quickest trip of my life

24 hours. I don't think I've taken a quicker vacation. It was an expensive, quick vacation but an awesome, expensive, quick vacation!

When I was 16 my family moved from Milwaukie, Oregon where we had been living for the past 8 years to Kaysville, Utah. Living up in Oregon we were away from both sides of the family and my parents decided that it was time to move back where family was. They were ready yet to move back to the oven that is otherwise known as Arizona, so they settled on Utah where my mom's family was (and still is). That was a very tough summer for me. Turning 16 is always rough--you've got all this internal drama going on and hormones that have you laughing one minute and wanting to kill yourself in deep depression the next. I remember I cried. More than once. Part of the crying came from the fact that I had to leave my two best friends behind in Oregon: Kristy Marchant and Laura Perisich. We had become "The Three Musketeers" over the last couple years and I was now moving 800 miles and two states away. I didn't know who was going to be my friend now. There are a couple things that stick out to me about that particular year.

#1. Sean Leonard. He was this really cute guy from church (who also happened to live right across the street from us). He was sweet and funny and really nice guy. I remember always getting giddy and excited when he would sit by me in Sunday School and I was convinced that we were soulmates and were going to get married. Obviously, that didn't happen. I remember talking about him to Laura and Kristy in the letters we wrote back and forth (yes, I know it's hard to believe, but this WAS before email was really popular and available...). Laura came to visit at one point and was excited about meeting Sean. However, he happened to be out of town that week and so she was convinced that he didn't exist and I had made up this imaginary boyfriend! (I know I'm crazy, folks but I ain't THAT crazy! Come on!! lol)

#2. 6 months after moving to Utah I had to have my appendix removed. It was very sudden (as appendectomies usually are) and I have a lot of weird memories about waking up in the post-op room, being transferred from the rolling bed they were transporting me on to the bed in my hospital room, the nasty beef broth they make you drink and eating nothing by Saltine crackers for about 4 days afterwards. *Side note: don't ever drink orange juice and then take a bite of orange Jell-o. The flavors are NOTHING alike and it will screw up your tastebuds for about 12 hours.

#3. That was the year I bought my very first CD. Again, like not having e-mail, I know it's hard to believe since it wasn't THAT long ago, but CDs were the new thing then. I'm pretty sure I still had a walkman to play my cassettes into until I got a portable CD player that year for Christmas. Gasp! A portable CD player?! It was awesome! :) What was this very first CD that I bought, you ask? Well, to those of you who know me pretty well I'll give you 2 guesses. It's probably not going to come as too much of a shock to you when I tell you that my very first CD (that I bought with my own money) was The Backstreet Boys.

I listened to this first CD of theirs NON-STOP that year. I thought it was the best thing since....I don't even know. I would put it in my CD player, put on my earphones and listen to these 5 guys singing. I don't remember having a crush on anyone in the group in particular, I didn't have anything else except the CD (no posters on the wall or anything like that), and I never went to a concert but I was in love with them. The next spring their second album "Millenium" came out. I saved up my money and had my mom drive me to Target (or maybe I drove, since I had my license and Mom was just in the car with me...) so I could buy it the first day. Again I was in love. I still didn't have any posters on my wall, or sit in front of the TV waiting for them to make appearances on talk shows or go to any concerts but I listened to "Millenium" so many times that to this day I still know every song by heart. **Side note: I have every album these boys have released but "Millenium" is still my favorite and I still listen to it about once a week.

One thing you may be asking yourself is: how come you never went to a concert? The answer: I didn't know that was an option. I know you're probably laughing and rolling your eyes at me, but that is the honest to gosh answer. Going to a concert never even crossed my mind. I dind't know that that was something I was SUPPOSED to do. My parents were never big concert goers, I didn't have any older siblings to show me the ropes of proper teen idol worship, and I never had enough money to make a concert even possible. I am sad to say that I was a concert virgin until the age of 25 at which point I was the older sibling teaching my younger sisters the proper etiquete of teen idol worship by taking them to see this new band just starting out called The Jonas Brothers.Since then I have been to many concerts. What's that saying? "Once you start, you can't stop." I know it's about potato chips, but it applies in this situation. I love going to concerts. I think they're great! However, the 16 year old inside myself still regrets never going to see The Backstreet Boys in concert when I first fell in love with them. But this, dear reader, was the reason for my 24 hour, $285 trip to Utah. I was finally going to see The Backstreet Boys in concert!!

*insert fangirl squeal here*

The Boys released their seventh (yes, you heard me correctly: seventh) album at the end of last year. When people find this out they are always surprised. "Oh, are they back together?" They ask me. No, people. They're STILL together. There was never any reason to get BACK together because they never stopped. Unlike the other group I regret never seeing in concert N SYNC. But that's another story. And I'm not bitter. I'm not. Anways, back to my story...people are always surprised to find out that BSB (that's what I call them, cuz we're tight like that) is still together and going strong. To quote my mother, "That's amazing! That's got to be like...some kind of boy band record, isn't it?" Yes, mom. It is. I guess.

After "This Is Us" was released they announced they were going back out on tour.

*insert another fangirl squeal here*

I watched the group's website and waited for Phoenix to be listed as a tour stop because (if you will remember and go back in my blog archive to November 2008 the Boys were playing in Phoenix and I had tickets. I was excited and all set to go, only to get the call as I was driving home from work that the show had been cancelled due to Nick being sick (THAT I am bitter about). I waited, thinking for sure Phoenix would be a tour stop since they had had to cancel the last one but....no such luck. The closest they were coming was Salt Lake City. I sat, I thought, I stewed, I budgeted. Could I justify going up to Salt Lake for the concert? Could I take the time off work? Was it even worth it? Then Kristy called me. Yes, that Kristy. One of "The Three Musketeers" Kristy. See, we've been friends (some might even say best friends or BFF's) since we were 14 and we drove carpool to seminary every day (for those of you who aren't LDS, seminary is a religion class that high school students can take as part of their curriculum). But I digress....Kristy emailed me saying she had bought 2 tickets to the show and did I want to go with her? The tickets were ON THE FLOOR! Row 22!!! Heck yes I wanted to go with her!

But wait. Could I afford it? Could I take the time off work? I stewed and debated and went back and forth on it for a few weeks. I told Kristy not to give up the other ticket to someone else just yet. I just needed another week to decide. I watched airfare, hoping and praying and crossing my fingers that some incredible sale would come along. Nothing did and finally I just decided, what the heck? This is a chance I'm probably never going to have again. Just do it! So, I bought my plane ticket, sent Kristy the money for my ticket, requested the time off work and hoped and prayed and crossed my fingers that Nick didn't get sick again thus forcing THIS show to be cancelled.

It wasn't cancelled.

I left work early on Wednesday to catch my flight to Salt Lake. (I hate flying by the way and have a huge case of flight anxiety where I can't eat for about 12 hours before I fly and feel like I'm going to throw up for the whole day before until I land at my destination...but that's a whole other story....) Kristy picked me up at the airport at 5:40pm and we headed downtown. The concert started at 7:30 so we stopped at McDonald's to get something to eat. I was still suffering from my above mentioned I'm-flying-and-feel-the-need-to-vomit-syndrome so I didn't get anything then we went and found a parking spot and headed over to the EnergySolutions Arena. (Okay, pause. The EnergySolutions Arena?! Seriously? Who the hell names these places?? Moving on...) We got inside and promply stood in line to buy a T-shirt and a lanyard because that's what you do and that's what I would have done if I had gone to the concert when I was 16. After standing in line and being all but mauled in people's excitement and anxiousness to purchase their BSB merch (yeah that's right, I said "merch") we went to go find where our seats were. They wouldn't let us in to the arena until almost 7:30, which I thought was kind of weird but whatever. We got awesome pink wristbands because we were sitting on the floor *insert fangirl squeal here* and we waited. Turns out there were a couple of guys behind us that loved The Backstreet Boys if you know what I mean. They were cracking me up with their antics and the declarations of love to Brian. There were actually quite a few good looking guys there but...they were either sitting next to their girlfriend/wife, drinking a beer and praying for it to be over already or they were like the two guys behind us and not going to be interested in me. At all.

Here's what was weird about the concert: there was no opening act. Apparantly, according to the girl and her mother sitting behind us next to the two gay guys, the opening act quit. So, instead of just starting the concert and having the Boys come out a little earlier than planned they had the DJ that plays for them up on stage come out and he was just up there on stage mixing songs and playing his bongos for about 20 minutes. After he was done he announced that the Boys would be out in about a half hour. A half hour?! Are you kidding me?! So we waited. What else are you going to do?

Here's what I loved about the concert: they played/sang all the old songs from those first two albums that made me fall in love with them in the first place! They did some of their newer songs which was great as well, but it's those oldies that I love. They did their set for the next hour and a half. We sang and danced and took pictures and basically had a great time.

I know it wasn't anything like it would have been back in the day, but I'm glad I went. Now I can say that I have FINALLY been to a Backstreet Boys concert. I have the T-shirt and the lanyard to prove it! If they ever decide to come to Phoenix I will probably go but I don't think I'll be flying anywhere else to see them again. They were my first boy band crush and I think deep down (no matter how much I love N SYNC and hope and pray every night for a reunion so I can relive THAT teenage experience that I missed...) they always will be. Brian, Howie, AJ, Nick, and Kevin (though he's technically no longer a Backstreet Boy) helped me get through a pretty tough year and for that, they will always hold a special place in my heart. Here's a little bonus trivia question for you: What was the first BSB music video I ever saw? "I Want It That Way"...

the cost of home-ownership

2 bedroom/1 bath, 1044 sq. foot house in Mesa: $95,000
New couch and kitchen table with chairs to go in the house in Mesa: $500
Vacuum and chemicals for the pool that came with the house in Mesa: $600
Washer and Dryer for the laundry room in the house in Mesa: $725
Being able to come home and know that all of it is yours: priceless

wacky wednesday

When I was little one of my favorite books (that my mom refused to read to me because she thought it was stupid) was Wacky Wednesday by Dr. Suess.

"It all began with that shoe on the wall. A shoe on the wall...? Shouldn't be there at all! Then I looked up and I said, 'Oh, MAN!' And that's how my Wacky Wednesday began."

Here is how MY Wacky Wednesday began: I leave the house to go to work every morning between 5:55 and 6:00am. I've been staying with my parents for the last month while closing on my house and they lived around the corner from a park. Every morning I see several people out walking/running with their dogs in the "cooler" morning temps. This morning, as I was driving past the park, I saw a lady walking her two rather large dogs. I don't know why, but her hair caught my attention. It was long and looked to be braided and was hanging down her back. As I got closer to her I noticed that, nope. Not hair. She had a huge (and by huge I mean HUGE iguana sitting on her head and it was its tail hanging down her back!! I wish I had had my camera with me so I had the picture. It was crazy!

Continuing on down the street the next wacky thing I saw was a fail looking old lady out in her yard doing some yard work. What's so wacky about a lady doing yard work? You ask. Well, let me tell you. This lady, was out there with a leaf vacuum thingy, sucking up leaves from her gravel and the vacuum was as big as she was! I was seriously afraid it was going to suck her up!! I've never seen anything like it before.

Work wasn't all that wacky, unless you count the wacky students I have to deal with on a day-to-day basis, so I guess my WHOLE day wasn't wacky. But the morning sure was!

newfound love

"I looked out the window and what did I see? Popcorn popping on the apricot tree. Spring has brought me such a nice surprise: popcorn popping right before my eyes."

I have recently developed a newfound love for popcorn. It's a lovely snack and healthy, too! (provided you eat it in moderation and limit the amount of butter and salt you put on it....) My new favorite thing is the 100 calorie packs of popcorn: the perfect portion a no need to feel any guilt about it. I love popcorn so much that I asked my parents for an air-popper for my birthday.

Here's some popcorn trivia:

*January 19th is National Popcorn Day

*Popcorn was the first food to be microwaved deliberately.

*Americans today consume 17.3 billion quarts of popped popcorn each year. The average American eats about 68 quarts.

And now...I'm going to go pop me some popcorn but first, here's a funny sketch about popcorn for your enjoyment! :)

elementary, my dear watson

I was homeschooled for junior high and high school (I know...explains a lot about me, huh? lol). For science we would watch Bill Nye the Science Guy.

For history we had a giant timeline we put together and had up on the wall around the dining room (to this day I still remember that Abraham Lincoln was the
16 preseident because he served in 1861. You can remember it because you just have to reverse the 1 and the 6. For geography we learned all the state capitals...quiz me. I still know them. :) For English we read Spakespeare and Sherlock Holmes. Every time we came to a word we didn't know, Mom would have us write it down. Then we had to look up the definition, and use it in three different sentences.

I love to read. I read all the time. I love learning new words and I think this stems from the reading and vocabulary lessons my mom would have us do for school. This past month I read a couple new books and was introduced to some new words. Call me a geek, but I kind of get a rush whenever I come across a word I don't know. I write it down, look it up, and try to think of ways I can use it.

Here are the words I learned this month:

Aggrievedly
Mollycoddle
Copacetic
Sibilance
Adroitly
Colluding

If you don't know them, write them down, look them up, and use them in three different sentences...

ups and downs

Past time for an update. I apologize. I could write an eloquent entry all about the wonderful things I've been doing to keep busy with but....it would all be a lie. After spending two month looking for and putting offers in on houses, one of my offers was accepted! I've been dealing with getting the inspector out there, waiting with crossed fingers and held breath for the appraisal to come back good (which it did...sigh of relief), having the seller replaster and fill the swimming pool (that's right, I have a pool...), faxing bank statements, signing loan document after loan document, and waiting for the loan to finally be put in place. If all goes according to plan I will be closing on June 7th!!!
Three weeks ago, in preparation for moving into my own house, I moved out of my "closet" at my brother's house and moved in with my parents. Some of you may be asking why. Well, at the beginning of May, J.R. and Esther blessed their baby in church. Because of this, Esther had a bunch of family (and by "bunch" I mean 12) come into town and all of them staying at the house. I decided to vacate my room, thus giving them an extra bedroom and bathroom for all their company. Also, my parent's house is closer to where MY house is and it's saving me from paying two month's rent (plus Mom cooks dinner every night!).

I started another class in my online Master's degree program. After this one I have four classes left and I will be able to say I have a Master's degree in Psychology! This class is "The Psychology of Learning." So far it's been really interesting. Work is the same. "Crazy Cat Lady" is the same as always. Friday I almost slapped her three times. I've determined this is my test of patience from Heavenly Father. I don't know how long He's going to make me take this test, and I don't know how I'm fairing so far. I just pray that the test ends soon....

I've managed to sneak a few movies in the last few weeks. Iron Man 2: AWESOME! I am in LOVE with Tony Stark/Robert Downey Jr.

And Letters to Juliet: cute story, but screenwriting/dialogue needed a LOT of help. The guy in the movie, "Charlie," is a cutie though. I can't wait to see what he does next! :)

Also, my brother Steven got married yesterday! We've had family in town and have had fun visiting, taking pictures, and eating lots of good food.

hello kitty

My thumb is healing nicely. I haven't taken a pain pill since last Wednesday and I have progress from the super sexy red bandage I sported for most of the week to just a simple band-aid. It's amazing how much a Hello Kitty bandaid really does help you feel exponentially better. It makes you smile every time you look at it. Faith and I went to Target this morning to pick up a few things and I bought several boxes of bandaids since I'm going to be wearing one for awhile. I bought Spongebob, Disney Princesses, Toy Story, and another box of Hello Kitty. Growing up, I don't remember my mom ever buying us fun, cartoon bandaids. We always had the plain, boring, "regular" bandaids. I realize now (since I am an adult and I am all too familiar with how much things cost) that this was because the fun, character bandaids are a lot more expensive then the rgular ones. Also, there was that one time that my friend and I filled up the bathroom sink with water and dumped in a whole box of bandaids just because.....but that's a story for a different day and I was only 4 at the time....

My thumb on Sunday....



And today...notice the difference just a day makes!