Tagged from A to Z

A - Attached or single? Single.
B - Best friend? I plead the fifth! (Although, Kristy and I have been best friends since I was 4...)
C - Cake or pie? Cheesecake!
D - Day of choice? SATURDAY!
E - Essential item? There is not just one...soup for breakfast, organization, laughter, cell phone, lap top (email), so many touches a day, Diet Dr. Pepper (Niki came up with this list for me:))
F - Favorite color? Green, all shades!
G - Gummy bears or worms? Bears!
H - Hometown? I claim Longmont, CO... (I hate this question by the way, I never know how to answer it!)
I - Indulgences? Staying up late talking on my cell phone, going shopping by myself, going to parks, getting my eyebrows done, JAMBA...yum, my only sweet indulgences....oh, and how could I forget, TRAVELING
J - January or July? Really, these are my only two options? I'd have to say July for my birthday! I'm really sick of the snow! Although, I hate short sleeve shirts, so that stinks!
K - Kids? Yep, 23 and a few strays here and there...
L - Life isn't complete without? Laughter! And doing stupid things like leaving the oven on, spilling jamba's, and trying to to lock your classroom door with with your car clicker thingamajigger!
M - Marriage date? Good question...I'll send you an invite that says "Jeff & Dixie are proud to FINALLY announce...!"
N - Number of brothers and sisters? Three bro's, one sis!
O - Oranges or apples? Oranges.
P - Phobias or fears? Waking up after the bell rings!
Q - Quote? "It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It will all work out. If you do your best, it will all work out. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us...If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, he will hear our prayers." Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley
R - Reason to smile? Do I need a reason? Kids, serving, getting my homework done, a clean room, reorganizing something, creating something....
S - Season of choice? Fall. (The best weather and the best colors! Brown, Green, Red, Orange!)
T - Tag six: Natalie, Carolyn, Tisha, Alanna, Kristy, and Kimba
U - Unknown fact about me? I wet my pants in the fifth grade, playing softball, you'll have to ask my dad about this one, he loves to tell everybody...I still have a small bladder but I seem to have it under control, haha! My left ear is slightly deformed...I would never wear my hair up as a child, I'd try to cover it. (No one can really tell, I just slept on it in the womb a little too much!)
V - Vegetable? Broccoli and Spinach.
W - Worst habit? Thinking...(according to me) Caring too much...(according to Niki)
X - X-ray or ultrasound? Ultrasound all the way! Really, what kind of question is this? Is there ever an option? I don't feel strongly either way, should I?
Y - Your favorite food? Ice Cream, Cheese Cake, Chinese Food, Italian Food.
Z - Zodiac sign? Cancer. Crabby, Moody, First to Laugh, First to Cry, Likes to get their way, maternal, domestic, wear their heart on their sleeve...hmmmm...do you all agree?

Any surprises for anyone...I didn't feel like revealed any juicy details...

Video Games Live--Utah Symphony

Last night I went to see the Utah Symphony with Garrett. It was soooooo cool! We rode the trax down town. Trax is one of my new favorites! You don't have to worry about parking and most likely you'll be entertained the entire ride. While we were waiting to hop on trax there was a guy there who came up to us and said something to us like, "do you know how to get someone running really fast?" We said, "how?" He responded, "just have them run in front of the train, that will make him go really fast." I was being a bit facetious and asked if he'd ever done that before and he said no. I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter where you ride a train, a subway, a bus, basically public transportation, you're going to run into some interesting characters and for the most part, I'm fascinated by the diversity, however, sometimes I'm a bit creeeped out.

(One of the big gamers all dressed up!)

