Dining room

BEFORE
Steve came over to help me paint! I love bright colors! I can't stop myself. I just try to limit myself. I can't have an ENTIRE house full of bright colors.... OR CAN I? :)

AFTER.

Now I just need to get all sorts of fun white stuff on the walls and paint that table.

Inbetween conference fun

Sarah watched conference at my place. She had the amazing idea to make pancakes! Her pancake of choice was with chocolate chips. BUT mine was with CHEESE!

The glorious cheese pancakes. YUM. I was famous for these in college. My mom learned how to make them in college and taught me. My uncle Jeff gave me a 20 lb box of buttermilk pancake mix to take to college. I would make them for people, usually sometime after midnight. They would bring the cheese and I would do the rest. Oh the glory days of college.

So here is my happy face.

THEN my pants kept falling down.

Gosh Sarah! I could fit two people in these pants! GRRRRRRR

Uh, MERN lets try it! haha

So we did.

Don't worry, I put shorts on.

I haven't laughed that hard in a bit. Too fun.

The bedroom

I did some work on my bedroom. I took a day off work and got busy.

BEFORE

It was just a boring old room. It needed a makeover. It's not completely done but good things take time, right?

This is one big thing that bothered me! the baseboards aren't right up againts the wall in some places. It is a complete eye sore! I always figured I would need to get a nail gun to fix it. NOPE. I figured, why not a little caulk? now I don't know if this decision will be a bad idea later down the road but who cares. It looks great for now!

check it out!

I am so pleased with it! Now I will need to go around to the other rooms in the house.

I painted the walls grey, then added a headboard. Now that headboard didn't start it's life as a headboard. It started out as the ceiling to my kitchen! Zachary helped me pull it down and we decided we couldn't just throw it away. I slapped some dark grey paint on it and it is doing a great job as a headboard!

AFTER

So calling this the after is a tad bit of a lie. There is still plenty of work that I need done. A mustard yellow bedspreak. Another lamp on the other side. A mustard yellow rocking chair. Some cool decals in the squares, and how about a clock for a good time? While I am at it I might need to get some shades behing the curtains.

Institute.

This is when we weren't going to institute

This is when we were considering going to institute

AAAND this is after we went to institute.

Oh the difference.

Ok so thats a little dramatic. Going to institute was just average. It's hard being single and having everyone say

"welp, if you went to institute maybe you wouldn't be single"

uhhhh have they EVER been to institute?

Would someone please leave one, just ONE, positive relationship that has come out of going to institute?

and not Eastern Arizona's Institute because that place doesn't count. Why? Because this is my page and I said so.

You go to institute, listen to the lesson, and then talk to the same friends you always talk to. Catch up with old friends and make plans with current friends.

Yes, the lessons are great, and beneficial.

But going to institute to meet someone? I.Doubt.It.

REEEED Lobsta!

I couldn't resist adding all 3 of these pictures. It doesn't need to be said, but we had a LOT of fun eating this stuff. Kristen sat across the table with her eyes all bug eyed and mouth agape. She doesn't eat seafood all that often, or ever.

Did you know Sarah eats her crab legs the same way each time? She leaves the claw for last because it's her favorite. I hadn't ever thought of that but it's a great way to end the meal. With the biggest part. Better than working real hard to end on a tiny sliver of leg meat dripping in butter. Well now that I say it that sounds JUST as heavenly.

So delicious. You have to savor the times you are at red lobster. It's so expensive, so the trips there are few and far between.

Saving the environment....

Or just making cash?

Well I have been collecting cans for a little under a year. It started as a way to save up money to participate in the Cancer 3 day. It's a fundraiser where you walk 60 miles in 3 days and raise money for cancer. Well in order to do it I needed to raise $24,000.00. welp no way I did that. oops.

But I continued to save cans. It's easy when you work in an office fueled by monster and rockstar. They were overtaking my garage and in order to get ready for our St. Patty's day party my roommates decided it was time we take them in.

We came first to this little station in mesa and started putting each can in a little whole. It was taking FOREVER and was spitting out quarters. It was depressing.

A guy drives by and gives us the insider tip. He takes his cans to Lindsey and Broadway to a can shop and gets $1.10 per pound. We scooped up the cans we had unbagged and headed down that way. It was WAY more lucrative. $38.00!!! Too bad we had already put 4 bags in the other dumb machine. Welp, there's $47.00 for my MEP CRUISE FUND. Holla! :)

Family Dinner

The siblings here in Mesa have been getting together for family dinner once a month for the past 3 months. it's been a lot of fun and the time in between seems to fly by. This month was at my house.

Little Brighton didn't want to eat his dinner, and then he comes walking in with the ULTIMATE CHEESE BALLS. haha so cute.

The boys were anxious to show me how they could jump from the couch to the love sac.

I love hanging out with them.

She is adorable

I found the cutest picture of lil Annie!! ahhh I love this kid!!

This was taken so long ago! It appears to be taken when mom and dad remodeled their upstairs after the bathroom flood.

I just wanted to add it on here because she has the best little cherub face.

I can't believe how big she is getting!! She was at my house last night and was so excited about this show "How it is made" that she likes to watch. She is so smart and if I recall correctly, if you ask her what she wants to be she says engineer or architect.

The luck O' the Irish

WOOOOOOOOW.

My roommate Emily threw a party for St. Patricks day.

It was EPIC.

Root Beer Keg

Mints

Gum

more mints

and water.

Here is the garage where we had the Keg and the dance party. It was weird how sometimes it was hoppin and sometimes there was two people dancing.

Here are some of the super people from my ward that came. I am glad to meet more peeps from the ward!

Tony and Kristen.

We all wore our green.

I even got special shamrock chonies! ;)

LOOK HOW MANY PEOPLE CAME? This was only a few. I didn't know we could fit that many people inside! I would say there at least 400 people in and out through the course of the night. It was so fun to see people that I hadn't seen in a long time.

It's seriously not a party without Sarah and Jakeb.

Roommate Emily and her friend with the BIG Rt. Beer Jug

Some people did keg stands. I wish I was brave enough for that. What I WAS brave enough to do was walk through the crowds and randomly grab butts. haha it was SO packed that I am pretty sure they didn't know who it was.

It was getting SO hot inside so Sarah and I decided to hop up on the roof. Right as we were heading up there we met these two guys and invited them up with us. They were HOT HOT, but unfortunately super duper immature. It was fun to hang and mess around with them though.

And at the end of the night the cops showed up and told us to keep it down. It was a great way to end a party.

Weekend shtuff

Usery park 7 mile loop.

I love this hike. It's not difficult, just 7 miles. If you go counter-clockwise around the mountain it would be more difficult.

Sarah invited Tori and I to go along. I didn't get a picture of all 3 of us! Epic fail.

Sarah was flabbergasted that I didn't have a picture of me hugging a cactus. Well now I do. :) I was scared to get too close to it so it looks funny. haha

After we went to COSTCO and had pizza. It was divine.

That night I had Chuck over for dinner and a movie. Is it just me or have there not been any great movies out lately? We rented In Time, Cowboys and Aliens, and another one about the stock market crash.

aaaaaaaand here is my loverly sunburn. oops. Luckily I thought to put moisturizer with SPF 30 on my face.

In Relief Society I volunteered to give a short lesson from Daughters of my kingdom. It's an AWESOME book. I love reading it and will admit it hangs out in my bathroom. When else is there time to read?? If you aren't reading it, DO!

Mom and Dad are in town for a few days! YAY Dad has a DR appt check up on his knees. They are Da Bee's Knees.

Need more times like this.

Last night was so fun. My friends and I have been doing a running club. Not sure if I have mentioned it here or not yet. Well last night the wind was just a blowing! I felt at any moment I could be walking on a yellow brick road! So naturally I put on my sparkly red shoes...just in case...

Sarah had her allergies acting up so we decided(she persuaded ;) me to do a video at home instead of running outside. We did ZUMBA. Loved it. So fun. It's such a good workout! Full body workout!

After the workout we just couldn't stand to stay inside so we went for a walk in the lovely weather. Perfect degrees. Smell of orange blossoms. awesome breeze. It just made for the perfect night. So we went for a walk. Then a little bit of a run. Then a little funky dancing under the moonlight. Then a little soccer with a lemon we found on the road. It was just a lot of fun! Carefree fun. Let your hair down fun! I need that.

Orchids

I find these so loverly. Sometimes I go to Albertsons just so that I can look at them when I leave. It doesn't help that each time I go I get monopoly pieces either.

This picture doesn't really do them justice.

So elegant looking.

I love the color of blue

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My Garage

I don't know why, but I get GREAT satisfaction out of organizing my garage. I am constantly throwing stuff in there and constantly organizing it. I love when I need something, whether it's a tool, paint, nail, ribbon, or decoration, and then I know exactly where to find it.

My friends make fun of me because I like it so much... you know who you are... ;)

When there is a man in the house I don't know if I will be able to keep charge over it. That's his territory, right? Well, for now I am loving it.

Maybe he will give me a corner to store my things in. Well he will have to! Spray paints, tools, CHRISTMAS TOTS! Those alone need a whole room to inhabit.

I guess I could share with him.... Maybe....

Martin Luther King Day 2012

I am a bit behind on some of these entries. Oh well, better late than never.

I have never celebrated MLK day before. I didn't quite know how to, put we figured it out.

being an adult

Lets be honest, being an adult can be hard. Some days are just rough. Maybe it's the same as how hard it was to be young, I just don't remember because I am an adult! and my memory is gone! So I can't remember when I was 17, much less last month.

I don't know if it was just my parents, but if you came home sick from school you were grounded all night. Too sick to sit through school, well you're too sick for life then. This had it's good and bad sides.... Wednesday night mutual looking really bleak and something you didn't want to go to? Come home sick, and don't forget to mention how cool mutual is going to be that night. haha "I am sorry Mary Ann but you really shouldn't go since you came home sick. I am sorry, but you are going to have to stay home." boohoo. Even if you REALLY WERE sick and happened to feel better later in the day there was no budging. You were staying home.

Well here is where it comes in handy to be an adult. Go home sick, and still do whatever you want that night. Sleep it off and then continue with your day. You are a honey badger and can do what you want. :)

Ambers Bridal Shower

What an experience this was! I was so stressed out. I left work early to get things done. Of course this day, of all days, I get a flat tire on my way to buy last minute party goods. Keara was up the street and came to my rescue, it was perfect timing and a tender mercy. I got Jakeb Belnap on the phone and he headed down to help me. While we were waiting for him we drove aross the street to get some balloons. The girl that was blowing them up for me was like one of those dreams where you are trying to run but you are in slow mode and no matter how much you will your legs to run faster they just won't and you don't know how to fix the situation. I WAS IN A HURRY AND SHE WAS TAKING FOREEEEVER. Keara thought it was funny that I was about to jump over the counter and strangle the girl. We ran out with the balloons and headed back to my car where Jakeb was patiently waiting. As we were pulling into the parking lot we started getting shot at!!! we were freaking out only to realize that it was just our balloons popping in the backseat. SERIOUSLY hilarious. haha So after everything was fixed I headed back over to get new balloons and headed home.
But what do I stress for? I have awesome friends that are always there to help. Keara and Kristen jumped on the food so I was able to shower and get presentable. Many people came and we had a blast. It didn't feel awkward at all to mix family and friends. Sometimes at this sort of thing it can feel awkward but everyone was so great. It was so fun to see Amber so happy. Last night I was able to go to her reception and she looked amazing. Her dress was georgous and she was just glowing. I love to see that she found her prince charming and is able to start her fairy tale that she has patiently waited for.

The Bride is on the left

Keara and her Aunt (I think)