". . . .After the Boys of summer have gone!"- Don Henley

Wow! It's September 1st! which for some reason to me means summer is over! Now, it's still hot outside, I don't start school for another 3 weeks, and according to my calendar September 21st is the legitimate final day of summer, but when ever August is officially over, I feel the need to break out my bulky grey sweater, start stalking up on pencils and glue, or run out side and jump into a pile of leaves. You are still so far away Autumn equinox, and yet in my head you are already here!

My plans for the summer consisted of making as much money as possible and getting a wicked tan lounging by Grandma Earl's pool. . . . like everyday!

. . . . .I accomplished none of these things!

But it wasn't a total loss. . . I wouldn't say my summer was uneventful, it had some ups and downs but all in all I tried new thing, made memories with good friends, and maybe learned a life lesson or two!

I now present to you "Summer 2009". . . in pictures!

School got out the middle of June and a week after All the new ASB Officers headed up to Leavenworth for a little retreat, to start planning for the up and coming school year, kicked things off by going rafting, and if you remember from the pictures I posted before, it was an enjoyable experience for me. We stayed at Trailhead Lodge and was glorious!

We did get a lot of planning done, we also got a lot of eating done, in fact that was pretty much all

we did, eat. . . . plan. . . .eat. . . . plan. . . .eat. . . . plan. . . .Hot Tub. . . .sleep! I loved it!

Here's the whole gang together starting from left to right we got our Pub Man CJ Hatch, El Presidente Rhoan Ashby, Me "The Programming Director", Secretary Rhen Ashby (soon to be Forrestor) VP Jeff Ranstrom, and our Treasurer Devin Peterson!

This is my official ASB Shot for our poster!

Angie's B-day followed shortly after and I was lucky enough two check two things off the life list

One being to finally see "Rent" on the stage! All my buddies and I fell in love with the movie when we saw it in the dollar theatre in Rexburg, and I couldn't wait to see it on the big stage. Man it did not disappoint, and the best part ever was it featured two guys that originated the lead roles when it first came out. . . Mr. Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp reprising their roles as Roger and Mark. Needless to say I was in Heaven!!!

Number two was I got a picture with these Fabulous ladies!!!!

I have a love for Drag Queens that I can't explain, maybe it's the sequins and the shoes. . . I don't know!

Also we had spa time which was a joyous occasion for all. . . you know what else is joyous the great hair day Michelle and I are having in this shot! PSYCH!

Random Pic Michelle took of me!

I lost a job


I got a job!

4th of July I went Jet Skiing for the first time!

Angie's Uncle Jeff and Aunt Becky invited us over for the holiday and they let me cruise around on this nifty toy. . . it was super fun. . . . even Angie and I tag teamed it. . . .which doesn't make us look like lesbians at all so don't even worry about it!

The Moment I had been waiting for almost a year went down mid July.

One of my Besties from High School and College Lacey Martin came to ML for her Grandmother's 90th Birthday along with her little sister Cassie and I was able to spend everyday with her while she was here and it was so Awesome! It's like we fell right back into our usual groove, and it was just like old times! This was probably the highlight of my summer, wait I take that back it WAS the highlight of my summer! Here's a few shots from the random things we did.

G-Ma's B-day at Craig and Kathleen Duvall's

The Scenic View near Vantage

Riding real horses at the Wild Horse Monument!

Taking in the sunset at the Stake Center after FHE

Cassie and Lacey Martin, Me, then Jill and Anne Baker!

One of my favorite summer activities is the Laser Light Show at the Grand Coulee Dam, the show has been the same since 1981, but every time I hear Neil Diamonds "America" come across the speakers and images of people migrating west flash over the water. . . .well a tear comes to my eye!

This is Qiana's BFF Clinton and I playing some cards waiting for it to get dark!

That's totally the Dam behind me!

No worries kids, I did get some pool time in here and there. On an occasional Saturday Angie, Baby, and I could be found chillin' out maxin' relaxin all cool!

