The Weekly Court

American Idol

2011-10-12T07:46:00.000-07:00

http://www.cmt.com/videos/misc/697860/lauren-alaina-twitter-questions.jhtml?artist=3935048&artistType=interviews

Check this girl out. I cry everytime I hear this song...

Catching Up

2011-09-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot going on lately, and I have not had the time to place anything funny or interesting on my blog in awhile. I will try to catch everyone up from where I left off!

I literally had to look for the last time I wrote a blog post. It was July 26^th, or so it seems, and I know August has completely passed without a word!

August was alright. My sister Lauren has a birthday on the 1^st. She is on Longview, TX with her hubby (for almost a year now!), and I didn’t get to see her on her special day… Still, I am looking forward to a trip to TX in November to see her, Cody, and Morgan.

In August, there is also the infamous Iowa State Fair. I was not fortunate enough to attend the fair this year, however wanted to badly! I kept thinking I was going to be able to get there to see the animals, food competitions, sky glider, Ye Old Mill, eat the food, and people watch, but it never happened. I was thoroughly disappointed when the final Sunday arrived, and my cheap ticket was still burning a hole in my pocket. I didn’t make it there. I was sad! I heard a lot of fun stories about the fair this year, though. It’s a rare year I don’t make it to the fair. I think I have missed the fair a total of 3 times since I was born, probably. It’s part of me; it’s in my blood; it made me who I am. I appreciate the fair more than a lot of others do, and when they talk about the hot weather, crowded rides, and greasy food, I simply look at them, and say, “Don’t go, then! Give your tickets and your time to me, and I will enjoy every minute of it!” Anyway…

In August, BARS brought back a supervisor who I was well acquainted with in central region, of CWG. Well, I should take that back. We did not bring her back… she accepted a position in BARS, which is a completely different part of Berkley than CWG. We are lucky to have her and her expertise! Love that lady!

September started off with a nice long, long, long and even more extended weekend. Over Labor Day, I took Thursday through Tuesday off. I needed to waste some vacation time, and get away from the monotony of work for a few days. It was a nice lapse in reality for me. I found myself enjoying the mornings, sleeping in and doing nothing. It was so disappointing having to come back to work. I love my job, don’t get me wrong, but getting up to come to work in the morning is not my favorite thing ever. I think there are a few people who might agree with me about their jobs as well.

The Hawkeyes also began their season that weekend. We played Tennessee Tech. The game was a complete blow out. I had to listen to part of it on the radio, as I was coming back from part of my weekend in Omaha. I was able to watch the rest of it at my parent’s house with my Mom. The game was rained out for about an hour and a half. Poor Tennessee Tech had to come back onto the field for the last ¼ and get their butts beat even more than they were before. I felt bad. (I have become a bit mushy this year…). The next weekend was the Iowa/Iowa State game. That game was insane. INSANE. Iowa state hasn’t won the game for a few years… 2007, I think. Anyway, the game was in Ames, and the night before, there were news casts predicting more than 75,000 people in Ames outside the stadium. I can’t even imagine. I watched the game a local bar with some friends. I had to be held back from the TV a few times so I didn’t take the thing off the wall. I am surprised my fingers never touched the screen, as I was pretty darn close at times. I think I may have lost part of my voice that day… along with my pride and dignity. The game was excellent, though. I do not think Iowa played very well, however we did end up taking the game into a 3^rd overtime, when Iowa State took the lead and won the game. I was glad it was over. My heart was about to give out, every time they announced a new over time. I was ready to be done. The day wasn’t too bad, even though I was a bit bummed out. The only thing that ruined the day, was at the end when I was talking with this older guy that decided to tell me what his thoughts were about the game. I walked out of that bar and told my friend to take me the heck home. The guy seemed to think Iowa was beat up pretty bad, and that Iowa State spanked the crap out of Iowa… Um, pretty sure the game was back and forth the whole freaking time. Also, the triple overtime does not mean anyone got “spanked.” Sorry buddy, but I think you were watching a different game. Stupid Butt Hole.

Last weekend, Mom and I were planning on making about 400 mini cupcakes for a birthday get together at my parents’ church on Sunday afternoon. We decided to watch the game, then decorate when the game was over. So… we are watching this awful game, against this team we are supposed to beat. Well, we weren’t beating them, AT ALL. It was awful. I am not sure what tea showed up that day, but it wasn’t Kirk Frentz’s team. I waited through half time and for part of the first part of the third quarter. I had given up at this point, and left the house to get Mom and I some Tsing Tsao for lunch. I, of course, had the game on the radio. “And Pitt gets another touchdown! Touchdown Pitt!” By this time, I was waiting for a train I had already cussed out for being in my way, and for making our food cold. When the announcer “announced” Pitt’s touchdown about 10 times, I about got about of my car and ran away. I think the people behind and in front of me were probably wonder what was wrong with me. They saw the license plates, and then their little Iowa Light-bulb went “ding!” Oh ya! She is a member of that VERY SPECIAL group of people who like the Hawkeyes. You ever wonder why short buses were black and gold? Hello! (calming down…)

So! When I got back home, I decided to watch the rest of the game as I shoveled yummy Chinese in my mouth. My poor Mom probably through her child had been possessed. I think I had smoke coming from my ears for about 2 hours straight. But wait! Right at the end of the third ¼, I started to see some remnants of a team show up to play. Slowly but surely, the Hawkeyes trailed in, one by one, and late, by the way, to play their AT HOME game. We ended up winning the game. It was insane. I keep asking myself why I let the Hawks practically kill me every weekend with their games. My Mom and I were literally out of breath jumping up and down screaming, hugging, screaming, hugging… did I mention screaming and hugging? By the time we were done, we were out of breath, tired, and yet totally stoked that the Hawks had just pulled this game from the inner depths of their butts. Surprised I didn’t call ya’ll because I had had a heart attack. Ugh! Hopefully this game this coming weekend will be just as exciting, but different… if you know what I mean. No more heart attacks and not showing up for scheduled games.

Mom and I after the Iowa/Pitt game... relieved!

I wanted to show the pics of the cupcakes Mom and I made. We had such a fun weekend together! They are below. I will label them so you can see what kinds we made. Enjoy!

I had a scrap booking get together for Jackie’s Stampin’ Up business. Mom and I are part of a group that buys items so many times a year and gets the hostess benefits when our month comes around. This month was my turn, and I had everyone meet at Mom’s for some snacks and some fun times. Here are the recipes of the items I made last night. I was happy with the recipes, and liked the snacks : ) Try them!

Have a good week, everyone.

Mom working hard at filling the cupcake papers...

Finished Mint Choc. Cupcakes with light green swirl frosting, and Andes Mint garnish

Cherry cupcakes, with light pink, almond frosting, green leaf, and almond bark & choc. cherry shaped garnish.

In the process of me decorating the confetti cake cupcakes with white vanilla frosting.

Finished! With sprinkles!

Peanut Butter cupcakes with purple, grape flavored swirl frosting, and a light

peanut butter drizzle.

Pumpkin cupcakes, with swirly cream cheese frosting, and an almond bark pumpkin on top!

Almond bark pumpkins and cherries.

Here is a mocha cupcake with mocha frosting and a choc. covered coffee bean on top.

Here are the recipes for what I made at my stamping party :)

Cheesy, Bacon, Ranch Dip

1 16oz AE Sour Cream

1 Pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch Dip Mix

1 Jar Hormel Real bacon Pieces (I used about ¾ of my jar)

1 Cup Sharp or Mild Cheddar Cheese Shredded

Mix the sour cream and ranch mix together thoroughly. Add the other ingredients one by one, and fold into the dip. Enjoy with crackers, pretzels, or chips! I bought Tricuits and Wheat Thins.

I also made two kinds of cake mix cookies. They are yum as well!

Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

1 pkg Devils Food cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 cup oil

½ c powdered sugar

Mix cake mix, eggs, and oil together in bowl. Roll large tablespoon sized balls of dough through powdered sugar to coat the outside. Bake on cookie sheet for 6-8 mins. (depending on oven) at 375 degrees.

The lemon ones are the same recipe, but with a lemon cake mix.

Banana Chips

2011-07-26T12:43:00.000-07:00

I was telling a friend today, at work, that in order for me to write a blog post, I need to have some sort of epiphany on some humorous level. Some people post everyday, boasting about their family's comings and goings… some post every few days/weeks about fun times in the pool and backyard bbq’s… and then there are those that post every so often, when something is so utterly ridiculous, that there is no other venue besides that of a “blog” to make mention of the incident.

I work with a very awesome person. Her name is Lori.

Now… Lori and I are pretty much in ca-hoots with one another. The way we talk, think, act… well we were probably twins in some other life. I have never met someone I get along with more, besides ANNE! It’s crazy. And, because Lori and I talk so much, she likes to walk over to my cubicle and vent/talk/crack up about the craziest things that go one here at work, at home, or wherever we may be.

Today, she walked up to my cube to talk about someone we are working with on a claim. No names being mentioned, however this person is dumb. Plain old dumb. We constantly have discussions that touch on the lack of brains people possess… common sense people, come freaking on. Really? I cannot even explain to you the number of times we have died laughing, usually yelling, about the lack of common sense in the general public. I guess we did vote in President Obama, and now the people that wanted “change” are being boo-ed. I guess I can’t be too surprised.

Anyway…

After ranting about this ridiculous individual, she so lightly touched on what she had gotten for lunch. She ordered a sandwich (sorry, don’t know what kind), and then was given a sample for a strawberry banana smoothie. She liked the smoothie and decided to order one of those as well.
***Before I continue… please note, when making a strawberry banana smoothie, you use fresh strawberries, fresh bananas, perhaps some yogurt, milk… and ice to hold everything together…
***Continuing now…
She received a fresh strawberry banana smoothie, with fresh strawberries, yogurt, milk, ice, and uh, what? Banana CHIPS?! Yes, and I say again… banana CHIPS. Who in their right mind would put banana chips in a smoothie? When she told me that she just looked at me for some kind of response and I was completely speechless. I guess I wasn’t aware that it was common to place trail mix in a smoothie. “Oh, Yum! What a delicious smoothie… wonder why I can’t suck anymore out of this straw. Oh! What’s that stuck to the bottom of the straw… what?... a cashew!?” Ya… hello! She ended up fishing all of them out of her cup, due to the saugability factor they were starting to take on. Gross.

I was so distraught and in awe over this whole ordeal, that I just sat there as she walked away laughing it up. I had figured out something to say, so I walked back over to her desk. I mentioned something about that "trail mix smoothie" to her, and she about fell off her chair with laughter. 5 minutes passed, I swear, as we both cried our eyes out, and dabbed at the black eye liner/mascara we were clumping up in the corners of our eyes. I finally walked away from it, and came straight back to my desk to make notes on wht to type out for this post. What a crock.

For everyone’s information, and taste buds, I have included a recipe for a smoothie that I like. There is no way in the world I am placing anything to do with strawberries on this blog. Allergic. ACK!

Enjoy!

Peachy Keen Smoothie
2 cups of sliced peaches
1/2 cup of fat free milk
1 cup lowfat peach yogurt
2 cups of ice
Dash of nutmeg

***Notice... there are no gardettos, mixed nuts, or cheetos in this smoothie. Save that crap for your Dairy Queen blizzard.

Long Time No Blog

2011-05-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

I honestly don’t know the last time that I posted on my blog. I guess I could look at the dates and see what they say… duh.

I don’t know what I want to talk about. I guess can talk about this:
I have been using my aunt’s camera the last few weeks to take pics of everything. For Mother’s Day I put together some photos for my Mom, Grandma, and Sister of Jules that I took one day at the park. I have also been taking other pictures around town as I hang out with people, and see different sights. I suppose I could post some of those for your viewing pleasure : )
Will post them soon.

Happy Monday!

fun #1

2011-04-04T20:46:00.001-07:00

Created with PhotoShake

New Mexico Girls

2011-03-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

Random nights should be recorded for laughable reasons. I sure do hope Anne reads this. It is for her, after all.

So… I decided to help Anne and Sarah out at their new place on Wednesday night, as they were able to paint their new apartment! It even gave them some kind of discount…so, sounds good to me! So, Anne picked me up after work, and we proceeded to head to Wal Mart, where we bought some needed items. We then headed to Polk City where her new place is located. The place is so sweet! The colors Anne had picked out for the walls were perfect, and everything was coming together very nicely.

When we arrived, Sarah was already there painting. Anne had me start in her bathroom, while she worked on the rest of the kitchen. So glad the girls stayed out in the other room, as something I had eaten did not agree with my butt. I felt so bad, but Annt just told me it was life, and that I was allowed to be the first one to “christen” her apartment… kind of. :o/

Anyways… she picked this light silvery color for her bathroom, which made the walls look clean and crisp. The color, though, was not applied as well as it could have been, so I think a third coat is in order. May just be the color. Not sure. She was basically happy with it, so I left it alone. We were joking around all night, and listening to music. She would randomly come in the bathroom with her fist up to her mouth and lip sync this terrible Lady GaGa song that we are obsessed with… it was great. Or… Michael Buble would come on, and we would prance about the apartment, and sing… fun fun fun. We were hungry, so by the time the fist coat was starting to dry in the bathroom, Anne and I decided to head out to Ankeny to grab something to munch on. We needed a cocktail, but settled for Smash Burger instead. She had never been there, and I think she was impressed. The one on 22nd is better than the Ankeny location, but, oh well!

So… Anne got an accident about a week ago. She has been struggling with an unnamed insurance company to get her car taken care of, amongst other things. (no mentioning) Anyway – she has a rental, as her car is now in the shop. So, we were driving round in this 2010 Nissan Altima, white, cute, roomie, and smelled like a really hot guy drove it last. Not sure if he drove it, or if he just sprayed his smell in it, but regardless, we opened the car doors and we just looked at each other and said, “Yeah!”

So, I asked her if I could drive it to Wal Mart from Smash Burger. She said, ‘sure!’ and I just climbed on in. The car has a push start, as well; freaking cool! I scooted on down the road about, literally, one block, when all of a sudden I saw in my rearview mirror flashing lights. Are you serious? What the heck have I done now? So… I stopped, placed the buggie in park, and then as the copper came up to the window, I couldn't even find the window button to roll the p.o.s down! Gah! I looked like a complete moron. He asked me, “Well, hello, ladies; and do you know why I pulled you over tonight?” I literally looked at him for a second, and thought to myself, uh, because we are cute?? No freaking clue! That stupid, nice, cute, brand new car did not have automatic lights. Dumb. So, as I was “scooting” down the road, ever so joyfully, I had ever so conveniently forgotten to turn on my lights. He asked for the rental agreement, our licenses, and my proof of ins. He took our stuff back to his car, after joking around with us about finding drunks, and wanting to make sure we weren’t wanted for anything too horrible. Of course, Anne and I wanted to run with that one, but we just kept our mouths shut, for the most part. Funny.

Anne and I were talking in the car as the officer checked us out (not like checked us out, but more like made sure we weren’t wanted for murder…whatever). As we were talking, Anne would randomly yell, “HI!!!” or “HELLO!! YEP! LOOK AT US!!” I about died the third time she did that, and she began to wave at this car full of people next to us, staring at us in our rental. Still makes me chuckle thinking about it. She would just interrupt, and scream “OH, HI!!” and wave like a little kid in kindergarten. Oh, did I forget to mention that the car did NOT have Iowa plates on it? Oh, no. It had New Mexico plates on it… most random state ever, and as we were sitting in it, I felt as if people were judging us because of our plates that represented a state that was bit to close to Me-hee-ko for my taste. Then, there’s Anne, yelling and screaming, waving at the Iowan passerby’s. Yep! We are from New Mexico! Apparently the people down there are irregularly friendly to people who are driving next to them? Hahaaa… no clue. If they found out we were actually Iowa cooked, they may have changed their minds about us being so crazy. So… the cop came back, and gave us our stuff. He gave me a “warning” that literally stated, ‘failure to use headlights.’ Whatever. Operator error. I felt like a moron trolling into the paring Walmart parking lot… good times. We went back, painted some more, and then she took me home.
Good night….

I was at work yesterday, who knew! My boss came around and asked if Lori and I wanted to have lunch with him and some other guys from our team. We said, sure!, and we all met up at The Game to watch some NCAA first round games. I completed a bracket for the first time in several years, so hopefully I picked wisely. Anyways, our President is going on this trip, and is needing a passport, so Lori and I left to get the papers for him. We walked into the post office on 100th, and the two guys standing behind the counter said, “Well, look! Our dates just walked in!” The one guy chimed in, “Yep, I will take the tall pretty one…” Lori and I looked at each other, thinking, who t.h. is that? Well, the guy was talking about me, and so the other guy promptly chimed in, “Well, I take the even hotter one next to her…” Lori just walked away, not amused, and grabbed the papers we needed for Terry. I had to buy some stamps from the dude who called me ‘tall, and pretty,’ and boy was that awkward. He asked me if I was 14, and I told him I was about 13 ½. Then he said something along the lines of, “So, you two aren’t sisters?” Rolling our eyes, we hussle out of that atmosphere to only hear, “Hey Ladies! Did you hear the one about the Irish guy who left the bar?” I turned and said, “Um… nope.” He said, “Ya, me either!!!” The two guys bent over in laughter, Lori and I retreated back to the safety of my granny mobile, and we took off, complaining the whole way back to work. Lori was just on a roll about how they were really good at digging themselves just a little bit deeper and deeper. I told her they should have just rented a back hoe and saved their backs from the shoveling. They were going down hill that fast… bad bad bad.

Well, this weekend, Todd is having his nephews come stay over, so I will be there with them for the majority of the weekend. Will post some pics of my new place soon. I would also like to post some pics of Anne’s b-day party, but I haven’t gotten that far yet :o) I will one day be caught up. Until then, everyone can just deal with my lack of time and motivation to update this every single day.
Have a good one!!

