amy was here.

ATTENTION FOLKS

2010-08-04T00:26:00.003-07:00

I am back to blogging.

No no, really this time!
I even created a snazzy new blog, which I am absolutely in love with. Believe me or don't believe me, but at least check out and tell me what you think. K? k. And I won't be posting here anymore so if you're following me you can unfollow this blog and follow the other one :) LOVE YOU ALL!

-Amy

www.amymoyellowstone.blogspot.com

click it.

the secret works.

2010-05-10T07:14:00.005-07:00

So, I was reading over my old posts (you know, because I like to waste time when I'm supposed to be studying for very important finals that are taking place in, oh, 5 hours) when I came across one where I listed items that I wanted. In this post I mentioned how I didn't have any money to buy these things, but there's something called "The Secret" so I was going to throw it out to the Universe, let it do it's thaaang, and I'd get the items on the list.

The reason I'm taking the time to tell you this when I REALLY should be studying, is because dude. The Secret is real.

Click here to see this list.

I have an iPod Touch.

I have a new camera.

(I even said it didn't have to be an SLR, and I have an SLR. Dude)

I'm going on a trip to Europe in 6 days.

WITH Lauren!!

I got a video camera.

I got many clothing gift cards for Christmas & my birthday.

I don't really care about Computer games anymore...so ya skip that one.

I got $75 in Target gift cards because of my Chase rewards card.

See what I mean?

I don't want to push my luck, but hey Universe, Zachary Levi is traveling Europe the same month I am, so could you please make him go to the Eiffel tower on May 23rd so we can run into each other, stare deeply into one another's eyes and instantly fall madly in love? Thanks so much.

Also, I wouldn't hate an A on this test.

Thanks again! You're the best.

just average.

2010-04-26T20:17:00.005-07:00

Let me just start by saying this: words are not my friend.

As I was sitting in front of the computer getting ready to finish the essay that was due 6 hours ago, I had the unusual desire to give life to my nearly extinct blog and write a post once again. As you can tell from the infrequency of my postings, this doesn't happen very often, so I knew I needed to listen to the call. Whether this sudden urge came because I was subconsciously trying to delay the inevitable (finishing my nasty international finance research paper) or because I wanted to write down the swirling thoughts in my head as a means to understand them, I do not know.

But here I am.

Which brings me back to the distaste I have for words.

You see, I have something to say, I just don't know how to say it.

My mind is full of all of these abstract thoughts that want so desperately to be understood, but I just can't properly put them into words.

Do I sound emo yet?

Good.

Anyway, I think ultimately what I want to say is this: I'm failing school.

Not the I-got-one-B-and-now-my-life-is-ending kind of failing like usual, the real kind. As in, I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to retake one of my classes next semester, and I may get a C for the first time in my life.

This does not happen to me. Ever.

My entire life I never really excelled in anything. I was an average dancer, an average violinist, and that one summer I took diving, I was an average diver.

But school was my thaaang.

I got straight A's in high school, and while I stressed myself out over it, it came pretty easily and didn't come at the expense of my social life.

I'd procrastinate just like everyone else, but I knew I'd get it done by the time it needed to be done. That's just how things worked. I was by no means smart, but I was good at school.

This is not the case anymore.

I got an F on a test this semester. An F! As in FAIL. The day I took that test I became nearly catatonic and saw no point in going on. Oh, you think I'm being dramatic? I'm not. I felt like I was completely and totally useless. Because of a test. Although to be fair, I did poorly on more than just that test, so it was the culmination of several terrible and soooo not me grades.

Why am I sharing this with you? Well actually, I really don't know. Sharing is not something I do (ask my mom, although I'm sure she's already told you).

But I feel like I'm finally coming to a certain understanding of life, and I want to declare it to the world.

The one lesson that I've learned through all of this, is this: School doesn't matter. GASP. Ok, it kind of matters. But doing poorly (very poorly) for one semester of my life really isn't the end of the world. Although it continually seems to feel that way. I truly think that the reason I'm doing so badly is because I need to learn this lesson. I need to learn that A's aren't more important than family, or friends, or the simple joy of life. And what I've been noticing lately is that school is sucking away my love for life. I feel like I'm always grumpy and irritated (again, just ask my mom). I don't want this.

I'm still struggling with the idea that I'm not little miss perfect grades anymore (even just typing that made my heart hurt), but it's OK. Really. Amy, it's ok! Just breathe....breeeeaaaathe......

Ok.

Whew.

I hope that revealing these secret little thoughts, albeit through my linguistic handicap, will allow me to accept my fate and move on as just an "average" student.

Because seriously, I'm pretty sick of feeling like an epic failure.

That is all.

(time to finish that evil paper.)

green machine

2010-03-17T17:23:00.002-07:00

Oh St. Patrick's Day, how I love you.

Really though.

And it's not just because you give me an excuse to pinch people (and I'll take any excuse for violence I can get, because I'm a violent person).

No, I love you because green is a pretty rockin color, and because you allow me to pretend that I am Irish for a day.

And Ireland REALLY rocks.

Dude, I'm so excited to go there this summer. Just look at this place:

Ya.

Can't wait.

happy saint pattys.

back....for now

2010-02-08T23:20:00.005-07:00

Ya, so I suck at blogging.

Big deal.

(bfd)

Here's what's gone down since we talked last:

I survived finals.

(yesss.)

Christmas happened.

(duh.)

Melanie, Owen & Josh came to visit.

(awesome!!)

I went to Colorado for New Year's.

(tradition.)

I almost kissed a girl.

(true story.)

I went snowboarding.

(hardcore.)

School started once again.

(dangit.)

I got a wicked awesome camera*.

(since when do I say wicked?)

*canon rebel xsi, suckers.

I started working out regularly.

(I rock.)

I gave up soda for 28 days.

(I rock again.)

I continued to fail to awesome-ify and redesign my blog.

(maybe I don't rock.)

I had a birthday & started the downhill path to becoming an old woman.

(22, ugh.)

And now here we are.

...

So now you know what I've been doing these past months.

You're welcome.

(you can stop telling me to blog now, mom)

*see you in like 3 months

the post that proves I'm still alive

2009-12-09T15:31:00.008-07:00

Remember how it's already finals week??

Well, it is, and I can't believe it.

I guess it's true when they say that time just shoots by once you graduate from high school, because I'm 93% positive this semester started like a week ago.

I mean, I don't feel any smarter. Or older.

So I don't understand how it's possible that 4 months went by.

But here I am, sitting in the freezing computing commons with the gloom & doom of finals looming (ha, rhyming...) over my head.

And I know I should be studying for the oh-so-lovely finance test that I have to take tomorrow at SEVEN THIRTY in the flipping morning, (seven thirty!...!!) but I feel like this is important, ya know?

I mean, someday when my kids don't believe me when I tell them that time flies faster than an Olympic gold-medalist sprinter (and that's fast) once you're an adult, I'll be able to whip out this post & be like,

"Ha. Here I was, 21 years-old and realizing that time moves freakin fast and everyone was right. Proof! Suckas!"

Except I probably won't call my children "Suckas".

Let's be real, I probably will.

The point is, when you're a kid life is like internet with dial-up. Kinda annoying and doesn't go nearly as fast as you would like it to.

But then BAM, out of nowhere you're suddenly an adult with the high-speed connection, and now you have a million things you have to do at once because I mean come on, with that kind of speed why waste it? So you're going crazy trying to download all sorts of programs & multi-tasking with different browsers, and then you crash.

Life would be much simpler if it just stuck with dial-up.

So anywaaaay, after all of that nonsense that you probably skipped through, my point is this:

Finals are this week.

And I kind of want to die.

The end.

On a serious note:

I strongly encourage, no, IMPLORE each one of you to find a way to make someone else's life happier this season.

There is so, so much sadness in the world & in our community that it is absolutely ridiculous to not help in some way.

It overwhelms me when I think of the trials and heartache that some people have to go through.

Not just people in Botswana or Somalia (though they need our help too),

but people here.

A mom & a dad who have a 5 year-old daughter with brain cancer

A wife who doesn't know if her husband will live

Families that are fighting off homelessness because they lost their jobs

Death

Disease...

it's everywhere.

I don't say this to make you hopeless and depressed, but to make you determined and hopeful.

Hopeful that you can make a difference in someone else's life.

I know we all have our own trials, but there is always someone who has it worse than you. If you don't have any money (aka muah) then donate your time. If you don't have any time, then donate your money. If you don't have either, then what are you doing reading my blog?? That 5 minutes could've been used to help the needy.

There are a million ways you can do something. Anything helps.

the thanksgiving post

2009-11-26T21:05:00.009-07:00

I love Thanksgiving.
It's my absolute favorite holiday.
(yep, even better than Christmas)

Wanna know why?
People are happy

family is together

it's relatively stress-free

and there's lots & lots of food.

(for those of you who don't know me in real life, I'm brunette! Surprise!)

{(my family is seriously crazy. love it.)}

Basically, Thanksgiving beats the heck out of Christmas in my book.
Plus it's way cheaper.

I hope you all had a fantabulastic (did I really just say that? It must be the turkey talking) Thanksgiving with your fams, friends, or whoever you happened to spend it with.

Happy Black Friday!

(blog design update to come soon. HOPEFULLY. I have no idea what I'm doing & having a cute blog takes a lot of friggin work.)

my purpose

2009-11-15T22:25:00.005-07:00

Every blog has a purpose.

There are fashion blogs. Food blogs. Decorating blogs. Instructional blogs. Informational blogs. Gossip blogs. Journal blogs. Family blogs.

In my opinion, none is greater than any other because they all serve a different purpose.

During the time that I spent away from blogging, I thought a lot about why exactly it is that I blog.

Do I do it to please others?

To try to have posts just for the sake of the your reaction?

Do I do it to compete with other blogs?

To have a bajillion comments?

Do I do it as creative expression?

To work on my design/writing skills?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized the difference between when I enjoy blogging and when I think of it as a chore.

So I've figured out my blog's purpose, & here it is:

To hold all of my thoughts, musings, and creative desires in order to preserve them for a later time when I might need them again, and to allow me to improve my writing abilities.

It will not matter whether or not I have 5 readers or 5000, and it will not matter what it looks like, as long as I am pleased with the content.

I will love it, and in return it will help me in my life.

The purpose of life is a life of purpose.

-Robert Byrne

It's nice to have a purpose.

quitting

2009-11-12T19:20:00.000-07:00

Today I realized something that isn't exactly easy to admit.
It's something that I've known deep down all along, but wanted to stay in denial about.
Today I realized that I'm kind of a quitter.

But I'm not your average quitter!
I don't quit intentionally. No, no, I plan on finishing everything I start...eventually.
The problem is that eventually usually doesn't come.
For example, you may be wondering why I have been MIA for the past months.
Well I will tell you.
It wasn't because I was sooo busy that I simply had no time to spare, and all of my super important plans left me with no time for blogging; it wasn't because I was on a blogging strike and wanted to give it up; and it wasn't because I had nothing to say.
I had lots of things I could've said.

The real reason is because I'm a quitter.

You see, I have been planning to start blogging consistently again for quite awhile now, but first I wanted to fix the layout of my blog because it just wasn't working.
So then I started looking for cute templates. Then I realized that I hated my blog name and wanted to start fresh.
So then I started thinking of cool/fun/catchy/clever/witty blog names, and realized that this would basically be my face. My image. Some of you don't know me, so if this is all you have to judge me on, then it had to be AMAZING, dang it!
I became overwhelmed with all that I needed to do in order to have a blog that I was truly proud of, so I decided that the best option was to just pop open a Dr. Pepper & put it off for another day.

Aka, I quit.

This is just one example of the ways I have been a quitter in my life, whether intentional or unintentional.
However, while today I realized that I am a quitter, I also realized that I don't want to quit anymore.

Which is why I am back to blogging.
I still don't have a cute blog, or a cute name, or anything of the sort, but I'm going to take it one step at a time.
And that's also how I am going to start taking the rest of my life.
If I'm going to try swimming across the Atlantic ocean, first I need to learn how to swim. (& let's face it, my swimming skills really need some work.)
So there you have it.

"The elevator to success is out of order. You'll have to use the stairs... one step at a time.”
-Joe Girard

Get used to having me around again!

some vids.

2009-07-23T17:02:00.003-07:00

You will hate me for posting this.
The following video is beyond words,
& must have forces stronger than a jedi knight because I've watched it twice already.
TWICE.
& now "why must I cry, why must I cry, why" has been in my head all day.
Seriously, this is the weirdest & most ridiculous video on youtube
and...I don't want to suffer alone which is why I'm posting it for your enjoyment.

To prove I'm not completely evil-spirited, I'm also sharing with you two hilarious videos that will make you forget all about rehdogg gettin' all soapy and singing about fatherless ghetto boys.

You've probably already seen them both because they have like a bajillion hits, but I just discovered them this week. So who knows, maybe you haven't!

loves vs. hates

2009-07-20T14:02:00.008-07:00

guess who did what she said she would!?

ME!

I posted. when I said I would.
this is why people call me Awesome Amy.

(sidenote: I'm having a capitalization crisis. I hate when "I" isn't capitalized but I don't want to capitalize the first word in a sentence. but then it looks inconsistent. feel me? I don't know what to do. k that's the end of my sidenote)

today, I would like to share with you things that I hate vs. things that I love.

ready set go.

LOVE

myPod. {that's its name}
surrriously. this thing is amazing and makes me happy for at least an hour a day. listening to music is kinda my best friend.

HATE

the Beastie Boys.
no, I don't wanna ch-ch-check it out. who decided to let them play on the radio & make CDs? someone who hates happiness & babies, that's who.

LOVE

Dr. Pepper, turkey sandwiches, and pizza.
I could live off of these things for the rest of my life. no joke.

HATE

olives.
dear olives: please die. thanks.

LOVE

summertime designs.
I love walking into stores & seeing brightly colored clothes, swimsuits, dishes, etc. Brightly colored things make me happy.

HATE

summertime heat. and boredom.
yesterday my car said it was 118 degrees.
please shoot me.

LOVE

laughing.
it really is the best feeling in the world. why use drugs to make you happy? laughing is much cheaper.

HATE

LOL.
when people use this they most certainly aren't laughing out loud. why lie? if in fact if you really are laughing out loud then you usually say HAHAHAHAHA! they need to come up with a different acronym for things that are slightly funny.

LOVE

sunsets.
they're so preeeetty when they fill the whole sky.

HATE

almost getting into an accident because I'm taking a picture of the sunset while driving.

so what do you guys love & hate??

spill.

so...

2009-07-19T21:40:00.003-07:00

apparently I wasn't really "back" back.

as Kristina nicely put it, "So, for someone's who back to blogging, you are sucking!!"

and...she was right. I fail.

I really don't know what to say for myself.

basically what happened is I'd get on to blog, automatically go onto facebook (because let's face it, it's hardwired into my head to log in before doing absolutely anything on the computer) and then next thing I knew, an hour went by chatting with peeps [stupid facebook chat] and playing Farkle [stupid Farkle]. and by then I wouldn't wanna spend anymore time on the computer; hence no blog posts.

and now that I've spent all this time explaining why I haven't been posting, I really don't feel like writing the post I was going to do.

so....blog ya later?

I promise it won't take me 19 days to post again.

and the next one will be pretty dang sweet. for rills.

it will most definitely include pictures too. {none of this boring "text only" crap. I'm totally breaking my own rule}

ok. goodbye my peeps.

come back like, tomorrow. seriously. if I don't have another post tomorrow then I give you permission to...I dunno...do something mean. you can leave me a vicious comment that makes me want to cry.

deal? k cool.

bye.

(gaaaaah I still have to beautify my profile. this sucks. anyone wanna design it for me for free!? please & thanks)

guess what, ya'll??

2009-07-01T13:44:00.002-07:00

I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACKKKKKKK!!!!

Please don't have a heart attack. I don't want to be held responsible.

But this is probably the best news that you've heard in your ENTIRE life!! I hope you are prepared for the awesomeness that is about to ensue from my future posts. They will BLOW YOUR MIND.& by that I mean I have absolutely no idea what my little blog's future holds or what type of things I'll be bloggin about, but I guess we'll see as we go. {you should know that 87% of the time I'm all talk}. Funny little sidenote: I used to strongly dislike when people used { } or [ ] as their parentheses, and look at me now. Usin' em & stuff.

anyways.....

