The Life and Adventures of YaYa

As the year draws to a close.......

2011-11-30T15:42:00.009-05:00

Well, tomorrow is December 1, 2011. I can't believe we have one more month before we ring in 2012. WOW....2012. I remember as a kid, the 2000's seemed so futuristic. Weren't we supposed to have flying car's like the Jetson's by now?

As I look back over this year, a distinct theme seems to be prominent in my thoughts. It is FAMILY.

I have two brothers, 3 sisters, 4 nieces, 7 nephews and a wonderful mother who is the Matriarch of us all. She is on a mission for our church in Salt Lake City, UT and will return home to us at the end of January....just two short months away. Familes are blessed when they have a missionary in the "field" and our family has certainly been blessed this year.

Along with my biological family, I also have three best friends who I consider sisters. One is a friend I have known since I was 4. I don't see her often enough but I know she is family no matter what and she will always reside in my heart. Another is a friend I have had since I was 14 and she has been present at every major milestone of my life. She, as well, secures a special place in my heart. The last is a woman who was a co-worker at my last job but has truly become a sister to me. She is an example to me of selfless service that she constantly bestows upon her family. She also owns a piece of my heart. These women know me as well as my own sisters and I am so grateful that I have been surrounded my whole life with such amazing women who love me and help me to be a better person .

I also have a church family. People who are concerned with my welfare and truly want what is best for me spiritually and temporally. My church family is huge and spans literally across the world. This family takes care of me, in so many ways. This year in particular, I have been very blessed with people in my church and in particular a wonderful Bishop who is inspired by God to counsel and help guide me in my every day life.

I cherish my family. I cherish all of my "families". They come to my rescue, lift me up, take care of me and remind me who I really am. This year has been all about FAMILY and it is my goal to next year serve my "family" as well as they have served me this year.

My Father- Michael G. Tull aka "Mickey"

2011-11-05T08:57:00.004-04:00

Exactly 25 years ago today my father passed away. I remember the morning well. The night before, I had 3 of my girlfriends spend the night to celebrate my 16th birthday (we didn't have school the next day). We slept in our family room and something woke me up that morning around 5am. I realized it was cold and was going to put more wood in our woodburning stove and I heard my mother upstairs run from her bedroom into the kitchen to use the phone and all I could hear her say was "Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!" I started to go up the stairs and she met me half-way down the stairs and she said "I can't wake Daddy up". It took a second for me to register and she sat down on the stairs and put her face in her hands and kept saying "Oh no, Oh no, Oh no!" I hugged her and went passed her and into their bedroom. You could tell by looking at my father that he was gone. I walked over to him, felt his face (which was fairly cold) and then kissed him and walked out of the room. At this point my mother was coming back up the stairs and I said "yes, he's gone" and my mother let out a small wail and then quickly composed. She told me to go wake Dustin, Travis and Cammie up. As I started to walk downstairs my grandparents who lived next door came in through the kitchen door and I could hear the sirens of the paramedics coming.

I went downstairs and woke my brothers up. I remember Dustin bolting from his bed and running upstairs and Travis quickly following. I woke Cammie up and then I went to wake my friends up who were sleeping in my family room. I just sat on the floor and said "my father passed away early this morning" and then started crying. I think I literally cried for 5 seconds and then somehow got it together and went back upstairs. I realize now that I left my friends in shock. What a way to wake up!

My mother and brothers were waking my two younger sisters Mandy and Dori up. (Mandy was 10 and Dori was 8) Mandy was particularly close to my father and I remember her yelling "NO!" and completely falling apart. It was a hard scene to watch.

By this time, people from church started filing in. It seemed that our entire ward showed up within the next hour. One of the most traumatic events for me that morning was when my grandmother (my father's mother) got to our house. I was at the front door to meet her. She was clearly distraught and as she came in the door, I tried to give her a hug. She very forcefully pushed me out of the way and screamed "where's my baby?" and ran up our stairs to go into my parents bedroom. I was stunned and I didn't quite know how to react. This was my first insight into what it must feel like to lose a child.

The rest of the day was filled with people. Family, friends, neighbors, co-workers.....just a lot of people until my childhood friend came over with her sisters. I had known Eileen since I was 4 and my father loved her like one of his own girls. She walked into my basement door and I FINALLY fell apart....partly because of how much I knew my father loved her but mostly because I knew she truly felt my pain and loss. I could see it in her eyes and feel it in her hug. My father had been a great influence in her life and that was something we would always share.

That night my entire family slept in my family room. Everyone except me. I wanted to sleep in my own bed and be by myself. I wanted to think about what had happened, what was going to happen, and be alone so I could feel my father's presence. I knew he was there. I knew he was going to still be a presence in my life for as long as I lived.

There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of my father. He was an example to me in so many ways. I often think about what life would be like if he were still here. The advice and counsel he would give me and the talks we would have. I think about how much he would love to be with his grandchildren and how happy he would be around them. I think about everything my family has been through over the years and what he would have done.......and then I realize, he has been here. All along. He knows what we are doing and infact, has helped us through traumatic times. I know he looks down upon his grandchildren and is proud of what they are becoming and laughs at all of the craziness. I am sure he has a part in some of the craziness. There are often times I look at my neices and nephews and feel how much my father loves them.

I am lucky and blessed to feel my father's presence often. I can't wait to one day be re-united with him and know that he has been here with me, watching over me, whispering in my ear, and continuing to be my father even though he is not physically here. I am so blessed to know that I will see him again. Until then, I will continue to do the best that I can in this life, knowing that he and A LOT of other family members are up there watching over us, laughing (probably a lot), and much more involved in our lives than we can even imagine.

I love you Dad.

My Sisters

2011-08-29T12:29:00.008-04:00

You may call her "Cameron" however, I call her Cammie. She is 3 years and 5 months younger than me. We grew up sharing a bedroom together and so I know who Cammie really is..... and I remember. She has a soft compassionate heart, a resound, clever and definitive mind, an entertaining and very witty sense of humor and talents beyond even her comprehension. Cammie is brilliant. She is strong-willed and adventurous. Cammie is always up for a fun time......always. Cammie is someone you want to take on vacation with you so you are sure to have a fun time. I love being with Cammie because she truly makes me happier.

You may all call her "Amanda" however, I call her Mandy. She is 5 years and 8 months younger than me but in a lot of ways wiser.....she is what I call an "old soul". She has words of wisdom far beyond her years. If ever I am in real need for advice or to bounce a very serious idea off of someone, I call Mandy. She can calm me when I over-react and make me see the silliness in my actions. I love what Mandy "sees" or interprets and I appreciate her view and love how she gets her point across. We laugh a lot at the silliness of others views and reactions too. Mandy is benevolent. She sees things for what they are and judges fairly. Mandy is beautiful and delightful. I love spending time with Mandy because she makes me laugh and reminds me of who I am.

You may call her "Dori" and so do I :-) She is 7 years and 6 months younger than me. The meaning of the name Dori is "a gift; beloved; adored; gift; gift of God". That is exactly what she is. She is a gift to our family. The last of six children, Dori was not to be left behind and she made sure of it. Dori is devoted. She is the most altruistic person I know. She literally picks you up off the ground and carries you when you cannot will yourself to move. Dori gets things done. She is the best example of a mother, sister and friend anyone could ever have. I love spending time with Dori because she is my "North Star".....I am home when I am with her.

All of my sisters are different but we were planted in the same soil. Together we make an extraordinary garden.

Last Time.......

2011-08-09T22:25:00.010-04:00

Okay. So I am going to try to start this blog one last time. I have made a commitment (with myself) to really make an effort to update at least once a week. Honestly, I don't hold out much hope but I have set an alarm on my new android phone to remind me to post.....we'll see what happens.

So a lot has happened in the year and a half that I haven't posted.
I'll just list the highlights.....

I moved to an apartment in Fairfax and lived with my friend Sean for a couple of months, (yes.....platonic....get your minds out of the gutter)

I moved my best-friend Brenda from California in March to live in my apt bldg...... one floor above me (BEST 6 day road-trip ever.....NOT),

I quit my job and I started a business Maid Especially For You (www.maidespecially.com),

I turned 40 and had the BEST birthday ever,

We sent my mother on a mission to SLC (to the Church and Family History bldg),

I attended my forever friend Christina Wolfe's baptism,

I went on the 2nd Annual Myrtle Beach Extravaganza with my cousin Michelle (also during BIKE WEEK),

My friend Sean moved out and Brenda and her newborn Colton moved into my apartment in July,

I attended my brother Travis's wedding in Utah,

oh....and I got hit by an SUV while walking across the street. I have pics but they are not appropriate to post. (Yah.....that was the best ever) It's been a busy year and a half and I am SURE I am leaving out some really fantastic things that happened.

I have started watching a little more Judge Judy than is acceptable and somewhere deep down inside, I wish she was my grandmother. I also like the show on BRAVO called "Flipping Out". That Jeff just cracks me up.

"The Keeper of My Heart" is still "The Keeper of My Heart" and he has sworn to take care of me in my old age if I never get married. His idea.....all on his own. He said I could move in with him, his wife and kids. (He is currently 8 years old) So, I just don't think I will ever get married because I want to live with him in my "old age". He loves Colton and is so dang cute with him. I ADORE this kid and I could hang out with him 24/7. He will always be "The Keeper of My Heart."

So....stay tuned for more "Adventures of Yaya". I can almost guarantee that you will not be disappointed. Especially with how things have been going lately. AHHHHH...it feels so good to be blogging again ;-)

My Trip to California

2010-01-23T18:38:00.018-05:00

I went for a long weekend to visit my friend Brenda in Costa Mesa, CA. I had a GREAT time! I had never been to Southern CA and I can now say I've been to Orange County.

The first night we went to Malibu and ate at Paradise Cove.

http://www.paradisecovemalibu.com/beachcafe/index09.html

There have been tons of movies, commercials and television shows filmed there. We loved it.

This was on the way to the LA Lakers vs. Clippers game.

Brenda and me at the game.

Game - Lakers won!

We went to Coto to try to find the Housewives of O.C.

DENIED!!!! You have to pass through a guarded gate AND you have to be on a "LIST"......we were not on the list. :-(

This is my new favorite deli!

My B.L.T. - you can't tell from the picture how big it is....plus...the macaroni salad was phenom!

We went on a tour of the stars homes. We had to meet at the Kodak Theatre. It was RAINING!! Yes.....raining.

Grauman's Chinese Theatre

Michael's alive!

Meryl Streep - I think she is a great actress.

Finally.....my new haircut. I went to Modern Salon in Costa Mesa and Kathy cut my hair. I even got a deep conditioner treatment and I LOVED it.

So, my trip was a lot of fun and Brenda took me everywhere. We went to several beaches and she took me anywhere I wanted to go!

On the plane ride out to CA...I read such a good book. It's called The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I recommend it to anyone! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

On the plane ride home I read The Alchemist. A charming book - very thought provoking. It's easy reading and the story is one that you will think about for a long time.

T.V.

2010-01-08T15:18:00.002-05:00

Since I've been home all week and I finished all my organizing, I have been wasting away watching reality t.v. and I have been thoroughly entertained. I have watched hours of Wife Swap, Desperate Housewives and The Real Housewives of the O.C. - all very different and all very entertaining. I can see how people get sucked into these shows. I'll be going through withdrawals when I go back to work next week.

Organized OUT!!!

2010-01-06T15:59:00.003-05:00

So, since I've been home and will be home for the rest of the week, I have been organizing my life for the year. I want to have a "plan" for a budget, physical fitness, and overall mental health (yah...I know....baby steps...right?)

Well, I can say that I am officially organized OUT. I have shredded old documents (non-incriminating and incriminating), planned a budget (wish me luck), planned an exercise regime (when I get rid of these stupid shingles), organized my closet, and started planning my vacations for the year!

I have nothing else to organize. What will I do for the rest of the week?

January 2010

2010-01-05T11:14:00.006-05:00

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to be a better blogger for 2010. I am welcoming 2010 with great enthusiasm even though I am in bed right now with shingles.....which I ever knew was a form of chicken pox. I am using this week to relax, catch up on movies and things like blogging.

My theme for 2010 will be a quote from Mark Twain:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Welcome 2010......prepare for adventure!

Our Dear Sweet Shawnie

2009-06-27T13:30:00.003-04:00

So, it's taken me almost two months to be able to post about Shawnie's passing. My sweet sister in law (Travis's wife) passed away unexpectedly and suddenly on May 1st. It was shocking and devastating and we are all still walking around in disbelief. She left behind my brother Travis and three little boys: Drake - 9 yrs old, Luke - 6 yrs old and Mason - 4 years old. It is always sad when someone passes away and my family has sure had it's experiences with death of loved ones however, this passing has affected us all in such a strong way and we have all said it's like nothing we have dealt with before. We miss her terribly and we ache for my brother and his three little boys.

This is one of the last pics that Travis and Shawnie took. They took a week vacation - just the two of them- to Cancun in February. They had a great time.

This is the last Granny's Goombata that all of us were together. It's very fitting that Shawnie is in the center of the picture.

Travis and the boys are doing okay. They are living day to day. My mother lives with them and has taken over helping Travis raise the boys. Dori and Brian moved down to Lake Ridge and will live just 2 miles from Travis and the boys. Dori's kids and Trav's kids will go to the same elementary school. Dori and Brian live right across the street from the school so ALL the boys can go to Dori's after school. It's hilarious to have all the boys together ALL the time....they are so funny and Dori and my mom are in for an adventurous summer! The stories they will be able to tell!

I think it's going to take a long time for us all to feel "normal" again but it helps to have all the kids around and hopefully we can all start to put the pieces of our broken hearts together again!

It must be in our blood

2009-04-22T08:42:00.003-04:00

So, this is Robbie and Shane in their sparring equipment. I LOVE this picture. They just got their yellow belts a few weeks ago. My mother gets her black belt in 2 weeks. My nephew Drake (10 years old) already has his black belt along with my older brother Dustin who got his YEARS ago. I'm thinking family reunions will be fun from now on - we could start it off with a good sparring match! I'm thinking in order to survive in our family I should get mine too!

My NEW Car

2009-02-24T18:55:00.004-05:00

Karaoke at YaYa's.......

2009-02-24T18:31:00.002-05:00

Midnight Madness

2009-01-21T19:03:00.011-05:00

It was decided that some of the"essential" staff at the club would stay overnight on Monday because of the early street closures due to the Inauguration. We wanted to be sure that we would be there on Tuesday. All of our guest rooms (57) were booked months ago, so the women (10 of us) stayed in the spa and the men (20 of them) stayed in the exercise studio and a conference room.
This is the facial room where I slept. We put 2 women in a room (there are 3 treatment rooms that have massage tables) and then 4 women slept out in our "waiting area". Judy shared a room with me....I'm so glad she stayed over because it would not have been the same without her!

Judy and I went to dinner around 6:00 and then we went to Macy's at Metro Center. We decided to walk back and we walked past Fire Station No. 16 in hopes to see a handsome firefighter I had the pleasure of riding in an elevator with a couple months ago!! Well, it didn't look like he was there so we decided to get some dessert. We walked over to Georgia Brown's because our good friend Norbert has a part-time job there. They had a 3 hour wait; we decided to go to CVS and get some Haagen Dazs and we went to the employee cafeteria to hang with some of the staff. They were watching the movie 'U.S. Marshalls' in Spanish.

We finally made it to the Sports Lounge around 10:15 and set up camp. The party began with me and Masra playing some Rummikub and then Marchese and Regina vs. Me and Masra in a games of Spades. Masra and I KICKED BOOTIE!!!!

