My Morning Confidence Boost

So.... I should be studying or sleeping, but I am blogging... what's new? So yesterday I got unto the bus for the fourth leg of my trip home from work, and as I got on a girl sitting near the isle brought down her newspaper to reveal her UNIBROW! Now I really do try not to be superficial, but I don't think I'd ever seen one of these things except on TV as a joke. I gasped a little and tried to move on as quickly as possible. (I realize I really do sound like a jerk here)

When I got home I must have had eyebrows on my mind, because while washing my hands, I looked looked at myself in the mirror... and at my eyebrows. No unibrow... thank goodness. Then I remembered that once in high school some girl told me I had funny shaped eyebrows and I started to obsess a little.... "Am I some kind of MONSTER?" After assuring myself that I am at least half-way normal looking, I moved on and enjoyed some Costco pizza and three episodes of Pushing Daisies with my roommates.

Then this morning on my way to work I was waiting for my train and a young woman came up to me, tapped my shoulder, and said "excuse me, I just really wanted to tell you that you have the best shaped eyebrows I have ever seen! Are they natural?" Well let me tell you, these puppies are 100% mine! After a nice 10 minute conversation about plucking, waxing, etc. my friend got off at her stop, leaving me feeling like a million bucks! It's funny how the Lord puts people in your path at just the right time. :)

So here you go - a bona fide picture of the prettiest eyebrows in the world... thank you, thank you very much!

As American as it Gets

So I had my whole weekend planned: do some laundry, wash my car, grocery shop, sit around and stare at the walls in my room – sounds great right? Well, all that went right out the window when Kami, Diana, and Wayne invited me to join them on a little excursion to Delaware – I have great friends!

After work we hopped into my zippy little Toyota Corolla (let me tell you, this thing gets great gas mileage) and set out. We headed out of the busyness of the city and within an hour we were in the cornfields of Delaware – Delaware… who knew? I love DC, but it was like a great weight was lifted off my shoulders and I wanted to shout and sing (which we did, thank you Keith Urban).

Our fist stop was the Delaware state fair… let’s just say we would hardly wait to get in! We fought off hunger pangs and dragged ourselves away from the food stands and rides so that we could catch the rodeo – what does a Texan love better than a rodeo? (well, a lot of things, but I have to maintain my image, so the correct answer is nothing) My favorite part of the rodeo was the boy with his trained horse Trigger who did tricks. I still have a hard time with the calf roping… what can I say?... I’m a tree hugger at heart.

After the rodeo we headed out to the double wide trailer on display – it was such a magnificent display of architecture that Kami and Wayne decided to get married then and there so that they could buy one of their own and settle down right on the fair grounds.

Next we set out to see what kinds of grease soaked delicacies we could purchase and clog our arteries with. Diana and Wayne went for Corndogs, Kami and I got Gyros. Wayne went all out and bought himself a fried Twinkie. I tried some and here’s my assessment: a lot of hype about nothing… it tasted like a greasy Twinkie. We also allowed ourselves to indulge in some homemade root beer… the lady at the stand thought Wayne was cute, so she gave us some samples without us even asking… work it, Wayne. I got Birchbeer… different, good.

After strolling through the barns and rows of livestock we checked out all the rides, but nothing really caught our fancy, so we headed to the Super 8 motel where Kami proved just how good of a friend she really is. Fortunately she used Diana’s toothbrush, not her own, to do the job.

Saturday we headed to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware after a quick stop at the SUPER (I repeat SUPER) Wal-Mart. (Gotta get your white trash on somehow, right?) The beach was great, the air was warm and dry, and the water was cold… could I ask for more… I think not. We met up with a bunch of other people from our ward for a lovely day of tanning, chatting, swimming (I ended the day spitting rocks and sand out of my mouth after getting taken under by a wave), and volleyball (Eat it Aggies!!). Unfortunately I came home with a 2nd degree sunburn and am literally crispy fried, but I guess you have to make some sacrifices if you want to have the perfect day, right?

We ended the day with a relaxing drive home through the country, a stop at a produce stand, and a shower. Then to show just how hard-core we really are we went to see The Dark Knight at 10:50 PM.
In the end I just have one word to say… legen-dary!!

Independence Day in the Nation's Capital

Yay!! This was my first 4th of July in DC and it was all I hoped it would be!! The metro was PACKED as was the mall and even the Potomac River!! Fortunately, my friend Janine found a great spot at the FDR memorial where there were fewer people and a great view. We were right on the tidal basin, which is my favorite part of DC, and really close to the fireworks as well.

Lucky

I love Jason Mraz and I love Colbie Caillat.... and now I get to hear them sing together!! See my play list above: "Lucky" is one of the best songs I have heard in a while!! Enjoy!! (The first link was struggling, so I put a second one underneath it)

Baltimore and Annapolis... I love Maryland!!

Well, summer is off to a good start! It has been ridiculously hot here and our air conditioner wasn’t working, but that’s all fixed now and I’m cool as a cucumber. I have been looking at a few other blogs today and have realized that my blog is kind of more like a journal or a scrapbook than anything, but the whole reason I put it up was for my friends and family to see what I’m up too, so I guess that makes it just right!!

So, just after I got back from my brother’s wedding I went with some friends to Baltimore to visit the Little Italy section of town. We went out for some authentic Italian food at Amiccis and it was… authentic. No, really, it was amazing. I got Gnocchi and Janine even helped me to pronounce it correctly. Then we played some Bocce ball on the local courts, had some locals show up to watch us and cheer us on, and got some professional training from an 11 year old named Angelo Pizza who plays on the adult bocce ball team there. After that we grabbed some ice cream and pignoli cookies (recommended by Angelo) and just strolled around Baltimore’s inner harbor and watched a street performer.

Then Memorial Day rolled around. While others were off at Duck Beach or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, Emily and I opted for a quiet day in Annapolis, MD. It was a beautiful day and there still weren’t too many people in town so not only did we find good parking, it was FREE! We headed straight to the visitors center to get a map and the little old ladies there greeted us with exciting news: that very day the great entertainer, Pat Sajak, a Vietnam veteran, was in town to lead the Memorial Day Parade. That’s right, you heard me, we saw Pat Sajak.

Emily and I were actually super excited about the bag pipers and even more excited about the military band… there’s nothing like a man in uniform!! You think I’m waiving my flag excitedly because I’m patriotic, really it’s just because I was excited about all those officers (mid-shipmen)… I guess that could be considered patriotic too, right?

After the parade we headed down to the bay for a boat ride where we got majorly sunburned and then had a nice lunch. I decided that since I was on the Chesapeake Bay I should get seafood, so I ordered crab balls, which are just a smaller version on Maryland’s famous crab cakes. When I told my dad what I had ordered all he could do was laugh and asked me if they were anything like Rocky Mountain Oysters. Silly dad!

After lunch we headed to the best part of the trip: The US Naval Academy. OK, OK, it’s not just the uniforms that drew us over there. The campus is beautiful and you really do gain such a respect for those people who defend our country and who sacrifice so much for us. After some reflection on these things we did get right to the business of finding us some men, though.

I hope you enjoyed seeing all those pictures of me with long hair, because it is gone now!! I totally chopped it and it looks great… or at least that’s what everyone tells me. J I’m sure you’ll be seeing it in my upcoming posts.

Rob and Beckie's Wedding

Ok, I realize that I promised a while ago to blog about the wedding… it’s been a month now… so here it is!!

My brother Rob married the cutest, spunkiest girl ever: Beckie!! I wish there was more narrative to give here, but it was pretty much your typical wedding. I flew out to San Diego (I got a non-stop flight both ways, thank goodness!!) and had a great time with my family and getting to know Beckie. None of our family had ever even met her before we got to California, but Rob is a great guy, so we weren’t too worried about it – we knew he’d make a great choice!

My parents were looking into time shares, so we got to stay at these great villas right on the coast in Newport. Talk about rich people – I don’t think I saw a single “middle class” car the whole time we were there… except the one we were driving.

Rob and Beckie and I spent time exploring the resort, kissing/torturing fish, and swimming. Rob and Beckie spent a lot of time kissing!!

I did make it to the beach a few times, which was SO nice. I’ve got to say it… I could really get used to a place like that. I loved that it was close to the water but still not too humid.

Rob and Beckie got married in the San Diego Temple, which is gorgeous and the ceremony was even more beautiful. I am so grateful for the temple and for the priesthood!! It is amazing to me how close you feel to those who have gone before you, those around you, and those who will come after you – all at once. Needless to say we all bawled our eyes out… Rob and Dad were the worst – they were crying like babies!!

Hope you enjoy the pictures!! Just click on any picture in the slideshow to see it.

Busy Girl!!

Sorry I haven't posted in so long! Life has been pretty busy... I'll try to share a little of it with you.

First of all, Since my breakthrough when I read the glass castle I have been reading like crazy. I will give you links so you can read what the books are about, because it would take WAY too long for me to summarize each one.

My favorite of all the books I have read so far has been a tree grows in brooklyn. I love how honest and real it is. I love the struggle and the support of family portrayed in it. I would say it is one of my all time favorites: read it! (I would say it is for 16 yr olds and up)

Next I started the color purple which is really good, but not for the faint of heart. I would not recommend it for high-schoolers or even adults who lack maturity :). It is pretty graphic, but I don't mind it so much because it is about portraying the reality and consequences of abuse and racism, not sensationalism. I haven't finished it though because I decided to take a breather so I could have a less burdened frame of mind when I went to my brother's wedding. :)

Then I read the memory keepers daughter which was good, but not fantastic. It was written in emotion rather than action, which should have appealed to me as a woman, but I felt like it was such a deep issue that the book still only scratched the surface. Don't get me wrong, it was a good book, you should still read it.

Then I read the secret life of bees, which was excellent, but too short for my liking. I would have liked to learn more about the characters and the bond between the women. Again, read it!!

Now I am working on a book that we have in the office that we give to our interns as a gift. It is called the lost painting and the interns always ask what it is about and I can never give an answer, so I thought I would read it so I can give an honest and informed answer.

Aside from all my reading I went camping with some friends in a place called Prince William Forrest Park. It was great. It is just a half an hour from where we live and though it is actually not that far from urban areas, it seems like you are in the middle of nowhere.

I also went to my brother's wedding in San Diego, California - pictures and a blog will be forthcoming - and have taken up tennis. The racquetball courts here are few and far between, and when you do find one they are phenomenally expensive to use, whereas there are TONS of free tennis courts all over our county. Again, I'm no pro, but I sure enjoy it!!

Sorry that this post is so business like... but I needed to get all y'all caught up. (P.S. this is the grammatically correct way to say "you all". All y'all is plural and y'all is singular. Ask any Texan, they'll tell you.)