded to a tankini...

2009-08-26T21:57:00.000-07:00

So needless to say, the bikini I posted about months ago will definitely not be on my body in October for my Utah/Vegas trip. I haven't lost a single pound all summer, which totally bums me out. I have changed my eating habits majorly towards the healthy side (for the most part), so despite not losing any weight I do feel that I made some progress.

Seeing as I really dislike my old bathing suit (moreso because an ex-boyfriend picked it out for HOPE tour, which I never wore on HOPE tour) I really needed to find a new one. The ones that I found left in the stores around here were either really skanky, or really grandmaish. While I was up late one night I remembered how cute the swimsuits were at Christensens in Cedar City, and so I looked at a few websites and finally found a cute new tankini! It was a splurge at 70 dollars, but I found a 25% off coupon at retailmenot.com (best site for online coupons!!!), so in the end I didn't feel too guilty about it. And since I know you're all curious now, this is my super cute new swimsuit!

It's black and white gingham with little red (or pink, I can't really tell) roses. It's also a halter top that ties in the back with a big bow, and I love that the straps are so thick. It's rouched on the sides so I'm hoping that will make me look thinner ha ha, and I am super in love with it. Hopefully it will come soon, and hopefully it will fit! Thanks to Layers Clothing for making fun swimsuits, and for the picture that I used for this post :)

Cruiser Bruiser!

2009-08-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

So this post is being written only two weeks post-trip, but at least I'm finally getting around to writing it. Two weeks ago Brian and I took a road trip to St. Louis for his cousin's wedding. It was such a fun trip! We drove in my car, and my goal was to stay awake for the entire car ride since I am notorious for falling asleep really easily while riding in a car. Towards the last few hours of the trip I had to find ways to occupy myself beyond reading Cosmo (side note I was so disappointed to see how sexually focused that magazine was until I tried finding a worthy article to read and discuss with Brian! They were all about sexual things, so needless to say no worthy articles were found), doing crossword puzzles, and finding hidden words in word searches. I then came up with the brilliant game of Cruiser Bruiser! Basically the first person to find a PT Cruiser got to playfully hit (obviously we're not violent people or anything ha ha) the other person. I dominated at the game, but Brian says that it's an unfair game to the person who is driving. I say he just doesn't like to lose.

Upon arriving to St. Louis we stopped off at Union Station for food! Union Station is a really neat place that is a collection of a hotel and a ton of restaurants with like a little pond surrounding it that you can enjoy. We chose the Hard Rock Cafe for food, and it was delicious. Here are a few pictures of Union Station for you to enjoy:

Obligatory "self-portrait" that I take everywhere we go:

Once we checked into the hotel (Brian's parents were nice enough to let us stay in a Suite with them, so in the end I got to be roommates with Brian's sister Jenny) we found that Brian's family was all congregating in the hotel's lobby. I got to meet a majority of the people I had never met before, and it was fun to do so since my family is so small and Brian's is so large.

The next day was his cousin's wedding, and it was held in the church on St. Louis University's campus. It was a gorgeous church, and a great ceremony. They tied in some cool and unique traditions that I think have a Spanish background. I know I'm not a great photographer, but here is a picture of the outside of the church:

Here is another obligatory "self-portrait" of Brian and I waiting outside of the church between the ceremony and the reception:

The reception was held in the basement of the church. Now I was curious as to what that would be like since usually church basements are dark and drab and very cement like. This church basement however was GORGEOUS. It was made to hold receptions and it was very well lit and bright and just awesome. It was a good time, and I even made Brian slow dance with me once. After the reception was over we went back to the hotel and ordered a pizza and played Phase 10 with Brian's cousin Rob and his wife Anna.

On Sunday we trekked our way back to Wisconsin, and stopped off somewhere in Illinois to mini-golf and ride go-karts. It was so fun to mini-golf and I only lost by 2 strokes! The go-karts were fun too, but Brian kept getting bumped and turned around by some jerk so that was not to great. I'm just glad I was tall enough to ride them :)

All in all it was a great trip, and I can't wait for our next vacation to Utah/Las Vegas!!!

12-Month-A-Versary!

2009-07-24T21:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Brian's and my one year anniversary of dating. It's been the best year of my life, and in some ways I can't believe it's only been a year that I've known him, and in other ways it seems like it's been forever (in a good way ha ha).

We had originally tossed around the idea of going out of town for a night or two, but seeing as we're going to St. Louis next weekend and that Brian's friend from Florida would be in town this weekend, we scrapped that idea. We ended up having a great day and it was the best 12-month-a-versary ever.

First Brian was out by me visiting some clients of his in the mental hospital, and surprised me by saying he was free for lunch! I let him choose between Pizza Hut (one of his favs) and Mexican food (which Brian loves, but its one of those things I'll eat, but it's not something I crave or anything). He chose Pizza Hut and so we went and had the podunkiest buffet ever...which is sad since we've had some Pizza Hut buffets in some pretty podunky towns in Northern, WI. It was still fun cause really I enjoy any time spent with him.

In the afternoon he had to go back to work, and I ran errands around town. When I got home there was a ginormous box on my porch addressed to me! I love getting mail of any sorts, but seeing as this was a giant box I was extra curious. Upon opening the box I found these:

I was extremely shocked that Brian sent me flowers!! Not only that but they're my favorite flowers in my favorite colors. I was so surprised and happy I cried. I took this picture right when I took them out of the box so it doesn't do them justice at all. After being in water for a few hours, plus my mom doing her expert arranging, they looked much better.

Brian told me that we had dinner plans that night but wouldn't tell me to where. I got all cute and dressed up, and mi madre wanted to take a picture of me dressed up with my flowers, so here you go on the picture of that cause I really like this picture ha ha (I'm so vain):

We ended up going to dinner at The Melting Pot, which really was awesome! We had the three course meal with a mexican cheese fondue, a wine based fondue meat course, and then a chocolate crunchy peanut butter dessert fondue. It was so yummy, minus the fact that I tried lobster for the first time and I wasn't a fan (side note, in the span of a week I tried crab legs, duck, and lobster for the first time and hated them all, but at least I tried). We kept laughing because the people in a booth near us talked the whole time about how their waitress had so many similiarities with a soap opera tv character, and literally talked about soaps and the soap network the whole time.

Here are a few pictures I took during the meal. The first one is of the aftermath after we ate all the meat, but you can see the creepy lobster tail shell that the lobster was served on. I made Brian turn it over at one point so I could see the underside, and it creeped me out so bad I almost threw up ha ha. I know its a pointless picture, but I think its fun for posterity's sake.

The second is an attempt at a self portrait that I cut myself out of...but I think Brian looks cute with his cheesy smile so here you go.

It was a great night, and a great way to celebrate the past year. I'm so happy and grateful to be with Brian, and he constantly makes me feel like the luckiest girl alive. He's awesome, and I'm so proud of all that he's accomplished with his law business and other things. Yup, I say these things a lot, but it's only because I mean them and I can hardly believe how wonderful life is sometimes.

I won't be a Blue Angel afterall...

2009-07-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

So like two posts ago I said I was going back to school in the fall, and unfortunately that isn't the case anymore. I didn't get any federal financial aid due to the fact I already have 2 bachelor degrees and very little assets. I would have to take out $60,000 in private loans to pay my tuition for the 3 years, and after factoring in interest (for a grand sum of $50,000) I would then be over $100,000 in debt. So, I decided that it wasn't really worth 100 grand to get the dietetics certificate, especially when the ADA is considering requiring you to have a masters degree before taking the RD exam.

Someone told me today that I should just be grateful I am able to live the life I have and that I'm healthy, not living off the government and food stamps like so many unemployed/underemployed people, and I have a family and boyfriend that love me. I have to agree with that, so for now I'm going to be grateful for all I do have.

30% off coupons!!

2009-07-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

So I posted this on facebook, but I have 30% off coupons for the Gap/Baby Gap/Gap Kids/Banana Republic/Old Navy/Piperlime. It is our friends and family sale at the company, and 5% of the proceeds go to the employees charity of choice. The charity I chose was Feeding America, which "provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 25 million Americans each year, including 9 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks operate 63,000 agencies that address hunger in all of its forms." So not only are you buying great clothes for you and your kids, you're also helping people all across the US!

If you want one of these fabulous coupons (delivered via e-mail) please leave me a comment with your e-mail so I can send you one. The coupon is good for July 30-August 2, and there are already tons of fall clothes to purchase for when the weather gets cooler! Oh and you can use the coupon online or in the store or at the Gap or Banana Republic outlet.

I Just Couldn't Stay Away...

2009-07-07T22:39:00.000-07:00

I keep forgetting to blog about some sort of big news! As of August 31st I will be a college student once more! I mean having 2 bachelor of science degrees just wasn't enough for me. I am going to be in a post bachelors certificate program in dietetics at Mount Mary College. I am so excited because although it means I'll be in school for forever, at the end I can take the RD exam and then become a Registered Dietitian, which is pretty much my dream job. I am stoked, and I'm also very grateful for Brian who is totally supportive of this. He thinks he'll get more work done now, but little does he know that my school being less than 30 blocks away from his office means I'll be using his conference room as my own personal library. Just kidding babe...or am I? I feel grateful that I have such a great college nearby that I can attend, as Mount Mary has a reputation of being an amazing school. In retrospect I should have listened to my mother who told me to go there when I was 18, but hey I needed to get out of Wisconsin to experience life.

Mount Mary is a small catholic women's college in Milwaukee, and it actually is a pretty campus. The best part is the mascot...first I was a Viterbo Hawk (a v-hawk if you will), then I was a Thunderbird at SUU and now I am a Blue Angel (and no, not like the airplane, we're talking real angels). Hell yeah, best mascot ever. I couldn't find a picture online besides this one of the logo but seriously you all need to just sit there and laugh about the fact I will be a Blue Angel.

(courtesy of the Mount Mary Website).

Anyway, it will be interesting to see how this adventure will go. My first semester I have 12 credits, which is the smallest course load I have ever taken. I'll have:

-The Profession of Dietetics
-Principles of Management
-Organic and Biochemistry (ok let's talk about how at SUU you have to take 2 semesters of O-chem to take the one semester of bio chem, and at Mount Mary it's all only one semester ha ha, well unless you want to go onto grad school).
-Yoga (I have to be full time and my required classes only equal 8 credits)
-Spanish 101 (again, I had 3 free credits and I figured it probably is in my best interest job wise to learn spanish)

It should be exciting to see how this all plays out, but my goal is to get a 4.0! I'm seriously hoping that my trip to vegas/utah for a week in October won't affect my classes that much, but I suppose I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

My needs

2009-07-06T21:45:00.000-07:00

Ashley tagged me to do this, so here I am doing it :)

Here's what you do: Go to google.com, then type in "... needs".
That means I typed in "Stacey needs". Then you post the first 5 things that pop up!
Here's what I need:

1. "Stacey needs...to be amongst people of her own age, and to be stimulated (this can be taken a couple of different ways...)." this is kind of scandalous I think...
2. "Stacey needs...someone she can rely on" I already have people I can rely on! thank goodness!
3. "Stacey needs...to bake her daughter a cake". I always knew I had illegitimate children somewhere...
4. "Stacey needs...you help to fulfil her Olympic dream" Yes! I'm going to be a gold medal ping pong player! Or rhythmic gymnast!
5. "Stacey Needs...is on facebook" man I feel bad for the Stacey Needs who gets googled a lot from this tag...poor thing.

Now... time to find out what you need! I tag anyone who wants to do it!

Fourth of July

2009-07-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I spent the 4th of July at a wedding with Brian. His best friend Mike's little sister Amanda got married. It was way fun, and I finally got to hear Brian play his trumpet! He's an amazing trumpeter, and yesterday he played in a song or two for the wedding ceremony. I want to learn how to play the trumpet now too, and I'm going to convince him to teach me how.

We had fun at the reception dancing a bit(it was the first time we really slow danced together, minus like dancing in the kitchen or what not), and I decided my favorite part of weddings is just people watching :). We left early, and I'm glad we did because we got to see some fireworks over the tree tops! I was so worried that we wouldn't get to see fireworks on the 4th of July. We then drove back to the hotel and then walked to applebees for some drinks, and I got a super yummy daquiri that was in a ginormous glass as big as my head! It was a really fun night, and I can't wait to go to St. Louis in a few weeks for Brian's cousin's wedding. It is destined to be good times indeed! Plus I love the getting dressed up aspect of weddings, so that's definitely another perk of having a bunch of weddings to go to this summer.

Here's a fun picture I took of Brian and I at the reception, really showing off our personalities.

Yes, we're totally perfect for each other.

My goal shirt!

2009-06-16T22:24:00.000-07:00

So I posted a while ago about a goal bikini I wanted to fit into, which hasn't really been the motivation I needed since I won't get to wear it for a long time and even then only once or twice. So I decided to get a goal shirt to wear by the time Lindsey and Steve get here in August. Not that they care what I wear, but it's an 8 week or so goal, and I like smaller goals I've realized.

Here is the cute shirt I'm going to go buy tomorrow that I want to fit into. And for once it's not from the Gap because if I spend 9 dollars on a shirt like they usually cost after my discount it's not motivation because I always think "hey it was only 9 dollars, who cares if I don't fit into it".

Hopefully I can do it! I'm totally motivated after feeling like crap the past few days (which is weird cause I actually ate pretty healthy). I have made this same post 500 times over the past year, but hopefully this is the last time I have to make it ha ha.

"She's a Natural Disaster"

2009-06-08T21:27:00.000-07:00

Today, as Cami so awesomely reminded me today, I became an official menace to society seeing that I am 25 and unmarried. When i was born, way back in 1984, there was a tornado in Wisconsin that destroyed an entire town in the state. Well as a result, when I was little my mom called me her little tornado. If you remember from previous blog posts, last year on my birthday the entire state was in a state of flooding, including having dams burst and entire lakes drained. Well this year, was no exception to the natural disaster pattern, as there were tornado warnings (but no actual touch-downs), lots of rain and thunder and lighting, and some hail. As a result, I've had the Plain White T's song "Natural Disaster" in my head all day, which is where the title of this post comes from.

I had an amazing birthday and got to hang out with my 3 favorite people. My mom surprised me this morning and said she took the day off so we can go shopping (our favorite past time) and what not. We went to the Cheesecake factory for lunch, and after lunch we went and returned a lot of stuff that has been waiting to be taken back and bought birthday presents for everyone else who has birthdays this week (since my birthday is the first out of 5). Then for dinner my parents, Brian, and I went to the Texas Roadhouse. It was super yummy and I love how unawkward it is (at least for me haha Brian might say otherwise) when it is my parents and Brian and I. We then had cake and ice cream at my house, and it was the same exact cake I had last year, just a different color. Haha what can I say, I know what I like!

I hadn't really known what I wanted for my birthday, but I just assumed it was going to be my tickets to Vegas in October, since my mom told me she'd buy them for me as my birthday present. Well I also was surprise with a new camera! My last camera was stolen by a former roommate and/or one of her friends, and so I was excited to get a new one. It's a coolpix camera that is seen in the commercials with Ashton Kutcher where it has a touch screen and stuff. I love it, and I also got some switchflop straps, and some lottery tickets (I won 13 bucks, woo hoo!) from my parents. Brian's parents gave me a gift card to Maggie Moo's ice cream shop and some earrings, and Brian, despite thinking they're creepy, gave me a Willow Tree statue :) We decided not to do the whole major gift thing and save our money seeing as our birthdays are so close together and we're going to Vegas in the fall. I'd much rather see a show or have extra gambling money to win big with ha ha. I'm such a lucky girl and without further ado, here are some cute pictures I took with my new camera (oh, disclaimer, I had spent tons of time on my hair this morning but the rain kind of ruined it so thats why I look like a disheveled homeless person):

Here are my cute parents at the restaurant, notice my moms awesome eye patch. She rocks :)

Here is Brian and I at the restaurant:

This is me with my super awesome cake:

and me licking my super awesome cake. Notice Brian looking at me like I'm crazy...I get that look a lot ;):

A Million Stolen Bases

2009-06-05T21:29:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the first really warm night in almost a month or so (it was 75, still not June weather, but considering last year the whole state was flooded, I'll take the cooler weather over that) and I really wanted to do something outside. A cool thing that happens in our area is a lot of churches throw festivals to raise money for their parishes. The biggest one in the area happened this weekend, and Brian and I decided to go. Well after driving around for forever, and finally finding a spot, we got there, and left like 2 minutes later. The line for food was literally a good 100 people long and we were starving!

We decided to go down to Miller Park because at the Brewer's stadium is a TGI Fridays that is open all year round. We had yummy food, and after we were done we noticed that there was a little league game going on at Helfaer Field (the little league baseball park that is also on the Miller Park complex). So, seeing that we didn't have any other plans, we decided to watch a little league game since it's free. We had no clue where the teams were from but one team was the Lazers and the other was the Crusaders. They were teams made up of 5th graders, and it was a really great time. The Lazers played dirty though and they stole bases pretty much anytime any one of their players made it on base. A kid even stole home once, which I didn't even know was legal, but it is. In the end, my team (the Crusaders) lost 10-12, but it was a really really fun night. I even snapped a few pictures with my blackberry to share with y'all. Oh and I decided someday when I get married I want to have my reception at Helfaer field because then we can play baseball brides family vs. grooms family and inside the building that comprises the front of Helfaer field there is a room to like house the reception part in case of inclement weather! It's totally my plan, a big huge BBQ complete with hotdogs and sno-cones, and baseball cupcakes. Best wedding ever!

This is a classic self-portrait of Brian and me that I make him do wherever we go:

A picture of the building that makes up the front of the field:

And lastly, a picture of how cool the field looks with Miller Park behind it:

Another fitness tool

2009-05-31T19:16:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to lie, I really like playing my wii, and Brian and I play wii regularly. So when new things and new games come out I always want to buy them, but I refrain cause they're so expensive. We bought a Wii fit last summer and it was fun for a while, but I never found that it was much of a work out because you would always have to stop between things, and the exercises they do have got kind of boring after a while. When the EA Active game set came out I was intrigued, but I wasn't planning on getting it because I figured it was just another Wii fit type thing. Well today we happened to come across one at Sears, so we grabbed it and decided to bring it home, read some reviews online, and then decide if we wanted to open it. The reviews pretty much averaged out to be an 8.5 out of 10, and mostly the reviews gave it lower points not for content, but for the music and graphics.

I decided to keep it, and I am so glad I did! It really is quite a work out and that was on the easiest level. There is a 30 day fitness challenge and today I did the first day. It was full of boxing, running, walking, bicep curls (you use resistance bands for this), inline skating using the wii fit board, and lunges. It repeated each exercise at least twice and it was a nice little work out. I also really like how it seamlessly goes from one exercise to the other without you making choose what you want to do next. Although you can create custom workouts if you wanted. I would definitely do some cardio on my own because the running and walking isn't the greatest on here, but really how much can running and walking in place really do for you. I also wish that it had a weigh in feature like on Wii fit, but seeing that you don't have to have the wii fit balance board to use this program, I guess they didn't make it an option. Good thing I weigh myself regularly anyway :) I highly recommend this to anyone who has a Wii and is working on their fitness :)

Baseball is Dangerous!

2009-05-26T21:38:00.000-07:00

So at about 6:11 pm this evening I get a phone call from the loverly boyfriend I have. It took me off guard because I was just texting him and he was texting me back, but I answer it. As it turned out, his Aunt and Uncle had two extra tickets to tonights Brewers game. (PS Heidi, to answer your last comment, I am a HUGE baseball/football fan. I grew up watching the Brewers and the Packers!) Well, the game started at 7, I live at least 30 minutes from the stadium on a good traffic day, on game days, it could take upwards of an hour and fifteen minutes, so it was going to take a lot of speediness to get there on time.

We did indeed miss the first inning and a half, but the seats we had were amazing! There are 4 levels to Miller Park, and we were in the second row of the second level just to the left of home plate. We were so close you could totally see like the players faces and what not. In fact, here is a picture I took with my blackberry cause we had such a great view:

Well Brian and I were tossing around the idea that we totally could catch a foul ball and I was talking all tough how I'd be able to grab it. Needless to say, Craig Counsell hit a foul ball and it was coming right to us. What did I do? I totally ducked! Luckily for me, Brian tried to catch the ball and sadly it bounced off of his hand and into a few rows behind us. Had he not done that, I totally would have gotten nailed in the head. I'm so very grateful he saved me, yet again. I felt bad though cause not only did we not get the ball, but his hand was slightly swollen and bruised!

In true Brewer fashion they lost 8-1 to the Cardinals :( but at least we had a good time!

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-25T20:52:00.001-07:00

This weekend, as everyone is well aware, was Memorial Day. I didn't really have any set plans, but it ended up being a very amazingly awesome and jam-packed weekend!

Friday:
For a majority of the week prior to Friday, Brian had told me that we were going to go to a surprise dinner on Friday night, I just was to dress up more than usual for our dinner dates. I was super excited all week, and finally friday rolled around. Brian took me to dinner at this super yummy and cute place called Maggianos. It's an italian restaurant, and we got to enjoy warm bread with oil for dipping, a pizza like appetizer, and yummy stuffed shells for dinner. It was romantic and cozy and perfect! Afterwards we went back to Brian's house and just enjoyed the rest of the night eating Maggie Moo ice cream and watching the West Wing (obviously we enjoy the simple things in life ha ha).

Saturday:
Saturday was another fun yet low key night. It was our 10-month-a-versary, and I surprised Brian with a gift bag full of my 10 favorite things about him (ex: I gave him a baseball because I love that he supports my fitness goals, and because I almost threw his ball into the river the other day). We went to Stonefire Pizza for dinner, which as I have talked about before, is just an upscale Chuck-E-Cheese. We enjoy it because they have a sports area just for adults that broadcasts various sporting events, and their buffet is full of pizza, dessert, pasta, salad, fruit, etc. We watched the Brewers lose (big surprise, they lost 3 in a row to the Twins) and then just relaxed the rest of the night.

Sunday:
On sunday morning we went to Mass, which was good because I hadn't been since Lent started way back like early March. We spent the evening hanging out with my parents, my brother, his girlfriend. We watched the Brewers lose yet another game to the Twins, and that was pretty much the extent of the day.

Monday:
Brian happens to play trumpet in one of the local community bands, and they were performing in a Memorial Day Celebration type thing. I have yet to hear Brian play the trumpet, so I went to his concert in the morning, and he played amazingly well! Then afterwards we went to the Brewers game and they beat the Cardnials in extra innings! We were in the shade and it was freezing, but it was fun nonetheless! We went with his friend Mike's family, and it was fun to be able to hang out with Brian's best friend since he lives in Illinois. After the game we went back to my house and Brian and I played catch for a while, until he threw a ball so hard it made my hand swell and bruise. A little while later we met up with another friend of Brian's who was in town for the weekend, and got yummy ice cream!

I know this is fairly boring for everyone but I wanted to write about what we did for my own sake. I'm sure someday I'll want to look back and remember what I did on this Memorial Day ha ha!

Well it's been a while...

2009-05-21T20:51:00.001-07:00

It's been forever since I posted because I haven't had a lot to say. Mostly I've just been working and spending time doing fun things with Brian. I did apply to Mount Mary College to start school again in the fall to take the courses I need to get my bachelor of dietetics (because really the two bachelor degrees I do have aren't doing much for me ha ha), which means I can take the RD exam and become a Registered Dietitian. I hope I get into the program, if not well I'll figure something else out school wise.

I joined the biggest loser club online, and so far I've lost like 3 pounds. Only like 38 more to go! My goal is to lose 10 by June 13th so I can wear a cute dress to a wedding I'm going to, so I hope i can make it! I also gave up caffeine and soda (not for good but I was drinking too much caffeinated soda so I decided to go cold turkey for a few weeks and then have it occasionally, but definitely not every day). I haven't had any caffeine for 4 days ha ha, which is pretty dang good for me.

Other than that Brian and I have been having lots of fun doing lots of random things! We've gotten to go to a few Brewers games, and I have a few pictures from them I thought I would post.

This first one is of Mike (Brian's best friend), Brian, and myself at the Brewers vs. Cubs game. It was a fun game complete with a power outage and lots of home runs. They won like 9 to 6.

This second one is from the first game we went to, and I can't remember who they played, but they sure did lose that game.

A Big Thanks.

2009-04-28T00:55:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say thank-you to everyone who kept my family in their prayers lately. I'm so grateful for all of you and I appreciate you all so much! My mom finally got a diagnosis from the doctors, and she did indeed have a stroke. It was the kind caused from a blood clot, and not the bleeding kind, which apparently is a good thing. There was a clot in her Pons which is part of the brain stem which accounts for the numbness and mobility issues she has been having, as well as in her occular part of the brain (which accounts for the vision problems). The doctors now need to figure out why she had 2 blood clots travel to her brain since she doesn't possess a single lifestyle or any other factor that causes strokes to begin with!

What scares me is that they really can't do anything about it except physical and occular therapy, and she's supposed to take one baby asprin a day. I am so scared that she will have another blood clot travel to her brain and that it will be worse than this has been. Although I suppose I should trust the doctors when they say that she will be ok, that's why they're the doctors right? :) I mean hey I didn't go to medical school, and my extent of knowledge is what I learned in Clinical Neuropsychology many moons ago (and lets be honest, the biggest thing I remember about that class is the jello brain mold we had to eat) and what I've read on the internet! :)

It's an itsy bitsy...

2009-04-22T19:42:00.001-07:00

Teenie-weenie, aqua polka dot bikini! And it is in fact my "goal bikini", as in it is going to be what I'm proudly wearing pool-side come October when I go to Vegas. That is hoping that it's warm enough to wear outside in vegas, if not, well our hotel in Cedar City has a pool. I got a great deal on it at Old Navy thanks to my rockin' employee discount. Now I just have to get my butt into gear to wear this:

with this as a cover up, but in white not black:

I've also been reading the funniest book called "Skinny Bitch: a no-nonsense tough-love guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating crap and start looking fabulous!" by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. I'm only on the first chapter but I already have a ton of quotes from this book that I love. My favorite so far is: "Soda is liquid Satan...now don't go patting yourself on the back if you drink diet soda. That stuff is even worse...when methyl alcohol, a component of aspartame, enters your body, it turns to formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is toxic and carcinogenic. Laboratory scientists use formaldehyde has a disinfectant or preservative. They don't fucking drink it. Perhaps you have a lumpy ass because you are preserving your fat cells with diet soda." Now I'm not sure if this is really true, and I'm going to dive into my advanced nutrition book to research this, but it's totally funny nonetheless. No wonder I have so much cellulite, I mean i'm preserving it all by the amount of diet coke I drink :)

Couples Survey

2009-04-19T21:34:00.001-07:00

I am so not tired right now, even though I should be going to bed since I have to drive my mom to work in the super early morning. I had been tagged for this survey a while ago so I decided to do it, and let me just say it's about my favorite topic EVER, the hottie hot boyfriend Brian! I hope he doesn't mind me doing this, if he does, too bad! It's my blog after all :)

1.) Your names: Stacey Beth and Brian Christopher

2.) How long have you been together?: It will be 9 months on Thursday

3.) Are you married?: Uh that is a definite no, but that is totally fine :) I am having a BLAST dating him! It is so relaxing to date outside of Utah where there is no pressure to get married!!!

4.) What's the dumbest thing you've ever fought about?: Um...haha we've fought over bowling...actually that was probably our biggest "fight". Though it is a little more complex than just bowling.

5.) What was the first thing you bought for each other?: He bought me a smoothie, and I bought him a frosty a few days later.

6.) Where was your first date?: The coffee shop by my house that I still don't know the name of.

7.) What was the first movie you watched together?: Our second date was to the Dark Knight.