Poop Water and Boogers

2011-03-09T11:55:00.000-08:00

I have been moved into my new place for a few weeks now. I am planning getting some photos up on this blog as soon as I can. I just found my camera, as I was not sure where I had packed it! I just got new dishes in the mail, and will place photos of them on here as well…

School has been nerve wracking. I am taking three more classes to end this stupid 2 year degree, already, and will be done in May… IF I pass. I am having a really hard time in my Western Civ class for some reason. Not sure if I am just not motivated, or what, but I have the lowest C possible for that class! I have to get C’s or better in order to not have to pay back CWG. Suck. I think I am getting an A in my Environmental Science class and lab, though!

Speaking on Env. Science, Monday, our class was supposed to visit a waste water treatment plant on Vandalia. We have groups in our lab class, and as a group we went out to this plant. I was with my group and we chatted all the way there about things not worth mentioning… they aren’t bad, they are just… well, boring! UNTIL, we saw… I’m changing that… I SAW, this woman driving a white car going through downtown DSM on the freeway. We were passing her, and as I glanced to the side, she had her left hand half way up her nose and her other hand was being occupied by her cell phone. Now, we are on the freeway… driving at least 55mph, and she is talking on her cell AND digging for gold?? We were all staring at her as she must have been competing for a world record of sorts, because no sane human being would be digging for gold and driving and talking on her cell.

Anyways, everyone thought we would be inside, since that is what tours consist of in normal societies, and since so many of us have been to waste water treatment plants before (NOT!), we knew EXACTLY what to expect… We were outside for over an hour in the cold. My nose will not stop running. My thighs were so cold, that I felt like I was burning fat off my body when I got into the tub that night. We walked around with this guide, who was very knowledgeable. He has worked there for many years and was very good at explaining the process. He had a very large mouth though, and said, “AAAaaaaaaannnd, UUUUUUUUUUUm” a lot. He was nice.

So we walked around smelling the poop, watched as the oxygen was pumped into the poop water, and then watched the process by which these little bacteria eat all the poop to make the water clean again. No more poop water! And let me tell you, there wasn’t just poop in that poop water… there were rocks, sticks, tampons, and a whole lot more not worth mentioning. We made our prof. laugh when we noted the tampons floating around. I guess all of that gets scooped out eventually, in one phase of the process. Gross. Finally, we saw the end result of the ‘clean’ water that is pumped back into the Des Moines River. I thought pumping the clean water into the river was a waste of money. It was just going to become poop all over again, and the river has a higher ‘dirty’ rate than the water that they are cleaning… Whatever. I will not always understand life. I do know this, however… If my cousin Aaron is reading this, which I am sure he isn’t, I would like to thank him for the colorful comment on my facebook status about touring the facility… (You know, your s**t is their bread and butter!) I placed a ‘thumbs up’ on that likable comment and kept on a movin.’ Got back to class, and there we were lectured on the chapters we are going to review after Spring Break. I like my prof. in that class. She is a very understanding person, and if you are up to date on your work, and tell her when you are gone, she accommodates. Thank you Prof. Wirth!

One thing that I was thinking about posting the other day just came to mind. While writing about the lady with her arm up her nose, I was reminded of how stupid people are. I was sitting at a stop light… repeat, a STOP light, and was about to get onto I-35S to go to DMACC. There are these cars that keep inching forward like its going to make the light change colors. Give me a break. It’s like, “Can’t you freaking hold your foot on the brake for more than 5 seconds at a time?” Seriously! There was a guy in a blue Ford Escape, inching, inching, inching, inching… If I were the guy in front of him, I would have slammed my car into reverse and began slowly inching, inching, and inching back until his bumper was about ½ in. from mine, and then see how he liked it. UGH! I mean this guy was not from Iowa, and was a horrible driver anyway, but give me a break. They are going to make their passengers puke with that crap.

Pet Peeves… Here we are. Since I noted the one above, I am going to mention a few more, plus some random phobia things I have.
#1 People inching forward at intersections acting like their tire movement is going to change the light, and change the world.

#2 Stupid questions. People say that there is no such thing as a stupid question. I beg to differ. There are plenty… PLENTY of stupid questions, and I will be the first to admit I have asked my fair share of them. People use that excuse just to hear themselves talk. There are some kids in my science class that will never shut up. I have wanted to walk over to him, punch him in the back of the head, and then walk back to my seat. SHUT UP! No one cares; dude… the questions are all hypothetical and completely irrelevant. GAH!

#3 I hate escalators. Don’t ask me why, I just do. It takes the right step for me to step on them. Then I feel as if I am going to be sucked in by them at the bottom or the top. Scary.

#4 Pouring water makes me gag reflex start to move… I first noticed this when I was watching the movie Mulan about a bazillion years ago. There is a scene in the beginning where Mulan is pouring her family some tea, and there is no music and no one is talking. She pour the tea, and that sound made me want to jump out of my skin. Now… pouring a glass of milk, wine, water… whatever… I shutter, and people just look at me like I am some kind of freak. Life, people, life throws random crap into your life that you can’t explain. Deal.

Well, if that wasn’t a random post, than I don’t know what is! Enjoy the read. I will try and post pics sometime soon <3

Friday is Here!

2011-02-18T07:46:00.001-08:00

Friday is here. Fridays have always been my favorite day of the week. I have always loved Fridays, because it marks the beginning of the weekend, and the end of the week. Yes, you have to work on Fridays, but you still have the whole weekend to look forward to. This weekend, however, I have a three day weekend to look forward to! Our “designated company holiday,” thank you CWG, is President’s Day. They probably feel bad their employees go from having New Years Day off, to nothing until Memorial Day! I like that they feel and have decided to take advantage of it!

Today, Friday, I get my keys to my new place. I have an appointment to meet with my landlord at 5:15p this afternoon, and there I will sign my new lease, get my keys, and call the place my own. I am so excited! The place is a lot smaller than the one Anne and I live in now. The carpet is clean, there is no kitty/doggy smell, the cupboards are new, I have beautiful appliances, I am a walk way away from cheap laundry, and I have a HUGE bathroom mirror! Mom and I looked at the place, and I think I was immediately taken. Small, but sweet :)

Aunt Sherry and Todd are meeting me so they can be there when I sign my lease. We will ten proceed to Wal-Fart (as a friend of mine likes to call it), to purchase some odds and ends I will need for my trusty helpers tomorrow. (I want to thank everyone, in advance, for helping me out with this!) I am excited, and know that I will have a lot of unpacking to do when I get there. Hopefully, with the three day weekend, I will be able to get a lot done. Plus, I need to go back to the old place, and make sure my room is nice and clean!

I don’t think I am going to put my new address on this blog, as I am not sure how many people read it. Probably only a couple, but none-the-less, I don’t feel like having a creepo knock on my door at 3 in the morning, telling me he got my new address from my blog, and he wants to spoon. No thanks. Think I will send out my new address cards to the people I REALLY want to have my address. If I do, however, miss giving one to you, let me know, and I will make sure it gets to you.

Well… the weekend starts in just a bit, so look for me flying down Hwy 141 to my new digs.

Happy Weekend!

Wednesday Quote

2011-02-16T07:55:00.000-08:00

Quote of the Day:

"Where there is no love, there is no life."
Indira Gandhi

I am not sure what they meant, but I know this means to me. Without the love of the One we would have had no chance at real life. Real life comes from the Father. We have life because we have love. I really liked this one, and thought it was pretty straight forward. Food for thought.

Ice Fishing @ The Condo

2011-02-11T15:05:00.001-08:00

Todd, Nicole, Tjaden and I are all hanging out at the condo. Todd has been wanting to take me ice fishing for a long time, so, I decided to take some photos as I was learning. Here is the simple process I could get on my camera. More funny pics to come!

Todd and I with Lake Rathbun in the background... Look for a thawed pic in the summer!

Alright... Look for the perfect spot!

Found the spot? Ok! Drill the hole through the 1 1/2 feet thick ice!

Keep going! That ice is really thick!

There is it :)

My job was to take all the excess ice from the fishing spot...This is the handy

dandy tool just for scooping the ice...

Time to fish...

Minnow... BAIT!

Time to relax!

Aww.... and take a sip!

There's CoCo!

This is how thick the snow was at the condo. I had to walk through a ton of this snow to get to the frozen pond. Also did some research for the Environmental Science class/lab I am taking... Good times!

Valentine's Day Poop

2011-02-10T14:26:00.000-08:00

As we get closer and closer to Valentine’s Day, I think back on how I always used to love the holiday! It was one more day that I was supposed to get something girly and fun. Well, welcome to the real world, Court. Valentine’s Day is a man-made holiday, built for corporate America to keep the economy going. You want to know the real story behind Valentine’s Day? Then look it up! I don’t have to research crap like that. Do it yourself. I am pretty sure, though, it has something to do with war, death, and blood. Ya! I want candy, roses, and hearts to remind me of a slaughter that happened over 100 years ago! WOOHOO!! Romantic!

Dumb.

I am not a bitter individual, I swear. I have a boyfriend, and I like him a lot! He knows the holiday means nothing to me, and the things we do for each other on the off days makes the relationship so much better than making sure we celebrate every lover’s holiday. I appreciate that he invites me over, so he can make me dinner. I appreciate that he takes the time to get to know the things that I am interested in. I appreciate and love the time I have with him, even though I don’t always understand him and like to laugh at him… scratch that… laugh ‘with’ him. He is fun loving, and I am very blessed to have him in my life. (I hope he reads this.)

Anyways… enough with the sappy crap. I think my poems have made my depressive, sappy mindset evident enough already. Would you agree? Who cares.

You know… I really like my brother, Morgan. He makes me laugh. Every time I am with him, we spend hours upon hours laughing about the stupidest, most trivial stuff. He is hilarious! He took the word ‘meat’ and made me laugh so many times with it, that I can no longer say the word ‘meat’ without cracking up. It embarrasses me to say it, and I am sure the people around me think I have some kind of naughty mind, when I rally don’t! I am just referring back to Morgan’s insanity every time. Cracks me up.

Alright… this week is over for me, thank the Lord! It has been busy at work, and I am finally feeling back to normal. I am getting ready to move into a new place in less than two weeks, and have been making sure all my stuff is packed and ready to go. I like to be prepared so people don’t get mad waiting for me to pack my underwear. Anne always told me it was so nice when the people were all ready for you. That’s me, I hope.

I am moving to Grimes, IA, where there are a group of small apartments kind of set back in a residential area, surrounded by trees. I am excited to see what life will be like in that smaller town. I hope Bart likes it too. I encourage anyone to come visit, as I love to have people over!

This weekend, well tonight, some friends and I are going to Todd’s parent’s condo at Lake Rathbun. It will be a nice weekend away, even though I have a ton of homework to do. Will spend part of tomorrow doing that while Todd does his ice fishing, I presume. Hopefully my phone will give me enough internet juice down there so I can get everything done…

If I take some pics, I will try and post them, as I am trying to keep this updated on random happenings in my life. I am sure the only people that read these are my Mom and my Sister anyway… so… mom, Adrian, enjoy!

Normal Living Plus A Super Duper Bowl Sunday

2011-02-08T15:14:00.001-08:00

This is Tuesday.

I have had nothing too exciting happen this weekend, but, can mention it anyways!

Well, number one, I hope you all enjoyed the poems, and perhaps were intrigued? Oh well, if you weren’t. Last week was a bit brutal. I had school on Monday, and then worked Tuesday and Wednesday. Todd was going to be gone for a couple days, so I decided to stay at his place. Wednesday night I had rented a few movies, and started to do my homework. I texted some friends, and ate some dinner. Don’t know what time it was, but all of a sudden my belly turned and I found myself with my head thrown into the porcelain throne. Not my finest moment, and I am glad Todd was not there. He later apologized for the un-cleanliness of the toilet seat. I spent the next couple days in that state. The first day was mostly spent in the bathroom, while I was in between movies. I lay in bed miserable for hours. What happened? Gah! So Friday rolled around, and my body ached as if I had been trampled by a heard of water buffalo. Thank goodness my boss said, “Stay home!” Thank you, my boss! I spent the rest of that day in bed as well. Along with having the flue, the wonders of being a woman also blessed me with an aching back and an abdomen feeling as if it were filled with bricks. Pile it on! Saturday, I woke up feeling a bit better, yet not really wanting eat anything. Todd called and said we were invited to watch “the fights” with a few friends we like to hang out with. That wasn’t going to happen. I think just smelling the deep-fat-fried food at the bar would have made me vomit… again.

So… Sunday morning, early rolled around, and I woke up with some kind of an allergic reaction to who-knows what, and was stuck sitting up in bed, breathing heavy, waiting for my Benedryl to kick in. Great. Glad those new allergy pills are working so efficiently! I was so tired by the time I woke up, that my date with Margie, Dave, and Emmie was needing cancelled. I felt so bad, as I really wanted to experience their church with them. I will make it up to them.

Sunday also brought the Super Bowl. I headed over to Mom’s after picking up Todd, and saw Amy’s new ride! She just got a new (to her) 2007 Ford Fusion! It is lovely! We sat in her car for about 10 minutes and chatted.

Todd and I then headed over to Adrian and Drew’s for Super Bowl Sunday! I ate some of the yummy food that was prepared by the Stinsons, but not as much as I would have liked. We watched as the Pack ruled over Pitt. It was so sad. I am not a huge GB fan to begin with, so having them trample the Steelers was a little disheartening. Drew was disappointed. But, the evening was fun, and I am glad I had that time with all of them. Jules, as usual, was a riot. She is crazyily cute. She was criticizing Todd the whole night, rolling her eyes, and telling him how disgusting he was for burping. It was hilarious! I think Todd got a kick out of it, because he would poke Jules, and she would just lean over me and say, “Can you tell him to stop, Courtney. He is SO ANNOYING!” Funny…

Monday, yesterday, was ok. I got to work early to try and make up some of the time I had lost on my claim files. I made up the time, got more claims, and generally had a good day. I didn’t feel that great, but made it work.

Got to class, and spent about 6 hours there! HA!

More to come…

A Prodigal Child

2011-02-02T08:02:00.001-08:00

Here I am

On the ground

My arms outstretched

As my head pounds

I know I am lost

I can’t find my way

Back to what I knew

To what I always used to say

Never thought I’d be here

In this place of confusion

Always thought I’d be safe

No worries or delusion

I know this life

Offers many chances

I hear my conscience call

Despite all the worldly noises

My morality and purity

Once held so close

Seem in the distance now

Because the world is what I chose

Please take me back

My Gracious, Loving One

Take my hand and lead me home

I know I’m woven and spun

To your likeness

I will truly aspire

As I long to feel

That once heartfelt fire

Oh Lord, you are my God

I miss what we had

I’m coming back now

So you no longer need to be sad

My heart is yours

Forever this time

As I give up this life

Of useless sinful crime

I feel your touch

And I know you’ll start

To make me feel loved again

As I welcome you back to my heart

So here I am

Back from the wild

To your arms I run

Your undeserving prodigal child.

Cruise Ship

2011-02-02T08:00:00.001-08:00

Im molding, bending, and thinking inside

Trying to conceal all that I hide

Words have not been flowing

Ive felt like im in my boat rowing

There is no land in sight

Nothing seems as if its right

Alone on my boat I sit

Looking for answers I just wont get

Redemption is what I long for

Wanting a life that means so much more

Reaching land seems impossible now

Then im surprised when I hear the sound

I think its you rescuing me

Out of my sorrow and out of my need

Are you sure you want to help this child

Ive only been looking to be reconciled

You hold out your hand to help me up

Onto your cruise ship where you hand me a cup

You ask me to drink the drink you gave

Assuring me its nothing but only safe

This cup is full of life and gain

Immediately taking my grief and shame

You smile looking at me as I look up

You know im happy and relieved just from this cup

Hand in hand we stroll down the deck

As we sail away into the sunset

Ive been saved by your love and perfect gift

Im sailing forever now on your sinless white ship.

Inspiration

2011-02-02T07:59:00.002-08:00

Completely uninspired

Pen in hand

My mind drifts away

To light brown sands

Beaches and blues skies

Breezes blowing wild and sweet

My hair flows around my neck

This memory ill always keep

You walked up to me

Seemingly out of the breeze you appeared

Perfect hair, perfect eyes

Your smile was crystal, perfectly clear

With your hand in mine

We walked the beach til dawn

Losing all track of time

We sat together and watched the rising sun

I didn’t want the day to end

As I woke up from my wrestles sleep

Knowing it had been just a dream

I lay silent, my emotions in a heap

So when I am uninspired

I know I can always go back

To the dream I dream of you

Knowing nothing will ever lack

Having you near my heart

Even if its for one fleeting moment

No matter what emotions come later

I know every second was worth it.

Lost

2011-02-02T07:59:00.001-08:00

Lost

Perfection emerges from deep inside,

In no time at all it stops its hide.

Stretching forth to worlds unknown,

Looking ahead for what it’s to be shown.

Bursting forth this mass of likeness,

It steps out in infant meekness.

Its gender has not yet been revealed,

Identity, likeness, and presence still concealed.

Discovered now, this uncharted land,

Creators feel joy or pain unplanned.

Some responses range far and wide,

Hours are spent with whom they’ve cried.

Such significance, miraculously given,

Deserves faith in what’s been proven.

Selfish desires horde over lives,

Until all sane thoughts begin to die.

Snuffing a light that isn’t theirs,

To live their lives and want what’s fair.

Only scarred forever, for such a loss

Does not come without a deserving cost.

Children’s lives, lost without reason,

Numerous more throughout each new season.

Astronauts, Bakers, Teachers, & Chefs,

Lost because one stubborn soul thought it best.