"Q" loved the pool and it was way fun playing with her in the water!

I got attacked by this little monster. . . fortunately Angie came to my rescue!

I also hit up a couple Pool Party's at the Baker Residence. . . that was super!

I spent a good chunk of my summer with the Quincy crew, which was always a good time! My buddy Kelly Hodges is a Pro at making things fun, and this summer I owe a lot of good memories to him!

Sam Reynolds, Jocelyn Hodges, Me, and Eric Hull takin' in yet another beautiful sunset over the lake!

Mr. Hodges, Sam, and I hitting up Moses Pointe Stake House for the greatest dessert ever, the Half Baked Cookie!

I vowed I wouldn't, but attempted Paint Ball one more time, and this time I'm dead serious, i will not do this again, because you know what hurts even worse then getting hit in the butt. . . oh yeah that's getting hit in the boob! Thanks Kelly! nice shot!

after many attempts, I finally got to go boating with my Q-Town possie, and it was as intense as I thought it would be, I totally got rocked, and my innards were not excited about what I was doing to them! Good times none the less!

Here's my crew on the lovely Columbia River! We got Joce, Dustin Peterson aka Pete, Christina Cox, Adam Ottley, Jill Piercy, and of course "The Hodge" himself

Me and Joce getting ready to roll! I'm totally lookin' forward to what is about to happen, can you tell?

Joce and Kelly being adventurous and jumping off the boat full speed! Totally safe!

This is my favorite picture of Kelly EVER! The life jacket was super cold!

Captain Ottley steering the ship!

Kelly asked me to tag along as he ran to Seattle for some errands and we had a nice bonding moment sharing our favorite jams on our ipods and just talking about life, we stopped in Kittitas and took in this little tourist attraction!

There are hundreds of these windmills and they cost millions of dollars and give us mediocre amounts of power, so I was told by my tourist guide Kelly! On clear days they make for an incredible shot of the Columbia Basin though, that was our main purpose for stopping by.

Not so clear, but oh well

I don't think my life would be complete without an opportunity to dress up. Angie and her brother Jared put together an Amazing Race activity for her family reunion and asked me if I could help out, I got stationed at the Japanese Gardens so naturally I dressed up as a Geisha to really add some authenticity to the game. Any who, I'd like to say I've never had so many funny looks, but that wouldn't be true, so maybe top five would be more appropriate!

Then to top things off I hit up the Grant County Fair for my favorite events. the Demo Derby and the Rodeo, all of which did not disappoint! and this year my Mom let me time cars in the anouncers booth during the actual demolition part of the derby, so yeah that was a pretty big deal!

This summer was full of adventures some bad, some good, but either way I have nothing to complain about, I had plenty of good times, and that's all I can ask for!

I am so excited for the fall, I really love my new ASB Job, mainly because I get to plan fun activities, and I can't wait to see what this next year has in store!

Hope your summer was Super Sweet!

Peace out!

"It's like Deja-vu, all over again"- Yogi Berra

Lately I've noticed a trend, and it has me concerned. . . . . . . Does anyone notice anything similiar about these pictures?

I hope I do more then just chill with Miss Qi Qi in the corner of the couch!

On another note, I would also like to make it known how much I love the Q, and how it's been so much fun watching her grow. . . . I love that I get to be around for that! She is a Blessing, indeed!

Peace!

"It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.” - Joseph Joubert

Hello my dearly loved friends in the blogosphere! I am calling on you today to settle a little debate!

I know I said I wasn't going to talk about it, but I think this issue needs to be addressed. . . .