Soon, others joined in on our fun. Most of us were in our pj's by then. I brought my laptop with some speakers and we put on my iTunes. Every one was a bit hyped up...it was fun.

John and Sean showed up around midnight. They are the chefs at the club and made some food for us. John is holding some peanut butter ice cream that Sean made..it was pretty tasty!

John eventually took over as DJ. He was impressed by my library of music - it's rather eclectic.

Amela showed up for a while but retired rather early. (around 12:30 am) She is the Housekeeping Manager and had already had such a busy day and would have an even more busy day on Tuesday.

This is Norbert. He was showing us how to dance.....yah.......don't ask.

Me, Marchese and Miguel. This is around 2:30 am.....we were pretty tired at this point.

So, we finally got to bed around 3:00 and I woke up around 6:00. Everyone was exhausted but we had a great time. It was a fun group to spend the night with!

D.C. was absolutely crazy on Inauguration Day. We work a couple blocks from the White House so Judy and I walked to Starbucks in the morning and the streets were lined with vendors selling food (chicken, shrimp, funnel cakes) and Obama memorabilia. The people making their way to the mall (literally thousands) were so excited and I have never seen so much fur in my life! Everyone was wearing fur coats....it was a sight to see!

I have always been grateful that I grew up so close to D.C. and know I am glad that I actually work in the district. I never thought I'd like to work in D.C. but now that I've been down there for 4 years I really love it.

Got Cough Syrup?

2009-01-13T14:30:00.005-05:00

So, I have bronchitis and my Dr. prescribed a cough syrup with codeine. Well.........I think the pharmacist made a mistake because I got a whole PINT of cough syrup! It is as big as the speakers for my computer!

It's kind of blurry but it says "BULK CONTAINER - NOT FOR HOUSEHOLD USE"

Really? I even have a refill!!! WAHOO!!!!!!

My last 2 months

2009-01-12T19:05:00.007-05:00

So, here's a quick look at the highlights of what's been going on for the last two months. I'm going to summarize so that I can move on to writing about THIS year~

Robbie, Shane and CeCe sleepover. We made Christmas cookies and watched ELF. I love when we have sleepovers~

Went to the Redskins vs. Steelers game with Daredevil. We LOST but it was fun!

This year for my annual Halloween party I took the boys to a farm. It was POURING rain~ They ran through the corn maze and got FILTHY. Everyone got a pumpkin and a toy from the gift store. You can tell that the boys are freezing in this picture. Luckily, Dori brought a change of clothes for everyone~

Robbie and CeCe at Drake's football game. Robbie takes great care of CeCe and she ADORES him!!!

Drake at his game - he's an AWESOME quarterback!

Coach (and Dad) Travis giving Drake some pointers~

The boys at the game~

Girls Night - it was my turn to host dinner. Merianne, Seabreeze and Jen. We try to get together at least 4 times a year. I love these girls.....we have a great time when we are together~

Jen and Seabreeze

BFF

2008-12-21T20:43:00.005-05:00

I have great friends and always have. These two women have been such a part of my life that they are as close as sisters to me.

This is Eileen and me at my 5th b-day. I have known Eileen since I was 4 years old and she has been my best friend ever since I have had a memory of a best friend. For most of our lives, she lived about 200 yards down the street from me. We were in the same kindergarten class and even played hookie one day!!! We started young. Eileen knows me by heart - I have known Eileen longer than I have known some of my own sisters! We have certainly seen each other through good times and bad times. She is one of the first people I call when something truly traumatic happens because I know I can depend on her.

I remember the day my father passed away. I was holding it together pretty well until Eileen and her sisters walked through my basement door and then I lost it. I knew she felt what I was feeling. She loved my father and he loved her (as well as her sisters) Growing up, I think she got just as many hugs and kisses from him as I did~

This is us - 31 years later~ we haven't changed much! Ha!!! Every time I see Eileen or spend time with her (which is not often enough!!!) I am reminded of who I REALLY am and I feel like I am home again. I am very blessed to have her in my life and feel lucky to have someone who knows me better than I know myself!

This is Christina (or Tina....I am one of the few that she allows to still call her Tina) We met our Freshman year of High School and instantly became great friends. This picture was taken when we were 15. I spent most of my HS weekends with Tina and we have some VERY funny stories that we are taking to our graves! Tina makes me laugh - A LOT. She remembers a lot more of our "adventures" and I am grateful for her memory - I'm not sure if I blocked these stories out for a reason but she helps me jog my memory and we laugh at the insanity of our actions as teenage girls. She is also like a sister to me. She practically lived at my house and still hung out with my sisters when I went away to college. When Tina got her first "real" job my mother made her a couple dresses so she would look professional. We laugh because we think she looked more like a Quaker. But.....big collars were the style back then and Tina picked out the pattern herself~

This is us on Thanksgiving Day THIS year. After eating dinner with my family, Tina picked me up and we went over to her mother's house. I hadn't seen her mother and stepfather in YEARS and it was good to catch up. Tina is someone I can talk to about ANYTHING and I can expect to get her HONEST and straight forward opinion. She doesn't hold back and I love that about her. She is loyal and trustworthy and she makes my heart smile.

True friends who love you for who you are, who you have been, and who you are striving to become, are wonderful blessings. I am lucky and VERY blessed to have these women in my life and to have had them in my life for so long. I know that when I am old and gray I will be able to look back on my life and see the wonderful influence and support these two women have been to me. I love them dearly.

Catching up!

2008-12-09T13:41:00.002-05:00

This will be the first of many posts over the next couple of days. I have a lot to catch up on! I will start out with my employee party and work backwards. My employee party was this past Sunday and Robbie has been my date for the past few years and we always look forward to going. We have a great time....he gets to see Santa and we eat and then we dance! Everyone loves Robbie and is happy to see him when he comes! He really is the "life" of our table. This year he accidently belched REALLY loud. Fun times.

I love this kid.

I don't know why he looks scared.....he told Santa he wanted a Fish and an iPod touch. I don't know what's more alarming.....the fact that he's 6 and knows what an iPod touch is or that he will actually use one!!!

Things I am Grateful For

2008-10-28T11:28:00.002-04:00

These are just every day things that I am grateful for......I could get really deep and spiritual and list those things too but that's much more personal and something I don't necessarily want to blog about. My friends and family are a given here.

So.....here are the every day things I am grateful for:

1. Heated Seats - I love that my car has heated seats...especially on a cold rainy day like today. It makes the drive to work so much more bearable.
2. Dr. Pepper - for some reason I have been on a Dr. Pepper kick. It makes me happy.
3. My iPod - COULD NOT LIVE WITHOUT IT
4. My job and the people I work with - I LOVE my job and I LOVE the people I work with. How many people can say that? I have a lot of fun at work and most days I actually look forward to going in!
5. My cell phone and late night phone calls.
6. My brain - because the more people I meet and the older I get.....I'm realizing I have a really good one. (ha ha ha)
7. People that wave a "thank you" when you let them in front of you while driving.
8. Makeup - it just makes the world prettier.
9. Soft blankets
10. Holiday scented candles

You are my sunshine

2008-10-20T10:29:00.004-04:00

Cece girl. She is precious and lights up my life.

She has such a STRONG personality - just like her mom.

I just can't get over how beautiful she is.

Kara through the years

2008-10-17T18:50:00.007-04:00

1952

1966

1968

1972

1976

1984

1986

1996

Strength in Sisterhood

2008-09-30T08:20:00.003-04:00

It never ceases to amaze me how much strength I gain from the many women in my life....particularly at this time, my girlfriends. I have several women with whom I am close to and with whom I draw support and peace from. These women care about me and truly have my best interest at heart. They give me advice when I ask (sometimes when I don't), support me in all of my trials and strenghten my spirit when I feel weak. They lift me and often times remind me of who I am. Over the past week I have experienced an outpouring of concern and love from many of my girlfriends and I feel so loved and blessed to have them in my life. I have recently re-connected with some friends from elementary school and high school and it has been so fun to remember the girl I was and see the woman I have become. I love all of my girlfriends for different reasons and I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many talented, caring and wise women!!!!

I love my Norbert

2008-09-24T12:59:00.005-04:00

So, I haven't posted in a while. A LOT has happened in my life....some things I will post...others I will not. Most of it is good stuff though. Some of it is just too crazy and I don't want to re-live so I will let it remain DEAD. Anyway, I will start posting more often now!

I will start with my dear friend Norbert. I work with Norbert. He makes me laugh EVERY day. I needed to laugh today and so he definitely pulled through for me.

We laugh, we dance we sing. We love each other....well, not in THAT way but you know what I mean. He's my sunshine on a cloudy day.

My mother is awesome

2008-08-22T08:23:00.003-04:00

So, my mother got her Bo- black belt!!!! She should get her black belt in the spring. My mother is an amazing woman who lives life and doesn't let anything or ANYONE keep her down. She is a survivor and has taught me confidence, independence and strong will. I love her and admire her daily.

My brother Dustin sent this email to everyone and I think it pretty much sums it up:

Congratulations Mom on getting your Bo-black belt!!!!

Quite an accomplishment. Very cool for the kids to have a Granny that can kick thier friends Granny's butt.

Now you finally got somthin to back up that mouth of yours.

We love you....

Conversation w/ The Keeper of my Heart

2008-08-19T08:22:00.006-04:00

So last night Robbie, Shane and CeCe were over while Dori and Brian went out for a while. Shane and CeCe fell asleep and Robbie and I were watching 'Surf's Up' when the following conversation came up out of the blue:

Robbie: "Yaya.....are you going to get married?"

Me: "Yah...I think so"

Robbie: "Well, I'm not going to like him"

Me: "You aren't?"

Robbie: "Nope"

Me: "Why not?"

Robbie: "Well, is he going to have tattoos?"

Me: "Maybe"

Robbie: "REAL ones?"

Me: "Yep"

Robbie: "Whatever. You can get married"

Me: "Robbie, I PROMISE that the person I marry will love you just like I do and he will be your favorite Uncle"

Robbie: "Whatever. I said you can get married."

I have to clarify this and say that Robbie is obsessed with tattoos.....he always wants the temporary ones put on his arms. He cracks me up!

3 Things That Excite Me

2008-08-12T08:30:00.003-04:00

Kenny Rogers concert on Aug 20th. I have loved Kenny since I was like 7. Even though he looks totally weird now, he's still one of my favorite singers.

Enrique.......he makes my heart flutter. This concert is one of the SEXIEST concerts ever. Oct 3rd will be a great evening!!!!! That's all I can say about that without getting OVERLY excited.

Vince Gill - Nov 24th. This will be an acoustic concert and it's 5 days after my birthday....what a treat. He could sing me to sleep every night....his voice is so smooth. I have never seen him in concert and am really looking forward to it.

My Gallbladder is GONE!

2008-07-20T08:54:00.006-04:00

I'm writing this while still on pain killers so I hope this makes sense in the end. Last Saturday morning I woke up with severe pain in my stomach. My neice Hannah had just experienced the same thing and so I thought I caught some "bug" from her. The pain was HORRIBLE and did not subside. I tried to continue my Saturday as planned but ended up in bed most of the day. Sunday did not prove much better. Hannah's pain lasted about 3 days so I thought I only had one more day of discomfort. I could not believe how constant the pain was~ I had never had a stomach ache before and was surprised at how much pain a virus could cause.

On Tuesday, I woke up with a high fever and I could not stand up straight because the pain was so intense. I called my Dr and was able to get in to see someone. The Dr. could not even touch my stomach as it was too sensitive and she ordered me to go to the hospital to get a CAT scan as it must be an "acute" situation. So, off to the hospital I went. I drank that GROSS stuff you have to drink and then sat for an hour until they came and hooked me up to an iodine I.V. so that I could get my scan. They made me put my arms above my head during the scan and all I could do was cry - it hurt so much. The technician was very nice and he tried to comfort me...I guess I looked pretty pitiful. Within 10 minutes the Dr. who looked at the results called me in the waiting room and said he was admitting me to the hospital right away and I would have surgery that night or the next day to remove my gallbladder! I was shocked~ I had never had any symptoms before Saturday. I was admitted right away and it was determined that I needed antibiotics before surgery so I would be operated on the next day. They hooked me up to an I.V. and pumped antibiotics and FINALLY pain killers into me. I love modern medicine.

I was able to go into surgery around 3 pm the next day. Dori and my mother came to the hospital and my friend Natalie was also there when I came out of surgery. They were able to do laparoscopic surgery which I was thankful for. The Dr. said that there was a good chance I might have to have open surgery given how inflamed my gallbladder was.

******WARNING****** The picture below is DISGUSTING and not for the weak stomach.

So, here is my gallbladder. A healthy gallbladder is supposed to be the color of the sheet it is on (robin egg blue) and it is supposed to be paper thin. Mine was over 1 1/2 inches .....extremely inflamed. The Dr. said he wasn't sure he had ever seen such a sick little gallbladder. He was surprised it had not bursted - which would have put me in a very life threatening situation. They kept a tube in me for 2 days to drain the infection and fluid -not comfortable.

So, I was discharged from the hospital Friday afternoon and sent home with some pretty strong pain killers......which I have no problem taking when the pain gets to be too much. I will be down and out for a couple days at least and am trying to get up and around more every day.

I want to thank all of my friends (and family) who came to see me in the hospital. I also got tons of flowers, balloons and cards. The nurses commented that I had flowers sent to my room before I even got there and kept saying that I must be a very loved person. They have volunteers that bring the flowers to the rooms and this one older man kept coming to my room with flowers and he'd say "more flowers for the most loved person in the hospital"....he was cute and it made me feel so good. I feel very blessed to have all of my friends and family who care so much for me. All of my life I have been blessed with great friends who have taught me about service and compassion and love. It's times like this when I get overwhelmed with feelings of thankfulness and love for everyone in my life. I am a very blessed girl.

Granny's Goombata

2008-07-20T08:45:00.004-04:00

This month we went to Cafe Asia. Hannah has been in town all month and it was fun to have her back with us for Granny's Goombata. It was Cameron's turn to choose the restaurant. Everyone (except me) ate sushi and then we shared main dishes. It was fun and VERY good. I love the women in my family and feel so blessed to be so close with all of them. Even though we see each other more than once a month at Granny's Goombata, it's always fun to go to lunch or dinner together and the conversation is always lively and interesting!

This is outside of the restaurant. Cece is going to keep us all on our toes. She was born into a family full of strong-willed women and she certainly fits right in!

Happiness is.....

2008-07-03T19:32:00.018-04:00

My New Favorite Quote

2008-06-21T08:56:00.004-04:00

President Monson said:

"When we treat people merely as they are, they may remain as they are. When we treat them as if they were what they should be, they may become what they should be.

In reality, it was the Redeemer who best taught this principle. Jesus changed men. He changed their habits and opinions and ambitions. He changed their tempers, dispositions, and natures. He changed their hearts. He lifted! He loved! He forgave! He redeemed! Do we have the will to follow?

True love can alter human lives and change human nature."

To read the full article go to: http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/EmailArticleProcess?action=view&cmlId=251117&locale=0&emId=173707503

Father's Day

2008-06-15T15:28:00.004-04:00

So, I have three "fathers" to celebrate today. All of these men have been fathers to me at some point in my life. Below are posts dedicated to each one.

First, of course is my father. I only had 16 earthly years with him but the lessons he taught me have shaped me into the woman I am today.

My stepfather Bob. A wonderful, wonderful man who was the only man able to step into my father's shoes.

My grandfather. Lessons learned and never forgotten~this man is someone who I find, as I grow older, impacted my life in ways I never knew.

Dad

2008-06-15T15:06:00.006-04:00

So after I posted about my father in March, I received several emails from family and friends about memories they had of my father. I am going to compile them and send them out.....they are precious.

This is my father and I at Rehobeth Beach, DE in a very close race it looks like. My father loved go-karts and loved to take us to amusement parks and arcades. His favorite game was Ms. Pacman. He was so much fun to be around - all of the time.

This is the last picture we have of all of the kids with my father. It is Easter 1986 - he passed away that November. He loved us so much. Two nights before he passed away we had Family Home Evening and he made everyone go around and bear their testimony and then he bore his. I remember feeling the absolute love he had for the gospel and for us. I am so grateful that I remember his testimony. My father constantly told us how much he loved us and I never doubted it.

My father was a great example to me of unconditional love for everyone, not just our family. He taught me about prayer and missionary work but most importantly, my father made me feel special when I was in his presence. He told me I was beautiful and so I believed him. He told me I was his "precious girl" and I knew it was true.

Robert John Bonaccorso

2008-06-15T14:51:00.004-04:00

Bob was my step-father. He married my mother in 1992. Bob was an amazing man. He took on a widow with 6 children and loved us like we were his own. He was always ready with advice and a listening ear. The best thing about Bob is how much he loved my mother and how he supported our family through many trials.

Bob and I had a tradition of going to a tree farm the day after Thanksgiving and cutting down my Christmas tree. He would walk patiently beside me as I literally walked over acres of trees to find the perfect one. It is something that I dearly miss.

This picture is the epitomy of Bob. Easy smile, easy going, easy to love.

Bob was a respected and revered man throughout Arlington County as well as Winchester, VA. I will never forget his viewing in Winchester. I was sitting with my sisters facing the casket and all of a sudden we hear these loud sobs coming in the door. His entire 12 year old baseball team was coming in single file just BAWLING. I have never seen anything like it. They were inconsolable and just layed over Bob in his casket. He was a very loved man, not just by our family but by hundreds of kids he mentored throughout the years.

John Wilson Grammer

2008-06-15T14:36:00.006-04:00

This is my grandfather. We were very lucky and grew up next door to my maternal grandparents. All of us could write books about what we learned from "granddad". Even my friends knew and loved granddad. He was the most hard-working man I have ever met and would do anything you asked him to do. After my father passed away, he became the man I turned to when I needed something and he was always , ALWAYS willing to help me fix my problem.

I found this picture when I was going through his things after he passed away. I love this picture because it shows a side to him that very few people saw.

I lived with my grandfather during his last year of life. EVERY Saturday night we would watch Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman and Walker Texas Ranger. Those are times I will always cherish. He was a simple man, full of charity for his neighbor and love for his family. He taught me the importance of hard work and obeying rules. I am so blessed to have had him in my life.

Fireflies

2008-06-12T21:09:00.006-04:00

I love living in the east. During the summer, nighttime is magical - all because of the firefly - or "lightning bugs" as I grew up calling them.

When I was little, we'd catch lightning bugs and put them in jars. We'd poke holes in the lid and have these fantastic glowing cylinders!

They are amazing little creatures.

Even now, on a warm summer evening, I love to sit outside, drink some tart lemonade and watch these twinkling bugs transform my yard from ordinary to enchanted.

Lettuce Wrap's Birthday Surprise

2008-06-11T10:00:00.006-04:00

Lettuce Wrap's birthday was yesterday. Daredevil and I surprised him by getting tickets to the Glenn Beck tour - in PENSYLVANNIA! We left our house around 4 pm, hit some traffic, drove through an AWESOME rainstorm, stopped at Burger King and arrived at The Forum in Harrisburg, PA a little after 7 pm. The show started at 7:30 so it was perfect timing!

Daredevil provided treats for the ride (awesome coconut cupcakes) from Georgetown Cupcake.

This is Daredevil and Lettuce Wraps during the 10 minute intermission. I forgot my camera so we took pics on Daredevil's blackberry.

Glen Beck during the last half of his show. His show was 2 hours and very entertaining!

Lettuce receiving birthday wishes!

It was a fun time. We listened to some great music (from my iPod of-course) on the way home and the ride was very enjoyable! The two hours flew by.

So, Lettuce is a year older. A year wiser. And a year happier - I mean how could he not be with me and Daredevil around to amuse him!

Memory Lane

2008-06-08T23:06:00.011-04:00

Well, I can hardly believe it but it has been 20 years since I graduated high school! WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE? So, I thought I'd take you on a little trip down (my) memory lane.

This was my prom date Juan. I can remember the very first time he asked my friend Tina who I was - I had a lot of fun with Juan - probably a lot of tears too -you know...the normal high school drama stuff. I wish I still had the slow song tapes he made~ha!

These were the boys on prom night. Joey, Matt and Juan. They wear their sunglasses at night~too cool for school.

Heather, Nan and I. Check out our hair. Nan was one of my dearest friends my senior year. We were joined at the hip. Her parents were pretty strict but trusted me for some reason and would let her spend tons of time with me!

The gang. Nan, Matt, Me, Juan, Heather and Joey in front of the limo.

Graduation Day!

Me and Matt - can my smile be ANY bigger? Matt was one of my best friends our senior year. I kept a pretty good journal in those days and he is mentioned quite a bit because we hung out a lot.

This was beach week - Dina, Tracy and Me. I don't think we slept for 2 days straight. Again....what's with my crazy smile?

Dina and Me. She was one of my best friends during my senior year. She organized a huge birthday party for me. Lots of fun.

This is Kevin and Tony - both graduated a year before me but we hung out quite a bit when they were home from school. Kevin and I became quite close and spent a lot of time together.

So, I hope you enjoyed my short trip down memory lane. My two BEST friends of all, Eileen and Elicia will get their own blog entry later. I just came across these pics tonight and had to post them. HAPPY 20th to me!

Table to eat on!

2008-06-05T10:41:00.004-04:00

So I just got a new dining room table and I love it. It is black and cherry wood. I got matching black chairs as well. I ordered it online and it was delieverd within 3 days! I was amazed.

So now, Lettuce Wraps, Daredevil and I have a nice new table to eat on every night! Yes, we eat together EVERY night...for better or for worse. It's actually pretty fun really....I'm glad I have them to keep me entertained!

The Electric Sunshine Man

2008-05-30T22:35:00.002-04:00

I had the best night tonight. I went with my friend Judy to see her two daughters in The Electric Sunshine Man - The story of Thomas Alva Edison - the MUSICAL!!!!! The North Chevy Chase Elementary School Drama Club was AWESOME!!!!!!! It was much more than I ever expected-truly captivating AND the dance routine was unforgettable. Broadway has nothing on these kids! The show lasted an hour and it was enjoyable from the beginning to the end. It was funny, "hip", and educational all in one show.....plus...I just can't do the dance routine justice...let's just say there were glittery hats and the rockettes famous kick line~ pure entertainment. I LOVED it and can't wait until next year's musical about the Revolutionary War. I mean really......what can be better than that?

OBX Memorial Weekend 2008

2008-05-29T08:33:00.012-04:00

This year my family had a mini retreat weekend at the Outer Banks in North Carolina. My mother, Mandy, Dori/Brian and kids, Travis/Shawnie and kids, Daredevil Diva, and my cousin Michelle with her husband Brian and their 2 kids came. We had SOOOO much fun. We decided to make this an every year event. We had great weather and a great house with a large pool and jacuzzi.

My brother Travis playing baseball on the beach.

Robbie talking to his cousin Hannah Rose (who is in Idaho). He looked like a little teenager walking around the beach with his cell phone. He is going to keep us all on our toes!

My sister-in-law Shawnie building a sand castle with some of the boys.

My cousin Michelle and her husband Brian. I got her to begin reading the Twilight series - we were all engrossed in our books the whole weekend.

Cece wrestling with Robbie. She was hilarious throughout the weekend too!

Beach "babe". CeCe was attached to my hip the entire weekend but I didn't mind....she makes me happy.

My brother-in-law Brian taught Riley(my cousin's daughter) some surfing techniques.

This looks like Mason is about to slaughter Luke but he was just covering him with sand.

Mason, Luke, Drake and Robbie in the COLD water.

Dori brought her massage table down and gave everyone massages! It was a great idea and everyone loved it!

So, we all had a great time~ I'm already looking forward to next year!

I'm obsessed

2008-05-28T10:53:00.004-04:00

So, I went to the OBX this weekend (pics to follow in my next entry) and I finished reading the second and third book of the Twilight series. I can't tell you how much I love these books! When I finished the third book, I RE-READ the first book in the series because I felt like I was going through withdrawal and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time! I cannot wait for August to get here when the 4th and final book comes out.
You should have seen us at the beach.....we were all passing around the books because we were ALL reading them. The guys were getting frustrated because the conversation for the most part always ended up coming back to one of the books. It was hilarious!

Seriously.....I have never had the desire to re-read a book much less right after I finished it. I am obsessed AND I now want to marry a vampire named Edward.

I'm a latecomer

2008-05-22T08:24:00.002-04:00

Okay..many of you maybe annoyed at me for being so late in discovering the "Twilight" series. I went to lunch last weekend with my sister and some ladies from her ward and all they could talk about was the "Twilight" series. So, I went out and bought the first book expecting to be let down because of all of they hype. It couldn't possibly be as good as everyone says. I just read the first book in 2 1/2 days ( and I work full time plus have appts at night) I have NEVER in my life read such a romantic book....it made me giddy. I can't wait to start the second book tonight. My sister, mother and sister-in-law have read the books and are so excited to see the movie that will be released in December of this year. Like I said...this is probably old news to most of you but just remember back to the first book and how excited you were and how you couldn't put it down - seriously - this book is amazing and I hear it only gets better!

What a Weekend!!!!

2008-05-13T21:32:00.062-04:00

Saturday was Granny's Goombata. We were also celebrating Dori's 30th birthday and had planned a surprise party for her that evening. We went to Coastal Flats for lunch and then took Dori on a shopping spree for her b-day. She was kind-of tipped off about her party from a friend but we (the sisters) did our best and lied our faces off to persuade her that we had nothing planned that night. It worked!

This is Dori and her husband Brian at Clarendon Grille - where the surprise took place! We were very happy that we actually pulled it off!

This is Mandy and Dori - Mandy did most of the planning for the surprise party. She is very thoughtful that way.

Our brother Travis, his wife Shawnie, my mother and our sister Cammie.

Cammie with brother-in-law Brian. We love Brian - we could not have picked a better brother-in-law!

See what I mean?

Mandy, Dori, Cammie and Katie. Katie is like one of our sisters. She has been around since Mandy's Jr. High days and has seen our family through all of the ups and downs.

This was Mother's Day - after dinner the kids had DANCE DANCE U.S.A. HILARIOUS!!!!

More dancing - CeCe does quite well being the only girl with 5 boys. She definitely holds her own!

What is it with boys and their air guitars??? It's like they come out of the womb doing this! It cracks me up!

The clan - LOVE CeCe's face in this. Shane's is hilarious too!

I gave CeCe a lemon.

I absolutely love my family. We have so much fun and my nephews and

neices are amazing. I am truly happiest

when I am with them. I am so glad that we spend so much time together and are so close. This is truly what family is all about. I can't wait for Hannah and Sterling to come out here this summer. It will be fun to have ALL of my neices and nephews around for a while. I am very blessed to have the family I have - we have been through a lot but I think it has only made our bond stronger and our love for each other deeper.

"Country Feet"

2008-05-09T15:26:00.003-04:00

So, one of my friends at work used the term "country feet" and I fell in love with it. It is the PERFECT description of what I am about to talk about.

Ladies: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not wear sandals or open-toed shoes without a proper pedicure. Don't wear sandals if your heels look like you have walked on a country road for more than 60 miles! Don't wear sandals if your toenails look like daggars. Don't wear sandals if your polish has worn off on ANY of your digits. Take care of your feet and they will take care of you! NO MORE "COUNTRY FEET"!!!!

Judy and Sheila

2008-05-07T14:22:00.007-04:00

So I could not make it through my day at work without my dear friends Judy and Sheila. We eat lunch together every day at noon SHARP and then usually go for a stroll around D.C. We have seen some very interesting people and THINGS on our strolls - for instance, this rooster purse. Judy doesn't realize it but she's getting it for Mother's Day.

This is Sheila. She is jewish and has taught me a lot about the religion. Sheila cracks me up - she grew up NY and we are planning a weekend visit - I can't wait. This is not her hat, however, it is very becoming on her and I think we should go back and get it.

Judy was supposed to be kissing Elvis but it looks like she is blowing on his nose. Judy is one of the funniest people I know. Seriously, her life is a sit-com and I love to hear all of her stories.

This donkey is outside our club. We also have an elephant as we are a bi-partisan club! Sheila prefers donkeys to elephants and is whispering sweet nothings in his ear.
So, life at the club is never dull with these ladies. I hope everyone has friends at work that make their day go better. They have been the light at the end of my tunnel many times AND are so good to have for comic relief. I don't know what I would do without them!

Congratulations Sterling!

2008-05-06T22:43:00.003-04:00

My nephew Sterling (9 years old) entered a drawing contest sponsored by the Idaho Statesman and won 3rd place for his entry!!! You can read about it below:

http://www.idahostatesman.com/greenmatters/story/367201.html

Great job Sterling!

The Keeper of My Heart

2008-05-06T21:45:00.006-04:00

This past weekend was a special weekend for Robbie and me. He's growing up so fast......TOO FAST, so I asked his mother Dori if I could have a weekend with just me and Robbie. I wanted to make sure that Shane wouldn't get his feelings hurt if I only took Robbie because (almost) since Shane was born he has been spending the night when Robbie spends the night. I told Shane he gets a special weekend too.

So Robbie and I talked about this weekend for about 2 weeks and planned
everything we were going to do.

Dori came down early with the kids because she had a bunch of massages lined up. She dropped them off with Aunt Cammie and I left work early to pick them up. We were going to meet Dori at Chuck E. Cheese for dinner (Robbie's first request) This is what my back seat looked like when I arrived at Chuck E. Cheese. Can you tell they are related? This picture cracks me up. Chuck E. Cheese was a lot of fun...even CeCe ran around like she owned the place.

After dinner, Dori took Shane and CeCe home to Winchester and Robbie and I went to Blockbuster to get some video games and movies. (THANK YOU Daredevil for letting us use your Wii) So, $30 later with 2 games and 2 videos, 2 packs of microwave butter popcorn and 2 packs of Twizzlers we were on our way home. We watched The Golden Compass which I thought was an okay movie.

The next morning we met Granny at Silver Diner because Robbie wanted to eat a grilled cheese and french fries for breakfast. He is DEFINITELY my nephew. We decided to go see 'Nim's Island' - which I LOVED. It was a very cute movie. After the movie we went to the park because it was a BEAUTIFUL day. We only stayed at the park for about 30 minutes because Robbie was itching to get home to play TRANSFORMERS on the Wii. We played Transformers for about 20 minutes and Robbie asked if we could go to Target to get "something Speed Racer". So, since this was "his" weekend; off we went. We got him a couple 'Speed Racer' cars, and some pajamas and got a bite to eat on the way home at "donalds".

We were home for about 30 minutes and decided to go miniature golfing! Daredevil said she would go so I called Lettuce Wraps and he brought two of his nephews and we had a great time. The boys were crazy and all over the place! Lettuce Wraps kept up with them as much as possible and Daredevil and I played a fierce game of putt-putt.