Nothing, Anywhere

2011-02-02T07:56:00.000-08:00

Nothing anywhere

No life, no sounds

Nothing anywhere

No people, no crowds

Nothing anywhere

No war and no peace

Nothing anywhere

No build up, no release

No grass and no trees

No flowers or bees

No light in the sky

No darkness at night

Nothing anywhere

No feeling, no joy

Nothing anywhere

No purpose, no ploy

Nothing anywhere

A world separate, apart

Nothing anywhere

It’s what’s left of a broken heart

Second Chances

2011-02-02T07:55:00.000-08:00

I drove home today

Hoping to hear from you

And when you didn’t call

I felt lonely and used

A song came on

It said ‘I don’t know what to do’

I felt like that person

The song, it felt so true

My mind was winding

As I slipped down the road

I felt my body tense

As my car spun out of control

I hit my head so hard

I was unconscious, unaware

I felt my body fade

Thinking of only you, I swear

I woke up the next day

In a bed secluded and fake

Tired, my eyes opened slowly

That’s when I saw the face

The face of the man

Only his face blameless and true

The face of the man

I left that day for you

He was there for me

As I recovered and wept

I could tell he still loved me

Yet thought I was unworthy and upset

I told him he could go

I did not deserve his love

He took my hand and promised

There would be nothing but his love

And to this day, I blame myself

Mistakes are made too much

You broke my heart and made me feel

That my love was never enough

I know I made the right choice

My life is no longer dim

Because I am laying here in love

Without you and only with him.

Well Done

2011-02-02T07:54:00.000-08:00

This is your calling

Your life’s awarding work

Follow Him, the One

Making sure nothing is mistook

He has given you life

An able body and mind

Use it for His glory

Not for a worldly life of crime

Cling to what you know

To what you’ll always learn

Minister to those you love

And great honors you will earn

And when your time comes

Walk to Him in love

As He welcomes you home

In the place He’s prepared above

He’ll thank you for your work

For always being fervent

As you lay your riches down

He’ll say ‘My good and faithful servant.’

Untitled

2011-02-02T07:53:00.000-08:00

Wind, water, thunder, and storm.

Birds, trees, flowers, and swarm.

Love, loss, hate, and life.

Perfection, outgoing, delinquency, and strife.

There is no end to whats to come.

People really do think it, there are some.

Pictures, music, people, and death.

Babies, movies, cars, and rest.

Only in the end we will find out above,

That all this means nothing, all but love.

The Hill, The Tree, Our Swing

2011-02-02T07:51:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time

There was a hill

And on that hill

There was a tree

On the tree

There was a swing

A swing that swung

With on it you and me

The sky was blue

And the clouds were white

The swing swung high

And we held on tight

We were two kids

Young and in love

The time passed quickly

And we looked above

Above the tree

The sun was setting

The day was over

We would not be forgetting

The time spent together

Our young love anew

But as the years passed

We didn’t stay young but grew

Apart and away

Our hearts were meant to be

All gone our love seems

All but a memory

And now I see our hill

And our tree so green

As the sky was blue then

We swung our swing

A memory of past times

Of love and belief

Today I remember you

As always in my dreams.

February Poetry

2011-02-02T07:47:00.001-08:00

I have not posted for awhile. Life has been hectic as usual. With work, school, and life in general, I have not had the motivation or the time to write a blog out for everyone. Sorry!! I have so many photos to share with everyone, but that may have to wait for another time.

Right now, I would like to share a few poems I have written. These are some that I am thinking of publishing, and I am not sure how to go about doing that, but am looking into my options. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. For the next couple posts I will display a few things I have written. Keep in mind, they were written as I was experiencing the things that inspired me. They may not all make sense, but bare with me and take a look.

Random Messed With Photos...

2010-12-28T18:21:00.000-08:00

Here are some random photos I have messed with, and I thought you would enjoy looking at them. I have a few pograms on my Ipod that allow me to do these :) Enjoy!

It's That Time Again...

2010-12-22T10:48:00.000-08:00

I know I know I know…

I will probably get three of four phone calls once the posting is finally posted. Life has caught up with me, these past couple months, and I am a little tired out. With Christmas coming up, I figured I should post something, as I have not sent out a Christmas letter this year…or, have I ever? Whatever.

After my birthday in September, which was amazing…(thank you to all my amazing friends and family members who are always so good to me!), October rolled around the corner. I am not sure if there was anything too amazing in October…. JUST KIDDING, LAUREN!

Lauren and Cody got married on 10/16. The whole family travelled down to Arkansas and Texas to visit her and to meet (for some of us the first time) our new family member. We were able to have a crazy good time with Cody and Lauren and help them celebrate their awesome new life together. Aunt Sherry spoiled Mo and I like usual, and put us up in a room, just the two of us. We made late night trips to McDonalds and ate pizza like we usually do. Morgan cracked me up the whole time we were there. I about died a couple times trying to navigate through TX-AR, while listing to Mo babble on about life working on a school bus full of delinquent minors. Pretty hilarious crap.

I got back from that venture, and somewhere in there I got a new car. I had a 2000 Neon, which happened to be a pretty good car for me. It was leaking oil, though, ever since I had a used engine placed in it after a mess with another repair I had done on it. Anyway, the car was never the same. I had an opportunity to purchase a 1993 Mercury Sable, from a man who takes his BMWs in to Beckley’s. This car has leather seating, power windows, power locks, and everything else my other car didn’t. The price was extremely reasonable, and I ended up pocketing $100 from the whole deal, even after my Neon had sold. It was a nice little boost. The car runs great, and I am getting the radio serviced soon, so I can replace the factory radio with the Sony CD player I purchased for my Neon awhile back. Thank goodness for music!

November started, and by that time I had slowed down at the Y. I was no longer working there as a supervisor, but only taking on the non-competitive swim team coaching position (with some other great folks) on Thursday nights. This ended Mid November, and I have not worked there since. It’s been a nice break, but I miss the people and the members.

Thanksgiving was a hoot, as well. Todd came with me to hang out with my family, and I think he really enjoyed it. We went to his parents’ house to spend the rest of the holiday weekend, and it was really nice to get away and just hang out.

So… now, it is December, and yes, the time has passed quickly since I was able to post last. The Monday after Thanksgiving, I started a new job, within Continental Western, for a group called Berkley Agribusiness Risk Specialists. I am still in claims, however, the claims are not quite the same. The business is completely agribusiness based, and the business comes from all over the US, where with CWG I was limited to the Midwestern states.

I also recently finished my fall semester at DMACC, and also found out I have one more semester to complete in order to get my AA degree. I have, however, declined to walk down the coveted graduation aisle at Wells Fargo simply because the now 6 year jaunt it has taken me to get this piece of paper is nothing to be excited about. I could kick myself for not getting it done sooner. Mom, Dad, and Aunt Sherry were all happy for me, though, and have been the biggest supporters in my educational endeavors. Thank gosh for people like them. After my science and western civ classes this spring, I will be on my way to getting my fake gold trimmed paper, that I could have probably printed out myself. Yeah.

Well… today is the 22^nd. That means we have 3 more days until the most celebrated day of the year. I hope this serves as a good Christmas letter, catcher upper, of my life…. thingy. Ya. Everyone, be safe, please. If I have learned nothing from claims, I will at least take away the importance of caution and safety. Please watch for those crazy people, and make sure you are not dilly dally-ing on your phones as you cross three lanes of traffic. Turn down that Santa music, and pay attention. I am sure we all want to see you here and back home safely.

Merry Christmas!

24 on the 24th

2010-10-03T18:22:00.000-07:00

Well, since all of you know Iowa has been doing so well, I will go into the happenings on the last few weeks. Go Hawks!

My birthday was 9-24, and I just happened to turn 24. Here are all the pics of the evening! (Well… not all of them). Some need to stay hidden or even get deleted as they are quite scary. I had some great people show up and all were very enthusiastic about my birthday! Poor Todd was left at the end of the table, the whole evening while I was whisked away by the coming and goings of all my friends. Enjoy the photos.

After waking up with a killer headache and a gut ache, hmmm...wonder why, I got to Adrian's house a bit late for the mother, daughter, and niece birthday party. Todd and I just sat there and watched the Iowa/Ball State game. Iowa beat the crap out of Ball State, and I was happy :) Everyone showed up, and we had enchiladas, cake, nachos... you know all really yummy food that ends up taking residence on your butt? Yup, all of that stuff. It was especially tasty after waking up with such a headache.

Here are the photos from the party on the 24th. Enjoy! I will post soon about my new car!!!!

Anne and Co

Nicole, Kyle, and Co

Todd and Shelby

Julie, Shane, and Co

Kyle (ugly shirt) and Co

Julie and Co

Nicole and Co

Jeff and Co

I love me some Nicole!

Anne may have been holding me up :)

Naaahh... I was just surprised by the flashing lights!!

Cassie (plus soon to be Baby Carter) and Co

Inebriated Travis and Co

Trohpies!!

Nicole, Anne, and Co

Beautiful ANNE!

Crazzzzies.

Crap!

2010-09-21T14:50:00.000-07:00

Iowa football: Hampton out for season
[ 11 ] September 21, 2010 | Ryan Suchomel Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz confirmed on the Big Ten teleconference that sophomore running back Jewel Hampton has been lost for the season.

Senior linebacker Bruce Davis will also miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury, as well.

“It’s one of the tough parts about the game. Both encountered knee injuries that require surgery,” Ferentz said. “Both will be out for the season.”

Hampton — who missed the entire 2009 season with an ACL injury — limped off the field in the third quarter in Tucson, Ariz., and did not return. He had 114 yards on 27 carries this season, and caught a touchdown pass against Arizona.

Ferentz said he didn’t expect that senior running back Paki O’Meara would be available this week, leaving the running back depth chart as sophomore Adam Robinson and a ton of question marks.

“Right now we’ve got Adam, and anyone else that wants to volunteer,” Ferentz said. “It puts us a little bit thin back there.”

Sophomore Jason White, a converted defensive back, had an MCL injury earlier this season.

A pair of true freshman — Marcus Coker (6-foot, 230) and De’Andre Johnson (5-8, 210) — may be enlisted. Neither played in the first three games. Coker is recovering from a shoulder injury he suffered in camp. Johnson has recovered from an ACL injury he suffered his senior season at Monsignor Pace in Miami.

It's Been Awhile

2010-09-20T19:22:00.000-07:00

and... I have been busy, so shut up!

I guess it's not really that good of an excuse.
My life has blinded me recently. Broken spirits are a constant. But, you know what? I can remember I am who I am for a reason. Life leaves you blind, but then love keeps you feeling as if you are never alone. I am so thankful who I have become. I have so may people to thank for that.
#1? - The life I have so many times left behind to find greener grasses, and have come back to, blinded, cold, and miserable, was given to me by Christ. He has never resented me for feeling empty and crawling back to Him for comfort. I tend to take for granted the fact that He gave His life for me... 'Oh ya! I totally forgot!' You never forget that... you just choose to ignore it. It's really too bad, especially when you are someone as blessed as I am. Pathetic.

#2? My Mom & my Aunt. There have never been two more amazing adult women so active in my life. You know that saying, that goes something like, "If you are lucky, you will grow up to be just like your Mom..." (Or something like that)? Well... I can only hope. These ladies keep me going. How? Dunno. They just do :)

#3? Friends, Work, School, ...Life is always busy when you are me. Thank goodness.

Enough sentimental bull crykie. Here I am, me, Courtney freaking Bush. :)
Yeah!

Mom and I had gift certificates for horseback riding a few weekends ago. It was so fun and relaxing. Mom always does stuff I want to do, and I am so glad we could go do something that was so enjoyable for her. Our butts didn't even hurt that bad when we were done! Amazing! Her horse had the runs, evidently, and I was stuck behind his butt the whole time. Not pretty. I was also thinking that day, what if we humans could just walk and poop at the same time? What would this world look like? Would the plumbers be in fact poop-picker-uppers? Would they just go around people's houses and sweep poop? That's what we do for animals... Dunno. Kinda gross to think about, but seriously... things would be a lot smellier, that's for sure :) Tee hee....

I have not been doing anything too different lately. I am getting ready to head to Lauren's for her wedding in October. I am really looking forward to that time with her and our family again. I need to get things going on my dress so I can have it altered in time. I am also helping Lauren make the bouquets and boutonnieres. I am pretty pumped about it! It's going to be great! I will post tons of pics from the weekend for everyone!!!!

And... last but not least... my birthday is Friday. Ya, Ya, Ya... Golden birthday here I come. 24 on the 24th...excited, but not. Not sure why. I am sure when the evening arrives, and Todd and I get to that bar, I will enjoy every minute of it. I have a ton of people saying they will come and give me hugs and buy me a beer. It will be a great time!!!!

On to more homework...

Love and miss you all.... will keep posting, I promise.

New Brother, Baby Kayden, Chocolate Shakes, and Dumb Excuses

2010-06-04T07:45:00.000-07:00

I swear, I will do my best to update this blog more often. Also, I have been telling myself that I need to get my butt out of bed in the mornings so I can get to work (where there is a treadmill), or to the Y so I can swim. Ya freaking right. There is NO way! I have been so tired these past few weeks, that there is no way I have been able to drag my lazy poomba outa bed in order to start losing what I need to lose. Yeesh. Jeremy, on the other hand, likes to tell me how much he weighs whenever he is around… I know he is just letting me know he is making progress, and doing this great thing for himself; but it still puts a damper on my ego. Fatty is going to need to drop a few before looking good next to her once “larger-than-her” boyfriend. Pooploop. I broke down this morning, and had to get a coffee. I usually put about a pound of sweet’n’low in with my cup o’ cream, and boy does it taste yummy. I haven’t purchased a cup of coffee since right after Florida, when I vowed to lose weight. Well, I gave in. Yesterday, I yearned for caffeine, as my head bobbled down, up, and from side to side. At least I wasn’t drooling at my desk. I was so tired! It’s the Y tonight, and tomorrow, then off to Grandma’s for some quality time with Grandpa, on Friday!! Can’t wait! I love them. I think I am going to try and work for G& G plus Mom on Saturday. I am low low low on cash/funds, and need to get my rear in gear making me some monies (as Jeremy likes to call it).

I originally started this post to inform you all of what I did this weekend, but it has turned in to the unsuccessful stories of my losing weight and needing cash. Story of my LIFE!

Back to this past weekend…

Friday was nice! I headed over to my parent’s house to work for Mom for a bit (hence the needing money thing… ya… working!). Jules was there, and we had an enjoyable time watching Free Willy #545 (I mean, it’s only the 1800th one to come out – kinda like Land Before Time. The first one was great, and even the second one was good! But when they keep coming out with exceedingly cornier and cornier movies just to ‘make monies,’ it makes me want to ralph. Give me a break people. The fact that your first 110 didn’t make the money you wanted, you now think that spending even more money you don’t have to make another crappy movie that only dollar store shoppers may consider is worth is? There goes your revenue.) I love random rants…Any who, we also watched Happy Feet, which I begged Jules to let us watch. She was reluctant, as her other pick was the Care Bears movie (once again, one of many to come out with horrible graphics, etc). I wasn’t capable of hacking another not even ‘made-for-tv’ kids show. Happy Feet made me happy. So, like usual, Jules was done with Happy Feet after the first 20 minutes or so, and Mom took her to get ice cream.
While I cleaned and treated my parents’ leather couches, I tried not to cry as Mumble was rejected by his fellow penguins, and then was rejoicing and laughing at the sight of the little perverted macaroni penguins… trials and tribulations give this movie zest, as the penguins find happiness and true love in the end making it all around a good flick. As I say this, I can just see my dad sitting there staring at me, as I cried and laughed through the whole movie. He probably thought I was some kind of nut. He had to have thought I was crazy several different times throughout the movie. Poor Dad.
Jules and mom sauntered back in with ice cream for all, and I finished the job on the couches. Make sure you are nice to them nest time you place your butt on one.
Saturday was full on sleep. Finally. Sleeping in for me seems unreasonable. I always have something going on that makes me drag myself out of bed every morning; even on the weekends. I had to work at the Y from 9-12 that morning. That wasn’t so bad, as it was the last day of lessons, and everyone seemed to be out of town for the holiday weekend. Less kids = quite times at the Waukee Y! Work. Work. Work. So, I headed to my Mom’s after work, and ran some errands with her. I was able to clean out my car, and make pumpkin pies and fruit dip. It was a pretty successful day, besides the fact I forgot half of what I needed to take to my Mom’s. Once again, story if my life. Sometimes I think I have dementia.

Went to bed Saturday night, and slept in on Sunday, because I was beat. I slept in awhile, and Jeremy called me saying he was on his way home from IC. His and Todd’s birthdays were both on Saturday… creepy, I know. So, he was headed to a family reunion, and I was headed to my sister’s house to meet Lauren’s finance!
Lauren and Cody were at my sister’s around the same time I was. He is such a sweet guy! I was really comfortable with him around, and I love the way he and Lauren interact. Lauren has this adorable little Texan accent now, and I never thought I would hear her talk with as much twang as she does. Hello Aunt Barb! (Just kidding, Just kidding). I assume her accent will become thicker with time, especially since she is now going to be living with her husband come October. Cody has an Arkansas accent, since that is where he is from. Lauren, I guess, has been working on getting him up and rolling concerning the Hawks… it’s going to take some time. He has license plates for Arkansas… gross! SEC No!! Big Ten, Yesh!! He had a red Suzuki that was plated with the ugly piggy, and my red Plymouth has my awesome Hawks plated right where they belong…Watch out Cody! My love for the Hawkeyes is unstoppable!! (Boooo—waaahahahahahahaaaaa!!)

Lauren's dress is very similar to ours. She looks amazing, and I am so glad she picked these great dresses! She is holding mine up, as I had to take my blue bra straps down for the pic. My girls were a'fallin.

***

After we all met Cody, and the gals all tried on their dresses (Mine it too big!! Yeah!), I headed to Jeremy’s grandma’s house where they were celebrating time with family. I really enjoy the time I spend with his family. I was able to play volleyball and softball (kinda) for awhile outside. We ate after while, and I got to play with Kayden and Gage. They are too cute for words. Gage is really well behaved, and he is hilarious! Last week, Jeremy and I were at Jamie and Jamie’s (His brother and his brother’s wife’s house), in Mitchellville, and Jamie had gone outside to do some chores. Jeremy and I were inside watching the kids and Jeremy was engrossed in the Lakers/Suns game. Jeremy was pissed at the Lakers for something, and yelled out, “Noobs!” Gage comes over to him and holds up the toy in his hands, and states, “No… It’s a fire truck!” I about died laughing… it was so freaking cute. Jeremy didn’t even hear it, so I had to get his attention and tell him what Gage had matter-of-factly pointed out. And he was right! He was holding a fire truck!
Well, with the time spent there, Jamie, Jeremy, the kids, and I all went to Jamie’s again and loaded up some furniture to take to IC for Jeremy’s new house. I watched the kids again while Jeremy and Jamie tore up the house. We left, Jeremy took me back to my car, and we headed to my apartment to hang out. Now…I am not supposed to tell anyone, but I put in a random movie while Jeremy used his computer, and I made dinner/cleaned the apartment. Well, I put in a movie that most guys would balk at… Sex in the City Movie. He really liked it! We finished it the other day, and I asked him if he had liked it and he said yes! YEAH!

