Weekend Adventures!!!

The weekend began on Thursday, June 11, 2009 with the Opening Ceremonies of the Utah Summer Games. My sister and I walked down to the Eccles Collesium (SUU's football stadium). IT WAS A BLAST!!!!! They started with a march of all the athletes (there were definitely a lot), then after then had all made it to the front of the stage the fun began. Two American Idol hopefuls performed (don't ask me who 'cause I don't remember and don't really care). They also had Felipe and Sione from The Biggest Loser--it was amazing to see how great they looked in real life instead of just on TV. All of this was NOTHING though compared to the main act---IMAGINE!!!!! Imagine is a Beatles Tribute Band and are about as close to the actual Beatles performing that you can get. They were awesome!!!! I LOVE THE BEATLES!!!! And to end the Opening Ceremonies, of course there had to be fireworks!!!!!!!!! Overall, it was a great night!!!!!

Friday, June 12, 2009 was yet another fun-filled night!!!! Every other Friday St. George has a movie on the field. I love watching movies on a big screen in perfect weather. This week it was Madagascar 2. I had never seen it before, and I don't know why I waited so long to--it was hilarious!!!

Saturday, June 13, 2009 we woke up bright and early to head back down to St. George for the rest of the weekend. Our first stop was a market at Tuachan Ampitheathre. There wasn't really a whole lot of things there but it was still fun to walk around and see some nice arts and crafts. I also got a GREAT Mary Kay contact. There was a booth with this lady who was selling pink tools!!! We exchanged business cards and briefly talked about possibly doing parties for each other!! I really hope that something comes from it!!! :) Next, my sister and I just kinda bummed around town until we could check into our hotel. At my work Christmas party (yes, it was 6 months ago) I got a free night stay at the hotel where our party was held. I finally decided I better use it before it expired!! It was SO NICE just to sit and lounge and be lazy!!! The only time we left the room was to go get dinner---so from 3 PM to 11 AM we were stuck in a hotel room and it was the best!!!

Sunday, June 14, 2009 was our trip to Snow Canyon for some hiking. We had a little trouble at the beginning with the car not starting at the grocery store, but after waiting for 1 1/2 hours the car started and we were off again. I debated just going back to Cedar City without hiking, but the track record with the car is that it usually doesn't die twice in one day, so I took the chance (I'm glad we did because there were no other problems. The only official hike that we did was Three Ponds. It was a beautiful hike, but there was not much water in the ponds and about half the trail was deep sand which sucked. I definitely want to go back in the early spring, so that I can see the ponds full of water and the run off. We also took a couple of little hikes around and a trail called Pioneer Names. Pioneer Names is supposed to have pioneer names (who knew...lol) on the red rock dating back to 1883. I don't know if we weren't looking hard enough or looking in the right spot or what, but NO pioneer names were to be found. Before we left St. George and headed back to Cedar City we had to stop at In 'N' Out Burger!!! I'm not a big fan of burgers, but I love that place. I'm glad that there is one so close to me and everytime I make a trip to St. George I always make sure to make a stop there.

So there you have it--mine and my sisters weekend getaway to St. George and all the fun adventures!!! Can't wait to get out and have fun again soon!!! :) Here are just a few pictures from our adventures--there were so many that it was hard to just choose a few!!!

Healthy Living

So with the help of Healthy Living and Snap Fitness I have been trying to lose weight. I have been doing this off and on for a couple months now, but I need to start doing it all 100% instead of counting calories here and there and going to the gym when I'm exhausted. So last week was the first week that I actually kept track of my calories all week (and for the most part stayed within my calorie range) and went to the gym when I was supposed to!!!

The results: Unfortunately this week I only lost 1 pound, but I am not going to give up. Losing weight is sooo HARD to do, but I am determined to do it. I have a goal outfit picked out and hanging where I see it everyday and I a planner where I write down everything I eat. There are also other added benefits to eating healthier and exercising:

• I have more energy. Even though I am so exhausted at the end of the day and do not want to make that dreaded trip to the gym I still feel like I have more energy over all.
• I notice that I'm not always craving snacks. Even though I am only eating 1500-1600 calories a day I notice that I am not hungry or craving things. Half the time my meals are so filling that I can't even finish them.
• My mood seems to be better.

Overall, this whole lifestyle change is going good. I'm really worried what will happen when school starts up again in the fall and I don't have time to count calories and go to the gym as often. But that is a few months away so for now I am going to keep doing what I am doing and hopefully have weekly updates for y'all. Maybe letting people know what I lose will push me to work a little harder!!!