I am currently employed at Safeway working at the Deli Counter. Now because I work around a TON of food, certain measures must be taken. I had to get my food handlers permit, something I haven't done since High School ( Aced the test in case you were wondering!) My hands are now starting to feel the effect of continual washing (Now I think I know how people with OCD feel!) I can no longer wear open toe'd shoes to work (my feet get closterphobic, so this one's pretty rough!) and probably the biggest issue at hand, I am required in order to keep my hair from landing in people's potatoe salad and or fried chicken to wear one of two options

A) The Hair Net

or

B) The Baseball Hat


here's the deal I don't like either of these options


I've never really been a baseball hat kind of girl, mainly because I have a big head and rarely did any of them fit me right. Also, they are more of a sport wear, and I am not sporty kind of girl!

Now the hair net, well do I really need to go into details about this? I figure if I rock the hair net why not slap a big fat hairy mole on my face, put some orthepedic shoes on and call me the lunch lady!


I have opted for the ball cap because in my opinion it is the lesser of two evils

recently some of my co-workers have tried to convince me otherwise, which sparks my topic for this blog


which do you think is worse. . . . the hair net or the baseball hat





Exhibit A. . . . me in the hat

My hair after the hat! AWESOME!!!!!!

Exibit B. . . The Net

"Everyone gets enough food down here in Lunch Lady Land"

Hoagies and grinders, Hoagies and Grinders, navy Beans, navy Beans, Meatloaf Sandwich. . . . sloppy joe's, slop, sloppy joes yeah!

See what I mean? Tough Choice. . . .right? I would like to take a vote, and see which you my good blogging buddies feel is my best option, I trust your opinion enough to take the winning choice into consideration!

Man I miss work I can do my hair for. . . . oh well a job's a job!

Peace Out!

"Thank You For the Music, The Songs I'm Singing, Thanks for all the Joy They're Bringing!"- Abba

I love talking about music, music makes me really excited, and I almost cannot fully express how influential music is in my life!

I've seen a lot of countdowns on most influential albums and there's been lots of talk lately (especially with the passing of Michael Jackson) on Artists that have impacted peoples lives and well that got me thinking.

So because of that I would now like to blog about albums that have rocked my world, and continue to rock my world to this day!

. . . . with that said I would like to preface with a warning to any music snobs in the house perusing this blog. I would venture to say you will not be very excited about the content of this post, often times the music that effects me most is that which has some kind of memory attached to it, or makes me feel something, which may not make it necessarily "good" music in the eyes of those who think they know, which is why this is MY most influential, and not THEE most influential. . . .what I'm really saying is don't judge me!

Billy Joel- An Innocent Man

on car trips with the family I recall listening to 4 artists and 4 artists only 1) Abba, 2) Oak Ridge Boys, 3) Air Supply and 4) Billy Joel. The former artists albums where all greatest hits discs, but not the later and as a matter of fact up until middle school, I thought Billy Joel only had one CD I had never even heard of "Piano Man". And while Piano Man and all the rest of his library is amazing and Billy Joel is one of my all time favorites. I'd have to say the An Innocent Man LP tops the cake for me because there isn't a bad song in the mix! I have that CD memorized from beginning to end. This is one of the albums I taught myself how to harmonize too. And I think I especially love it because it's one of the only musical works my entire family can agree on listening too. All the songs are my favorite but some you should definitely listen too are. . . .

"Uptown Girl"

"Tell Her About it"

and

"Leave a Tender Moment Alone"

Garth Brooks- In Pieces

When everyone else was going crazy for Grunge and Gangsta Rap I was massively immersed in my love for Country music and had big dreams of being a country music sensation. Artists like Garth Brooks and Reba McIntyre were my hero's! Garth Brooks "Ropin' the Wind" was my 2ND CD ever, but his "In Pieces" Album had the most influence on me, also because that's when he had that Madison Square Garden concert on TV and he was smashing guitars and flying through the air, showing the world what an incredible showman he was. This is another CD I can listen to from beginning to end.

My favorites. . . .

"Callin' Baton Rouge"


"Red Strokes"

"Kickin' and Screamin"

and "One Night a Day"



Alanis Morisette- Jagged Little Pill




Oh Alanis! I remember the first time I heard "You Oughtta Know" I saw the video on MTV and I thought I don't normally go for the rock music, but I'm a big fan of this. Then my sister got the Cd and I was converted. Alanis's angst really spoke to me for some reason (still not sure why, I didn't have much to be upset about), I don't know what it was about her yodely voice, angry lyrics and harmonica Solos, but I loved it, unfortunately I've never been satisfied with an Alanis album since, I've said it before and I'll say it again. . . I love my Morrisette MAD!!! Apparently Dave Coulier needs to mess her over again!






Tracks I can't get enough of. . . .


"All I Really Want"


"Perfect"


"Mary Jane"


and


"Not the Doctor"




Salt N Peppa- Very Necessary






I once told Angie that the first Hip Hop song I remember really loving was Fantastic Voyage by Coolio, and that was the song that converted me to Hip Hop (embarassing I know!), but in researching for this blog I came to realize that that song dropped in '94 while Shoop by Salt N Peppa came out in '93 and I LOVED that song! So I guess I stand corrected!




A lot of my friends had the Very Necessary album, I remember my old buddy Julie Stokes getting that in her Easter Basket and I was JEALOUS!!! I almost had my Mom convinced to buy it for me once, when we were shopping in Tri-Cities, but when she realized what kind of music it was she made me put it back. . . .that was a sad day. I still got to develop a love and appreciation for that disc thanks to Julie letting me secretly listen to it!


Best song ever

"None of Your Business!"


and you can't go wrong with


"Whatta Man"



Dixie Chicks - Fly






Even though I may not agree with their political views, I don't really care, the Dixie Chicks know how to make a record! not only was their album art super clever on this CD, but all the songs on that disc are emotional and tell so many great stories! This album makes me wanna wright songs!


Songs you should hear if you haven't. . . .


"Let Him Fly"


"Hole in My Head"


"Heartbreak Town"


"Cold Day In July"



Alicia Keys- As I Am







I did love Songs in A Minor (Keys first disc), and pretty much anything Alicia does I absolutely LOVE!!!!! But her last record I thought was BRILLIANT! Another CD that I find very inspiring! Makes me wish I would have stuck to the piano lessons! Oh well, coulda, woulda, shoulda!


Tracks you should download ASAP


"Wreckless Love"

"Lesson Learned"


and

"Superwoman"



Bette Midler- Experience the Divine





I believe I have mentioned before my love for The Divine Miss M, If I could re-live the career of anyone in the music industry it would be hers! She is the ultimate entertainer for me! This is another CD I constantly smuggled from my sister, and on several occasions I recall donning an old french maid dance costume of mine and choreographing my own tap routine to "Miss Otis Regrets", that song was my JAM!!!!



Others jams to listen too. . . .


"Boogie Woogie Buggle Boy"


"One for My Baby (One more for the road)"

and of course

"Friends"



Justin Timberlake- FutureSexLoveSounds





As said by Pharell himself "Justin Wohooohyeah!" I'm crazy for Mr. Timberlake! This is no surprise, and his last album I'm crazy for as well! If you haven't heard the slew of his hits from this record then you have seriously been living under a rock! A lot of soul and Justin's own skills as a song writer went into this album and that's why it tops my list!




Songs I would die without listening too. . . . . . .


"Losin' My Way"


"Another Song (All Over Again)"


"Until the End of Time"

and "Chop Me Up"




The

Miseducation of Lauryn Hill- Lauryn Hill





This album solidified my love for R&B, Lauryn Hill converted me! I got this album and never looked back. You just have to hear it to understand, everything I love about music is on this album!





"Nothing Even Matters (Duet With D'Angelo)"



"Tell Him"



"I Used to Love Him (Duet with Mary J. Blidge)"



and my favorite, favorite, favorite



"To Zion"







OK my friends, I'm curious about what records have uplifted, inspired, or entertained you! this is a safe place,you will not be judged. . . . to your face!







Peace Out!!!!