Kayden :)

This one is my favorite!!!

She is so cute!

Can you tell I absolutely adore her??

Jeremy seems infatuated with her! I thought this one was cute!

***

Monday morning, I had to be up, up and around for my sister’s wedding shower. There are some pics below. It was nice to have everyone there. I think she really enjoyed the time with the friends she never sees, and her family as well. Cody was there as well, and was able to meet everyone. I am so glad he has been so involved with this process. It shows me that he will be willing to be the head of his house when he and Lauren get married. He will be able to help her with important decisions, and they will make their life full and happy, together. Isn’t that what marriage is about, anyway?

Mary, Cody, Lauren, and Jules

Beautiful Mary and I

Dad, Me, Adrian, Lauren, and Mom

Dad, Mom, Lauren, and our new bother/son!

***

Jeremy, Jamie, and I went to Iowa City, later that day in order to take some furniture to Jeremy’s new house. He is moving in with Mike and Mark : ) They are a HOOT! I hadn’t seen them in so long, so when we got there, I saw Mark pull up in his granny car, and Mike in his Pontiac that has been hit a gazillion times. Literally, his back passenger side tire is leaning inward. Hilarious! They trooped in and said their hellos. Mark started unloading Mike’s car while I held doors and helped Jeremy put his new bed (His mom bought a new mattress for him for his b-day). We got everything inside, and decided to hit the interstate to grab diesel for Jamie’s truck and some much needed chocolate shakes. Well, we stopped at a convenience store on I-80, where we got fuel. We then proceeded over to Steak n’ Shake to get shakes. On the way, we saw this girl in a really old p.o.s. car with her leg hanging out of her window. She gave Jeremy the ‘eye’ a couple times, and I was about to jump put of that truck and punch her in da mout! (Inside Joke, Morgan, Mom, Dad, and I – Smokey and the Bandit anyone??) Well, needless to say, we all made our comments about how she is probably just showing off her flexibility. Gross. Her car was louder than the diesel. Hot! Whatever. We pulled up at Steak n’ Shake and got right in line to place our order at the drive-thru. We waited… and waited… and waited… then waited some more. Not sure what was going on, Jamie saw a Hispanic worker taking out the trash, and said, “We haven’t given our order yet. No one has helped us.” Mr. Burrito just smiled and waved. Um… what? I made a bet with Jamie and Jeremy that I could get the shakes faster inside. They took the bait, pulled up, and I went inside. I placed my order, then went potty. I came back and they still weren’t ready. 8-10mins later, the gal who took my order finally brought me my shakes. They had been sitting in the back, in plain sight, for about 5 mins while they melted and I waited. Nice job folks. They had time to count the register money in front of me, twice… TWICE! I walked out to the truck, threw everything at Jeremy, and spewed my anger regarding the disbelief of how incompetent people at Steak n’ Shake are. Jeremy and Jamie, sat there and just laughed at me, of course… ugh.

Jeremy and I hung out a couple nights this week, then he had to head back home for softball.

I am extremely tired going into this next weekend. I have no money, and am trying to get my finances in order. I am willing to give swim lessons to people, if they have a pool, to any age (starting at 3) for $15/lesson (depending on mileage). Let me know if anyone is interested!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Oh wait!!! I forgot to share this.
I was working at the Y last night, and there were supposed to be a new guard shift coming on around 5:45. I already had one of the guards there. The other however, did not show. It was about 6:00 when I realized I needed to let the other kid go home, b/c his shift was ending at 6:00. Great. One guard, two pools… I called the guard that was supposed to be there, and hadn’t called in. I reached him…
This was his excuse - - -
“Hey, (kid’s name). This is Courtney. Did you know you have a 5:45 shift tonight?”
“Well, I just got home from Minneapolis about 20 mins ago, and I think my mom wants me to hang out with her…”
At this point, I was trying not to laugh. I was drawing a blank on what to say, so I said, “So you aren’t coming in then?”
“Nope.”
“Well, alright then.”
*Click*
I guarded.
Poop Holes.

Weeks Have Gone Bye...

2010-05-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

...since my last post, and I apologize for that! I have been so busy!

Where do I start??

Well, the weekend of May 17th, some friends (Todd, Anne, Nicole, & Tjaden) and I, all decided to head down to the balloon field in Indianola to watch the bands this year for Lazerfest. (Back-log: We had all decided to go months ahead of time, and each one of us had fiascoes when purchasing our tickets. Todd and I bought our tickets together, so I could decide to go, or not. It was pretty inevitable that I would be going, but just in case, he had the extra ticket for someone else. We bought them online, and we didn't realize what crazy fees went with purchasing the tickets online, all for the insane convenience of having them mailed to your house... blah blah blah... he ended up paying about $10 extra per tickets. Gross. Nicole and Tjaden purchased their tickets online as well. Well, come to find out, Nicole never opens mail that is not marked. She tosses it. HA! Guess where her tickets must have ended up. She had to wait in a completely different line at Lazerfest to get her "never arrived" tickets. Funny funny. Now, Anne and I are constantly broke. This is why we work, All. The. Time. Anne didn't have the good fortune of having a back-up buddy pay her way so she had to wait until two days before to get her ticket. They were almost sold out!)

So, we had all decided to meet and Anne and my apartment at 9:00am on Sunday morning in order to ride together to Southridge Mall, where Lazer was providing free bus rides to and from the field. We all thought this was a nice gesture, so instead of driving out butts clear the heck down to no mans land (ie, Indianola), we stayed in modern day Iowa and rode party buses down. :) Funny, on the way down, I saw a guy I had worked with at Beckley's when I was a freshman in college. His name is Chad...see below! He is such a cool guy, and we were able to catch the same bus and reminisce all the way down to the balloon field. We snuck a couple brewskies onto the party bus, and took off!

After waiting in line for and ungodly amount of time, we found ourselves hurling our bodies down this massive hill along with every single soul who bought tickets to this event, all racing to get through this section of gating that was bout 5 feet wide. Well, there were more irresponsible people (*ahem* T and N), that decided to follow the hoard of people braking down a section of the balloon field's fence in order to make it to the front of the line. Everything was a complete mess. We waited and waited and waited in order to get into the festival. We missed the first band, not really that big of a deal, and got in finally around 12:30-12:45. Ridic.

Well, anyway... Needless to say, Anne did not get a sunburn and I did not get any nose bleeds. (If you curious as to the reference, please check out my blog post of A Bloody Hard Rock Concert from June 2009. There is a lot more I can talk about regarding Lazerfest, ie. stupid people, Anne almost kicking this gals butt, this really great guy named Kelly, and the greatest music ever.

Check out the pics!

Chad and I on the party bus on the waaaayyy!!

Nicole!

Anne! I think we were waiting in line?

Dunno.

It was windy!

Red - Lead singer and Bassist

Skillet

It was a gettin' cold

The two stages...(and random chick I went to high school with)... I can say

that she has never looked better. Pshh.

Alice Cooper

Anne and I at Lazerfest

Last Sunday, CWG hosted a day at Sec Taylor Stadium (Principal Park) for the Cubs game. I took Jules as my date, and Todd went with us too. We had a really good time. Here are some highlights!

Jules and her cubs colored vanilla ice cream. It was really really really good!

Our faithful friend... he always makes sure his gals are safe!

Toddy!

Julsie and I at the game

Nicole and her boys...

This is Todd's birthda present :)

Candy Soda!

This is me at Old Chicago. Todd made it to his 10th beer tour at Old Chicago, and this is his pewter mug. It's a 40 oz. mug, and I wanted my picture with it!!

Thanks for reading the blog, once again. I hope all my random travels are as exciting for me to recap for you as they are for me to experience them :)

Happy days, folks.

LaUrEn & bRoThErS & POOP

2010-04-28T14:12:00.000-07:00

Once again… it has been awhile. I know things happen, and I would love to document them for everyone to read, but I just don’t have the time these days.

Lately…things have been really messy.
I will not be going into too many details pertaining the problems I have been facing, but just know, nothing too exciting has been happening.

Except for this, of course…
My sister, Adrian likes to document the fun things in life way more than I do, so as you all probably already know, my other sister, Lauren is getting married to this really amazing fella named Cody. She met him at her full time job for Wells Fargo Bank. I am pretty excited to meet this prince as I know my sister has been waiting many years for him! Princess Lauren and Prince Cody are getting married on October 16, 2010 (time tba), in Arkansas! I have the pleasure of being one of the lucky gals to stand next to my sister and watch her pledge her life to God with her new husband. It will be an amazing event, and I wish them all the luck in this world!

Random Note:
It’s nice having brothers…
Morgan is one of the greatest people I know. He is caring and sensitive. He makes me feel like an amazing person when I talk to him, and I know he would support me no matter what came along in life. I hope he feels the same way about me!
Drew is that way too. My sister married Drew a ‘few’ years back, and I remember the dollar dance they had at their wedding. It was my turn to dance with Drew and almost immediately (probably b/c I was immensely tired) I just started crying all over him! He probably thought I was a psycho! Anyway…I gave him a hug and told him how lucky I was! I was gaining a new big brother…
And here we are to Cody! I am excited to me this guy! I know he has stolen Lauren’s heart, and I hope we all can steal his, b/c he will have to put up with us for a very long time from now on!
I love all my current brothers and brothers to come : )

Boys are messy these days. No update there, as I don’t want to talk about it…
Work = messy
Other work = not messy, just makes me tired
Church = I need to get back
Family = Don’t see them as much, and wish I did
Life = I am going on sabbatical for many years

I am praying God will take away some pains I have in my heart. I need an out. He always provides, and I know His hand will guide me to where I need to be. I need to stop thinking and speaking like an earthly creature and begin the walk towards God, where I once was in my life. I am not doing anything illegal or awful…I am just stuck and depressed.

Oh well…smile!
It’s a beautiful day outside, and I can’t wait to have my window down in between jobs to feel the fresh air, and warm sunshine!

Day 6 (Antique Mania!) : Day 7 Sitting at the Orlando Airport

2010-03-06T05:38:00.000-08:00

Well, I just tried to download the photos from the past few days, and connection is taking way to long to download even one... Sorry, folks. I guess the visualizations will have to be viewed in person. Poop.

Yesterday was Friday. I, of course, didn't sleep amazingly the night before, and was sleeping when G&G (with Uncle Steve) decided to go for a walk around Hail Plantation. I thought it was nice of U.Steve to take G&G for a walk. I think they walked around three miles, as I was probably snoring the whole time in bed. Gah... you think that on vacations you will be able to catch up on some sleep. My body is so FREAKING Frustrating!!

Well, they cam back eventually, and I was all ready to go. I had updated a few more things on FB, and had been able to watch some necessary cable (b/c I do not have such a thing, in my financial state). I realized cable was pretty pointless unless you are home more than you are away. I never watch TV, and am fine living my life that way. The shows are good, but pointless most of the time. The Liberal government we are now experiencing is taking over the news and nothing we hear, EVEN THE WEATHER. Those stinkin' meteorologists are more frustrating than the actual news anchors with their pearly whites, and really bad clothes/hair-dos. Not sure I ever wanted to be one of those when I was kid. Probably the appeal of being on TV. Dunno...

Okay, back to the Florida vacation.
We went to a small town called Micanopy, FL. This town had like 10 antique shops, one old book store, and a cafe. Woot. It was really cool to see all the old houses, though. And I have photos... but BLOGGER is deciding to take it's time and get me all frustrated. No pics at this time. I promise if it works, later, I will give you guys some visuals. We were there for a couple hours, looking around, not buying anything... then I think Grandpa was able to find a book he wanted. That made me happy :) We ate at the small cafe in town, and then a random bus full of people from Minnesota came stomping in, wanting some grub. Minnesota people... yeesh. (Just loving it up, Mo). We then went to a preserve where some prairie lands are. We walked some trails and drove around the forest. It was so gorgeous! We even saw some wild horses! (Once again... photos. later. poop.) When we got done there, we headed back to the hotel for awhile. We ate dinner at Cracker Barrel, where the cashier tried to hand Grandma the remaining balance still left on the gift car she received from Mom and Dad for her birthday. It was a total of $.07. Yaaaaa... um... why is it a crime to hand back, in actual change, $.07. Not sure. I thought it was hilarious, and Grandma chuckled, and handed it back to the cashier. She said, "Keep it." L.freaking.o.l.

We headed to the Florida Gymnastics meet where we saw the Florida Gator girls kick some major boo-tay. They seriously laid the smack down on the North Carolina Tarheels, and the Ball State Cardinals. Man, Ball St. was just awful. Yeesh. In every single event besides two, we were on the podium. ("Florida! 4 way tie for first! Florida! Tied for first and second! Florida! Florida! Florida!) Mary was telling us the other night that they recruit the best of the best. She said only the best girls get chosen, and EVERYONE in gymnastics who doesn't make it to the Olympics wants to be going to Florida. All of the girls are national winners, and finalists somewhere, somehow. They were amazing.

We got done there, and all I wanted to do for the last evening in FL, was to get some ice cream. Grandpa drove us to the DQ near our hotel, and I treated us all to a DQ treat. It was a great day, and I am glad we had such a good one to finish up the trip.

Well... now, here I am sitting in the Orlando Airport, typing out this post.
We had to leave this morning at 6:15am (5:15am CT). **Shutter** Thank goodness for U.Steve. He got us here. They dropped me off at my terminal (B), and I was on my way from there, alone. Heh. Yaaa. I got checked in, then followed the signs to find this mass of lives sitting/standing in have the usual frisking. Seriously. I had to take off all but m regular clothes. I had to take off my shoes, my belt, take all items out of my pockets, take off my coats, place my bag on the scanner thingy, and take out my laptop from its bag. All of this was sent through the pictur-eeka machine and pooped out the opposite side. I had to walk through the metal detector thingy, and have this really pretty black lady stare me down like I was a terrorist. Good thing she was pretty. It took me forever to gt all my crap. Then, the expect you to put the trays/tubs back so other people can use them... um... there are literally like 50-60 airport people standing around looking dumb. THEY CAN DO IT! I found my tram, got to my terminal/gate, and am now sitting here with my Mt. Dew thinking I will need to use the bathroom before departing from Florida. Florida will get my waste one more time before I leave. Lucky.

I will try and post more once I get to DC. Will need to make sure I make it to all my ticket places, terminals, gates.... etc. yadda yadda.

Thanks for taking the journey with me, everyone :)
Love you all.

Days 3-5 (Pics are loading crappy...stop complaining... will post later. Sheesh.)

2010-03-04T22:48:00.000-08:00

Day 3

This was Tuesday. We left our Days Inn in Bainbridge, GA, and headed for Gainesville, FL. I had woken up early that morning with some stomach cramps. It wasn’t bad, but I hadn’t gotten much sleep and was kinda dreading the 4-5 hour ride. We got going, none-the-less and made it to the University of Florida around 12:30. We picked up my Uncle, and he treated us to lunch at the Peach (Café?, Tavern?...something)… It was really, really good. He drove us by our hotel, which is called the Homewood Suites, by Hilton. We dropped Uncle Steve back off and made our way to the hotel. We walked in and this is what we found! They are amazing!!!

Later that day, we went to Uncle Steve and Aunt Mary’s house. I haven’t gotten any photos of their place yet, but hopefully I will have time for that perhaps on Friday. We got there and hung out until Aunt Mary got home. They then took us to this restaurant in Newberry, FL just west of Gainesville. We got there and were seated at this round table, and this really cute server came out… (Server was a guy…quit thinking things that shouldn’t be thought about). HE did a really good job, and as he went around the table, we all ordered the same exact thing. It was pretty hilarious as we happened to all order the same thing. I got Mt. Dew… so I got this huge cup for free!! It was great, and the food was amazing!

We got home and went to bed, and I think I was so tired that I literally walked in my room, hopped in the bathtub, got warm, and hopped in bed. Freaking tired.

Day 4

Woke up, after sleeping in a bit, (in our suite!!), and Uncle Steve had gotten the day off to hang out with us. He drove us around Gainesville for about 2 hours so we could see what was around. There is this plantation house called the Hail Plantation, where a family by the name of Hail lived for many years. Their family does not live there now, and the plantation house is used as a tourist attraction. There are acres and acres, though of land that this plantation was affiliated with. Uncle Steve and Aunt Mary live on that plantation in a smaller area called Katlyn Lane. It’s really nice. They had their house built in 2002, and had lived in an older part of that development before they had moved.

We were driving in this smaller community, for rich people (ugh…), in the Hail Plantation, when we went by this street with a crazy amount of awesome cars on it. There were Porches, BMW’s, Mercedes…you name it. Then… all of a sudden, I saw it. It was within arm’s length. A brand new black Ferrari… Oh. My. Wordddd. I about peed. This car was SO FREAKING SWEET!!!! Whoever parked it was a complete moron… but other than that they had really good taste! Here is an example of heaven (this one is similar… but not quite the same).

