Things I LOVE today

Talking with my coworkers about skinny dipping. "Naked?! I LOVE NAKED!!"

Susan's cinnamon rolls.

Getting to work on time.

Walking down the hall with PERFECT timing to see B.J. coming in the door--good chats with fun new friends.

Inflatable pillows that fit into my backpack.

NOT getting sick after eating too much sushi.

Grandma running out on the front porch in her pajamas to say goodbye to me.

Wearing my shoes with the laces undone.

Collins telling Susan what to do.

"Story" swapping. Are we talking about the baby?

Tripping over my shoes in front of Brett (Bishop Acor) so he can laugh at me.

Chantal doing teletubby impressions.

Leaving work early to play at Bear Lake with crazy Shalina and her crazy family!

You guys. Yep. I love you guys ... A LOT!! :D

New Post

It's time for a new post.

I'm stealing this post format from my Marissa's blog. I give credit where credit is due.

Nobody will give me credit.

I need another $1000 by August in order to join my friends in Australia. Any offers? I'll pay it back by December. Plus interest.

I have a new fun friend at work. She makes me happy. We rarely see each other and this makes me sad.

I took a facebook quiz that told me I was Hoggle from Labyrinth. Another quiz told me I was Chandler from Friends. I like Chandler better.

You are Chandler. You are quirky. You are always making a joke and don't know how to be serious. You are funny and crazy! You are a terrible dancer but will continue to do it for laughs. Everyone loves you!.

You are Hoggle.
You are a short tempered & often grumpy small person. You love to collect plastic and seek the attention of the opposite sex. Your lack of people skills means that you spend your days spraying fairies with bug spray just hoping that someday someone will actually talk to you.. (this is what I get for taking a quiz when I'm crabby)

I've been crabby all week.

I jumped into Blacktail reservoir yesterday in the rain. It's cold.

I've grown a new, painful zit on my nose.

I turned 27 and had a rockin' awesome party at Palisades with amazing friends.

Lisa has all the pictures on her camera.

It rained. And (3 cancelled softball games later) it hasn't stopped since.

Crap noodles

Here's what I love today:

We've been busy!

I don't have time to do laundry. Why? Because I'm too busy doing stuff like this:

hanging out with Shalina and Tyson at Pine Basin. (the way to get Tyson to come sit by you is to take his plate. He'll follow.)


Sleeping over at Pine Basin. We had a Lisa/Lisa bunk, a Brooke/Brooke bunk and a Gina/Keri bunk.

Being trapped in our bunk beds with Lisa.


Pretending a rock is a boat and getting seasick on our hike in Aberdeen with Jeff, Jen, Taletha, Lisa, Shalene and Jess.


Hiking in hell with my car buddies: Keri, Lisa and Taletha.


Lickin icicles in a cave.

Playing on a swingset with Lisa.

Cheering on G.O. Speech Therapy softball team.

Hula hooping ... rather awkwardly.

Winnning a coconut relay race with Gina, Wade and Ashley.

Sharing my Hawaiian name "Poloke" with Brooke

Trying to identify pictures of feet. This is what happens when you leave your camera unattended. Does anyone claim these feet? (if these aren't yours, I have others.)

Climbing on rocks and not knowing how to pose for so many pictures.

Hiking with friends Taletha and Jarom.

Hanging out with rockin' awesome guys. Well, Skyler's awesome. I don't know the guy with the tongue.

Climbing on bridges with Lisa, Kelly and Skyler.

Being afraid of Jeff.

Trying to figure out what the heck Ryan stepped on during our paintball game. (it was a piece of glass)

Shooting people with Lisa and getting welts from lots of paint balls.

So really, when am I gonna do my laundry?

So You Think You Can Dance started up last week and I got Lisa hooked! I'm so excited for this season. Maybe I can change my laundry on commercials.

Enjoy this AMAZING dance from last season. I sure have. Over and over and over and over again.

I am SO not an expert:

So, I've got a lot of projects and stuff to figure out, but I really don't know how to do any of it.

I need a party planner:

I'm burnt out. I'm usually the "committus" (singular form of "committee") and am the first to plan and get things going. I think it's the only child in me that wants to make sure I'm NEVER left home alone when there are friends to play with and stuff to do. It's been fun because there have been a lot of gatherings and events that I've been invited to, and I love that somehow I'm "in the know" on what's going on among my friends. As I told a friend, "You start showing up to EVERYTHING and then you get invited to more stuff!" It totally works! So, last weekend, we went to Pine Basin and hiked to hell. Then, during the week, we went to two softball games, a roller skating party, had a pedicure night and watched So You Think You Can Dance. So far this weekend, we had a birthday BBQ, a super long bikeride and an outdoor movie night/weenie roast. I've been somewhat involved in the planning of all these, and I'm totally burnt out by details and lack of input and committment. I have no idea what I'm doing tomorrow and I don't have any more ideas. A group of us is doing a very similar "hike to hell" that we did last week. Lisa and I have been trying to avoid duplication, but apparently I can't come up with anything else that sounds appealing enough for any sort of committment. Maybe I'll just go hike to hell again. And my birthday's coming up. Every year, I plan a sleepover/canoe/volleyball/BBQ/game/hike weekend at my Uncle's RV park in Palisades. I want to do it. I can't imagine NOT doing it. But I'm burnt out and am really crabby about making it happen. Plus, the house is stinkin' EXPENSIVE to rent!

AND some friends are going to Australia in August and I'm considering going with them. Actually, I'm not considering. I'm totally going ... except that I'm broke and it'd take a LOT of planning and budgeting and figuring out to make it happen, and I'm just burnt out on details.

I need a leather craftsman:

I have a fashion dilemma. I want the PERFECT scripture bag. I've used a different bag every other week or so, trying to figure out what I like. It's not like I don't already have 27 options, but I'm sick of 26 of those. I have one AWESOME hand-crafted leather bag I bought at a street market in Oaxaca, Mexico. I LOVE it! Problem: It's about 3 inches too small. I can either fit my triple, or my RS manual and notebook. Not all three. Now, I keep thinking that I could easily swap out one simple leather panel of this bag for a panel that's three inches wider. Do you think any leather craftsman in Idaho Falls would take on such a simple project? No. I've been turned down by two.

I need a plumber:

My bathroom sink won't drain. Every day there's that nasty toothpaste stuck to the inside of the sink because when I spit, it just floats for several minutes, then sticks. Yuck.

I need a welder:

I have a bike rack that fits rather nicely on the back of my truck. It's old. I think the pioneers used it to hitch their bikes up to the trailer hitch on their wagons. But I like it. It works! Except that last summer, when I lived in Salt Lake, I backed it up into some guy's passenger window. He didn't appreciate it, and it bent my rack a little sideways. It still works, but the bikes hang about a foot over the driver's side of the Blazer, and the whole thing's a little wobbly. I need to get it straightened out.

I need a cable guy:

We live in the ice age. My dad refused an offer for a DVR upgrade because he didn't know what DVR was and thought he'd have no use for it. Thanks, Dad. So You Think You Can Dance will start commanding the TV waves of Wednesday and Thursday nights! Where is Brooke on Wednesdays and Thursdays? ANYWHERE but home! Therefore, I have to find a way to watch this show! I have thousands of old blank tapes, but only one VCR in the house that's hooked up to cable. If I program it to record, it monopolizes the main family TV. Where are my parents on Wednesday and Thursday nights? Home. In front of the TV. NOT watching So You Think You Can Dance. Can we get cable in my room?

I need a sound system technician:

Yeah, I've been without a car stereo for six months now. I'm getting REALLY tired of listening to my own thoughts.

I need a jeweler:

I have a favorite necklace. I would wear it every single day of my life, except that it's broken. I think this is the reason I feel that I need to own 5,000 others. If I could wear my favorite one every day, it would cure a huge shopping problem. Every time I re-bead it, I can never do the knot right and the whole thing comes undone. One of these days, I'm just going to lose it alltogether, and that terrifies me. (I'd have to go back to Caye Caulker in Belize and talk to Papi and Tracy to get a replacement). So, it sits in a cup on my bookshelf. I want it back. Bad.

I need a mechanic:

My brakes have been squeaking for MONTHS. I took my truck down to my Uncle Bob's shop in Provo and had cousin Ben replace the brake pads. Now they squeak worse. What's up with that?

I need a massage therapist:

I'm uptight and messed up. I get headaches. I have bad posture. I think I probably need a chiropracter, but a massage therapist sounds better. Good friends will play with knots for 3 minutes at a time, but for some reason, they always stop too soon. I think they're taunting me.

I need a psychologist:

For reasons that probably don't need mentioning.

Replies:

So, I often wonder how I'm supposed to reply to comments on my blog.

Here's how I'm going to do it!

Jen--I love you, too! And I only pick the best Silvester pictures out of the ones Amanda posts. She gives me too much ammo! Glad to make you laugh! It was a happy blogging day! :)

Care--How did you know? I ALWAYS need help! What a mess. I often think about that day ... when I got stuck under the bed and my mess was about to swallow me up! Good thing you and Des were there!

Gina-- Hey, EVERYBODY! Guess what? I showed up to Pine Basin to a PLEASANT surprise! This girl was there too!!!

And so was this one!!!

I had no idea they were coming, or they would have been in my pre-Pine Basin post.

We had to leave early for our NEXT adventure. What did I miss after everyone else got up? Oh, and for the record, I didn't sleep! It was CRAZY! I went on a lonely star hike ... and then laid in bed rolling over for a couple hours before we finally left! Whew, what a night!

Andrea-- You nailed it! Yep, it was for Youth Leadership training. I have other pictures of us sledding with Sister Long and Sister Denning! My mom, Chavonne and Wendy Bateman were there too. The girl in the picture with us would be Becca Reeder. Just take a peek under that hat. It's a familiar face. I promise.

Gina again-- Y'are now!!

Alisha-- Thanks, Babe! it was a TON of fun! Did you guys ever go there when you were younger? It seems that everyone from the Idaho Falls area has childhood memories at Pine Basin. I got a concussion in fifth grade from my walking stick. Yep. I'm cool! :)

Since I seem to be having a struggle importing pictures to my computer, I'm going to have to wait for another day to tell of my adventures. But, we're all alive, sunburned and oh-so-happy!

And there are lot of fun quotes to add to our daily vocabulary.

Favorites:

"I'm sorry I hurt your stupid feelings!"

"Naked? I LOVE naked!"

Somehow, so many conversations related to skinny-dipping. I think I have a fixation. :)

Oh, and here's a better picture with this girl. The first one was way fuzzy. This "deer-in-the-headlights" shot is MUCH better.

Shalina was there, too. :)

Kum ba ya

Last night I got to do some of this:

and Today, I'm going here:

http://www3.d93.k12.id.us/district/pinebasin/index.html

with a couple of these:

I haven't been there since this one time:

and that was like 10 years ago. I'm overdue for a trip back, and I'm so excited!

This is what will be missing:

And:

I just wish I'd learned to play the guitar. I doubt Teresa Clark is going to be there this time. :(

Oh, and since I won't be around much tomorrow ...

Happy 2nd birthday to this kid!!

Silvester is two! Watch out. He throws matchbox cars ... and has something against roses.