After golfing, the boys, Lettuce Wraps and Daredevil played kickball in the backyard and then it was bath time. Lettuce Wraps' nephews came over after their bath and played Transformers for about an hour. After, Robbie and I started to watch 'Enchanted' but we both fell asleep EXHAUSTED!

The next day we went to church and then I took Robbie home. I ended up staying in Winchester for a while. Shane is excited to have his own weekend now! CeCe started screaming when I said I was going to leave and it took Dori a while to calm her down once I left. She is quickly challenging Robbie for my attention. I LOVE those kids. I am glad I was able to spend the weekend with Robbie - he truly is the keeper of my heart.

My favorite "quip" from the weekend:

Robbie: "Yaya.....I can't believe I'm your nephew!"

Me:"Why do you say that Robbie?"

Robbie: "because you are like Santa Claus' wife"
Me: thinking..oh great...where is this leading "why do you say that?"

Robbie: "because you give me lots of presents"

Little does he know, he is the "present" in my life.

Cinco de Mayo

2008-05-05T11:41:00.006-04:00

So, I'm not Mexican. I'm not related to anyone Mexican (that I know of) however, I have been to Mexico several times. Today is the 5th of May and Mexico celebrates a victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla in 1862.

In honor of this splendid day, I am posting some Mexican things that I love.

Chips and Salsa - I could eat this every day. My favorite salsa is at the restaurant RIO GRANDE. It is really good. I know this is not "traditional" mexican food but I still love it just the same.

I love Mariachi music. Especially the ballads. Seriously, there is NOTHING more romantic than being serenaded by a Mariachi band.

Zorro - I love the movies - old and new. When I was little I used to daydream about Zorro....for real.

So, go eat some chips and salsa, put some mariachi music on and think of Zorro. I promise your day will be just swell!!!!

To my dear friend David

2008-05-02T13:45:00.003-04:00

The difference between Men and Women

2008-04-29T09:00:00.007-04:00

My sister-in law sent these to me. They are from the cartoon 'Non Sequitur'~ I thought I'd post them because it's pretty true stuff - men and women communicate on a TOTALLY different level and style.

What she heard: "It's your lot in life to stop whatever you are doing in order to serve my every need"
What he said: "Honey, do you know if we have any more triple A batteries?"

What he heard: "You are way too stupid to be trusted driving alone in bad weather"
What she said: "Drive carefully dear"

What she heard: "You don't expect me to take care of the kids, clean the house and make dinner do you?"
What he said: "Feeling any better, honey?"

What he heard: "Honey, why don't you put your head in a vice and I'll turn the handle until your skull explodes"
What she said: "Honey, why don't we turn off the T.V. and just talk?"

The Life and Adventures of YaYa

2008-04-17T11:43:00.002-04:00

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Red

Your color is red, the color of racy sportscars, blushing cheeks, and luscious roses. Red symbolizes passion, romance, and love. So, since you're ruled by red, you probably trust your feelings more than your brain and tend to act spontaneously. If you see something you want, you go for it without thinking twice — impulsive is your middle name. You don't wait around for people to make decisions, either; you dive right in. Quite the romantic, you pay close attention to your emotions. In fact, if your heart isn't in what you're doing, you won't be satisfied. Of course, even when you do pour all your energy into the projects you tackle, your impetuous nature means your passions can shift as frequently as the wind. That's why some reds have trouble with commitment. Our advice? Next time you're feeling fickle, think before you act, if possible. You might be surprised at the results. Overall, though, it's great to be red. No one lives life more completely than you do.

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/jumpto?test=colorogt&c=50652

SO, I got this from Laura's page. Not sure this is TOTALLY me, but I guess for the most part it is.

Maggie Mae's Car

2008-04-15T14:15:00.003-04:00

This is Maggie Mae. She moved in with us at the beginning of the year. We really like Maggie Mae as she is generally up for any adventure that we throw at her. Maggie Mae's car wouldn't start last night, so... true to form, Daredevil was ON THE JOB! She put on her super hero outfit and out the door we ran. (Well, maybe not "ran"....more like a non-chalant walk)

We drove Maggie Mae to where her dead car was and then realized we were not EXACTLY sure how to bring it back to life. Daredevil pulled out her handy-dandy superhero instruction book and found that if we had done what we initially wanted to do, we would have sent Maggie Mae's car in a fiery ball 100 feet in the air (and possibly Daredevil's superhero ride as well) We were all thankful for Daredevil's insight. We hooked the cars up and NOTHING HAPPENED! Maggie Mae's car needed a little time to come back to life.....I think it was just mezmerized by Daredevil's ride - Anyway, now we can add "saved Maggie Mae's car's life" to the list of Daredevil's superhero feats of bravery.

Water

2008-04-09T09:22:00.004-04:00

I hate it. Well, it's not that I HATE it, it's just that I prefer to drink other things. Well, okay....I hate it. I hate it even more with a slice of lemon floating around in it. Gross. It's all I can do to get just ONE bottle down a day....that's a mere 24 fluid ounces out of the 64 ounces a person is to consume in one day. It's a very rare day that I drink more water than that. I can't help it if I'm not thirsty and let's be honest...who wants to be running to the bathroom every half hour. I know what you are thinking....you're saying "your body gets used to it and you don't have to "go" as much". Sure. I tried it. You're a liar.

I've tried flavored water. Just because it's a pretty color or has pretty fruit on the front of it does not mean it tastes good. I'm okay with some of that vitamin water stuff but then you get the sugar AND calories so it kind of defeats the purpose. My friend suggested Crystal Light - which I do like however, have you ever spilled that stuff on your counter? IT DOESN'T COME OFF!!!! It stains kind of like jello does, but much worse; which raises a red flag ~ I mean...do I really want to ingest this stuff?

I know how good water is for the body. I know the benefits as well as the consequences of not drinking enough....it's my profession for heaven's sakes but I JUST CAN'T FORCE MYSELF TO DO IT! So alas, I'm left to dehydrate unless someone invents a pill I can take that will equal 64 ounces of water. I'll even donate money to the cause.

April Fools

2008-04-01T22:19:00.018-04:00

So, I need to give a little background about this story. A little over 3 years ago Lettuce Wraps bought a house with some of his siblings. Before I moved in, there was a lot of work to be done and the basement needed to be finished. We worked on the house for a month straight - EVERY night after work until the wee hours of the morning.

Anyway, one night Lettuce Wraps and I were painting and fixing things and he needed to go up into the attic to fix the bathroom fan. I heard him start to climb the ladder to go into the attic and I hear a "whoa!" and then "Kara, come here." So I go over to him and he says (with a HUGE grin) "Go up there." I think there's a dead animal or something and I tell him he's crazy but he finally convinces me to climb up there. I start to climb up and as I am about to stick my head into the attic I see this huge doll staring at me! He had propped the doll so that it was looking down as you were climbing up. It was TOTALLY creepy and freaked me out. BUT that's not all......the attic was full of naked baby dolls! Seriously.....it was so weird.

Well, the other night this story came up and it gave me a great idea for April Fools. Once again Daredevil was my accomplice. We got all of the dolls down from the attic and put them all over Lettuce Wraps room while he was at work. The story is told in pictures below:

Daredevil with her mining light afixed to her head. There were no lights in the attic. She is so brave.

The first doll extracted from it's living quarters.

Some were not full dolls.

And one was not a doll at all. This is the GOOD side of this donkey. The other side is quite frightful.

Eerie. More parts than whole dolls. What do you think that means?

This is the lot of them...unfortunately, they were covered in insulation. OLD insulation.

We had to clean them up.

This is how they slept in Daredevil's room. I wanted to sneak into her room in the middle of the night and put them all around her on her bed! Alas, she is a light sleeper!

Lettuce Wraps room. The sign says "That's what she said"....an inside joke.

When my neice saw this picture she said "yaya!"........that just makes this all that much more funny.

Here's one picking out shoes for Lettuce Wraps to wear.

This one clearly had too much to drink.

"DADA" "DADA"

No comment.

So, that's it. We left a video camera running in his room so that we could see his expression upon entering his newly inhabited room. The funny thing is.....he didn't realize there was a camera until I came over hours later. Don't you worry....I made a mental note of that!

I LOVE this stuff!

2008-03-31T21:58:00.003-04:00

This stuff is amazing. It has saved me many times. For instance, today, SOMEHOW beet juice got on my WHITE shirt. Beet juice for heaven's sakes! So, I whipped out my handy dandy "tide to go" and viola! stain was GONE. I'm becoming obsessed like Kelly Ripa in the commercials - I see people with stains and I want to run up to them and clean them up.

Speaking of beet juice.....when I was like 8 or 9 years old, my mother gave me beets to eat with my dinner. I don't know what she was thinking because what child likes the taste of dirt? ( I have since grown accustomed to the taste of beets and actually like them very much) Anyway, I thought I was being sly and put them in my milk and then told my mother I ate them. Well, my milk turned BRIGHT pink and my mother knew I had lied to her. She made me drink my milk and then EAT the beets. There's nothing worse than milky beets....oh....except black eyed peas. I actually threw up when she made me eat those!

The little blue pill

2008-03-27T11:28:00.004-04:00

So, VIAGRA is 10 years old today. Happy Birthday Viagra. I wish there was some way we could celebrate.

Last night at dinner with Daredevil and Playmate (btw; I've been thinking I should change his name so that he will not be confused with ladies from playboy.....hmmm...his new name will forever be "Lettuce Wraps" ) Anyway, last night at dinner with Daredevil and Lettuce Wraps we were thinking that the green M&M's should pair up with Viagra (see story about the green M&M's below) BUT, then we realized that plan could go dangerously awry when elementary kids...in particular boys......would get ahold of them. They wouldn't know what hit 'em. Just imagine the chaos in 4th grade Math class - no boys would want to go up to the board.

I know I know.....it's pretty funny....we agree.

P.S. The ONLY reason I know it's a little blue pill is because it has been all over the news today.

Daredevil Diva

2008-03-24T21:51:00.007-04:00

So Daredevil strikes again! We went on our 4 mile walk tonight to a thai restaurant to eat dinner (and then of course we had to stop by our neighborhood CVS on the way home) I asked Daredevil several weeks ago to spearhead a committee for me to decorate for our Stake Relief Society Enrichment Activity in April. Well, she has NOT let me down! She has proven to be worthy and loyal and best of all.....DEPENDABLE! On the way home from dinner (and during our walk) Daredevil (ever mindful of her duties) found the PERFECT tree for a centerpiece she wants to do in April.

She promptly dug through a pile of trees, found one she liked, and then hauled it home (with her CVS bag!) Truly amazing and fearless (never mind all of the people in the passing cars wondering why this lady was carrying a small tree)

While at CVS, Daredevil showed me her newest ploy to find a husband. It's green M&M's. Her plan is to hand out green M&M's to every eligible boy she meets and then let the MAGIC work! The M&M's even come with a warning on the back........

It reads:"M"portant notice: Consumption on The Green Ones may result in elevated Romance Levels. If you experience this effect, contact your Significant Other immediately. No official agency has verified these statements….but what do they know about romance anyway?

Her plan is masterful. She should be married by summer's end. I remember from my elementary school days what those green M&M's meant........ so boys......BEWARE~ Daredevil means business!

Easter 2008

2008-03-24T21:26:00.011-04:00

This year Easter was a lot of fun! The Spadetti's spent Easter Eve with me and it was a full day! In the evening, we dyed eggs and played around. Robbie and CeCe slept in the same bed as me and true to form, Robbie and I had a laughing fit until I had tears streaming down my face. That kid is FUNNY and smart beyond his 5 little years.

We went to church and then went over to Cammie and Mandy's house for an Easter egg hunt and dinner. This is CeCe "searching" for her eggs. She was so excited!

Robbie and Shane with their eggs

CeCe in her Easter dress. She wanted my camera. She LOVES to look at pictures...especially of herself. Whenever she looks in the mirror she kisses her reflection! I swear.....she is like her mother! I remember peeking in on Dori blow drying her hair when she was like 4 years old and she kissed the mirror and said "I love you!".

Robbie and Shane stiking a pose.

The Spadetti family picture.

My top 5

2008-03-21T09:41:00.005-04:00

I was supposed to do this a while ago....SORRY JEN!

Question 1. What are 5 of your favorite books (other than the Book of Mormon)?
I actually read alot and I read many different types of books. I generally like most of the books I read but here are my favorites.

1. Daughters of God - Scriptural Portraits by S.Michael Wilcox. I LOVE this book. The author mentions every woman listed in the Bible and Book of Mormon and talks about each one. I especially love what he writes about Eve.
2. The Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns. This is one of my favorites~ I found myself laughing out loud all during this book - it's about a young boy in 1906 in Georgia. It really is funny and tender and I was sad when it ended.
3. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. A true classic.
4. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Fin by Mark Twain. I combined these because you have to read both! These must be on your "to be read before I die" list.
5. The Gift of the Magi by O.Henry (pen name for William Sydney Porter) This is a short story and generally found in the childrens section. This story makes me cry everytime I read it. The moral is that LOVE is the greatest gift of all - which I whole-heartedly agree with.

Question number 2. What are your 5 favorite movies?

I'm going to include my ALL-TIME favorite movie first. It is The Trip to Bountiful (Geraldine Page and John Heard)
This movie was a life-changing movie for me~ it has so many under-lying meanings that I fell in love with it immediately. It's just about an old woman trying to get to her childhood home before she dies. (btw....she doesn't die at the end....) It's a very tender and moving movie.
1. Fiddler on the Roof - my 2nd all-time favorite movie.
2. Pride and Prejudice - the A&E version; I could watch this movie every day and never tire of it!
3. The Holiday (with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz) I relate to this movie on so many levels.
4. The Philadephia Story (Katherine Hepburn and Carey Grant) This is truly an enjoyable movie and Katherine Hepburn is one of my favorite actresses.
5. The Scarlet Pimpernel (Jane Seymour and Ian McKellan) I love this story and I love this movie.

Question no. 3: What are the top 5 songs on your iPod or MP3 player?
I have several latin songs that I love but if I had to choose, these would be my top 5.

1. Eva Cassidy--Songbird
2. Aretha Franklin --Baby I Love You
3. Howie Day--Collide
4. Chantal Kreviazuk - Feels Like Home
5. The Manhattans - Shining Star

Question 4: List 5 things you hope to accomplish before you die

1. I'd really like to visit the Czech Republic and Ireland. It's where my relatives hail from.
2. I would like to go to Alaska - just because I hear it's beautiful.
3. I'd like to get married - even though I don't think that is something you "accomplish".
4. I would like to write a book about my grandmother and title it "The Ballad of Bessie Ann".
5. I would like to develop a series of seminars for (LDS) young women

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2008-03-17T08:08:00.007-04:00

Since part of my heritage is Irish, I thought I would post some history about St. Patrick and some Irish tradition.

This is an OUTDOOR statue of St. Patrick. It cracks me up that it is an outdoor statue. Where in your yard would you put this?

Anyway.....St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for thousands of years.
On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink, and feast—on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

It has long been recounted that, during his mission in Ireland, St. Patrick once stood on a hilltop (which is now called Croagh Patrick), and with only a wooden staff by his side, banished all the snakes from Ireland.
In fact, the island nation was never home to any snakes. The "banishing of the snakes" was really a metaphor for the eradication of pagan ideology from Ireland and the triumph of Christianity. Within two hundred years of Patrick's arrival, Ireland was completely Christianized.

A Leprechaun in Irish folklore was, a little sprite, or goblin.
The name leprechaun may have derived from the Irish leath brogan or shoemaker, although its origins may lie in luacharma'n Irish for pygmy.
These apparently aged, diminutive men are frequently to be found in an intoxicated state, caused by home-brew poteen. However they never become so drunk that the hand which holds the hammer becomes unsteady and their shoemaker's work affected.
Leprechauns have also become self-appointed guardians of ancient treasure, burying it in crocks or pots.
If caught by a mortal, he will promise great wealth if allowed to go free. He carries two leather pouches. In one there is a silver shilling, a magical coin that returns to the purse each time it is paid out. In the other he carries a gold coin which he uses to try and bribe his way out of difficult situations. This coin usually turns to leaves or ashes once the leprechaun has parted with it.
The leprechaun 'family' appears split into two distinct groups - leprechaun and cluricaun. Although the leprechaun has been described as Ireland's national fairy, this name was originally only used in the north Leinster area. Variants include lurachmain, lurican, lurgadhan.

The shamrock, which was also called the "seamroy" by the Celts, was a sacred plant in ancient Ireland because it symbolized the rebirth of spring and the Holy Trinity. By the seventeenth century, the shamrock had become a symbol of emerging Irish nationalism. As the English began to seize Irish land and make laws against the use of the Irish language and the practice of Catholicism, many Irish began to wear the shamrock as a symbol of their pride in their heritage and their displeasure with English rule.

Growing up, we would ALWAYS have corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day. Here is a recipe (just incase you get adventerous)

CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE

5 pounds corned brisket of beef

6 peppercorns, or packaged pickling spices

3 carrots, peeled and quartered

3 onions, peeled and quartered

1 medium-sized green cabbage, quartered or cut in wedges

Melted butter (about 4 tablespoons)

Place the corned beef in water to cover with the peppercorns or mixed pickling spices (in supermarkets, these often come packaged with the corned beef). Cover the pot or kettle, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 hours or until tender, skimming occasionally. During the last hour, add the carrots and onions and cover again. During the last 15 minutes, add the cabbage. Transfer meat and vegetables to a platter and brush the vegetables with the melted butter. Serve with boiled parsley potatoes, cooked separately. (The stock can be saved to add to a pot roast or stew instead of other liquid.)

ENJOY and have a great St. Patrick's Day!!!

Bigfoot~ Fact or Fiction?

2008-03-10T22:49:00.004-04:00

Okay....some of you know this story but MANY of you do not. I have one friend in particular who mocks me and so this post is for him. He asked me to draw a picture and this is the best I could do for now.
You can be a believer or you can be an unbeliever - however, you must know that I would lay my life on the line to defend the validity of my story. Here goes.....

It was July of 1987. My family was at Ocean City, MD for a week at the beach. My mother, my grandmother (my father's mother) and I had been to an antique show at the convention center and decided to get some lunch at BJ's on the Water. This restaurant is 3/4 window and overlooks the Chesapeake Bay. I was sitting at the table facing the water and facing my mother and grandmother. (their backs were to the water)

Anyway, I was looking out at the water and about 250 yards (or so...I am not good at judging distance) I saw this THING! It was jumping from abutment to abutment under a bridge. In order to make that jump, it had to be at least 8 or 9 feet tall. Anyway...I watched it for a second and then looked at my mother and grandmother and said "WHAT is that?" They turned around and just stared at it......as I did. We watched it jump all the way across and then jump onto the bank. It walked up through some woods to the road and stood about 50 or so feet away and just watched the cars go by for about 30 seconds and then walked back into the woods until we could not see it anymore. This whole scene lasted about 1 and 1/2 minutes at most. Once it was gone, we were astounded and just sat there in silence for a minute trying to comprehend what we had just seen.

Anyway, I will not go into more detail about events following this event but learned that there have been other sightings in the Chesapeake area. In fact, there is a book and a website devoted to this thing.

I know what I saw. I don't tell people this story....for obvious reasons but it came up at dinner tonight (thanks to my unbelieving friend) and I told him I'd blog about it. All I know, is that I saw what I saw. I'm not crazy. I'm not delusional. I'm just a girl from Virginia who has seen Bigfoot. I guess I'm just lucky that way.

Monday

2008-03-10T09:58:00.005-04:00

Monday. This picture portrays PERFECTLY how I feel this particular Monday. Monday's are probably my least favorite day (unless they are holidays) I don't think I would mind them as much if I wasn't working but they are such a let down after Saturday and Sunday.

Oh well.....what can I do? I can throw my arms up in the air and scream....much like my friend in the picture.

Michael Gary Tull 1946 - 1986

2008-03-04T08:49:00.010-05:00

Today would be my father's 62nd birthday. It's hard to believe that he has been gone for almost 22 years. This picture was the last picture I took with my father. It is Easter in 1986 (I was 15) and I remember he was not feeling well. He is only 40 years old in this picture but the diabetes aged his body so quickly that he looks like he could be my grandfather!

This is a picture of the first "daddy-daughter dinner" at church. I was 10 and so excited for the evening. I remember how much I loved being with my father and how much I loved that everyone else at our table loved being with my father. He was a very funny man and all of my friends adored him.
Children especially gravitated towards him. I remember one Sunday morning a little girl ran up to my father and jumped in his arms and I had NO idea who she was and what she was doing in my father's lap. He hugged and kissed her like she was his own and this little girl giggled and was thrilled to have his attention. He was so kind and gentle and LOVED LOVED LOVED children.

This was another "daddy-daughter date". This one was particularly fun because we danced. My father was a GREAT dancer. He and my mother could be found dancing in the kitchen or living room on almost any given day. He loved music and it was a big part of our lives. When he started getting very sick he said his biggest fear is that he would not be able to dance with his daughters at their weddings.

This was Halloween 1985. He was not feeling well but wanted to be a part of the festivities. My father was very goofy and was always doing something to make us laugh. Always. It was so fun to be at my home and my friends loved to hang out with my father. He was so generous and very wise. He had this amazing intuition about others and understood things about people without being told. I often wonder how different my life would be if he were still here and the guidance and advice he would give me.

I had an experience soon after he passed away that taught me how to cultivate my relationship with God so that I would never feel like I was without help or a father figure. I learned at a very young age to rely on God and to recognize how he speaks to me and I feel very blessed to have this close relationship with God. I learned to turn to Him for EVERYTHING - because I had to. I am so grateful that my earthly father taught me how to pray and to expect to get answers and to trust in God and His wisdom. I cannot wait to reunite with my father, to again be in his presence, and to dance with him once more.

My father passed away in November 1986. I was having a slumber party for my 16th birthday and my friends awoke at 5:30 am to the ambulances and fire trucks etc. I don't think they will ever forget that morning. Within 20 minutes my entire ward (it seemed) was at our house. It truly was amazing how loved my father was.

The night he passed away, all of my brothers and sisters wanted to sleep in our family room but for some reason I wanted to be alone and I wrote this poem. (remember....I was just 16)

"Daddy"

Only sixteen years I had with you,

Everything is very new.

The years I had, I will always treasure,

for they brought me so much pleasure.

You are not here,

but your spirit is near.

You are watching over everyone,

sharing in on all of our fun.

You see the things we do each day,

"at home, at work, at school, at play".

Even though you left us quick,

our memories of you will always stick,

of your sharing,

and of your caring,

of all the things you did for us,

and how you did them without a fuss.

Daddy, you know you're one of a kind,

the type of person that is hard to find.

You were such a great influence on me,

and not to mention the family.

When I was sick, you'd never fail,

to bring me home some ginger ale.

You were always there when I needed you,

becaus somehow you always knew

when something was wrong,

you would sing a silly song.

You'd make me laugh when I wanted to cry,

you'd cheer me up when I wanted to die.

The examples you set,

I will never forget,

because you are,

"My Shinging Star".

The fond memories that I hold,

are the stories that will be told,

to my children when they are small,

of the BEST daddy of all!

I feel very lucky Dad....

to have the sixteen years I've had.

Friends

2008-03-03T21:23:00.003-05:00

The Giving Tree is one of my favorite books. It reminds me of how blessed I am in my life.

Throughout my life, I have been blessed with great friends. I have always been surrounded by people who are great examples to me and who constantly teach me new things about myself and life in general. I feel particularly blessed at this time in my life because I have some amazing friends.

Recently, I have felt so much love and concern for my well-being from several friends and it has touched my heart in a way that I have not felt before. I have one friend in particular who offered to fast with me when she found out I was going to be fasting. I cannot tell you how much it meant to me to know that someone was fasting with me and FOR me. I believe in fasting. I know it works. I also know that when people fast together for a specific purpose, miracles happen. I am so lucky to have a friend in my life who sacrificed for me so that I could get answers. Words cannot express my gratitude to her for her willingness to put my needs above hers (and the needs of her family) I am truly humbled.

I have another friend who, by his example, reminds me to be obedient and patient and that the "small stuff" really is just "small stuff". Through him I have learned how to let go and forgive and move on from things that aren't important in the grand scheme of things. I have learned about service to others and magnifying church callings and most importantly how to unconditionally love.

I have a friend who has taught me about courage and strength. She perservered through heartache and loneliness and single parenting and in the end was blessed beyond her imagination with a wonderful husband and family. She continues to buoy me up and support me in my trials and is a constant reminder to me that Heavenly Father loves us very much.

Another friend shows by example that the temple is a place for refuge and peace. That we should go there often to get answers to our prayers and that we can feel assured that we will get the answers we seek when we make the effort and have the faith to do Heavenly Father's will. She is someone I turn to often for advice.

I have another friend who has taught me that laughter really is the best medicine. She is a breath of fresh air and always fun to be around. She has taught me to find the funny story in everything and it is a great lesson that I have learned. Many times she has lightened my mood and has taught me to laugh at everyday life.

I could go on and on. My friends are truly a blessing to me and I love them dearly. I am grateful to have such good people in my life who I can watch and learn from and who can edify me as I try to become a better person.

My Girls

2008-02-27T22:04:00.015-05:00

SO, I have a temperature.......AGAIN!!! Sometimes when I get sick, I get very nostalgic and tonight I started thinking about "my girls". I do not keep in touch as much as I'd like to but I still love them just the same. We shared a time in our lives that was full of learning and growth and built a friendship that will last for eternity. This was the last day of our "presidency". I told them that Laura would get married first, then Heather, then Tema and then me. I said I couldn't possibly get married until I was certain everyone was "taken care of". SO, Tema needs to get on the ball !!! I understand she's very busy traveling with Gladys Knight and all but c'mon........

This was our trip to St. Thomas. It was my first time outside of the United States. We had so much fun. This is a picture of our private tour of St. John. Tema HOOKED us up! Later that night Heather saved my life from a GIANT cockroach that was as big as my head. I will forever be in debt. She was fearless.

St. Thomas celebrates Bastille Day. We went to a party and danced the night away! I even had a boyfriend that night named Robert. He kept asking me to dance.... he was DRUNK as a skunk and was about 6 inches shorter than me and smelled horrible. Good times.

This is Robert.

Heather and I decided on a whim to go on a cruise. It was a 4 day cruise over Thanksgiving to the Bahamas. It was the first cruise for both of us and we LOVED it. Here we are.......it's formal night. We were asked to sit at the Captain's table for dinner. Merill Stubbing eat your heart out~

The next Thanksgiving I went with Laura to Hawaii. This is one of my favorite pictures - there is a big sign saying "Caution...Bees" Laura actually got stung - I could not stop laughing-she was screaming in pain. HILARIOUS!

Finally, this is me and Heather at Laura's wedding. Sept 11 happened 2 days before we were supposed to fly down to Mississippi to be her bridesmaids. All flights were grounded. Initially, we told Laura we couldn't come but then again....on a whim (kind of a theme with Heather and I), we decided to DRIVE to Mississippi to be in her wedding. We made it 12 hours before she got married and left 2 hours after she got married to start driving back home. It was very fun and WHAT AN ADVENTURE!

I LOVE YOU GUYS and MISS YOU and even though I don't keep in touch as much as I'd like to, you will FOREVER be "my girls".

Las Vegas 2008

2008-02-18T19:30:00.020-05:00

I had a Spa Convention(http://www.dayspaexpo.com/) the first week in February and my dear friend Megan went with me. Megan got married in Dec. and her husband was kind enough to loan her to me for the week!
I actually was pretty sick with the flu the whole time but we managed to have a little fun!

My cousin Spencer works in Caesar's Palace at Giuseppe Zanotti - a high end shoe store. We met him for lunch one day and had a great time! He's a trip - very fun to hang out with. Here I am....trying on a $750 pair of UGLY shoes. I couldn't believe how ugly they were..I just had to try them on....quite comfortable really!

These were our favorite shoes....they were $1350. The picture does not do them justice......they REALLY are beautiful!

We were watching the Super Tuesday exit polls and were very disappointed that McCain was in the lead :-(

Here's Megan at the slots....I just couldn't pull her away!

.....just call me "Lucky"

We stayed at thePalazzo....a new addition to the Venetian. It has only been open a month and it was beautiful. The room was amazing.....it had a sunk-in living room~ all of the rooms are suites.

We were able to see STOMP OUT LOUD - It was AMAZING. I loved it.

Next year the conference will be the last week of Jan. It's always in Vegas but they switch up the hotels. Last year it was at Mandalay Bay.......I liked the Palazzo MUCH better!

Love makes the world go around

2008-02-14T09:20:00.012-05:00

This blog is dedicated to my gentlemen friends at the UClub of whom are NOT celebrating this day of love. I have hope for you yet. Happy Valentines Day. ...keep the faith -

These are a few of the things I am in LOVE with:

I love my sisters. I have 3 sisters (and 2 brothers) and while I adore my brothers, there's just something special about my sisters.

I am in love with snorkeling. I could do it ALL day. The ocean amazes me and I love that there is a whole other world in the ocean. Fascinating!

I love Fall leaves. They make me happy -

Is it possible to be in love with someone you have never met? I am IN LOVE with Enrique. I have this very strange love for latin music - in fact, I have just as many latin songs on my iPod as I do enlish songs.

I mean REALLY~ ( I know this picture is cheesy but c'mon.......who wouldn't want this man singing slow songs in your ear)

I am in love with caribbean water - the colors amaze me. The prettiest water I have ever seen was in St. Thomas - it literally took my breath away.

My fav. My nephew Sterling always brings me swedish fish when he sees me. He's been doing this since he was 3 (he is now 9)

Flowers bring me true joy. They honestly brighten my day.

I am IN LOVE with slow dancing - the slower the better. It is my MOST favorite thing to do.

So, in honor of Valentines Day, those are just a few of the things I am in love with. I love Valentines Day. It celebrates love. We all need love. Even if you are not IN love at the moment, I hope you have people in your life that bring you joy and help you to be a better person. I hope you are able to do something for someone (even a friend) because you know it will make them happy. Everyone needs to know that someone cares about them. Love makes the world go around!

ICE ICE BABY

2008-02-13T10:00:00.005-05:00

It started raining/sleeting around 3pm yesterday. For those of you that live in the area (or have lived in the area) you know how treacherous our ice storms are.

Well, after dinner last night my roommate (the courageous Katie Hinckley which will hereafter be called "daredevil diva") and I decided to take a stroll to our neighborhood CVS to purchase dishwashing liquid. Really, we just wanted to get out of the house and thought it would be an adventure to walk in the sleet/ice.

