For Brooke...

Brooke just moved to Houston last week. I know that's not the end of the world, but it still sucks. I'm going to miss having her close, especially since she only lived 6 feet away from me for 5 years. So this is my Brookelynn tribute.

Reasons why I LOVE Brooke...

1. She was my first friend post high school graduation and my first roommate. She had to put up with a lot of crap because at 17, I thought I was responsible and could take care of myself, but I would have sunk quickly if she hadn't been there. Which leads to reason number 2.

2. She is responsible. I think I can roll motivated, hard working, ambitious, smart, and real world savvy into that. I don't think I have ever seen Brooke have an irresponsible moment in the 8 years I have known her. I know for a fact she cannot say the same about me. She has always had a steady job (sometimes more than one at a time) and worked 2 jobs while also going to school. She's hardcore like that.

3. Brooke introduced me to Iceberg milkshakes, Cafe Rio, and Cholula sauce on popcorn. Now 3 of my favorite things. She has smart tastebuds.

4. She is an animal lover. She's like that Elvira cartoon, except not crazy.

5. She can shake it like no other tall white girl on this planet. Seriously. If she was shaking her stuff behind a screen like they have at those bars in Vegas, you would be convinced it was someone with skin a little darker than Brooke's. It's impressive.

6. She makes the best Boston Creme Pie and raspberry dessert ever. I'm going to miss that stuff.

7. She is loyal and honest. She's the friend you want to take shopping because she'll tell you that your butt looks big. And when she says something looks good, you can actually believe her. What you see is what you get. You don't find that very often.

8. She agrees to ridiculous things just because I ask her. Example: She ran the half marathon with me. Not because she was dying to do it, but because I didn't want to do it alone. She put up with my crap while we were training for it and we crossed the finish line together. It was a big deal to me and I'm so glad she was there to do it with me.

9. She shops like I do. We can find something that other people would never even consider buying and immediately know a perfect use for it. We've had some interesting items in our wardrobes because of this. And she likes shoes.

10. She's a better friend than I could ever ask for. She has been there for everything the last 8 years. She's the kind of friend that sticks with you and never lets you down. I know she's still just a phone call away, but I'm sure going to miss having her just a few minutes away.

And some of my favorite memories with this girl...

-The first night we lived together (and we did NOT know each other at all) we got Iceberg shakes and watched Single White Female. And it was great.

-Almost running a red light in my new car, which would only be funny to us.

-YAWNING. Again, only funny to us. But VERY funny.

-Trying to fit 6 people in two small beds in Vegas, and the noises we had to listen to all night.

-Thursday night cooking in the model apartment. Actually, anything about the model apartment.

-The trip to California and my favorite quote "Plastic bags don't sting!" If there hadn't been vinegar around, I would have peed on you. That's how much I love you, Brooke.

-Sizzler days. And Buckle days. I think I knew your driver's license number before I knew my own because I was always typing it in from your checks. I still remember it, though it's no longer useful since you have a Texas number now.

-Getting kicked out of the casino in Wendover because I was too young.

-The 3-barrel curling iron and the note and plastic bag taped to the mirror.

-Biting snails and snail races.

-The sleepover that wasn't.

-Any and all bouquet tosses, but especially the wrestling incident that ended up on the Lifetime Wedding Bloopers special.

-Getting to help plan your secret wedding.

-The Model Apartment, the Grandma House and the Woodridge House.

Brooke, I love your face and I miss you already. I can't wait to see you in a couple months. I hope Houston is great and I wish you and Brad the best. I hope you make lots of new friends, just don't let them replace your favorite Utah girls. Love you!

60 is the new 40

Happy Birthday to my hot Mama!

My sweet mother turned 60 on March 14, though she looks MUCH younger. My cute dad got a cake that said "60 is the new 40" and in their case, that's the truth.

In her sixty years, my mom found a pretty rad guy to marry (love my Daddy too!), has had 6 kids, 2 stepdaughters, 12 grandkids (lucky number 13 is due in September, along with the first great-grandbaby), and taken care of a ridiculous amount of pets, moved all over, modeled, done hair, sold a lot of stuff, made endless amounts of phone calls, helped a lot of people drop the bad stuff and get happy, made breakfast every morning for 2-20 people, taken way too many trips to school to deliver what Nick and I forgot at home, been PTA president, a cheer/football/basketball/wrestling mom, done more loads of laundry than any one person ever should, and been an all around awesome lady.

