Write, Comment, Repeat

Ladies and Gentlemen, your top 10 this week:

1.  The older I get...the less I realize I know.  I mean, really.  When I was  younger I thought I knew it all and had it all figured out.  After chatting with my married friends the other night - I've realized I know nothing!  Sheesh.  How have I made it this far?!

2.  I finally finished my first whole quilt last week!  (yay me!)  I forgot to take a picture, and it was a gift...so I'll get one as soon as I can and post it for y'all to see.  It was a little stressful, but I finished and it's not so bad if you don't look closely!

3.  I love going to the dentist!  I went today and they always boost my self esteem.  I get rave reviews and they even rated me at a 10 today!  Well, don't that make a girl feel good!  (triumphant clasped fists from side to side)

4.  I'm a hypocrite.  I'm always telling people that numbers on a scale are just numbers.  It's all about how you feel and how your clothes fit.  Well...my jeans felt a little snug this weekend (I probably just washed them, right??), so I jumped on the scale this morning...and now I'm upset.  Blah blah blah...muscle weighs more than fat and I do run a lot, so I'm probs gaining more muscle...but not that much, people!  I am battling full depression mode over those d%$# numbers this morning!  Welp, I guess the numbers can be a motivational factor then...

5.  I can't say this is my biggest pet peeve...but it isn't proper English and it drives me crazy when people say "Where are you at?"  You cannot end a sentence with a preposition!  Your sentence is just fine without it and your message is clear!  I won't say I'm not guilty of breaking that rule occasionally when I'm not paying attention, but I can say that I never say that one in particular.  It's so unintelligent to me.

6.  AND...since we're on the topic.  Here are a few more things I can't stand when I hear people doing them: (I know, I'm so perfect that I can point out others imperfections.  pshh)  When they answer the phone and say "Hi!  How are ya!" (laziness) or "How are we today?"  I don't know...how many personalities do you have??  Or when they're on the phone, in an office, and they answer cell phones when they're on the land line.  Ummm...you're not that important!  First of all, you're being really rude to the person on the phone who called you first, and second of all, you can call the person on the cell phone back!  They'll leave you a message.  Come on...use common sense/manners!

7.  I'm so bored with my face/hair lately.  I need to do something new.  I mean...I know there's not much I can do with my face, but maybe I'm due for a little make over and some new tips.

8.  We went to Sea World with the whole fam dam this weekend in San Diego and it was a blast!  It was so fun to take the little boys and to see how excited they got about the animals.  Jonas was so excited that he got to ride on the rapids ride with the big kids.  He was barely tall enough, but it was fun.

9.  I've also found what I want to be when I grow up.  A dolphin/whale trainer.  Next time I go to Mexico, I'm going to pay to do one of those excursions where you get to ride/swim with dolpins.  Seriously. I'm doing it.

10.  I did a 6 mile run on the beach this weekend and it was glorious!  If I lived on the coast I would run every day.  I felt like such a champion!  I really could have run forever.  If only I would have worn sunscreen though...

10 on Tuesday

1.  I love that I can do this every week and call it "blogging".  That really is my favorite.

2.  I'm sure I don't need to say it, but it seems I'm my old self again!  I think there are a lot of things that factor into this, but I'm a happy camper!  Ready to date, and to serve in my calling, and to grow in my business, to run my hardest, and basically to take on the world!

3.  My friend, Katie, got married this weekend and it was soooo lovely.  She looked absolutely stunning, and I did get a pic, but it's on my friend's camera so I'll have to post it later.  The wedding was beautiful and the bachelorette dinner shenanigan a couple days before was a blast!  Of course, I had to pick up some goodies for her at my favorite local sex shop where I get my "dancer" discount.  Oh...you didn't know I was a dancer??  I didn't either, until I apparently went so often that they thought I was a dancer and gave me a discount.  I tried to argue!  I really did!

4.  In congruence with being a "dancer" I'll mention that I got put back in the RS Presidency again this weekend.  I'm just the secretary this time (whew!), but I'm actually really really excited to be serving the sisters in our ward again.  I didn't realize how much I missed it until I felt that void for the past year.  Our new presidency is going to be so great!  I honestly love and respect the other girls so much and it's a total powerhouse.  I mean...we're a little rowdy, but it will be good.  I'm being totally selfish and saying that it's going to be good for me...I need this...but I'm hoping it's good for our whole RS too.  We really do have a good ward.  Anyway...enough of that.

5.  Have I mentioned how addicted I am to Greek yogurt yet?  I eat it every single day for breakfast with a little bit of honey and it's delicious!  My latest fave is to add a little honey, and then break up one of those Nature Valley peanut butter granola bars into it.  Mmmmmm!  Seriously, try it.  I dare you.

6.  I really want to go camping.  I haven't been yet this summer.  Who wants to come??  I think I need to invest in a tent and a good sleeping bag...

7.  I don't care what anyone says about Ames and his vacant stares on Bachelorette/Bachelor Pad.  I thought it was sooooo sweet that he went after Jackie last night.  He wasn't there for the money.  Let's be honest.

8.  I've had the same atm card for 10 years...there was a card reader on a gas pump that I used, so as a precautionary measure I reported it to the fraud dept.  They canceled my card and are sending me a new one.  For some reason this is striking a sentimental chord with me.  I've had every bit of that card memorized for a decade!  I've never actually needed the card to online shop, bc I can just enter it all by memory.  I have all these accounts set up on automatic payments that I'm now going to have to update.  It's all just so sad - especially bc I'm not even sure they got my card number on the reader.  I was just trying to be Safety Sally.  Everyone tell me it's going to be ok and that me and my new atm card are going to have just as great of a relationship...please.

9.  Speaking of drama - let's talk about my Saturday.  Ok, it wasn't really drama, it just started out all weird and stuff.  I got up early and went out on a 6 mile run (no I did not go to bed early on a Friday night...ok, maybe I did).  The weather was overcast, in the low 80's and only a bit humid, so it was great because there was no brutal sun.  I felt great on my run and totally got into the rhythm and everything.  It's been a minute since I ran 6 miles, so I felt good about getting out there again in distance.  Anyway...4 miles into my run my nose starts bleeding...profusely...and I'm trying to wipe it with my hands bc I didn't want to sacrifice my favorite tank.  Apparently I'm not as tough as the UFC fighters I love, bc I could not continue running with blood pouring out of my face.  So, I kept walking until finally a security guard stopped and asked if I was ok and if I fell.  I told him my nose just started bleeding, and asked if he had a tissue.  Instead he gave me moist towelettes, so I sat on the sidewalk letting my nose drip into the rocks while I tried to wipe the blood off my hands and I shoved one in my nose too...not too effective though bc they're already wet.  Anyway, I gave up and called my mom to come get me.  I came home and hopped directly in the shower, then headed up to the temple.  Halfway there I looked in my mirror to put on my lip gloss and realized I wasn't wearing make up.  Woops!  And of course, my aforementioned friend Katie's sealing had just ended so I saw a grip of people with my naked face at the temple.  Oh well!

10.  Somehow, unbenownst to myself, I quit eating sweets.  It kind of happened by accident, but I think I'm going to keep it up until I finish my relay races in 31 days.  Just to try...

Tuesday Ten-er!

1.  I appreciate my supportive friends.  You know...the ones who will back you up no matter what.

2.  I had a bit of an epiphone yesterday...I mean, I already knew this but I had one of those moments when you're reminded...Vegas isn't a terrible place and there are still great opportunities for growth, business, dating, friends, etc. here.  It just takes a little effort.  I could go somewhere else and still be in the same place in my life.  It's all about outlook, and sometimes we just need a new outlook.

3.  There's really nothing that can't be solved with a good trip to the temple and a fabulous run!  That's all I needed last week to put me back on the right track.  I feel soooo much better than I have for a min, and I feel like I've kind of turned 180* overnight in my attitude, etc.  Ahhhh...the things we do for therapy!

4.  I've thought about doing one of those picture-a-day blog things because I always take my camera places with me, but I never take pics.  I don't know if that would really be very exciting though, because I really don't have a very exciting life.  I keep thinking I need to put pics on this thing so it's not so boring.  I guess I could start there!  haha!  I just have such a hard time being patient with that!  Does anyone else have troubles dragging pics where they want them to go on here?

5.  I've had a fire lit under me to get my floral business updated and revamped.  I haven't really done much with it lately, but I think now is the time to start.  I've realized I need to stop thinking that I might be doing something else or I might be somewhere else in a year, so I shouldn't work on my business or whatever.  I need to just bask in the "now" and live for what I'm doing right now...not what I'll be doing in a year.

6.  I admit that I am fully addicted to Greek yogurt now.  It was a little hard to get used to in the beginning, but now I literally have it every morning with just a bit of honey in it and I love it!

7.  I've finally decided to cancel my gym membership after 7 years.  I like running outside and starting my workout as soon as I leave the house, and as much as I like the classes at the gym...I seriously only go a few times a year.  So what's the point in paying monthly fees when I don't really use it?  I'm sure if I ever want to go to a class with a friend, I will be more than happy to pay the $12 or whatever it is for a day pass.  I also admit that it took me forever to actually call and cancel it because I kept having anxiety that I'm going to want it again someday.  I finally did it today and it was so much less difficult than I thought it was going to be.  They didn't even hassle me not to cancel.  Whew!

8.  Mitchel came home last week from working in California this summer and I asked him why he didn't just go to New York to hang out with Michael for the next couple of weeks while he's there, not working.  So, what did he do?  He hopped on a flight and left this morning.  I wanna go!!!!  Why did I suggest such a thing when I knew I would be green with envy?!  Wah wah.  Oh well.  They're going to have a blast, and I think they're going to head over the bridge to Mitchel's mission for a min too while they're there.  I hope they bring me something good!! ;)

9.  I really need to get to bed earlier, so I'm not such a dead body at work after I run.  I CAN'T WAIT until I can run at night again.  Have I already mentioned this??  I think I have...

10.  I'm excited for a few things coming up in my life.  That's all.

Top Ten Tuesday!

Just thought I'd mix it up and make it sound more intersting :)

1.  I call most things "lubes"...chapstick, lotion, sunscreen...you get the idea.  Sometimes it throws people off, but I think it's always applicable.

2.  I cannot wait until the weather starts getting cooler again and I don't have to run at the butt-crack of dawn every day.  I'm way too tired during the day!  I know this may seem shocking, but I am not much of a morning person and my poor little body has a hard time getting moving in the mornings, so my runs are more depressing than productive.  And I really shouldn't complain about the heat because this summer hasn't even been that hot yet.

3.  I went and saw the Drowsy Chaperone out at Spring Mountain Ranch outdoor theater last week and it was so good!  I absolutely loved it and I loved that it was like 20* cooler out there.  It's only about 20 mins out of town.

4.  I only have 5.5 weeks left until Red Rock Relay and I am having a hard time motivating myself to get out to Mt Charleston to do an elevation run.  I should be fine running at 10,000 feet without going up there, right?  Right??  Fine.

5.  Good thing I had already decided I needed to change my attitude about a lot of things last week, including about my ward, because the talks on Sunday about pride and attitude would have compelled me to do so.  Whew!  Beat them ;)

6.  I think I was just as shocked as the rest of America (and Ben) when Ashley picked JP.  Wha??  I thought for sure I was going to have to go out to New York and pick up JP's beautiful pieces, and then she ruined it for me!  And ps...can you believe how b-iatchy her sister was??  And then how she backpedaled in the after show?  Sheesh lady.  Thank heavens I don't have sisters!

7.  I've tried...but I just don't love Michael Jackson.  I find some of his songs slightly annoying and I feel like they all start to sound the same after a while.

8.  Have you ever noticed how powerful words are?  You say a few less than thought out words, and spend infinitely more trying to correct the few.  I always seem to have this problem of  not really thinking about things before I say them, and then spend all of my time trying to accurately express what I was really trying to say.  We call this the Brandley Curse in my house.

9.  Every time I eat a Nutrageous candy bar, I sing Britney Spears "Outrageous" in my head...but of course substituting the words.  I'm a nerd.

10.  I am absolutely addicted to skirts and dresses in the summer here.  I greatly dislike the days I have to wear pants bc I haven't shaved my legs.  Obviously that's easily remedied, but sometimes a girl just doesn't have time!

10 on Tuesday

Yes I am stealing this idea from Lindsay, who stole it from her sil anyway, but I think it's great!

1.  There's nothing I love more than a good pair of yoga pants

2.  I really want to get into Interior Design/Decorating.  I'll see something like a bedding set, or a cubby in a wall, or a pot, or a piece of art and I create a room in my head around it...but then I want that room in my make believe house...

3.  I swam with sharks this weekend (sort of...they were in a tank in the middle of the pool, but the water slide goes through the tank!).  It was my friend, Megan Kiefer's bday, so we spent the day lounging and swimming with sharks.  It was lovely.  I'm actually getting a little tan this year!  Well...just Ginger status tan anyway.

4.  I saw Harry Potter again tonight and I still wish I was magic.

5.  What kind of 29 year old woman gets excited about finding TUMS in the office, and thinks 10:00 on a school night is "night owl" status??

6.  Remind me not to ever train for a race (or 3) through the hot Vegas summer again.

7.  I think there's something wrong with the water these days.  Pretty much everyone I know is either pregnant, just had a baby, or thinking about having a baby.  Are we old enough for this??

8.  I think I need to be a nicer person.  I used to be a lot more compassionate than I am now.  Sometimes it's just so exhausting being nice to EVERYONE though, isn't it??  What's the difference between being nice and being fake?  I never want to be a fake person, but I guess that doesn't mean I can't be civil to some particular people.  Hmmmm....

9.  I'm still torn on the NYC move decision.  I mean...I still have a while to think about it...but sometimes I wonder if it will be too hard to be so far away from family and friends.  I LOVE the city though and I really miss it.  Also, I definitely need a venue change asap.

10.  I thought I'd be good and go to FHE the other night...some of the people in my ward are TRAGIC.  I mean, I love the spirituality of my ward, but throw me a bone here!  All my friends are moving soon and I can't help but have a slight panic attack about what will be left when they're gone.  Yipes.

One Big Juicy Apple

Now I know why Eve was so tempted!  If New York City was a man, I'd marry him.  I admit...I kind of wish I would have blogged about this a while ago when it was all fresh and exciting and I could have really rubbed it in.  Le sigh.  This will have to do.  Luckily I took my handy little One Line a Day journal with me, so now we can all relive my adventures and wish we were there.  Or you could all pack your suitcases and come visit me when I move there!

Alright, I'll try my best to give the Reader's Digest version, but we all know I can be a little long-winded sometimes.  Here goes the run down of the greatest birthday yet!

The first night we got to the city our hotel was lovely, but the a/c wasn't working and they were having record highs.  Awesome.  It wasn't so bad at night, but we sweated our balls off whilst we got ready the next morning, then headed out into the world of air conditioning.

So...Day 1:  We got up early and headed down to the theater district to stand in line for Rush tickets to "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" starring Daniel Radcliffe (<3) and John Laroquette.  We got the tickets (partial view, but who cares??), went down to Times Square to hang out and people watch for a minute, headed to Radio City Music Hall, Rockafeller Center, did a bit of shopping on 5th Ave, walked to Grand Central Station where they were filming something, but we didn't know who the so-called "famous" people were.  We went to Madison Square Garden from there, stopped in at Macy's, then met up with Michael and went to the Broadway Production!  On the way down there, this really nice local woman was sitting on the bus next to me and told us of a few fun restaurants to hit up after the show.  So, we took her advice and headed to Ellen's Stardust Diner.  Best. Decision. Ever.  All of the servers are Broadway hopefuls and they serenade you whilst you eat.  It was amazing!!  The food was good, the milkshakes were superb, and the singing was phenomenal.  Love, love, loved it!!  If I ever see that woman again, I will kiss her on the mouth!  (not really...but it was a good restaurant suggestion).  We got back to our room later that night and the a/c still wasn't fixed, so they moved us into a grander, much cooler room.  Score!

Day 2:  We got up early again and hurried down to see if we could get Rush tickets for Wicked.  We waited an hour for the box office to open and found out that they don't, in fact, do Rush tickets.  If only we would have done our homework.  So we scratched that and headed to Anything Goes to see if we could miraculously catch some of their tix.  Gone when we got there.  Rats!  So...no show tonight.  We headed down to China Town and SoHo to do a little shopping.  China Town was sheer chaos, as usual, but I feel like I was a pretty good little barterer.  I even got to hear a little Asian woman say "Sun-g-lass" and it made my day!  We saw the store with the mannequins with large....hands ;)  that my brothers spotted a couple of years prior when they were there...so naturally I had to take a picture and then check out their sweat shop goods.  P.s. it was SCORCHING that day, so we were really ducking into any little shop just to get out of the heat!  Anyway, we had a bit of an adventure trying to catch the right train (I had us waiting on the wrong platform for like 20 minutes...oops) to meet Michael down at the World Trade Centers site.  We saw the new buildings going up - incredible - and then went to the 911 Memorial Center.  There were a lot of really neat things in there, but I honestly didn't realize how emotional I would get.  There was a timeline on the wall and pictures of the events of the day, and at the very end was a picture of all of the hundreds of missing persons posters from families who were hoping for their loved ones.  That got me a little veclempt, so I excused myself and sat outside with mom for a minute...glad to be wearing dark sunglasses!  From there we hit up Lombardi's pizza, which was oh so good, and then had a little dessert at Rice to Riches right across the street.  We savored that whilst meandering down to Little Italy.  There was a legit older Italian guy down in front of a restaurant with a bandage around his head and ear (maybe he snitched and someone cut off his ear??), driving an old Cadi, and as he was heading out to his car he did the classic hand gesture and said "fuhgeddaboudit!" to his pal sitting on the patio.  Sheer bliss for me.  In Little Italy??  Come on!

Day 3:  We tried for Rush tickets again, but alas...we did not do our homework so we didn't realize that RENT didn't start until July.  Woops.  So mom and I headed to Anything Goes to join Michael in line.  They were all sold out there when the box office opened too.  Horrible luck!  So, we headed to the Harry Potter exhibit at the Discovery Museum.  Mom didn't want to go, so she people-watched in Times Square.  Michael and I were in hog heaven in the museum though!!  I could seriously write an entire post on all of the magical things we saw and did.  It was Nerdfest 2011, but it really was amazing.  Props, costumes...the whole lot.  Anyway, we put mom to work to get tix for a show while we were nerding out.  She got us matinee tickets to Mamma Mia and it was awesome!!  I've seen it in Vegas, but Michael hadn't seen it yet and absolutely loved it!  Not gonna say I didn't enjoy it too...that Sky character was pretty easy on the eyes...  After the show we headed out to Brooklyn, walked to a little park between the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge and just hung out for a bit looking at the city.  It was actually cold and rainy that day (total bi-polar weather while we were there), so it was cool to see the city across the river where the sky scrapers disappeared into the mist.  Kind of like Gotham City!

Day 4:  My birthday!  We headed to the MET first thing in the morning to see the Alexander McQueen exhibit.  I'll be honest and say that I didn't know a ton about his work before we went.  I mean, I'm as familiar as the next girl, but it was so astounding getting into his mind and the theory behind his designs.  He was incredible!  I was blown away by so many things outside of each particular art/clothing pieces.  I also wasn't sure mom and Michael would be that into it, but being a seamstress of sorts, my mom was in awe of all of the intricacies of his work, and Michael was totally into the art concepts.  Anyway...it was awesome!  After that we rushed to Michael's singles' ward for church.  I know what you're thinking...church on vacation??  You're in New York!  Yes, I know.  BUT it was a big YSA Regional Conference that weekend and Elders Perry and Cook were going to be speaking there, so we spent two hours of our day being enlightened, and I scoped out the goods :)  We went to Michael's apartment for a minute, changed, and went to Central Park after we got some amazing cookies at Lavain Bakery.  I loved everything about the park!  We met up with Ralph, a friend of Michael's from the mission, at the Boat House and went for a little row on the lake.  It was so pretty and so much fun!  After that we strolled through the park to Belvedere Castle, got a cupcake from Crumbs bakery, and headed to the Flat Iron building.  We also saw the Empire State building while we were down there.  We were going to get a cupcake from Magnolia too, to see which one was better, but we ran out of time.  Mom and I headed back to the hotel and had a little birthday song extravaganza, and then I ate the cupcake...all by me onesie!  It was delish!

Day 5:  Slept in a bit and then headed out to Soho and China Town again to do some last minute shopping and grab some final souvies.  Apparently, my mother thought she was starting a small purse business and we ended up going home with a few extra suitcases full of them.  Ridiculous!  We said goodbye to the city and headed for Newark.  I was really sad to leave and honestly wasn't ready to be done yet.  We got to Denver for our layover and it poured for like 30 minutes and they wouldn't let any planes in or out, so we just hung out for a bit.  Apparently though...our luggage was on the cart during the little storm and a few of our purses got a little rain damaged.  Sad day!  All in all it was a fantastic vacation though!  I was so glad I got to share it with my mom and to have a little bonding experience, and I was glad Michael knew the ropes and could show us around a bit.  We keep talking about "blah blah blah...when we move to NYC" and I can't wait!  If any of you have seen Bridesmaids, we keep quoting to each other "It's kind of silly for a grown up brother and sister to be living together..." in our fake English accents and we laugh every time.  :)

And because I'm too retarded to figure out how to add and move pictures on here...try this link to my facebook album!  I love technology

10 on Tuesday

Ok, I'm going to do a 10 on Tuesday just to keep my readers on board while I try to find the time (motivation) to actually blog about my FUNtastic summer!!)

1. I LOVE being alone.  Don't get me wrong...I like being around people too, but I seriously can't wait until I get to live alone again.  It's the greatest!

2.  I love lake.  I really don't even care what we do out there and I don't care that I'm a Ginger and occasionally get burned...I just like being out there.

3.  I have zero motivation to date right now.  Odd?  Maybe.  I feel like it's pretty normal though.

4.  I went to New York for my birthday to a) have a great time bc I've never been there before and b) to check it out bc I'm thinking of moving there next year.  Yup.  I'm on that trail until something tells me to abandon ship.  It won't be for about a year, but I'm getting my affairs in order to get out there.  I was telling Michael tonight that there are definite pros and cons, and I would for sure miss my family here, but sometimes you can either outgrow a city, or find that you're not living to your maximum potential.  It really isn't all about Las Vegas being awful.  It's not.  I'm happy and comfortable here.  I just think that sometimes we need change.  I'm not going to New York expecting the city to change my life, I'm going to the city to change my own life.  You're only as happy as you allow yourself to be.  Anywhoooo...soap box over :)

5.  I cried...a lot...watching Harry Potter 7 part 2 last week.  Amazing.

6.  I have signed up for yet another race...Red Rock Relay.  It's the week before I do Ragnar Napa Valley, so I need to start getting serious about my training and get my buns in gear!  My Half in Arizona isn't until November, so I have a little time for that one.  Why didn't I think about how hard it would be to get motivated to run in 106* weather??  I'm realizing that if I don't get up and out in the morning, that I'm pretty much shot for the rest of the day.  It was still 100* at 9:00 tonight!  Jeepers Mr!

7.  I'm so in love with my new little nephew August.  He's sooooo stinkin' cute!  I want him to stay little and cuddly forever.  I'm actually in love with all of those boys.  Gibson is very 2 right now, but I still think pretty much everything he does is hilarious!  Jonas is just so dang smart and so fun to talk to right now.  I love them :)

8.  I killed a scorpion the other day bc dad was out of town and mom couldn't bring herself to do it.  I mounted a shoe on a pole of sorts and beat the *ish out of it!  Mom had to clean it up though, since I killed it.  I feel like I got the lesser of 2 evils.

9.  I have the greatest friends on the planet.  Seriously.  I was thinking about it the other day and at every stage in my life I have had amazing friends that I've kept in touch with over the years.  I'm one lucky lady!

10.  I'm going in and out of the project/sewing bug lately.  I have all these ideas and yet only half the gumption to do them.  I'm thinking that maybe 1 project per month will cure me of thinking I have too many to do and freezing up the productivity train.

ps.  I'm loving Ames on the Bachelorette right now and I thought he was so weird looking in the first episode! Funny how things change after a few weeks.  If she breaks up with him, I'll nab him up when I'm in NYC!

Oh!  And I'm absolutely obsessed with the Civil Wars right now with Mumford and Sons in a close second.  Love!