enchanted and what-not

Since today is the last day of the month, I guess I need to get in some blogging today.

Today was a crazy, but mostly good day. I met my mom and we went shopping and to the movies. We saw Enchanted. It was so stinkin good! And to make it even better, Idina Menzel is in it! Don't make me explain that Idina Menzel is the original Maureen. Yes, from RENT. She's also married to Taye (yum!) Diggs who also happens to be the original Benny. Yes, from RENT. Anyway, the movie so very good and I recommend it with two big thumbs up. But only if you like Disney movies. Chris would have hated every minute of it. That's why I went with my mom.
After the movie, we shopped. It would have been like any other day, except that it rained ALL DAY. And it's still raining as I type this. We here in the desert don't get much rain, so when it happens, we don't deal well. It's also a pain to run from the car to the store and vice versa, a bunch of different times. Rain is good for us. We need it badly, but I hate driving in it. I had a few scares on my way home, but I made it all in one piece.
It was just a crazy day.
Tomorrow is looking to be just as nuts. We are going shopping for a new artificial Christmas tree. We have a plan and we are starting early and possibly hitting 5 or 6 stores. Yikes.
I am off to bed to get ready for another busy, but fun day.

not much to say

I haven't been doing real well on the NaBloPoMo. There have been many days that I have not blogged at all. Oh well. Send me to blogger jail or something.
I have been (as my sister would say) cranks lately. Just on edge and cranky about everything. Biting peoples heads off for no reason. And really impatient. Whatever. It's close to that time of the month anyway. I guess I get to blame it on PMS. Anyway, I have been cleaning most the day today. My guest bedroom is a total mess. It's getting to be the time of year when more people come over and even stay the night, so I have to get that room clean very soon. It was so bad, I couldn't even close the closet. That has been fixed. I still need another few hours in there to get it done, but I am tired and done for the day. Since I now have all my Christmas cards made, yesterday I worked on posting them on my Cards site. It is easy to do, but just takes a lot of time. I am also in the process of remodeling the site, so if you see some crazy stuff, just ignore it. So, if you want to see my Christmas cards for this year and try to figure out which one is for you, go to town.

say what you need to say

The video has arrived!
Here it is.
Enjoy. you know I did!!
Say by John Mayer

one last thing

I refuse to change my decorations on my blog to Christmas until December. I am one of those people who think people decorate way too soon for Christmas. I love to decorate, but I refuse to do it until at least December. So deal with the nice fall-ness of my blog until then.

the case of the missing cell phone

Today at work, Chris emailed me and told me he left his phone at home. No big deal, really. Just wanted to let me know. Besides, he doesn't get reception in his new office, so I couldn't call him anyway.
When I got home, I looked for his phone in its usual spot. Not there. Looked on his desk. Not there. Looked on his dresser. Not there. I called him at his work phone and told him if he left it at home, I don't know where it is.
Logic would tell you to call his phone with my phone and find it that way. Yes. That would make sense. However, Chris does not like any of the available ring tones on his phone and refuses to download any new ones. Because of this, he keeps his phone on vibrate. I did still try to call his phone, anyway, but I haven't been able to hear it anywhere. It goes straight to voicemail. It's either off or out of juice, which means it wouldn't vibrate anyway! I have looked everywhere.
These things don't just disappear. I know it is not the end of the world. He needs a new phone anyway, because of the reception issue at his new job. But if we can't find the old phone, his SIM card is lost and with it, all of his numbers. Yikes.
We will look more when he gets home.
I will keep you posted on the case of the missing cell phone...


6:33PM
edited to add: Ok, that was anti-climactic. Chris comes home and checks his shorts pockets and finds the phone! Shorts? He only wore those for about 5 minutes yesterday. It has been in the 60's in our house for the last few days and that means we have been wearing pants. I didn't even see him wearing those shorts yesterday and so I never thought to look in those pockets. I'm bummed. Not that he found the phone. That is a relief, because losing the SIM card would've sucked bad. But I wanted it to be much more of a dramatic story. Oh well.
Case closed.

song in my head 11/26/07

Silent Lucidity by Queensryche
I heard this song in the radio last Friday and it has been stuck in my head on and off ever since.

football today

at 2:00 pm MST in the Glendale

edited to add: Um, what the hell was that game all about? An amazing end to the first half... a hail mary in the end zone. A horrible end regulation... deciding to go for the the field goal instead of the touchdown. An even worse end to overtime... a made field goal taken away because of a penalty (delay of game!!!), then a missed field goal from 5 yards further way, then A FUMBLE IN THE END ZONE!!??!! What the hell is wrong with them? The 49ers had lost 8 in a row. What the hell? All that talk of playoffs must have gone to their heads.

chocolate covered pretzels

Every year since I have been back in AZ (and before I moved away from AZ too), my mother and I make chocolate covered pretzels for Christmas. We do it shortly after Thanksgiving so that they are ready to be mailed as gifts to far away family members. So today, we made them. I went over to my parents house and we got busy. We have a system worked out. My mom puts the chocolate on the pretzels and lays them on wax paper on a cookie sheet. Then I put the decorations on while the are still warm. We do this until we run out of chocolate. What that meant for today was 126 full size rod pretzels and about 30 broken pieces of pretzel covered in chocolate and decoration. That's a lot! It takes hours, but we have fun. We stand there and talk. We bond, if that's even possible to bond any more than we already are. After we finished the pretzels, we ventured outside into Black Friday. But by this time it was after 4pm and it was not crowded at all. We only went to Joann's. All the Christmas stuff was 40%-50% off. I got two bags of stuff for $15. Nice. Today was, as my mother would say, "Enjoyable."

See more photos of the pretzels here.

11-23-07 8:28pm MST
edited to add:
Oh, here it is...
Stuffing is my favorite part of Thanksgiving!! I really wouldn't mind if the meal was only stuffing. But it wasn't. Chris cooked another amazing turkey. Both he and my mom contributed the rest of the side dishes. They work together well. Me? I cut some veggies for snacks and watched them work. It's days like that when not knowing how to cook really pays off. We had a really nice Thanksgiving. Yesterday, I really didn't think to much about what I am thankful for. I guess I should think about it. I know that I am thankful for my amazing husband and for my parents. I am thankful that my sister was with the one she loves on the holiday. I am thankful I got to talk to her. I am thankful for my new car and the freedom it affords me. I could go on and on...

Lastly... I hardly took any photos, but there are a few food shots, here.

to beck & sheepish

supercute

Hello Kitty To Make Her Debut in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

How cool is that? But I want to know why there was never one before? Hello Kitty rocks my world and always has. Looking forward to seeing it, even though I hear they are forecasting rain for NYC.

song in my head 11/19/07

Tattoo by Jordin Sparks

Hey, even the hotness likes her. Here's what he said on his blog today:

" In defense of the state of pop music being exciting these days, I present to you my 5 favorite tracks of RIGHT NOW.
They're great. Not "actually" great, as in "I expected them to suck and I'm reluctantly giving it up" great. Just stand-out pop music of today.
...
Tattoo - Jordin Sparks - I don't really know who Jordin Sparks is as an artist, but the song is great. All people want is a melody and some words they believe are actually coming from the heart of the singer, and even though I'm sure it's not self-penned, I buy it. It gets me. Mission accomplished. "

Glendale represent!

its about time

I'll believe it when I feel it! It's been in the 90's up until this past weekend. No wonder it doesn't feel like Thanksgiving already.

ups driver

Is it bad that the UPS driver waved at me when I was outside getting my mail?
He didn't even stop here, but saw me and waved. I think that's a bad sign.

what the hell is this?

This is the video for the new Spice Girls song, Headlines. Yeah, I get that. But what the hell is this song? And worse than that... what the hell is this video? The song is horrible and doesn't make much sense. And in the video, most of them are in their bras for half of it. What the hell is that about? We all know that know of them can really sing. We knew this. Why are they even coming back?
I admit, I own a Spice Girls album, but that was purchased 10 years ago!
God help us.

football today

at 11:00 am MST in the Nati

They won this one too! Wow. They are 5-5. That is impressive. I haven't lost all hope, yet.

Say

You heard it here first!