So it's official. I am back.

As you can see I shook up the look of my blog, & by using this particular template it kinda screwed everything up. And since I am html impaired, it's probably gonna be a little while til my blog looks completely cool. So don't judge. or hate. Or I will hate you. and your face.

(for example, I hate the fonts & colors! but I can't change it through blogger. I'm pretty sure I know how to do it but it's gonna take like, a year. so just be patient. geez.)

That's basically it for now. Got nothin else to say.

Except for one thing. I need your opinion.

Hate Twitter or love it?

I was very much anti-twitter & SWORE I'd never get one.

But guess what.

I got one.

I still hate it though. I just got it so I could figure out how the dang thing works. But if you have one then tell me your username so I can follow you & you can follow me & we can be twitter bffs & have so much fun twittering {not tweeting cuz that sounds GHEY} and it will be so AWESOME! Plus it will make me less of a twitter loner. [I have 3 followers. and only one of them is a real person].

So, for rills that's all.

I'm done.

Peace out yos.

(it's nice to be back)

[kinda]

2009-03-20T20:16:00.005-07:00

Remember my super awesome bff Lauren, whom I visited in Colorado a few months ago?

Well, she came to see me last/this week!

It was a nonstop party, including trips to San Diego and Sedona, as well as lots of other adventures.

We had different spring breaks, so she came for the end of mine & beginning of hers. Meaning she came to school with me for 2 days.

We have so much fun together, & it was the best time ever. Seriously.

But being that busy made me realize something: I kinda love not being on the computer or watching TV. And I'm a MAJOR TV and internet-aholic. I used to have 6 shows that I watched religiously every week, and now I've gone 2 weeks without watching anything.

Why is this relevent, you ask??

Because I'm about to tell you something that may make most of you cry. (maybe with happiness, I'm not sure.)

I'm going on an indefinite blogging hiatus.

I just haven't been feelin' it lately, & I don't have any sweet posts up my sleeve. Also, I'm loving not spending so much time on the computer and I can't do that while blog stalking.

So....ya. I won't be blogging for quite awhile. I'm sorry, my 4 followers, one of which is myself. I'll be back eventually.

Rochelle's surprise!

2009-03-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

You don't have to tell me, I already know.

I am lame.

But I'm not dead.

I'd say the reason I disappeared off the face of the earth is because life is kicking my butt right now, but it's really not. It's actually quite awesome. It's just keeping really really busy.

As in, when I have free time I'm either eating, sleeping, or watching Chuck.

But as I was sitting at the ASU library, trying to study for one of the three tests I had this week, I decided enough is enough. I must blog again.

And first things first, there's a surprise that has been left unsurprisen. So, Rochelle, here is your surprise. A post dedicated to you!

Rochelle
is an awesome cousin. Fer rills. But apparently she is also a little scandalous. "Wild and unrestrained"?? Wow. I have to say I am shocked.

(you should try googling your name. it can be quite hilarious. unless your name is amy, because all you will find is this.)

She is very

Original.

For her wedding she wore freakin amazing converse shoes. It was awesome.

(I stole this off of facebook! sorry!)

She has a little dude named

Connor,

who is one of the cutest little boys ever. He may even be a close second with the cutest baby in the WORLD, which is totally saying something.

(I stole this off of your blog!)

She's also

Hilarious.
As a kid I spend many a summer going to Prescott Valley where she lived & laughing my pants off. (remember the crawl space & duck hunt & lifting weights & 4th of July on the roof??)

She's probably one of the most

Energetic
people I know as well. I'm sure there's not a sport she wouldn't dominate. Even all of this Ninja Power doesn't compare.

She makes me

Laugh.
I guess that's the same as being hilarious, but it needs to be said twice.

Another thing I would say she is, is

Luminescent.
She's like a light in the dark. Glow in the dark, if you will. She's one of the nicest people in the world you will meet. So I suggest you meet her. And become best friends.

(how awesome would it be to have a glow in the dark car?)

Last of all, she is

Extraordinary.
She's kinda the coolest cousin ever, and she was the only one to post something funny on my birthday.

Thanks for being so awesome Rochelle!

(on a side note, I may or may not be posting in the near future. it makes me feel lazy. so see you in 1-30 days)

birthday time!

2009-02-15T08:36:00.010-07:00

Guess what guys?! It's time for Birthday pictures!!

What? Wasn't your birthday like forever ago? And you're posting them now??

Well my friends, that's what three tests in one week, losing your camera and girlie problems does to you.

But have no fear, I am here.
(I'm a wicked poet.)
(And yes, I did know it.)
(Muahahahah.)

Well, to start things off I'm just going to say that my b-day was fantabulastic. Even though turning 21 means you're officially ancient, I'd recommend it to anyone. Especially if it falls on a Saturday, because then you get to party all day long.

So here are the hiz-naps of what went down on Feb. 7th, 2009.

In the morning I went to breakfast at IHOP with my awesome pledge bro Lynnette. (btw, we call everyone in the fraternity brothers. sexist, I know, but you get used to it)

It was SOO good! I haven't been there in like, ever, because I hate pancakes, but she recommended the stuffed french toast combo and it's DELISH. Get it. Seriously.

The reason we're all dressed up is because right after breakfast we had to go to the pledging ceremony for our fraternity. (it's what all of the newbies have to do). We're both on the pledge committee, so we had to be there early.

Even though the little ceremony got in the way with my partying plans, it was still pretty fun! Kinda. I even got an awesome card signed by all of my frat bros! They were super sneaky about having everyone sign it, & I had no clue even though someone mentioned a card was going around being signed. I didn't make the connection because my super spy skillz don't work on my birthday.

Afterwards I went to go hang out with my bff Virginia!

We've been friends since 7th grade, and she's awesome. And she's getting married soon!! I can't wait :).
We went shopping at Dana Park, also known as my favorite place in Mesa.

While we were there we went to Anthropologie, and Virginia got me this A-mazing monogrammed mug!! I've been wanting one for a long time, and now I have one! I love it.

After going shopping with her, I went by myself and did something bad. Something sneaky. Something you're only allowed to do when you're 21.

I bought a scratcher ticket.

I know! I'm so evil! But I won 40 bucks, so it was pretty much the highlight of my day. Except just now I went to cash it in and found out that I won ONE HUNDRED BUCKS. So ya. I think the lesson is pretty much just don't drink on your 21st birthday and you'll win $100.

Oh ya, the gas station gods also gave me a present by allowing me to fill up at exactly 21 dollars. Amazing!

Anyway, after I did the evil deed I met up with my friends Adrian, Nicole & her boyfriend to go PARTY at Speedway! (yaaaa.)

So we got there, took some fun pictures, got pumped to race.

And then found out that it was being rented out by a private party.
No charm, gangsta skillz, or bribing would make them let us in. Even though it was my birthday. Ugh. I was so offended. (not really). But I was disappointed, so we decided to go hit up the town.

(crown courtesy of Adrian. If you want to get lots of special treatment and have everyone know it's your birthday, wear a crown.)

My drink of choice that night was Amp.

I know. I'm hardcore.

We had a fun time and went lots of random places.

I even got a free delicious ice cream sandwich on accident! There's a place called cookiez (it has a gangsta name, so automatically I was drawn in), and if you go there on your birthday you get one free. I think I was in birthday heaven when I bit into that wonderful goodness. I want one now.

Later that night Adrian had a bag of clothes that she was giving me, so we went to Nicole's place to try them on. I guess Nicole's boyfriend was feeling left out, so he participated too.

So, after a long day/night of partying hard, midnight came and it was no longer my birthday.
And that is how I turned 21.

Time for PRESENT pictures!

Pretty much all I asked my family for was Zachary Levi and a million dollars. And guess what? I got them both.

(cake courtesy of Cassie J.)

This is a special edition of Chuck. See? It was hand signed by Zachary Levi himself. You can see that he confessed his love to me. Of course Yvonne Strahovski was jealous, but she'll soon accept the fact that he's mine.

Also, while I was busy with the festivities, my super sweet sister Kim drove ALL the way over from Peoria and made me this awesome cake:

(I now realize that this picture does it no justice, but it looked BEATIFUL. It had pink sprinkles & everything.)

It was my fave. Funfetti cake with delicious white frosting. My mom helped frost it too :)
I'm so glad she got to hang out with me on Sunday! Thanks for coming, Kim!

I also got this wonderful little contraption from my madre:

She was so nice that she even let me have it at Christmas time! That's more than a whole month of extra enjoyment. I seriously love this thing. It makes school soo much less boring. Thanks madre!

From my amazing sister Melanie (who lives all the way in Ecuador!) I got these two awesome & helpful books:

I love them! The cupcake book is the cutest thing I've ever seen & has so many creative ideas!! I'm gonna be busy making tons of cakes for awhile!
Thank you Melanie!!!

From my sister Kim, I'm getting a ticket to go here:

I'm so excited!! I've always wanted to go. And now that I'm 21 I'll be able to get the good seats!
Thanks Kim!!

From my sis. Cassie, I got a gift card to the coolest store ever, here:

Thanks Cass!! Love it!

From my Dad, I got a gift card to the most fitting store ever, here:

He even went and got it himself! It's kind of a scary thought imagining him in there, but somehow he managed to do it! It made the gift even more special. I LOVE it. & I'm in serious need of some new clothes.
Thanks Dad!!

My family & friends are way too awesome. Surrriously.

Thanks to everyone that made Amy day AMAZING!

Rochelle: your surprise is next!!!

news update.

2009-02-11T20:29:00.004-07:00

Birthday update to come soon..

In process of finding my camera...

In other news: Rochelle won my contest.
{CONGRATS!!}
I have been told by many of you that you were going to post something funny (so I forgive you), but since she is the only one that did she wins. Click here for the winning link. Stay tuned for her special surprise soon.
You will be jealous.

today.

2009-02-07T08:06:00.004-07:00

Let's play a little game.

It's called, "Give Amy some funny love". Here's the deal: In a comment, post a link to something you think is pee-your-pants-hilarious. A joke, a picture, a video, whatever you want. Just make sure it's funny, because it's my birthday & I want to laugh! I will decide which is the funniest and give that person a very special surprise :). Let's see if we can get 21 funny things!

Ready...Set............GO!

fo' shizzle my nizzle.

2009-02-06T13:24:00.012-07:00

I consider myself a pretty hardcore gangster. I mean, gangsta.

I know what you're thinking.

"Amy? Gangsta? Please."

Well, let me give you 9 reasons why I'm more gangsta than you. (because gangsta's don't need even numbered lists).

1. I'm wearing gangsta glasses in my profile picture. Blue ones. Blue is like, 90% more gangsta than pink ones, which I totally could've been wearing. Are YOU wearing gangsta glasses in your profile picture? I think not.

2. I hang out in the 'hoods of Boston & New York with fellow gangstas and throw up gang signs. The following gang sign says "I'm the baddest gangsta up in here, sucka foo's!"

(I'm trying to lay low in the one above)

3. I totally know how to throw down the beats.

(while this video completely proves that I am gangsta, it also shows my inability to look decent while recording myself. & for that, I apologize)

4. I get into creepy black vans to buy fake designer purses. In the 'hoods of New York. But because I am gangsta, I was not afraid that the van was going to drive off with me inside at any minute. I especially was not afraid when an asian man ran up and pounded on the side, warning the guys inside of danger. & since I did it all for a purse, I guess that makes me gangsta chic.

5. I wear superb reading glasses while playing delightful...wait a second. How did this get on here?? Ingore this. Moving on.

6. Does this even need an explanation?? If it does, then you are so not gangsta.

7. I take pictures in front of graffiti that SAYS gangsta. You can't get anymore gangsta than that. Fer rills.

8. I've got mad fighting skillz. Gladiator like, in fact. You should all hope that you don't meet me in a dark alley anytime soon.

9. I've ridden on a packed subway. The kind where you get to know the person next to you more than is allowed by the law of chastity. But because I am gangsta, it is ok. That's how we do.

Now, since you all know that I am more gangsta than you, I will admit that there is one thing that is lacking. My slang.

I may be proficient in "mad" "hood" "throw down" & "fo shizzle", but that's basically the extent of my knowledge. Which is why I need to get my hands on these:

According to the box, I will soon be able to say things like, "Even these faded beats won't salt my game." However, both versions 1 and 2 of the cards are out of stock. Could one of you be a doll and bribe someone for them? Thanks so much. I hope getting them by tomorrow isn't too much to ask.

Speaking of tomorrow, in a few short hours I will be turning into an old woman. I might as well just buy a cane now. I will never be young again. (but at least I'll be gangsta forever.)

the case of the missing toothpaste.

2009-02-03T22:03:00.010-07:00

We had a toothpaste crisis here at the casa de Amy y familia.

You see, a few days ago I walked into the bathroom to do my business in the brushing teeth profession, and the cute little Crest toothpaste I normally use was gone. GONE.

(it looked something like this. cute, right?)

I didn't panic because things go missing quite often in the casa de Amy y familia, so I searched around for it. I looked in the cupboards. I looked in the counter drawers. I looked on the floor. I even looked in the garbage. It was nowhere to be found.

I started to panic.

No toothpaste?? NONE?

But then I saw something. There on the counter was a toothpaste-looking tube. I quickly turned it over, but much to my dismay it was only this:

I automatically just figured that it belonged to the family of this:

or this:

and dismissed it. But then I saw the word "toothpaste".

"Are you kidding me?" I thought to myself. "Is this seriously toothpaste?"

I couldn't believe it and I didn't know whether to be happy or nauseous. I was already going to be late to my class, so I decided I'd have to try it. Before applying it to my sacred toothbrush, I checked the label 5 times to make sure it really said "toothpaste" and not "hoo-ha paste" and then gave it a try.

It was ok at first, but it never became foamy and it had a strange taste. Suddenly I started panicking and began thinking that maybe someone was playing an evil, evil trick on me by switching the pastes, so I started gagging and spit it out. Luckily I had already accomplished my task, so I ran out the door and didn't think of it anymore.

But then it was nighttime. There on the counter sat my only option: The Satan juice.

Was I really going to have to put that in my mouth again?? I thought I was going to die just thinking about it, but the need for clean teeth won and I partook of the Satan juice.

This went on for several long and painful days because the cute Crest toothpaste was still nowhere to be found.

However, tonight as I was driving home from my delicious birthday dinner at Oreganos (free pizza cookie!!!) I brought up the case of the missing toothpaste. It turns out that my sister had it the entire time. IN HER BACKPACK. I was ticked.

So then we went to Target, picked up some beloved Crest Whitening & flossers (do we seriously need an entire isle for toothpaste??) and now I'm happy and free from the Satan juice forever.

The End.

(AWESOME SIDENOTE!: The last 7 posts have had either 4 or 7 comments, and my birthday is on the 7th, and half of 4 is 2, which is February in number language. CRAZY.)

the many faces of super bowl 09.

2009-02-02T12:52:00.004-07:00

excited. happy.

angry. distraught.

ecstatic. overjoyed.

murderous.

(this was the first super bowl I've ever watched & known what was going on. I'm pretty upset that they didn't win for me. & it's my birthday in 5 days! how inconsiderate.)

INSANE.

2009-01-31T14:50:00.005-07:00

Remember how my birthday is in one week?!

This is insanity. INSANITY.
I'm pretty sure I turned twenty like a week ago.
And if I turned twenty on my last birthday, then you do the math on how old I'm going to be.

I'll give you some time to calculate it.
.
.
.
Yep. 21 big ones.
& I guess turning 21 is a pretty big deal in the U.S., so to commemorate the occasion I'm going to get totally wasted, black out, and then wake up next to a strange, fugly looking person.
It's gonna be a blast.

OR, if that doesn't pan out, I'm just gonna go to Stratum laser tag & Speedway go kart racing, and then maybe the Tempe Improv with my sister.
I know, not nearly as fun.
& I'm gonna be real, I know those who read my blog probably wouldn't want to hang out with me in the non-interweb world, but if you want to join me in the festivities & live in the Mesa-Tempe-Gilbert-Chandler-Phoenix-Scottsdale area, then you're invited!! Forillos. Or if you're from somewhere else you can totally fly out too.
It'll be on Sat. Feb. 7th.
Hit me up at aljorgen@asu.edu if you're down.

