Spreading Christmas Cheer

My friend Pserendipity hosted her annual secret Santa blog gift exchange again this year and I had the honor of participating.  I, along with 17 other bloggers, were charged with choosing and mailing a gift to the person that we were assigned by choosing random numbers.  I didn't really know what to expect at first, and I was worried.  I don't know anyone that was participating in the exchange other than Psonya so how would I know what to buy my recipient?  Would she like what I sent her? Would the person who was picked to be my secret Santa send me something that I would like?

Everything turned out great in the end.  My recipient blogged about what I sent her and seemed really happy with it.  Phew.   A lot of thought went into what I sent her, so I was relieved that she liked it.  Then, a few days after I sent my package off in the mail, mine showed up.

Here's what was inside:

She obviously did her research, the first item I pulled out of the package was a Martini glass.  Perfect gift for someone who is a lush, and let's be honest, I love me a stiff drink.  

Then onto the next gift, a cookbook.  It's not just any cookbook though.  It's a cookbook that was given to her by her Grandmother when she got married over twenty years ago.  Complete with a handwritten personalization on the inside cover that she altered to say our names instead of hers.  That makes it so much more than just a cookbook. 

Then there was the luggage tag with the initial to my last name on it that acted as my clue to try and help me guess who my secret Santa might be.  

TravelDiva; I want to thank you for the amazing amount of thought that went into the gift you sent me.  I am so lucky that you were my secret Santa!  I will cherish the cookbook always, and I can assure you that I will get plenty of use out of the Martini glass. :)  Hopefully someday I will get the chance to travel so that I can use the luggage tag as well.  You really went above and beyond.  Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

We are enjoying a relaxing Christmas surrounded by the ones we love and hope that you are all doing the same!

Happy holidays to you and yours. May the season bring you lots of laughter and smiles.

Merry Christmas!!

Love,
Brett and Kaylyn

Project GP

Brett is not budging on the guinea pig.  He just won't let me have it. I have been going to extremes such as having my best friend call him and proclaim that she believes in her heart that I need one, begging, bartering, and even sending random pictures of guinea pigs to his email throughout the day so that he will realize that they are adorable and we should definately have one.  None of it is working, so now I am taking a different approach. 

Every time I take Belle to the pet store with me she stops to look at the guinea pigs.  They are on the lowest level of cages, which just happens to be at eye level for her.  So now I am using her as bait and trying to convince him that it is not only me who wants a guinea pig.  It's the dog, too.

Here is what happens when two grown ass adults are arguing about whether or not their dog wants a guinea pig for Christmas:

{Brett = Grey / Kaylyn = Green}

Who's side are you on??  Don't you think Brett should buy me a guinea pig?

Monday Randoms

I cannot believe that that Christmas is already just a few weeks away.  It seems like we just got done with Halloween, doesn't it??

One of my favorite things to do around Christmas is wander around a book store.  I could spend hours upon hours just browsing at the books imagining what they all contain. Someday I will have my own library full of books from floor to ceiling. Currently I am reading The Hunger Games, next up on my list is Unbearable Lightness by Portia De Rossi.  What's a good book that you've read lately?

I am getting ready for a cookie exchange next week and Brett built me a beautiful display for my cookies.  I kind of feel like I'm taking part in a mini Food Network Challenge.  {minus the $10,000 grand prize} Who cares if we went a little overboard.  Go big or go home, right?  I need to make a better effort to learn how to cook more.  Cook books might help with that, I just have to learn how to follow a recipe first. 

I just bought a copy of Beauty and the Beast on DVD.  It's my all time favorite movie, and I try to buy the Disney movies when they are out of the vault, but lately this is the only one that I have really made the effort to snag. 

We played a really funny board game at Thanksgiving called Know it or Blow it.  I tried to text my sister in law afterward to ask her where she got it, but she didn't respond.  Looks like I'll have to investigate.  I enjoy board games. 