My blog's debute of the new John Mayer single, Say

This song was written for the new movie The Bucket List, with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. Did you catch that? Written for the movie. You know what it means when a song is written specifically for a movie? I do. It means potential for an Academy Award! How awesome would that be? But I am getting ahead of myself. It's a great song.
Enjoy.

edited to add: The hotness leaked it himself, after it was leaked by Perez Hilton. I swear this song grows on you. If you've only listened once, listen again. It took me (a super fan who would love it if he was reading the phone book!) twice to get into it. Let me know what you think.

panda skillet

sister, you totally need this!!

congrats Bo-Mel

Melvin wins NL Manager of Year
Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin continued collecting honors for his team's surprising season, picking up the National League's Manager of the Year award, as voted by the Baseball Writers Association, after the Diamondbacks' 90-win season.

Melvin was chosen on 19 of the 30 first-place ballots and got 119 points. Philadelphia's Charlie Manuel (76), Colorado's Clint Hurdle (58) and the Cubs' Lou Piniella (25) were the runners-up.

This is Melvin’s first Manager of the Year award as he becomes the first Diamondbacks manager to earn the honor.

are you still watching Prison Break?

I am.

Before I go any further, I have to say this:

All that work applying the tattoo for this?
5 seconds of shirtlessness? Seriously? I heard it take like 3 hours to apply that tattoo. Couldn't he have been shirtless the rest of the episode? bastards.

Anyway, Monday nights episode was the mid-season finale. It's on hiatus until January 14. I am still holding out hope for this show. It's my favorite, but I have to admit that this season is lacking. I have high hopes for the rest of the season. But with the writers strike, there might only be 5 more episodes left for this season. Yikes!

photo source

speaking of the hotness

Since I brought him up today, I figured it was about time that I shared this gem.

Click here to listen to Lesson Learned by Alicia Keys featuring John Mayer.

after waiting for years, it seems

That's tonite! kewl. Can't wait. Probably won't stay up, but will totally watch it tomorrow.

edited to add: How strange that they just started it with the contestants? No scenes or episodes of randoms trying out. I was looking forward to that scariness. It's always fun to see people who think they are talented. But even so, the episode was good. Predictable as hell, but good. Rami is really the best so far. He seems like he can go all the way with Christian giving him a run for his money, though. Christian is annoying as hell with that hair, but funny. I still compare each cast to season 2. They were my favorite and so I was glad to see Santino back to do those cheesy Saturn spots. And the Tim Gunn catch phrases. Old news. Get something new!

never felt dummer dumber

I am embarrassed to admit to my blonde moment this morning. Hey, I'm not blonde. And not all blondes are dumb... sister.

Anyway, what I did this morning was so dumb.
I am still getting used to my new car. Every car has its quirks and you just have to get used to them. Like I have to push the automatic lock button twice to get the doors to lock. One thing I was struggling with was the ignition. The ignition is not on the steering column. It is on the dash, below the odometer. When you put the key in and turn it clockwise, like you do even when its on the steering column, it just seems wrong. I am trying to get used to it. So, this morning I parked in the parking lot at work and turned the key. The key would not come out of the ignition. Would not come out. I tried and tried and tried a million times. It was stuck. You know how you can turn the key to get different levels of power. One click and you can get the radio, two and maybe the windows, etc. Well, it was such in that lowest level of power. So the radio was on. And for some reason I could not turn it the other way to start the car. Stop if you already know what my problem was. I did eventually figure it out... But it was stuck. I was freaking. I called home and Chris was probably in the shower. I called my mom, because she has a Honda and we were just talking about my ignition issues yesterday. She tried to walk me thru it by going out to her car, but she has an Accord and its way different. She got me the number to the service department at the dealership and I was seconds away from making myself look like a total idiot when I realized... I had not put the car in park. It was still in drive. Yup, told it I was dumb. What the hell? I hate when I do that. But in my old car, you could actually take the key out even if you hadn't put it in park. Actually, in my old car you could take the key while you were still driving it. Yes, seriously. I really only needed the key to start it and turn it off. That car was a piece of crap.
Ok, lost focus. Anyway, I figured it out and felt like a total idiot. Still do. When I got home today, I sat in the driveway and practiced starting it and taking the key out. I am such a weirdo.

bathroom sessions

In my searching for the Falling video, I found a series of videos posted by Nettwerk Music on youtube. They are acoustic versions of BNL songs. It appears that Ed & Steven recorded these in someones bathroom. These videos are also on BNL's video page. I don't know the back story, but I am not complaining. These are awesome versions of some of the best BNL songs. I had to post one video, but I will post links to the rest of my favorites.
Here is Some Fantastic:


Here are some more:
Never Is Enough
When I Fall - damn that song makes me cry too!
Great Provider
For You
These Apples
The King of Bedside Manor - freaking hilarious
Am I the Only One - shit, this is a crying one too.