8.) Do you remember your first kiss?: Oh like I can forget this. Brian tried to kiss me on my doorstep after our second date, but me, being the ditzy girl I am, turned my head before I realized he was trying to kiss me. Don't worry, I made up for it the next day and kissed him while at his office :) However he'll never let me forget the fact I turned my head and he thought he ruined his chances with me.

9.) Who asked who out?: I can't remember, I think Brian asked me out though.

10.) Was it love at first sight?: I don't believe in love at first sight. Hello, it's called lust not love.

11.) Do you believe you are soul mates?: Yeah I do!

12.) When was the last time you saw each other?: Today, we went to Madison with his family to go out to lunch to celebrate his dad's birthday!

13.) Last time you talked on the phone?: This morning, I called to see if he had gotten his dad his gift from the both of us.

14.) Last time you talked on the net?: Like 2 hours ago, no we're not annoying and have to talk 24/7, it just worked out that way today.

15.) Your favorite memory?: Oh when he took me to Chicago for 3 days and we went to the Melting Pot for dinner. I loved walking through the streets of Chicago all dressed up at night, taking the subway, and eating such yummy food! I felt like I was in a movie and it was so romantic!

16.) Whats the sweetest thing youve ever done for each other?: Hmmm Brian has done so many sweet things (like taking me to the Kalahari, to Chicago, and what not)! I think another one that stands out to me was when he left a note on my car. It didn't really say much, but I think that was the moment I realized I loved him...and yes it was relatively early in our relationship and I didn't tell him I loved him til like 2 months later ha ha.

I made Brian a blanket, so I suppose thats probably the sweetest thing I've done for him :)

17.) When did you first say "I love you"?: We were in the Wisconsin Dells and it was late at night and I told Brian I loved him. It wasn't terribly romantic on my part though...

18.) What are your "pet names" for each other?: He calls me "babe" and I call him the same, or sweetie.

19.) do you think your significant other is the one?: Well...I suppose ;)

20.) How many times a day do you kiss?: Not nearly enough damnit! We're too busy running our own law office and/or being a slave/visual merchandise expert to the Baby Gap to see eachother every day, so when I do see him, we kiss a lot ;)

21.) Do you hold hands?: Yup, but it is kind of hard to do sitting down since his arms are extra long and mine are extra short.

22.) What's your favorite feature of your significant other?: well are we talking physical or not? Physical, well he has the greatest brown eyes ever, and non-physical? His desire to help people and how respectful he is towards me.

23.) How long do you think you'll be together?: Oh just one forever (inside joke)

24.) What's the longest you've ever been apart?: I think it was a week we went between seeing eachother. Which is sad if you consider we live 15 minutes apart. Like I said, life gets hectic.

25.) Have you ever broken up?: Not really, but we have been on the rocks for a few hours at a time.

26.) Would you like to have children together? If yes, how many?: ZERO! I am anti-having babies due to my job. However we will get at least a dog, and if I do change my mind, 2 kids at the most.

27.) What reminds you of your sweetie?: the creepy guy on SNL, the West Wing, anything Marquette, the Brewers, and Coca-cola.

28.) Do you have a special song?: Yup sure do, it's called "Space" by Sara Buxton, or our favorite hymn to sing during communion, "Come to the Table".

Have you ever...

29.) stayed out together 'til the sun came up?: Nope, I think our latest is like 3:00 am

30.) Skipped work just to be together?: Well he is his own boss, so technically it is not skipping work, but I have distracted him from what he should be doing.

31.) Stayed up all night watching movies together?: Uh how about asking if I've stayed awake during a single movie...I tend to fall asleep during them.

32.) Gone on vacation together?: Sure have! To the Kalahari, Wisconsin Dells, Chicago, and Vegas/Utah in October baby!

33.) Fell asleep in each others arms?: Yup, greatest thing EVER!

34.) Got caught daydreaming about each other?: stupid question...yes

35.) Stared at each other smiling?: Sappy but yes

36.) Say something disgustingly mooshy:
"I would take old dudes and kill 'em"
"kill 'em with kindness?"
"no, with an axe"
"Oooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh"
"Then I'd cut 'em up into pieces"
"aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah"
"then I'd grind 'em up in a meat grinder"
"YES!"
"Then I'd put 'em on bread and eat 'em"
"I guess you could say you had yourself a manwich?"
"yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah"
"oooooooooooooooooh"

(this is from one of our favorite SNL clips ha ha, yes one of our mushy things is we watch SNL together on most Saturdays. You can watch the clip below)

All you need is faith, and trust...

2009-04-19T21:04:00.001-07:00

So my life lately has been quite worrisome. My mom hasn't been feeling well for about 2 weeks now, and it just keeps getting worse. It started out she got new glasses and the prescription wasn't working for her. She couldn't see out of them at all. She went back to a different Opthamologist and he said that it was slightly off, but not enough to cause that many problems. However, seeing that she has prisms, and bifocals, they decided to order new lenses to see if that would correct the problem.

In the meantime, my mom started having double vision, and she was driving around with one eye closed (if she uses her eyes seperately she sees normal out of the eye, but using both she sees double) and what not. She also experienced numbness down one side of her body, and she was having balance issues as well. Her primary physician told her to go to the ER immediately, and after a series of tests they ruled out a stroke, a brain tumor, and a heart attack. Three things that are extremely extremely great to rule out, but it still left a mystery as to why she was feeling ill.

She went to a neurologist and he has come to a few conclusions as to what is going on. Blood tests and a MRI will confirm and rule out the possiblities of what it could be. In the meantime, her situation hasn't really improved, and now her right eye is turning in (think in a lazy eye type of way) towards her nose. She does however have a black pirate patch to wear over the bad eye so she can see, and as a result she will randomly come by my room and go ARRRRRRRR! It's kind of fun having a pirate for a mom ;) Needless to say she's banned from driving and she's not allowed to use sharp knives in the kitchen.

The reason I write all of this is not for sympathy or pity, but for anyone who reads this to please please keep her in your prayers. I have no clue what I would do without my mom, and she really is the most amazing woman. She has brought my family through so many things, including helping me with a million problems whether it was a broken heart, a bad grade, or any other small problem. I go to her with EVERYTHING!! and I can't imagine going through life, getting married, having babies (or raising a puppy if I'm permanently going to be anti-having babies haha) without her there. So please, please, please keep her in your prayers that she can get healthy and better!

This is my mom and I at my graduation dinner at Rusty's Ranch House.

Oh yeah

2009-04-13T22:48:00.000-07:00

Take this survey

1. First thing you wash in the shower? I shampoo my hair first

2. Do you like yourself? Hell yes, I'm awesome. I mean I have a great family, a hottie hot boyfriend, I have a decent job, I'm not mooching off of the government, and I have a car...I mean I have a lot going for me right there. What more could I possibly want? Minus 40 pounds of me to go away ha ha.

3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Yes, I definitely would. In fact I want a kiss right now damn it...

4.Do you plan outfits? Yes, but then usually when the time comes around to wear it, I change my mind.

5. How are you feeling RIGHT now? Today, well today is a fat day in my world.

6. Whats the closest thing to you thats red? The printing on my Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper can.

7. Do you say aim or a-i-m? I honestly have no clue...neither?

8. Tell me about the last dream you remember having? Last night I had a dream that Brian and I were in Utah and he fell in love with a girl I know from SUU who also happened to date one of my exes and then they got married and I was all alone.

9. Did you meet anybody new today? Just customers I helped at work

10. What are you craving right now? I want a McChicken, fries, and an orange drink from McDonalds.

11. Do you floss? Not every day, I'd say 4-5 times a week. Some nights I fall asleep before I get around to it.

12. What comes to mind when I say cabbage? Habbage, which isn't a word, but there you go

13. When was the last time you talked on aim? Earlier tonight!

14. Are you emotional? ME? Never! j/k

15. Would you dance to the taco song? There's a taco song?

16. Have you ever counted to 1,000? I'm sure I have

17. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it? Lick it! Biting it is evil, like chewing on ice.

18. Do you like your hair? Not so much no, but today was a good hair day.

19. What color is your favorite hoodie? It is navy blue and from American Eagle

20. Have you ever met a celebrity? Sure have!

21. Do you like cottage cheese? mmmm yummy yes!

22. What are you listening to right now? Law and Order: SVU on TV

23. How many countries have you visited? 1, Canada

24. Are your parents strict? Not really, no. They never needed to be

25. Would you go sky diving? Maybe...I lean more twoards no but you never know.

26. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush? If he's paying, yes!

27. Would you throw potatoes at him? Only if he flung peas at me first.

28. Is there anything sparkly in the room you’re in? Lots of jewelry!

29. Have you ever been in a castle? Just Cinderella's. Though one night I slept next to the castle in...some southern utah town with the name of either Blanding, Moab, or Monticello

30. Do you rent movies often? Maybe twice a month

31. Who sits in behind you in your math class? I don't have math class, but I liked math class!

32. Have you made a prank phone call? Yeah when I was little

33. Do you own a gun? Only the water squirty kind.

34. Can you count backwards from 74? Seriously? This is a lame question, who can't?

35. Who are you going to be with tonight? No one, lonely, i'm so lonely, got no body for my own...

36. Brown or white eggs? white

37. Do you own something from Hot Topic? I don't think so

38. Ever been on a train? Sure have, took one from Milwaukee to New York, and the one at the Zoo!

39. Ever been in love? Sure have, I am so in love right now actually.

40. Do you have a cell-phone? yes but it's a piece of shit.

41. Are you too forgiving? Sometimes

42. Do you use chap stick? No, my lips are just naturally awesome

43. What is your best friend doing tomorrow? He has like 4 court appearances he has to make. Poor guy.

44. Can you use chop sticks? To stab you with? Yes!

45. Ever have cream puffs? YES!!! The ones at the Wisconsin State Fair rock! Oh man I can't wait for the State Fair, cream puffs, mozzerella sticks with ranch, sky glider (for an undeterminable amount of times), deep friend oreos, deep friends veggies, free BINGO!, the shammy guy, hot tubs, milk for 25 cents, and moo cows. Seriously, the WI state fair rocks.

46. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect? Can't say that I have

47. What was the last question you asked? What time my mom wanted me to drive her to work in the morning.

48. What was the last CD you bought? Rascal Flatts new CD Unstoppable

49. Boys or girls? In regards to what? I prefer boys when it comes to who I want to get makey-outey with

51. Is your hair curly? Just the top layer, so annoying

52. Last time you cried? This morning. I woke up at 3:45 and I had to work 9-6. I just wanted sleep and I couldn't fall back asleep and I got frustrated around like 5:30 and started to cry ha ha. I'm such a nerd.

53. Ever walked into a wall? Haha yes, like every day.

54. Do looks matter? Yes, to a point.

55. Have you ever bought anything from Pac Sun? Nope

56. Have you ever slapped someone? Playfully, yes.

57. Favorite time of the year? Fall!

58. Favorite color? Pink!

59. Are you sarcastic? Nope not one bit...

60. Do you have any tattoos? Sure don't

61. The last person you held hands with? Brian! It's amazing how well freakishly short arms go with freakishly long arms in order to make hand holding possible.

62. Do you sleep with the TV on? Not really, sometimes I'll fall asleep with it on but I always feel so unrested in the morning.

64. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people? Dislike, oh yes.

65. Do you like your life right now? yeah it's pretty amazing.

66. How often do you talk on the phone? Never if I can avoid it. I"m not so much of a phone talker anymore

67. What is your favorite animal? Dinosaur!

68. What was the most recent thing you bought? I bought a shirt today at the Gap...I need better coping mechanisms, and to save money for Las Vegas!

69. Do you have good vision? No, not at all

70. Can you hula hoop? On Wii fit I'm the hula champ! In real life, not so much.

71. Could you ever forgive a cheater? Forgive? Yes. Forget? no.

72. Do you have a job? Sure do, I'm a Visual Merchandise Expert with the Gap

73. Can you handle the truth? Yes!!!

74. What are you wearing? Brown gap workout pants, a yellow gap tank top, a grey american eagle hoodie, and red underthings...yeah zero things match on me right now ha ha.

New Blog!

2009-04-09T22:10:00.000-07:00

So I decided to create a recipe blog to keep track of all the recipes I find and want to try. I have put a link on my sidebar for those of you who would be interested in checking it out! :)

Love Who You Love

2009-04-08T21:19:00.000-07:00

So, continuing with my last post about a Rascal Flatts, I had to post another cool thing. I'm a nerd, with too much time on my hands, but I came across this and thought it was awesome.

Rascal Flatts has a song that is a love song, but the interesting thing is, they wrote it without using any pronouns. If you think about it long and hard, there are boy loving girl, girl wanting boy, type songs, but none for people with same sex attraction. They were quoted as saying:

"We actually have some gay people that work with us, and we have a lot of friends that are gay, too, and I know that this song has inspired them,” said singer Gary LeVox during an interview at CMT earlier this month. “I know that coming out was tough on their parents and on them and the whole entire family. For a long time, some of them didn’t get to hear ‘I love you’ from their dads or be accepted in that way. … It’s helped a lot of our friends. That’s what’s cool about our music,” says guitarist Joe Don Rooney. “You can interpret (it like) that. If you get that — it’s perfect. If you are someone who’s gay or someone who’s straight, you still feel something from the song, and that’s what we want.”

I am amazed by how much progress has been going on for the gay communities (go Iowa!), and this is just another example of how common this is going to be. I also think it's awesome that these 3 guys are all Christians, and idenfity themselves as such, and are not afraid to speak out on this controversial topic. Most media figures who are Christians are usually very anti-homosexuality. I think it's great that they will be so bold as to say such statements as above.

In the article they also were saying in 1992 some radio stations refused to play a Garth Brooks song because it was pro-homosexuality. Though it shouldn't have taken 17 years to get to this point, I'm glad it at least has evolved here. I'm also extremely grateful that I have evolved in my own thinking about homosexuality, and have realized that we're all equals. It comes down to who you sleep with behind closed doors, and that is none of my business whatsoever.

And without further ado, the lyrics to my second newest favorite song:

"I should have stolen every moment
Now there's a page
With not enough on it
Where we belong
I guess I'll never understand it
Why do we take it all for granted
Until it's gone
'Cause then it's gone

Love who you love
With all that you have
And don't waste the time
That flies so fast
Love who you love
And say that you do
Hold on as tight as they'll let you
Love who you love

Give all you've got
Like it's your last day
your heart and soul
Before it's too late
And pull them in so close
Enough that they can feel it
With every single breath that
You're breathing
Breathe it in again and again"

-Love Who You Love by Rascal Flatts

Unstoppable

2009-04-06T23:50:00.000-07:00

To start off, those of you who have an itouch or an iphone you seriously should download the Lose It! application if you're into the whole food tracking thing. It's a food journal, but it has like every food you could ever want in the database, plus adds a cute little graphic of the food to make everything look fun. There also is a database of nutritional contents for restaurants as well. You type in your height, weight, goals, etc and it calculates your calorie need per day as you lose weight, plus it also creates graphs of your goals. I am addicted to it!!

Moving on, so Saturday I decided I don't want to look back on my life and regret anything. I don't want to wonder where time went, I don't want to feel like life passed me by. I have come to this conclusion many times, but this is the first time I have actually felt a huge huge desire to take action on it. I'm letting go of regrets, letting go of jealousy, and focusing on what I have and being happy with it. Also, I'm going to get into shape (ok that's the 15,000 time I've pledged that, I realize this ha ha) because it will add so much to my life. Plus, Brian and I are going to Las Vegas (and Utah!!!!!!!!) in October and I want to be able to wear a cute swimsuit without feeling icky, and I want to turn heads (yup, I'm so vain, and yes I think that song is about me).

Speaking of songs (nice transition eh?) I downloaded the new Rascal Flatts song an hour or so ago from Itunes, and their new song "Unstoppable" pretty much sums up all of the feelings I have in words better than I could ever say, so here are the lyrics:

So, so you made a lot of mistakes
Walked down the road a little
Sideways
Cracked a brick when you
Hit the wall
Yeah, you've had a pocketful
Of regrets
Pulled you down faster than
A sunset
Hey it happens to us all
When the cold, hard rain just won't quit
And you can't see your way
Out of it

You find your faith
That's been lost and shaken
You take back what's been taken
Get on your knees and dig
Down deep
You can do what you
Think is impossible
Keep on believing, don't give in
It'll come and make you
Whole again
It always will, it always does
Love is unstoppable

Love, it can weather any storm
Bring you back to being born, again
Oh, it's the helping hand
When you needed it most
The lighthouse shining on
The coast
That never goes dim
When your heart is full of doubt
And you think that there's no way out

It's unstoppable
Like a river keeps on rollin'
Like a north wind blowin'
Don't it feel good knowin'
Love is unstoppable
So, so you make a lot of mistakes

-Rascal Flatts, "Unstoppable"

I think part of what I love most about this song is that, well to me anyway, it is saying how love is the driving force behind all of this. I know Brian is a huge reason why I want to make these changes, and he is such a support, and seriously pushes me (in a good way) to be a better person.

Oh and those of you who have noticed my weight loss thing on the side, no I didn't gain 15 pounds ha ha I just adjusted my goal weight to have a buffer...and I gained 5 pounds ;)

Some exciting news!

2009-03-29T20:24:00.000-07:00

I wasn't able to post about this really until it became official today, but I am now a manager at the store I work at. Our store has 5 management positions and there was an opening for a while, so now I'm responsible of Brand and Visualization stuff. I'm pretty excited, and extra excited for the pay raise ha ha. I've known that the position might be mine for like 3 weeks now, but it just became official as of today. If it was full time it would be perfect, for now I'm still part time though.

It kind of scares me though to think that retail really might be my career, but I'm just extremely grateful for having any job at this point in time. Plus it's nice to finally be making more than I did before college. I'm nervous as to how much I'm actually going to screw up in this position but hey I guess everything is a learning experience right? I am extremely grateful for Brian though. He has supported me through the ups and downs of this whole experience thusfar, and I know that without him I would be so lost. He gets two thumbs up from me :)

Oh and watching Big Love (illegally ha ha, I missed most of season 3 so I've found it online) and nothing else for a week definitely was enjoyable. Possibly because of the awesome quotes from that show such as "Life is too short to live on white bread and green jell-o" or "I'm so bleepity bleepity tired of this" (yes bleepity was really used, it is Utah afterall). It also could be the fact that our new Menards totally is exactly like Home Plus, or that I had a customer with the name Barb Hendrickson, or all of the above. However, because I learned that the girl who does the voice of Lilo in Lilo and Stitch is also the child bride of the prophet of the polygamists, I now see Lilo as a polygamist too ha ha.

Anyway, I got off track. I wanted to share a list that I've been compiling for a while and I finally have 10 things on it to share. So far this is what wisdom (ok or bitching I need to do) I have to share that I have learned from my time as a sales associate:

1.) It is not a sales associates job to clean up after your child. If you're going to feed them crap while shopping it is your responsiblity to clean it up when they spill it all over the floor.

2.)Do not let your kids ruin the toys that a store is selling. If you give your kid a book that we're selling to occupy them while you shop (aka your lack of paying attention to your kid who is screaming their head off and making other customers mad), you should buy it if your darling angel decides to chew on it. I don't care if you can't afford a 20 dollar book k thanks. This goes for stuffed animals and anything else really.

3.) I am never having children...ever. Seriously, what the hell was I thinking when I said I wanted 4 or 5? I think the best form of birth control for any teenager should be having to work at a baby store so they can see how psycho kids can be. I'm getting a golden retriever or a chocolate lab, naming him Tucker, or Utah (cute dog name right? Ute for short of course), and that's it. If I could get my tubes tied now I would. Occasionally you can catch me on a good day filled with decent kids and I might say I want one. Brian rejoices in the days I say I want zero though ;) (I love you babe!).

4.) Note, letting your kid play in clothes racks where they pull things off the hangers is not good parenting. Also, who ever said it was a good idea to let a baby gnaw on a metal and wood hanger? Parenting at it's finest right there I tell you.

5.) Shoplifting in front of your child is also not good parenting.

6.) Sales associates are not idiots. When we tell you that your returning of something that you used rewards points on results in the points being credited back to your account, you don't have to "hope it will happen" nor will asking me "are you sure?" get you bonus points. I'm telling you it will happen. You just go back to your crappy parenting of your kid who is chewing on a hanger.

7.) When potty training a child, if they choose to pee all over the seat/floor/whatever that isn't the actual toilet, clean it up yourself. If you're going to potty train them and take them in public, do the stores a common courtesy. We really don't have time in our busy day to clean up after every kid. Soap and water is standard in every bathroom to clean with and I'll disinfect later for you.

8.) Us being out of gift boxes is not the end of the world, nor is it grounds to call customer service on me. Seriously, my company is the one who said to not give out anymore boxes so complaining to them about me isn't going to get you anywhere sweetie, nor does threatening to call customer service on me actually scare me into magically building you a box out of thin air.

9.) A lot of my co-workers are awesome. Seriously they make the awful days bearable with their sarcasm and wit.

10.) Let's talk about kids clothing sizes for a second:
a.) just because your kid is long and skinny it isn't grounds to say that baby/toddler clothes are "made for fat kids whose parents are obese".
b.)Just because your kid is 5, weighs probably as much as I do, doesn't mean that you can yell at me because you can't find pants for your daughter who is traumatizing our other shoppers. If she's 5 and wearing a size XXL in kids (size 14-16) you have bigger issues than pants that are too long.
c.) NO I magically cannot tell you how much a baby will weigh in x amount of months, nor can I successfully predict what size they will be wearing. Also, if you don't really value my opinion and will go against what I suggest no matter what, don't waste my time by asking.

That really is my venting for now, I do love my job, but sometimes I just need to vent about it ha ha. Especially cause I can't vent to the customers about their stupidity.

Finish the sentence.

2009-03-25T23:06:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to update my blog for a while, but nothing really has happened lately, so I thought I'd do a survey since I can't sleep.

1. I've come to realize that i laughed last....when someone from Cedar told me that someone who is knocked up told her "baby's daddy" that because she has a certain condition sperm can live inside of her for a month or so (mind you average lifespan of sperm is 48 hours, give or take some time depending on fertility) before fertilizing an egg. Basically the due dates of when said person and the baby's daddy last had sex and the baby's due date don't match up (by almost 6 weeks). AKA someones been a little slutty!! I laughed so hard. And yet I still laugh every time I think of it. Yeah I'm a bitch sometimes ha ha.

2. I am listening to....the Big Love episode I'm currently watching.

3. I talk...more than I should sometimes. It seems I never know when to stop lately :)

4. I love...the fact that it might just be spring in Wisconsin.

5. My best friend(s)...are in two places very far away from each other.

6. My first real kiss....was in a car. How boring.

7. Love is....more than I can give to you, Love is more than just a game for two. Two in love can make it...and so on and so forth ha ha.

8. Marriage is....something that won't happen for me for a while.

9. Somewhere, someone is thinking...of me, and loving me tonight. Somewhere out there, someones saying a prayer, that we'll find one another, somewhere out there, out where dreams come true. You have to love American Tale.

10. I always....will consider Utah my second home.

11. The last time I really cried was because...I had a really awful day today. I cried the entire time I was driving home. Today was full of self-loathing, stupid actions, and gossip that wasn't so friendly in my direction.

12. My cell phone...is a piece of crap.

14. When I go to sleep...I stay up for hours after i try to sleep, worrying about everything.

15. Right now....I am watching Big Love, filling out this survey, eating a Reece's Peanut Butter Egg, and drinking a Pibb Zero.

16. Babies are...something I used to want. I wanted 4 kids, then I got a job at the Baby Gap, and instead of having kids I'm going to get a golden retriever.

17. I get annoyed when...I let myself down.

18. Today I... took my car in to get fixed. The tail light kept filling with water and had to be reassembled.

19. Tomorrow I.....will work from 10-2, then maybe get coffee with a friend from high school who is in town. If I don't get coffee with her I'm going to spend the night watching Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice.

20. I really want to be...debt free. Stupid student loans.

21. Words to live by...."Ask your mom" (best fortune cookie fortune ever. Short and sweet and so true).

You know you want a present...

2009-03-05T09:22:00.001-08:00

So I got this idea from Natalie, and I am so stoked for this! I love being crafty, but I never really need to make anything for me. This way, I can make things for all you lovely people out there :) That is if you want something ha ha, aprons are my specialty so keep that in mind ;)

ARE YOU GAME?

The first three people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year.
4- You have no clue what it's going to be.
5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.
The catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 3 people who do the same on your blog.
The first 3 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

Who's in?

Cure for the Blahs!

2009-03-04T10:43:00.000-08:00

I have been over the top blah and down for exactly a week. Not for any real reason except I just am blah and down and BORED out of my freaking mind. I've stated before that I'm totally one for surprises and randomness, and it's hard to plan randomness for yourself because then it's not really random...it's planned. My days have been exactly the same for a week: I wake up, get ready, work some days, days I don't work I browse the internet for jobs, apply for jobs, get rejected for jobs, look at my lack of finances, work out at some point in the day, diet and crave food, and then go to bed bored and down.

So today I woke up said "screw it, today is my day" and I'm spending it doing these things:

-Watching every chick flick I own starting with Enchanted (because really who doesn't like to dance and sing along to "That's How You Know" and then wish they could go to a ball like that), then Serendipity, Sydney White, and whatever else I feel like. Oh and I'm redboxing Fireproof.

-Making brownies and eating as many as I feel will successfully sabotage my weightloss efforts as of late.

-Getting Chicken McNuggets and a coke to make sure those efforts are fully sabotaged

-Wearing sweatpants and a tank top all day and not getting ready (minus the fact I already showered).

-Eating pizza for dinner just in case my diet sabotage efforts were not successful with the brownies and nuggets.

-Playing yahoo backgammon as much as I want (yup I'm a nerd, I love backgammon but no one will play with me in real life).

-Online shopping...for something...I'm not sure what, I just have the urge to splurge.

Now if I wasn't in wisconsin where the weather will never get above 40 degrees for another 5 months, I would spend it outside enjoying the sunshine and shopping...but this will have to suffice for now.

Chicago Trip, Day Two

2009-02-27T21:21:00.000-08:00

Day Two:

The second day we were in Chicago I was able to meet a friend of mine whom I hadn't seen in 5 years. My friend Emily lived on my floor my first year of college at Viterbo, and she is an actress in the local theatre scene down there. We got breakfast and it was so fun to catch up and see her again. She also is the first friend of mine to meet Brian :)

After that we went to Millennium Park, which is a park near our hotel that holds a bunch of different artsy things. They have cool things like two towers of glass bricks that project moving giant faces that spit water during the summer. The faces change to new faces every few minutes. It's hard to describe, and I didn't take this picture, but this is what it looks like:

They also have an outdoor ice skating rink, a music pavillion, and the Cloud Gate, which I refer to as the giant silver jellybean. This jellybean is so cool because you can see the Chicago skyline in it, as well as yourself. We took a lot of pictures here, so these are a few of my favorites:

Self portrait of Brian and I at the jellybean:

Me making faces at Brian (you can see him taking the picture in the reflection):

and this is what the skyline looks like in the bean:

After the park, we went to the Shedd Aquarium. It was so cool to see all the fish, bugs, and reptiles they have there. It was free day though for kids so it was PACKED!! I liked the shark with the saw nose best. We didn't take any pictures here though :( and I really really wish we had some. Oh well.

That night we just relaxed and got authentic deep dish chicago pizza for dinner. Later on we ventured to 7-11 because I wanted a slurpee so badly (we don't have 7-11s anymore around us). I was WIRED the rest of the night. I think its sad that on trips one of my favorite things is getting food I can't get in Milwaukee ha ha.

Day Three:

The last day we were in Chicago we didn't really have anything planned. We went to Ed Debevick's for lunch, which is a way fun restaurant. Its a 50's style dinner where they sing and dance on the countertops, and all the waiters/waitresses play a role. They'll be rude to you on purpose, or play whatever other character they want. It was way cute and fun.

