Arianne has honey on her face.
And is smacking her cheeks.
And laughing.
It's her new facial routine...... :)

I decided today that I am going to use the treadmill to watch shows on TV instead of sitting on the couch for an hour.  I turned on Netflix to watch Rat Race, but flipped it to the last season of Desperate Housewives that I never finished.... Bad idea.  I'm sobbing.  My favorite character died and then of course I had to watch the funeral on the next episode.

I'm saving up for a fall candle.  I just finished my raspberry one and can't decide what one to pick out at the store.  I'm really happy it's autumn!  The colors are my favorite, I get to wear boots, and a jacket and not have to complain to Zac that I'm cold (without it sounding stupid).  The sun going down sooner makes me a bit sad, but maybe that means waking up for work this winter won't be so hard.

Mom watched all the kids today.  I got home from work just as Sabrina was taking her kids.  Owen wouldn't get in the car before he could say goodbye to me.  It probably made my day :)

I'm going to make a homemade apple pie this weekend or maybe tomorrow... The apples on our tree are getting big!  I love having a garden.  I think when I have a home of my own, that's the first thing I want to make sure I have.

almost a year later.

Time flies by way too fast.  I can't even believe how much fun I've had since I last posted in December.  I hope along with my fitness goals that I can make blogging a bigger priority! Quick catch up- Socks and I moved home to the basement of my parentals.  It was hard, yet a good choice to save some money before I decide where to take my next big adventure.  I'm pretty sure my family adores my spunky cat more than they do me!  I am working at a research center in Salt Lake and am quite enjoying it! My coworkers make my day.  The commute is something new to me, but so far I haven't found it too distasteful.  Zac got a puppy a couple weeks ago that he named Brutus! He's a boxer and will be the biggest we've ever seen.  His paws are bigger than his body.  He's got a lot of personality and already loves Zac to pieces.  I think Socks and Brutus will make good brothers.  Arianne is heading on her mission to California in the next couple months and Laura is out at college. I miss our days of playing in the backyard and swinging in the apple tree.  Time is precious and should never be wasted on being anything but happy.  My sister gets annoyed everytime I say it ;)  I decorated the room tonight with Halloween decorations and am excited for the holiday.  I think I'll be a vampiress or Katy Perry this year! Either way I'm excited to be back on and telling of my simple joys.

I love my kitten Socks.
Socks apparently loses baby teeth.
Found that out when my boyfriend knocked it out.
I spent the weekend in St. George.
Christmas party with Zac's family.
Had the best time.
I love them a lot.
I also love drawing on mustaches.
Next week is my birthday.
I'm so excited to celebrate it with my family.
Strawberries dipped in chocolate will be my birthday cake.
And I get to dance with my sisters.
Maybe watch Pirates of the Caribbean twice.
I really like my new job at the bank.
It's the same job.
Different people and location can make a huge difference.
I accidently threw away my schedule for this week.
I have no idea when I go in tomorrow.
My hamster Manyu lost her eye.
Socks got way too playful through the cage.
Manyu is now a pirate, so it's going to be ok.
My other hamster Queen Elizabeth is fat.
Zac made her that way.
I have an amazing roommate named Sara.
She moved in last month.
I couldn't ask for anyone more wonderful.
Christmas pine scent makes me happy.
That's why I always park on the top floor of Smith's.
Grandma and I are having dinner on Tuesday night.
I'm ready for the holidays.
I'm also ready to build a snow dinosaur with my nephew Owen.
And a princess snow castle with Vanessa and Aliyah.
I'm really happy.
I really am.
:)

thank heaven for zosters.

I have shingles.

More correct term, Herpes Zoster. Less freaky when we just call it adult chicken pox.  Because even though we all think of it as an elderly disease, this does happen in young adults and this is how it started for me-  Thanksgiving day. I had a sore spot on my back and thought, oh no, one of those deep painful zits and gee, no big deal.. I'll just wait it out.  So I just kept through my fantastic family turkey day and tried to ignore the throb.  After filling my face with potatoes and laughing with the ones I love, I realized anytime my shirt touched my back, it was way too unbearable to be a zit. I got back home to my apartment and searched my back in the mirror to find two quarter sized spots that were reddish brown.  BUHhAAH! Seriously?! There was nothing there that morning but a mild pain throb.  My only thought was I am now the lastest victim of the brown recluse spider.  I couldn't help but start imagining my back turning into a big black hole.  I googled everything about it and after some ridiculous search results, I narrowed my more than painful spine spot to either a spider bite or a wild random bruise.  After a restless night, I was casually talking to my coworkers about it that morning and they told me to call my dermatologist.  It was a slow day at the bank so I went into the backroom and called my dermatologist.  "Get to a clinic or emergency room as soon as you can,  it could be a sign of skin cancer" ... BUHhAAH again!! Who says that?! I immediately took my lunch early and was just about in tears.  All I could think about was why did I use so many tanning beds.  It was never worth this.....  After sitting through several nurses trying to figure out what it was, the doctor finally came in and did several light scans.  He told me I had shingles.  My first reaction was to just hug him! I couldn't have been more happier it wasn't skin cancer.  He explained the way the virus stays in all of us when we have chicken pox as children, but sometimes through stress or old age, the virus can awake from being dormant and cause a terrible episode of rashes. He congratulated me for getting in so early and explained another 24 hours to it and it would have been a lot harder to treat.  My doctor left me with antibiotics and pain medication, and I left with the most grateful heart of not having skin cancer.  Though I couldn't stop laughing at the fact I had been diagnosed with an old person disease!

BUT this story does have a moral-
Do not use tanning beds.  If you're white, you're white.  If you're dark, you're dark. If you're green, that's gross. But any which way you are, live up to that and show the world how you can rock who YOU are.  I tossed my tanning goggles today and finished up the last of my antibiotics.  It was a wonderful November and an even better Thanksgiving because I had a lot to be grateful for.

oh how I love and adore my little sisters.

dilemna of a sleepaholic.

I have issues...yes.. Many, it's true.  But one I cannot understand, is my problem with alarm clocks.

My phone goes off every morning at 6:45 am.  I also have a pink alarm clock across the room that goes off at 7:00 am as well as an ipod with the loudest sheep baahing you could ever wake to.  A normal person would shut them off and get started with their day..  I'm not normal.  Instead I shut them off in my sleep.  The best part, it's always about 15 minutes before they go off.  I don't know what to do besides hiring someone to come hide my alarms before I go to bed every night.  But until then I will shut off every alarm involuntarily before they ever go off and sleep contently until I have 10 minutes to rush to work.

I cannot continue this way.

mello yello mello mello...

my friend Anthony came in today at work.  He's one of the regulars who likes to just stand and chat.  He bought me a Mello Yello from the coke machine after I told him I've never had one. Surprisingly, it was really good!  The song advertising the soda drives me nuts, but the product itself is actually wonderful.  About 15 minutes into my soda I realized I could not sit still and looked on the back of the can to see it had 51 mg of caffeine.  It's going to be a fun afternoon :)