After this, we went back to Uncle Steve’s, sat around a bit and Grandma and I went up to the local grocery store (Publix), and got us all some lunch. After lunch we went back to the hotel so I could be dropped off to take a nap while Grandma, Grandpa, and Steve went to Lowes with Uncle Steve. I took a really long nap, and U. Steve had left me his keys to drive his pick up back to his place when I was ready. Got up and around and headed out around 5:30. I got there and was craving some coffee. I have almost been going mad, as coffee has not been running through my system this ENTIRE TIME!!!! What am I DOING?? Gah… I had to find some hot, steamy, creamy, sugary (fake), sweet deliciousness somewheresss out theress!!! U. Steve made me aware of a Starbucks not far from his house. “GIVE ME YOUR KEYS, NOW!!!” He just looked at me… just kidding, just kidding. He threw his keys back at me, and said, “Go for it!” YEAH!!! I asked Grandpa if he wanted to go with me… he said he would like to walk with me….(**the mind of Courtney replied – YA flippin' right Grandpa! I love ya, man, but I am NOT walking to go get my carb, fat filled drink!! You crackin’ me up!). Ahhh… still get a chuckle from that one. I asked him if he would ride with me, as Staclucks (teehee) was WAY too far to walk to. We would never make it back in order to shove our faces full of dinner!! We NEEDED to get back. A. Mary was preparing this really great meal, and I didn’t want to miss out. We got back just in time, and I helped A. Mary prepare the fresh green beans. In just a few short minutes, we were ready to eat. We sat down to a meal of baked Salmon, stuffed with some kind of crab cake mixture, and spinach. We also had fresh green beans, corn, French bread (three kinds), and dipping sauce. Then, for dessert we had ice cream. It was SO good!! I ate way too much, and shortly after dinner, Grandpa was falling asleep in the recliner and it was time to go. I was so full and miserable by the time I got back, I just sat around until about 1:00am talking on webcam and looking through my neglected Facebook Page. I finally went to bed, and before bed, I sat in the bathtub for no more than 5 minutes before I felt it… my stomach was churning again… I stayed up until 4:00am with my head in my trash can or in the toilet, waiting to puke. Don’t get freaked out, people… life freaking happens. It just seems to happen to me when I am not home, and when I am using my vacation hours in a gorgeous state, where there is great weather, and trees, and grass, and everything I don’t have right now…….I’m done.

This leads me into…

Day 5

Today was fun! I woke up feeling much better. I had tried to sleep a bit more, but my body was NOT allowing it. I got up when G&G got back from their walk, and started to get ready. We then decided to go to Cedar Key. Cedar Key is where the Gulf of Mexico is. I had wanted to see some “Water” before we left. What’s the point of seeing Florida without seeing the ocean at least once?? I had to get to some fresh air. By the time we got there, I was nauseated and miserable all over again… Grandpa was very gracious and let me sit in the front seat the whole time there, though, and thank goodness it wasn’t more than an hour to get there.

Here are some photos of our time there today.

We stopped and ate at a restaurant called Tony’s. It was known for its world famous Clam Chowder. I don’t really like seafood that much, and only a few kinds sit well with me. I tried the clam chowder Grandma got, and it was very good! I am not sure if I wanted to eat a whole cup of it as it was VERY rich, but I have tried two new things so far this trip… good for me! (Some people don’t know how picky I still am!) What? I KNOW what I LIKE! (leave me alone.)

We headed out after stopping a few local shops. I could definitely find myself living in a place like this. The fresh air had made me feel so much better about things. I was able to stand on the pier and just let the wind take away all the belly aches and worries I have been feeling. It’s such a joy to feel God’s creation swoop down and carry you away. Before you know it, all cares have been given away and you are at one with the Sprit. It’s comfortable. It’s safe. It’s you and Him. It was relieving and amazing. Those experiences cannot be traded or replaced. I am so glad I know Him, and He is always on my side.

We made our way back to Gainesville. G&G let me drive back, and I have been feeling much better ever since. We got back to the hotel, and I laid down to rest. G&G went to the Lady Gators Lacrosse meet. They came and picked me up, and we got Steve, and met Aunt Mary at this Mexican place. The food was great. Grandpa let me drive back again. I have been able to get around this town pretty easily… I am glad. And now that it’s 12:40am (Iowa Time), I am going to hit it. I am tired… good night all : )

Illinois Pimps & Alabama Hicks - Florida Trip Days 1 & 2

2010-03-01T17:30:00.000-08:00

Day 1

I woke up around 5:15am… there’s the first real excitement of my whole day. Waking up that early seems a bit easier when you know in just a day and a half you will be surrounded by green grass, blooming trees, and 65 degree weather! Anne was gracious enough to take me to Phil’s to top off my car, for my overdue oil change. She took me to QT to get my needed morning cup ‘o’ Joe, and then drove me clear out to P.Hill to meet Grandma, Grandpa, Barb & Lee. Barb and Lee had been staying in Pleasant Hill for this last week. It was nice to see them, even though the visit was short lived. They headed back to Florissant, CO and made it there safe : )

We, however, started off in the opposite direction. Making our way to Mt. Pleasant, then on to Hannibal, MO, we stopped at this hilarious Burger King in Hannibal. Yeesh. This was the second “excitement” of the day. I had been catching some z’s while either grandpa or grandma was driving. They pulled into this Burger King, and asked if I wanted anything. I hadn’t eaten much, and thought some greasy onion rings sounded good. We walk in and there are like three people working. It’s about 10:30am so the breakfast rush was over, and only the locals that came in on regular Sunday mornings were there scarffing down their regular choices. I swear I was back at CWG for a minute. I saw a lady there that looked exactly like a woman I work with, and don’t necessarily get along with, who was attempting the role of manager. She had nappy hair, and was bossing people around in this raspy hick voice. We waited for about 5-7 minutes while people scurried around microwaving burgers, giving people warmed up breakfast sandwiches, and looking at like we were complete strangers. I think all of them were straight from the ghetto… no offense, Hannibal. Seriously, though. So the youngest one, a gal, came up to us, and asked us what we would like to have. We had an order that cost us about $3.12, if I remember right. She wrote it down on a piece of paper, and then came back like a minute later with our total. I don’t think the registers at the front were working, or something. Who the crap knows. So Grandma gives her a $20. The girl comes back like 3 minutes later with $2 and some change. Um… what? Wow…Grandma, oh-so-polite grandma, says, “Oh, honey, I gave you a $20.” The girl looks at her and says, “Oh.” I have my arms folded, and I literally had my mouth open staring at this girl. She walked back, and grabbed grandma the other $15 she owed her. Grandma said thanks, and the dweeb just looked at her and said, “I put in $5 instead of $20!” Who the ef cares ya dumb twit. Get us our food. This Burger King visit has made me want to swear off Burger King for the rest of my life now. Yeesh, people. SO – we finally get our food. I watched at this lady pulled these premade burgers from this tray above her head, slapped on some cheese, wrapped them up, and placed them in a microwave. We asked for the order to go. Apparently that was too hard. They placed it on a tray for us. We got G&G’s warmed up burgers and my 5 onion rings (ya… value menu…), and I just wanted to scream as we walked out-a that place. Grandpa and Grandma are MUCH MORE tolerant than I am. I was about to walk in there and lay the smack down on that burger joint. Pathetic.

We were to travel through St. Louis, that day, and since I had never seen the Arch, Grandpa and Grandma were gracious enough to drive right next to the arch for me. I had never been there, so it was so cool to see what I had never been able to see before! Lookie Here…

We continued down the road. We went to McDonalds, somewhere in either IL or MO. Can’t remember. We drove through this crazy town in Illinois that made me want to stay in the car the whole time. Grandpa and Grandma switched spots to drive while I moved to the front seat, and Grandpa and I were sitting in the car waiting for Grandma to get into the driver’s seat. She was waiting for traffic, or so we thought. No… this police officer had pulled up behind us, “A very nice young man” – grandma described, and wanted to make sure we were ok. He probably thought we were lost. I mean, who drives through that town with a Honda Acord from Iowa? WE did : ) (I am making myself laugh…) I seriously think that this place was some kind of mini drug town. The only cars driving around were pimped out old Monte Carlos, Lincolns, and Oldsmobile’s…ya. I mean PIMPED. These rides were high off the ground with 137” rims that looked like they were straight out of the pimp my ride catalogue. Welcome to the East Side of Des Moines.

We made it over the IL/KY line. It was really cool seeing the scenery change from what was once a mountainous snow filled city to trees that were green, grass, and birds! It was so nice. We headed from KY to TN, and stayed at the Red Roof Inn in Clarksville, TN.

It was an eventful first day!

Day 2

This morning we woke up, and it was a bit overcast. We all got ready to go, and walked into the lobby of the Red Roof Inn to take part in the continental breakfast. It cracks me up. The breakfast consisted of two kinds of cereal, a gallon of milk that was half full, and some apples. Ya. It was good, though. (Nice of them to provide such a hearty meal for the people who are planning to travel another 1,000 miles.) I know I know… complain complain. What would I write about if I didn’t have something to complain about? I love complaining. It makes my blog a lot more interesting. Speaking my mind makes me laugh later on when I reread these posts.

Anyways… we traveled to Nashville, TN, where I was texting Anne that I was going to make it big, and to remember me no matter what happened to me. When she texted me next, I had taken a long couple naps, and we were sitting at the most ghetto Subway I have ever seen. We had landed in Montgomery, Alabama! (Now, go back and say that again, with the George W. accent – hahahahaaa!!!) I texted Anne back and told her I had inducted myself into the Alabama Ghetto and would not be returning home. I told her she could sell my flute for extra cash. We stopped at a BP so G&G could fill up on gas. We then walked over to this Subway on the south side of Montgomery. I think the whole time I was there I saw one white person. Any they were driving AWAY from the city. Oh, I take that back. There was this old white lady in front of us in the Subway line. She sounded like a freaking southern bell with her drawl and crazy white hair (too bad she was so short). I don’t understand something; since the South was so predominately “Confederate,” and the Confederacy wanted to keep slavery…how is it that all the black people stayed down there? If I were a slave, and was potentially freed, I would want to get the H.E.Double Hockey Stix out-a there! I am FREE!! I am going to live in MAINE! I guess, since that’s where they were already located, and the North won the war, they didn’t have anything to fear anymore. Well, all except for the KKK that came later, and the 50’s-70’s when all the discrimination was taking place. Yikes. I am so glad I have never had to go through something that terrible. Or even have that be a part of my family’s history (As far as I know).

We travelled though Alabama, and then crossed the state line into Georgia, where we are now settled in at the Days in on Scott’s Street in Bainbridge, GA. This place is really nice, and I am so glad that we found a great place to stay. Grandma and Grandpa have been so generous already, during this trip, and I try to thank them at every chance I get, just to let them know how much I appreciate this special trip.

Not gonna lie, though. I am WAY PUMPED to take the flights home. Not because I will be coming home, but because I will be able to FLY!!!

More to come tomorrow. Mom, you better be reading this on your lunch break tomorrow! Love you all, and call me anytime!

Anne Loves Shrooms

2010-02-21T16:03:00.000-08:00

I know I have a lot more to post than this, but I had to get this out before I freaked out and peed by pants. So… Anne and I went to Diary Queen today, after hitting Walgreens for my prescriptions, and the mall for a few mins to walk around. We walk inside, and we were laughing about something really hilarious, and she sees this guy who used to work with her at United. I guess this guy was kind of a druggie when he worked at Lint, so, she was telling me that he came into work “high” all the time. Nice. She then proceeds to tell me, (and I QUOTE-AH) –

“I actually bought mushrooms off of that guy once!”

I look at her in complete astonishment, and realize that she is continuing to speak about the “morel” mushrooms she purchased from him, to fry in a frying pan. My heart literally leapt out of my chest when she said that. It was hilarious. I looked at her and started to question her, then she realized what she had said. We were laughing for the next half hour about it…

Love that gal.

Chai

2010-02-05T13:39:00.001-08:00

Reading my last post, I have come to the realization that I have a TON of things to complain about (in my mind), but in truth, there is nothing in my life that has not been given to me for a reason. I really appreciate my surroundings. I am not always happy-go-lucky, but I know deep down that things happen for a reason.

I have really been trying hard, lately, to stop complaining about the silly things in life. There are so may people in this world that are struggling, and I will never even begin to experience or comprehend the hardships their life will give them.

I am offering up this little note to the people in my life, so much like someone else I love so much. He is struggling with a few things, and I know what struggle means. You keep struggling to make it through the day because things just seem to be getting harder, or you just struggle to open your eyes in the morning to get out of bed, because you simply can’t see yourself outside your bed that day. Your heart hurts, and your mind hurts. Having the constant nagging feeling in your head that you will never get enough sleep brings you down even further…Well, relief comes so easily to those who give their grief to the only one who can fix it. I am glad we all know who that is.

I love my friends…
I have this really awesome friend at work. She cracks me up so bad. We go to lunch together all the time, and sometimes I email her (which we do ALL DAY LONG!), and I know that even if I feel like poop, she is going to make nme laugh. She has the best sense of humor and can make the mood so much lighter. She has struggled through so many things in her life, and I hope that I can be there for her like she has been there for me. She is the best, and I tell her that every.single.day. Make sure your people know you love them!

Tuesday evening, after my crazy Lady GaGa rant, I traveled to this new coffee house called “Smokey Row.” It’s amazing! I always get the same thing when I hit a new coffee spot, and can anyone guess what it is?? (Debbie is not allowed to guess…) My mom would know… so would Anne.
CHAI!!!
Chai: A beverage made from spiced black tea, honey, and milk.
HELLO! Delicious! Sheesh, if a place can make a good Chai, then that place could be my home for the rest of my life. I drive by places that have had really crappy chai, and I cringe at the remembered taste of dark, watery poop in my mouth… (I have no idea why that was just written, but it makes me laugh. It’s a keeper…). Ok, so it doesn’t taste like poop. It just tastes all watered down, and not yummy…Stupid gross chai. Makes me want to cry. Not really.
Ok, enough. So… this place is amazing!
I was able to talk with Debbie for a couple hours, and catch up with her and her busy life. I miss her, and now that she is reading my blogs, she will know that I can’t wait to see her again in less than two weeks!!

Side Note***
My friend Julie, who sits in front of me at work, will sneeze, or do something where someone usually would say, “Oh my gosh!” or “Sheesh”… nope. Julie says, “Jeez Luigie!” Ha! Makes me laugh every time… Love this place.

Aaaahhhh, ok. So, Tuesday night, after my date with Debbie, I made my way to Trophy’s where I competed in the Semi Finals of a $5000 karaoke contest! I made it on to finals in May!! YEAH! It was really fun! Anne and Todd were there to cheer me on, but it was a late night, and I am not sure if I have completely caught up on my sleep since then.

Well… after working Wednesday-Thursday (Y and CWG), tonight I will be heading to my sister’s house for Family game Night. Looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow as well.

She's Actually A Man...

2010-02-02T14:22:00.000-08:00

Pa pa pa polker face pa pa polker face….
Pa pa pa polker face pa pa polker face….

Who has heard this song before? Hmm? Anyone? Any takers? I am sure you ALL have heard this detestable thing the people in the music business like to call “music.” (I feel a rant coming on…) This is not music.

Music defined:
Any sweet, pleasing, or harmonious sounds or sound.
I am pretty sure dictionary.com does not lie. This is one of many definitions…I think in order for something to be music, it has to be thought out, sought out, retrieved, refined, worked, molded, cured, tumbled, tossed, and perfected.

Instead of one definition stating that music is a group of tones, harmonies, placed in the air waves by a voice or an instrument, I think music has to be felt. Whether pain or pleasure, music can be felt resonating through ones body like the heat from a noon time sun on the beach, or the chill of the coldest winter day. Music is perfection.

Lyrics…lyrics define who the people are who are presenting them. Clearly, Lady GaGa (Who in the world would give themselves that name? What self respecting human being would dub them selves a “gaga?”), does not feel like she is worthy of anyone special.
Her lyrics are as follows:

I wanna hold em' like they do in texas, please fold em',
let em' hit me, raise it, baby stay with me (I love it)
love, game, intuition, play the cards with spades to start
and after he's been hooked I'll play the one that's on his heart

oh o-oh oh oh,
o-o-o-o-o-oh
I'll get him hot, show him what I got(2x)

can't read my, can't read my
no, he can't read my poker face
(she's got to love nobody)(2x)

p-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face
(m-m-m-ma)(2x)

I wanna roll with him, a hard pair we will be
a little gambling is fun when you're with me (I love it)
russian roulette is not the same without a gun
and baby when it's love, if it's not rough it isn't fun (fun)

oh o-oh oh oh, o-o-o-o-o-oh
I'll get him hot, show him what I got(2x)
can't read my, can't read my
no, he can't read my poker face
(she's got to love nobody)(2x)

p-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face
(m-m-m-ma)(2x)
(m-m-m-ma) (2x)

I won't tell you that I love you, kiss or hug you
'cause I'm bluffin' with my muffin I'm not lying,
I'm just stunnin' with my love-glue-gunning (ma)
just like a chick in the casino,
take your bank before I pay you out
I promise this, promise this
check this hand 'cause I'm marvelous

can't read my, can't read my
no, he can't read my poker face
(she's got to love nobody)
(6x)

p-p-p-poker face,
p-p-poker face (2x)
(she's got to love nobody)
p-p-p-poker face,
p-p-poker face
(m-m-m-ma)
p-p-p-poker face,
p-p-poker face
(m-m-m-ma)
p-p-p-poker face,
p-p-poker face
(m-m-m-ma)
p-p-p-poker face,
p-p-poker face(m-m-m-ma)

Finally we are at the end of this highly intellectual song. The fact that she lowers herself to sing this, and her producers are basically calling her stupid b/c they know she can't sing anything worth hearing...

Here were are a few minutes later, realizing every 12 year old girl in the nation probably knows every word to this song… and for what reason?? It’s so intelligent of this gal to keep say p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p….sounds like freaking porky the pig. Th-th-th-th-that’s all folks!

Cruel.
My ears bleed every time this monstrosity comes on the radio.
Gross.

Early Morning Triathletes, Anniversaires, and Babies

2010-01-29T14:02:00.000-08:00

You know what… I never post blogs anymore, and you would think that I would have all of these awesome events to document when I actually had the time to get my act together and finally post something…But, I DON’T! Just goes to show what a crazy busy life I live.