Sisterly Love

My sister, Melissa, is staying with me for the summer. She got here Saturday, June 6 and will be in Cedar City until the middle of August. I am hoping that we get to spend some good quality time with each other while she is here. Her plan is to get a summer job to save up some money. We also have a few fun things that we want to do. This weekend we are going to the Utah Summer Games Opening Ceremonies and also taking a trip down to St. George. Other things planned: all the many festivals going on this summer in Cedar City (Cedar isn't known as Festival City, USA for nothing), hiking, camping, Tuachan, and the Utah Shakespeare Festival.

When she first got into town we stopped at a Top Spot (a local burger joint) for lunch. We then got all settled and got some groceries (my kitchen was definitely very empty). That evening we went to the SUU campus to walk around and then walked to The Pizza Factory for dinner. Walking around SUU was a lot of fun; I haven't been on campus for about a month now (so long ago....I am ready to go back). Melissa is thinking about going to SUU after she graduates next year. There are a ton of different statues and sculptures around campus that are great to look at and see.

Yummy Top Spot!!!! I love this local burger joint!!!




Sculpture in front of the SUU Centrum.


The beautiful sunset!!!!


Pizza Factory -- Great food with a friend can't beat it!!!!
I sure did have great food with a friend -- nothing truly can beat that!!!


So here is to a great summer with my sister!! I hope it all goes good and that we have a lot of fun!!!!

Mary Kay

I have been a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant for 10 months now, and all I have to show for it are a few orders from family and a couple of friends and a TON of product sitting in boxes!!! I see a problem with this. I started Mary Kay because I knew that I could use some extra income to help pay off credit cards as well as try to get out of my comfort zone and meet new people while having fun with skin care. That has not happened, and I have decided that I need to do something about it. I need to quit making excuses and just do the things that I need to do to be successful in this business. It is not like it is rocket science or anything. Even if I don't sell any product for a little bit; if I could just get some contacts and some facials I would be pleased. BABY STEPS RIGHT?!?!?!?!

I have a lot of things that I need to do before I really get going. I do not want to start out and be all unorganized and not know what I am doing. So first, I need to get my inventory organized as well as the few customer profiles that I have. Then I need to start marketing at putting myself out there. As scary as it sounds, yes, I am going to have to talk to strangers. I believe and know that I can do this if I really dedicate myself (which I have not done the past 10 months).

So I am going to stop with the excuses and just take that leap and hopefully I can make something out of this business. Because right now I really do need the money. My first goal: Get all Mary Kay related things into one pile and organize it!!!

TAKE 594,496,454 -- My "New" Blog

It is time for me to start blogging again. I always have in the back of my head the idea that I need to update my blog, but sadly it stays just an idea. Well, that is about to CHANGE!!! I am going to make sure that I blog more often about what is going on with me. I am not going to blog about the past....unfortunately I never did get my pictures up and talk about my trip to Oklahoma (which was great) or my 23rd birthday bash (which was wild and crazy and I only remember little bits and pieces of it anyways). There are lots of other things that probably deserved to be blogged about, but I am starting fresh with today!!!

I am glad that it is Friday!!! It was a short work week, but it seemed to go on forever, I even took off early. Cedar City has been great. The weather is wonderful and I am excited for all the summer festivals and activities that are just around the corner.

School has been out for about for about a month and I am already slightly wishing that I was back; although I do have a ton of things that I need to do before school starts again and my free time disappears. I am leisurely looking for a roommate. I hope that I find one at least before fall semester starts....I shall cross my fingers. I have lived on my own for too long--it is time that I start socializing more.

My sister Melissa is coming down to spend the summer with me. She will be here a week from tomorrow on June 6th. Her goal is to get a job for the summer. It should be fun having her here for the most part. We already have a couple of activities planned!!!

I hope you enjoyed Take 594,496,454 of my attempt at blogging. This, I hope, will be the final take. I hope that I really will start blogging on a regular basis so that I can keep friends and family up-to-date as well help get a few things that are on my mind out!! :)

Web 2.0 - What does it really mean?

The Machine is Us/ing Us is a great video put together by Professor Wesch at Kansas State University. This video is all about Web 2.0. I love how the video starts out with someone writing and then evolves into someone typing on a computer. It really shows how far we have come in technology. It truly amazes how much is out there and how much I still have to learn. This video has definitely peaked my interests.

This blog entry was for one of my classes, but you should really check out the cool video...you will be AMAZED!!! :)

Homesick!!!!

GRRRRRRRR.......

I hate being homesick. Every once in awhile I get EXTREMELY homesick and if I could would leave and that instant and go see my family. This week has been one of those weeks and maybe just one more charge to the credit card to have gas money will have to happen to make it up to Salt Lake this weekend. As much as I would love to leave right this minute I know I have a life I still have to live....gotta love work and school. So hopefully I will make it through the week without breaking down in public and go see my family this week. What have I gotten myself into.......

UPDATES!!!!!!

So it has been forever since I have updated my blog. In fact I think that it has been since Halloween since I've blogged about anything of significance. So this is going to be a long entry. Here goes!!!

TWILIGHT THE MOVIE!!!

So I am a big fan of The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyers and could not wait for the movie of the first book to come out. I had tickets for a midnight showing in West Jordan to go with my sister and stepmom, but I couldn't make the long trip from Cedar City and back and take a Math test that Friday morning. So, me and 3 co-workers went and saw it Friday night for a Girl's Night Out. I will admit I was a bit disappointed in the movie. There were too many things that I felt should have been more like the book. But I went and saw it again a second time with my sister and it was ten times better the second time. So over all I REALLY liked the movie and can't wait to see the other books turned into movies.


The Girls at Applebee's -- YUMMY!!!



Waiting in Line in the FREEZING cold!!!!



This is from Thanksgiving. I got to spend some awesome time with my family. The two on the left are my adorable cousins and my brother Jacob is on the right. I miss my family soooo much!!!!!!!!

SNOWBOARDING!!!!!!
Me and a co-worker friend of mine headed up to SLC to learn how to snowboard at Brighton Ski Resort!!! A totally awesome time. It was FREEZING, but so much fun. We took some lessons first and I seemed to be getting the hang of it there, but as soon as I was on my own.....not so hot. I definitely want to make it to the slopes again before the season is over though. I need lots, and I mean LOTS, of practice!!! After that we hit up Happy Sumo for dinner and then off to Green Street to get our drink on. We met up with Naomi's friend and a friend of his and had an awesome time!!!!! So wanna go partying again soon!!!!!!

Me at the Red Lion Hotel before going up to Brighton


Naomi before heading up to Brighton!!


Us once again outside the Red Lion Hotel before heading up to Brighton


Me and Naomi at Brighton...I do believe this is before the adventures of Snowboarding.


CHRISTMAS TIME!!!!!
Christmas was AWESOME!!!! Anytime I can make it up to Salt Lake and hang with my family is great!!! Christmas started out at my moms Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve my brother, sister and I all hung out for most of the day. Then Christmas was Christmas. Opened gifts and breakfast and then hung out until it was time to go to my dads. The trip to my dad's was quite the adventure. My mom lives in Sandy and my dad in West Jordan....so I had to go across the valley. About half way there the weather turned bad......and I went sliding into a curb. Good news....no one was hurt and the car is still driveable for now. Bad news....I gotta put some money into getting my car fixed eventually. So my siblings and I made it alive. We opened presents there (which my little little bro, Jacob, decided to tell us what a couple of them were before opening) and hung out. Then we had some family over for dinner and some more gift exchanges. It was definitely a fun and relaxing Christmas.

My dad competes in BBQ competitions so for Christmas my stepmom got him a banner and the whole BBQ competition team (the family) T-shirts. The team name is OU812 BBQ. OU812 is the title of a Van Halen CD. Now team OU812 is ready to rock in 2009!!!!

Our cute puppy Hank!!!!! He is so silly!!!


My most awesomest, coolest DADDY!!!!

Christmas Tree at dads


Christmas tree at moms


OKLAHOMA CITY, OK!!!!!
My BFF, Celeste, is in Oklahoma going to Law School, so for the remainder of my Xmas break I went out to visit her. Her and her husband drove back home for Christmas so I drove back to Oklahoma with them. Overall I think it took us about 20 hours it get there....definitely a majorly long car drive. I was glad that I flew back. A more detailed blog and pictures shall be coming shortly!!! :)

Google Image Search--Pretty Fun!!!

Here's the rules:For each question, look up the answer in a Google Image search. Then choose your favorite image from the first page of results only. You get some fun and often CRYPTIC answers. If you need clarification on any of them leave a comment.

My Age:

A Place I'd Like to Travel:

A Favorite Place:

My Favorite Subject:

My Favorite Food:

My Favorite Animal:

My Favorite Color:

The Town Where I Was Born:

The Town Where I Live Now:

A Past Pet:

A Past Love:

My First Name:

My Last Name:

A Bad Habit I Have:

My First Job:

My Grandmothers Name:

My College Degree (in process):

What I'm Doing Now: