cheesy pageant bliss

So, of all the cheesy things I'm sure I have done in my life, attending this year's Miss American Pageant has got to top the list! Don't get me wrong, I had a blast in Vegas with my mom and my childhood friend, Tina, and her mom. We cheered on our family friend, Elisa Davis, as Miss Idaho (as Elise introduced herself--"Idaho--where the TV was created, but I'm no couch potato!"). the christina (miss idaho's sister) sonja
(tina's mom),tina, me, and my mom.
yay for idaho!

elise davis--the beautiful miss idaho

The four of us ladies thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Paris on the strip, saw the Cirque du Soleil show "O" at the Bellagio, and delighted in excellent cuisine.

Can I say, "Wow?!?!" Cirque du Soleil's "O" was FREAKING AMAZING!!!! If you find yourself in Vegas, you seriuosly need to just splurge and treat yourself to this amazing treat of abstract art, absolute creativity, and mind-blowing performances! Wow. Seriously. Just go! No words can describe it.

It was truly a miracle in and of itself that we made it to Vegas. Tina and I flew out of Salt Lake Friday night after work. The world's thickest fog brewed up Friday evening and I thought for sure we'd be stuck in SLC all night. I couldn't even see the sign for the airport exit on the freeway, so I missed it and had to turn around. I parked in economy parking and wandered around the parking lot for half an hour trying to find the shuttle stop--couldn't even see my hand in front of my face in the crazy fog! But somehow, we made it out ontime. I don't know whether I should be glad or afraid that my pilot took off in the fog. But it all worked out.

tina and i enjoyed a cinnabon at the
slc airport to start off the weekend right!

we walked around the vegas temple grounds
on sunday before flying out. i never knew the
vegas temple was so pretty!the madre and me at the vegas temple.
yeah, i highlighted my hair and it looks
super blonde to me in this pic...still
not sure if i like it or not.

To sum up the weekend, the Miss America Pageant, though cheesy, was a blast--and a once in a lifetime type of thing. And hey, I got to see Mario Lopez dance in person--so how could that have been a bad weekend?

catching up...

So, I haven't blogged in over a month! I guess a lot has happened in the past month, so I have my blogging work cut out for me!

For the past month I have been working a second job. I thought it would be fun (and a great way to earn some extra Christmas cash) to go back to my old Pier 1 days part time in the evenings/weekends. So I did. My old boss was excited to have me come back temporarily. And I had quite a bit of fun with it! So I decided to stay on for a while. I have been super busy with working two jobs!
Now I need to stay on for even longer than I planned because my car has serious issues! I am going to get a few things fixed on my car and then hopefully get rid of her!

Audi A4=BAD car!!! grr. It really is a love-hate relationship I have with my car these days. She is oh so cute/fun/sassy. But she makes me so angry that I have to spend so much money fixing her! Evil car!

I am car shopping and taking in advice from everyone. What is a great, affordable, easy-to-maintain smaller car that won't cost me $1,000 every time something is wrong with it? Or better yet, what kind of car will be reliable enough that I won't be in the shop every other week? I am open to any ideas at this point! I just need reliability! I am thinking maybe a Mazda 3? Any thoughts on that?

Mazda 3=potentially good car???

Anyway, long work hours and car problems aside, my past month has been fantastic! First of all, there was Christmas! Wow! I was way spoiled and had such a great time with my family in Idaho. I loved every second of it!

Me with my sister-in-law wearing the aprons my mom made us. My mom is so crafty and talented! I wish I could sew!

My mom also made purses for all the girls in the family! Tons of work, but so cute! I love my mom!

This is me and some of my favorite cousins at our grandparents' house Christmas night. Such great fun!

This is my dad opening his iPhone! He loved it. The first app he downloaded was iFart. Wow. Really, dad? haha. He kept making me pick up the phone so it would make farting sounds. He said the app was only like $1, but we would have paid $10 because he thought it was so cool! One of the greatest parts of Christmas was that my dad had broken ribs from skiing. Our goal all weekend was to make him laugh because he would cry and laugh at the same time, all the while holding his ribs and winching in pain. Yeah, it makes it sound like my family is super mean, but trust me, it was hilarious!

My family acting out the nativity story. We hadn't done this in years! I think my nieces really liked this resurected family Christmas tradition.

Every Christmas Eve, my family has a huge dinner made up of tons of different hour d' ourves. Did I spell that right? Hmm. Who knows. Anyway, ever since I can remember, we always have an English cracker at each place setting on the table. My mom grew up with this tradition. So the whole family has to eat with their paper crown on, read their joke/riddle, and show everyone the prize that came inside their cracker. I love this tradition. We all look silly in our paper crowns, but it would not be Christmas to me without this!

After Christmas was over for another year, my roommates and I carried out the best New Years party ever! We had tons of people at our house, shared a few New Years kisses, played some games, ate some delicious snacks, and enjoyed ringing in the new year with our great friends.

Just this past week, I passed the Utah property and casualty insurance agent licensing test. Whew! I had been studying for the past two months and I am so glad/relieved to have that over with! I had to pass this test for my job, and I am was the happiest girl in America when I saw the large word PASS across the computer screen at the proctor testing center. Yay!!!

So, I am excited to begin a new year. I think 2008 was a pretty great year for the most part, but for some reason, I think 2009 is going to be even more divine! I just have this hunch...

Happy New Year to all of you! I love you!