Well let’s start with Tuesday morning…
On Tuesdays, I generally work the 4:30am shift at the Y, where I lifeguard for the crazys who decide to come in and swim laps. Dumb. There is also a water-ex class mainly filled with older ladies that comes in at 6:00am. These people, the lap swimmers, are either triathletes or crazy goofs who decide to wake up early so they can come see the hot lifeguard missing out on her sleep because she needs money… mostly all the first one. Ya. There is a guy who comes in every other day, his wife and him switch on and off, and is very very sweet. It’s nice to know I am appreciated for coming in so early. Most of those people don’t even know I go to another 9-5 job. He always thanks me for being there, and makes sure he says hello and goodbye. Nice guy! This morning, I walked out of my apartment and about bit it as I was being blown about by the blustery madness that was supposed to end last night, um at midnight? YA! AT MIDNIGHT! WTF, weather man… seriously? Those people haven’t been able to get their facts straight for months now. Yeesh. Anywho… I usually get ready at the Y, then head off to work from there. I am so glad I made it to work this morning. When I hit Hickman, the roads were so icy, and I could feel my car just sliding along the roadway like (butter on a bald monkey?)… never mind. I was sliding. It was scary. I was applying my brakes ever so slightly, then I would just keep careening forward towards the cars in front of me. I literally probably felt the hand on God on my roof slowing me down, because there were times I didn’t think I was going too stop.

So, I begin to write blog posts, save them on my desktop at work, then never get back to them : ) Right. Here we are on Friday.
This week has been tiring. I was going to go to bed Tuesday evening, without doing anything, but I HAD to go out and sing some karaoke. I just randomly decided to go, at like 4:30 in the afternoon, called Anne, and we made our way to Trophy’s, with another friend, at around 8:30. We sat there for awhile and talked, and had a drink. It was nice! I got to sing several songs that night!! It’s nice to have fans even if they are your best friends, and they all have biased opinions!! (that’s for you, Anne) I made it to the semi-finals of a contest coming up in May, that will ultimately send the winner to Vegas to win $5000. Yeah! I know I am not the Vegas kind, but would still like to see the bright lights and the gamblers.

I was so pooped on Wednesday, after work at CWG, that I went home, made dinner, and fell asleep about 8:30-9. It was really weird. I got a call from a friend about 10:00pm, and he said I was completely out of it!! NO WAY! I am a freaking night owl, and there is no way anyone can take that away from me (as we all hear Courtney snoring in the back ground…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…). There I am, snoring (prob not), and sound asleep in a dreamless world. There is no room for dreams because my tired brain is too exhausted to care. Oh well.

I had some crazy dreams last night, though…
*shutter*

Well, today has been okay so far. I am planning on having lunch with grandma and mom tomorrow before I work at the Y. That will be really nice! I went t lunch with Kyle today… to Pancheros. I hadn’t been there forever! There are like 5 things to choose from, all with the same stuffings, I think. Well, I got the burrito. Bad choice… well not bad, just HUGE-A! I got chicken, black beans, s.cream, hot salsa, and cheese. I was trying to talk to Kyle in between bites, and it was just NOT working! I kept having these huge mouth fulls of chickeny deliciousness, and I am sure in his mind I looked like a freaking ogre with chipmunk cheeks. Yeesh. Not a good site. Well, thankfully he kept his opinion to himself and he kept shoving his chicken tacos in his face too… that’s what I like about my friends. They don’t have a care in the world, as long as there is food!!

Anne and I are a great example of this. We walk around the apartment, aimlessly, talking. We will both stand in the kitchen for hours just talking and snacking. When we are sick of standing, we will retreat to one of our rooms, or the couches, and keep talking….. and don’t forget… EATING!

Love it!

Well, the main reason for me to get this post out today, was to commemorate my parents. I forgot to post on their 25th Wedding Anniversary, January 10, 2010, so here goes.

I have the greatest parents in the world. Even when we were young, we may not have always understood their methods or ways of doing things, but we always knew they loved us. I think the fact that we are all SO close, to this day, just goes to show what a great job they did. I can’t say that I ever saw my parent’s fight. Other kids would see their parents fight about silly things, and watch them scream at each other, ripping each other a part. Well, not mine. Today, I am so thankful for the family that I have. I take the people in my life for granted, and I wish had the time to stop and tell everyone I love, that I do, in fact, love them, more every day. My mom and I are so close. I am so glad she has given her heart to me and helped me through my darkest times. She has been my rock, all my life, and has made me feel beautiful, intelligent, and wanted. My dad is amazing person. His strong mind and compassionate heart has helped me to see things from different perspectives, and I have learned to appreciate the world around me, by listening to the things he has experienced. I especially love the stories about the people in his life I have never gotten the privilege to meet. Like Grandpa and Grandma Bush! They are an amazing pair, and after beating the odds, and getting married a short 6 weeks after their first date, in their current living room, I have them to thank for who I am today, and for teaching me the importance of faith and family.
Love you two!

One more reason to post today…
Today is January 29, 2010. 20 years ago, my parents said goodbye to their first son, Luke, as his three day old body was taken back to heaven. His life is an example of how short life can be. His little body and mind was not meant to be here for longer than his allotted time, and I am sure Jesus needed him more than we did, because his graceful taking was simple and quiet. I will always remember him, even though I was three, because my amazing family has given me memories of him. Their stories have helped me remember his tiny body, his baby skin, and the exciting time we had when less than a year later we were blessed with Morgan, who is one of my best friends. God helped my parents continue to be strong, and they were able to open their hearts and lives to this new creation.

I am continuously reminded of the importance of life.
Walking out of the Y at 10:00pm last night, I happened upon a sticky note on my driver’s window, that read, “I like your bumper sticker!”

My bumper sticker reads, “It’s easy to be pro-choice as long as your not the one getting killed.”

Have a great one, readers!

Baby Swiss Cheese and Mustard...

2010-01-16T21:12:00.000-08:00

Anne and I are always making fun of each other for eating random things... Like, ok here goes. I am going to add a few more people in here as well. So, I like to eat these Oscar Mayer hot dogs, with cheese in them. And I like to make sure they are mostly burnt before I eat them. I eat them with bbq sauce! YUMM-IE! Ok, Todd likes to eat cottage cheese with sugar. He has like a tablespoon of sugar on each bite of cottage cheese! SICK! Anne likes to eat random stuff too. The other night I was in the bathtub. She was sitting in the bathroom, and we were both talking about random crap that happened throughout the day. She brings in this small plate of thinly sliced cheese, baby swiss to be exact, and i see in her other hand a bottle of regular, put on your hot dog, mustard. Um... All of a sudden I watched her pick up a piece of cheese, and spread her mustard all over it, wrap it all up and mauw it down! WHAT?!?! Baby swiss cheese and mustard! I am staring at her with my freaking mouth open, and she stops, looks and finally realizes I am staring at her extremely weird habit. we both started laughing at the same time, and she blurts, "It's really good I promise!" I about died. I think we laughed for about 10 minutes.

I have been reading these books called the "House of Night" series. I am SO addicted that my usual slow reading habits have fallen to way side, and I have been zooming through them! Once I finally get a chance to sit down and read, my mind gets wrapped up in the facinating, vampire lives these teens are living. It's magical, and the lines remind me of some of the blogs I have read in the past. They are hilarious, and I have even cried a little during the sensitive parts. Check them out!

Well, I am hoping to post a blog every week to get people caught up on whats going on, but I haven't been doing much of anything these days. Sheesh. Well, with my regular work schedule (CWG @ 8-4:30pm, everyday), and then working at the Y anywhere from 10-25 hrs a week, I have not had quite enough time to do the things I love... like BLOG!
Also, I will not be able to be a part of the Des Moines Choral Society for this next concert. I am going to Florida at some point with my grandparents, and may not be able to make it to the concert... OH WELL! FLORIDA!!!

Will hopefully post more gooey details of my life later - :)
Who knows...

OH I FORGOT!

2010-01-06T16:13:00.000-08:00

2010!

WE WON!
24-14 final score!

Go Hawkeyes!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-06T15:53:00.000-08:00

Here we are... A whole new year, and this is my first post!
Let's sum up the end of 2009 with some really great pics I have taken of the holidays. Hope you all enjoyed your holiday season, and enjoy the new adventures this year has to offer.
God Bless!
I will be back soon!!
Love love love.

CoCo and Adrian

My **BEAUTIFUL** Jules

Morgan's cute kitty - Emily :)

Avatar Night

Linda, Amelda, Keith, Todd, Sean, & I

Todd & I with our really COOL Avatar 3-D glasses!

Some snap shots of Mom & Dad's while it was snowing.

I have always loved the ice !

Just one more... :)

And my favorite one!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Weekends! (Wait... Laaaaaast weekend... not this one!! I know I know I am behind, but...)

2009-12-11T09:56:00.001-08:00

Update!
This past weekend, I went Christmas shopping with Todd for awhile, and got half way done with all of my shopping! I was really pumped! I want to post all the things I have purchased, but people will then be able to see what I am getting them for Christmas! Guess that’s not a good idea : )
I have a pretty big list this year, but I am not spending too much! I am also making Christmas goodies for my friends and family. I have tried to do that the past few years in order to keep the costs down of buying so much! It’s a lot easier and funner (I know this isn’t a word…), to bake for a couple days and watch people enjoy the food you have prepared. I am making so many things this year!! I will post some not so healthy recipes, and post some photos too!

I went to bed on Friday night after cleaning up out kitchen. I have been struggling a lot, lately, with the fact that Bart and Keeley (our cats) are not doing well together. It’s not necessarily behavioral, it’s more like Keeley’s poop smells so bad that Bart shuns her and poops on the floor near our door. So, long story short, our really awesome apartment now continually smells like crap. Literally. I cleaned all that up on Friday night, then woke up on Saturday to a poop filled cat box, thanks Keeley, and a gross mass of gooey fresh poo on my carpet near my door, THANKS BART! I lost it. I don’t know if I have ever been so crazily hysterical. You should have seen me! (Well…some of you did!) I was yelling and carrying on about the poopy place we live in! Anne and Jen just looked at me a nodded, probably scared crapless as they watched this 23 yr old woman pitch a crazy 11 year old fit! It wasn’t in vain, and I think Anne and I have come up with a plan to get Keeley healed (no I didn’t bash her head in with a lamp…tempting… but no), and will get Bart to stop being to freaking stubborn about pooping in the corner. What crap shoot! Seriously?!?! G.R.O.S.S.

After I got that out of my system, I sang at church for a couple hours with the choir to get ready for our performance the next day. It’s frustrating too. There are so many people that just need to watch the director. If we could weed out all those people, though, there would be no choir. It’s all good. People just want to praise God with music. I get it! I am really spoiled by the fact that I get to sing in the Des Moines Choral Society, so I have biased opinion on the subject of choral music. More on that later!

I get done at choir and head to…oh wait it’s the weekend, and where am I headed??!? WORK! YEAH!!!!!!! It’s all good, though. I headed off the Y for 5 hours of boring bliss. Usually the job gives me lots of great people to talk to and boss around (hehehee), but Saturday was boring. Hardly anyone was there, and only a few kids were goofing off. Poop. So, Amy and I texted a little and I made it through!

I was late getting to our Christmas with LaLa (For those of you who are not aware, LaLa is short for Lauren. Julianna appointed that name to her, i.e. CoCo, MoMo, LaLa, so on and so forth). Bladdie Blah Blah. So! It was a nice time, and I was able to say goodbye to her before she had to leave to travel back to TX. I will miss her!

Sunday brought our Christmas Cantata as church. Our choir at church always puts on a presentation about Christmas, and my dad usually directs it. Since he is already the choir director, I guess that would just make sense… duh! It was really good this year, and I think people enjoyed it. There are so many things that I wanted to slap people about, but its just not worth it. Since being in the Choral Society and singing at Iowa, I have been able to listen to excellent singers… I am always shutting up and listening to the people around me. Its so great to hear such good voices! Church just bugs me, be/c instead of singing for themselves they are singing for God (which is a great thing!!!!!!), and they aren’t necessarily listening to how they sound. It’s all good though, and I really appreciate my dad’s efforts to make is available for people every year! He is great!

Well, I suppose I will be writing about this week here in a few minutes as it has taken me a week to write about the weekend… yikes! What is my problem lately???
Oh ya…
I WORK!!!

Bye-a!

It's About Time!

2009-12-04T15:05:00.001-08:00

OkOkOk, IknowIknowIknow!!

Here I am…bloggery blogger COCO!

So, hilarious! Totally didn’t even realize that my brother had a blog until Tuesday. Grandma, Lauran, Dad, Mom and I all drove up to Mankato to see Mo play in the “Jazz Mavericks.” He is so cute : ) Anyway… they had their Christmas Concert that night and the five of decided we would all die if we didn’t attend! We took the almost 8 hr trip up and back down to see the best trumpet player in the world! MY BROTHER! I can’t even begin to tell you how proud I am of this kid. He moves to college, lives on his own, goes to school, drives bratty school kids around twice a day, flies planes, and plays trumpet. Need I say more?!? He always has time for us too! He has got to be one of my best friends, and greatest people I know. He has such a loving spirit, and always tells us how much he loves us. I think we have had one major falling out, and since then it seems like nothing has changed with us. It happens in relationships sometimes (because none of you know this already!). I miss him all the time, and I wish I had the time to even just give him a call letting him know how much I love him.

Morgan… I LOVE YOU!

My sister, Lauren, moved to Texas in March 2009. She has been able to come back two times since then. (It’s expensive and a 12 hr drive!!!). She is back NOW! It has been great getting to see her and talk with her about her life in her new state! She just got her license plates, and they are really really cool!!!
Quick side note, sorry Lala…
I got my new license plates that I had ordered for my birthday!!!!!!! THEY ARE SO COOL! You all know what a crazy psycho Hawkeye fan I am, well… I HAD to get the Hawkeye plates to go with my mental state!

You know you love it!!!!!!!!!

Ok, back to siblings. Especially around the holidays, I am always reminded of how fortunate I have been. Life really hasn’t been that overwhelming, and I am really thankful God has given me so much. I had amazing grandparents, parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends… Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ should remind all of us the sacrifices He made for our lives. He has made it possible for me to be thankful, and I hope that with this new year, I can be a better example of His life.
Isn’t it crazy how Christmas music gives you such amazing things to think about? I know this sounds weird, but seriously. It lifts you up, gives you a reason to raise your hands, and close your eyes, and imagine what it might have been like for such a young couple to give birth to such an amazing child. Not just a baby, to a young teaching child, to a man with disciples, or a wooden cross, but a gift from God, wholly given up for sin filled lives who didn’t even care to give Him a room on the first day of His life. (I could keep going)

I actually need to stop writing. People want to go Christmas shopping : )
God Bless everyone this holiday season, and hopefully this won’t be the last post before the year ends…
Love You All.

It's Been Awhile...

2009-10-30T22:10:00.000-07:00

I know the blog posts have been pretty non-existent this past month... well, now that October is pretty much over with I guess I should share a few highlights from the month.
I know by the end of this blog I am going to be really pissy, due to the fact that I am not typing on my work computer...thanks, though Jeremy :)

Ok, So....
Where should I begin? How about the beginning of the month??
My birthday, and Mom's, pretty much ended the month of September for me. It was a great time, and helped me ring in the prettiest month of the year. October has always been one of my favorites, simply b/c of all the beautiful trees that decide to change colors. You can literally see the difference between summer, fall, and winter in the month of October.
I don't remember, and am too lazy to look to see if I posted about the Hawkeye victory over Penn State. I remember it well... all to well... I was sitting in my parents' living room getting ready to watch the game. Iowa starts with the ball, we get out first three plays out of the way very quickly, and have to punt the ball away to Penn St. Darryl Clark decides to throw a monster NFL pass to on of his teammates, & they run it in for the first touchdown of the game... I was almost about to cry, as I could see the Hawks loosing their winning streak to these monkeys. Last year was a completely insane game, us winning by one, at home. Well this year, we were on Jo-Pa's field. Have you seen their student section?? Their stadium is huge!!! Well, long story short, the Hawks ended up taking Clark and the rest those crazy blue 'n' white fellas down. It was sweet :)
IA played Arkansas State to start out October, at Kinnick. They won :)
5-0
Homecoming was the 10th, and we played Michigan at home. - We won... again!
6-0
The 17th made us travel to Randall Stadium, to indeed defeat those nasty Badgers... I can't even tell you how much I abhor Wisconsin...
7-0
And... then last week, we were vary fortunate. Ok wait, that was a complete UNDERSTATEMENT..... Listen to this. Michigan State @ Michigan State... Last 2 seconds of the game, and I am on the edge of my seat about to pee, poop, barf, and anything else you can think of that is NOT PLEASANT! I about died. I was freaking shaking like a scared puppy! Ok... last two seconds... Stanzi throws his last chance pass to McNutt... and everyone held their breath, as their hearts all stopped, and everything flew in slow motion...My bowls were about to give way as McNutt reached for that ball, and caught it... HE CAUGHT IT!!!!! We had 2 seconds to get a touchdown or drown... and you know what? HOW 'BOUT THEM HAWKS?!?!?!?!?!!
YIKES-MA-GIKES! It was amazing... We all started screaming and couldn't stop... we all find ourselves out of our chairs yelling and screaming and jumping and screaming and and and....*sigh*
9-0 :) And... number 4 in the country... yes, folks... NUMBER 4!
What a year.
Now, as I sit here, a veteran of this very momentous history making year, I am in Iowa City preparing myself for yet another Hawks game, at home this time, against the Indiana Hoosiers...well, we can all make fun of their ridiculous name, but only after we win tomorrow. Don't want to jinx for an upset!
GO HAWKS!

Ok, other than that, life has been the same. I am so majorly busy all the time, that I have no time for myself it seems. I am going going and going some more, and then next next day/week, it picks up even more. I told Jeremy to exnay me on getting a ticket for next weeks game. I am tire beyond belief and need time at home. Will be watching the game at my mommy and daddys! YEAH!

At my second job, the YMCA (Waukee), we just opened a brand new Y. It is so incredible, with a lot more to offer than the former Y building. It's huge, and I was able to get a preview of it last Sunday.

With the new Y opening, football, and of course CWG...life never seems to stop.
Hope this was a refreshing look, to know that this CoCo is still kicking...

