12.30.2009

random.

i have a new boyfriend.
his name is griffin.
don't you love it?

12.23.2009

holiday cheer.

i got to spend the last couple of days with my sister and her family. i always have an enjoyable time with them, regardless of what we do. ninety-nine percent of the time, what we plan and what we do are polar opposites. that is most of the fun...all the uncertainty. during the time i spent with them, i kept thinking that i would have to make a top five or ten list of the best parts from the short amount of time. and now, as i sit here, ready to write...i can't remember all the things i thought could go on that list. oh well. i will give it a go and see where it takes us.

number one: we (as in my sister and i) were discussing with jesse (my nephew) all of the names he could go by. you see, jesse is his middle name. so he could use his first name, his initials or what he goes by now. and then, out of nowhere, he said, "or columbus." like it was totally normal to want to be called columbus. that kid is a riot and a half, i tell ya.

number two: malcolm (yes, in the middle) was watching me as i was getting ready. i was putting on make-up and he was watching (this is a little ritual we have had since he was a wee-little-lad). most of the time, he thinks it's funny when i run the brush across his cheek, but this time, he knew that make-up was for girls and not for boys. he picked up some eye shadow and asked what it was and i told him it was for my eyes and he asked if he could have some. i reminded him of what he pointed out earlier, that make-up was for girls. he then promptly set down the shadow and ran upstairs. a couple of minutes later, he showed up with his little sister, insisting that she wanted "some of the eye stuff" on her eyes. i couldn't help but giggle.

number three: in-n-out. last summer (2008), my family took a vacation to scottsdale, arizona. the resort that we stayed at was right near an in-n-out burger. during that trip, a tradition was started...the tradition is this--if there is an in-n-out nearby, we must abuse our ability to drive there, order food, eat it and repeat. like...i'm not even kidding. abuse. anyway, recently, an in-n-out opened up near my sister's house in the salt lake valley and you better believe that we ate there. but now we show greater restraint. we only ate there once. and it was amazing.

number four: taking the kids to wal-mart during a pretty busy time. mind you, the middle child had not taken a nap and is a gru-uh-mpy bear without one. i ran to grab some a couple of things and was going to meet back up with my sister and the kids. as i was walking to find her, i could hear this horrible crying/screaming and couldn't help but giggle. i knew it was little malcolm having a melt down. i was again separated from the group and proceeded to find them by listening for malcolm crying...and it worked. not that i think it's funny that he had a melt down at wal-mart...i just think it's funny that we were "that family."

number five: while i was drying my hair, malcolm came in and saw that i was listening to my ipod. he insisted that he get to listen, too. he held the little ear bud to his ear and started bopping his head. he then held the ear bud to his sister's ear, but he wouldn't let her listen long. i tried to change the song to something a little more upbeat and he asked me to change it back...wanna know what we were listening to? what he wanted me to change it back to? jay nash. that kid has some taste. (i'm gonna train one of them...i don't care which one...to love the music i love--if it's the last thing i do.)

number six: getting to help with being a "room mother" for jesse's class. we did holiday relays with his first grade class. and, while it was fun and funny, i was reminded why i chose not to be a teacher. especially an elementary teacher.

number seven: malcolm was sitting on my lap and for some reason, he started biting my fingers and hand. at first it was funny and i was messing around with him, letting him bite me and then i would shove my hand into his mouth so he couldn't really bite. i knew this wasn't going to end well, and well...it didn't. he then turned and bit my upper arm and it hurt...like really hurt. my natural reaction was to smack his back, which caused some crying. i had to apologize to him and we discussed the situation. turns out, he bit me harder than i thought...i have two lovely (and very black and blue) bruises in the shape of teeth on my arm. no more play biting, i guess.

well...that's all, i guess.
here is a picture for good measure.

me and my babies.

12.17.2009

for today.

for today: december 17, 2009.

outside my window: it is getting dark. earlier today, it was sunny and a bit warmer than usual. yesterday was miserable because of the inversion. i love seasons and even though i don't love the cold, i don't mind winter. but, man...i am not looking forward to the northern utah inversions. blah.

i am thinking: about how much i feel like i have to do...but in reality, i don't really have anything to do. there are things that i wish i could do, but my work schedule sucks. oh well. such is life.

i am thankful for: lots of things. lots and lots of things. but right now, i am super thankful for diet mt. dew. it'll get me through this day of work like a champ.

from the kitchen: (at work) we got the greasiest garlic bread in the history of man. i had to use three napkins to dab away the gross. it was okay bread after that. guess what i learned today...there is such a thing as too much butter.

i am wearing: shoes. i hate shoes. i wish i could wear flip flops.

i am creating: stuff for other people. i sure wish i could motivate myself to create something for myself.

i am going: to survive this day. just like i survive all the others.

i am reading: the same book that i have been reading for a long time now. i sure wish i could get back to reading on a regular basis. i miss it.

i am hoping: for lots of things.

i am hearing: nothing really. the keyboard. distant voices. sniffling. coughing. oh, and a baby crying.

around the house: there are sure signs of christmas. my favorite, though, is the huge snowman in front of the house.

one of my favorite things: is christmas. lucky for me, i get to spend it with the juvenile delinquents. it'll be entertaining. but it will definitely not be where i really want to be. work so gets in the way of my life.

a few plans for the rest of the week: definitely include some surprises...like work. i know, who would've thought i'd go to work. hahaha. laundry is again on the list. hopefully i can get some of the stuff done that i really feel like i need to get done. whatevs.

here is a picture thought i am sharing:

bestie and cutie.

12.12.2009

more music. i know you are over it, but get over it.

i went to an amazing concert the other night in salt lake. uh-mazing. actually, that doesn't even do the show justice. let's just say that my already-exceedingly-high expectations were blown way out of the water. and with that said, here are the top five reasons this show was so stellar:

one. it was in a shack. literally. i know you think i am kidding, but i am not. okay, maybe it wasn't a "real" shack. i mean, it felt like a shack, but it was a little bigger. it was a little joint called kilby court. i found this picture here to help you get an idea:


two. i went with people who really appreciate music. after the show, we went to eat and fully discussed our favorite artists. we talked about why we liked them best. and then we talked about botox and lipo, but that is another story for another day. point is, we all enjoyed the show equally. maybe our reasons for liking the show were different, but our appreciation was all the same. i just love sharing musical experiences with people.

three. ks rhoads. his performance alone made the show (besides the fact that he was, by far, the hottest). and he plays a plethora of instruments. i am definitely going to be following him now...hoping he hits a location near me on any upcoming tour. (this video is ks rhoads at a show just days before we saw him in slc. his freestyle is relevant to his location...so, this session was just a bit different, but you get the gist.)


four. the nine other artists that performed. and the many instruments that they played. yes, there were ten artists...well, and the drummer. so eleven. they are called ten out of tenn. they are all solo artists that up and decided to start a tour together. i think they said they have toured for four years together. i "found" this group through a friend that had blogged about seeing katie herzig (btw--if you go to katie's website, you can download a free album.) i became a quick fan of katie and when i saw she was coming to utah with this group, i couldn't pass up the opportunity. and the very best part was tickets were just ten bucks. that's right, just one buck per artist. cheapest show ever. well, besides free. but you know what i mean. here is a photo i found here:

(although, the guy on the left--griffin house--was not on this tour.
instead, we got to see andrew belle.)

five. it was a christmas concert. kinda. each artist would perform one of their own songs with the assistance of the other nine (or so) and then they each performed a christmas song of their choice. some original, some traditional. loved the mix. and the one thing better than live music is live christmas music. these are my four favorite christmas songs that were performed at the show. again, these videos are not from the kilby court show (remember...it was a shack and the stage was about an eighth the size of this one...hahaha).


this is katie herzig.
and this is one of my most favorite christmas songs, too.



this is an original song by butterfly boucher.
yes, that is her name.



this is andy davis.
at the slc show, he started the song by saying that he thought he could do a better job than mariah carey.
it was funny.
maybe you had to be there.
(btw...you can go to his website right now and get some free music.)



this was the final song of the show with everyone performing...including the audience.


aaannd...that's all.
oh, and merry christmas!

12.03.2009

melt your face.

its not an unknown fact that i love dance. and i especially love to watch professionals dance. so, i had to share with you the sickest (in a good way) dance that i have ever seen. it was on sytycd this week and i was blown away. it was so sick, it will melt your face off. enjoy.



see. i told you.
melt. your. face. off.
and, they have a pretty cool name...the legion of extraordinary dancers.
or the lxd.