Time keeps on ticking...

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

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...

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...

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!

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!

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...

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 :)