Too much of my maturation is associated with BNL. My sister introduced me to them and I am so glad she did. Many situations in my life are associated with music, but major drama and growing up is associated with BNL. I am glad that I have such great music to remind me of the not so great times. That seems messed up, but what I mean is that having the great music somehow makes the bad times associated with it seem not so bad.

song in my head 11/14/07

Falling For the First Time by Barenaked Ladies
This song makes me cry every time. The ending is my favorite part:

Anything plain can be lovely, anything loved can be lost
Maybe I lost my direction
What if our love is the cost?
Anyone perfect must be lying, anything easy has its cost
Anyone plain can be lovely, anyone loved can be lost
What if I lost my direction?
What if I lost sense of time?
What if I nursed this infection? Maybe the worst is behind...

I need to listen to more BNL and buy this.

i've missed you

I have not blogged recently about the hotness. Ok, I mentioned his name in the concert meme, but the last time a post was about his was back on October 24th. That's a big deal. Especially since I was posting multiple things a day for a while.
Well that's about to change, because LOOK!:
The hotness, or in this case cuteness, went to a basketball game. Let's ignore the fact that he went with his girl. Let us dwell on the funny boy and the funny face and the glasses.

Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks?

Ok, maybe its just me...

photo source

do you like my new quote?

"Almost" means it didn't happen. It's my quote. I came up with it. My new words to live by. I know it may seem like an obvious and simple concept, but it is something I struggle with. Moving past things, stressing out about what might happen. I am really working on keeping calmer. I need that peace in my life.

"Whoa, that car almost hit me!"
"We almost bounced that check."
"I almost lost my job."

Instead of freaking out about it and stressing for hours or days, just telling myself, "'Almost' means it didn't happen" and move on.

Concert meme

Since comebacknikki brought back this meme, I decided that I would try. But the more I thought about it, I could not remember the year I went to most of the shows I have attended. So, I am just going to list concerts that I have been too. I know, exciting television blogging.

The first concert I ever went to was... wait for it...

Donny & Marie - we saw them at the State Fair. High class, I tell you.

Other random shows I've been to in my lifetime, in no particular order:

John Mayer (x6) --> with Counting Crows, Maroon 5, DJ Logic, Ben Folds

Barenaked Ladies (x4)

Dave Matthew Band (x4) --> with Cowboy Mouth, Taj Mahal, G. Love & Special Sauce

Alanis Morissette (x3) --> with Jason Mraz

The Refreshments (x2)

Indigo Girls

Amy Grant

NSYNC --> with Pink

Train

Moody Blues

Shawn Colvin --> with Patty Griffin

Paula Abdul --> with Color Me Badd

Nelson

Ekoostik Hookah

Debbie Gibson

Brothers Creeggan

Spirtulized

Chalk FarM

Marcy Playground

DC Talk

All Hail Me

Hank Williams, Jr

1997 Lilith Fair - main stage line up: Suzanne Vega, Paula Cole, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Jewel, Sarah McLachlan

this random hip hop show that included: Tony!Toni!Toné!, Gerardo and some other random groups I can't remember

I am still thinking and if I remember anymore, I will add them. But for now, there's my sad, pathetic concert list.

you mean that doesn't count?

My glitter for Veterans Day needs to count as my post for today. I am sucking at this post a day thing. My stomach hurts and I want to go to bed. So this is all you get...

football today

at 2:15pm MST in Glendale

edited to add: They actually won. If they can win a few more, the playoffs might actually be a possibility. But as any Cardinals fan will tell you, "Don't get your hopes up."

to my dad

I just wanted to say thank you to my father for making our car buying experience so much easier. He took time out of his Saturday to help us and it means so much. I am not good at dealing with pushy people and car salesman are the best of the bunch. If he had not been there, we would not have gotten the deal we did. It means so much to us that he came and helped us. I owe him so many thank yous.
Thank you, Dad.

what's the latest?

After weighing our options (the few that existed), we decided not to repair my car. When the shop told us it would cost over $1500 to repair it (a valve is going out... meaning a new engine soon) we knew that was the end of that car. We decided, since it barely runs, we would donate it to charity. They will tow it away and we will just write it off on our taxes. I started that process yesterday. The body shop is being kind enough to let us leave it there until the charity picks it up. I don't care if it gets broken into now. It means nothing to me anymore. We went to the shop this morning and got out the few items I still had in it and said goodbye. I am happy to be done with it. I don't think I will ever see that car again. Good riddance.

So, today we have a new vehicle. God only knows how we are gonna swing this, but we will manage somehow. We purchased today, a 99 Honda CRV. Here it is:more photos here
I will say that I love it. It is great to drive and is in really great condition and has low mileage for the age of it. My father came to the dealership with us this morning and really helped make the sale. He had us work with the salesperson he had purchased his car thru and so he knew they were good. Buying a car is so damn stressful. Working to get the payment you can afford and convincing them that, "No I do not need nitrogen in my tires." (what the hell is that about?!?!) It took 3.5 hours to get it all done, but we are home with our new vehicle. Such a stressful experience!! Buying a car sucks just as much as cars in general do. Why is that?

I think it is gonna take some time for me to get used to trusting this vehicle. When I was driving it home, I kept getting nervous. For so long, I had driven a car that was unreliable. And so I am scared that any car is gonna shut off on me at any time. I know that is possible, but much less likely with my new-to-us vehicle. It will take some time, but I am really looking forward to being able to drive where ever I need to! Freedom!

I want to say a huge thank you to my sister. She can drive me so crazy sometimes, but she can always bring me down off the ledge. I don't want to think of where I would be without her. She means more to me then she will ever know.
I love you, beck.
Thank you.

just shoot me now

I don't know how to start this post. But I need to share the chaos that is my life right now.

Two words: MY CAR

Last week, we took it in to the shop because it was randomly shutting off while in idle and I got really scared when it happened in the intersection on my way to work. The car was also shaking really bad and I was so afraid of driving it. The next day and lots of money later, I brought it home. They said that it was driving great. But it was not. It was actually driving worse than it had been. It felt like it was slipping while when it was not accelerating, after you got up to speed. And the check engine light would randomly come on when it would slip, then go off. That started happening the day we brought it back from the shop. It was just too much to deal with, so I drove it that way. That was until Tuesday morning when it would not start. That was after it shut off in the drive thru on Monday. I was able to get it started again on Monday, but Tuesday morning was different. It started, but then shut off right away. I tried to start it again and it would not start at all. It was rev up like it wanted to start, but just would not turn over. So, Chris rushed to take me to work. I then called Enterprise rent a car and had them pick me up from work to get a rental. I then called AAA and had them come and tow the car to the repair shop. By the time AAA dropped the car off at the repair shop, they were closed. The shop told me, if they were closed, just have the tow truck driver leave the key in the ignition. I thought nothing of it, because it wouldn't start. What could really happen to it?
HAHAHA
How dumb I was. This story gets better and better by the minute. Or worse and worse, if you are actually living it.
The repair shop called yesterday morning and told us that the car had been broken into. Well, not technically, because it was unlocked with the key in it. More like it had been gone thru and THE BATTERY WAS STOLEN! What the holy hell? Who does this? I was concerned that the registration was stolen, but not really. I am not really concerned about people getting my address. If they do, they do. There are lots of ways to get my address. But I just didn't want to have to deal with getting a new registration. I was also afraid that my full size spare tire was stolen. We got a full size spare the last time I had tire issues. That way the next time I had tire issues, AAA would be able to put on the full size spare and I could drive it for longer before getting the bad tire fixed. It was more a piece of mind thing then anything else. The worst thing about having your car gone thru is that it feels like a violation. After I heard this, I didn't ever want to see that car again.
So you would think that would be the worst of it, but you would be wrong. When they finally got around to checking it out to see what was wrong with it, they put a new battery in it and it started right up. They then drove it around (they said they drove it 4 miles) and said it ran perfectly. what? WHAT? WHAT? They had to be lying. I know I am not crazy. And I know it was not just how I was driving it, because it happened when Chris drove it too. When they said it was fine, it just did not add up. I got so upset. I could not understand how this was happening. I know you are supposed to be happy when the shop says your car is fine, but I knew it wasn't. I felt like they were just patting me on the head and scooting me out the door. I knew it was not ok. I knew it. What we decided to do was, since I still have the rental, I would drive over the shop and drive the car myself to see how it was. If it was really ok, I would go to Enterprise and have them take me back to the shop. All would be well. Or so we hoped.
After waking up this morning feeling like shit, (I have a headache and I feel like I am getting a major head cold.) I finally got myself together and drove to the shop. I drove my poor car and it was jacked up while still in the parking lot. I knew I was not crazy!!! I drove it around the block and barely made it back to the shop. It was started, but it was still slipping and it felt like it was getting worse by the minute. I told them it was clearly not fixed. I left and came home in the rental. I called Enterprise and they told me I could keep the rental as long as I needed it and could go day by day. I knew it was not fixed and I decided that this was the last straw for this shop. If they drove it again and said it was fine, I was gonna have the car towed from there to another shop and never give them our business again. Well, a little over an hour ago the shop called. For lack of a better term, it is fucked. I was relieved that it drove badly for them finally. But the news was not what we wanted. My car is 14 years old and not worth much. The cost to repair it is sooo much more then it is worth. Where we are right now is in a bad place. We really cannot afford another car payment, but I do not want to spend money to get another beater. The decision of what to do now has not been made. Chris is still at work and we really need to talk about this at home.
This is just too much for me to deal with. Too much. I have had THE WORST 12 months of my life and this is just another horrible thing. I am struggling to stay positive. In fact, I have lost all hope and wonder if it is really worth all this. I just want something to go right in my life. The only thing good to happen to me lately was my birthday and I was sick for most of that day too.
augh

to Kearsten

i'm hot cuz i'm fly. you ain't cuz you not

Why is it so hot? It is early November. We have had 3 or 4 days in a row of record breaking heat. In the 90's. What the holy hell?
We had a fire drill at work today and I bet they thought, "Have one in Phoenix in November. It will be nice weather then." NOPE. We were only outside for about 5 minutes and I was sweating. This is ridiculous. It's supposed to get into the 70's on Sunday. I might just need to bust out a sweater!

There is no such thing as global warming... um, ok

my birthday

I just realized I have yet to blog about my big day.
Well, I am 30. Say that again. Out loud this time. I am 30.
I have said it a few times in the last couple of days, but it doesn't seem to get easier. The only positive thing about turning 30 is that I no longer have to stress about turning 30.

Anyway, I had a great birthday. I think by the time the day rolled around, I had gotten over my issue with birthdays in general. I just let go and allowed myself to enjoy the day. I did plan the trip, though, so I didn't give up all control. I knew I wanted to do something special for this birthday and for years, my plan was to go to California and see where I was born. Disneyland was also gonna be part of that trip. But as it got closer, my life got in the way. I knew I still wanted to do something, so I found a trip that would only be a couple hours away. What we ended up doing was taking a train ride on the Grand Canyon Railway. We (me, Chris, my mom and dad) drove up north on Friday. On the way, we stopped at a casino in Camp Verde. We lost lots of money. Chris was doing so well (he was up $80!!) and I made him cash out. It went down from there. Also at one point, I was up $70 and then lost it all. It was really fun, though. Too bad it was real money. We were only there for a couple of hours. We then drove the rest of the way to Williams, which is where the train depot is. We stayed the night at the Railway Hotel on Friday and on Saturday (my actual birthday), we took the train to the Grand Canyon. Since I was just at the canyon two years ago, I was not all the excited to go to the actual canyon. I know that sounds really dumb. It's one of the 7 natural wonders of the world, and I don't really care about it. I have been there many times and I guess I take it for granted. But if you haven't been, totally come on over!!! It is absolutely amazing. But this trip was more about the train ride and less about the destination. The train was really nice. I had started the day with a headache and had it until around lunch time. The rocking of the train did not really help me feel better either. When we finally got to the canyon (it takes 2.25 hours to go 65 miles), we took a bus tour. That really sucked. I do not recommend it. Our tour guide talked so much that we only got to 2 of the 3 places we were supposed to go. Dumb. If that was my first trip to the Grand Canyon, I would have been totally pissed. But it was really beautiful. On the train ride back to Williams, he got free champagne (actually sparkling wine, but who's checking) and cheese and crackers. There was also a faux train robbery. There were many drunk people in our train car and they really got into the robbery. See, we were in the fanciest train car they have. There was a cash full bar, with free soda and water. So on the way back, we drank and so did everyone else. We did not drink nearly as much as the other folks! We stayed at the Railway Hotel on Saturday night also. That night, I was not feeling well either. I either ate something my stomach did not like or the train made me sick to my stomach. I felt crappy for a couple of hours, but by the time it was dinner time and present time, I was ok. I had brought all the gifts that I had gotten in the mail with us and my parents and Chris brought their gifts for me too. So, I got to open my gifts. I got some great stuff. And the cake - that's a story all in itself. I hinted (ok, out right told them to get it!) at the cake that I wanted from Nothing Bundt Cakes. Totally awesome, btw. So, they got me my favorite white chocolate raspberry cake and brought it up with the gifts. My mom had the brilliant idea to get me "magic candles." Have you heard of these? These are basically small sparklers that go out and light back up again. Fun, the first time. After blowing them out over and over, it caused a ton of smoke in the hotel room. I was afraid the smoke alarm would go off and we would get busted in our non-smoking rooms. I kept trying to blow them out and it just was not working. My mom and Chris took the cake, still lit, into the bathroom and took the candles off and put them in the sink full of water. It was hilarious, after it was over. While it was happening, it was crazy. But just imagine the scene and you too will get the hilarity. The next morning, we had breakfast, checked out and came home. We all were ready to leave. I can spend quality time with my family, but after awhile we all get under each others skin. So, it was just long enough of a trip. Despite my head and stomach,I had a great birthday.
Now that my 30's are underway, I have a new found respect for my elders... because I am one! yikes.