We should have known what we were in for. Upon stepping out of our front door onto our concrete porch we slid right off into the grass! Now, the grass was okay....you could get some sort of traction but the sidewalks and streets were a sheet of black ice.

We slowly made our way down the street....well, let me re-phrase. We slowly shuffled down the street, slipping and sliding the whole time. I actually ended up in a side splits (luckily I am still pretty flexible from my gymnast days) and tried to get up and ended up in a downward dog position (for those yoga buffs). "Daredevil Diva" tried to come to my rescue but it was so comical. I wish we would have had a camera - my stomach hurt from laughing so hard - or maybe it was because I pulled every muscle on my very graceful display.

At one point, we had to hold on to a tractor that was parked on the side of the street to pass by. I thought one of us would end up under it for sure. Daredevil blazed the way for the most part so I just watched her and stayed away from the spots that caused her to breakdance like a champ.

We finally got to CVS but I was so drained and TIRED and couldn't possibly figure out how we were going to make it home because most of the trip would be downhill! My hair was a helmet of ice - rather becoming really.

We called our ever faithful and loyal friend Jeremy (which will hereafter be called "polite playmate"). "Polite Playmate" had retired to his bed already and was in his pj's but came out to rescue us from our dangerous dilema. We thank him for saving our lives and will forever be indebted to him for his kindness.

While at CVS, we bought some ICE MELT which worked great and I am thankful I was able to get to my car safely this morning. It's beautiful....ice covered trees look magical. It's funny to think that something so beautiful can also be so dangerous...kind of like Daredevil Diva.

Reasons why I love my roommate Katie Hinckley

2008-02-11T21:22:00.000-05:00

Here are just a few reasons why I love my roommate Katie (other than the fact that she wants to stay in an ice hotel just like me!):
10. She buys me gossip magazines when I am sick
9. She loves McDonalds JUST AS MUCH as I do....I mean really....what are the odds?
8. She cleans out the fridge and throws EVERYTHING away
7. She secretly loves Kenny Rogers - my secret crush since I was a young girl
6. She takes care of my fish Mickey when I am away
5. She's quite strong and moves furniture like a PRO
4. She ONLY wears flip-flops - even in the snow
3. She can break it down at a mid-singles dance - GO KATIE... GO KATIE
2. She makes really good food when I am hungry like the wolf

AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON I LOVE KATIE: (drum roll please......)

SHE DOES WINDOWS!!!

So, my nephew broke our window several months ago and we JUST got around to fixing it!

Here is Katie - risking life and limb to clean our windows. She's awesome.

Every Girl Needs a Fancy Glass

2008-01-31T21:08:00.001-05:00

Every girl needs a "fancy glass". Everything tastes better in a "fancy glass". There's nothing better than climbing into bed, reading a book or watching T.V. with your "fancy glass" on the nightstand. I'm telling you, EVERY girl needs a "fancy glass".

I found this at Pier One Imports - it was on sale - 90% off! I snatched it up right away~ I mean...a "fancy glass" is even better if you can get it at a bargain. Unfortunately, this picture does not do it justice. The stem is beautiful but you can't tell in the picture.

It's apple juice...I SWEAR!!!

President Hinckley

2008-01-27T22:46:00.001-05:00

President Hinckley passed away last night. I am so grateful that my neice Hannah and I were able to attend the last conference he presided over. It was an amazing experience and one I will cherish for the rest of my life. His passing brings many feelings, memories and ponderings to the forefront of my thoughts. I am saddened but of-course peaceful that he is reunited with our Father in Heaven, his wife who passed away some years ago, and other family members with whom he is sealed to. I have faith and take comfort in knowing that the church will continue to be lead by a prophet and that the Lord's work will continue without missing a step. I love the gospel and am so blessed to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

President Gordon B. Hinckley April 1, 2006, Sunday morning session of the 176th Annual World General Conference

“I hope that all of you will remember that on this Sabbath day you heard me bear my witness that this is God’s holy work. The vision given the Prophet Joseph in the grove of Palmyra was not an imaginary thing. It was real. It occurred in the broad light of day. Both the Father and the Son spoke to the boy. He saw Them standing in the air above him. He heard Their voices. He gave heed to Their instruction.
“It was the resurrected Lord who was introduced by His Father, the great God of the universe. For the first time in recorded history, both the Father and the Son appeared together to part the curtains and open this, the last and final dispensation, the dispensation of the fullness of times.
“The Book of Mormon is all that it purports to be—a work recorded by prophets who lived anciently and whose words have come forth “to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations” (Book of Mormon title page).
“The priesthood has been restored under the hands of John the Baptist and Peter, James, and John. All the keys and authority pertaining to eternal life are exercised in this Church.
“Joseph Smith was and is a prophet, the great Prophet of this dispensation. This Church, which carries the name of the Redeemer, is true.
“I leave you my testimony, my witness, and my love for each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”

http://www.ldslivingmagazine.com/articles/show/1370

FOOD ART by Jeremy Freeman

2008-01-27T00:02:00.000-05:00

It FINALLY Snowed!

2008-01-17T18:13:00.001-05:00

Well, it FINALLY snowed. We got about 2 inches and it is HEAVY and wet snow; not light and dry like it is out west. I had taken the day off of work so that I could watch Robbie and CeCe while Dori took Shane to a Dr. appt in Fairfax. It was an added bonus that on my day off, it SNOWED. Here is a picture of Shane, CeCe and Robbie looking at the first flakes.....which were HUGE.

This is a picture of the tree in our front yard- it was so pretty. I LOVE snow. We started a fire around 10am and have had it going all day. I also made chili in the crock pot - I just love days like this.

After the Dr. appt., Robbie and Shane went outside to play football in the snow. They are Redskin fanatics (thanks to their mom and dad)

Robbie - kicking his "field goal" and I guess Shane is in his "defense stance"

After the game - shaking hands and saying "no hard feelings"

I have a webcam

2008-01-16T08:57:00.000-05:00

So, my neice Hannah asked me to get a webcam because she got one for Christmas. We can talk and see each other instead of IMing. So, I got one.

I am QUICKLY re-thinking this however because I took a picture of what I look like on the webcam. Here I am, in all my glory (no make-up) in bed talking to my neice. This is how I will always look on webcam because I will only be talking to my neice when I am in bed and getting ready to go to sleep (she is 2 hours behind me in Idaho). When I bought the webcam it was under the impression that I would ONLY be talking to my neice and this picture has surely sealed that decision.

Last night I watched (and helped) Hannah study for her Spanish final exam. She was so funny to watch and listen to as she worked out the problems she was studying. I wish I could've recorded some of her facial expressions. She is so pretty and SMART~ I'm glad that we can connect over the webcam - it's actually really fun.

LOVE & MISS YOU MI SOBRINA!

Granny's Goombata

2008-01-14T22:04:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we had the first Granny's Goombata of 2008. It was at Shawnie's house and we had a tea party. Shawnie set a beautiful table and we each had our own tea pot. Drake (8 yrs old) dressed up in a suit and served us. He was FANTASTIC and he made the day more special. We had a GREAT time! Dori couldn't make it this time but will be sure to be at our next one!

Drake lead us into the dining room one at a time, pulled the chair out for us and sat us at our seat.

He then put the napkins on our laps.

He poured our water and brought around the tea for us to choose what we wanted.

We had quiche, chicken satay, egg rolls, cucumber sandwiches, chocolate covered strawberries and bite sized cheesecakes. It was YUMMY!

Drake serving Mandy the egg rolls w/ sweet and sour sauce.

It was really fun. We all enjoyed ourselves. I love Granny's Goombata. It's so nice to get all of the women together once a month to share stories and conversation with one another. I am glad we live close enough to do this (except for Hannah and Christy whom we miss TERRIBLY) I love all of the women in my family so much. Each one is different and each one brings a unique spirit to our family. I truly am blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful women.

Mini Dori

2008-01-11T08:27:00.001-05:00

So, Dori had some pictures taken of CeCe to send in to the Regis and Kelly beautiful baby contest. Is this girl BEAUTIFUL or what?
She looks like a mini Dori~ the best thing is, she's got Dori's personality too. I could look at this picture all day.

I LOVE being an Aunt.

Happy New Year

2008-01-05T17:54:00.000-05:00

It was a BUSY end of the year. I spent Christmas Eve/Morning at Dori and Brian's. You just have to wake up Christmas morning with kids....it makes all the difference. We went over to Travis and Shawnie's later that afternoon for dinner. It was a nice day and our Christmas dinner was very good.....everything tasted perfect.

2008 so far, has been a great year. I spent New Year's Eve at Brian and Dori's. Robbie and I rang in the new year - we had sparkling cider and everything. Robbie made a toast and we clinked glasses and said "cheers"....he was a great date and I could not have asked for a better night.

I have made some goals for 2008. I have to be honest and say I've never REALLY made New Year's Resolutions before so I'm pretty excited about it. I think this is going to be a good year. I can't explain why, but I just feel good about it. I'm sure I just jinxed myself but that's okay....I don't really believe in jinxes anyway!

So, I have to post this picture of CeCe. I love it. It looks like she is in the middle of singing an opera. It just cracks me up. I think, in fact, she was getting ready to pounce on her brother for some cool ranch doritoes.

She got 'em. She FINALLY started walking and looks like a drunk sailor - she'll be running from Dori before too long.

Like I said, the end of the year was VERY busy and it has taken a couple of days to recuperate. It has been very cold here and I am just PRAYING for a huge snow storm to dump a couple feet of snow on us. That would make the beginning to 2008 PERFECT!

The joys of being an Aunt

2007-12-16T22:25:00.001-05:00

This weekend I went to Winchester to babysit for Dori and Brian while they went to a Bed &
Breakfast. I had so much fun I can't possibly write about everything in this blog. I will however, write about the highlights.

This is a picture that even I would not believe had I not actually taken the picture myself. The boys (Robbie 5 yrs and Shane 3 yrs) and I made pizza's for dinner. I could tell CeCe was tired during dinner but she managed to eat a slice of cheese pizza. I started cleaning up and looked over at her and she had pulled her shirt over her head. I noticed a minute later that it had not moved ~ I went over to her to play "peek-a-boo" thinking she was patiently waiting for me to say something to her and I realized she was ASLEEP! It was hilarious!

This is her right after her bath and AFTER I woke her up. She fell asleep around 8 so I put her in her crib. Robbie, Shane and I always sleep on an air mattress in the living room (on the main level) whenever I spend the night. CeCe woke up around 9 o'clock and started yelling "Ya Ya" from her crib. Robbie was the only one still awake and we had been talking and watching T.V. We decided to let CeCe cry for 5 minutes and then if she didn't put herself back to sleep we would go up and sing to her. Well, right before we were going to go up to her room, Robbie said "let's say a prayer so that CeCe goes to sleep".......so Robbie proceeded to say a prayer. As soon as he said "AMEN" she stopped crying...I mean INSTANTLY. We looked at each other in astonishment and Robbie throws both arms in the air and yelled " IT WORKED". We both busted out laughing and he flings his little hand over my mouth so CeCe can't hear us laughing. (which made me laugh more and LOUDER) We laughed for 5 minutes straight and I had tears streaming down my face. Our laughing fits are becoming a common event when I spend the night now. I swear you would think Robbie was a teenager with the humor he has and the things he "gets". The last time I was there and we had a laughing fit, Shane was throwing up in the bathroom and we got the giggles so bad! It was terrible and so funny all the same.

We had a WONDERFUL ice storm too. I am a little disappointed that we did not get the snow that was expected but we woke up to ice coated trees and it was beautiful.

It was a great weekend. I am always so happy when I spend time with my neices and nephews - I am so blessed to have such an amazing family!!!!

P.S. I STILL believe in Santa

2007-12-14T09:33:00.000-05:00

1.Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper with really pretty ribbon

2. Real tree or artificial? I have both. The real one is a more formal one upstairs and the artificial one is downstairs and it is the "santa" tree.

3.When do you put up the tree & decorate? I usually decorate the day or weekend after Thanksgiving

4. Favorite gift received as a child? Hmmm..I really liked all of my presents as a child. My parents always did very well. I think my FAVORITE was a chalkboard. I LOVED to play school.

5. Do you like eggnog? RAW EGGS? OH H*#!! NO!

6. Do you like Hot Buttered Rum? I probably would if I drank alcohol.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, it's from Mexico

8. Hardest person to buy for? No one really....I can usually find something for everyone

9. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Slippers that were 3 sizes too big and a REALLY ugly gold frame.

11. Favorite Christmas Movie? Miracle on 34th Street(original and remake) plus I LOVE LOVE LOVE It's A Wonderful Life and I like White Christmas too (1954 - Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye)

12. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I actually shop in January for some things when everything is on sale. I like to do a lot of my shopping on the internet so I REALLY start shopping around August.

13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Probably more times than I should've

14. Favorite Christmas Treat? Edy's Peppermint Ice cream and Peppermint Hot Chocolate w/LOTS of whip cream

15. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear on the formal tree, colored on the "santa" tree

16. Favorite Christmas song? The First Noel and The Little Drummer Boy

17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Well, this year I will be at Dori and Brian's Christmas Eve/morning and then at Trav and Shawnie's for the day

18. Favorite Christmas Family Tradition? Japanese food and a movie on Christmas...Oh wait...never mind

19. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star

20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? One present Christmas Eve which are always pajamas to sleep in that night then the rest Christmas morning

21. Most annoying thing about this time of year? TRAFFIC and really loud annoying music at the MAC makeup counter

22. Favorite ornament theme or color? My formal tree is Gold and Silver - very classic. My santa tree is all over the place - silver garland and everything - kind of retro and tacky but I love it.

23. Favorite full Christmas dinner? Turkey or Ham, mashed potatoes, rolls, green been casserole, orange cottage cheese salad, deviled eggs, 7-layer bean dip, veggie tray, pickle/olive tray and Rock Creek GRAPE SODA

24. When do you take the tree/decorations down? New Year's Day

THE Cruise

2007-12-03T21:29:00.000-05:00

My mother, my neice Hannah and I just went on a 7-day cruise! It was a lot of fun! We went to Grand Cayman, Honduras, Belize and Mexico. It was the first time for my mother and Hannah but I have cruised before. I have to say, I will never cruise Carnival again. I have previously cruised on Royal Caribbean and it is so much better. I told my mother that Carnival is like Las Vegas and Royal Caribbean is like Beverly Hills.

Hannah and I went snorkeling in Belize. It is supposed to be the 2nd largest barrier reef.....2nd to Austrailia. It was so much fun and BEAUTIFUL! Hannah was hilarious....I had to hold her hand for the first 15 minutes....she did very well though. We saw a bunch of Barracuda fish too.....it was awesome.

This was on one of our formal nights. Hannah took over 250 pictures - she was a maniac with her camera. We took some very funny/cute pictures though.

Okay....so Hannah thought that she was so cool that she could go into a bar and they wouldn't kick her out. So, we went to every bar/lounge on the boat so she could take a picture. This is her pretending to be drunk....pretty believable, eh? She fell in love with one of my favorites.....the virgin pina colada.

This is Granny, Hannah and Anthony. Hannah recieved her first kiss from a "boy" on this cruise.....from Anthony.

We loved Anthony. He was amazing. He liked us too. We told him we'd be back.

Every night we would have the cutest animals made out of our towels. This was my favorite.....especially since he is holding chocolate.