23 TODAY!

2009-09-24T09:57:00.000-07:00

YEAH FOR BIRTHDAYS!!!!

Today has only begun, and I can't wait for the rest of the day to get here!!! I love birthdays!!!!!!!!

Brad

2009-09-22T07:31:00.000-07:00

I had been listening to this song for quite some time, and decided that it probably should be on my blog, so people could read the lyrics. It’s pretty awesome. : )
Enjoy!

Find Yourself – Brad Paisley

When you find yourself
In some far off place
And it causes you to rethink some things
You start to sense that slowly
You're becoming someone else
And then you find yourself

When you make new friends in a brand new town
And you start to think about settlin' down
The things that would have been lost on you
Are now clear as a bell
And you find yourself
Yeah that's when you find yourself

Where you go through life
So sure of where you’re headin'
And you wind up lost and it's
The best thing that could have happened
‘Cause sometimes when you lose your way it's really just as well
Because you find yourself
Yeah that’s when you find yourself

When you meet the one
That you've been waitin' for
And she's everything that you want and more
You look at her and you finally start to live for some one else
And then you find yourself
That’s when you find yourself

When we go through life
So sure of where we're headin'
And then we wind up lost and it's
The best thing that could have happened
‘Cause sometimes when you lose your way it's really just as well
Because you find yourself
Yeah that's when you find yourself

Allergies Suck Big Time...

2009-09-17T06:55:00.000-07:00

So, its the beginning of the day, and I have a nagging headache...
Guess why??? ALLERGIES!!! I am so sick of having headaches, runny noses, and watery eyes!
Give me a break, PLEASE!

i'm done now

A Weeks Worth of Fun - Not Without Stress!!

2009-09-14T09:54:00.000-07:00

This weekend was pretty eventful…

Well lets start from the beginning. The week started out great with a trip to the Condo at noon on Friday. Todd, Anne, and I traveled down there for the weekend with Todd’s family, and a lot of other people. Bag toss, grilling, fishing, boating, and fun were all a part of that memorable weekend. (even a little drama ;) )

Dylan and I

Dylan on the tube!

Zac on the tube!

Todd thought this one was cute for some reason!
Had to post it for him :)

I liked this one :)

My lil' blue gill... Yes, I actually fished!!

CRAZINESS!!

Playing hacky with da boyeeez!

Gross.

Bleck!

Aahhh, Matt!

Amelda and Susan (Todd's Mommy)

I thought this one was cute

Wayne - Todd's Dad

Anne, Wayne, Me, and Matt :)

Matt and Matt playing bag toss...

Kevin (Todd's brother-in-law) and Susan

Keith, Wayne, Matt and I

So, after we got home on Monday, I was supposed to have dinner with my cousin Megan. I did, and it was great! I have missed her since she got married!! She and Chris are doing really well…

Tuesday came, and as I headed to work at CWG, I thought, “Hey, Co! This is going to be a great week! You’ve started out great, and it will keep getting greater!” Was I ever wrong. I was placed on this project for work for Tuesday and Wednesday. This project was taking place due to one of CWG’s agent’s deciding not to sell out insurance anymore. Well, this agent had been with this company since before I was born. Can you imagine how many policies were written from 1984 to 2009? Um, ya. So, out job was to go through 1,500 boxes of paper files, and record policy numbers, insured names, and dates. It was actually really relaxing, and the time flew by! Todd brought me lunch from Culver’s that day, and I was able to eat with him. After lunch he brought by some actual key board vs. having the laptop ones. Made the process even faster! There was one thing, though… I was sitting by a temp that was brought in from an agency. Her name I will not disclose at this time… Dude, she was the most annoying, red-haired, snoopy individual alive. I mean it. She was 23, and hyping up her life like she was an executive in some high-end job. Ya right, chia…you are freaking temp in Des Moines, IA. Get over yourself. She had a kid about 2 years ago, b/c she was living with some loser who didn’t care about her. Now, he wants nothing to do with his kid. She talked about how she knows a lot about insurance. So, we got into a conversation about which each department does. She seemed to be listening intently, then was like, “Oh man, that sounds boring. I could never do that. What a drag!” um… what?!?! She let on that she had taken 72 classes at her last job for marketing and advertising…riiiiight. Then why don’t you have an actual job, psycho? She would talk and talk and talk, and I would get off track. She needed a pie in her face. I, thankfully, brought by ipod, remembered it was in my purse!!!! I took it out and acted like I was listening to her, and place the ipod on really loud. I would glance her way every so often just watching her mouth move… I would nod, acting like I could hear what she was saying. NOPE! Ugh…

I had to work at the Y that night. I was pretty tired, but was planning another karaoke night with Ben. Anne was able to come too, and that was really awesome! Before Anne got there, though, I had met Ben, and we were deciding what pizza to get. Morgan had sent me a text message, asking me if I had heard about Mr. Rourke. (Real Quick: Mr. Rourke was a VP at East and at Hoyt when I went those places for school. He was a very big influence in my life, and I had a lot of respect for him. He meant a lot to me and had helped me through a hard time when I was a senior. Great guy!!) Well, I talked to Mo on the phone a few minutes later. He said Rourke had shot and killed himself. What a blow to the heart. I lost it. I called my Dad, Mom, and Jeremy. I called another friend, and bawled on the phone to him for at least 15 minutes. It was really hard for awhile. I got back inside, after Anne came to check on me. The night wasn’t the same. I had no motivation to sing. When I stood up there to sing my songs, all I wanted to do was cry. Well, I didn’t sleep that night. I finally fell asleep at 4 or 5 am. I had to go back to the BTS building and do more data entry for that project, and I was wiped. I called Laura, my boss, and asked if I could leave a little early, and I told her what happened. Real Quick: Laura is awesome folks. She is always there for me, and knows when I need a break. She completely understood, and knew that would be needing some time to gather my thoughts and rest my mind. She was great last week!

I got off early and went to my sister’s house and spent a couple hours with her and Jules. It was a nice breather, and I hadn’t seen them in awhile. I love my Julsie…
Um…Thursday came around. Actually it’s call kind of a blur. Don’t even really remember what happened. Work then work. Friday was the same, work then work. Drew, Adrian, and the girlies came in that night to swim. I left early so I could go to Rourke’s candle light vigil. I stopped by home, and crashed. Literally. I was so tired, and overwhelmed. Jeremy and I were supposed to hang out and watch the game, but that didn’t happen b/c we kind of got in a fight. It wasn’t good. No more game with Jeremy. Ugh. Todd was going to be gone, Anne was gone, and now my plans were shot. Great week. Todd and I talked later that night, and he said his plans had actually been cancelled. : ) He decided that he would like to go to my sister’s with me and watch the game!! I got up the next day, and Todd and I went to HyVee to get some goodies for the game. We got to my sister’s house, and spent most of the day there, watching the game, and rooting on my favorite team. Game ended and the Hawks slaughtered ISU 35-3. I was apprehensive earlier that week, b/c of the previous game played at Kinnick, but we pulled through and captured the win! It was great!

I kind of hoped the week would end well with that…well, more drama proceeded to show up early early Sunday morning. I didn’t make it to church, as the drama didn’t end until around 5am. I tried to sleep in and relax a little. I had to be at church at 4pm for Christmas program practice. The program this year is going to be great!!! I will really enjoy it, I know it! After choir, I tried out for the Des Moines Choral Society… AND I GOT IN!!!!!!!!!!! YESSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!! I was able to meet everyone last night, and I got to sing with the whole group! Oh, it was awesome!!! Now, I get to sing from 4pm-9pm every Sunday! What a rush!!!!

http://www.dmchoral.com/

See, now this week has started great… and I am sure this week will continue to get even better. First night back with the Spencer’s. The Spencer’s always make me smile!

Blah - Some Things Are Meant To Bring You Down

2009-09-11T14:43:00.000-07:00

Here I am again.

This week has been full of drama, that’s for sure. I am not sure where my mind is right now. One minute I feel fine, and the next my hands are shaking, my mind in wandering, and I don’t know where I am. I haven’t really been daydreaming as much this week. Usually I can cheer myself up by thinking about things I love. This week hasn’t afforded me much enthusiasm to keep myself going. I literally go from “YEAH! I am Courtney! Happy happy happy happy happy!!” to “Yuck, I am Courtney…cry cry cry cry cry.” Things happen too much. Things… that’s a pretty general term, I guess, but THINGS really do happen to much. Things are always catching me off guard and making me late, stressed, and unhappy.
I guess for now, my mood would suggest that I am lovingly, emotionally, and unknowingly angry at a lot of things. People are really selfish, and I know I have been selfish in the past. But come one people. I am so out of it that I can’t even think straight. It doesn’t mean that I am not going to be thinking about the people that love me…

Ugh. Enough!

On a much lighter note, and hopefully a cheerier note…Iowa won their first game on Saturday. Yes yes, I know tomorrow is the big IOWA vs. ISU game, but the winning the very first game of the season is always nice too! We played UNI. It was pretty bad actually. We were behind a few times, and then at the end, we made up for the crappy plays from earlier in the game. We had a double block on two attempted field goals by UNI. I think the last time we blocked a field goal was when I was at Iowa! It was great! I was on a fishing boat in the middle of Lake Rathbun, with a TON of people. I was listening in on this really awful radio with crappy reception. BUT, I heard it! And we won! I screamed a little…Hopefully tomorrow’s game is just as eventful, but more for Iowa this time. We need to step up the game. I don’t know if Stanzi was just tired, or nervous, or what… but he needs to step it up!! Come on buddy, you can do it!!
Apparently, as my friend Dave so nicely pointed out just now, the Steelers won their game against the Titans last night 13-10. They got the last field goal in over time… Wow. I guess their QB, Roethlisberger, likes to be sacked, just like Ricky!
Good luck out there guys!

MoMo & CoCo

2009-09-04T09:11:00.001-07:00

I found this hilarious pic when I was going through pics to post on my blog.

HILARIOUS!

Singin' Spectacles

2009-09-04T08:34:00.000-07:00

I haven’t posted everything that has happened in the passed few weeks, so I need two post two more things in order to make it complete… maybe three…Oh well. Whatever. The first thing is this:

I have been getting these nasty headaches for months now. I could not figure out, for the life of me, why I kept getting them. They would make me irritable, nauseous, and basically a psycho *bad word. : ) I felt bad for the people around me. Really. Todd put up with a lot. So, I have getting bugged my several people about getting my eyes checked, as that may have something to do with the head aches. On August 20, 2009 I went to the Jordan Creek Target, got my eyes checked, and got glasses. GLASSES! AAHH!!! Yikes. You’d think by the age of 22 I would have already gotten these things. Nope! Hey, Courtney! You aren’t crazy enough, let’s put you in spectacles!!!!! GREAT! They aren’t so bad, I guess. I figured getting one good pair that I know will last me years was probably the way to go. They were too expensive, though. I got them anyway. I need to head back in for my free contact fitting, as I am finding out very quickly that these new eyes rock! They aren’t the most beautiful things, but I never take them off, EVER! They are helping in every aspect of my life… well not EVERY aspect. But most. They are pretty freaking sweet. Thank you, once again to good friends who keep me taking care of myself. You know who you are. *wink wink*

New Me :)

Ok…So…some girls from the Y and I, all decided we needed a girls night out. Everyone is stressed these days, and with school starting back up, we knew some of the ladies wouldn’t have a chance to break away from the monotonous, rigorous lifestyles they lead. Break time was upon them! We all decided to hit Billy Joe’s and one of their Karaoke nights! Well, Jen Waldo was the only on from work who was able to hold up her end of the bargain. She is great, but I wanted a HUGE GROUP! I also had invited my love love roomie, and our hair stylist Jen. We all got there, and loosened up a bit. Had a drink, and started to sing. There were hardly any folks there, so we got to sing a TON! It was glorious!! It was such a great time, and I am really thankful for the girls I have in my life. They are the best!

Anne & I

Jen Waldo & I

Anne = love

Anne tooke this one...

Jen J. & Jen W.
"Don't worry...be happy!"

Hahaha!

Jen J. & I singing something...

Jen J. & I still singin'

I love karaoke!

MOVIES!

Ok, one more thing, then I might just be caught up : )
Todd took me to see The Time Traveler’s Wife last night. Great movie! Hope you all can go see it. I bawled like a baby at the end, but it was worth it. Jen from the Y was able to go as well, and it was really nice to have her with us. She needs friends right now, and I am glad I can be there for her when she needs a hug.

Musical Newness

2009-09-01T14:18:00.001-07:00

Ok, so here it is. I have been wanting to get another tattoo for awhile. I have been thinking about where to place it, and have also been thinking about how much that thing is going to hurt! It was all worth it in the end, and they are now healed and beautimous! Had a great time getting them, and think I may be done with tattoos for awhile :)

Treble Clef on the left foot

Both

Treble

Bass

IOWA STATE FAIR IS THE BEST STATE FAIR!

2009-09-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

So, last year I was unable to make it to the Iowa State Fair. When I was growing up, the Fair was a must, a have to, and dream. That place gave me the last awesome 10-11 days of summer before school started up again. And, when I was unable to make it last year, it kinda broke my heart. A little. Well, thanks to some really great friends, I was able to get to the fair this year… TWICE! I had such a great time, and will post some pics below, so you all can see what a great time I had!

The Iowa State Fair is known all over the USA as being one of the greatest state fairs. The Fair now has, so proudly exhibited, over 200 edible items on a stick, along with some other really awesome food. Their lemonade is masterful, and their cheese curds are delectable. I even ate two corn dogs this year! I HATE CORN DOGS! Maybe it was my way of saying, “YEAH!!! WE ARE AT THE FAIR!!!” Hmmm, guess I will never figure that one out. The fair has the Varied Industries Building, The Grandstand, The Cultural Center, The Ag Building, The Family Food Center, and many barns and stages! Plus they have the midway where there are crazy rickety rides that are transported from fair to fair. I rode the double farris-wheel twice, and watched as that sucker swayed back and forth. I was about to lose it. Ohmygosh. There is this clown guy at the back of the Midway that is in a cage, and if you throw the ball towards this target, and hit the target, he will be thrown in the water… here’s the kicker. He spouts insults and profanities at you the entire time. I mean crazy insults. He calls people what they are AND what they ARENT. He will see a 200 lb white lady walk by, with reddish hair and big boobs, and his response may sound like this, “He fatso!! YA you, with the carrot top! Didn’t your parents ever teach you to eat healthy?? Look at those honkers on your chest! YYOOOWWZZAA!!!” On and on and on and on…. You don’t even want to know what that thing said to me one year. Talk about embarrassing, and completely demonic. Clowns are freaky anyway. *shutter*
Well, here are some pics. I can’t even tell you how stoked I was to make it to my State Fair this year. It meant so much to me, and I plan on going three times next year, til one day I end up going everyday, like I used to when I was little : )

“Our State Fair is the best State Fair!!”
(Our state fair is a great state fair.Don't miss it, don't even be late.It's dollars to donuts That our state fair Is the best state fair in our state.)

Double Farris-Wheel my mom and I used to ride this together!

Lil' Baby piggies!!

More piggies :)

This little spotted dude was so cute!

Little baby Lamby

Omyword...These little guys were so cute running around everywhere!

(Too bad they are ugly as crap when they get older)

Butter Cow!

Dad, Mom, and I

Funny Quote of the Day!

2009-08-27T14:12:00.000-07:00

Mike says to Dave, "So, Dave. Have you got your Iowa State tickets for next weekend??"

Dave says, "Well, you know what? I do have a new fire place, and no starter! I might need to get some!"

Mike spats, "Heh! Well atleast you paid for them!!"

Dave walks away laughing...

RIIIGHT, Mike. Paid for them? Iowa State is practically having to give away their freaking tickets because they... wait, what?!?! Oh ya!! THEY SUCK!!!!

:)

Worlds of Fun

2009-08-26T14:42:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, Matt, Deb, Macy, Matty, Linda, Tammy, John, Jacob, Matt, Amelda, Keith, Todd, and I all went to Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, MO. Whew!! Try saying that correctly all in one breath! HAHA! Anyway, we left at the butt crack of dawn on Saturday. Yuck-O! We were all meeting at CWG around 7am. It was poopy. Anyone who knows me knows that earliness is not a good time for this chick. I am cracky as an new born baby trying to poop. Seriously. So! John drove in front, then Keith, then I, then Matt. I told Todd we could take my car since he paid for the tickets and such. I let him know I would pick up the mileage and gas money. No biggie twiggy : ) Anywhose, we are following John all the way there, and let me tell ya. He is such a great guy, but I was getting hot headed by the time we made it down there. Number one, there was construction, and people are just automatically tyrannical when driving in construction. I was just waiting for an accident! Then number two, John was not using any kind of cruise control. I don’t even know if he had cruise control, but MY.WORD. It was awful! We would be going 75 one minute then the next we would be going 65…wtf?!? We took the wrong exit two or three times, and every time it happened, I just gave Todd this, “I’m gonna whack that guy” look. Drivin me nuts!
So… we get there, and get our tickets out and get parked. We walked around the park for awhile riding what we could, and then ate at a bbq that came with the tickets. It wasn’t half bad! The fried chix was great! So, we were done eating, and it was getting pretty hot, so we all decided to hit the pool and take a swim. We did that for awhile, when Macy, Matt, Matty, Todd and I all decided to get back to the park before it began raining. We got changed out of our suits, and headed back to the park. We hadn’t hit the newest coaster (the PROWLER) yet, so we headed in that direction. Macy, Matt, and Todd all road this disgusting ride that definitely would have made me barf…(actually, I was watching that sucker go around and around, and I had to look away and call someone b-cuz I was about to cry, it was making me so sick!!). They get done with that, and we head on over to the Prowler. There was a pretty good line going, but I coaxed the party into staying and giving the ride a chance. We waited for about a half hour, which wasn’t really that bad, besides the fact that it started getting misty out, then started to sprinkle. By the time Todd, Macy, Matty and I all took our seats, we knew it was going to rain harder. Matt was in the train behind due to seat arrangements. ANYWAY…we get going, and yep, sure enough, it was raining. We start climbing this hill, and all I could think about what the horrible ride I had experienced earlier that day. Real quick ; ) (There is this old 20 year old wooden coaster called the Timberwolf at WoF. It is the longest, suckiest ride I have ever been on. I had a headache 3 seconds into that crap. My body hurt so bad by the time we were done, that my back was aching all the way to by feet. Not to mention that pounding headache.) So, we are climbing this hill, and I am clutching onto the railing like there’s no tomorrow so I don’t get 80 pounds skaken off me again. All of a sudden, the top of this hill comes, and let me tell you… the next 2 mins or so (however long that ride is) was the BEST time spent at that stupid place… THE BEST FEW SECONDS OF THE ENTRIE WEEKEND!!!!! WHAT A KILLER RIDE!!!!!! Ohmygosh! That thing whipped you around corners like there was no tomorrow, and was smoother than butter on a bald monkey (catch that one you Veggie lovers?!?!?). Todd and I had our arms up, yelling “Ya!!” at the top of our lil kiddie lungs. Get there. Ride it. Love it!! It was awesome.
After we got done there, it started pouring (cats and dogs?? - - never understood that one : ) ) Anyway, we sat under this awning thingy and ate French fried with cheese sauce, and drank my free pop! We decided to head back to the cabins. It was raining, and we didn’t really want to drown. After awhile, and after Macy and I went to this drug store twice (another good story), we were all about ready to settle in for the evening. All of a sudden, Matt’s freaking car alarm goes off! That stupid thing is always triggered by the dumbest crap. Anyway, he walks outside to check on that, and he comes back in and says, “Get your shoes on everyone! The Mamba is running!!” We all stopped and looked at him, trying to hear the Mamba. We heard the faint screams in the back ground, and threw on our shoes and headed back out in the damp darkness to try riding the coaster once more. We got there, and there was hardly a line at all. They had two trains running, so we got in quick. After we rode that thing 3 times in a row, it started to down pour. PERFECT TIMING!! IT was SAAWEEEET! Man, to have been on the Mamba (250 ft drop, 75mph) then have it down pour on you on the way back to the car… it was like a movie! We all had such a good time, and the four of us (Matt, Macy, Todd, and I) are still talking about what a great trip it was. Good times.