Now onto to the highlight of the night, the symphony...this was no ordinary symphony. The title of the symphony was "Video Games Live." They performed everything from Halo to Mario Brothers and Frogger! I'll admit there were serveral games that I had no clue about because I'm not a big gamer...if you didn't know already. I'm a big fan of Dr. Mario and I'm currently intrigued by the Wii, unfortunately I don't have one, so I play wherever I can:). Some people were so obsessed they dressed up, wow... I really liked the piano guy. I guess a while back this guy decided to write the music to some of his favorite video games and then put them on YouTube. (I'm hoping that that was a true story...that's what they said!:)) All of the performances were really good, they even had people go up and play a game of frogger while they orchestrated it! Neat-o!

This was a lot of fun! Oh, and after the symphony we went to IHOP, yum! My no sugar bet directed us to IHOP, otherwise we would have undoubtedly gone for some ice cream! Garrett got the most interesting drink...I'm totally stealing all the pictures from his blog because I can't figure out how to email pictures from my phone! Here is a picture of his drink, it's called, "beezlenut splash" it was created in celebration of Dr. Seuss' birthday which is the first week in March. The drink contained, sprite and red and blue cubes of jello. Weird combo, I thought it looked tasty. I really wanted to take a sip...but I didn't... :(.... I promise!

Good times! I had a lot of fun!

Dessert CAN make you happy!

I've never met a dessert that I didn't like...I love desserts and I KNOW WITH ALL MY HEART AND SOUL that that they CAN make me happy, but come on, this is a ridiculous fortune cookie message! Remember how I am not eating sugar for six months? Well, the other day I went to dinner and this is what my fortune was! The irony of it all!

Easter with the Fam!

(Ryan wanted to carry Beau through the field so he wouldn't get thorns in his feet, haha!)

First off, growing up is hard to do! Easter was great this year, but it was a little strange, every holiday is kind of strange now...all of us kids are growing up, but nothing is really changing except for our age and some of us have matured just a touch...haha. It was also a little weird without Joey!!!!!!!

My dad cooked a ham as usual and as usual it was incredible! YUM! Thanks dad! We had the regular fixins' except for the scalloped potatoes...my mom said they would take too long to make. We also had the traditional jello cheesecake...I'm not gonna a lie, I was EXTREMELY sad that I couldn't partake of the lusciously sweet, creamy whipped sugary goodness! Somehow though that moment went quickly and I was fine...I guess I can live without sweets...

This year my dad had one of his wild hair ideas and decided to start a new tradition of playing whiffle ball! He said that we will play it every year for now on, he is so funny! We all walked over to the park to play. Aaron decided that he was going to be a team captain and he picked my mom and I. Later in the game he said he should have done some better scouting, haha! My dad made the rules. There were two bases. Home plate and first base. To get someone out all you had to do was throw the whiffle ball in front of the person. Three strikes and you're out if your a guy and four strikes your out if you're a girl, sexiest! (I didn't mind though:)) After the wind picked up the guys changed the rules to four strikes for them too! The game was a riot! There wasn't a single fight! We laughed and played, used a little sarcasm, and had a grand 'ol time! I wish we could have got my mom on video! She would run with the bat in her hand and then do a twirl throw backward when she realized she still had it in her hand! I think I'm a lot like my mom in personality...although I have my dad's sarcasm and his mother's "good" looks, thanks, I think....I love my family! They're great! I realized yesterday just how blessed I am to have such an incredible family whose love is immense. I'm thankful for our Savior who sacrificed himself for us all. I'm grateful that each day I can get on my knees and be forgiven and can press forward with faith. I embrace the knowledge of eternal families, it's because of our Savior that this is possible.

Happy Birthday Elder Finley!

Elder Finley is on the far left in the orange tie. He's about to baptize!
PS That's the tie I sent him for Christmas! I'm so glad he's wearing it!

This is an ode to Joey, Joe, Jeff, Jeffrey, Jeffrey Joseph, favorite child, Elder Finley, whatever it is that you call him...

March 22, 1988 Joey arived and life just hasn't been the same since! Joey is one incredible brother! What I love about this boy...he's the kind of brother who tells you he loves you, he's the kind of son who always wants to to do his best, he's the kind of friend that you can trust, he's the kind of person that makes you laugh, he's the kind of missionary that listens to the spirit and presses forward! Joey is one heck of a guy! I am so proud of him and his dedication and determination to do the what he knows is right. I love you brother!

Some of my favorite memories of Joey...

• Dressing him up as a girl! We loved his curly red hair! Leslee and I even painted his toes! My dad hated it, I mean really, really hated it when we did this!
• When he learned to ride his bike. I was determined to teach him how to ride a two wheeler! He kept falling, but I would hold on to the seat and stay holding it, running along the side, until I thought he had it. It was so funny!
  
• My mom was telling me today that one Easter when we were all little, we had one of those traditional Easter Egg hunts. Leslee and I were finding all the eggs. Then Joey got really upset and starting walking around moping..we still call him a moper. He has the cutest bottom lip!

Annie's Lil' Chillins'

Nina Arianna Eliza

Today I went and saw Annie and her 3 kids...Annie and I have been friends since I was 9. I had just moved to Monroe and she lived in "the neighborhood" that I was moving into (the only paved neighborhood in the whole town, so it got the name "the neighborhood" or "the subdivision"). I remember that Annie and I walked around the neighborhood that first night with one blanket around the both of us! We were having such a blast just talking, then we said "I can't believe we're already friends!" We both remember saying that:). Currently Annie and her husband Benjie live in Orem but are moving tomorrow to Monroe...sad, they will be so far away now! Although we hardly see each other as it is...Niki's Grandpa lives right by Monroe...we've already been scheming a ROAD TRIP!

The second video is of Arianna saying "Peace Baby!"

Elissa's Happy Birthday Dinner!

Elissa is my good friend of almost 3 years! She had a birthday this week, shout hooray! I want to sing to her today! One year older and wiser too! Happy Brithday! To YOU! We celebrated her brithday at "Little Italy" a restaurant in Sandy, it was delicious! Yum! Yum! I recomend it! She had a bunch of friends from her ward there and then Camille (my Fort Collins, CO roommate who now lives in West Jordan) and I came! It was a riot!

Elissa and I met at the Fort Collins, CO institute/ward and instantly became friends at FHE (weird, that's where Niki and I met! FHE is inspired I tell ya!)




This is Camille!






Video of Elissa...

Kate Turns 3 at Chucky Cheese!

Kate & Natalie

These girls are precious! I love them dearly! They are the closest thing I have to nieces....my mom has been babysitting Natalie since she she was practically born! Then Kate came along and mom's been tending her too! I love these little girls. Whenever I get the chance, I babysit them too! I taught Natalie a little chant to remember how to spell her name when she was four...it goes like this (I wish you could hear the tune, but I'm sure you'll figure it out!) "NA-TA-LIE, that's the way we spell Natalie!"

Last Saturday was Kate's birthday! My mom and I went to Chucky Cheese to celebrate! My mom even got Nat a little something so she would feel special too...how cute!

Katie-bug loves the color orange, hence the orange frosted cup cakes!

Niki and I Celebrate Our Anniversary!

MAKA & LOHA GO TO THE CAPITOL!

Loha! Maka!

Today is March 18th, this is apparently our anniversary, so we fudged the dates, but it's the anniversary of us deciding to become roommates, ah precious, I know that what you're all thinking.

How we met...I know this sounds a bit gay, but don't think like that! We are totally straight! In fact we have dates this weekend, haha! Niki and I met at the Draper singles ward...we were on a hunt for friends at FHE. I was looking around for some normal friends and couldn't see any so I started looking for anyone, I was desperate and that's when I found Niki. JK, it totally wasn't like that. Well, we were both desperate for friends and no one was really that friendly, but we just went right up to each other and said "hi, I'm Tiffany," and "hi, I'm Nicole" and then you know how the typical story goes, where are you from, are you in school, etc., etc. We went to a Rascal Flatts concert a little while later and then we didn't talk much after that and she moved to Sandy. I really wanted to move out of the parents house in Dec. but she wasn't wanting to move out of hers quite yet, then she called me in March (thus the reason why we have a March anniversary) and I was actually at the Atlanta airport on my way to Belgium when she called. She said that she was ready to move out! I said, yes, finally! A roommate I know I could stand:)! I don't want to bore you with the rest, but we moved to Turnberry in June and it's been just about 2 years!!!!!! I lived in the Firehouse for 2 years....I can't believe I've been here just as long! And I'm not ready to move out yet! I'm here until at least December, we signed a 1 year lease!

To celebrate our Anniversary we wanted to do something we haven't done before so we went to the Capitol Building. It was fascinating! On the tour we learned a lot about the history of Utah. We also learned a bit about the restoration of the building. Because the foundation wasn't earthquake sound they put what is called an isolator under each pillar. The isolator can move 2 ft. in any direction in the event of an earthquake. This was our favorite part of the tour.

Utah State Capitol! The Dome! An Isolator!

Niki and I have been roommates for 2 years and have hardly any pictures of us...and today we took one! Yeah! We hate pictures that's a lot of it, but really we need to capture life as it is, right? Right!

"Bringing" down the house...(I mean BURNING down the house!)

Have you ever had a roommate that you just can't stand?!?!??!?! Unfortunately, I think I have turned into one of "those" kind of roommates...about six months ago my roommates lovingly pointed out one of my flaws.... I have a tendency to leave the oven and my curling iron on... It's a huge problem and I take full responsibility and feel quite horrible about it, but how do I get a grip on this?

Now the reason the curling iron gets left on is because while getting ready, I always need to go back and do a few touch ups before I leave. But the oven, come on! Why can't I just turn it off when I'm done?!?!

I've scared my roommates into getting renters insurance, that's just how bad this is! It's ridiculous!

The new plan. I've placed a note on the front door so that every day when I leave I can see it and remember to check those two things. Also, I've decided that my hair doesn't need touch ups, I just need to do it really nice the first time:).

Any other ideas to help me stop? I don't think they have LTOA (Leaving Things On Association). Man, I just feel terrible about this! I laugh, but I really do feel bad!

Believe it or not....

I caved in... I am now "in the loop!" For months, my sister Leslee and I have been contemplating whether or not to change our text plan... We started out with a plan of 50 and that was quite manageable. After a year or so we decided to upgrade because everyone and their dog was texting us and we were paying fees anyway. Now we've come to yet another dilemma, should we upgrade again? For the same price we could have 1,500 text or both get unlimited...we went for UNLIMITED! I can't believe that we've gone from 50 to millions of text! My brother Aaron who is 16 used a whopping 10,000 text in February (shhh...he doesn't know I'm telling the whole world). He hasn't stopped texting me since he found out I joined the ranks of the "really cool people."

Just a little history on my cell phone usage...I didn't have a cell phone until I was 21! I was just about done with college...I never wanted my phone to rule my life. One time I said to Niki "I don't like people to control me, I like to control people" I said that in reference to me silencing my phone so I didn't have to answer it. I really like the convienence of a phone, but sometimes I just need silence and this is coming from a girl who talks WAY TOO MUCH! I won't tell you how many minutes I can use in a month! So who else has unlimited text??? Or has a big texting plan? Or am I the only "cool kid" according to Aaron.

I know you're going to ask & I'm gonna say yes...

GT Automotive is by far my favorite place to get my oil changed at!

Some of you have noticed while running around with me that my "maintenance required" light has been flashing...this has gone on for the past month. Being the daughter of a car man has taught me to wait...to wait until my dad has time to check out the problem. Well my roommate Niki's "check engine"'s light has been flashing and she had her brother take a peek and check all the fluids and then the flashing magically disappeared. Thus, her experience inspired me to finally get my oil changed.

Another thing you must know to understand why what I'm about to say is so funny to me...each time I go to get my oil changed they tell me I need a new air filter and I always say "oh, no my dad will take care of that." (I'm always a little leery that they're trying to rip me off, although these guys know my dad pretty well because my dad is over their shop for part of his insurance job...so I doubt they would try to mess with me.)

Okay, so for the punch line...or just something I think is funny:). Today I go to GT and pull up to the garage and then I go talk to the guy in charge, he hands me a form to fill out and says to just put my name and then he pointed to where it said car color. I thought it was odd that the only question they would ask about my car was what color it was, I looked around and saw like 5 silver cars! Then the guy realized that he pointed to the wrong line, he really just wanted my number, but not in a "I want your number, hehehe" kind of a way. Then I look and him and say....


"I know you're going to ask, and I'm gonna say yes; I want a new air-filter."

The guy behind him starts laughing hysterically! I didn't realize how funny I was! I bet they get rejected all the time when they ask if you want a new air-filter or new wipers, I'm sure it's common topic of conversation. Anyway, maybe this is one of those things that you just had to be there...but I had a good laugh:). It kinda sounded like something you'd say when someones about to propose...hahaha. Hope your next trip to the automotive shop is just as entertaining:).

…my week…if you care to take a gander… ☺ ☺ ☺

Every Monday I wake up and start over on my diet…this week its stuck quite well, I’m impressed to say the least, I’ve had some close calls, but I’ve managed to aim for the target a high percentage of the time, always a good thing. And I’ve been to the gym a few times, wow, we are really setting new records for 2008!

I found out that my insurance company is closing the case on my claim I made back in May of ’07. I was in a car accident with some moron who was driving on the wrong side of the road. I seriously think he was on drugs! To keep it short, he had no insurance at the time of the accident and no one seems to be able to find the guy…Should I take him to small claims court????

I had an awesome piano lesson this week! I’m really learning the chords, the rhythm, and the notes! My teacher says that if I practice 10-15 min. everyday she thinks I’ll be able to play any hymn in the hymnbook in one year from now! That’s a challenge…PLEASE REMIND ME TO PRACTICE!!! Wouldn’t that be super cool!?!? (except for the fact that I might have to play at church, that terrifies me! I’d rather give a talk!)

Rita and I went to the library tonight. We found a cozy little corner and read a few books. She’s an awesome reader! As we were walking out of the library doors Rita was looking at the two chapter books she had in her hand, one was an Arthur chapter book and the other was some girly book. She’s looking at both of the covers and asks “are the people real or fake?” I responded, “well, what do you think?” She says, “I think they’re fake, they don’t look real at all.” There was a lady walking out the doors at the same time who looks and me and says “that is such a good response, for years I always just answered their questions, I never asked what they thought…” I laughed and said it was just because I’m a teacher. When we got in the car, Rita looked at me and said, “is laughing good for you?” And I said “yes! Laughing is really good for you!” Then she forced herself to laugh and said, “okay, I’m done.” I think she’s still trying to understand our culture and when it’s appropriate to do certain things, like laughing. She is darling! I love this little lady!

I’ve also had some mortifying experiences and I don’t think I’ll share those with anyone…sorry, too many of you read this dang blog now….sheesh!

And on the home front, or rather the apartment front, there’s been no more water fights or hot tubbing, I wish I could remember some lines for the sitcom that Niki and I keep adding to…hmmm… o’well, next time!

It’s been a whole week since I’ve posted, wow, that’s a record for me!

Who needs a swimming suit? Just hop in!!!!

A couple of days ago my roommates and I decided to go and soak our feet in the hot tub. As we were sitting there we were wishing that we had just put on our swimming suits so that we could get in. Niki had the brilliant idea of just getting in fully clothed....we all hesitated but then hopped in! Nat was even wearing jeans and hoodie! I guess there's a first for everything!