All throughout the cruise, I tried to scare Hannah. I got her REALLY good one night when she was coming out of the bathroom. She screamed BLOODY MURDER - I was impressed. This is us re-enacting the scare. (not sure why her date is off on her camera)

AHHHHH...this is our beloved Melting Chocolate Cake. It was sooo good....we got it every night. It looks like it's nothing....but it's packed with a delightful surprise. I miss it already. Hannah is going through withdrawals.

Every night we saw the sunset while at dinner. We had a great table right by the window. It was beautiful. Cruising is the only way to go. I highly recommend it.

Turkey Recipe

2007-11-20T15:26:00.001-05:00

This recipe is from my 5 year old nephew Robbie. He told his teacher how to make turkey and she wrote it down. He then asked his mother who would be making the turkey this year and she said "Yaya". Dori was instructed by Robbie to call me and give me his recipe so I could make it on Thursday.

Ingredients:
Chicken
Meat
Eggs
Squid
Turkey

Directions:
Cook it in the oven for 19 minutes

Oven Temp:
19 degrees

It's my Birthday and I'll cry if I want to!

2007-11-19T11:41:00.000-05:00

So, it's my birthday and ONCE AGAIN I am sick. It seems like bronchitis again. Seriously, it's ridiculous. It makes me want to cry.

So, one of my staff (a massage therapist from Thailand) brought this in for me today. I THINK she meant to say "Happy Birthday Kara Tull" but I'm not certain. It's funny and very kind all the same. I unfortunately won't be eating any today but will save it for tomorrow when hopefully my throat won't feel like I have swallowed several daggers.

I also recieved a dozen long stem peach roses that are EXQUISITE! They were sent from my friend Rob who knew that the very best gift I could get are flowers. I love them. They make me happy.

Other than the fact that I am sick, this is a GREAT birthday.

I see a pattern here.....

2007-11-16T09:50:00.000-05:00

A good friend of mine sent this to me and said it was me to a "T".....(of course, one part of this is yet to be determined....read on)

A Fixed Water sign, Scorpios are said to be stable in character, but also very sensitive and emotional. Scorpio is emotionally the strongest and is considered the most profound and intense character in the zodiac sign of the Zodiac. Scorpios are considered to be gifted.

Scorpio is ruled by Mars, the planet associated with activity and power. Scorpios are dynamic, powerful, and passionate. The Scorpio is one intense little creature, with enough poison in its own tail to disable or kill a much larger opponent. Scorpio personality can sting when hurt or angered. They never forget a wrong act towards them and usually seek revenge, even if years later. Otherwise, however, Scorpios are extremely loyal and can be quite compassionate as well as passionate.

The Scorpio can be the toughest enemy as they are often one step ahead of the game with their powers of perception, steely intuition, and suspicious nature. Their intuition can be so developed that they border on the clairvoyant; yet, outwardly they can look as if they don't suspect a thing. They are the supreme chess players of the Zodiac. Often showing an extreme sense of calmness and stability, Scorpios are infamous for holding their emotions within. Thus, they appear calm and stable, but could really be ready to burst at any moment.

Scorpio is a very sexually driven sign and is the most passionate of the Zodiac. They are extremely powerful in bed and can overtake a less courageous partner. Making love for them is a spiritual act and partners feel they are taken to a higher level as deep emotion and physical action are involved. Scorpions are fiercely loyal and love one partner only. Beware however, cross a scorpion in love and you will regret it.

Scorpions are well known for their intense and powerful natures. Scorpios are very passionate, causing them to be exciting and magnetic to other people. In other words, they are extremely likeable for their intuitive traits. They are rarely found in the center of the activity but will always know just what is going on. They watch and take mental notes. Their deep sensitivity makes them the best and the most loyal friend but the same quality makes them the most treacherous of enemies. They excel at everything and anything, when they combine their energy, self-confidence, ambition and generosity toward others. They can be demanding of others but will never ask someone to do what they won't be able to do themselves.

Their passion and intensity lead them to lofty and important goals and anyone who has not earned their respect will fall to the wayside. They like to take charge and can effect changes with nothing but their sheer will.

Scorpions are a go anywhere type of bunch that love to travel. Scorpios prefer interesting places where things can be learned to places with pretty scenery and landscapes. Scorpios should never be taken lightly. They are dead serious when it comes to learning about others and will not stop their investigations into anything until they get to the absolute bottom of things. You won’t get much out of a Scorpio about themselves, though, as they are complex and secretive and too much prying can push them away. They live in a black and white world with no use for a grey area.

Scorpios are extremely resourceful in every sense, whether it is money or ideas and are ideal to have around in a tight situation. Their determined take-charge attitude can cause others to follow without realizing they are being led. Scorpios are fearless and determined to succeed, focusing on the beginning and ending of things and not much in the middle. They work hard to feel satisfied and have an uncanny ability to find the truth. They lead by example and if their aggressiveness can be controlled, Scorpios can accomplish and achieve anything they set their mind to. Challenge and competition are the Scorpion’s strengths.

It's a Wonderful Life

2007-11-13T23:12:00.000-05:00

The first fire of the year. This makes me so happy. I love coming home from work and making a fire, putting on music and making dinner. It's a wonderful life.

Of course, Dori and the kids were there to share this with me as they are with most events in my life right now. I don't know what I would do without them. It's true bliss.

A Few of my FAVORITE things

2007-11-12T21:38:00.001-05:00

This past Saturday was quite a busy day for me. I hosted a bridal shower for Megan who is as close to me as a sister. I love her dearly and will miss her as she begins her new life in Oklahoma!

She will kill me when she sees that I have posted a picture of my gift to her. (but doesn't she look GORGEOUS?)
Anyway, we had about 22 women over and it was a lot of fun.

My sister Dori made the cake - it feeds 60 but I saw a picture of this cake and wanted her to make it. Needless to say, we have some cake left over.

After the bridal shower, I changed gears and set up my dining room table for a dinner with my sisters and mother. Every month we meet for "Granny's Goombata" (Goombata in Italian means "special ones" and my mother formed our group after my step-father passed away last year. It has been great - just the women in my family meet once a month for dinner. We have a great time) This particular Granny's Goombata we were going to celebrate my birthday (since it is on the 19th) and I wanted to eat dinner at my house instead of a restaurant. I thought it would be nice and more intimate so we orderd take out from The Cheesecake Factory. One of my favorite restaurants. I was very happy.

I got my FAVORITE cake from Pastries by Randolph (in Arlington). It's a raspberry buttercream and it is DIVINE. My sisters and mother got me my first thing ever from TIFFANY'S. I absolutely love it.

From Left to right: Cameron, Mom, Dori, Mandy. Usually my sister-in-law Shawnie comes but she was on her way back from a week in Cancun with my brother. They bought a time-share! I'm glad they had a great time.

This is one of the pictures I love from the night. It's a classic Tull Sisters moment.

This is typical Cameron. I grew up sharing a room with her until I went to college. I get my silliest with her. There was one year where my mother banned us from sitting next to each other at holidays from that time forward. (We were in our 20's too.....laughing fits are pretty standard with us)

Okay....Dori had this strange alfalfa thing going on. We couldn't figure out why she had this crazy piece of hair that stood straight up! I couldn't stop laughing.

This is Robbie and Shane. They came over after dinner and spent the night with me. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day. I am sure you can see why all of these things are a few of my favorite things.

Forbidden Fruit?

2007-11-08T11:52:00.001-05:00

I went out last week to get Chineese food and my fortune said "Forbidden Fruit causes many jams."~

First of all, that's not really a fortune as much as it is a foreboding. Don't you agree?

Second of all, I prefer jam over jelly any day.
Just a thought.

DISCLAIMER: Not to worry....this is not a confession. I just like jam.

One of those days...weeks....years????

2007-11-07T09:05:00.000-05:00

So, I'm just going to call it like it is. 2007 has been an "off" year for me. Among ALL of my sicknesses, deaths in the family, sickness among family members etc. etc. I am ready to lay this year to rest.

Today has already been an interesting day. (it's 9am) I have to say, what I am about to share with you is probably one of the DUMBEST things I have EVER done. With that said.....let me tell you about my LOVELY boots I just bought. Macy's has GREAT shoe sales and I happened to be at the mall when the sale was going on. I have been looking for a while so when I saw these boots I was very happy..they were just what I wanted. I tried them on....well, right foot only and KNEW they were perfect. The next day I wore them to a party. When I put the left one on, it felt VERY tight and I thought to myself...."I know my left foot is not THAT much bigger/wider than my right" and thought it was so strange that it hurt so badly after about 3 hours of wearing the left boot. I wore them to work on Monday and by the end of the day could not believe that the boot did not stretch one bit and that my left foot was killing me. So this morning I go to put my boots on again (yes...I will endure PAIN for fashion) and I realized that my left boot was very stiff - unlike my right one. I stuck my hand in my boot and this is what I pulled out.

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? I mean, how dumb can I be AND how the (insert your own swear word) did I NOT REALIZE it was in my boot. I mean REALLY.....
So, I pulled it out, put my boot on and it was Heaven. No pain, not even a little discomfort...imagine that.

So, after that little epiphany, I get in my car to drive to work. Those of you that know me, know that I listen to music (sometimes rather loudly) in my car. At this particular moment, I was listening to Michael Jackson's BILLIE JEAN and I noticed an odd beat in the song. I then realized that it actually wasn't coming from my iPod - it was my car. So I turned off my music to see if I could hear it better. BOY HOWDY - it sounded like I had a flat - but my car was not shaking, and my steering was fine. I've had enough flats to know what they feel like. Nevertheless, I pulled over and got out to inspect my tire. I was almost expecting to see a dead animal stuck in the wheel or something. Lucky me, no dead animal and I could not see anything wrong....so, I got back in my car and continued on my way to work. Well, the noise seemed to be getting louder and people in their cars were looking at me so I called work and spoke to my friend Carlos. I even stuck my phone out of my window so he could hear the noise. He heard it and said maybe something had come loose. We just couldn't figure it out.

I called my mechanic and he said I could come in around 11am. I drive an Audi and they are expensive to fix and you have to go to a certified mechanic. Anyway, I have a mechanic that I really like. So, I came home and came inside to clean my house etc (it's what I do when I have a day off) I ran back out to my car to get a bottle of water and decided to look at my tire one more time to see if I could find anything. Lo and behold....look what I saw.

That thing is so big no wonder it sounded like I had a dead animal in my wheel. So, I called my mechanic and told him there was a STAKE in my wheel and he could kill dracula with it. He laughed his arabic laugh and told me that he would order a tire and he could have it by 2pm. So, alas, everything will be alright and I'll be back on the road tomorrow. With the way this year has gone though, I'd be afraid...very afraid.

My new Goal

2007-11-06T09:01:00.001-05:00

Well, I have a new goal. I want to visit each of the 7 continents sometime in my life. I have been to Northern America (of course) and Europe. I ALMOST made it to Africa when I was in Spain but decided not to go. Now, I really wish we had gone. I just looked up cruises to Antartica and it's not nearly as pricey as I had expected. This is a very attainable goal and I am excited to complete it!

So there you have it. My new goal in life. Wish me luck. I am going on a cruise in 2 weeks (Grand Cayman, Mexico, Honduras, Belize) and then to the Czech Republic in the Spring....so after I get through those vacations, I will definitely work on my goal. Anyone who wants to come with me to one or more of the continents, let me know.

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T22:30:00.000-04:00

Robbie asked me to come out to Winchester for Halloween~I left work a little early and drove out there to spend Halloween night with the Spadetti's. Dori made chili (which was VERY good) and I brought a salad and bread. Dori is ALWAYS doing nice things for her neighbors and decided at the last minute to bring some chili to two of her neighbors so they would not have to cook. She is the most selfless person I know.

As soon as we were done eating, the kids were clammoring to get out and get some CANDY!!!! I stayed at their house while Dori and Brian took the kids (and Dixie their dog) trick or treating. I was happy to stay so that Dori and Brian could go together.

CeCe was a "dancing with the stars" dancer. This picture makes me laugh. She's a natural centerfold.....we will have to keep an eye on her. She is getting quite a personality and I love her so much. When I leave her house to go home, she goes to the door and tries to open the door and yells "Ya Ya! Ya Ya!" Dori called me the other night and said "listen to this" and held the phone out so I could hear CeCe crying at the door and saying "Ya Ya, Ya Ya"....she melts my heart.

I call this "Popcorn Prayer".......I wonder what she was REALLY thinking!

It was a fun evening. I'm always sad to leave their home. I will be so happy when they move closer!!!!

2nd Annual Nephew Halloween Party

2007-10-28T19:18:00.001-04:00

I love Halloween because it signifies (to me at least) that the Holidays are here. I have started doing a yearly Halloween party for my nephews - they come in their costumes and we eat, play games and then run around outside for a while. This year was a little different because Sterling is now living in Idaho (we miss him so much) and Robbie was suffering from a horrible headache due to his spinal tap earlier that week. He wanted so badly to be a part of everything but would scream in pain when he was up and around. He absolutely wanted to dress up in his costume for the pictures - so, here they are:

This is Drake. He is seven. Travis and I cracked up when I was taking his picture because he was totally posing. This "clone trooper" from Star Wars belongs on the cover of GQ. ( I mean really, he's even looking off in the distance...sooo funny!)

This is Luke. He is 4 and is a Gargoyle. You HAD to see this costume in person. ADORABLE!

This is Mason. He is 3. He was a dragon. Check out his "fierceness". LOVE IT.

This is Robbie. He is 4. He was outside a total of 4 minutes. Dori didn't have to do much make up around his eyes because he was still so sick. He was a vampire - with blood dripping from his mouth (though you can't really tell in this picture)

This is Shane. He is 3. He was a power ranger. Check out his muscles! I love Shane's smile !

This is CeCe. She was an honorary guest. She got into the chocolate. She was a dancing with the stars dancer but the picture will follow in a later blog.

It was a fun afternoon and I am glad that everyone was able to come. Can't wait until next year.

I just had to add this picture. Robbie spent most of the afternoon on my bed. CeCe climbed up and layed on him for about 10 minutes....just hugging him and giving him kisses. It was so cute it made me tear up. I have the best family ever.

Oh What A Night!

2007-10-24T09:18:00.000-04:00

So, I get a voicemail from my sister Dori at 7:02pm last night. My sister starts out by saying "I am at the Emergency Room with Robert. They think he has meningitis and they have to do a spinal tap." Then she breaks down and starts sobbing and I can't understand much of what else was said except "come here, I need you, I need you, come now". I cannot even put into words what I felt at that very moment - I mean, first of all, this was ROBBIE and second of all my youngest sister "NEEDS" me for support. I wasn't sure how much support I was going to be because, let's face it, this was ROBBIE, the keeper of my heart. I was on my way to run an errand and quickly made a U-turn and headed toward Winchester, VA hospital.......a hospital I LOATHE. (Natalie will remember our little 9 hour jaunt to that very hospital when I severly burned my hand last year. Not a fun experience) I called Dori back and Brian picked up. He was calling someone from church to come over so they could give Robbie a blessing. He sounded very scared and very rattled. I called my neice Hannah because I knew she would be by a computer. I had her google "meningitis" and "spinal tap" because I wanted to know exactly what we might be dealing with. I also called my cousin Michelle who is a nurse to get some more facts.

I pulled up to the ER and Brian was waiting outside for me-looking scared to death. He brought me back to Robbie who was sitting on the bed with Dori. He was pretty out of it. He was happy to see me. Dori said he had been asking when YaYa was going to get there. He really liked the thing on his finger that made it glow red. Poor thing had to be stuck 6 times for them to get blood! You can see in this picture on his right arm all of the little cotton balls and tape he has on his arm! They were finally able to put an IV through his hand and that is why it is bandaged up so he couldn't pull it out. Anyway, we sat there for about 45 minutes as nurses kept coming in to check on him. He was pretty zoned out and just starred a lot. The Dr. finally came in to do the spinal tap. They LUCKILY put him under and we had to leave the room.