We went to Brett's company Christmas party last night and there was a hypnotist hired for the entertainment.  We were both laughing so hard that we had headaches by the end of the show.  It was fucking hilarious. 

My house is a mess.

I need to get crackin' on my Christmas cards.  I haven't even started them yet.

I am making an effort to try and convince Brett to get me a Guinea Pig.  He's not convinced that it will be a good idea, but I keep telling him that it will be okay.  I don't think he's gonna give in. 

The weekend didn't last long enough and I don't get along well with Monday's.  Why can't we all just have three day weekends?  It would make life so much easier. 

This year for Christmas I decided to take off the three days before our vacation at work actually starts, so I'll only have to use three PTO days, but I will get to spend nine, did you hear me? NINE days with my husband.  We aren't going anywhere.  Just hanging out at home.  Okay, we'll probably go visit the Schlange's. 

How was your weekend?

Borderline Insanity

Yesterday the plan was set for us to head up to Ogden to hang out with Chaz and Shay.  I couldn't wait for the fun to begin for two reasons.  First, it had been far too long since I had seen my best friend.  I don't like that we live so far away from each other because we just don't get to see each other often enough, in my opinion.  I cannot wait for the day that Brett is done with school and we can move closer to them.  It's going to be a beautiful day.  I know for a fact that we will find plenty of new ways to get ourselves into trouble when that day finally comes.  I will be able to see her whenever I want, which will be often.

The second reason?  Season four of Dexter.

We originally planned on getting together to eat a good meal and watch a few episodes of Dexter.  It started off as we had planned, and we watched the first two episodes of the fourth season.  We broke for dinner, and then set out to watch another episode.  I think that across the board, we were planning on watching just four episodes, and then save the rest for another night.

Things didn't go according to plan.  We were so enthralled with the intensity of the story that we just kept watching episode after episode.  We began watching the first episode around 3:00 pm and didn't stop until the entire season was over at about 4:30 am.  It was awesome.

As I have said before, if you are not currently watching Dexter, you should be.  It is sooo good!!

Should I be embarrassed that I just admitted to watching 12 solid hours of Dexter for the second time?  Because I'm not.

If you haven't read the last Harry Potter book yet, you shouldn't read this post....consider yourself warned

We had a fantastic weekend.  The only thing missing was a little time with Shaymus.  That's no one's fault but my own though, I just didn't feel like making the drive.  I'll see her next weekend, and it will make me feel better.

We went and saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 1 yesterday and I loved it.  I cried when Harry was digging Dobby's grave at the end though.  I knew it was coming, but I still couldn't prepare myself for how sad it would be.  Damn you Bellatrix Lestrange.  I'm not looking forward to waiting six months until part 2 comes out.  I think I'm one of the only people that wouldn't mind sitting through a 6 hour Harry Potter movie. 

Saturday night we went to the liquor store and picked up some vodka.  Then we drank it.  I'm not sorry. Sobriety is overrated. 

How was your weekend??

Hollywood Undead

This year's Halloween party did not disappoint.  In years past we have had a few friends that didn't dress up, and it has always been a disappointment to Shay and I.  This year, however, those assholes dressed up! We couldn't have been happier.

The theme was Hollywood Undead, so everyone was a celebrity/musician and the turnout was great!

This year, Shay went all out with the decorations and transformed her house into a red carpet Hollywood event.  Brett and I took the day before the party off so that we could help finalize the decorating, and we all had a few last minute items to buy for our costumes so there was some shopping to do that day as well.  It really made the weekend fantastic to be able to spend the whole thing with our best friends.  We truly don't get to see them enough.

Shots were taken, beers were had, delicious food was eaten, beer pong was played, and lots of dancing was done by all.  I think that we topped the dead man's party from last year, and that was the goal!

