video of the week

"Security in this office park is a joke. Last year, I came to work with my spud gun in a duffel bag. I sat at my desk all day, with a rifle that shoots potatoes at 60 pounds per square inch. Can you imagine if I was deranged?" -Dwight Schrute

quotables

One thing I love to do is look up quotes. I love finding ones that apply to me perfectly during different times in my life, and they usually make me ready to conquer life. I'm a quote junkie. Well, my senior year I was one of the people in charge of Baccalaureatte (I used to know how to spell that, not anymore) and I decided it would be cool to put a bunch of quotes that applied to everyone graduating all over the walls of the auditorium lobby. You know, so we could read them and be inspired. I even made it all cute and put them on purple & gold paper. No one saw them. I forgot that we all entered from the back (NOT the lobby) and left from the back too. Afterwards I said, I'm not letting all of that go to waste! So I kept them all. Well recently I found them again, so this post is dedicated to my favorites. Here they are:

"Life is a journey...every experience is here to teach you more fully how to be who you really are" -Oprah Winfrey

"Don't spend a lot of time worrying about your failures. I've learned a whole lot more from my mistakes than from all my successes." -Ann Richards

"When faced with the inevitable, you always have a choice. You may not be able to alter reality, but you can alter your attitude toward it." -Margaret Atwood

"The victory is not always to the swift, but to him that finishes the race." -Orrin Hatch

"You count. You make difference. You can add to the sum of beauty and joy and love and understanding in the world, or you can subtract from those already scarce commodities. What you do matters." -Vincent Barnett

"Above all else: go out with a sense of humor. It is needed armor. Joy in one's heart and some laughter on one's lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life." -Hugh Sidney

By the way, I HIGHLY advise downloading Windows Live Writer. It's free, and it's sent directly from heaven. Worrying about spacing changes when you post? Gone. Sick of boring font choices? No more. You can publish posts directly from this application, and it's as easy as using Microsoft Word. I'm in love. As you can see I went a little crazy with the font choices. & that's before I was even able to get my font on. All of my cute fonts aren't on my laptop yet. Get it & you won't be disappointed

gets me every time

This past weekend I decided to venture out into uncharted territory and do something productive, so I chose to organize my room. I was doing pretty well and made some significant improvements, until these came along:

(notice how 4 out of 7 are blue?? I've never even had blue as a school color)

My yearbooks weren't even in a location that needed to be organized. They were just sitting innocently on the shelf where they belong, and I went to put something away next to them which led to the mistake of taking one out. & we all know that you can't just look at ONE yearbook, you have to look at them all. Because you see your picture & think, man, I looked ridiculous that year, so then you have to compare it to all of the other years, & then you have to look up the rest of the pictures you were in for things like orchestra etc, and then read the thousands of signatures people left while laughing at the fact that retarded things used to seem so funny, and then when you're done being vain you have to look up the people you haven't seen in awhile and compare all of their pictures, and then you have to read the filler pages that no one really bothers to read before, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc. Or maybe that's just me. Anyway, once I touch the yearbooks any hope of finishing my cleaning and organizing goes out the window.

ANYWAY, the point of this is that now I'm in a school memory mood, so I'm going to share some of my favorite memories starting in 6th grade and going to 12th grade (because those are the years I have yearbooks for)

6th Grade

My pride and joy: Track-n-Field day. It was the one day out of the whole year that we got to wear shorts. YAY! It was a sacred day, and girls planned what they were going to wear months in advance. The whole day was dedicated to activities such as relay races, football throws, 50 yard dashes, obstacle courses, long jumps, etc. They gave out ribbons to the people that placed too & we ate orange slices and popsicles. It was AMAZING and definitely what I looked forward to the most.

7th Grade

(We didn't buy the picture from that year, so instead here's a picture of me looking lovely when I was that age)

My favorite memory: Pig pillows! I took home ec in this year, and LOOOVED it! I loved learning how to sew & eat cookies. I didn't like the actual cooking so much because we couldn't leave til everyone was ready & our kitchen was spotless, so I was always worried I'd be late when we cooked.

8th Grade

I'd have to say the funnest thing about 8th grade was the Orchestra Trip to Flagstaff. Friends, junk food, hotels, and hyperness will definitely bring about fun. We went to play in a festival, and we stayed overnight. I was roomies with Stacia, Christine & Bethany and we rocked that place. Plus we had some homeless looking person knock on our hotel room door asking to come in, and basically scare us to death. It was fun though.

9th Grade

My favorite memory about this year is being on the Track team. Track meets were always soo much fun, and I was just a long & triple jumper so I really didn't have to work too hard. Just enough for me to stay in shape. I got really bad shin splints, but it was still worth it. Oh, and we got free Gatorade on track meet days. How awesome is that??

10th Grade

I also don't have a picture from this year, so here are 2 pictures of my favorite memory:

The orchestra, band and choir got to go to San Francisco for the performing arts trip, and it was beyond fun. We drove in a bus the whole way there, which took forever, but lots of the fun came from the time on the bus! I was on the "cool" bus with everyone I knew, so it was a good time. We got to go to the Broadway version of Lion King, the Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39, a baseball game, and a symphony. We also got to go to an amusement park called Great America, and if anyone knows me they know I love amusement parks. This was my favorite day there, and my friend Stacia, another girl & I went on a ride that is pretty much the closest I've been to skydiving. It straps you all together, pulls you up a million feet, and drops you so you fly superman style. I wish I had a picture of it. It was extremely awesome.

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11th Grade

I can't say that it's my favorite memory of this grade, but one thing I loved is when I went to Morp as MIB. The theme was Out of This World and people were talking about going as aliens...so then I thought, hey why not be an alien fighter? So that's what we went as. Men in Black. (I'd say I was a Woman in Black but that doesn't sound near as cool.) We brought squirt guns as our props but they took them away when we got to the door. We basically had to bribe them to let us use them for the picture.

I loved my suit. I think it all cost a total of like, 20 dollars from the thrift store.

...and finally...

12th Grade

There's soooo much to say about when I was a senior, I don't even know where to start. There was the time when Kim & I stole the list saying who made the musical at 10:30 at night because we were hyped up on who knows what and upset because she didn't make it when she soooo should have. Did I mention that we hopped the fence to get to it? Because we did. We thought the police were gonna be after us. Then there are all of the times I ditched to go out to eat, run around fancy neighborhoods, go to the mall, go to Target, play in parks, etc. There were definitely times when I was afraid I was going to be audited. I was one of those people who had to go to school on senior ditch day. At least for part of the day. Then there's the extremely amazing orchestra trip to New York, or the time when Kim & I were determined to become professional ice skaters and bought our own ice skates, or when Kim, Brodie & I put on war paint and TPed a friends house....I really could go on and on. My senior year is definitely my favorite.

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Well that's all. I'm sorry if it was hard to read because of my jumbled up thoughts and lack of writing skills at the moment. I'm turning this into a tag so everyone that reads it has to post about their favorite school memories!

Seriously, you're tagged, you're it.

ATTENTION

ATTN: SEEKING FUN LOVERS ACROSS AMERICA
...or more realistically, across the Mesa area...

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO HAVE FUN?
DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU NEED AN ADVENTURE IN YOUR LIFE?
HAVE YOU EVER WANTED TO DO SOMETHING CRAZY AND OUT OF THE ORDINARY?
HAVE YOU EVER HAD THE URGE TO JUMP OUT OF A PLANE?

If you answered YES to any of these questions, then I'm looking for YOU!
A hopeful skydiver is in need of other hopefuls in order to fulfill a lifelong dream.

Requirements: Must be willing to jump out of a plane
When: Spring Break '08
Location: A skydiving place in Arizona
Cost: Not relevant (can you really put a price on fun?)

Here's the deal: My whole life I've always said, "I'm gonna go skydiving!" & it's been on my list of things to do before I die.
It was my plan for my 18th birthday.
It was my hope for my 20th birthday.
Those birthdays have all come & past, so I decided I'm doing something about it.
I'll probably pee my pants, cry, and be scared to death, but oh man will it be worth it.
But I can't do it alone, which is why I need you. Have you ever wanted to go skydiving? Do you know anyone that wants to?
If so, let me know ASAP. Ask everyone.

Don't you want to be able to have this look on your face?

I think you do, so let's make it happen.

funny stuff

If you want to laugh your pants off, click here.

Although I wouldn't recommend watching it in a school computer commons.

I did, and I tried as hard as I could to laugh internally but did not succeed.

The result: laughing hysterically in a silent room while tears are pouring down my cheeks. Not a pretty sight. Yet, I watched it like three times.

the unattractive picture post

Apparently I come from a family that doesn't know how to take normal pictures.

If you don't believe me, just keep reading.
Yesterday was my cousin Brandon's farewell (or whatever they call it these days) and afterwards we had a family party at his house. He's going to Paraguay, and he says he'll be living in the northern part which is basically swampland, and they still go by the ox-cart method. It's a good thing he loves the outdoors! Let's just say he's the epitome of a Boy Scout, so I think he'll do just fine if he ends up in a house with no floors or running water. I'm very excited for him because he's been waiting soo long to go, and he really wanted to go somewhere out of the US. Here's a picture of him:

Before I took the picture he was smiling normally, so I took it, and when I looked down at the picture it looked like that. He then told me that he's learned how to time it perfectly so he can stop smiling right when the picture is taken. Of course he did.

Well, then I took a picture of my cousin Justin & his wife Amy. My plan was to take the most unattractive picture possible of her, because she always manages to take the most hideous pictures of me without me knowing it. And then posts them on facebook. This is how the picture turned out:

I still think I can do better. I just need time.

Then there's Kayla.

For some reason she thinks that if she takes a picture with her smiling at the camera she'll blow up. At least that's my explanation for it, because she avoids pictures like the plague. So instead I got some of her eating her frozen yogurt and apparently trying to open her mouth with her hand. Maybe her jaw got tired.

My cousins are pretty much the coolest people ever, and it always makes me so happy when we go over there. & I'm lucky enough that we get to go over there all the time. My aunts & uncles & cousins are some of the most hilarious, crazy & loud people you've met, & there's almost never a dull moment. If ever want to know a quote from Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Napolean Dynomite, Nacho Libre, Brian Reagan, Princess Bride, or a million more, just ask them and they'll give you the exact quote in 2 seconds, plus twenty minutes more. They're so welcoming to everyone that comes over, including all of the friends I've brought over, and in half an hour they're their best friends too. Kayla, Sam & I have a very exclusive "Cool Club", and we'll be accepting applications. Don't beat yourself up if you don't make the cut, some people just don't have what it takes.

Here's a picture of me & Kayla a few summers ago in Flagstaff (notice the ski lift?). This is where the cool club started, right here on this very lift.

I don't remember the story behind the three-fingered peace sign, but I'm sure it was a cool one.

Here below we're at the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows midnight party. Darrell is the one on the left, then Brandon, then Kayla, then me. Let me tell you, that was a FUN night. They passed out stickers saying whether you though Snape was a friend or foe, and you can see Brandon wearing his foe sticker. Darrell was the only one of us who wore the friend one, just so he could be different. We almost beat him up.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the other cousins, but I'll make a mental note to get some.

I'll miss Brandon for the 2 years he's gone, but I'm soo happy for him too and I'm sure the years will fly by.

Oh, and this picture of Cassie is here because there was ONE picture from that whole night that was cute, and she erased it because she didn't like the way she looked. So now she gets to have this picture on my blog:

THE END

*note to self: don't inflict personal injury because of the horrible, annoying, and completely messed up spacing, sizing, and font changes of blogger.

bloggage

Pop Quiz: Amy style

What is the first thing that comes to mind when looking at this picture?
A. Um....bikes?
B. An accident waiting to happen
C. Trying so hard as a kid to learn how to ride without hands
D. Unruly youngsters riding around Target isles
E. The oh-so wonderful smell of rubber that eminates from this section of the store

If you picked E, then you and I need to create a club.
However, because all of the answers are equally viable, you all passed. Congratulations.
I don't know why but that smell is one of the most wonderful things ever. I would be lying if I said I didn't find myself wandering up and down these isles last night on my way to the seasonal home section, just for the smell. Of course I pretended to be looking at the merchandise, since I didn't want to look like a TOTAL weirdo.

I eventually made it over to the home section, and fell in love with several items. I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure my next room design will be based off of this:
I'm thinking it'll have mostly circle and square type stuff when it comes to furniture and accents, so it will have a geometric feel to it. I'll also have a warm color accent, so it'll be more inviting. I went to Target tonight to get more ideas and take pictures, and I found some pretty cool stuff. Have you heard of Global Bazaar? It's amazing. Check it out if you actually have money to spend & a room to decorate. It's quite expensive for my taste, so thankfully my virtual house needs no money.

For something totally unrelated, is it just me or does America's Funniest Home Videos make you laugh so hard you could pee your pants? Without fail, whenever I watch that show the laughter tears come. I can never see too many unfortunate people falling through chairs, freaking out over hilarious pranks, rolling down hills and brides tripping on their way down the isle. Does it make me a bad person that I laugh so hard at other people's pain? I think not, because if they sent the tape in they've obviously moved on. Besides, I'm sure my tears are subconsciously tears of sympathy. Seriously though, that show is the greatest. I could be having the worst day ever and I'd still laugh uncontrollably. Haha I'm laughing thinking about it!

Ok well I think that's everything, so I'll leave you with the words of wisdom that came on my Dove chocolate wrappers (they were milk chocolate carmel filled. Be jealous.)

Express what's in your heart.

Listen with your heart.

Thank you Dove, thank you. That was profound.

what really happened

My agenda for yesterday was pretty accurate, but I left some stuff out, so here's what really went down:

• Wake up
• Eat breakfast that my awesome mom made for me, IN bed
• Take Cassie's carpool to Taylor
• Get lots of nice texts from awesome friends who remembered my birthday
• Go to work
• Get a sweet card from my way nice boss and go out to lunch with him and someone from the office
• Go home, study a little bit, but not near enough
• Get calls from family wishing me happy birthday
• Find an awesome surprise present in the mail
• Check myspace, facebook and blogger and read the 25 comments from different people who are awesome
• Go to the doctor
• Go to Oreganos with my aforementioned awesome mom and sister
• Eat a pizzookie. Better yet, a FREE pizzookie (I got my mom & sister hooked)
• Go to the mall & pick out a beautiful birthday ring!
• Go to sleep, not studying for the 5 hours I needed to, but happy with a fun birthday.

Needless to say it was a pretty fun day.

the agenda

Here's the rundown of what's gonna happen today:

• wake up


• drive cassie's carpool to taylor


• get ready for work


• go to work


• go to the doctor's


• come home


• study for like 5 hours for the three tests i have tomorrow


• eat birthday cake


• go to sleep

Growing up kinda takes the fun out of life sometimes. Especially when it comes to birthdays.
Here's to being 20. Woo!

my plans

Guess what I've been doing lately instead of blogging??

.

.

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Homework!!

I know, I know, It's almost impossible to believe, but it's true. Everytime I sat down to write a blog I somehow found myself working on my accounting project or my math homework.

Don't worry, the world isn't coming to an end.

At least I don't think so.

I think the reason for this is because I'd go to my blog, hear the music, & suddenly be inspired to do homework. Whatever the reason, I like it. I honestly cannot remember the last time I did homework on a Friday. I think I was 5. & It was coloring.

Well now that I'm here I might as well post some of the stuff I've been meaning to.

OK, so lately I've been super excited/super sad because I've seen so many people post pictures of their cute remodeling & decorating, & I've had "Yay! I can't wait til I have a condo/house to do that to!! Wait a second, I probably won't be able to until I'm married, and I probably won't get married for another 10 years, and when I do I doubt I'll have the money to do it" thoughts. So then I decided, who cares if I don't have a house yet! I'm going to plan it out as if I had a house. I'll do different rooms at a time. Here are the color schemes for my "future" living room:

I think it would look cool to have the color that's the second on the left, the golden-y one, painted on one wall with the one all the way to the left on the other three walls. For some reason I imagine the room to have a fireplace, like this:

and the wall with the fireplace is the one that would be painted the golden color.
Here are the sofa, chair & ottoman I would have:

I would use the cranberry & maple pillows (not the green one) for the couch & chair, and this rug below.

I would use these as my coffee table, and the one below it as a side table

I also want this mirror, which matches the coffee table & side table:
I'd also have this frame structure thingy, & I'd have pictures of black & white scenery in them, basically like the example minus the people:

I want to have something like these letters, with the same colors, except with less yellow ones & a few cranberry colored ones:

Of course I'd have other things like throws, candles, pictures, lamps, etc., but that's basically the gist of it. That was way more fun than I thought it would be! I've learned that I'm way more decisive when it's fake planning. And not paying attention to price helps too. The next room I'll do: family room/office area. Hope you enjoyed!