This is him just waking up from the spinal tap. He just starred for quite a while. I went around the bed to talk to him and he could only move his eyebrows. It was actually quite cute. The fluid was clear which meant he did not have bacterial meningitis which is much worse and very contagious. The Dr.'s think it might be viral meningitis so he was admitted for at least 2 days. It takes 24 hours to see if it's viral. He still had a headache and his fever was still high, plus, it still hurt his neck to move his head. The nurse had to stay in the room to observe him while he was waking up and stayed an additional 30 minutes after he was awake. THEN they could finally put him in his room. He was excited to go to his room because he had an X-box in there. The first thing he said when we got to the room was "this is a girls room, there are butterflies" Sure enough, the border around the ceiling was butterflies. Once he saw the nintendo though he was okay with the room. He was still very out of it and a very sick little boy. It was 11:45 by this time and I was getting ready to leave and Dori wanted to run home to get some clothes and things for Robbie since he'd be staying for a couple days. Brian stayed with Robbie and they put on video games while Dori ran home. I wish I could've seen Robbie play video games because he was SOOO out of it when I left, I am sure it was hilarious.

So, that was my night. Very scary and highly emotional. I am so happy that Robbie will be okay. I am sad he had to have a spinal tap....it did not look like a proceedure I would ever want to have. Poor thing....he was very brave. It really stinks to see a little 4 year old so sick and you can't do anything about it. I love this kid SOOOOO much.

Really? REALLY??????

2007-10-14T20:02:00.000-04:00

So, I was driving on New York Avenue today and saw a church that advertised "Blessing of the Animals. We will even bless your stuffed animals" WHAT THE HECK? So, I googled this and evidently, it's a world wide effort. I never knew! I'm sure you all knew about this.....but I have never heard of this. Anyway, below is info from one of the churches I googled. Seriously, this is wrong on so many levels I just don't know what to say....

Blessing of the Animals
Sunday, October 7, 2007
12:30 P.M. (immediately after church)
Open to the whole community!

We will celebrate the "Blessing of the Animals" on the Sunday after St. Francis of Assisi day (October 7) and the following Sunday (October 14) . This custom is conducted in remembrance of St. Francis of Assisi's love for all creatures.

You are encouraged to bring your pets and stuffed animals/toys with you or bring photos of your furry and scaly friends to receive a belssing in the garden.

Hot Caramel Apple Cider

2007-10-11T08:35:00.000-04:00

If I was into idol worshipping, I think I'd have to worship Starbuck's Hot Caramel Apple Cider. In the spring and summer, I look forward to the Fall and Winter and the crisp mornings/days when I can hold a grande apple cider in my little hands. It makes me joyful! I can remember the first time I ever had one. It was Christmas Eve day. I woke up with a terrible head cold and decided to get a pedicure before I headed up to our cabin for the holiday. Just thinking about the foot massage made my cold seem less terrible. I stopped by Starbucks to get a hot chocolate but in a crazy moment decided to try the hot apple cider. The heavens opened and light beamed down with my first sip. I heard angels sing. I've been a believer ever since.

I woke up this morning with another terrible head cold. I got in my car to go to work and ended up at Starbucks. The first sip of the first hot apple cider of the year has not let me down. I can still hear the angels singing....very faintly now.....but they are there.

My weekend in Utah

2007-10-09T22:11:00.001-04:00

I went to Utah this past weekend to attend General Conference and to see friends and family. It was a quick trip and I felt like I was going non-stop. I was able to stay with my friend Sissy and her husband and 3 kids. I hadn't seen Sissy in 8 years and it was great to spend time with her and her cute family! She has 2 boys and a girl and they were FULL of personality. I was able to be there when they had their "family night" and it was so sweet to see how Timothy and Sissy are teaching their kids how to love one another and the gospel. I LOVED it!

I was also able to see my friend Ron who happened to be my boss YEARS ago when I was going to the "U" and working at Franklin Quest (now Franklin Covey). It was so fun to catch up and reconnect.

My niece Hannah and I went to the Saturday morning session and it was an amazing experience. When the Prophet walked into the room, the Spirit was INCREDIBLE and almost overwhelming. I felt so blessed to be there at this time in the history of the church and to see all of the brethern and to witness the love and support they have for each other. You miss a lot of interaction by watching the broadcast. My neice was elated that she got to sing "live" with the Mormon Tabernacle choir. I was happy that I could share this moment with her. When we were pulling up to the conference center she said "Oh my gosh....look at all the Mormons!".......it really is a site to behold. I loved being there; feeling what I was feeling, seeing what I was seeing, and KNOWING that I was being taught by prophets of God. What a humbling and wonderful knowledge to have.

After conference my brother and childhood friend Chris came to pick us up and we went back to Chris's house to visit with his family. His wife Sandy and I were close friends in High School. They have 4 kids and I hadn't seen them for about 15 years! It was so fun and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. PLUS....it snowed and we took a drive up the canyon....BEAUTIFUL!!!

Saturday night I went out with my dear friend Julianna. I hadn't seen her in a year and it was so nice to talk and be in her company. She and I talked for hours. She calms my spirit and knows some of my most sacred experiences and has such great insight to share with me. I always treasure the time we spend together. It could not have been a better day.

There were so many people I did not get to see because of time constraints and I plan on returning soon. I had such a good weekend and loved spending time with old friends. I have been blessed through out my life to have so many good friends with generous hearts. I feel very lucky to be surrounded by so much love from friends and family. I love my life.

I need your help.....

2007-10-02T11:51:00.000-04:00

Okay...so I got this message on my myspace account from Amr. He's 30 years old from Alexandria, Egypt. Does anyone out there have a response for me? I have several, however, would LOVE to have your input. READ ON.....

Kara, If it's meant to be, You will like my messege and you will like me though the differences in religion, nationality and background. But if it isn't meant to be, You won't like me and you will think that my messege is over the top, and you will tell me one of the following ( Sorry, I've a boyfriend....Sorry, I'm not looking for a relationship.....Sorry, You are too far away.....Sorry, our religion are different.......Sorry, I'm looking for an american). If it's meant to be, I'll honestly be the happiest person on this planet.......But if it's not meant to be, then all I can do is wish you all the best luck in your life and Goodbye:) Kara.........When I looked at your charming eyes, I felt a spark running all over my body, I felt that I'm living in heaven......And when I looked at your warm irresistible smile, I felt that I'm the happiest person on this planet, I felt that this world is smilling to me......And when I looked at your beautiful angelic face, I felt that I'm flying in the sky, I felt that this world is mine!! And honestly I was looking soooooooooo hard, I was looking everywhere and anywhere untill I gave up and realized that the princess of my dreams doesn't and will never exist, untill I saw you!......And Please don't think me pervert or player because I'm not:) And I could have said ( hi kara, wanna chat?)....or ( kara, can we be friends?)....or ( you look good kara, what's up girl?).......But I wrote you a romantic messege because that's the person I'm, that's me!.....I'm a romantic person and can't change that in me.....May be you think my messege is over the top , but I think it's romantic......So if you are not interested in me, no hard feelings, it just wasn't meant to be.....It's life :)Please Kara........I'm not a bad guy :)

I've discovered e-Bay!

2007-09-26T20:19:00.000-04:00

Yes, it's true. I have never been on e-Bay.... that is, until this week. I am probably the only person in the world who hadn't succumbed to the e-Bay hype. I am not a patient person when it comes to shopping. I love sales if I don't have to rumage through a bunch of stuff. Anyway, I must thank my cousin Michelle for introducing me to e-Bay. A couple weeks ago I was visiting her in Wake Forest, NC and she showed me some things she was "watching". I was intrigued. I've been sick and at home for the last 2 days and decided to peruse online. Day-time T.V. just doesn't cut it. I'm happy to say that I just purchased my first item on e-Bay. I am very excited about it and can't wait to get it.

In addition, while I was in NC; I was up early and turned the T.V. on to pass the time until everyone else got up. Now, I must say, I have never watched QVC or HSN....EVER!!! For some reason, I stopped on HSN and saw a copier/fax/printer. I bought it. My mother and sister-in-law would be so proud! It was so easy~

I must say, my trip to NC changed my life. I am a believer.

Apple Picking

2007-09-22T22:07:00.001-04:00

My mother, my sisters Mandy and Dori, plus Robbie, Shane and CeCe went apple picking in Winchester, VA today. It was HOT (91 degrees) but a lot of fun. Everyone (except me) went on a tracker ride as soon as we got to the farm. They saw pigs and everything! We then went to pick our apples and Robbie and Shane loved picking "perfect" apples. The farm had live music, a kettle corn stand and a farmers market inside the barn. It had a wrap around porch with lots of rocking chairs and a playground plus moonbounce for kids. In October they have a haunted house and a pumpkin patch along with live bluegrass and lots of festivites. We definitely plan on going back! I usually go to Winchester on the weekends to spend at least Saturday with Dori, Brian and kids. I look forward to going and love it when I can spend the night. Robbie, Shane and I sleep on an airbed in the living room and Robbie and I always plan to get up at midnight to sneak downstairs to watch a movie but we haven't been able to wake up yet to actually do it. We always have milkshakes and popcorn too. It's heaven.....pure heaven.

This is Mandy and Robbie. Robbie made that hat in preschool. Robbie likes to wear hats.

This is Shane. He's driving the apples away.

These pictures crack me up. Especially Shane's. They wanted to take pictures of themselves looking like punks. Seriously....I love these kids.

My Nieces and Nephews

2007-09-21T22:34:00.000-04:00

This is my neice Hannah. She is 14 and a stunning young woman. Hannah and I have become really close as of late and I LOVE to talk to her. She is so unpretentious and FUNNY! She calls it like it is. She makes me laugh with all of her stories and I could listen to her talk for hours. I stand in awe of Hannah for many reasons-she has a quiet strength and a strong sweet spirit. She is extremely bright and has a 4.o average right now. She is the type of teenager you look at and say "she's got it all". I am so proud to be her aunt! LOVE YOU MI SOBRINA.

This is Sterling or as I call him "Buddah". Sterling is 9 years old and LOVES movies and books. His favorite series of movies is "Goosebumps". Sterling also likes to cook and is quite good at it (takes after his father in that interest) Sterling is a very special boy (and dang good looking). I remember at his baptism I felt such a strength and humbleness from him. He will definitely be a leader and a great missionary.

This is Drake. Drake is 7 years old and a black belt in Tae Kwon Do!!! He is also playing football right now. Drake is the oldest in his family of all boys. I love Drake because he still kisses me. Drake has many interests and is a great role model for his younger brothers. I love Drake's smile and Drake looks so handsome in his suit that he wears to church. He is good to his cousins and I can't wait to see where he goes on his mission!!!

This is Luke and Mason. I put this picture of both of them because I think it is adorable.

Luke is a twin. He and his brother Ian were born at 23 weeks and Ian passed away from complications. Luke is 4 and is AMAZING. This kid is so strong and FAST and has crazy balance. He looks just like his father who looks just like his father. Sometimes I look at Luke and for a second I go back to my childhood and see Travis...it's crazy! He is a happy child always on the move. I love Luke's voice....it is so sweet. Luke is going to start gymnastics soon..I can't wait. He will be great!

Mason is "the icing on the cake". He is almost 3 and makes me laugh and he talks and talks and talks. He is a handsome little thing and loves to cuddle. He'll come sit on my lap and start talking about EVERYTHING and he is very entertaining. He is very affectionate and his expressions KILL me. He likes to play with his brothers and has no problem keeping up. I think he's going to be a little heart-breaker because all the girls will love him.

This is Robbie. He's almost 5 and is going through a stage where he does not like to wear his shirt. From the moment Robbie was born, we have had a special bond and I talk to him at least once every day. Robbie is in to skateboarding and video games right now. Robbie is amazingly wise for his age-I'm constantly saying to him"HOW do you know that" and the kid does not miss a thing. There's a song that reminds me of Robbie - it's called "Bubbly" by Colbie Caillat. This sums my relationship up with Robbie ~"every time I see your bubbly face, I get the tingles in a silly place. It starts in my toes and I crinkle my nose, wherever it goes I always know that you make me smile" This kid is the keeper of my heart.

Shane is 3. Shane is HILARIOUS. He walks to the beat of his own drum and provides hours of entertainment. He is a very sensitive child who loves to laugh and make people laugh. Shane loves to do whatever Robbie is doing and this kid can run nonstop for a LONG time. He should be a long distance runner. Shane has a sweetness to him that is very endearing and you can't help but kiss his cute little face. Shane and I share the love of mint chocolate chip milk shakes and try to have one every time we are together...which is alot!

CeCe just turned 1. I love this picture of her...she's like "PAHLEASE......" CeCe is a darling little girl who I spoil every time I see her. I can't help it and she has the closet to prove it. She's the type of baby that when you pick her up she nestles her head into your neck....and you just melt. I love to dance with CeCe; and I love to take naps with her. She wakes up so happy and ready to GO! I love when I walk into the room and she reaches for me too...she's a doll. Can't get much cuter than her.

Sydney White

2007-09-20T22:49:00.001-04:00

Okay...two posts in one day? What?

I am just so excited to let you know that I just saw a sneak preview of the movie Sydney White. It's my new favorite movie. I love Amanda Bynes and she does a great job in this movie. There's a lot of background stuff (I'm sure there is a more technical way to say that) that you need to pay attention to. SOOOOO funny!
http://www.sydneywhite.net/

I have a fish

2007-09-20T11:03:00.000-04:00

So, this is what my blue betta fish looks like. His name is Mickey and he really is BEAUTIFUL. Those of you that can remember way back to 2000 will remember that I had my first fish ever named Ruby. (she was red) Ruby had a horrible death - I watched it actually. I'm not sure what she had but I was online in a chat room about betta fish frantically trying to figure out what I should do when she passed. Laura will remember the obituary I sent out. I flushed her and had a hard time using my "facility" for a while after. So, after that TRAUMATIC experience I waited a couple years and then got another fish. I had a BBQ and had everyone put a name in a jar and I picked out the name of my new fish. His name was Sabbath. (he was also red) Sabbath was amazing. He lived for almost 3 years!!! My nephew Robbie loved Sabbath and sometimes it looked like Sabbath was talking to him. Anyway, Sabbath's fish health started failing and it took about a week for him to finally pass. I would've just flushed him earlier but then I thought he'd get a "second wind" and come swimming back and would startle the hec out of me when I went to use my "facility". So, I waited patiently for Sabbath's little fish life to end and then I flushed him. No obituary this time but Robbie and I promptly went out and bought Mickey. I decided to go blue this time. The problem is, I just haven't bonded with Mickey and I've had him almost a year now. He's very aloof and just swims around. It's very odd because even when I feed him, he takes his food and then swims away - like he doesn't want me to see him eat or something. Once Mickey goes, I think I'm going to take a break and not have a fish for a while. I need to figure out who I am first. :-)

24 KARAT SKIN

2007-09-18T10:12:00.000-04:00

Are you kidding me? The newest trend in the spa industry is 24-karat gold facials. $400 - $600. I heard that gold was making a come back but this is ridiculous. For any of you tempted to try this; call me. I have some words for you. If you want gold on your skin, buy some jewelry. Seriously, what will they think of next?