Lady Gaga and Lil' Wayne:

Bret Michaels and Amy Winehouse:

Holly Madison and Ben Roethlisberger:

Kat Von D and Jesse James:

Raquel Welch and Billy Idol:

Soni and Cher:

Marilyn Monroe and James Dean:

I am already counting down the days until next Halloween!!

Dry Spell

It has been three weeks since Brett and I have had any alcohol. We are trying to take six months off, since lately we have been over doing it. It feels good not to wake up on a Saturday morning with a hangover, feeling like I'd rather die than vomit one more time, but at the same time I find myself wishing I had a drink.

I think I miss it because I'm just so used to it.

This time, unlike the times we've tried this in the past, we're gonna stay on the wagon and ride it out. It'll be tough to do during the holidays, and especially New Years Eve, but we aren't going to give in.

Check back soon for a Halloween post. I still can't believe I haven't posted about it yet.

Loving This Album

I love the covers that they did of Lady Gaga's Bad Romance and Kanye West's Stronger.  Brilliant. You should go to itunes right now and buy it.

Happy birthday Chaz

My three favorite people have all celebrated their birthday's in the past few weeks, today it's Chaz's turn.  Happy birthday Chaz!!

I don't know where I would be without these three!  They keep me sane.

Happy Birthday Brett

Here's to at least 28 more birthdays!!  I love your fucking guts. 

All Hallows Eve

Tonight is my favorite night of the year. Tonight is Halloween. I remember when I was little trick or treating always took place on Halloween. No matter what day of the week it was there would be kids in costume running from house to house gathering candy that filled their bags to the top. The doorbells would ring until 11pm. The streets were filled with laughter and screaming, and it was obvious that good times were being had. Good memories were being made.

Now things are so different.

Trick or treating takes place on the Saturday closest to Halloween, mostly as a convenience to the adults, and the kids that come to the door are sparse. The doorbell stops ringing at 8pm. The kids just don't seem to be as enthused as I remember being when I was in their shoes.

It's sad.

Tonight there are no trick or treaters and I only saw one person making a poor attempt at a Halloween costume in Office Max. We are watching Sweeney Todd with no interruptions from the doorbell.

This isn't how it should be. The kids these days are getting gypped. It makes me sad.

Happy Halloween! A post to come soon of our Halloween party last weekend.

Today is a special day!

Today is a good day.  Today is the day that 29 years ago my best friend was born!  I am so lucky to have her.  She is truly the most amazing friend that anyone could ask for, and I would be so lost without her.  She is hilariously witty, extremely creative, gorgeous, smart, thoughtful, stylish, loving, intuitive and loyal.  

Basically the definition of what a best friend should be.   

I love you Shaymus.  You dirty little whore, you.  Happy birthday love!!

Picture Perfect

It's no secret that I have wanted Brett and I to have our pictures done professionally for a long time.  Remember this?  Yeah.  It's been a while, but the desire for a photo shoot has not left the forefront of my thoughts and I have still been looking for someone who's work I love. 

There is one photographer that I have admired for a long time, and I have wished that we could afford to have our pictures taken by her, but to be honest, for the price that she charges it just isn't going to work right now. With our budget the money will more likely be spent on a years worth of food.  I have come to the conclusion that I will most likely not be able to even think about booking a photo shoot with her for years to come. For now I will live with just admiring her beautiful images from my side of the computer.

At first I was extremely discouraged when I came to this realization, but then {then!}right after I had decided that I was going to have to give up for a while on my hopes for having our pictures done, I read something that made my heart leap. 

Enter, Mrs. Taylee Winder. 

We have been friends through blogging for a long time, and I read her blog religiously.  Come to find out, she is an amazing photographer! 

Turns out that very soon, I will finally be able to meet her because she is going to do our pictures for us!!  I can't tell you how excited I am.  Not only will we be able to have our pictures done by a very talented photographer, but one of my long time blog friends will become a real life friend.  It couldn't have worked out better. 

See her amazing talent here, and book a session of your own!

Strange addiction

I will admit that I am a big fan of T.V. and I watch plenty of shows that I am not proud of, i.e. Dog the Bounty Hunter. It's a white trash train wreck that I cannot bring myself to take my eyes off of, and I watch it every chance I get.

Brett, on the other hand, rarely watches T.V. at all. If he's watching something on T.V. it's for one of two reasons....we're either watching something that I want to watch, or it's the middle of the night and he can't sleep.

Recently Chaz and Shay have introduced us to something that has quickly become an exception to that rule.

Dexter.


 

We are both sucked into it's vortex and unable to break free. We only started watching it last weekend and we have already finished three out of the five seasons. It's bad.

The show is just so intriguing. Every single episode has something monumental happening, and the plot points are intense. I don't know what I am going to do with myself when it is over.

You knew this one would be coming....

You guys, I'm not sure if you know this or not, but its October!!  Guess what that means.....Halloween is almost here!  I cannot contain my excitement.  Shay and I are in full blown prep mode!

This years party theme is 'recognizable musicians' and let me just tell you, there will be some good costumes this year!  Here's a little preview of who will be attending:

 

Yeah, I know.  It's going to rock.  {pun intended}

My Way of Coping

August 13th was my mom's birthday. In the months approaching it, I was dreading each day that brought it closer. I am not coping well with her loss, and every time I think about her I want to cry. I just miss her so much.

I was trying to come up with a way to honor and remember her on her birthday, and I started brainstorming a few months ago. I wanted it to be something significant. Something that would make a lasting impression on my life, and help me keep her memory alive in my soul. My sister and I had been talking about getting memorial tattoos in her honor, but didn't really know what we wanted or when we wanted to do it. I picked up the phone one day and called my sister. "Let's do our tattoo's on mom's birthday!" That's all it took. She was in.

I had started looking at designs and finally decided what I wanted to do and found the artist that I wanted to go to, so Brett set the appointment. I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! My sister did the same general design, but hers is in a different location and has color instead of just black and grey. I choose to merge two Celtic symbols that I loved because their meaning was perfect for what I was trying to represent. One is the Celtic symbol for motherhood and the female power, and the other is the Celtic symbol for the transitions through life and death. I think it's perfect! What do you think?

Normally, I'd go for a hot dog.

Anytime we barbecue and the person manning the grill asks me if I want a hamburger or a hot dog, I always say hot dog.  I have always been a fan of hot dogs, and for some reason hamburgers just don't appeal to me.  I have tried them on a few occasions, from a few different places, and just haven't ever been too impressed. 

While we were visiting Brett's sister in Reno last week, one of her kids suggested that we go to In n' Out Burger for lunch.  Knowing that I am some what of a picky eater, she left it up to me to decide.  That was the moment that I proclaimed the four words that made the head of everyone in the room whip around so hard to look in my direction that I am surprised no one ended up with a neck injury. 

I've never tried it. 

They all sat there staring at me like I had a penis growing out of my forehead, but they just didn't bear to break the news to me.  Apparently if you haven't eaten at In n' Out burger you are some kind of outcast.  Who knew?

After everyone was able to lift their chins up off of the floor we decided that lunch that day could take place no where else.  I had to try In n' Out for the first time with them, and they were going to make sure of it.  On the drive over everyone just kept raving about how good the food was, and how impressed I was going to be. I continued to listen to said raving, unconvinced that I would like it as much as they believed I would. 

When we got there I was blown away by how simple the menu was.  You can choose from a hamburger, a cheeseburger, or fries.  Not even an option to pick chicken nuggets!  How good could this burger joint really be?

I will take this opportunity to put my foot directly into my mouth.  It was good.  I was impressed.  So impressed that after we got home, I found myself craving a cheeseburger, animal style with a side of fries. 

Thank god that In n' Out has recently planted it's roots in Utah.