We went back to the Lego store because I decided I couldn't just get my cousin nothing when he knew full well I was going to the Lego store. So even though they didn't have Batman Legos, they did have tons of other ones, and we bought him a Police Helicopter, and a Policeman with a speed trap type thing. There are tons of legos to play with at the store, and Brian built me a model of my car. It was so cute that I just had to take a picture of it (it was taken with my phone so that explains the bad lighting and such):

After that we just got some dessert at the Cheesecake Factory, and then we pretty much were on our way home. It was such a fun 3 days, and I'm so grateful that Brian took me on this trip. I had a blast, and I can't wait to see what other adventures we can go on!

Chicago Trip (finally) Day One

2009-02-27T21:09:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to write this blog for over a week, but I finally am getting around to doing it.

Day One:

We took the Megabus down to Chicago early Monday morning. The Megabus is a coach bus line that goes to random cities for cheap, depending on how early you buy tickets. We paid about $13.00 round trip for both of us, and it was cheaper in the long run to do that and take taxis in Chicago because parking is about $30-$40 a night. We arrived in Chicago at 10, and check in at the hotel wasn't until 3, but our room was already ready so we got to check in early. The hotel was so neat, but I was sad that there was TONS of construction going on outside. Brian thought it was like a ghost hotel, and I agreed with him on that.

The first day Brian, being the lovely guy that he is, let us go to Panda Express for lunch. There aren't any in Wisconsin in our area and so I got SO excited when there was one right by our hotel. I fell in love with it while in Utah, and so I had missed Orange Chicken a lot. Then we ventured to find the Lego Store because my cousin wants the Batman legos, but we weren't able to find them :( We got to take the Subway everywhere, which to me is fun because it makes me feel like such a city girl.

We went to the top of the John Hancock building, and its like 95 stories tall I think. It was neat to see the city from so far up, and they give you headphones to listen to different clips about the city and such. It was way cool, and most of the pictures didn't work out so well, but here's a cool one I took with my phone of how the city looks from so high up!

Oh and one of the things we learned on the tour is that they clean the windows of the building 4 times a year! I can't imagine being that high up on a scaffolding thing cleaning them. They had a mock thing set up and so here is me being super happy cleaning the windows (yup I know I look like a nerd).

That night Brian took me out to a fancy schmancy dinner, which allowed us to get all dressed up! It was between Flemings (a steak house) and the Melting Pot. I chose the Melting Pot and I am so freaking glad that I did. It was the most delicious food that I have ever had. For those that don't know what it is, its a fondue restaurant. The meal we had was 4 courses, a cheese fondue (that came with bread, apples, and veggies to dip), a salad, main course (shrimp, chicken, filet mignon, veggies, and ravioli with a wine sauce), and a dessert fondue (strawberries, bananas, rice krispe treats, cheesecake, marshmallows, and brownies to dip in chocolate). It was so fun! They made all the fondue dips at your table, and it ended up taking almost 3 hours to complete our meal. Brian even fed me food like they do in movies, and it was so romantic ;) It seriously was one of the best meals I've ever had, and now I'm going to buy a fondue pot so we can have fondue dinners for dates.

My room is finally finished!

2009-02-12T20:43:00.001-08:00

I have been looking for something to go on the wall that my bed is parallel to since May, but I haven't wanted to put anything heavy up because stuff always falls off of that wall. It shakes when doors are opened in my house for whatever random reason. Then I came up with the idea to put vinyl lettering up but I could never find a phrase that I was entirely happy with, or if I found one I liked it would be black and red which would clash with my whole brown and pink and cream theme.

Then yesterday my mom and I went to Kohls and I found the perfect vinyl lettering phrase basically by accident. In addition, it was the perfect colors! It was brown and metallic gold and says "Everyday holds a possibility of a miracle". I love it, and I just had to share how cute it is. Sorry it's not the best picture, but the metallic gold reflects off of the light so I had to be creative. And it looks like the gold part is two different shades, but its all metallicy, it's just the light reflection.

CAUTION: Women are Hazardous!

2009-02-09T20:57:00.000-08:00

I found this on a random facebook thing today and I liked it so much I wanted to post it here. Oh and if you click on it another window will open up with a bigger picture that's easier to read.

Another shuffle thing...

2009-02-06T23:51:00.000-08:00

1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Tag 5 friends
5. Everyone tagged has to do the same thing.
6. Have Fun!

IF SOMEONE SAYS 'ARE YOU OKAY' YOU SAY?
Learn to Live-Darius Rucker

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Invisible-Taylor Swift

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Backwards-Kendall Payne (whatever that's supposed to mean ha ha)

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Man! I feel like a woman! -Shania Twain (haha that's too funny)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Time of My Life -David Cook (works for me!)

WHAT'S YOUR MOTTO?
Even Superman-Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
All-American Girl-Carrie Underwood (really? well ok if you all think so ha ha).

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Popular-Wicked (not so much)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Your Guardian Angel-Red Jumpsuit Apparatus (actually, I do think of Brian often and this song reminds me of him so that kind of fits).

WHAT IS 2 +2?
Eleanor Rigby-David Cook (haha so 2+2 equals a lonely dead person...that works)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Life is a Highway-Rascal Flatts (sweet lets go! Roadtrip! In my car of course, not the rusty wonder).

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Drama Queen-Lindsay Lohan (yeah far too much drama all the time, pretty much sums it up).

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Real Gone-Sheryl Crow (haha works for me).

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
The Beauty in Ugly-Jason Mraz (hahahhahaha...sad...but Brian is not ugly so this is false)

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Fairytale-Sara Bareilles (aw a bitter girl song, how perfect for a wedding).

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
I Can Only Imagine-Mercy Me (ok thats creepy that that came up for my funeral song).

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Anyone Else But You-Ellen Page and Michael Cera

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Don't Blink-Kenny Chesney (there is some truth to that, I'm afraid of life passing me by).

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Stupid Girls-Pink

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?
Nothin' Like the Summer-Carmen Rasmussen (yes warm weather please).

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Letter to Me-Brad Paisley

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
I Can Love You Like That-John Michael Montgomery (uh not so much but ok).

For all you bread lovers out there...

2009-02-03T12:53:00.000-08:00

Ok so I am totally a bread junkie. I can't help it, I love bread, and usually only the bread that's thick and from a bakery. I try to eat whole grain breads but usually they're so dry and gross that I never make more than one sandwich. Well on Saturday my mom and I were at the grocery store and came across these beauties:

(sorry I got the picture from the Arnold's website and its the biggest picture they had).

They're called sandwich thins and they're like a cross between a pita, a hamburger bun, and bread. We got the multi-grain type, but they also come in whole wheat and whole grain white. Let me tell you that they're DELICIOUS. And the best part, they're good for you. They have 5 grams of fiber (20% of your RV for the day), no High Fructose Corn Syrup (it can be hard to find bread without it), they're only 100 calories (which is how much once slice of diet bread usually is), they're cholesterol free, and 0 trans fats (low in fat overall, only 1 gram).

I am in love...granted I can only speak for the multi-grain ones, but the whole wheat ones are next on my list. I like mine with turkey, lettuce, and mustard.

I highly recommend them to anyone :)

Perhaps I watch too much Law and Order....

2009-02-02T20:38:00.001-08:00

So last Thursday night when Brian returned home from hanging out with me (I was scared to be home alone and everyone was out of town for the funeral) there was a Jeep parked on his street running. At 9 am the next morning the Jeep was still running, so Brian went to make sure no one was dead in the back. Well there was someone in there, but they were very much alive and just sleeping. Creepy right?

Well then Friday night when Brian got home the jeep also was there...still running...still creepy...

So Saturday rolls around and I go over to Brian's house to get ice cream and play wii. I turned onto his street and as soon as I did this Jeep sped into a driveway, but the car never turned off. Brian told me that was the Jeep he kept seeing, and we ran off to get ice cream. When we drove back onto his street from Molly Moo Cow's ice cream, the Jeep sped off again! It was seriously creepy, and it was creepy enough for Brian to call the cops.

This is where it gets juicy. So he calls the cops and they said they were going to send out a squad car to investigate. Sadly, there was a big pine tree blocking our view of the Jeep from any given window in Brian's house. We then decided to take advantage of the warm weather (ok it was like 35 but that was a freaking tropical heat wave compared to what it had been) and sit on his porch. I felt just like an agent on Law and Order waiting for the rapist/murderer/whatever. Sure enough a cop car comes up (no sirens though, lame) and the Jeep speeds into the same driveway and the cop drives by. The guy then gets out of his car, and I'm thinking he can see us and I'm going to get shot and killed, but he went into the house and the cops drive by again and eventully park on the end of the street.

We decide to go on a walk and coincidentally walk by the cops, who inform us that the kid's parents live in that house and they basically banned him from living there. Brian's mom heard rumors that they're all druggies of some sort, and my guess is the kid did drugs hardcore.

What was creepier, is when i left Brian's house at midnight the kid's Jeep was parked on the end of their driveway running yet again. I was afraid for my car's and my own safety, but Brian walked me out to my car and all was well and safe.

I want to be a CSI agent now ha ha...it was very exciting.

Reliving gym class...

2009-01-27T11:33:00.000-08:00

So I was totally the fat kid in gym class. You know, the kids who have no natural athletic ability and are always picked last. The one who is always out first in dodgeball, and really when you're a large slow target I don't blame the other kids. The only saving grace for me was there was a girl who was in my class some years who was the same size as me, but her last name was Butt. Then she was the last kid picked.

Why am I blogging about this? Because last night I totally had to relive my elementary school gym class days. See I agreed to go to a bowling league even though I sucked at bowling. I was told that no one would really be paying attention and not everyone is that good anyway. So there I am, doing my thing and feeling pretty good since I was bowling my best game ever, and I'm watching other people's techniques and stuff when someone comes up to me and says "It's ok, I'm bowling really bad tonight too". In my head I was like "what the hell..." so that totally crushed my bowling high, but I held on a little hope. Then I realized, indeed people are watching you...they're all standing in a row in the back watching...totally made my anxiety worse.

So the first game finishes and I got a score of 104 which is the highest I've ever gotten. Then I looked at everyone else's scores and realized how low mine was. That crushed my high a little more. Then we're a few frames into the second game and the same person comes up and says "(insert husbands name) and I don't care that you're not good". And I was mortified. More embarassed than I really have been since the UDA conference. I realized I had to bowl the ball like 32 more times, and it then was my goal to get up, bowl as fast as I could, and sit down trying to disappear.

I was so embarassed that I literally got sick to my stomach somewhere in the third game and had to go to the bathroom where I barely made it in time to throw up. I half was tempted to call my mom to rescue me but I stuck it out. Then I realized i was totally the biggest girl there (well at least within like 4 ish lanes cause i couldn't see past that), well there was someone my size but she's like 5 or 6 inches taller so she looked way skinnier, and I wanted to disappear more. I was the fat girl in gym class again...well this time it was a bowling alley.

To top it off, the whole ride home I had to fight back tears, which just resulted in a runny nose which made my throat hurt worse.

Needless to say...I'm never bowling again. Or at least til I'm stupid enough to try it again but it definitely will not be in front of other people.

Sad Day...

2009-01-25T21:32:00.000-08:00

So today we got a phone call from my Aunt that my Uncle Bob (my dad's older brother) passed away. Now I haven't seen my Uncle Bob since I was 14 or so, but it still was sad to see my small family get even smaller. It's even more sad to think that out of my Dad's 4 siblings, only one is still alive, plus his parents have both passed away as well. I can't imagine what that would be like, and I really feel bad for him. I know it has been a while since my Dad got to see my Uncle Bob because he lives in the middle of Minnesota (like 8 or 9 hours away) and its really in the middle of nowhere. Apparently he had a heart attack and they were trying to take him by ambulance to Minneapolis but they couldn't keep him alive.

It's weird too to think that my family is getting smaller. Like one day Brian and I were talking about the size of our families, and he has like 70 people if you count his immediate family plus aunts, uncles, grandmas, first cousins, and their spouses. I have like 30 but I think that includes a second cousin or two. I sometimes wish I had a big family where we had huge get togethers and what not, but my family just really isn't like that. Then again those with big families sometimes wish that they had smaller families so its one of those "want what you don't have" type thing.

Long week...

2009-01-22T22:20:00.000-08:00

It's been a long and tiring week for a variety of reasons, and I spent most of it since Sunday in a slump. I was feeling better today, and I also got to see Brian :) Well while we watched Grey's Anatomy (PS THANK GOODNESS Denny is FINALLY gone...ugh he was so annoying) we were both hungry. I think there was a pancake commercial or something, and we tossed around the idea of IHOP. Well Brian went into the kitchen when the show was over and was digging around his cupboards looking for something. He decided to make pancakes and eggs, but I wasn't allowed to help, and he sent me to watch my "woman show" (aka Private Practice). Anyway, I was so excited when I was presented with this wonderful Mickey Mouse!:

II had to take a picture of my Mickey Mouse pancake. It was DELICIOUS!

There have been a few personal things this week that I'd rather not share, but this poem pretty much sums it all up for me.

Accept Me

I Am I
Do not change me
condemn me
nor put me down
Accept me for what I am
No...you need not agree with me
But accept me
for I am total in being
I have my faults
I have my guilts
But that is who I am
Perfect I will never be
Allow me to be uninhibited
Do not pressure me into feeling
what I do not feel
Accept me when I am flying high
As I have accepted you when
you were flying high
Do not put me down...nor make
me feel unhappy about me
I am I
and I like being what I am
Me.

-Larry S. Chengges

I took the Pledge...

2009-01-20T21:53:00.001-08:00

Have you?

SUU's Graduation Speaker choice...

2009-01-18T23:55:00.000-08:00

So I was reading on the SUU's newspaper's website today that the 2009 commencement speaker is the Mormon Church President Thomas S. Monson. This to me is a awful choice on behalf of the school, and a few of us from SUU who aren't mormon were talking about it, so I decided to blog about it as well.