I think raising me alone would have added a lot of years to her, not to mention all her other kids, along with everyone else's she took a part in raising, but she wears those years well. I hope I'm that hot at 60!

Love you Mommy! Happy happy birthday!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

I know it's late but Happy St. Patrick's Day anyway. It is one of my favorite holidays, mostly because of my obsession with 4 leaf clovers. I spent the evening doing promotions in a fluorescent green wig. We were hard to miss.

PINK!!!

Chrissi and Hootie went to the doctor yesterday to find out if the baby would be pink or blue. The doctor's exact words... "The only thing she doesn't have is her father's penis." Looks like I will have a cute new NIECE in September!

March

We are only 5 days into March so this is going to be short.

1. My parents heard from Nick. He hasn't showered since he got to Iraq. That's something like 35 days. In the desert. Not good.

2. I lost my voice. Once I get sick it takes me FOREVER to get better. I'm going on 3 weeks of off and on sickness of all different kinds. The current ailment is a scratchy throat and no voice. Technically, I can talk a little, but it sounds strange enough that Jeremy is calling me a little church mouse. I don't know exactly what that means, but I don't think I want to be one.

I used to love losing my voice. I would scream for the duration of football and basketball games trying to get hoarse. And I was a LOUD cheerleader. It's been a long time since I haven't been able to talk and it turns out, I don't like sounding like this anymore. My patients and coworkers don't like it either. I don't do well not talking. Time for my voice to come back home.

And 3. I'm going to be an AUNT! Again. But this time it's Chrissi having a baby so it feels different. She officially broke the news on her blog yesterday so I guess now I'm allowed to talk about it. I'm so excited for her. She'll be so cute pregnant. Chrissi and Hootie will be great parents and with both sets of grandparents living so close, that baby is going to be spoiled rotten. She is due on September 7th, but I'm hoping the baby will decide to come two days late so it's birthday will be 09/09/09. We'll see.

That's all for March so far. The old "In like a lion, out like a lamb" saying seems to be true this year because right now it is snowing like crazy. Hopefully this will be the last big snow of the year. I'm ready for spring.

February

February

I took a trip to California with my parents to spend some time with Nick before he deployed. We had a fun couple of days, and a not so fun morning when he left. We stayed in beautiful San Clemente and enjoyed the slightly warmer weather. You can check out my friend blog for how I felt about Nick leaving, but here I will just say that I am so proud of him and I already miss him a ton. Love that kid. Be safe in Iraq, Nick, and know that we love you and miss you everyday!

I also got to spend a day in San Diego with Brandon. We spent some time at Pacific Beach and toured a couple museums in Balboa Park. Thanks for taking care of me Brandon! Miss you!

Jeremy and I went to Monster Trucks on Valentine's Day and it was awesome. If you've never been, put on your ripped up jeans and cut off flannel shirts and go. And don't forget your earplugs! We had a fun day together and he's a pretty amazing Valentine.

The rest of the month was spent working. A lot. I did a couple fashion shows, one for Albert Chloe's new boutique and one for the Gateway Bridal Show. The shows are always so much fun and I have a blast with the girls. Love them all.

Happy February birthdays to Ginger, Brooke, Heidi and Cohen!

Catching up...

I've started this blog a few times. I'll post something, leave it for a couple days, then take it down. This time I am actually going to keep it up (hopefully) and add on to it. That's the plan. Sometimes I don't do so well with plans...

Where to start... Here's a quick catch up on my 2009 thus far. It's not exciting, but it's been great.

January-

I started 2009 at Jeremy's friend's cabin in Big Cottonwood Canyon. We went snowboarding on New Year's Eve and had so much fun. It was my first time and Jeremy was the most patient coach ever. We all had to take a nap before midnight because we were exhausted from a day on the mountain, but we woke up in time for the countdown and threw in a couple songs on Rock Band.

If you need a snowboarding coach, I recommend this guy.

And thanks Meagan, for making it look like I can stay up on my board in this picture. You're a skilled photographer and another good coach.

I spent the last week of January in Park City working for Sundance. I was working crazy all-nighters at Stanfield Art Gallery and it was a lot of fun. I also spent a day working at the Outdorr Retailer Convention. My body hated me by the end of it, staying up all night and then working at the hospital all day is not the best idea, but I still had a good time. I don't have pictures of any of the celebs that were in the lounge, maybe next year.

The first picture was taken at 4:44 AM. I think we look pretty awake for that late/early.

Go Utes! 13-0!!!

The third picture is with Tandra and Kesia. Those girls make every job so much fun.