Solving life's mysteries

Have you ever wondered exactly what it is about your best friend that makes you love them so much?  You know that you get along well, and you know that you can always count on each other, but what is the one thing that draws you to each other and makes you best friends? I can tell you. 

She will do anything you ask her to, and have a hell of a time doing it. 

I was at the mall with Shay and Ashley a few months ago, before little miss Hadley was born, and as we were walking through the food court I asked Shay if she would ride the carousel with me.  I know that it sounds ridiculous, that two grown ass women would ride a children's carousel in the middle of a crowded mall, but I was serious about it.  What's wrong with acting like a little kid sometimes?  It keeps life interesting. 

Of course, as I knew she would, Shay agreed.

Ashley and Hunter joined us for the ride, but I am almost sure that Ashley wouldn't have been so willing to join us if Hunter hadn't been there.  It may have taken a little more coaxing.  Shay however, did not hesitate. 

This is why she is my best friend.  I love her.

Another step forward

Ever since I found that letter last year I have been trying to find the courage to make contact.  With the help of a new colleague I was able to find another physical address that I could attempt, as well as a p.o. box, and with the new information in hand I decided that I should just go for it.  What the hell, right?  I figured that the worst that could happen would be to never hear anything back, and everything would remain the same.  I would continue life not knowing, but at least I could say that I tried. 

So about two weeks ago I wrote him a letter and stuck it in the mail.  After I had dropped it into the box, knowing that it was irretrievable, I felt a little bit nervous.  Nervous, but confident that I was making the right choice.  Two or three days later, that same envelope that I had sent away was back in my hands with something new written on the front...."return to sender, not at this address."  Fuck.  I had a feeling that would happen.  So I opened up the envelope and took the letter out leaving it as a hollow, worthless carcass and grabbed a fresh new envelope and scrawled the next address from my list onto its blank surface.

After about a week I had gotten to the point where I wasn't anxiously checking my email every hour, or running upstairs to see if someone had checked the mail on a daily basis.  I decided that I was just going to relax.  If I was going to hear something it would probably be a while, so there was no sense in thinking about it all the time.

You know that old saying 'a watched kettle never boils'?  I believe that statement to be true.  Almost in the exact moment that I took my eyes off of the kettle, it started boiling.

I am not joking. Almost literally, the day that I decided not to worry about it anymore I got the response that I had been waiting for.  Brett and I were sitting on the couch after we had gotten ready for bed, and I was just going to make sure that my alarm on my phone was set to wake me up the next morning.  This is something that I do every night that drives Brett completely insane. If it went off yesterday, it will go off tomorrow.  Just when I had entered the password into my phone I noticed that little red circle above my email icon, indicating that there was an email in my inbox waiting to be read. Just one. I tried to convince myself that it was nothing, that it could easily wait until morning and proceeded to make sure my alarm was, in fact, set to go off at the crack of dawn and wake me for work.  Of course it was set, just like Brett always tells me. 

I couldn't resist though, after I triple checked my alarm, I clicked on my email icon and there it was.  An email from someone, that until a year ago, I didn't even know existed.

Don't text and drive....

You also shouldn't text when you are sitting in traffic not moving. I learned that lesson the hard way today. I was sitting in traffic today on my way to work, and heard a concert anouncement on the radio for a band that I love. Since I was at a dead stand still I decided to send Brett a quick text to tell him how excited I was.

"Aaaahhh! 3oh!3 is coming in concert!"

That was all I said. Some idiot apparently saw me sending the aforementioned text message, while I was sitting in traffic not moving, and decided it was necessary to call the police to inform them that I was texting and driving. About ten minutes later I saw red and blue lights flashing in my rear view mirror.

I don't know how much the ticket is going to cost yet, but I can guarantee you that we won't be at that concert when it comes around.

People are assholes.

The true definition of shindig

This year for my birthday Brett had some elaborate plans, and they were all top secret.  I am not the type that does well with waiting for surprises, whether it is waiting to surprise someone myself or knowing that I have a surprise coming my way.  I am what you would call, impatient. 