Now my personal feelings aside for the Mormon church, I can see why a lot of people are angry about it. Not being from Utah, no one here in Wisconsin (aside from those who are mormon) know who this man is. You cannot claim he has done many things outside of the religion to make him a well-renouned man. Last year's speaker won a Nobel Prize, all of Monson's awards are State given, and his time with President Reagan was short lived. Yes state-wide awards, being that it is a school in Utah, would make him a great choice for speaker. But I am sure there are many many people in the state who have just as many awards. One really can't argue against the fact that Monson's claim to fame is his religious deeds.

On top of that, being that SUU is a public institution, one should not feel like they have to be subjected to a certain religion. Again, yes any LDS person should have every right to speak at graduation, but for reasons other than religion seeing that this is a public institution. Yes its widely known if you go to Utah, people are mormon and you need to understand that. But when it is something REQUIRED (we all know you have to be crowning with a baby or on your deathbed to get out of graduation) is that really fair? I HATE the argument that "oh it's Utah, you should deal with everything revolving around the LDS church". I don't recall having to sign a piece of paper agreeing to that.

I would be embarassed to have my family come to the ceremony if this was the speaker last year when I graduated. My brother even said today that he wouldn't have come (he quite enjoyed the Global Warming rant from last years graduation ha ha) because it would make him really uncomfortable (he's not a religious person). Maybe Monson won't say a single thing pertaining to religion, and I'm sure it will be a great speech, as this man is widely known as a good story teller. But when an issue such as Proposition 8 is so prevalent in today's world, as well as the mormon church's involvement in this issue, isn't this kind of a slap in the face to those who are gay, lesbian, transgender, or have family members who are? I am all for gay marriage, hey it comes down to what happens in the bedroom which is none of my business (ok I do think the issue should have some boundaries, like if a mormon bishop doesn't want to marry a gay couple he should be able to say no without legal action being brought against him), but really is this the time for a speaker from a religion that is so prominent in this issue? Afterall SUU is in hot water with issues pertaining to LGBT issues with the little transgender dorm room placement issue from last year.

I've been told many students are planning on walking out when he starts to speak and/or receives his honorary degree. I say it will be a good thing, and honestly, if this was last year, I'd probably walk out too. Though I imagine the Administration will get wind of this long before the ceremony and decide to take action against those who do.

I realize this may offend 99% of the people who read my blog, and I really want to say this isn't a slam against the mormon church, and I do respect the LDS church a lot (and those of you who belong, and this is my blog I can say what I want). I just think its a really poor choice by the SUU administration. On top of that they're saying that its going to be packed beyond capacity by all the people in the area wanting to come here monson speak. Can you imagine if someone like my parents who travelled almost 2000 miles to see it weren't able to get a seat because of people who had no interest in the ceremony beyond the fact it's the mormon church president? Last year the Centrum was packed, and so I can't imagine what the influx of community could do. Granted yes the community has a right to be there since its a public institution, but again how many will come to see the actual commencement of the graduates?

Maybe I have no right to blog about this, as it doesn't personally affect me. I'm just kind of disgusted lately at things like this. And yes you can argue that one should be open to all things including hearing LDS speakers. In Wisconsin, that argument might be a fair one for many don't know about being LDS, but when you're in Utah, you know that pretty much everything revolves around being or not being LDS.

One of the people I was talking to kept saying "seperation of church and state". It made me laugh cause a few years ago at BYU they demonstrated cause Dick Cheney was their graduation speaker. A politician going into a church school. This is the reverse ha ha, a church man going into a public school.

Maybe Utah just needed another stir-up to keep things exciting.

Secret Trip!

2009-01-11T23:21:00.000-08:00

The boy that I love whom you can see here:

Is taking me to the fabulous Silversmith Hotel

(see their website for awesomeness)

In the Windy City (aka Chicago) for 3 days in February!

It's my reward for our fitness challenge.

Aren't I a lucky girl? And this girl is so freaking excited for her trip :)

Goodbye Size 14!

2009-01-08T22:33:00.000-08:00

So this morning I crossed into the 160 weight range, which is a range I haven't been in in probably 2 years. Look at me being brave posting my weight. Anyway, as a result, I decided that I needed a treat, so I chose to put my trusty rusty Gap Discount to use.

I wasn't planning on getting pants because pants don't generally fit as well when you lose weight, whereas tops you can get more use out of even if weight loss occurs. However, just for kicks and giggles I decided to try on a size 10 pair of pants from the Gap (I am a 10 at Maurices, but at the Gap I was a 14). AND THEY FIT! As in fit well, like my bum looks fantastic in them (maybe that's too much info). Anyway, I had to share my cute outfit so I borrowed pictures from the Gap website to share.

I got this tank top, to go under this shirt:

With this sweater to go over it all:

And then this pair of fab trouser jeans:

I'm really excited about being a size 10! I know its far from being around a 6 where I should be at the weight of 140, but its still progress. Thanks for putting up with this post about me bragging ha ha.

My school district hates itself...

2009-01-07T22:47:00.000-08:00

So I thought this was amusing and quite sums up the stupidity of the job market right now.

I applied to be a secretary at the IQ Academy of the School District of Waukesha, which happens to be the school district I graduated from (go Waukesha West!). The qualifications were a high school diploma and a year of clerical experience (which I have, plus 3 years of clerical experience). I got an e-mail today saying that they didn't feel I was qualified enough for the position.

So basically what they're saying is my high school diploma earned from the Waukesha School District (I had like a 3.8 GPA so its not like I was a bad student) does not qualify me to work for the Waukesha School District...

Nice. Way to have faith in the education you're pimping out...

In reality I realize I'm overqualified seeing as I have 2 college degrees as well, but legally they can't say you're over qualified. I still got a good chuckle out of this though.

To Scrap or Not to Scrap...

2009-01-07T00:22:00.001-08:00

...that is the question.

So really this is one of those "give me your opinion posts". I'm gathering all my pictures from my time in Utah together, and I've come to a crossroads on something. Do I scrapbook pictures of an ex fiance and an ex boyfriend and me, or not? Obviously nothing will ever happen with said people (nor would I want it to, I mean exes are exes for a reason), but at the same time they were a part of my life for a good chunk of time. I am still a friend with said ex boyfriend but I don't know. It's like part of me doesn't want to remember them, but the other part of me doesn't want to just throw away that part of MY life during that time. Most pictures of my life during such times involve pictures in situations exclusive to being with said boys, otherwise i'd just scrap the pictures of me and other people I still am in contact with.

Any opinions by any one (even blog stalkers) is greatly appreciated.

Why I love my TV

2009-01-04T23:04:00.000-08:00

So a two weeks ago or so I was getting extremely frustrated all the time for no real reason except I felt I never had space. Granted, I have my own bedroom, but it's kind of tiny and lacks any real excitement beyond my laptop and ipod speakers. I never got to watch the TV programs I wanted to due to the fact that my dad is like captain of the TV remote. I never got to play Wii either for the same reason, nor could I watch any DVD's.

My mother, taking pity upon me, got me this loverly present with a random 200 and some dollar Best Buy credit she had: (thanks Bestbuy.com for the picture!)

It's sad to say something brings me so much joy, but it does. I'm much less frustrated, Brian and I can get some form of alone time to watch movies or play Wii (like Lego Indiana Jones!). I also was able to catch up on my DVD watching of Season 3 of Grey's Anatomy and Season 1 of Gossip Girl thanks to the built in DVD player. Best of all, I can do my Wii Fit regularly again!

Which is why I'm posting about my TV. I was feeling rather fat and blobby when I realized I could do some sort of physical fitness at midnight by playing Wii Fit. Now, 45 minutes later, I feel less blobby about myself and got in a semi-decent work out.

Thank you TV (and mom for getting it for me!), I sure do love you.

Now if only my TV could convince me I don't really want a piece of the Lemon Sunburst bread from Great Harvest sitting on our kitchen counter...

2009 Resolutions!

2009-01-01T15:28:00.000-08:00

I guess now it's time for the obligatory resolution post. Therefore, these are my resolutions:

1.) Lose 32 more pounds.

2.) Write in a paper journal again. I love to do it, and I have some pretty crafty journals from throughout the years, so I decided I'm going to do it once more. It helps me clear my head, and I think they're fun to have as keepsakes.

3.) Be better with my finances. Though to be honest I never spend money really for fun, but I guess maybe try to pay extra on all my student loan bills and such.

4.) Find a full-time job with benefits. Obama promised me change, so he better damn well bring it in the form of a job for me ha ha.

5.) Be comfortable with driving, and learn how to drive on the highway/freeway. I want to go on road trips with Brian, and we really only can go far away places if I can drive too.

I think those are 5 good things to work on throughout this year. Hopefully I can accomplish them all :)

OH and I found out my secret vacation destination from Brian, so I'll have to blog about that in the near future. I'm super super excited!

Looking back on 2008

2008-12-30T23:11:00.001-08:00

1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
Got my driver's license, bought a car, graduated college, and rode the sky glider at the state fair (three or four times, the number is a little hazy).

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
No I did NOT keep my new years resolutions from last year, and I will make more for next year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Hmmm actually no, but a few close friends got pregnant :)

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thank goodness.

5. What countries did you visit?
Utah, if you count it as a separate country. Seriously you should need a passport to visit there (no offense, but it is quite a different culture).

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
A full time job with benefits.

7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
July 23. Word. Best day ever. I met Brian :)

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Graduating college (finally) with two Bachelor of Science Degrees.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I slid my car down a hill sideways in the icy storm.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Uh tonsilitis I think 9 times total, maybe only 8.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My PT Cruiser, woot!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Steve's. He finally took the plunge and married the lovely Lindsey Lou. We all know how hard it was for him. Yay Steve!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
My own...honestly...bleah.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Student loan and car payments.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Going to the Kalahari with Brian!

16. What song will always remind you of 2003?
2003? Do they mean 2008? Either way, I'll give a song for both.

2003-"Accidentally in Love" Counting Crows.
2008-"I Will Show You Love" Kendall Payne

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?

WAY Happier. I'm graduated, dating the best guy EVER, and living in Wisconsin. I don't say that to bash Utah, utah is a grand place, I just missed my family a lot.

ii. thinner or fatter?

Thinner by 10 pounds.

iii. richer or poorer?

Poorer...sad...I graduated college and I"m poorer than I was to begin with.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Hung out with my friends in Cedar before I left.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Eating crap food.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
I spent the morning at my house opening presents, the afternoon and evening at Brian's house racing cars with his nephew and reading about dinosaurs (and subsequently learning I can't pronounce their names), and then the night at my parent's house with Brian.

22. Did you fall in love in 2008?
I sure did :)

23. How many one-night stands?
One, but it was just a one night make-out.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
Gossip Girl

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Yeah I do, but not hate, just intense dislike.

26. What was the best book you read?
Breaking Dawn...sad that that was the best book. I need to read more.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Kendall Payne, seriously, love that girl's music. Or Katie Armiger.

28. What did you want and get?
A Wii.

29. What did you want and not get?
a full-time job with benefits.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Juno or Enchanted.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I spent it at my parent's house, then watched the flood in downtown Waukesha, and then went to Bill's

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
A Full-time job with benefits.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
GAP. All my clothes are now from there...sad.

34. What kept you sane?
Brian!

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
the girl who plays Blair on Gossip Girl. Only because I want to be able to dress like she does on the show ha ha and I want to look like her...seriously.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Prop 8 (way after it was over...sorry for those who were affected by my ignorance on the issue)

37. Who did you miss?
My Utahns

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Brian!

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
That in the end, it will surprise you who your true friends are. And I have great friends. And a great boyfriend too.

Best Christmas EVER!

2008-12-26T23:15:00.000-08:00

So I guess it's time for my obligatory Christmas post :) Or maybe I'm just bored which is why I'm doing said post, but either way enjoy. I'll try to include pictures for you too.

My Christmas started out kind of sad because Christmas Eve was cancelled. You see, Christmas Eve is my favorite day of the whole entire year. It's like the only time that my whole family on my moms side gets together, but for reasons I'm not entirely sure of, it was nixed. I was bummed the whole day to the point of actually crying a bit, but it turned out ok. Santa brought us an early present, which was a Deal or No Deal and Who Wants to Be A Millionaire DVD game. It's actually way fun to play, but still I'm sad that we didn't have Christmas Eve. What worries me most is that my Grandpa has been really sick and I'm petrified that this could have been his last Christmas Eve...but I'm praying in hopes thats not going to be the case.

Now I will say that Christmas Day was the best Christmas Day ever. My parents, brother, and I opened all our presents to eachother in the morning. I got some way cool stuff from "Santa", including a ring from Tiffany's that I've wanted for basically forever. It looks like this (I got the picture from the Tiffany's website):

I'm in love with it, but we think I'm allergic to it (just like I'm allergic to the ring Brian gave me ha ha) so it might be returned. I also got Season 3 of Greys Anatomy on DVD, a SUU Alumni license plate holder for my car, a Wii case, an itunes gift card, a CD, a CD holder for my car, earrings, and a Marc Jacob's Daisy perfume gift set (it came with perfume, loition, and 2 travel perfumes).

Then later that day I went to Brian's house to have dinner with his mom's side of the family. It was way fun, although I did spend most of the time racing cars with Brian's 5 year old nephew...but thats just fine by me. His family is much larger than mine, so it really can be overwhelming, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.

After dinner at Brian's parents we went to my house and exchanged our presents with eachother. He got me a digital photo frame, a Scrabble page a day 2009 calendar, and the Willow Tree I've wanted for forever. Its the Bright Star one for those of you who have worked it at Bulloch Drug and have them all memorized ;)

It was the best Christmas I think I've ever had, and Brian and I even took a picture by the Christmas tree. My mom wanted to include the tree (apparently Brian is so tall he hides our tree) so this is what she got:

We're pretty cute if I do say so myself :)

Grown-up Christmas List

2008-12-22T00:03:00.000-08:00

If I could have anything for Christmas that don't necessarily cost money I'd want the following things:

-A real grown up job with benefits

-Brian's law business to pick up (side note: that means he's busier and has less Stacey time, but I'm willing to make that sacrifice).

-My own apartment/condo

-The ability to go to Utah whenever I wanted

-Diet coke to taste like regular coke

-Weight: 140, height:5'6"

-my student loans miraculously to disappear (with Brian's law school loans)

-the scary statues surrounding the altar at our church (st. rita's? Crap I obviously haven't gone to mass at Three Holy Women in far too long) to not be so scary in my eyes, and/or to not think Jesus is a leprachaun every time we go to St. Luke's courtesy of the rainbow behind Jesus in the stained glass window. Basically, I want to be more reverent ha ha.
and

-A pleo dinosaur

I don't think that's too much to ask for. K thanks Santa!

Reason Number 258 I miss Utah...

2008-12-18T22:01:00.000-08:00

Apparently it's Utah week at the mall in Wisconsin for me. First there was the awesome fry sauce discovery. Then today I was walking through the mall happy with my cute new outfit I got from the Gap as my "I lost 8 pounds" present...wait...I have to share my cute new outfit.

This is the shirt:

And these are the pants

And then I got a strand of grey pearls from Boston Store to go with it. The best part is, with my discount for being such a fantastic employee, I got the outfit for $56.00. Not bad for pants a sweater and some pearls.

Anyway, the reason I'm missing Utah for the 258th time is, I saw someone wearing a Dixie State Rebels hoodie. Now i've seen U of U and a billion BYU hoodies on people, but never someone from SUU or Dixie State. It made me all sorts of Southern Utah home-sick, and I can't wait to go back to visit and actually have some girlfriends to hang out with.

Now don't get me wrong, I still lay claim to be dating the greatest guy ever. For example, a week or so ago I was on my way home and we had a conversation something like this:

Me: "dang I need to run some errands today to get some stuff for my mom's christmas present"
Him: "where are you going?"
Me: "JoAnn fabrics, blah blah blah something about more places to go I'm sure involving the mall"
Him: "I'll go with you if you want"

Yes, that's right, he VOLUNTEERED WILLINGLY to go to the crafts store and the mall with me, and stood in the bajillion person long line to get fabric cut. Thats true love right there. And he even gave his opinion beyond the typical guy answer of "I don't care". Just another example of how great Brian is.

Anyway, sometimes a girl just needs a girl to talk to, shop with, and to have a girl night complete with a cheesey romance movie with. I regret being so stuck up and stupid in high school and early college, because honestly I don't have any friends in Waukesha who are girls. Plus I don't do the whole bar thing so I have no clue what I'd do with any girl friends here even if I did. I definitely am in need of some Cami/Lindsey/Judy (with little James ha ha cause he's the cutest 1 and a half year old I know)/Schmemily time. Hopefully it'll only be a few more months til I can have some girl time!! I know I've talked about all that before, but I just felt the need to vent about it again, so there you go.

Reason number 257 I miss Utah...

2008-12-15T15:52:00.000-08:00

So a week or so ago, my friend Brynlee told me that I needed to check out her facebook pictures for a surprise. I indeed had a GREAT surprise created by her, Jens, and Sydney. They spelled out my name one day with their bodies and it made me so happy I just had to share (I hope the 3 of them don't mind)...

I love these guys! And it makes me miss them oh so much, and I'm excited to visit sometime this summer. I'm totally putting these pictures side by side in a long frame in my room it makes me that happy.

In other happy news, I found fry sauce today at a restaurant in Wisconsin (actually at the food court in the mall I work at) and now my life is complete. I think Brian was a little weirded out by how excited I was with my dipping sauce for my chicken strips. Ah well.

I've done 46 out of 100 things

2008-12-09T23:56:00.000-08:00

100 things stolen from Ashley :)

Copy this and bold the things you have done: (I also changed mine to a different color! The Red answers are the things I've done!)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (a friend needed studio hours, and asked me to pose)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Totally copied a post from someone else's blog to your own?

Aprons and a Snowman!

2008-12-07T18:17:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to blog about this for a week or so, but due to life being crazy for a variety of reasons, I have been behind.

First off, I finished my apron for the Sassy Apron Swap this time around and I liked how mine turned out. My mom ended up helping me a ton again (thanks mom!) but it also was the most complicated apron I've done thusfar. My partner wanted a vintage apron, and this is what I came up with (the picture really doesn't do it justice for the record). Oh and the fabric had gold as the trim for everything so that's why I chose gold rick-rack to add some pizazz. I hope my partner likes it!

My mom's partner just wanted something Christmas related so she had free reign to do whatever. Seeing that my mom is the applique queen she came up with the cutest apron again. I love her stuff!

So then I got my package for the swap from Shawnee and I got the cutest gingerbread apron (my picture definitely doesn't do this justice) with many gingerbread goodies like gingerbread stickers and a stamp, yummy lotion I've been using non-stop, scissors that are a gingerbread man (so cute!) and the gingerbread baby friend's book. Most of you know why i LOVE gingerbread men, so this was like so awesome I cried. Here is a picture of my way super cute apron I got (I couldn't get a self portrait to work ha ha so my door is modeling it).

I can't wait to wear this while baking Christmas cookies! Thanks again for the awesome package...I love it and sorry I didn't get to thank you sooner!

So then last Sunday we got a ton of snow, and it was the wet stuff that is perfect snowman snow. I decided to text Brian telling him I wanted to build a snowman, not thinking he would really come over, but he did! And we built a giant snowman taller than me. His name is Marshall and he is still just as tall as he was the day we rolled him up. We had to be creative for face things, so his nose was a small orange, and his eyes and mouth were buttons. Here is our family picture ha ha:

Then to top it off Brian helped me shovel my driveway and sidewalk so my dad wouldn't have to snowplow. What a great guy :)

Thanksgiving!

2008-11-29T17:09:00.000-08:00

I was so excited for thanksgiving this year because it was my first thanksgiving at home in Wisconsin in 5 years. Even though it wasn't our usual thanksgiving (everyone coming to our house) because my grandpa is in the hospital and a variety of other things, it was still great.

First we went and visited my grandma at her house, and to my surprise my aunt, uncle, and 6 year old cousin were there. It was funny because I guess like 30 seconds before we walked in the door my cousin was sad because no one was coming to the party. What timing! We played Lego Batman on the Wii and it was so fun, I want that game but according to my cousin I can't have it because I'm not 10 :)

Then we went and visited my grandpa at the hospital, which is sad because hospitals are always sad, but it was still good to see him. I have the best memories of my grandparents and the holidays and I really hope that he'll be out of the hospital for Christmas. Christmas Eve is definitely my favorite day of the year.

The only kind of weird part of my Thanksgiving was having to go have a talk with Brian ha ha. We got in an argument the night before and needed to sort some things out since he was coming to my house for dinner and I didn't want it to be awkward. Our talk was good and we sorted things out and all is well with us.

It was way fun to have Brian come to dinner at my parents, and my brother Brian and his girlfriend Liz were also there. It was neat to have it be the 6 of us considering that someday that might really be my family since I'm convinced Brian and Liz will get married, and it wouldn't surprise me if me and Brian get married, so it was a fun little preview. My moms cooking was delicious as always, and I was happy to be home again for thanksgiving to experience it.

I have lots that I'm thankful for, and I'm glad for how great my life is :)

Fitness Update (round like 10?)

2008-11-23T21:45:00.000-08:00

So I've posted about ten times how I'm going to start losing weight and being healthy blah blahblahblahblahblahaha. It never happens...I don't know why I'm such a slacker I just am. Part of it was mostly my work schedule not coinciding properly with the gym hours, etc. Now my schedule is suddenly VERY open to letting me go to the gym so I can't use that excuse to go. Nor can I use my deadly cold, bitar (well for a while anyway), or any other excuse as to why the gym is missing me so. I am going to get healthy and fit. Although to give myself a little credit Brian and I have been playing racquetball once a week, and I did get a new racquet that I'm dying to try out!

Can a blog entry in here go by without proclaiming the greatness that is Brian? I really don't think so, so here is another example of how great he is. So today I get online after work and Brian has this idea he tells me about. He decided that we should have some MAJOR motivation to kick our bums in gear, and as a result he booked us a trip to somewhere in February (between Valentine's Day and our 6 monthaversary) but he won't tell me to where. In order to go on the trip we both have to make significant improvements in ourselves, but instead to determine it by numbers he determined that I need to be comfortable enough with myself to wear a swimsuit without shorts over it (yikes! I hate my cottage cheese thighs) and he needs to be comfortable not wearing a t-shirt to the pool (and feel picture worthy in such a state). Before we'd set goals like "we can't do this unless we get into shape" but it never would happen and we'd do whatever was said anyways. This is more concrete, like it's reserved and such...yikes!

Now I LOVE surprises but I suck at being patient when I actually know a surprise is happening. I cannot know where we are going unless I have made improvements by January 1st. Thats right, at 12:01 am on January 1st, 2009 I can know where we are going. I don't care if it's to a hotel in Waukesha (because there is a super cool hotel in Waukesha ha ha that would be fun to go to), I just want to know! That being said, tomorrow the diet is on! I'm kicking my fat-ass into gear to do this. Besides I get knew clothes and a swimsuit as a result, not from Brian cause thats way more than I need from him, but from myself and I'm sure my mom will pitch in. Aren't I lucky though to have such a supportive guy in my life who does such great things? Oh and I'm definitely lucky to have supportive parents on top of that.

Oh and Happy 4 Monthaversary :)

Two day Mini Vacay!

2008-11-22T20:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday and today I was amazingly fortunate to be able to go on a mini-vacation with Brian. He had to visit a client roughly 4 hours away from here and as a result decided to stay the night over in Northern Wisconsin. Of course, I don't think he factored in that I'm the worst road-trip companion because I cannot stay awake in the car no matter how much sleep I got the night before nor how much caffeine I consume. As a result, on the way up, I slept over half of the way ha ha.

Eventually we made it and he met with his client and all that lawyer stuff that really does interest me. Then we drove an hour back south to a different town to stay the night at a Holiday Inn. It was way fun because we were like the only people there. In addition, I finally won at something sports related! We went down to the pool and since we were the only ones there we played basketball three times. I won 2 of the 3 games, thus making me the champion of the world. We also went in the hot tub but some people are chickens *cough*Brian*cough* and deemed it too warm.

Today when we drove back we took a scenic route and drove through all these little tiny Wisconsin towns. I realized that Utah and Wisconsin have many similarly named towns such as: Monroe, Richfield, Enterprise, etc... Of course I fell asleep again which was sad, but only for like a half hour this time ha ha. It was fun taking a mini-tour of Wisconsin, and I'm so grateful for Brian. I say that every time I blog ha ha but he really is great! Tomorrow is our 4-month-aversary and it seems like we've been together WAY longer than that (in a good way). I definitely can't picture myself with anyone else, nor would I want to be with anyone else. I love him bunches!

Car or Ice Skate?

2008-11-17T22:08:00.000-08:00

So today when I left for work at 1 this afternoon it was snowing, just flurries as Brian would say. Well when my co-worker was a half hour late (5:30 instead of 5) due to traffic i was thinking that maybe it was snowing really hard. Well I got to my car and it wasn't snowing, it had snowed, but it had stopped. I was thinking maybe people were just not used to driving in snow, like myself. I was jamming out to the Christmas station when I heard that the road I usually take was down to 4 lanes instead of 6 and the alternate route was also backed up, so I decided to scrap that route all together and go by way of my mom's hospital which is a little out of the way but whatever. As soon as I got on that route I realized the problem. Ice...mass quantities...the whole road from side to side was just ice all over the general Milwaukee/Waukesha area.

I was doing ok, but the car in front of me was all over the place like an ice skate and it made me nervous so I kept my distance. Eventually he slid all the way off the side of the road, turned on his hazards, and then I passed because I figured he gave up. Apparently not, he pulled out behind me and it made me nervous. So there are these huge hills that I needed to go up and down and I was doing ok until I got to the one right in front of my moms hospital. My car started to slide (you see no one told me about putting it into first, and tapping the break) and eventually I slid all the way sideways down the hill praying I wouldn't roll my car. Eventually I stopped only to look over and see the other car sliding down the hill much in the same manner as I did until he slid into my car. It was so scary and it was like mass slow motion. The guy was nice and helped push my car (I couldn't get traction) around til I could drive it off onto a side road and he said he'd pull behind me to exchange info. JUST KIDDING he took off. Therefore screwing me over should anything have happened to my car (it wasn't that fast lets be honest but still it was scary). So far only one dent has appeared but since it's dark we'll see what appears in the daylight. My mom came and saved me (it took her an hour and a half to go what usually is a 20 minute drive for she was at a different hospital for the day) and we parked my car at her hospital (they salted the hill about 2 hours after I slid down it) and we drove home in her car. Needless to say it was very very scary and I very very much am dreading driving again.

The funny part was, after you crossed from Brookfield (where I slid) into Waukesha the roads were completely void of any traces of snow. The roads weren't even wet at all nor was there any snow to be found. Weird. On top of that, Brian is the greatest boyfriend as always. He wanted to come save me but couldn't due to road conditions. He really is my knight in a trusty white taurus!

Its my fault you can't watch your kid?

2008-11-16T23:20:00.000-08:00

Ok so I know I don't personally have children and so maybe I don't have claim on what I'm about to vent on, but I'm venting anyway because well I can. So today at work it was INSANELY busy...we're talking like $30,000 in revenue for our one little store type busy (PS...recession what? If we're in a recession how can people have that much to spend on overpriced baby clothes?). Anyway, this lady is checking out with her piles of stuff and I was completely unaware she even had a child with her because she never asked for her kid nor looked around for her. I rang up her purchases (which yes takes a few minutes as we're all aware) and she went on her way.

Then she comes storming up to the counter saying her daughter had something in her mouth that made her mouth turn blue and it HAD to come from our store cause she would never let her kid eat candy like that. Ok lady this is a CLOTHING store, we don't sell candy, nor do you think someone would be stupid enough to put it at a kid level. So then she started blaming it on our toys because we do sell toys. Again...would a major retailer be dumb enough to put teeny tiny parts in a baby/toddler store at child level...no. We only sell huge stuffed animals and huge wooden cars and other various baby safe crap. Her daughter pointed out that she put it in her mouth by the kid table (we have a kid table for kids to play at) so who knows who left it there. She proceeded to rant about how we should watch what kids do at that table (mind you, its super far from the register) and whats left there, blah blah blah. Look lady, its not my job to baby sit your kid, now thats not to say if I see a kid about to do something potentially hazardous I'll just stay quiet. I've stopped kids from potentially killing themselves on a table or something before. Yes, if someone leaves something at the table and I see it I will clean it up, but when I literally do not leave a register for 3 hours straight because it's that busy, its not my top priority. My job title does not say "babysitter", nor does our store say "playground" it says "baby/toddler clothing store". Some kids belong on leashes I swear...and maybe I wouldn't be so mad if it was like a 1 year old, her kid was like 3 so shouldn't they know better whats food and whats not or at least to know to stay by said parent?

Moral of the story: don't treat sales associates like they're idiots, and please don't expect us to watch your kids while you shop. I know this may seem pointless but she really was causing a scene and it really was rude and uncalled for and it happens repeatedly. Besides, its my blog I can vent on whatever I want.

On a positive note, my boyfriend is still super fantastically great. We played racquetball this weekend (I lost 3 of the 4 games) and went bowling (I lost 2 of 2 games ha ha) and just spent quality time together. I love him lots and I don't know what I'd do without him.

Sneaky...

2008-11-14T00:17:00.000-08:00

Can I just say I love being sneaky (in a good way, not in a bad deceiving type way). I'm totally up to something great, and I'm only saying this because a.) I wanted to blog but didn't really have anything to blog about, and b.) I want curiosity to be peaked. Maybe some of you know what I'm up to, but not all.

Lets just say the following things are involved:

-A muffin tin
-Stickers
-The number 24
-Paper
-Lots of other goodies.

I'll update you when it comes closer to the time to be updated ha ha. Yay for good secrets.

Mini Update from Yesterday

2008-11-09T00:04:00.000-08:00

First of all, thanks to those who commented. I love you girls and I left you little facebook comments cause its easier than these blog comment things on random entries. Secondly, today is a much better day. This morning started out crappy, I woke up late, was running behind to work (I like to get to the mall 20 minutes early, for parking reasons mostly), and was crabby. However, on my way to work (already running behind mind you) I got stuck waiting for a train which only agitated me more. I turned on my radio to crank up some country music when "Here" by Rascal Flatts is on.

Now my feelings I described in my last entry were mostly stemmed due to some baggage from a previous relationship. Then the chorus from the song hit me (and I know I've posted these lyrics before, but bear with me ha ha) and it says:

And I wouldn't change a thing
I'd walk right back through the rain
Back to every broken heart
On the day that it was breakin'
And I'd relive all the years
And be thankful for the tears
I've cried with every stumbled step
That led to you and got me here, right here

And it suddenly just cheered me up. Yes most of this song refers to Brian, but at the same time I wouldn't have gotten to know MANY of my friends had it not been for some awful things that happened to me. And I would relive my past to get to where I am today, to be able to live in this moment with all I have. Heck, parking was AWFUL at work and I was late and such but I wasn't cranky at all after that. I love little tiny things like a song on the radio that helps so much.

I also got to spend some quality time with Brian after I got off of work. We watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall, ate stuffed crust pizza from Pizza Hut, and just cuddled. It was amazing per usual and he made me feel so great about myself again.

To top it off, it was SNOWING! Like real snow storm as I drove home which made me super happy (and scared, my first time driving in the snow and all ha ha). Life surely is great!

Icky Feelings...

2008-11-07T21:41:00.000-08:00

So I have no clue why, but the past few days I've had that "icky feeling" in my stomach all the time. Like its almost a cross between jealousy and that "somethings wrong I just know it" feeling I'm sure we've all had at one point in time or another. I have a vague idea what is causing it, but that's not really the important thing I suppose since it's nothing I can change and the feelings will pass eventually. I just wish they will pass soon because I'm really quite ready to be done with feeling this way.

At the same time, I feel constantly lately like life is just passing me by. Like I have always lived my life dwelling on the past or hoping for the future, and never living in the moment. I wish I knew how to just enjoy the moment, and don't get me wrong I do enjoy the things that I do. I enjoy the time I spend with Brian more than anything, and the same with spending time with my family, but I always feel like I've missed out. I drive past college campuses and I feel like I missed out on "college life" by going to school in a small town, and getting fixated on things like relationships while missing out on the times I could have had with friends. At the same time I have amazing memories of things I did with my friends, whether it was pedicures in my living room in rubbermade bins (thanks Emily!), silly things like the Night of the Rock (thanks Judy!), midnight wal-mart trips (thanks Cami!), or one of the million random things Lindsey would do with me (thanks Linds!), but I still feel like I didn't take advantage of my time in college. I can't go back and I can't change anything, but I still long to.

I guess time will make me learn to live my life in the present, and I have been doing better at it, especially when I hang out with Brian. Its the typical cheesey "I want this moment to last forever "that occurs, like when we're just watching TV and cuddling and I want time to stand still so that moment will last. Plus I'm still in awe how well he treats me, and how amazing he is, so that makes me step back and look at things too. I love him bunches! I still need to work on appreciating what I have now though because I don't want to look back on my entire life regretting not living it to the fullest. I think getting a real job would help, but that too will come in time.

OK so thats repetitve and random and rambling and probably incoherent, but hey it's my blog. In happy news...Brian and I have been working out and getting healthy together. We both joined the YMCA and worked out together on Tuesday morning, and then wednesday night Brian taught me how to play Racquetball. It was SO fun, and I want to play like every day! Then again he took it easy on me so once I keep getting creamed after my initial grace learning period is over I might not feel the same way.

Quizlet, and a ring

2008-10-29T21:52:00.001-07:00

In honor of the movie coming out at Thanksgiving, I took this quiz:

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

I'm excited to go see this my mom! I won't even have to subject Brian to this one since my Mom wants to see it just as bad as I do.

Today I got a present, I like presents! However, this present was extra special to me. My amazingly wonderful boyfriend bought me the prettiest ring...and no its not an engagement ring, its a promise ring of sorts. Since we agreed not to have sex before marriage he gave me a little reminder of that, and I love it. Ok I admit I picked it out, but I do tend to be rather picky. Its a heart that says love and it has filligree (sp?) swirls around it and then on the inside of the band it says Love is a Treasure. I tried to take a picture but it didn't really focus well, but you can get the general idea.

I definitely love it, and think its cute, just like Brian! I hope he doesn't mind I posted about this, but it means a lot to me so :-P

Vacay 2008!

2008-10-25T22:42:00.000-07:00

I just had the most amazing 4 day vacation to the Wisconsin Dells with my loverly boyfriend Brian. He had a conference for lawyers in Wisconsin who own solo or small firms, and I got invited to come with. I decided to make this an easier to read post, that I'll post it day by day :) full of our adventures. Fair warning, it might get a little lovey-dovey sappy. Oh and for the record all pictures for this post were taken off of flickr.

Wednesday:
Brian's conference technically didn't start until Thursday, but we decided to go up Wednesday so he could enjoy one day/night without lawyerly stuff to do. We didn't stay at the Kalahari for financial reasons (its ridiculously expensive), but we stayed at Ho-Chunk which is a hotel/casino/bingo hall.

Upon arrival and checking in, we decided to go play Bingo since its one of our little things we like to do, and it was half-price. Lets just say...Potowatomie is so much cooler and smoke-free. It was sad to see all the people who were 80 and chain smoking and on oxygen and coughing crap up. We didn't win either, but it was still fun. We didn't win at the slot machines either...boo.

So Brian loves Pizza Hut and we decided with a half hour left before they'd close, we would go there to get dinner. I was so sure that there was a pizza hut right across from the hotel and so we tried for FOREVER to find the address online. It turns out it was just a billboard, oops! It was funny though at the same time.

Also this night I told Brian that I loved him for the first time. Sappy, I know, but it made me all sorts of happy :D

Thursday:
We got to the Kalahari and walked around for a while, and I made a spa appointment. Let me just tell you I had the BEST time at the spa. The girl who did my feet was way nice and we talked the whole time without it being awkward. She did an extra good job, and made my leg massage, exfoliation, etc last a half hour longer than it should have. It was great!! Plus you get to keep the polish bottle (full sized), and all the nice spa files and buffers they use on your feet.

That night Brian took me to a surprise dinner at the creepiest looking restaurant. It was rated really well for food quality, and the food really was great. I had BBQ chicken and potatoes, we shared some beef tips, and Brian had fettucine alfredo, all of which were SO tasty. Take a look for yourself at the outside and decided your feelings on going there if you were to drive past:

That night we also played in the waterpark some. We stuck to the wave pool, lazy river, and hot tub (my fav! it had waterfalls running down into the hot tub). That night we also got a late night snack and the yummiest margaritas at this little lounge in the lobby.

I had a banana margarita, he had a strawberry one, and if you drank them both at the same time it was extra yummy.

Friday:
I didn't really do anything during the day. Brian and I had lunch at the same place we had a late night snack, and then I relaxed. We finally made it to Pizza Hut (a real one, not a billboard) for dinner, and got carrot cake late at night from the Kalahari Bakery for a snack. We also re-visited the waterpark, and I convinced Brian to go on one of the big waterslides. He's not a huge fan so i was really lucky he did that for me twice! Next time I'll get him to go on the water rollercoaster. Here are some pictures from inside the lobby that we took too:

Saturday:
Today we had to leave :( and it was sad to go. So we prolonged our trip by taking the above pictures of the lobby, and going mini-golfing at a pirate themed golf course. It had 5 different courses, so we did two despite the very windy conditions, and I lost at both. It was a blast though because the second game was really close, and here are some pictures we took of that too.

This is what happens if you suck at Mini-golf:

And this is what you'll look like if you lose:

But you look super hot if you win:

And sometimes while golfing at Pirates Cove you'll come across a scary pirate!

And despite this state not having mountains, even golf courses look pretty in fall in Wisconsin

All in all it was an AMAZING trip that I think made me adore Brian even more. Oh and before you all go on thinking scandelousness was had, Brian and I agreed ages ago not to have sexual relations before marriage so don't worry it was a PG type weekend :) I'm the luckiest girl to have such an amazing boyfriend who will take me on trips like this.

Go Pack Go!

2008-10-20T23:25:00.000-07:00

So I was lucky enough to be able to figure out my work schedule and actually go to the Green Bay Packers game yesterday. It was a blast, like seriously one of the most fun things I've ever done. I was grateful that it wasn't that cold at all (it was in the 50's, maybe upper 40's) and that the rain held out until the drive home. Oh and of course I was SO happy that they kicked the Colts' bums by a lot. There were a ton of Colts fans there, suckers, it was nice to rub it in when the game was done. We were in row 54 but they were perfect seats because a.) its really not that far up and b.) you could see EVERYTHING. Here is a picture I took with my phone from our seats:

Oh and on Saturday it was Sweetest Day and I got a lovely card from my sweetie. It has the nicest message in it and I am absolutely aware of the fact I have the greatest guy EVER for a boyfriend. We also went to dinner at Uno's and it was way yummy. Then, for the first time in our 3 months of dating, we watched a movie. Like legit watched a whole movie doing nothing else ha ha. It was kind of weird cause when I've dated people in the past thats all we've done. We watched the Shawshank Redemption, which I hadn't seen, and its a GREAT movie. I highly recommend it, unless you're Mormon, then I suggest the edited version ha ha.

Less than 2 days until Brian's and my trip to the Kalahari Resort. I am so freaking excited that I can't stand it. Until I think about the fact I need to pack tomorrow and my excitement drops some. I even was told I don't have to work early Wednesday morning anymore so that brings up the excitement level again ha ha. Its going to be so fun, and I'm hoping Brian brings his camera so we can take lots of pictures for me to post!

Blah Day and a way cool mosiac tag.

2008-10-17T01:01:00.000-07:00

If you just want to do the way fun mosiac tag I have, scroll down past my rambling ha ha

So today I have been very blah, for no real reason. I just woke up blah, felt blah during and after getting ready, and maintained my blah status. Maybe it's because I really had nothing to do, maybe its because lately I've been hard on myself, or maybe it's the weather. Actually, no it can't be the weather because I LOVE the cold and fall. My mom took me to dinner when she got home at this fun new restaurant that Brian and I went to a few weeks ago called Stir Crazy. That helped a little, plus we bummed around a little afterwards trying to find something for Sweetest Day on Saturday for our Sweeties ha ha. That sounds so cheesy even I wanted to gag a little. However, we couldn't really find anything so that was blah. Speaking of sweeties, my sweetie, aka Brian, is amazing and reminds me of how much he likes me even when I'm not in the most talkative of moods. And that did make me a little less blah too.

I did have a real reason to be blah starting at like 10 tonight when I got my schedule for next week. I got off for my Kalahari trip which is awesome, but I needed Sunday off to go to my first Green Bay Packers football game and I got scheduled to work. Boo. I only hope it can be fixed, I mean they've been cutting hours like crazy so I really hope so. It really just added to my blahness because if I can't get off thats going to be mad disappointed because I've been looking forward to that trip since like May.

I found this on some random blog but I really liked it so I decided to do it. First, you answer these twelve questions. My answers are in parentheses.

01. What is your first name? (Stacey)
02. What is your favorite food? (Caramel Apples)
03. What college did you attend? (Southern Utah University)
04. What is your favorite color? (Pink)
05. Who is your celebrity crush? (Patrick Demsey)
06. Favorite drink? (Cherry Coke)
07. Dream vacation? (Africa)
08. Favorite dessert? (French Silk Pie)
09. What do you want to be when you grow up? (part of an amazing loving couple)
10. What do you love most in life? (Family)
11. One word to describe you (quirky)
12. What is your favorite season? (Winter)

Then you build a mosaic by typing your answers one by one into Flickr's search function. You choose one photo for each of your answers, and you can only use images that appear on the first page of search results.

Here is mine: