Day 1: 15 Random Things About Me

Okay...15 random things:
1. I hate ground beef (except for the occasional juicy hamburger)
2. "Severe Weather" scares me (monsoons, dust storms, lightening...I'm a pansy)
3. My favorite flower is the pink lisianthus
4. I used to skateboard
5. I have a slight obsession with Ireland
6. I want to be Cinderella.
7. I love punk rock
8. I love to read. Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and Diana Gabaldon being a few of my favorite authors.
9. I, along with the rest of the world, am trying to write a novel.
10. Walking into fabric, craft, scrapbook, and home decor stores makes me seriously giddy.
11. I love anything that sparkles...well...except vampires (or maybe especially vampires...it depends)
12. I'm an aesthetician and make-up artist by trade.
13. I have a huge sweet tooth (no...seriously...it's a problem)
14. I giggle whenever I'm in an awkward situation
15. BBQ is my favorite kind of food.

Also Inspired

Why do I blog? Well, it's really the same cliche answer: It's my journal. I've always been terrible about taking the time to sit down and write in a notebook about my life (I always wondered who would ever want to know about my day to day life?? Plus, I could never remember where I had put my journal, or I'd remember after I had already gone to bed), but this way I can get out everything I want to say about my trials, my joys, my hopes and (this may sound a tad morbid, but) if something were to ever happen to me, I want to have a place where I've written down any words that my children might be able to learn and grow from (usually just thoughts about what I'm going through at that particular moment).

So, when my friend started doing this, it inspired me to do the same. It's simple really. There's a list of questions and you answer them.

day1 - yourself with 15 random facts
day2 - you and the person you used to be close with
day3 - the cast of your favorite TV show
day4 - the person you have "liked" the longest
day5 - your favorite memory
day6 - a person you would love to trade places with for a day
day7 - your most treasured item
day8 - something that makes you laugh
day9 - person that has gotten you through the most
day10 - person you do the silliest things with
day11 - something you hate
day12 - something you love
day13 - your favorite band or artist
day14 - someone you could never imagine your life without
day15 - something you want to do before you die
day16 - someone who inspires you
day17 - something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
day18 - your biggest insecurity
day19 - you, when you were little
day20 - somewhere you would love to travel
day21 - your favorite night
day22 - something you wish you were better at
day23 - your favorite book
day24 - something you wish you could change
day25 - your favorite day
day26 - something that means a lot to you
day27 - you and a family member
day28 - something you are afraid of
day29 - something that always makes you smile
day30 - someone you miss

So, here goes!

Love,
Mom

{Hunter took this picture!}

(She was talking about a friend)

Mikayla: I don't know why she likes boys.
Sometimes I do.
Me: Oh, yeah? Like when?
Mikayla: Um, like sometimes in the Winter time I like boys.
Like Santa Clause...because he's a boy.

~*~*~*~

Just chillin' in the car, waiting for pizza:

Mikayla: Hunter...do you want to get married when you grow up?
Hunter: Nope.

~*~*~*~

Again, the kids are sitting in their carseats. It was quiet for awhile then out of nowhere:

Hunter: Tikatikabababatika.
Mikayla: Uh, huh. Yep!

(Glad, someone understands him!)

Digital Scrapbooking

My sister is putting together a website that will help people with digital scrapbooking. After talking about it with her, I looked at some of my old layouts.

One of these days I'll get more time to devote to scrapbooking...but for now I'm busy drawing pictures on the porch with sidewalk chalk ;)

“I don’t think the problem has much to do with the innate ability to initiate. I think it has to do with believing that it’s possible and acceptable for you to do it. We’ve only had these doors open wide for a decade or so, and most people have been brainwashed into believing that their job is to copy edit the world, not to design it.
There's a huge shortage... a shortage of people who will say go.”
-Seth Godin

"Don't let the voice of critics paralyze you."
-President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Maybe you feel like your voice, your story or your idea isn't good enough. Putting yourself, your true self, out there for others to see, to judge, takes courage.

You can stay safely hidden away, never knowing what could have been gained or you can take a chance. You will be sure to feel the sting of critics, and yet you'll gain more than you could ever imagine.

If it's something that makes you truly happy, then it's not a waste of time.



Ralph Waldo Emerson
It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, "Always do what you are afraid to do."

Bernard Edmonds
To dream anything that you want to dream. That is the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do. That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits. That is the courage to succeed.


Louis E. Boone
Don't fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things. The saddest summary of a life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have.


Rancid
That feeling isn't fear, it's just telling you to MOVE!!

Conclusion

**Update**
I've thought a lot today about my future trip to Ireland and I've come to a conclusion. I want to go with Joel. I want to have someone to snuggle up with in front of the hotel's fireplace on a cold and rainy evening. I want to walk hand in hand with him through the country side and shops. I want to see all that Ireland has to offer...but with him. Maybe next summer my mom and in-laws can help with the kids so Joel and I can go together. I realized that if I go this summer, it would be amazing, but in order to have my dream vacation, I would need Joel with me.

I'm still contemplating this summer...maybe I could go for a week, maybe I'll wait until Joel can come with me, maybe we'll wait until the kids can come as well. Who knows!

Thanks for letting me have my temper tantrum!
(I hid it, because I actually don't like whining)

Beauty and the Beast

I'm so glad that they are introducing more kid friendly Broadway shows. This year, Mikayla and I (along with my sister in law Bernice and her daughter Abby) went to see Beauty and the Beast at Gammage.


It was wonderful! The only downside was that it started too late and therefore ended too late. We left during intermission (@ 9:30-ish)...but I think we should have stayed. You see, right before intermission, the beast sings a really sad and lonely song which played heavily on my poor sweet little girls heartstrings. She sniffled all the way home asking why the Beast was so sad and asked if she could please go give him a hug. So sad.

November

This November we went to Disneyland for Mikayla's birthday! Of course, it was awesome. We got there on Saturday night. We were planning on going to the beach on Sunday and then go to our hotel that night (Grand California) so she could wake up, walk a few steps and we'd surprise her with Disneyland! No waiting, no fuss, just "Happy Birthday! We're in Disneyland!". Well, Joel and I had a little miscommunication when it came to packing. I packed everything, he loaded it...but well, unfortunately, one of the bags got left behind...the bag with all of the kids clothes in it...oops! So, we went shopping, then to the beach, then to the mall, and then to our hotel.

While we were at the beach they were having a memorial of sorts for a surfer who had passed away. It was called a paddle out. It was actually quite touching, I sort of felt as though I were intruding on something sacred.

Then, of course, we went to Wahoo's!

The morning of Mikayla's birthday I went and got some balloons, a cupcake and her presents from the car. It was so fun to see her face light up! Then we walked out to the park. This trip she was actually able to go on Splash Mountain (which she loved!) and Space mountain (which she did not love...at all), rocky mountain railroad, and of course we all went on Pirate's...a few times. She met Mickey, Pluto, Rose, Tinkerbell, and my favorite: Goofy!

Halloween