In the weeks leading up to my birthday I was freaquently asked to leave the room so that Brett could discuss the pending birthday plans with his sister, or not to enter the garage due to the construction of a super secret birthday gift.  He was working on projects, making plans, and doing a VERY good job of keeping it all secret.   The suspense was killing me. 

Each day the week of my birthday I recieved a different gift*.  It made each day so exciting to look forward to!  All of the gifts were amazingly thoughtful, and so much fun! 

Then the big day came.  The gift that he gave me on my actual birthday was something that I had been wanting for a really long time, so I was so excited to get it. Then when I found out that we would be venturing to the Schlange's house for dinner that night, I immediately packed it up so that we could all enjoy it together.  The dinner plans were, as I thought anyway, last minute and I couldn't be happier that I would be spending my birthday evening with my three favorite people.

When we arrived at the Schlange residence, to my surprise, the entire house was decorated with balloons, streamers, confetti, and a huge happy birthday banner.  I was a little shocked at how overboard Shay had gone to decorate the house just for the four of us to have dinner.  But then again, she always does this kind of stuff, so I didn't think much of it at first.  When I got my new job she decorated her house and baked me a cake to celebrate over pizza.  She's a rock star.

That's when they sprung it on me.  I wasn't just there for a little birthday dinner after all, on the docket for the evening was a surprise Mardi Gras costume party.  Do you even understand how cool that is?  A costume party in the middle of March!!  It was such an amazing surprise.  They even had costumes ready and waiting.  They seriously thought of everything.  Costumes, masquerade masks, food, music, drinks, and a long list of guests.  Remember how Shay wasn't allowed to buy me anything for my birthday since she paid for me to have my nose peirced on New Year's Eve as an early birthday gift?  She found a way around it.

The night was amazing, and we met a lot of really fun new people.  There was only one situation that got slightly out of hand, and lets just say that Brett and Chaz may have had to physically remove an inebriated neighbor from the premesis.  Other than that, the night went fatastic.

Who could ask for a better birthday?  Not me!  I wish I could turn 25 everyday!

*In case you were wondering....

Monday - UVU hoodie {So Cute!}

Tuesday - Tickets to Alice and Wonderland along with the book {Such a good movie}

Wednesday - Awesome new jewelry holder for my bedroom

Thursday - A trip to Colr Me Mine in Orem to paint ceramics {SO fun!!}

Friday - The Sims 2 Castaway Wii game

Saturday - Nintendo Wii

Don't sweat the small stuff

{photo from Flickr}

Since returning to work I have learned to embrace an old nemesis. I have allowed it to accompany me throughout parts of my day, and have even learned to appreciate it.

When I originally started commuting across the valley three years ago I loathed the distance that I had to travel, and amount of traffic that I had to deal with on a daily basis. I used to bitch and complain constantly about how terrible the drive was.

After being unemployed for three months, however, I woke up last Monday to set off for my first day at my new job and I was actually looking forward to the drive. I know now that I was being selfish before to complain about how much I hated the commute that I was forced to make every day, when instead I should've just been grateful that I even had a job at all.

It's amazing how monumental we make the small and insignificant little things in our day to day lives seem.

I am going to try my hardest from now on not to focus as much on the little things that I usually allow to crawl under my skin and annoy me, and instead redirect the energy that I would normally spend dwelling on said frustrations into reminding myself that I am so fortunate to be where I am in life, even though it’s not what I would consider an ideal situation.

Lost and found

The intensive searching has finally paid off, and in seven days I start a new job.

After I lost my job I felt worthless. I felt like nothing was ever going to be okay again, and I was terrified. I had no idea how we were going to make it through such a mess. Despite all of the encouragement I was receiving from everyone around me, I couldn't convince myself that we could handle it. I tried my best to hide the fact that I was panicking inside, and keep a smile on my face, but it was tough. Everyone else seemed to have confidence in me, but for some reason I just couldn't be confident in myself.

It took a while for these feelings to subside, but eventually they did.

I think that once I realized how much Brett and I had already been through together, I started to gain the confidence that I had been looking for. I am so excited about this job, and I think that it is going to be a great change for me. I loved my last job, and I will definitely miss it, but I can't wait to see what great opportunities this new job will bring.

I asked, and I received

About four months ago I submitted my blog for review over at Ask And Ye Shall Receive where, as proclaimed in their blog address, they promised to fucking tear me apart.

Yesterday was the day that my review went up. You can read it here.

My reviewer was a chick named Mongoliangirl. She definitely did not disappoint on the aforementioned promise, and I actually laughed a few times while I was reading what she had to say about my blog. Not only did she tear me apart, but she did it in a pretty comical way. Her number one complaint seemed to be my lack of consistency. I am an all-over-the-place kind of blogger, and she didn't really like that too well. I get it.

She thinks that I should focus more on the monumental happenings in my life, and expand on those stories more than I have been. I can't say that I disagree, but at the same time I worry that if I focus too hard on one set of topics things around here will become a lot more monotonous. What do you think? Do you want to hear more about my hunt to find my biological father, the emotions that go along with said inquisition, and the time that Brett almost died?

Maybe I should pour my heart out a little more.

I did disagree with the part of the review where she suggested that rather than telling you the story about the time that the photographer didn't show up to take our pictures, I should've posted a back story on the graffiti covered building that we were planning on having in the background of those pictures. My only problem with that suggestion is this: I know nothing about that building to be able to write a story about it. I just know that I used to drive by it on my commute everyday, and it seemed like an awesome place for a photo shoot. So that really wouldn't have been an option. I knew the story about the photographer not showing, because I was there and I was extremely upset about it, but the history of the building is a complete mystery to me.

I also found it completely hilarious that she was so focused on the one post that I ever did about a pair of sandals. She thinks that I throw too much of my daily life into my posts, and used the phrase "a bunch of tidbits, trivia, and surface tripe" to describe the parts of my life that I blog about. The only reason that this was confusing to me is that I thought that's what having a blog was all about. Sharing stories about your life, and letting people get a feel for who you are. If all I ever blogged about were the serious, sad, and tragic things that happened in my life the stories would be too heavy, and my blog would be a severely depressing place to be. No one would want to read it.

I like constructive criticism because it helps me improve myself. I will definitely think about everything that she said, and try to come up with ways that I improve the stories that I tell and make them more interesting. As for the randomness, I don't know if that one will ever go away. I am a random person with random thoughts, and I kind of like that about myself.

She did say that she thinks my writing is clear and straightforward, and she thinks that I have potential, which is pretty cool. She also said that she is going to put me into her reader and see if I can improve, which I appreciate. I was really glad to see that she didn't hate my blog template. That is one thing that the reviewers tend to have a problem with when they review blogs.

Thanks MongolianGirl for reviewing my blog, I'll be interested to see if you change your mind about me in the future.

No commute needed

Today my buddy Shaymus introduced me to a beautiful little piece of technological heaven. It's called Skype, and it is my new favorite thing.

I live an hour and a half away from Shay, so we don't get to see each other as often as we would like to. It has been worse since Brett got a job because he has to work a lot of evenings and weekends. Sure we have phone calls and text messages to communicate with each other, but it's just not the same when I don't get to see her smiling face.

Not anymore!!

Now that I can Skype with Shay, it's just like having her right here in my living room. Whenever I need her to cheer me up, tell me a joke, give me advice on an outfit, or just talk to me she's there. It's almost as good as if we were neighbors!!

Thanks for hanging out with me today Schlange's! It was so good to see your faces.

Schlange the Impaler

Early in the afternoon on New Years Eve Brett and I were at the mall with Shay when we passed a chick with a nose piercing, and I casually mentioned that I couldn't wait to have mine done someday. I have had a mole on the side of my nose since I was 16 years old, and have always planned on having it removed so that I could pierce my nose.

About eight weeks ago I was at the Dermatologist with Brett, and asked the doctor about the possibility of having said mole removed someday. I was just looking for some information really....Cost, procedure, and healing time. After I asked him about it, he spontaneously offered to do it for me, right then and there. Voila! Mole gone.

Brett has known for a long time that I wanted my nose pierced, and I was sure that I had mentioned it to Shay before, too. Apparently she wasn't aware of my desire because she instantly stopped dead in her tracks as we were leaving the mall that day, and shouted to us both "let's go do it right now!"

I couldn't believe the excitement in her voice. It was like I had just told her that I was going to buy her a new puppy! She was so happy at the thought of someone shoving a needle through my flesh, that I almost questioned her motives. Maybe she doesn't like me as much as I thought she did....

Brett and I both laughed it off. We both knew that with me not having a job at the moment, it just wasn't something we should be spending our money on. But Shay had other plans. After leaving the mall we went to visit Chaz at work, and Shay kept on insisting that we go back to the mall and impale me through the nostril with a metal stud. Chaz also thought that this sounded like a great idea, so to make a joke out of their enthusiasm, I said I would go through with it if they paid for me to have it done. I figured it would get them to shut up about the whole thing because they were both just trying to see how far they could push me, and they really wouldn't want to spend the money to have it done.

I guess that reverse psychology isn't one of my strong points, because plan back fired on me. They both thought that it was a great idea for them to pay. "It will be your early birthday present!" Shay exclaimed.

Shit.

After Chaz got off work we met him back over at the mall where I had an appointment at the piercing shop. I was terrified, and I almost chickened out.



After about a half hour of trying to talk myself out of it, I realized how much I actually did want to do it. Brett kept on telling me that it was my decision, and I should go through with it only if I really wanted to. Even though I was scared, because I knew it would hurt, I decided that it was now or never. I've always wanted to do it, and now I had the chance. My mole had been removed, and my best friend wanted to buy it for me as a birthday gift. Who was I to rain on her parade?

Now I have a new accessory!



It didn't hurt quite as bad as I had anticipated, and I didn't even cry. Now that I have it I'm really happy that I went through with it! Thanks to the Schlange's for my (3 month) early birthday present!

Let's just say, I didn't pee my pants

Brett and I have both heard that the movie Paranormal Activity is one of the scariest movies ever made. We've heard that people were so scared that they got up and walked out of the theater in the middle of the show. Some girl even told Brett that she couldn't sleep for a week after she watched it. We both enjoy a good scary movie, so when we were at the Redbox yesterday, and saw it on the list of available movies, we decided to rent it.

Big mistake.

I don't know what it is about this movie that scared so many people. My guess is that it must have been the bad acting.

I will admit, there were a few little things that made my heart race while we were watching this movie. Some doors moving without any explanation, sheets on the bed being moved with no one there, the sound of footsteps in a dark hallway. I get it, that kind of shit is creepy. But all of the other crap that they threw in was just too much.

I hate watching a movies that are such a big let down. It makes me mad that I even wasted my time to see it. Remember this one? Ridiculous. It makes me wonder why people even waste their time and money to make these movies.

Did you see it? What did you think?

Dawn of a decade

As far as I am concerned, 2009 can suck it. It was the hardest year that we have had so far, and I am glad that it is finally over. There were so many low points. It seemed like every time we turned around we would get whacked over the head again.

I really hope that 2010 brings more positive things. If not, I may just go insane.

Compared to last year we had a pretty low key New Years Eve. We hung out with the Schlange's and the Leavitt's, and played an awesome game. Just the way we like it. Good friends, good drinks, good fun.

I hope that your New Years celebration was a great one! Here's to the start of a fabulous new decade!! Cheers!