edited to add: Totally forgot about the photos. See, I am old.

football last Sunday

I failed to mention the beating the Cardinals took this past Sunday. But in an effort to keep the faith, I will include this too.



game was 11/04/07

They lost, did I mention that?

congrats O-Dog!

Hudson earns third straight Gold Glove
The D-backs' Orlando Hudson was named the National League Gold Glove second baseman on Tuesday by Rawlings for the second consecutive season.

Hudson has won the award in each of the two years he has been with the D-backs since being acquired from the Blue Jays after the 2005 campaign in a trade that sent Troy Glaus to Toronto.

It was the third consecutive Gold Glove for Hudson, who won the American League award in 2005.

thanks y'all

Thank you to my family for my wonderful gifts! I had a great day because of all of you.

Here's the gift run down...
From Chris: Planet Earth - The Complete BBC Series, Alice in Wonderland, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath and beautiful flowers

From my parents: the whole trip on The Grand Canyon Railroad and the 2 nights at the hotel, plus a gorgeous sterling silver margherita chain bracelet

From my sister: Follow Your Heart Precious Moment - it's Belle!!

From my sisters-in-law: scrapbooking stuff, a stuffed animal, a flower pot cake (similar to this one, but it is spice cake), votive candles and a grow your own hyacinth kit

From my parents-in-law: a digital picture frame, The Artist's Way Workbook, and a yorkie webkinz

Thanks again for all the awesome stuff!

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the big 3-0

Read this on Saturday, November 3rd.
Since I am posting this ahead of time, I don't really have many words of wisdom that have come to me in my old age, but maybe one day...
Over the last couple of weeks, I have put together a series of old photos of myself so that I could see how I have grown up thru the years. Watch me grow up right before your eyes...
Click here to see Laura... thru the years.

start of a new season

Tonight is the first game of the regular season for my Phoenix Suns. In fact, I am watching it right now. They are winning, but looking rusty. It's only just begun...

edited to add: Of course they won!

see, here's the thing

I agreed to post every day in November for National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo), but there is one small problem. We are going out of town tomorrow morning and I don't believe I will have internet access. I will not be back until Sunday. That means I will miss two days of blogging. But I think going out of town is a good excuse.
We are going out of town, because... well... as you may know, Saturday is my birthday.
THE birthday. The day I have been dreading for as long as I can remember. I am not kidding. I am turning 30 and I have dreaded turning 30 since I was a little girl. I associated 30 with being really old and I never got over that. I am trying. Especially since that day is around the corner. So, I will not be blogging for a few days. I am gonna be cheesy and pre-post (meaning post them now, but use a later date! such a cheater, I am!) a couple things before we leave. Stupid, but effective since I will not be around to post them when I want to.