So, ya. That's the hiz-naps around here.
Ok bye.
(Remember when I used end my posts with adios?? I wonder what happened to that)

p.s. what's up with the ZERO comments on my last post? Geez. I do you all favor and this is how you thank me. I'm hurt.

sneak preview.

2009-01-28T11:08:00.010-07:00

Out of the goodness of my heart, I've decided to give you guys a sneak preview of my Colorado Adventures. The reason that it's just a sneak preview is because I don't want you to go into shock when you do see all of the wonderfulness I'm going to post. I'm starting you off slowly. And because I still don't have most of the pictures. SO, some of the things I did are:

I got to see these dudes:

I played in a little bit of snow:

I practiced my jumps a little bit:

And I made the workout video of all workout videos. This is a short clip of the unedited version:

Stay tuned for more later.

On a sidenote, I have a few more things I need to say:

1. Ligers are real.

2. The UK isn't the only place where people drive on the left side of the road.

(So many people have told me that they are! UGH)

BOO ya.

I wish the people who have told me I was wrong could read this.

hilariousness in a bottle.

2009-01-26T15:08:00.003-07:00

Watch this. It's the most hilarious thing I've seen in '09.

I'm literally crying right now.
If you want to see more (because if you can stop at just one then there's something wrong with you) then go to YouTube and type in Stupid Game Show Answers.

the snuggie.

2009-01-19T17:17:00.010-07:00

I have a feeling the marketing strategy for the Snuggie went something like this:

Mr. Infomercial Marketing President Dude: "Ok guys, we've got our next product. It's like a bathrobe backwards, but not! Ingenious! Now we need to figure out a way to make our consumers want it. To need it. I mean, people obviously don't want to look like monks or sith lords on a daily basis, so we need to trick them. Any ideas?"

Chump #1: "Hey, I know. Let's give it a ridiculous name so we can throw them off. With a name like The Cuddler, or The Snuggie, people won't even think of monks or sith lords."

Mr. IMPD: "Nice! 'The Snuggie'. I like it. Now how do we market it?"

Chump #2: "I've got the perfect plan. Instead of sticking to the older demographic like usual, we can shake things up a bit! We'll show old people! Young people! Children! People eating! People with pets! People roasting mallows! Heck, we'll even show people at a football game! It'll be wondrous. People will never suspect."

Mr. IMPD: "I like where you're headed with this! Should we stick to the usual 2 am playing time?"

Chump #1: "Why not shake that up as well!? Let's play it on EVERY channel during EVERY show, so that eventually people start to become so annoyed with it that they buy it out of spite! By then the whole world will know about it, so those who do get it will appear to be 'cool', and everyone else will start to do the same! Soon, the whole world will be snuggified and our brilliant plan will have worked. We will then sit back and laugh evilly with our gold-plated toilets and diamond-crusted swimming pools. Muahahaha, muahahahahaha."

Mr. IMPD: "Sounds good. Let's do it."

----------------------------------------------------

I plan on ordering mine tonight.

explantation and insights.

2009-01-14T22:22:00.003-07:00

I took 160 videos in Colorado. Yep. 160. Some of them are only 10 seconds long, but some of them are 10 minutes long. That means it's gonna take me about....52 days for me to edit it into one awesome video for you to behold. But it will happen, and I will post it here, and you will see many of the amazing things I did on the best vacation EVER. Also, since I was in charge of the videoing, Lauren has most of the pictures and is holding them hostage until I send her the videos. Too much info, I know, but the moral of the story is that you won't get to know what happened on that delightful trip for quite some time.

So until then, I'm going to fill your head with lots of insights about mwah. No pictures. Sorry.

1. I have too many dreams. You might think it's impossible for a person to have too many dreams, but I'm here to prove you wrong. I have no focus. Let me tell you everything I want to be:

professional cake decorator
professional snowboarder
professional dancer
actress
wedding planner
interior designer
photographer
director/filmmaker
owner of a zoo
dog trainer
polar bear trainer
professional athlete
song writer
professional scrapbooker
professional ice skater

Oh, and not only do I want to do all of this, but I want to be the BEST at all of it. And I just so happen to suck at every one of those things.

2. I used to want a famous blog. I didn't admit this to myself, but oh man did I want it. I wanted to have the best/funniest/most touching/most creative/awesomest posts ever. This stressed me out and I didn't even want to post anymore. Now I love my little blog & I'm happy not very many people read it. It makes those that do read it even more special!

3. I'm a hardcore, double time perfectionist. I don't forgive myself for the mistakes I make, and it's kinda annoying. I once had a panic attack at work and started bawling because my bosses got mad at me for letting someone forge their check. I feel like I have to be the best at everything I do, which in turn pretty much makes me the worst at everything since I'm always second guessing myself. My sophomore year I saw that I was ranked #12 in my class out of 800, and I was disappointed. 11 people were better than me.

4. I want to travel to every single state and all 7 continents. I LOVE seeing new places. I just wish it was about 90% cheaper to do so.

5. I LOOOOOOOOVE animals. I would have to say my least favorite animal is a cat, and I still want to cuddle them and give them lots of lovin. I really hope that in heaven all animals are sweet and cuddly, because polar bears, lions, tigers, gorillas, meerkats, and penguins are my faaaaavorite.

6. I don't understand myself at all. I really am a walking contradiction. I want to be popular but I hate the spotlight. I hate when things aren't organized but I have the messiest room on the planet. I have a 4.0 but I know nothing about business (which is my major). I could go on. It's frustrating.

7. I'm lonely. I have been for awhile, and it makes life harder than it should be.

8. It seriously makes me cry when I see other people in pain. One time I was driving and saw this little old man walking home in the rain with his work uniform on, and tears started to come. I decided that when I can afford it I'm going to give little old men like that cars to drive so they don't have to walk home in the rain. I also can't stand to see people made fun of. It hurts me, even if the person isn't around to hear it.

9. These are things that I don't tell people, and as soon as I post this I'm going to feel stupid.

10. I've decided that farting should be called burping with your butt. It just makes more sense.

That is all.

i'm home.

2009-01-12T16:01:00.004-07:00

As you can see, it's not an "I'm home!!!!!"

It's just an "i'm home."

I'm not very happy about it.

Before I left I was content with 70 degree winters and only having friendly friends instead of best friends. But then I got a taste of the good life & I want it back.

I already feel lonely. As soon as I got home I just started crying because I don't have anyone here that's even close to Lauren or Kathy.

So since I can't be with them most of the time, does anyone want to be my best friend?

I really need one.

Aw, & I can't even post pictures or videos because the USB cord got smushed & won't fit into the computer. Life is mean.

oh ya, I have a blog.

2008-12-30T11:36:00.004-07:00

It musta slipped my mind.

I mean, what other reason do I have for my extremely lengthy absence?

Well, you can stop crying now because I'm back. But this little bloggy reunion we're having here won't last long because tomorrow I'm hoppin on a plane for Colorado. Please don't start crying again. Seriously. That's not attractive. I mean, it's just a blog. See this as an opportunity to find other exciting blogs to read while I am away. Just make sure to come back around the 12th, because hopefully I'll have some hilarious, awesome, amazing pictures for you to feast your eyes on.

You see, I'm reuniting with my awesome camp buddies Lauren & Kathy, and we take the best pictures in the world. If that wasn't true then I wouldn't have taken 900 pictures while I was at camp. I'll give you a little preview of what the pictures will be like:

Ok, now that we've settled that, I'll get to what this post was originally supposed to be about.

Actually, I really don't know what it was supposed to be about.

I know I was going to mention something about Christmas and how I don't have any pictures to post because my sister was the photog of the festivities and lost her camera until about 5 minutes before she went back to her home in the distant land of Peoria. Meaning I couldn't upload them to the comp. (I'm not blaming, just explaining)

Oh, and I was going to say how I got to spend the whole weekend with the aforementioned sister & her husband and puppies. This meant lots and LOTS of board games and wii playing.

And I'm pretty sure I was going to mention that my mother is AWESOME and did her best to make this Christmas amazing. Seriously, love ya Mom! We were way too spoiled and got to have lots and lots of fun.

I was also gonna say how I missed my biggest sis because she was in Ecuador, and that this was her first Christmas away from home :(. My whole family agreed that it didn't feel completely like Christmas because she wasn't there, but she had the cutest baby in the world with her, so I guess that's a semi-fair trade.

I too was going to post a picture of the Christmas bling that's hanging in my car, but the snowflake broke, so I guess that plan didn't work either.

Anyway, Christmas was a fun time.

Hope you all had an awesome Christmas too!

Or whatever you celebrate.

see you in +/- 13 days.

to do:

2008-12-22T21:02:00.004-07:00

Find Zachary Levi and marry him.

(I love you, my sexy sexy beast)

Make my playlist not annoying, and take out the songs with F bombs

(I swear I never knew. I guess I should listen to them all the way before adding them...).

Buy ski gear for COLORADO! (check)
Woo woo! That's right my friends. I will soon be showin off some skills at the slopes. I've never actually done it before, but I know I'll be a natural. (please, how hard can it be?).

(I'm going to look just like that. only, the girl version)

Make Andes mint cookies and give them to people before Christmas is over.

(thanks, Melanie, for introducing me to such deliciousness)

GET NEW WINDSHIELD WIPERS.

(this is what it looks like when I drive)

Clean my room so people don't start mistaking it for the dump.

(yep. that's basically what my room looks like)

Win the lottery.

confessions.

2008-12-21T13:25:00.002-07:00

I'm finally going to post that blasted second monster update post I promised.

Not like you guys have been anticipating it or anything, but I want to be a blogger who does what they say they will.
(I'm still planning on posting the designs of my dream house, so that doesn't count. These things take TIME! Geez, don't rush me!)

Here are some things you didn't know about me 5 minutes ago.

I'm the slowest bubbler ever. By bubbler, I mean filler-outer of scantrons. I always triple check the bubbles for my name to make sure I did it right, and even then I still feel like I messed up. I also have to fill in the bubbles completely (no white spaces!) without going out of the lines. I'm usually one of the last ones to turn in my test. It's a sad life.

I'm afraid to get things out of my car at night. When I was younger I watched this TV special about bad guys who would hide under women's cars at night and then grab their ankles when they approached in order to kidnap them. It scarred me for life. If I have to get something then I always stand at least two feet away and reach over. Although, when I think about it, that's really a lame way to kidnap people. If someone was under the car all you'd have to do is step on their hands and run away. It's not like it'd be very easy for them to get out from underneath, and by then you'd be long gone. Anyway, I'll still always be afraid.

I tried out for the play Little Women. It is still my dream to become an actress, so when I saw that some little community theater was holding auditions, I went for it. I was going to tell people that "I changed my mind and decided not to do it because I didn't want to rearrange next semester's schedule and be out of control busy" (which is true), but I really didn't get the call back. I was sad, but whatev. At least I didn't have to give up another Saturday.

I must put www before all websites I visit. For example, the link to my blog isn't ames-world.blogspot.com, it's www.ames-world.blogspot.com. I don't care if it takes longer to type & is "unnecessary". How much longer does it really take to add a couple of w's? The URL is naked without it, and nakedness is unchaste.

I would really like to get married now. I went wedding dress shopping with some friends all day last Saturday, and I would really like to be the one trying on the dresses now. So please, PLEASE, please, PLEASE, if you know of a tall RM who is funny and awesome (and hottt if possible), then send him my way. Tell him I make some seriously delish cookies, or other baked goods if preferred.

That's all. I'm breaking my own rule and not including pictures because I'm just too lazy for that right now. Uploading pictures to blogger is kinda a pain in the boo-tay.

Happy 4 days til Christmas! (wow.)

today.

2008-12-16T13:09:00.007-07:00

Guess what I did today?

I will tell you what I did today.

- I woke up at 4:30. AM, not PM, meaning the sun was still far from coming up.

- I walked in soggy, soaking wet shoes all day because as I was running out the door I grabbed a pair that I thought would keep my toes warm, but instead acted as water absorbers. When I walked water squished out of them.

- I walked all across campus with about 100 pounds on my back only to find out that the two books I never even touched all semester are ones that the bookstore won't buy back. (200 bucks down the drain)

- I had to drive to ASU, then to Chandler, then back to ASU, then home to Mesa in the rain with windshield wipers that really don't even work. Oh, and a piece of them flew off while I was driving on the freeway.

- I was bitten by a gerbil.

- I wasn't able to go to the Cheesecake Factory after work (like I had planned on) to get the strawberry shortcake that I've been dreaming about all week because I had to go to a meeting for the pledge committee I'm going to be on.

but...

- I completed my last final of the semester, meaning I'm school free for an entire month.

It truly was a glorious day.

And now I'm devouring this tasty goodness from Mesa FroYo to celebrate.

yummmm.

i don't even know.

2008-12-14T00:29:00.001-07:00

I loooooove fruit. With the exception of all melons, I could eat any type of fruit all day. Especially pineapple. Mmmmmm pineapple. Well, One day I decided to hit up the fridge to get a piece of fruit to eat. I opened up the designated fruit drawer, and found this monstrosity: (the thing on the left)

{In case you can't tell, that's an apple. Since we didn't have any normal apples around for me to compare it to, it's sitting next to a pomegranate and a strawberry to give you a point of reference. It was like the size of my head.}

As soon as I picked it up I said, (very loudly) "WHAT THE HECK?? Did this apple eat all of the other apples??"

I was extremely disturbed. As far as I knew cannibal apples didn't exist, but strange things grow in our fridge so I didn't think it was completely unlikely.

However, after further investigation and questioning of my mother, it turns out that it was just some strange type of apple that they sell at the fruit store.

I wish this story had a better and more exciting ending, but it doesn't. That's basically it.

But I was able to turn it into a jack-o-apple. So that makes it exciting, right?? (nod head yes)

And then I took a bite.

So in case you ever wondered, yes, apples can be carved into jack-o-lanterns.

blogging etiquette according to mwah.

2008-12-10T19:01:00.018-07:00

Somehow my blog about "amy-ness" turned into one about blogging etiquette, but it's because I decided the blogging world needed it. I hope you take notes.

Blogging Do's

Be nice
No one likes a meanie. If you want to trash talk someone, go to haterz-ville. (aka message boards). They like you there. Actually, go to the edge of a cliff and jump off. Just kidding. That was mean. That was an example of what NOT to do. Anyway, just stay away from blogs. Bloggers are basically online hippies because we just want a little peace and love. No hate over here. But really, you shouldn't be trash talking anywhere because that's just unattractive.

Proofread your work
You wouldn't walk out the door without looking in the mirror first, right? So why hit the publish button before reading over your work? Imagine your blog as your online face. You wouldn't want to find out that you've had food stuck in your teeth all day, jsut lik you wouln't wantto find out you'v espelt evry other word wrongf and and had it published al lday. If proofreading isn't your forte, I'd be happy to do it for you. Mistakes are going to be missed, so 5 errors are permissable per post.

Make things exciting
No one wants to read a boring blog. If you're not very funny (aka me) then post about funny things you saw that day. If funny things never seem to happen, then just make stuff up. Haha oh man, so this one time I was walking to class at ASU and there was this guy in front of me who was trying to put the moves on the girl he was talking to. He was laying on the charm and almost ready to get the digits, when suddenly a GIANT bomb of fresh white pigeon poo landed smack dab on his head. (totally not true). See how I did that? Try it.

Blogging Do Not's

Posts without pictures
I've been guilty of this a few times, but come on people, it's just not aesthetically pleasing to have a giant block of text with nothing to appease the poor readers eyes! They're doing you a favor by reading your blog, so thank them by adding pictures to look at. Preferrably of something funny and exciting. You don't need a picture every time, but just enough to shake things up. And if you don't have pictures of your own, that's what Google images is for.

Lack of punctuation
I don't expect perfection but at least throw in a period or comma every now and then because it just takes too much work to read a paragraph without any punctuation and let's face it life is hard enough without having to decipher the post you are reading this is much more common than you'd think it really is quite annoying too. Wow. That was painful to write. I hope you see my point.

Not commenting
I'm pretty sure that if someone has a blog, then they want comments. They wouldn't spend countless hours trying to come up with exciting things to post about or slave away trying to make the cutest layout so that no one will read their blog. And if you don't comment then they won't know you read, and if they don't know you read then they'll think no one reads, and maybe one day they will stop blogging forever. Do you really want to be the cause of that?? Leave a comment, save a blog.
(seriously. that means you)

I hope this helps some of you.

(please don't take me seriously. I like to use extreme examples and sarcasm so if you're guilty of a few of these, don't worry, I'll still love your blog. I'm easy.) (But I am serious about the commenting. Do it)

piece o' cake.

2008-12-03T16:25:00.014-07:00

If only you knew how happy this lopsided, funny-lookin cake makes me.

Once upon a time I decided that I was in love with cake decorating. I always had that love somewhere deep inside my heart, but it wasn't until then that I decided I actually wanted to try it. I looked up techniques, designs, tips, and I even spent several hours watching Ace of Cakes. My heart became happy and I was very excited.

Then along came a nasty, evil villain called Mr. Meanie Doubterfectionist. His goal was to destroy my hopes and dreams by tricking me into thinking I would never be as good as I wanted to. He made me believe that I had to be perfect the first time I tried, and that I would have to be popping out elegant and elaborate wedding cakes right away or else I was a failure. I decided to give up without even trying, and Mr. Meanie Doubterfectionist was happy. It seemed his plan had worked.

But suddenly something marvelous happened. Mrs. Motivated Risktaker came along and smacked me for listening to Mr. Meanie. She told me to get over it and live my dream anyway, so I did, and created this:

It wasn't perfect. The cake was crumbly, the shape was lumpy, the fondant wasn't smooth, the design was weird, and it probably didn't even taste good. Not to mention I made a HUGE mess. But I started living my dream and that's all that matters. And I will soon live happily with many beautiful (and some not-so-beautiful) cakes forever and ever.

Then I tried being all cutesy by experimenting with my photography skills.

It's a good thing I chose cake decorating rather than photography.

(I need a new apron. Can you tell?)

the end.
(or should I say beginning?...)

My next project will look something like this:

....hopefully. :)

I found this thing called "Elf Yourself..."

2008-12-02T08:15:00.003-07:00

Now I can't stop laughing.

Except I DIDN'T find this thing called Elf Yourself. And I can stop laughing.
My sister hijacked my blog without me knowing. I know, how dare her!
I gave her a good whooping though.
And I guess it's KINDA funny....so I'll leave it up.
I think the most awkward part is when I'm booty poppin with my mom.
Watch if you dare.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

money money money.

2008-11-23T17:47:00.012-07:00

Remember when I said the two things I hate the most are feeling tired & writing papers? Well, I lied.

The thing I hate the most is not having money.

Whoever said money can't buy happiness obviously didn't know what they were talking about. Because I'm pretty darn sure that if I bought a trip to Hawaii, or bought a roller coaster for my backyard, that I'd be one happy person.

And I don't know what's with me lately, but I pretty much want to buy everything. Seriously, everything.

Clothes, shoes, make-up, electronics, trips, food, house decorations, furniture, computer games, phones. You name it, I'll want it.

(sidenote: Ahhh! So I'm sitting at this table in the ASU computing commons & there are two other girls sitting here. Just now one of the girls stood up & I think she's a stripper! She's wearing a short little rain jacket and heels. Nothing else. It's like those movies where they order a stripper & they come in a jacket so they can hide their scandalous identity. {don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about} But she didn't fool me.

Anyway...back to my money post)

This strange new need to buy everything sucks because A. I'm a poor little college student, and B. There are shopping deals going on EVERYWHERE. Going out of business sales, sales because companies don't want to go out of business, and black Friday sales are taking over the world. Everywhere I look there's an ad or sign telling me to spend money. Which I don't have!

I can't suppress the deprived little shopper within me much longer. I'm gonna lose it! I hope when I do it's on a really cute outfit. Or a skydiving ticket.

Anyway. Since I can't buy anything, I'm posting my wish list on here.
Apparently there's this thing called The Secret, so Universe, this is what I want. Just throwin' it out there. (even though I already wrote a note to the Universe once saying what I wanted and didn't get anything on the list. Whatev. Second time's a charm)

iPod Touch
Curse you, Apple, for making something so wonderful and expensive! I'm supposed to hate the iPod because of how annoying it is to use only iTunes, but with direct access to YouTube videos, web browsers that actually work like the internet, google maps, and a built in calculator, not to mention the actual music capabilities, it's no wonder I'm in love. And I must have you.

Camera
I know I've mentioned this before. But I'm not asking for an SLR anymore, I'd settle for anything pink. Something in the $200 range will suffice. As long as it's at least 8 mp. See what being poor does?? It makes you settle. Ugh.

Trip to Europe, Hawaii, or a Cruise
I'm not gonna stay young forever, and travelling to Europe with babies & a husband will be pretty tricky, so I need to get all of my globetrotting done now. Meaning I'll need a roundtrip ticket plus accomodations and spending money. I'm not too picky. Oh, and if possible, I'll need the same for Lauren. I can't go alone and we've already agreed to be travel buddies.

Video Camera
Once again, I know this was on my previous list but I didn't get it. I'll also settle for something relatively cheap that gets the job done. I found the perfect one that would work wonderfully as a family gift this Christmas, but I guess my mom hates remembering the good ol' times and would rather get a Wii.

Clothes Shopping Spree
I need a lot of help in the cute department. How about you just nominate me for What Not To Wear. That should take care of it. (But seriously, nominate me. I really need to get on that show)

Computer Games
More specifically: Brain Spa, Imagine: Fashion Designer, any brain games, and I guess Sims because my sister said you can design and decorate houses. And I want to design and decorate houses.

Gift Certificate to Target
I love this place. In fact, I love it so much that I still shop at the location I used to work at even though I kinda just stopped showing up. I was technically on a "leave" because I was supposed to transfer to a location by ASU, but I never did transfer and I was too embarrassed to go back. But not enough to stop shopping there. (I'm about 92% positive that explanation didn't make sense) So ya, gift card would be nice.

This is by no means everything on my wish list, but it'll do for now. And I still want the rest of the items on my previous list. Does this make me sound greedy? Cuz I am. Muahaha. Just kidding. Ok bye.

gaaaaah.

2008-11-21T02:39:00.011-07:00

there are two things that I hate the most in this world.

1. feeling excruciatingly tired

2. writing english papers

right now I'm experiencing both.

all because of this:

and this:

(twilight premiere. I can't decide if I loved it or not. but I do know that I hated the background music for most/all of the important scenes. {except the baseball scene. AMAZING})

but at least I have this:

exciting events.

2008-11-17T19:00:00.007-07:00

Today is an exciting day.

Today is the day of Melanie's birth!!

Melanie is my sister, for those who don't know.

She's off livin it up in Ecuador, and you should wish her happy birthday!

Melanie is my biggest sis. She used to give me rides everywhere and had me go on little jogs with her. I never wanted to go because I was lazy and out of shape, but when I did she always made me feel special. She worked at Organ Stop Pizza, and when I'd ask her to, she'd make me my own pizza with whatever toppings I wanted to bring home. People used to say I looked just like her, which made me really happy because then it meant that I was pretty too :)

We're also kind of twins in some ways. We both played the violin in HS, hate writing papers, like math, went/go to ASU, and love roller coasters. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's because she made me ride Montezuma's Revenge at Knott's Berry Farm that I have the love of roller coasters I do now.

My mom always says that we came from the same cookie cutter, which isn't true because I only wish I was as cool as she is! I wouldn't be able to do half of the things she's done. She's an awesome role model & I'm glad she's my big sis! I hope you had a wonderful b-day Melanie!

Another exciting thing:
I bought my twilight tickets! I bought 4 which means I have 2 extras, so if you want to go with me & my sister Cassie let me know!

Something else:
On Friday at 7 in the PM, Nov. 21,
I will be hosting a Lia Sophia jewelry party!
And if you live in the Mesa area then you're invited!!
You don't have to buy anything. Just come & enjoy the fun snacks & my wonderful presence!

ginormous post of endless pictures and recapping. i need to have a ridiculously long title so you understand exactly how long this post is.

2008-11-13T20:53:00.024-07:00

WARNING: The following post may induce fatigue, cold sweats, or heat stroke due to its massive length and endless nature. Do not attempt if you are not a seasoned blogger, as the results may be catatonic.

Don't believe me? Why don't you just see how long it takes to scroll down to the bottom of this post. Go ahead, do it.

Told you.

I don't understand the concept of keeping things short & sweet.

So anyway, this post is about my pledging, and the next one will be about all of the random Amy-ness that I spoke of before. I had to split it up into two, for your sanity and for mine. Ok, here we go. Buckle up.

PLEDGING

First off, the fraternity I was pledging is a professional coed fraternity for business students. As pledges of Delta Sigma Pi, we had to plan two community service events, two professional events, a social, and however many fundraisers it took to raise the cash we'd need. We had to go to weekly Sunday night meetings, which included a test from our handbook. Each week we also had to do a certain amount of interviews with the active members, which was basically so we could get to know all of them. Very time consuming, but kinda fun too.

Every now and then we also went to events put on by the active members. We had a spaghetti dinner, and that's when we found out who our big bros were. A big bro is basically a person that helps you out throughout the semester when you need it.

HAYRIDE (Oct. 3)

The first big thing we went to was the hayride. It was right after my accounting exam, and I really didn't want to go because I wanted to go home and pout instead, but I did and it was fun. They even had a bonfire. When we were there they told us we had 10 minutes to come up with a skit, and it better be good. Of course this was no problem for me, being the actress-extraordinaire that I am, so I wasn't nervous one bit and came up with a hilarious little ditty that wowed them all. All while riding on a magic carpet and singing with little mice.

These are the pictures from the hayride. Oh ya, they had smores!

The girls of the pledge class

Lisa (up top) actually decided pledging wasn't for her, but we had fun with her!

These are the original pledges, except Julie who didn't make it that night. She ended up dropping a few days later. 9 of us made it the whole semester.

CAR WASH (Oct. 4)

The next day we had our first car wash. I kept singing the "Car Wash!" song and was in charge of holding the signs. I'm pretty sure I got like 67 cars to come because of my mad sign holding skills. Except maybe it was like 2.

I made those awesome hot pink signs the night before in like, 5 minutes. So don't judge.

Jared with "the gun".

The crew. We're seriously awesome. They should make a movie about us.

Yaaaaaa, rollin in the dough.

Stacy was also an excellent sign holder.

PROFESSIONAL EVENT UNO (Oct. 8)

For our first professional event, Lynnette asked her boss from Merrill Lynch to come speak about the current financial situation and what his thoughts were. We had it at Uno's, and Lynnette did a FABULOUS job organizing it all!

Pledges!

We had pizza at the end :) I love me some pizza.

PLEDGE RETREAT (Oct. 11)

The next Saturday we had our pledge retreat. That makes it sound fancier than it was, but I had fun. We started off splitting into two teams and going on a picture scavenger hunt. We were given a pile of pictures and had to go take a picture of the same exact thing, from the same angles & everything.

Action shot.

Of course the best team one! (and I obviously don't know how to hold things the correct way)

Awwww, the losers. So sad.

Then there was a contest where we were given two things of play-do and told to make whatever we wanted. Lynnette & I decided to make the State Fair, and of course totally won. The judges knew that roller coasters are where it's at.

Notice a trend here? Me dominating the competition??

They made a phone that looks like a hamburger when it's closed. Ben should be holding up two fingers, because they weren't number one. I was. Well, I guess Lynnette was too.

We also had a race where one person had to hold the other's legs wheelbarrow style, while the person on the ground ate things on different plates along the way. I was the one that had to eat most of it. I had to eat a cherry, and in the rush of it all I ate the stem too. DON'T LAUGH. If eating a stem is what it takes to win, then by all means I'LL EAT THE STEM. Except we didn't win. So....ya.

MINI GOLF TOURNAMENT (Oct. 18)

We had to go to a comm. service event put on by the actives, and most of us went to the mini golf tournament for St. Jude's. We were in teams of four.

We were team "Rolling Thunder", I think. I have a horrible memory. But thunder was in it.

See what I'm doing here? That's right, DOMINATING.

Lynnette was our amazing scorekeeper/my purse holder. She's amazing!

There was a prize for best dressed, so people came ready to win...

COMMUNITY SERVICE DOS (Oct. 25)

Oh ya, so we had a community service event before this, but it was kinda lame and I didn't take pictures. Basically we went door to door collecting cans for St. Mary's food bank. Lame. We know. But the next one we did was pretty awesome. We painted this little old lady's house for her! Don't worry, she knew we were doing it.

Prepping the house

Hard at work!

I told Kurtis I needed an action shot, so he's pretending to paint.

Look how beautiful that is. We made Arnav do the roof.

The end result! I was the only girl that stayed the whole time. I felt pretty proud. It took 7 hours! I wanted to die.

Big Bro/Little Bro Olympics (Nov. 1)

Within the fraternity we have little families, so before the olympics we had to make a family tree. They told us to be as creative as we could, so being perfectionist little me, I thought that meant be as perfect as we could. So $25, 4 hours, and 2 trips to walmart later, I had this:

And it turns out that it really didn't even matter. We basically showed everyone & that was it. UGH. Anyway, I'm over it. Kind of. Anyway, on to the events.

We had different events that we competed in, and this was the "javeline/straw throw"

This is Jessica, my big. Thanks to my expertise at throwing straws (I practice on the weekends), we came in first place for this event.

This is the "egg in a spoon" race. I was SO CLOSE to winning. SO CLOSE. But I got ahead of myself and dropped it last second. I blame the egg.

We had to throw different objects into baskets.

Tug of war. Not my proudest moment.

Lynnette & Neta beat TWO GUYS in this one! It was hilarious. They ended up winning the whole thing, aka two $25 gift certificates to oreganos. Jessica & I came in second. Meaning we would have won if I didn't drop that stupid egg! No I'm not bitter. There were more events that I didn't have pictures for, but whatev.

DELTA DORK

So, at each meeting we voted on who we thought did the stupidest/dorkiest thing the previous week. Arnav won without contest the first two weeks. Basically for just being Arnav. One of the times was for leaving very long and interesting messages on Jared's phone, and the other time was for falling off the ladder he was using to paint on and dangling off of the edge of the house.

But then Jared showed him up and won the next two weeks. I wish I remembered why he won! I'll think about it.

I told him to pose for the camera, so this is his sensitive side

And this is his fierce side

INVITATIONS

I was in charge of making the invitations for the social, and since the theme was Aroud the World, I thought it'd be cool to make them little passports. It took a lot longer than I thought it would, but they ended up looking awesome. The night before we had to pass them out Arnav, Stacy, Lynnette & Jared came to help put them together. They were lifesavers! Well, Arnav mostly watched.

For each individual passport we put their picture and name.

The finished product.

PRESENTING THE THEME (Oct. 30)

The theme of our social was supposed to be a secret until we presented it to the chapter during their collegiate meeting. We got all dressed up, came up with a little thing to say letting them know what the theme was, and then passed out the invites. I guess it turns out that they all already knew the theme before we told them. Whatev.

Jared was from America. Oh shoot, I had a group picture of us but I don't know where it is, and I'm not about to go through the whole uploading process again. So go on facebook if you want to see it.

SOCIAL (Nov. 7/8)

The night before our social we went to Lynnette's to set up. She & I got all of the decorations together & were in charge of it. We had 5 different rooms representing 5 countries: Mexico, Italy, Russia, Caribbean, and America. We wanted to make the Caribbean authentic, so we....borrowed...sand from the park.

They could barely lift it. We ended up having to use four people to lift it down to the truck. Hilarious.

This is America

The Caribbean, and I guess I didn't get pictures of the other countries.

Me and Stacy!

They're in Mexico

Ben, Arnav & Stacy

INITIATION (Nov. 14)

This is actually hush hush, so I can't say anything about it. But I can say that I'm officially a member of Delta Sigma Pi! Woo Woo! Here's the last picture of us as pledges. I'm not in it, because I'm taking it.

Then they said I have to be in it,

So here's a picture with me in it, but no Ben.

And that's it!! That's the Pledging semester in a very, very big nutshell!

THE END

As soon as I recover I'll post my second "monster update" post. Please don't run away screaming, it won't be nearly as long.

i meant to post this yesterday, but...

2008-11-13T13:52:00.005-07:00

See this little guy?

He's the cutest little boy that ever lived (true story) and he turned 3 months old yesterday!

In those three little months he's already had more adventure than I have in my 20 years of living.

He's lived in Chicago, Mesa, and Ecuador.
I've only lived in Mesa.

He has a passport and a visa.
The first time I ever even held a passport is when I saw his and only then did I learn that a visa is a just a stamp.

He's been to the jungles of Ecuador and had to bathe in buckets and sleep under mosquito nets.
My family stays in hotels when we go camping.

I just hope I'll catch up in the adventure department before he gets old enough to realize how lame I am compared to him :)

Happy belated 3-month birthday Owen! You're gonna be one handsome dude!

P.S. I did in fact survive yesterday, so Monster Update coming next...

sigh.

2008-11-11T19:58:00.004-07:00

I would really love to go here

And get this

A little slice of Heaven if there ever was one.

BTW, Friday is initiation. If I get initiated, that is.

When it's over I will have Sunday nights, Saturday mornings, and a whole lotta time during the week back. But in order for Friday to come that means I have to get through tomorrow. And let's face it, I'm not too sure that's gonna happen. But if somehow I do, then get ready for a monster of all monsters post. I'll let you in on everything I've been doing lately, along with random tidbits of Amy-ness. Brace yourself.

2008-11-04T12:25:00.006-07:00

I did. Did you?

& I will be the first to shout praises when all of this political nonsense is over.

halloween & declarations

2008-10-31T18:53:00.004-07:00

First order of business:
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I hope tonight you have lots of fun & get fat eating lots of candy.

Second order of business:
On this day, the thirty-first of October, in the year of two-thousand and eight, I hereby declare that I will abstain from partaking of the evil liquid substance otherwise known as "Dr. Pepper" for the remainder of this year.

Wait. Let me think about this. Maybe just until the end of November. NO! This year. That's such a long time though...ok fine. The end of this year.

Starting....NOW.
If you see me with a Dr. Pepper anytime soon punch me in the nose. That'll get me to stop. It's like Pavlov's dogs, anytime I see that evil drink I'll run in fear.

oh geez

2008-10-24T13:09:00.011-07:00

Is it super lame that part of me (ok, a lot of me) wants to see this this weekend?

Actually, don't answer that.

I mostly likely won't be seeing it anyway, because the only thing lamer than seeing it opening weekend is seeing it opening weekend by yourself. Which is what I would have to do since no one my age is lame like me.

(Unless one of you want to see it with me, in which case you are not lame. I was just saying that to trick the HSM-haters. So hit me up.)

UPDATE. Ya, so I did see it. I made my sister come with me & I even paid for her. Even though she said that she hated High School Musical. Several times. But I know she secretly loved it.

Was it worth it? No way. No movie is worth $20 flipping bucks! Geez la weez. No wonder I never go to the movies. But it did have some SERIOUSLY awesome musical productions. The dancing? Amazing. I won't even talk about the plot, but seriously, is that really why people watch these movies in the first place? I think not. (p.s., I'm so not a Zac Efron lover, but DANG)

nasty keyboards

2008-10-20T13:48:00.006-07:00

I may be a little bit OCD when it comes to keyboards.

Whenever I use a public computer I always have to check the cleanliness of the keyboard before using it, and most of the time it's ok. This is because I usually only use public computers at ASU, and for the most part they keep them pretty clean.

However, I work in Chandler as a nanny, so when I have a little extra time before I have to get the boys I go to the library to use the computer (as I am now, hence the reason for this blog).
At this particular library, ALL of the keyboards are nasty. Like, super greasy looking nasty. It sicks me out and I kind of want to vomit if I think about it too much. I always scout out every available computer for the cleanest keyboard, but they're all the same.

So today I did what I often do at home: I cleaned it out. And this isn't exactly a quiet or discreet process. It involves scraping through all of the spaces between the keys, blowing out dust and junk, and shaking it upside down to get out the chunky pieces. And remember, I'm in a library. Oh, I'm sure people stared and thought I was a crazy person, but at least I have a semi-clean keyboard. And now I am happy.

another great song

2008-10-20T08:31:00.003-07:00

Project Playlist is lame & doesn't have this song, but I love it.

So go here

one step at a time

2008-10-16T19:31:00.004-07:00

This song was written for me, and is basically my life's motto at the moment.

Hurry up and wait
So close, but so far away
Everything that you've always dreamed of
Close enough for you to taste
But you just can't touch

You wanna show the world, but no one knows your name yet
Wonder when and where and how you're gonna make it
You know you can if you get the chance
In your face as the door keeps slamming
Now you're feeling more and more frustrated
And you're getting all kind of impatient waiting

We live and we learn to take
One step at a time
There's no need to rush
It's like learning to fly
Or falling in love
It's gonna happen when it's
Supposed to happen and we
Find the reasons why
One step at a time

You believe and you doubt
You're confused, you got it all figured out
Everything that you always wished for
Could be yours, should be yours, would be yours
If they only knew

You wanna show the world, but no one knows your name yet
Wonder when and where and how you're gonna make it
You know you can if you get the chance
In your face as the door keeps slamming
Now you're feeling more and more frustrated
And you're getting all kind of impatient waiting

We live and we learn to take
One step at a time
There's no need to rush
It's like learning to fly
Or falling in love
It's gonna happen when it's
Supposed to happen and we
Find the reasons why
One step at a time

When you can't wait any longer
But there's no end in sight
When you need to find the strength
It's your faith that makes you stronger
The only way you get there
Is one step at a time

a tragedy

2008-10-15T16:50:00.006-07:00

I knew the economy was sliding down the crapper lately, but I didn't know it was this bad. IT TOOK FAZOLI'S FROM ME. Now it's gone too far.

I noticed that a lot of Fazoli's closed down lately, so I decided to check out the ultimate source of all sources, Wikipedia, and found out there are no longer any locations in all of Arizona. This is worse than when Krispy Kreme closed. In fact, that doesn't even compare to this! What is the world coming to?? Fazoli's was MY PLACE! Who else gives you baked ziti with meat sauce, unlimited breadsticks and a soft drink for only 2.99?? (kid's meal, in case you were wondering).

You may not see me for awhile because I'll be busy holding a funeral service for my best friend.

Oh Fazoli's, you had a significant impact on my life. We shared many happy memories together, and you were always there for me when I was having a bad day and needed a little comfort. You will be missed, but not forgotten. Forever in my heart you will remain. Goodbye.

time for change

2008-10-14T20:36:00.003-07:00

Ok, so my blog is in need of some serious renovation. I've been having boring posts, and even though I thought my previous layout was cute, it was much too dull. And as some of you may have noticed, I don't have any of my recent posts published anymore. I just wasn't feelin 'em, and I want my blog to be a happy place, not a whiny, boring place.

Lately the pledging has been keeping me busy, but it's something that I'm definitely learning from. If I didn't have an essay to write tonight then I'd post pictures of the recent happenings, but that will come soon. I'm the historian for the pledge class, so I have quite a few pictures :) Even though it's been fun, I'll be glad when it's over!

So anyway...On to the fun stuff.

If any of you go on YouTube very often, then you've probably heard of the Fred videos that are always going around. And as much as I don't want to admit it, I think they're kind of hilarious, in an annoying way. If you don't know what I mean, watch this:

And if that's not for you, then watch this:

Oh how I love youtube.

love hate relationships

2008-10-13T22:47:00.005-07:00

+I love dried mangos
-I hate overdosing on them

+I love having free time
-I hate wasting it

+I love shopping
-I hate spending money

+I love Zachary Levi
-I hate that he's not my lover

+I love food
-I hate that I can't eat as much of it as I want

+I love driving
-I hate how much it costs to be able to do so

+I love school
-I hate homework and tests

+I love doing creative things
-I hate how long it takes me to be creative

+I love loving
-I hate hating

it's been a hard last few weeks

2008-10-13T00:49:00.006-07:00

My whole life I've had a system for getting things done.

It's called, "Do Just Enough to Get By and then Have Lots of Fun and Waste Lots of Time"
It worked for me.
In high school, the people with straight A's were the ones who were dedicated and super involved and had no social life. Except me.
I'd get all of my assignments done, but not until midnight the night before. I'd always think to myself, "Why did I procrastinate so much?? If I had started this earlier it'd be SO much better! Ugh!" But I kept doing it because it worked. I'd get the A, and all would be well.

But now here I am, in college with no sense of time management or work ethic. Sure, I know how to work hard when I need to, but I do whatever I can to cut corners and make life easier. I'm not proud of this. But how do you change a lifetime habit? One that has seemed to work for so long?

I knew I needed to change this and decided to get more involved, which is why I decided to pledge the fraternity. It's been such a crazy experience and I've grown a lot from it, but it opened up a whole can of worms in terms of how I feel about myself. As it was I had a pretty low self-esteem, but it's been tested to the max the past few weeks. I've felt inadequate, unintelligent, incapable, and completely unsuited for the business world. On top of that, I have major issues with being afraid of messing up, so that has been something I've had to deal with a lot.

But I decided that I am NOT going to let those feelings get the best of me. It's times like these that shape us, and conference couldn't have come at a better time. One talk stood out to me the most, and here's part of it:

To me it appears that our splendid sisters sometimes undervalue their abilities—they focus on what is lacking or imperfect rather than what has been accomplished and who they really are.

I believe that as you are faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, as you draw closer to Him in faith, hope, and charity, things will work together for your good. I believe that as you immerse yourselves in the work of our Father—as you create beauty and as you are compassionate to others—God will encircle you in the arms of His love. Discouragement, inadequacy, and weariness will give way to a life of meaning, grace, and fulfillment.

-Dieter F. Uchtdorf

I'm grateful that I have the church to lean on when I need it. It's provided me with comfort during times when I thought it was impossible. I know the hard times will keep rolling in, but at least I know it's for a reason. I can overcome my bad habits, anxiety, and feelings of inadequacy. I have the Lord on my side.

revelation

2008-10-07T14:05:00.004-07:00

I want to be a wedding planner and make wedding cakes. There. I've just decided what I want to do for the rest of my life.

Now I just need to figure out where the heck to start.

All I know is that a 9-5 finance job is not for me.

limbo

2008-10-04T19:05:00.003-07:00

The past few weeks have definitely not been easy for me, in many ways. I've been physically, emotionally, & spiritually exhausted to extremes that I don't think I've ever reached before. Ok, maybe not the physically part, but yes for the other two. I feel like I've improved so much, but there are still tons of things I need to work on and it's discouraging.

I think the hardest thing for me has been friend-wise. I guess I'm the type of person that usually has just one or two best friends that I hang out with all the time, with a bunch of acquaintances on the side. I'm not sure why this is, because I've always wanted a big group of friends, but it never happens. Anyway, lately I've been feeling really lonely. I don't have that best friend, a safety net. I have friends that I do stuff with, but not one that I can share everything with. One that I know will be there for me if I need them.

wish list

2008-09-27T15:27:00.011-07:00

highlight of my life

2008-09-25T19:55:00.002-07:00

My life may be super stressful & busy right now, but all will be right with the world from eight to nine pm.

hallelujah

if i may say so myself...

2008-09-20T19:30:00.009-07:00

I think these pictures make me look pretty dang sexy.

You know the question "Which decade do you wish you grew up in?" Well, I never have an answer to that, so I'm going to have a vote on which picture makes me look the sexiest, and the decade associated with the picture that gets the most votes will then be my favorite decade. Forever.
12
34
5 6
78
9 10
11 12

Happy voting.

easily entertained

2008-09-19T12:28:00.004-07:00

Does anyone else think this is hilarious?

Whenever I see these driving on the road I crack up.
I mean, it's a semi-truck without the truck.
Doesn't that make it a semi-semi-truck? Hmm....
It just looks so lonely & sad all by itself.
And also really funny.

the story of the pledge pin

2008-09-17T22:15:00.005-07:00

I never knew something so small could cause large amounts of stress and anxiety, but alas, that it what this little object does. Let me explain why.

Recently I decided that I wasn't accomplishing enough in my life, and I decided that I wanted to branch out and make a group of friends that actually did stuff. While at camp I had heard about coed fraternities, so I thought about checking it out at ASU. Well, one day as I was walking from my class at the Business school I saw little tables set up with Greek letters plastered everywhere. I decided to walk over to take a peek, and the next thing I knew I was invited to a dinner for a coed business fraternity.

At first I thought joining the fraternity would be way more than I could handle, but I decided to check it out anyway. So going against all laws of nature, I went to the dinner (by myself), which was formal (let me reiterate, I was by myself), and met the active members. After hearing more about it, I thought it could actually be really fun and decided to apply. (Some of the things they do are plan 4 types of events as a pledge class.)

So, one thing led to another, and before I knew it I was a pledge for Delta Sigma Pi. This is where the pin comes in. We each got a little pin and were told the rules--one of which being that we must wear it at all times. If we are caught without it, then it's an infraction. Two infractions and that's bad. Three, and that's REALLY bad. So what do I do? I lose the pin on the first day that we have to wear it. No, let me rephrase that. The pin decided to unclasp and remove itself from my shirt during the most inopportune time so that I could not find it once I realized that it was gone.

So ya. It's gone. You'd think that this is the stress and anxiety that I spoke of earlier, right? Wrong. I was surprisingly calm and unfreaked out when I called the president of pledge education to tell him I that needed a new one, and I was able to get it the next day. This is a huge deal considering I'm the queen of being terrified of messing up and letting others down. Maybe it means I'm growing up. Anyway.

The stress and anxiety comes from the fact that I can't lose this new pin. If I do then that's two infractions, which is BAD. So I have a dilemma here. I want to keep the darn pin in my safe for the nine weeks so that no one can touch it and it won't get lost, but I have to keep it on me at all times. But if I keep it on me, then I just know that it will somehow lose itself again. So for the next nine weeks I will be constantly thinking about this little pin, wondering where it is and hoping that it hasn't found freedom.

So now you know the story of the pledge pin.

into the triple digits now

2008-09-11T19:29:00.007-07:00

I finally hit the 100th post. It took me exactly 1 year, 2 months, & 2 weeks to get here. I have to say, I feel pretty proud. I know that my wildly exciting blog has been the highlight of your day for the past year, two months, and two weeks, and that this milestone is just as exciting for you. So to celebrate I wanted to do something as wild and exciting as my blog. I wanted to do something drastic. Something crazy. So then I got to thinking.

At first I wanted to make a cake with 100 candles

But then I figured the cake would get all waxy & I'd burn my fingers.

So then I decided to eat 100 cookies

But then I realized I already did that this weekend and doing it twice would just be pushin it.

So then I decided to buy 100 balloons and do a big balloon release

But then I realized my car is too small to hold 100 balloons.

So then I decided to do 100 cartwheels

But then I realized that I get dizzy easily, and I don't want to risk bumping my head on something. I only have one and I want to make it last.

So then I was going to list 100 things about me that are cool,

but then I realized I have homework to do and can't waste anymore time on this darn blog.

So there you have it. My 100th post.

precious preciousness

2008-08-28T20:24:00.006-07:00

I have an obsession with little baby animals, so I went on the amazingness that is youtube and found this video. If it doesn't make your heart just warm & fuzzy then I don't know what would. The song, the animals, it's just perfect. (p.s. the video uses the wrong their, but don't let that ruin it for you like it almost did for me.)

And I couldn't just have one video so here are two more that make me just die with happiness inside.

So, ya I've already come to the conclusion that I'm gonna have to own a zoo someday.

p.s. number 2: I'm terrified of wind and I'm pretty sure there's like a tornado outside. Or hurricane. Some sort of storm with lots of wind. Oh gosh. I hope I make it out alive.

i hate dating.

2008-08-23T21:56:00.007-07:00

And boys.
And boys that ask me on dates because they don't get the hint that I'm SO not interested.
And the fact that I can't say no to these boys that ask me on these dates that I hate.
Ugh.

Too bad I wasn't born into a culture with arranged marriages. That would've been perfect for me.

Just kidding. Maybe.

Anyway, back to dating and the hatred I have for it.
This is how it makes me feel:

I've come to realize that dates are like sardines: you either love em or you hate em, and if you hate them then you do whatever you can to stay away from them because they make you want to vomit. Sure, it may seem like a good idea to try them out because "everyone else is doing it", but then once you're done you're left feeling the sickness and regret.

This is why I'm most likely going to stay single for the rest of my life.
You may think I'm over-reacting and that I still have years to find a lover, but I'm starting to really think I'm right. Here's why:

Exhibit A: Cute boy comes up to talk to Amy

Cute boy: Hey, how are you?! (In sexy happy voice)
Amy: Uhh...(thinks to self: shoot! What do I say?? What do I say?? Say something cute & flirty! Wait, what if he thinks I'm trying too hard, oh no, oh no) uhh...fine. How are you? (In quiet, unsexy voice)
Cute boy: Good!
*Awkward silence*
Cute boy: Ok, well...bye
Cute boy walks away. Opportunity: dismissed.

Exhibit B: Not so cute boy walks up to Amy

Not so cute boy: So, um, hey Amy! So I was wondering, maybe would you wanna do something sometime?
Amy: (thinks to self: aw crap, why didn't I walk the other way to my car?? I totally could've avoided this.) Oh, sure!
Not so cute boy: How about this Saturday??
Amy: (thinks to self: dangit, I'm not doing anything Saturday) Umm....I'm not sure because I'm really busy this week and I don't know how much time I'll have open
Not so cute boy: Oh, ok.....how about we plan on it and if you can't make it let me know?
Amy: (thinks to self: ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh) Ya, sounds good
Not so cute boy: Ok, see ya Saturday!

Here's what's wrong with the two situations. In exhibit A I have the opportunity to make a date happen with a cute boy. However, because I'm LAME I don't know how to talk to cute boys, so I mess it up. And if I somehow end up on a date with a cute boy, then I don't know what to say because I'm dumb. Therefore, the date is not fun because I'm too worried the whole time.

In exhibit B I really don't want to go on the date, but once again I'm LAME and don't know how to say no, so yet again I'm stuck going on a date that is not fun. Do you see my dilemma here now??

My solution is simple: Guys, if I never EVER initiate conversation with you and I somehow find my way out of hanging out with you more than once, then just give it up. It'll be better for both of us if you just move on. However, if I do speak to you, then ask me to hang out. Really! Do it! Don't be afraid. It's really only rare that I wouldn't wanna hang out with you. As long as you look normal and have a fun personality. But don't even mention the word date. Let it be a date in your mind, whatever, but as long as I think it's hanging out then I'm ok. And let me open my own doors. That stuff is just unnecessary. I know you're trying to be sweet & everything, but wait until we're actually dating to do that.

I hope I don't come across as the B word. I'm really not. I just have strong opinions about dating.

Ok. That's all.

I'm an aunt!!!

2008-08-14T06:34:00.003-07:00

My sister had her baby!

I go home in 3 days!

I will also be in need of a job, so if you have any ideas please let me know.

i'm leavin' on a jet plane

2008-06-18T12:58:00.003-07:00

That song's been in my head all day, so as cheesy as it is to have that as the title that's what it is.

But the day finally came!
In a few hours I'm gonna be off to the airport, then off to Atlanta for 5 hours, then off to NYC, then off to Camp Pontiac.
I'm scared.
Way more than I should be.
I'm Miss Paranoid so I keep getting scared that all of my luggage will be lost & I'll have to go 2 months without anything clean underwear or toothpaste or shampoo, or that I'm forgetting something major, or that I won't know how to get to the hotel we're all meeting at.
I'm also worried that none of the kids will like me since I'm not cool enough (because I'm poor & they'll most likely be rich. I don't know rich talk) or that I'll have a horrible partner counselor.
I know I shouldn't worry. It'll all be ok. But I fear the unknown.
There's excitement buried in these emotions somewhere & every now & then it sticks its little head out, but most of the time it likes to stay hidden.
I'm hoping that once I'm actually at the camp it'll come out again.
I don't think I'll be posting while I'm there, but if I can I will.
So until next time.
Adios.

so I have this theory...

2008-06-13T17:23:00.003-07:00

The high gas prices are a conspiracy by the "Go Green" and alternative fuel people. Think about it, for many many years companies have been working on alternative fuels and have found some that have the ability to work, but we're still using crude oil because it's convenient and we don't like change. They've tried to push their new methods by starting off with hybrids and doing the Go Green campaign, but we're still filling our cars up with gas. Figuring that the only way to get people to switch to alternative fuel is to force them to, they struck a deal with the oil people and made them raise all of the prices. Of course it wasn't as easy as I make it sound, but they're smart people so they made it happen somehow. I don't know the details of it all. But they knew that if they could make gas go up to $8 a gallon that people would stop buying huge cars and start buying hybrids or more efficient cars. They didn't care about the rest of the economy. Or the fact that some people now have to ride the bus in places like Arizona where they have to wait half an hour in 125 degree heat with sweaty people who smell like smoke (not me, just some people). They sit back and smile knowing that their evil little plan is working and we can't stop it. Anyway, sounds like a pretty good theory to me. Wow, maybe I should be a conspiracy theorist more often. It's pretty fun.

By the way, I have done zero research on the subject so don't ask questions about the greater details of this theory. I won't answer.

fun times

2008-06-10T20:57:00.003-07:00

Some days when I start to get sad thinking about leaving my family and friends for 8 weeks, I just drive past the nearest gas station and all of my sad thoughts seem to just disappear. More accurately, they get buried beneath the elation of knowing I won't have to even think about $4 dollar gas while I'm gone. That has to be, by far, what I'm most looking forward to.

Another thing that makes me happy thinking about this whole set up is knowing that I have been able to enjoy a month of no school or work because of it. Had I decided to stay home all summer, I would have been working full-time. Financially that would have been better, but I've had one of the best months in a long time. I've been able to go lots of places that I wouldn't have been able to otherwise, accomplish a lot around the house, and spend time with Melanie for the week that she was here. It's been amazing, and this past week was so much fun. Melanie came in last Wednesday, and while she was here we went to my sister's apartment in Peoria for a BBQ and swimming, went on errands for baby stuff, made cute little cupcakes for her baby shower , went to her baby shower, watched a movie and ate pizza, went to church together, played games, went to Sunsplash with Cassie, had a cupcake decorating contest (we were very sunburnt from Sunsplash), plus many more fun little moments in between. I was pretty sad when I had to take her to the airport this morning, but if life was always this fun then it'd be too easy! But I'm grateful she was able to come visit. My sister Cassie also left for Girl's Camp this morning, so it was kinda weird going from two sisters to hang out with to just me by myself all day while my mom was at work. It'll be good for me though because I need time to just get ready for camp and get some cleaning and organizing done. I only have 1 week left! I can't believe it.

I guess I should get off the computer now and finish my laundry. I got my motivation back so I have to take advantage of it while it lasts!

Adios.

randomness about basically nothing

2008-06-04T00:04:00.007-07:00

I've been feeling extremely lackluster lately. That's not even a word I use but it felt very fitting. In fact, I just looked up the definition for it (because I often do that for words I don't normally use to make sure that I'm using it right) and it says:

lack-lus-ter (lak-luhs-ter) - lacking liveliness, vitality, spirit, or enthusiasm; dull.

Yep. That sounds about right.

Ever since I got back from the river (yes, I blame it on that) I have had zero motivation to get anything done. It takes everything in me to do something that took 5 minutes before the stupid river trip. Also, I've been completely lacking in the exercise department. Not to mention the healthy eating one! I was doing soooo well, but now I'm non-stop hungry and all of my self-control is out the window. One day I was eating so much that I stopped & realized that I probably looked like a pothead with the munchies. It's bad. And it's really bad timing because I've recently been able to start eating normally again. At least before if I wanted to go on an eating spree I had my gaping holes to stop me. And I've been sleeping way too late. Sleeping in until 10 used to seem disgusting to me but it's been about 3 days in a row now where I've slept in past 10. I'll wake up at my usual time, which is about 7:30 or 8, but instead of feeling ready to get up I'll have a really great dream that I want to finish or I'm still too tired. I don't know how to shake it. Any suggestions? I know going to sleep earlier would definitely help, but that's a work in progress.

Ok, so onto my next discussion. See this hideousness?

Ya, those are my roots. I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I think I might be naturally brunette now *very sad, crying frowny face*. Ever since I started Jr. High my hair has slowly been getting darker, but I never thought it got past dirty blonde. I've always been able to let my hair grow out a lot before it was noticeable enough to have to re-highlight it, but as you can see those days are gone. This presents a problem, because I'm literally broke. Before, broke meant "Oh shoot, I only have $50 in my checking account. No matter that I have $1500 in savings. That doesn't count". Now broke means "Crap. I hope I'll still be able to pay for gas by next week." It's pretty depressing. I don't have a safety net anymore. I don't even know how it happened. Wait, I do. It was the glasses, plane ticket, contacts, Dr. visits, car payments, and other life expenses. Thank goodness I have a mom that let me earn enough money to equal what I would've earned, if I had a job. Otherwise you'd see me on the freeway begging for money. Wow, I don't know how "Nasty Roots" turned into "Let's see how broke Amy really is". Sorry. The point is, if anyone knows of a good-hearted soul who does hair and would like to give me a nice discount (say, $25 for a highlight?) I'll mail you a postcard from camp. I'll even dedicate a post to you AND your friend with the good-hearted soul. I really don't want to look like trailor trash in all of my pictures. I mean come on, I'm gonna be keeping those forever.

Ok, next subject matter. Feast your eyes on this:

Yep. Those are MY nails. Not ones from a store. Don't judge the french tip job, just look at the beautiful length. Ahhhhh. I'm going to venture out & say that this is the longest they've ever been. Usually I either bite them off or chew them until they're weak enough to break. Typing that just made me realize how gross that is. Anyway, this time I kinda just forgot about them and one day I realized they were long. So ever since then I've been taking care of them like never before. I constantly make sure they're covered with a coat of nail polish and I clean them thoroughly everyday. Today's the first day that I've tried the whole french tip thing, and I'm very pleased. I can' t stop staring at them. They make me happy. I hope you love them as much as I do.

That's all for today's randomness. Join me next time for more pointless tales of nothingness. Goodnight, and good luck*.

*Yes, I ripped that line off. I'm not original enough and I'm too tired to think of something just as catchy. Sue me.

yay!

2008-06-03T23:57:00.003-07:00

My sister Melanie comes to visit from Chicago tomorrow!

It'll be the first time that I'll be able to see her all pregnant looking in person. I can't wait.

Another thing I can't wait for is her Baby Shower this Saturday! It'll be the first one I've ever gone to (that I can remember) and I'm so happy that it's hers!

This will be a pretty fun week with her visiting. I'm happy!

there must be something in the water...

2008-05-29T22:36:00.007-07:00

Today I did something that I've never done before, something that I've wanted to do for a very very long time. I went tubin' down the river. Not just any river, THE river. If you live in the valley of Arizona, you know how crazy it is for me to be going for my first time at the age of 20. It was definitely an experience and I was basically wrong in every aspect of what I thought it would be like.

Most notably, I have to say that I'm really disappointed at how close THE river is to me. I always thought it was some special far away place that required a road trip involving snacks for the road and stops to the gas station on the way. And considering we met up at a QT before we left, I don't think it was very wrong of me to think this. Luckily I wasn't in the mood for snacks and I didn't have time to get a cold one at QT, so I was able to keep these ideas to myself and I didn't feel like an idiot. Anyway, so that's misconception number one, and it turns out it's only like a 20 minute drive to get there, which is basically like a drive to ASU.

Misconception number two: I thought I would have to drive on a long and bumpy road to get there. But nope. The road to get there is AMAZING! On my gosh. Smooth riding, dips, and curves gallore. I kinda wanna go back just so I can drive on that road again.

Misconception number three: I thought everyone had to park in some dirt lot that basically had a sign that said "Break Into Cars Here -->" and that a tiny little run down bus transports you to the starting spot. Needless to say, I was very happy when I found out that I got to park in my very own paved, marked parking space next to lots of more desireable (to burglars) cars. And the bus really wasn't bad.

Misconception number four: I thought tubing down the river was going to be more like white water rafting...but with tubes. I had images of me gripping the tube for dear life as I went careening down fast-paced currents, watching out for jagged rocks and making sure I didn't capsize. Wrong again. A lot of the time I had to paddle myself to really get moving, and when there were currents the only thing I had to worry about was making sure my boo-tay didn't run into any of the rocks on the ground. Actually, I take that back. I did have to make sure I didn't crash into the trees or rocks because when river would curve, the water wouldn't, so we'd go straight towards the edge of the river. It was pretty scary at times

One thing I was not wrong about: basically everyone that goes is drunk or gets drunk while there. We even passed some pot smokers. There were sirens in the distance & someone said "Shoot! It's the cops!" So there are some lovely people to meet while there.

In the end, my experience of tubin' down the river for the first time was a success. I had a lot of fun and I didn't even get sunburnt. Actually, that fact is a mystery in and of itself because out of all of us, I was the one with glow in the dark skin and I was the only one not to get burnt. As the day went on you could see skin colors slowly turn red (or purple in some cases), but mine stayed the same. This isn't because I'm immune to sunburns or that I put more sunscreen on than everyone else, so I guess my skin just likes to absorb the light and become whiter. Yay for no skin cancer.

I'll have to try to go back one day before I leave...so if you're in the valley hit me up & let's go ASAP. I'll drive, you pay :) Just kidding.

three weeks

2008-05-28T15:16:00.003-07:00

Until I hop on a plane & leave for New York. I'm very excited, yet kinda overwhelmed at all I have to do before I leave. Not only do I have to pack & figure out what I'm going to take (not to mention how it's gonna get there), I have a lot of organizing & cleaning to do. There are a few junk rooms that have been on my to-do list for awhile now & it's my goal to get them done before I leave.

Also, every day I keep finding out more things that I'm gonna miss out on while I'm gone. Here's the list so far:

-Breaking Dawn release (I wanted to get it at midnight. Insert sad face here)
-The Dark Knight premiere (Again, another midnight thing)
-Many birthdays including my sister's, mom's, Bayleigh's, and my friend Virginia's
-So You Think You Can Dance. Only one of the best shows ever
-Our family 4th of July BBQ. At least I'm assuming. Holiday BBQ's are always the best
-Lots of blogging & using of the internet. This will probably be a good thing though
-Texting. My phone won't get service there

Ok, so the list is shorter than I thought. But some of those things are pretty big deals!

However, on the flip side I'll also be enjoying things that (hopefully) trump what I'm missing out on. So...ya that's all I have to say. I never know how to end my posts.

quote of the day

2008-05-27T17:29:00.004-07:00

"Is a brain considered a vegetable?"
-Cassie Jorgensen

Wow.

Ok, so this is how the quote came to be. My sister Cassie was playing 20 questions with one of these:

I don't know if any of you have seen or used this, but it's supposedly able to guess anything you can think of. You're supposed to think of an object and it asks questions like is it bigger than a breadbox, is it an animal, is it colorful, etc, and you answer with the little buttons. Well, cassie decided she was going to think of a brain as her object. One of the questions the ball asked was "Is it a vegetable?" And from there you get the quote. Ya. Explaining it really doesn't make it seem less ridiculous. But there you have it.

well, I survived

2008-05-22T16:12:00.004-07:00

You know, I used to think that those people on TV who were about to get some surgery were little babies for being afraid, but I was wrong. I was wrong. And a baby too. But my first time going under wasn't too bad! I didn't even have time to worry about what could go wrong because basically as soon as I sat down I was done. I didn't even go to sleep when I got home, and by four I was ready to go places and do stuff. I was gonna go to Indiana Jones but then decided not to, since I'm really not even a fan. Today is actually much more painful though. My jaw hurts like no other & I can't really eat anything. I sure hope it heals soon so I can eat solid food. Cuz I really want pizza.

(sidenote: Holy cow it's raining!!)

Anyway, so I'm still alive & I need your opinion. I found three super cute swimsuits that I want and I don't know which one to get. And of course they're all only available online (ugh). So here they are:

#1.

#2.

#3.

Let me know what you think!!

oh gosh

2008-05-20T23:26:00.005-07:00

Pray for me.

I'm about to have four gaping holes in my mouth in about 9 hours. Oh man saying that makes me even more scared. I don't wanna do it. Everyone keeps feeling the need to tell me all of their horror stories about when they got their wisdom teeth pulled & now I'm going to have nightmares. I don't wanna have a permanently numb jaw. Or tons of bleeding. Or worsened TMJ disorder. Or a recovery that lasts a week.

I guess I won't find out til tomorrow what lies ahead of me. Oh, & I'm really not completely scared. I'm so excited to get knocked out!! I've never done that before & I've always wanted to know what it's like.

Here's to hoping for a quick & easy procedure with a fast recovery!

(If you're about to get your wisdom teeth pulled & you're nervous about it, don't google "wisdom teeth" when looking for a picture. It'll just make things worse)

busy busy busy

2008-05-19T10:34:00.003-07:00

I'm school-less and jobless, yet I'm busier than I was when I had both. (Oh ya, for those of you who knew about the call center job: I quit it. I knew it would be a horrible job, but I didn't know it'd be to that extreme.)

Anyway, my life has been filled with eye exams, picking out glasses, dentist appointments, doctor visits, blood tests, cleaning, exercising, and working at my mom's classroom. The doctor visits & blood tests were for paperwork that I had to send to Camp Pontiac. It was a major pain, especially when the blood test basically was pointless. I already knew I was going to be anemic again.

The reason I was working at my mom's classroom is because she's basically paperwork impaired and I'm pretty good at it, so I helped save the day. Plus she paid me and I need money.

I finally decided to get new glasses & contacts too. I figured that having one eye with a contact from an old prescription & another eye with a contact from an even older prescription isn't a good idea. I also decided it was time to get glasses, since the last time I had gotten new ones was in 8th grade. I forgot how much of a pain it is to pick out new ones. And since this is the first time I've actually been able to see what I look like when I try them on (because I have contacts now), it makes me so much more indecisive.

The dentist visit is because I'm getting my wisdom teeth pulled Wednesday. Yay me. I was excited until they made me sign all of the papers telling about all of the things that go wrong. I'm worried now.

Anyway, those are the happenings in my life as of now. I'm broke as a......goat? I don't remember what animal is supposed to be said there. But whatever it is, I'm broke as it now because of all of these things.

Life is much too expensive. I don't like it.

dear universe,

2008-05-13T22:32:00.004-07:00

Would you please give me one of these?

My little hand mixer just doesn't get the job done. Also, I'd really like one of these:

I don't want to rush you, but I'm going to need it by Thursday. My awesome video relies on it. And while you're at it, I never did get one of these:

I'm not asking for the best, just better than my Kodak $80 one.

And while we're on a roll here, I could really use these:

And these:

My one little 9 inch pan just won't cut it. And since I have big plans, I'm going to need these asap.

Oh, and they can't be complete without these:

Yes, I will need all of them. I gotta be prepared!

(I wouldn't say no to a little boost in my checking account either. I'm just saying)

Please and thank you!

my latest obsession

2008-05-10T18:45:00.007-07:00

I often go through creative fads.

What happens is I suddenly get super inspired to do a certain creative project and it becomes all that I think about. I have grand illusions of all of the things that I will accomplish and I get extremely excited. This has happened with sewing, scrapbooking, latch-hooking, ceramic painting, quilting, jewelry making, interior decorating, song writing, and I'm sure even more that I can't think of right now. Some of these fads have had much success and have lasted for awhile, while others never got past the excitement stage. With all of them I get to the point where I realize how extremely limited I am in the creative genius department, so I get frustrated and lose the desire. But I'm hoping my latest one will be more than just a fad and will last forever. It's called: cooking.

It all started with homemade pizza. I was at a friend's house & they were having it for dinner, and when I tried some I was shocked at how much I liked it. Right then I knew I would have to try making it on my own. So the day came when I was ready to try it out, but we didn't have all of the ingredients. Then I figured that if I was gonna go to the store then I might as well get ingredients for the rest of the week, but I didn't have recipes. And then on and on down the slippery slope I went. I made other delicious things such as bread, cheese crisps with homemade tortillas, a chicken rice bake casserole, and rolls (oh, the pizza turned out fabulously-super tasty).

Then I realized the world of possibilites that was at my fingertips: cookies, cakes, breads, pies, casseroles - all waiting to be made by me. I wanted to learn everything that I could. Then today I watched the food network for about, oh, a million hours. One show was a competition to make a candy & chocolate castle, and it led me to my next creative desire: cake decorating. This isn't completely new because I've had the desire in the back of my mind for awhile, but I haven't been prepared until now to try and learn how to do it. It's a lot more complicated than I realized, but I really want to become a pro. I made it my semi-realistic goal to make my own wedding cake. Don't laugh. I'm sure I'll have several years to perfect my skills. Here are the cakes that I want to make, ASAP:

(it's the cake in the corner, obviously)

I realize that this may be wishful thinking, but if I don't aim high then how will I ever accomplish my dreams??

Wish me luck in my new endeavors. I sure hope this one lasts.

two posts in one day

2008-05-07T17:29:00.003-07:00

I sure didn't know the blessings I'd receive when I signed up to get quotes in my inbox awhile back, but yet again LDS Gems has come through. Today & yesterday I've been feeling really bla, and it seems as if all of my anxious tendencies have been in full gear. My worries about starting my temporary call center job (I hate talking on the phone, with good reason), starting my New York job, plus a million more about life & all of the bad things that can happen have been getting the best of me. I took a nap today & as I was falling asleep I thought, "I really, really don't wanna wake up until all of these feelings have gone away." Of course that didn't happen. Sleep always sounds like such a great way to escape problems until you wake up again & the problems are still there. Well, being obsessive me, I decided to check to see if my grades have finally been posted so I logged into my asu account & saw that I had messages. I checked them, and found this quote:

"Fear not, I am with thee;
Oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God
and will still give thee aid.
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and
cause thee to stand, . . .
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent
hand."

This isn't anything new to me & I'm very familiar with the song it comes from, but it applies so perfectly to me right now. It's moments like these that make life pretty awesome.

Anyway, I'm just feelin the love right now & had to share!

in honor of mother's day

2008-05-07T14:56:00.001-07:00

Here is a video for your viewing entertainment

Enjoy.

worst. final. ever.

2008-05-05T14:19:00.006-07:00

Today was my last day of finals. I should be celebrating, right? I would, but I just don't feel very celebratory. Today was my math final & it was the worst out of all of them, for several reasons. It left me with a bla feeling. The reasons are as follows.

1. The room was extremely cramped & I had a teeny little desk to write on. Because the desks were pushed together so tightly, when I leaned forward to write my head was basically an inch from the back of the person in front of me.

2. My math professor is completely insane. When I'm working on something that needs a lot of concentration, I don't want interruptions. I kid you not, my professor interrupted with completely pointless & repetitive announcements at least 15 times. He said things like, "first go through and do the easy ones, then go back to the hard ones." Somewhat useful, but if we're in college then I'm pretty sure we all know that little trick already. & it doesn't need to be repeated 3 more times throughout the rest of the test taking time. Also, and this is the kicker, there was a misprint on one of the pages and instead of just telling us what it was, he went through one by one and corrected each of our papers. While we were working on the test. And for each person he said in a not very quiet voice "turn to page 10 please, yes, that's squared, & squared, so 16". For every person. In a tight little cramped room that magifies noise. And, once he was done correcting every paper, he said, "I'll write it on the board". And he wrote the same correction on the board, with very noisy chalk. I was ready to pull my hair out & slap someone in the face.

3. My mind blanked. A lot. Math isn't something I can really study for because when I'm remembering how to do certain problems it makes sense & I can do it, but then when it's combined with a bunch of other stuff I mix things up & get confused. I usually am ok though because my past math professors have been kind & told me what sections to study so I don't waste my time filling my head up with useless information, but not Mr. Fulman. (It might be Dr. Fulman but I really don't care). He said that we're supposed to know all of it, even though it all wouldn't be on the test. So of course the things I really needed to know I hadn't spent much time on, and the useless things I did.

I know these things are nothing in comparison to worthwhile problems, but it still irked me very much.

Ok, now that I'm done complaining I can celebrate.

Woooooo finals are over!! No more school for 3 months!!

recent discoveries

2008-05-02T19:42:00.003-07:00

energy drinks give me migraines
not being stressed during finals season makes life really quite enjoyable
$1 nail polish can be pretty dang amazing
Pam & I both need to get a new pair of glasses. Ours are pretty outdated
I really like driving. Lately anyway
I hate the process of exercise. I hate how time consuming it is, I hate getting all sweaty, I hate having to get dressed to go to the gym, I hate the feeling of running, I hate having to take a shower even though I already took one that day, I hate being painfully sore, & I hate how it takes about 345224 trips to see real results. And to think I wondered all this time why I can never get myself to stick it out
even though I hate exercising, I love the feeling I have when I'm all done & showered. I feel accomplished
having freshly shaved legs makes me feel skinnier. Sorry if that sounds weird. I'm a weird person
summer always comes at the perfect time
nachos from Taco Bell are extremely delicious
heartburn is my new arch nemises
Disney sends emails promoting SoapNet. It's true, I got an email from them about it just now

finals tomorrow

2008-05-01T20:50:00.005-07:00

But my brain's already on summer vacay.

This is not good.

I'm one who stresses out majorly about tests, especially cumulative ones, and I'm sooo not stressing right now.

Usually that would be a good thing, but it's my stressing that's gotten me the good grades I have now, so I dunno how tomorrow's gonna go.

We'll see.

On a sidenote, who can guess what I typed into google to get this image?? 5 dollars to whoever can guess it correctly. (disclaimer: prize subject to $5 shipping fee)

surprisingly entertaining.

2008-04-28T16:53:00.004-07:00

For all you bubble wrap lovers, go here.

It's surprisingly addicting and satisfying.

It kept me entertained for at least a good 10 minutes, & I suggest doing it in manic mode.

Check it out.

just your typical questionaire

2008-04-25T22:03:00.002-07:00

I've seen this questionaire floating around for quite awhile now and usually when that's the case I avoid doing it, but I'm feeling bandwagony today. I was gonna change the common number from 5 to 7 so it'd be a little different, but then I realized that'd just be more work for me. So here's the copied, boring version that everyone else has done:

10 years ago:
I was 10. Let's see, that would mean I was in...4th grade. I was friends with Todd Gardner, my first big crush, and Dallin Pew. One time Todd & I were line leaders & there was a class of 6th graders that was about to cross in front of us, meaning that we'd have to stop and wait for them to pass, so he said, "Let's run so we can beat them!" Well, of course I ran with him and when we got to the classroom my teacher yelled at me and said I made the whole class run to catch up, & I had to stay in for recess. Did Todd get in trouble? Of course not. Now that I think about it, I had to stay in for a lot of recesses during elementary.

5 things on my to-do list today:
1. considering the day's almost over...sleep
2. maybe watch an episode of friends
3. check my e-mail
4. brush my teeth
5. take out my contacts

I enjoy:
NOT having homework, watching entire seasons of TV in one weekend, learning new things, having something to be excited about-however small it may be, people playing with my hair, back scratches, adventure, finding out my grades, the feeling I get after I'm done taking a test, having a strong internet connection, long texting conversations, warm showers, sleep, cuddling with buster man, eating, hanging out with my family.

5 Snacks I enjoy:
1. rice krispie treats
2. hostess cupcakes
3. goldfish
4. cookies
5. warm, soft, yet slightly crunchy, french bread

What would I do if I were suddenly made a millionaire: it'll be obvious from my answers that I'm definitely a PRE-business student, cuz it's all gonna be wrong from a finance point of view. Hopefully by the time I graduate I'll know how to invest it, etc., but I have no idea as of now so I'll give the basic lame answers. Travel, tithing (although I gotta admit, it'd be hard for me to give up $100,000 for tithing), house, clothes, lasik eye surgery, personal trainer, pay off car, teeth fixing, some to mom & sisters, some way to give back to the community in a way that will keep giving back (not just a lame charity), savings.

5 Places I have lived:
1. some townhouse until I was 2 - Mesa, AZ
2. My current residence, bedrooms 1, 2, 3 & 4 - Mesa, AZ
3. Cholla Apartment Dorms (4 days) - Tempe, AZ
4. My current residence, bedroom 4 - Mesa, AZ
5. My current residence, bedroom 5 - Mesa, AZ

5 jobs I've had (or will have):
1. Target, baby. Cashier/Guest Service. 1.8 years
2. Some telemarketing place. Newspaper Saleswoman. 1.5 weeks
3. Mervyns. Cashier. 3.2 months
4. U.S. Advisors group. Title Unknown. (I think receptionist? Maybe data entry? Or just a secretary? I really don't know) 1.33 years
5. Camp Pontiac. General Camp Counselor. 8 weeks

5 things people don't know about me:
1. I'm obsessive about checking e-mail, mail, myspace, facebook, or blogger for new messages or comments if I'm expecting something. The thought of getting a package or message makes me SUPER happy and it becomes all I think about. When I was waiting to find out if I was an extra I probably checked my email 6 times that day. & I've been waiting impatiently for my packet of information from Camp Pontiac to arrive in the mail, but it hasn't yet! Waking up knowing it might come gets me all excited, and then I just get disappointed when I see that it hasn't come. I'm like a 5 year-old.

2. I can make myself cry. I've never done it to try to make someone believe I actually was crying though. I'd feel too bad if I did.

3. I've never broken a bone. I used to want a wrist cast though, cuz it was the least inhibiting but still looked cool & could be signed. Now I realize that I'm very lucky that I haven't. When you're young you don't think about things like the fact that you still have to take showers, & that you can't go swimming with them.

4. I'm HORRIBLE at geography. Always have been, always will be.

5. I used to strongly dislike cats, but now that one adopted us I've come to (basically) like them. One day a cat showed up at our door meowing at us, and eventually my mom started leaving food out for her. Of course I avidly told her not to because I knew it would never leave us alone after that, but she didn't listen. It eventually turned into the cat coming inside every once and while, and then coming in at nights, and now it's basically our cat. We have cat food, a litter box & everything. I'm pretty sure she knows how to use the doggy door too. None of us have agreed on a name but I call her Misty. She really is a sweetie, & it's SOOO cute to see how Buster acts around her. He hates dogs, but he likes her. She was declawed, well-mannered & litter box trained too. We'll see how long we keep her.

5 bad habits:
1. eating ice when I know that my jaw should be refraining from such strain
2. spending too much time on the internet
3. PROCRASTINATION
4. ignoring my health for the tastiness of junk food
5. waiting until the absolute last second to leave for places, so I'm usually late. I hate it.

celebration

2008-04-20T07:56:00.003-07:00

I was planning on waiting a few days to post again because it seems as if I've had an explosion of them lately, but I just couldn't help myself. I have reasons to celebrate.

Reason #1:
I went to my cousin Valerie's wedding reception last night! She looked beautiful and happy, and he seems like a pretty awesome guy. Plus, I absolutely love weddings. And I got to hang out with my family & cousins.

Reason #2:
I caught the bouquet!

(notice how all that remains of one of the flowers is a stubby middle? Ya, that's how I roll. I don't just catch, I fight for them)

Reason #3:
Catching this means that I'm 3 for 3 in terms bouquet snatching! Ever since my other cousin's wedding a year & a few months ago I've caught every bouquet I've tried for. This does not mean I'm trying to hurry & get married. It just means I have a love for flowers & winning things.

Reason #4:
I GET TO BE AN EXTRA IN A MOVIE!!
Ok, so that sounds like a bit of an over-reaction considering I'm just going to be an extra & most likely not shown in the movie, but wait for the rest.
The stars are Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live), Carmen Ejogo (Lackawanna Blues), Toni Collette (Little Miss Sunshine, The Sixth Sense) AND JOHN KRASINSKI. For those of you who don't know, which you should, that's Jim from The Office. Remember how I'm totally in love with him? Ya. I am. I'm sure my excitement from when I found out they were looking for extras & from when I found out I WAS an extra would have scared most of you.
I really don't even know if I'll be near him, or if he'll even be in the scenes I'll be an extra for, but I don't care. The fact that I'll be an extra for HIS movie & see how it's filmed will be the coolest thing ever. I've always wanted to be on a movie set.

So, those are the exciting things that happened yesterday! It was a good day.

i'm officially very upset. very.

2008-04-19T15:40:00.003-07:00

For about 3 years now I've been trying as hard as I could to grow my hair out. I tried all of the tactics I could.
I minimized greatly the use of my straightener.
I always used the lowest heat setting when blowdrying it.
I invested in many different types of conditioners and shampoos, many of which are the "professional" kind.
I bought biosilk.
I ONLY got trims.
I cut my hair approximately every 4 months, grudgingly, because I was told it'd make it grow faster.
I tried taking Omega-3 fatty acid supplements.
And still, it never seemed to grow. I always had split ends, and I always felt like it was still unhealthy.
I kept telling myself, Amy, it's just in your head that it's not growing. It's just because you see yourself everyday, so it probably is getting longer.
But now I have proof.
As I was browsing through pictures of myself I came across some that were taken nearly one year ago. And my hair was LONGER THAN IT IS NOW!
I could cry.
Here's the proof that my hair has indeed been shrinking:

July, 2007

April, 2008

Isn't it way longer before?? This upsets me greatly! I really want long hair, and it seems I've hit a year-long plateau.
I'm gonna go cry now.
Or possibly steal someone's extensions.
Whatever works

just what I needed

2008-04-18T10:55:00.004-07:00

Just now while I was procrastinating studying for the math test I have to take soon and being in denial about it, I checked my email and found this quote in my inbox:

"Study and prepare for your life's work in a field that you enjoy, because you are going to spend a good share of your life in that field. . ..

"Have discipline in your preparations. Have checkpoints where you can determine if you're on course.

"I hope that you are not afraid of tough classes. I never did have a 'cinch' class. I hope that you are not afraid of lengthy periods of preparation. Burn the midnight oil. Don't procrastinate like my older sister, who after a late date rationalized, 'I have a test tomorrow, but I am weary. What is more important, my health or my test? Aha, my health! I need my sleep.' So she slept. I won't say what happened to the test.

"You simply have to apply yourself. I hope that you want to be so well equipped that you can compete in this competitive world. I hope that you will learn to take responsibility for your decisions, whether they be in your courses of study which you elect to take, or whether they be in the direction of the academic attainments which you strive to achieve.

"Should you become discouraged or feel burdened down, remember that others have passed this same way; they have endured and then have achieved. When we have done all that we are able to do, we can then rely on God's promised help."

-Thomas S. Monson

I think I'll study now :)

and the winner is...

2008-04-16T22:21:00.004-07:00

I've made my decision, and I've decided I'm going to work at Camp Pontiac.
This is the one that's in Copake, New York. It's basically official! I just need to buy my plane ticket & send in the contract.
Here are the details about the camp:

It's located in the Berkshire Mountains in NY
I will be gone from June 19-Aug 17, and this includes a one week orientation and a 7 week camp session.
Every camper is signed up for just one session, so I will be with the same kids the whole summer.
We will go to places like Six Flags, bowling, movies, etc.
There are about 500-600 campers, ages 7-16
It's going to be LOTS of fun
You can go to http://www.camppontiac.com/ to see pictures & learn more about it, if you wish.

I'm really nervous about it, but I know it's going to be an amazing opportunity.
I mean, I'm going to be living in NEW YORK for two months!
It's going to be a lot of hard work looking after kids 24.7, but I'm going to love it. I really love kids and I can't wait to work with them.
I went to a mission prep class on Sunday because my friend who's thinking about going on a mission wanted to go, and I was basically blown away.
I had absolutely no expectations, but I gained a whole different perspective on what this work experience will be like.
I'm going to be working really closely with about 150 people my age, and that class made me realize that I can be an example and a missionary to them.
I really hate preaching religion to other people, but if the opportunity arises I want to know how to handle it.
I really want to make a difference in the campers' and the other staff members' lives because of what I know, and I can't wait.

Here's to an awesome, rewarding, fun summer at Camp Pontiac! Oh, and if any of you reading this are in college, at least 18, and have completed your freshman year, then I highly suggest you also apply to work at a summer camp!

food problems.

2008-04-16T21:51:00.005-07:00

I've been having really weird cravings lately.
(No I'm not pregnant)
Cravings that are hazardous to my health.
I never thought I was a stress-eater, but oh man am I ever.
Lately when I have a stressful thought, I automatically crave a dr. pepper from a gas station and some sort of sugarness REALLY badly.
Why a gas station? Because I need the plastic cup, tasty ice, and straw. No bottles & cans for me. At least not lately.
And it has to be combined with some kind of hostess cupcake or rice krispy treat.

(me enjoying the tasty ice from QT, my gas station of choice)

I can't explain the happiness that comes when the thought of getting those items enters my mind. It gets me in a really good mood.
But I can feel myself slowing down mentally and physically because of this horrible habit, so I need to change it. It's so hard though!
I need to be on the Biggest Loser. I think they should have one for people that aren't exactly overweight, but need to get healthy.

Since that won't happen, I'm just going to have to try to motivate myself on my own. I CAN do it! Yes I can. I'm going to make a change. Woo!

Jimmy....we LO-OVE you

2008-04-14T22:32:00.006-07:00

Let us all have a moment of silence to admire the love of my life for just a second

Ok.
Why must he have this affect on me? The least he could do is be real. I mean is that too much to ask? Go ahead and make fun. Everyone else does. But someday I will find my Jim, and I'll be the one laughing then!

Here's the picture I've had for awhile as the background on my phone. It's a great feeling to see a smiling Jim give me a thumbs up everyday. Makes my day everytime.

I really am truly sorry for the complete lack of interesting posts. They've all seemed to revolve around TV (like The Office) or my camp decision. I guess that's because those are the only interesting things happening in my life lately. I'm pretty sure I've reached a decision about which camp I will be working at, but you'll have to stay tuned because it's not official yet :).

I'm also in need of a temporary job that will last from May until the middle of June. Any ideas? Do you think the bank would hire me on, train me, let me leave for two months, and then come back in August? That would be ideal. I think I'm ready to work at the bank now. I guess I'll have to check out my options! Other ideas are also greatly appreciated. Thanks a million.

ahhhhhhhhhh HELP ME

2008-04-10T14:45:00.008-07:00

I don't know why I've been posting so much, especially since it's not like my blog is a hotspot or very entertaining, but I have a dilemma. For the one or two of you that read this, please help. Even if you're a stalker or wanderer!! See this as an opportunity to come forward. I expect every single person who reads this to comment. Even if you're a weirdo. (Preferrably not an old, balding, male weirdo though. You can stay away)

Like I said previously, I'm planning to work at a residential camp this summer. I've narrowed down my camp choices to three, and I have no idea where to go from there. Oh, and they're all about 2 hours from New York City. Ok, there's one camp in Connecticut that I want to go to the most and was basically told I have a job there. They go to six flags twice (insert angels singing here), the general counselor positi0n means I'd be able to participate in all of the activities too (insert angels singing again), but it pays the least (insert devils laughing). And I mean way least. But the guy I talked to for the interview was soooooo nice and helpful.

There's another camp in New York that has AMAZING facilities, looks beautiful, has great programs, and is pretty similar to the aforementioned camp, but it pays only a little more and the website isn't completely thorough. She told me they go places like six flags and bowling too (insert angels singing, yet again), but I guess it's not completely clear to me how it works. I should have written it down, dang it. I basically already told them I'd work there too, but it's not official. Oh, and the girl I talked was also suuuuuuper friendly and nice.

Then there's the third camp in Pennsylvania. They go on awesome trips, they have a TON of daily activities that seem waaaay fun, and....that's about it. The program set up isn't as nice because there are lots of different sessions to choose from so kids are constantly coming and going. I'd rather work at a camp that has just one session or two equal sessions, which is what the other two camps are like. But this camp pays the most, plus the counselor's get gratuities. This means I'd have the possibility of earning over $1000 more than the other camps. But then again, it's just a possibility. And the interviewer wasn't as nice. I mean he was nice, but the conversation was much more awkward and scary than the other two. I felt super happy after the other two interviews but I felt confused & that I had a speech impediment after this one. But ONE THOUSAND MORE DOLLARS!

The bottom line is this. Basically all of them have told me without telling me that I'm hired. So I either go with the money and possible happiness, or I go with something that fits me the best but pays not very much. When you're a poor girl like me money really matters, but I don't wanna choose that and have an ok summer when I could have an amazing one. This is when I need my crystal ball. Does anyone happen to have one lying around? Ahhhh I should never give myself choices. It only complicates things. Please help and tell me what to do.

kthanks.

and they're back

2008-04-10T10:56:00.005-07:00

Behold, the very first night I will be able to watch the Office with the rest of the world. Never before has this momentous occasion happened. You see, I started watching the office for the first time after the writer's strike, which was better for me because I was able to watch them all when I wanted to with no breaks. But now I get to experience a new episode just as early as everyone else.

Plus I have two more of my shows to watch tonight, including Miss Guided (except that it wasn't on!! Geez) and the American Idol kick-off show.

Have I mentioned how much I love DVR? Because it saves my life. Thank you, Mom, for letting me exchange my picture texting abilities for this wonderful gift.

(Sidenote: is Sheriff *insert Maricopa sheriff's name here* the only person that drives a car that says Sheriff on it? If so then I saw him hiding behind a truck in the middle of Stapley today, and I'm a little disappointed that I didn't ram my car into him. Oh well, maybe next time.)

update

2008-04-07T08:41:00.003-07:00

Holy cow. So, I probably won't be working at the CA camp, because six camps have contacted me saying they're interested in me!! I posted a resume type thing onto a camp staff website, but I didn't think anyone would reply. Plus, I applied at two different camps and one replied asking to set up a phone interview. Most of the camps are in either Pennsylvania or New York, and one is in Wisconsin. This is crazy! I had no idea I'd have to choose which one to go to. I thought I'd have to apply to a bunch and maybe one would be interested. This just makes it so much harder to decide what to do!

darn internet browser

2008-04-05T19:05:00.003-07:00

You know what makes me just super happy? Filling out a blasted application online for an hour and then having it magically disappear. Yes, the browser really did magically disappear. I went to erase a sentence that I didn't particularly like, and bam. It was gone. No warning, nothing. Gaaaaahhh. Someone should just consider themself lucky that I hadn't finished the About Me section. Speaking of which, I also get super happy trying to desribe myself, my experience working with children, my camp experience, any leadership experiences I've had, and why I'm the best person to be hired. Doesn't that sound pleasant? The reason for this is because I'm trying to work as a camp counselor this summer. There's a camp in particular that I REAAAALLY want to work at, and it's in CA and I'd live there for about 10 weeks. It pays over $3000 for the summer, plus room & board, food, and travel expenses. I think I'd be in heaven if I was selected, but in order to get to that point I first have to answer the above questions, and I really dislike talking about myself and how I'm soooo amazing. It will all be worth it if I get the job. So pray to the camp gods that I'll get chosen!

i'm sorry

2008-04-05T18:35:00.003-07:00

But I feel another blog template change comin' on. I don't know what drives me nuts more: constantly changing my design or not being satisfied with the one I have. I just need to stop looking at it. Goodness.

I found these...

2008-04-02T19:30:00.006-07:00

And I like them, so now they're added to my collection of thoughts that I like.

"When things go wrong as they sometimes will

When the road you're trudging seems all up hill

When funds are low and the debts are high

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh

When care is pressing you down a bit

Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is strange with its twists and turns

As everyone of us inevitably learns.

And many a failure turns about

When he might have won had he stuck it out:

Don't give up though the pace seems slow -

You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out -

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.

And you never can tell how close you are.

It may be near when it seems so far:

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit

It's when things seem worst that you must not QUIT."

-Author unknown

"If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary"

-Jim Rohn

a recommendation

2008-03-28T20:32:00.004-07:00

For those of you who haven't seen or heard of it, I highly recommend you check out the show Miss Guided. It airs on ABC at 7 & 7:30 on Thursday nights.

Pretty much all you need to know about the premise is that it's about a guidance counselor who works at a high school. It's cute, fun and has a quirky sense of style. It has the typical comedy format, but throws in documentary style talking heads with perfect comedic timing. It even has a romance that's very reminiscent of the Jim/Pam story, but this time it's the girl who's crushing. It takes a few episodes to really get into it and it's not one that'll make you beg for more, but it's definitely an entertaining watch. Plus, it beats about 70% of the shows that are out there.

i don't get it

2008-03-26T22:00:00.003-07:00

What in the heck is up with these being everywhere now?

I'm sick of finding what I think is a super cute swimsuit only to realize it's one of these, yet again.

They've taken over the one-pieces. How could anyone think they're flattering? They're not.

Thank goodness for tankinis.

a sad, sad addiction.

2008-03-24T18:54:00.002-07:00

It's a really sad day when watching American Idol is the highlight of my TV watching week.
Thanks a lot, Brooke.
But that's not all. As I thought about all of the shows I watch, I realized I'm a horrible person. It's because of people like me that all of those stupid reality shows stay on the air. I say I hate them, which I do, but I watch them. All of them. Heck, I'm pretty sure I'll watch the one where Paris finds a new bff (I know this because I've been to the website where you can vote for who gets on the show). I hold my head in shame.
These are basically the only shows that I watch lately, and you should see what I mean:
Oprah's Big Give (go ahead, make fun of me)
Here Come the Newlyweds (LOVE it)
American Idol. Both nights. All the way through. Even if it's DVR'ed
Plus more that I watch occasionally.
Some of my favorites of the past that I NEVER missed an episode of include America's Next Top Model cycle 7, The search for the next Pussycat Doll, So You Think You Can Dance season 3, Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann, American Idol season 3, Making the Band 3 seasons 1-3, Laguna Beach season 2, The Hills seasons 1-2, and there was a period where I was an avid watcher of the Game Show Network.
Why am I admitting these unforgiveable acts? I don't know. Maybe I can help some poor victim of this harsh world of reality TV. Just remember, you're not alone. Help is possible. Remedies may include watching shows such as The Office, Chuck, Prison Break and many others to make you realize the heiness-ness of reality TV.
One day I will be able to give it up. But for now, I'll just have to live with the burden of knowing I'm a reality-ite.

HIL-ARIOUS

2008-03-22T19:06:00.005-07:00

To get the full effect you have to watch the whole thing.

It's in a different language, but that that won't stop you from understanding it.

Enjoy. I know I did.

it's a boy!!

2008-03-21T19:23:00.004-07:00

My sister Melanie is having a little baby boy!!

I get to be an aunt finally!!

She's been trying for a long time, and ever since she finally got pregnant I've been impatiently waiting to find out if it'll be a boy or a girl, and I finally know!!

Time to go baby clothes shopping!

woot

2008-03-17T21:22:00.004-07:00

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY LIL' MISS RED!

Exactly one year ago today I adopted this little beauty, and we've both been very happy ever since.

In the year that I've had her, I've:

put on 10578 miles
gotten three oil changes
washed her ~about~ 4 times
cracked the windshield once
gone on my first road trip WITHOUT an "adult"
gotten in zero accidents
gotten zero tickets
jinxed myself twice
and had immeasurable amounts of fun

So guess what I did to celebrate?? ...drumroll please...

I went sixty in a 45 mph zone!!

This is a big deal.

My middle name is basically Never-goes-more-than-5-over-EVER. There are two reasons for this, A) when I got my ticket awhile ago ~so not fair~ they told me I have to go 2 years without another ticket or else I'll have no choice but for it to go on my permanent record. The word permanent scares me. B) I've been driving illegally for the past year & was afraid I'd get sent to jail if I ever got pulled over. When I bought my baby I lost my registration somehow, and I never got proof of insurance. So I'm pretty sure they'd think I was driving a stolen car and send me STRAIGHT to jail no questions asked. But that's all changed now that it's that time again to order a new registration, so I feel like a free woman. Plus, the fact that it's almost been two years ticket free helps.

This is the start of something good

(don't you agree?)

Don't worry, I'm sure I won't be brave enough to go 60 again and I'll most likely just stick to hovering above 50, so you won't have to worry about one more crazy driver.

that's all. adios

P.S. happy st. patty's!