We woke up the next day, after it had stormed all night *yeah* to even more rain. I like rain, but there was nothing to do until the BBQ place opened for us to go eat. We decided to pack up and head back to DSM. I drove the whole way home, with Todd, and was able to go my own speed, and my own pace… it was heaven! We got home, and chilled. Good trip. Made me tired, but it was totally worth it : )

PICTURES!!!

Todd and I ready to get on the road!!

The group!
Jacob, Matty, Matt, John, Tammy, Matt,
Keith, Amelda, Tammy, and Todd.
(Minus Macy, Deb, & I)

Aaahhh!! The Mamba!

The Bomberage!

Forwards the backwards!

Riding the Timberwolf!

The Patriot

Your feet dangle on this one!

Patriot

Linda & I :)

NOW the ENTIRE group!!

Sometimes I Pee When I Laugh

2009-08-21T14:07:00.001-07:00

I would just to post a little story about Anne and me.
I know what she is thinking right now as she is reading this, and I don’t care. So, poop on you! Any--whose, Anne and I have been friends for about 18 years. We met at church, and have been able to grow up together. Our friendship has literally been through thick and thin. Sleep overs, parties, hang outs, trips, eat outs, weeks at various camps, music, and now we live together. We have been able to play our flutes together at church, be a part of our church choir, and share that passion for the music realm ever since we were little. It’s been such a great ride : )
She and I have had our misunderstandings and random disagreements, yet through it all, we are here together, FOR-EVER! (Say that really slow and separate the two words, or just have Anne do it for ya!!)
So… here is the story. Anne and I know each other so well, that we do the whole thing where you “finish each others’ sentences,” and “know what each other is thinking” junk. It’s true! This blog has made that shine even more recently. Last night, I was getting ready to take a bath. I had closed the door, and had started the water. I was proceeding to get undressed (no comments please.), and was facing the tub doing this. All of a sudden I turn around and Anne is RIGHT THERE! She scared the living piss right outa me! It scared me so bad, that I said, “Cripes Anne! You almost made me pee a little! I was like AAhh, then AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!” Literally, seriously, no joke, I SCREAMED! She was laughing her little tooshy right off when I said that. Hehehe. That freaking girl cracks me up hard core! Well, she will do this thing for me, and I absolutely love it. She said she would read some of my latest blog posts to me, and try to sound like I wanted to. She starts off reading, and like 3 seconds into the thing, I was about ready to lose it. I was laughing so hard that my stomach was in knots. KNOTS! It was so perfect. Well, CRAP! I hadn’t realized how crazy funny I was! (Kudos to Anne and myself!!!!)
Crazy times. I love that girl. She makes my days so much better, and I know whenever I come home, after having a really terrible, long day, I know she will be there with a hug and a listening ear. She is the best.

My second favorite thing ever… friends and family : )

A Skunkers Poem

2009-08-13T13:28:00.000-07:00

I’ve got a couple random updates to share.
Mainly, these items are just fun things that have happened in my life, and really don’t mean that much to others… except for those who are involved.

OK! So, number one, I was hanging out with a friend a while back, and I was telling him that I NEVER EVER eat at McDonalds. I don’t. It’s nasty, and I think about the people who have to work there, and I feel bad. I wish I could take some of those people home with me, and tell them that they will have a better opportunity somewhere else. Ugh, oh well, that’s neither here nor there. So… MCDONALDS!! I HATE IT! We pulled into McDonald’s b/c I hadn’t eaten any dinner. I got a chicken mc-nugget happy meal. Heh. Loved happy meals when I was a kid : )
Anywho, got this happy meal, and what is inside a happy meal, A TOY!! BOOYAA! I LOVE MCDONALDS! (not really … teehee). I got the little pictured below. He is now sitting on my desk. His real name is Skunkers, but I call him Smelly, for reasons only known by Anne and I. HA! NOT TELLIN!

Smelly : )

OkOkOkOkOkOk…..
I have been experimenting with poetry for over a year or so, and I would like to post a few and have people read them. Let me know what you think : )

Here is my favorite one:

The Hill, The Tree, Our Swing

Once upon a time
There was a hill
And on that hill
There was a tree

On the tree
There was a swing
A swing that swung
With on it you and me

The sky was blue
And the clouds were white
The swing swung high
And we held on tight

We were two kids
Young and in love
The time passed quickly
And we looked above

Above the tree
The sun was setting
The day was over
We would not be forgetting

The time spent together
Our young love anew
But as the years passed
We didn’t stay young but grew

Apart and away
Our hearts were meant to be
All gone our love seems
All but a memory

And now I see our hill
And our tree so green
As the sky was blue then
We swung our swing

A memory of past times
Of love and belief
Today I remember you
As always in my dreams.

Karaoke and Floppy Bacon Night

2009-08-12T08:48:00.001-07:00

This weekend was a blast!!

Friday night I went to Billy Joe’s with a few friends and sang some karaoke. It was awesome. There are a ton of crazy people there, who can’t sing worth a lick, but I still give them a little credit, I guess for trying. I am sure there were people there who thought I sucked too : ) We stayed there late late late, then went to Perkins and ate some breakfast at like 2 am or something. I was about ready to pee my pants when Anne got her food. And NO she didn’t get her usual happy mash, she got the “Classic Egg Favorites.” That would be my usual. Yum Yum! Anywho, she ordered her bacon extra crispy, like I do, and then she got the bacon. Hahaha, her face was priceless. I had to take a picture of her and her now dubbed “Floppy Bacon.” I have genuine love for this girl. We have the best freaking times together. Couldn’t do it without her.

This is the "Captain." Apparently, he is always at Billy Joe's.

Pretty good looking guy too!

Anne and her CoCo

Love this girl!

Anne and her "Floppy Bacon"

Well, Saturday, I woke up and Gramma called, asking to take me out to lunch before I had to be at work. Umm, CHYESS! Lunch with GRAMMY! She took me to Machine Shed. Another YUM! She and I had good conversation like usual. Fun times. I love people! I had to work after that, so I headed to Waukee when I was done with Grandma. Worked, then left there to head to get my eyebrows waxed, and my hair chopped off…J/k. My stylist, Jen, showed me how I can use my layers to make it look like I have this cute little bob. I will have to try it soon. Not gonna lie, it’s pretty cute : )
Got done with that, and Jeremy was in town. He came over and we got some pizza for dinner. It was delicious. I felt really bad, b/c I all I wanted to do was sleep! I was SOSOSOSO tired, and I kept falling asleep as we watched a movie. He left, I hopped in the tub, warmed up, and then hit the pillow!

Sunday was nice too. I played my flute for offertory and for choir. I don’t know what happened when I was practicing that morning before church, but I couldn’t concentrate, and I was messing up all over the place. Then, when it came time to sound good and give it my all, there was Jesus, right behind me, whispering to me, “Great job! Awesome! Keep going! Sweet!! YEAH!!” I swear, sometimes, I can see his face as my heart starts to slow, and my hands stop shaking, and I know everything is going to be fine.

I will post some pics, and get back to this later. I have to tell you about my Monday. Yikes.

Favorite #1 & Hair

2009-08-07T12:35:00.000-07:00

So, I told a friend of mine that I would start posting things that help people to get to know me more. I figured, since this is my blog, you are all reading it for that reason anyway? Oh well. I guess I will start with a few of my favorite things in this one, and try to keep it going as I write various posts.

Ok, here goes.
My number one favorite thing in this world was created by God to inspire, lift up, encourage, and help the people who decide to embrace its power. This particular favorite of mine has been with me my entire life, and hopefully will be until the end, or even after the end : ) I know this will be in heaven as well. There are so many kinds of this favorite thing. There is classical forms, jazz forms, country forms, and rock forms. So may of them I love so much, that I can hardly take the tingly sensation that covers my arms, legs, and back when I hear them. They help my heart to continue to beat, everyday. When notes flow from the page to your mouth then out again, its like you are the only person in the room, and all you care about is hear the music. Aahhh, yes. The MUSIC.

Favorite things: Number 1: Music

Simple and truly delightful. This amazing piece of work was inspired by God, and was made to give him praise and worship. So many people are afraid to embrace the realities of music. It was created to make people feel good and to make them think. There are words for a reason. There are tones, structures, and dissonance for a reason. Each song tells a story. This leads me into my favorite song…
Written by a man named Debussy, this piece has been played throughout the world on many occasions. You might hear it most in a wedding or most recently at the end of every Ocean’s movie. Claire De Lune has an inspiration all its own. It’s beautiful.
Take a listen…

Ok, now that I have told you my favorite thing, EVER, I need to update this thing about the fly story.
Hehehe… yep yep, here goes.
Geoff, Anne, and I were all sitting at Perkins that one night, and we were telling nasty stories about what had happened to each of us in the past, when food was delivered, ordered, and eaten. Well, lovely Geoff decided to share with us the story of how he ordered Wendy’s one day on lunch. He set his items down on a counter at work, and left it there to go wash his hands, or something. He came back, got the food out of the bag, and proceeded to take a bite of his sandwich. He grabbed his coke, and took a drink. All of a sudden, washing down the sandwich wasn’t just coke. There was something in his mouth. He didn’t want to swallow, he opened his mouth and took out what he thought felt weird. It was a black fly. WTF?!?!? Oh. My. Word. GROSS!! Anne and I almost barfed right there. I mean she was turning teal, b/c all the green pukey color was being used by yours truly. Ugh… sick sick sick.
I also have another story. The first time I had ever gone to “unknown Chinese joint” was when I was hanging out with Shelby from CWG. She, her son Wesley, and I all went there for dinner one night. It was great! The second time I went there, it was Todd and I. We had their food, and he introduced me to their egg rolls. I thought they were the most amazing freaking things on the face of this planet!! GIVE ME MORE!!!! Um, delicious. Anyway – Anyway…I had to introduce these delicious mouth watering yummies to my lovely roommate, so Todd and I bought one for Anne once, so she could try one. She loved them! DUH! So, Anne and I would make it our quest to set out and get these egg rolls like almost once a week! They were really cheap and filled you up! Oohh with sweet and sour sauce and soy sauce too!! Well, here in this very moment, right now, as am writing, sitting here, right now, currently, ya, my mouth is not watering, but I can feel the little hangy thing in the back of my throat about ready to jump out of my mouth. (This is a really sad story). So, Anne and I randomly decide to go get egg rolls. I had a sociology test I had to finish, so she said she would pick them up and bring them home for us. I was SO PUMPED! I was finishing the test, and she was eating and helping me out with some of the questions. I hadn’t really delved into any of mine yet b/c I was still engrossed in that stupid test. I finished the test, put the laptop away, and grabbed the best looking egg roll I saw. I mixed my sauces just how I like them, and dipped that golden brown, crispy goodness into the soy/sweet & sour mixture. Dip, and right into my mouth that thing went… yum yum yum!! Totally worth getting that stupid test over with for these. All of a sudden I take the egg roll from my mouth, and I feel something in my mouth that is definitely NOT supposed to be there. I look down, and there is a huge black hair sticking out of the top of the egg role. I then felt it in my mouth, and took the rest of it out of my mouth taking little pieces of cabbage and chicken with it. I looked at Anne like I was going to cry and ralf at the same time. She had her hand over her mouth, and her eyes were as big as apples. Her words of choice, “Oh Babe…No way…”
*I might need to take a break from this story to go up chuck the lunch I just ate…*shutter**
So…needless to say, I DID NOT finish my meal that night. I had tried to pick at one of the other egg rolls, but the taste of it was making me nauseated. Anne and I haven’t been back. (Unless she has betrayed me… hm… Anne, HAVE YOU BETRAYED ME?!?!?!?)
I don’t think she has… whew!

Well, enough with the nasty stories. I am woozie!

Loves Leave & Corn Beef Hash

2009-08-04T10:27:00.000-07:00

Well, back again.
This last week was pretty busy, not like that is an unusual thing in my life. I worked, and worked, then worked some more. Life goes on. Friday night I had picked up a shift at the Y, and felt like spit when I left. Seriously. I don’t know what happened, but I drank a regular Coke, and I think it did me in. I felt like crap! Never again, Coke. Now, DIET Coke is a completely different story. I don’t think I have ever felt like poop from drinking Diet Coke… its just usually makes me burp. Hehehehe.
Anywhozits…Where was I? Oh, ya. WORK!
Like I said, I worked, then on Saturday I had to work again. NO WAY!!! It wasn’t bad. I had an appointment to get my hair done with my awesome friend Jen. Man, I love that place. Anyone needing a haircut, you should definitely go there. They are stellar folks.
Go to Bronzingexperience.com, and check it out!!
Ok, enough with the advertisements.
Morgan moved to Minnesota on Saturday. I called him Friday night and tried not to cry as I told him to have a safe trip. Jeremy moved to Iowa City, and I am still not sure how I feel about that. I know he is doing this for him, for his future. It still stings a little. Life, once again, goes on. Not sure to where though.
Sunday, Mom was still with Morgan and Aunt Sherry getting Mo all moved in. Dad and I were able to sit and have lunch alone, just the two of us!! (I have that song in my head now…crap.). It was really nice! Time with my daddy.
Went to church that night, and then Geoff, Anne, and I went to Perkins.
Now…There is this running joke with Anne and I. She HATES, I mean ABHORS, I mean LOATHES butter. I haven’t even exaggerated. Seriously. Trust me. I know these things. So… every time we get pancakes, she ALWAYS forgets to ask for them without butter. So, being the awesome friend that I am, I tell her to place the excess butter on my plate, and it can just sit there so she doesn’t have to look at it. Well, Geoff had the same problem. So, I had like three freaking huge scoops of frostingy butter hanging out on my pancake plate. I made the comment, “Hmm…this kinda looks like frosting guys!” when Anne and Geoff started to turn green. Hilarious. It’s butter guys. Cracking me up. Anyway, Anne’s whole thing about butter DOES crack me up, however, her love for corn-beef hash makes me want to vomit the moment it pops into my head. Sick. Sick. Sick. If you know me well enough, there is no meat in this world that is worth eating more than once a year, besides chicken : ) Chickens are really ugly anyway, so there is no need to keep them alive. Hehehehe. SO! (I kinda get off track sometimes. Sure none of you have noticed.) So when she orders that, I seriously want to puke. Then it comes out on the plate, and looks like someone chewed bubble gum, raw hamburger, and potatoes all together in one bite, and spit them out on the plate. Talk about gag. She’s over there gagging over my frosting looking butter, and I am across from her gagging over lumpy, smelly meat. Wow. We are two of a kind. Let me tell you.
I have to go now, but will be back with the fly in the pop story.
It’s a good one too!

Weekends with No Sleep....Oh, they are the best!

2009-07-27T10:17:00.001-07:00

Went to see Todd's family this weekend. It was a blast. Was able to go swimming with the kiddles, and was able to spend some time with his parents. I love them : )
Wayne always makes me laugh, and Susan is so sweet. I love her hugs and enthusiastic spirit. Saturday night, I was pretty pooped. I went to bed around 10:15 or so, and ended up laying awake until 6:30 am. Not quite sure how it happened, but god just didn't want me to sleep for some reason. I read some of my really awesome fabulous fantastic book, played tetris on my phone, and then hobbled downstairs for a midnight snack and to watch Australia. I WOULD recommend this movie. Fantastic. Simply fantastic. I cried, laughed, and hadn't realized that almost 3 hours had passed by when it was done. As Matt likes to say, it's a good flick : )
I got home, and had A TON of things to do, and on no sleep.
But... here I am, alive, and thriving like usual. Ready to start yet another work filled week. This week affords me the ability and time to work everyday through Saturday at the Y, and CWG through Friday. Can't wait for that stellar paycheck! CHA-CHINGGGGG--A! $$$$$ Oh wait. Bills. Poop. Life happens.

I got this cool video today from a friend at work. I was actually tearing up at this. I thought it was so awesome! Watch out ladies and gents, Courtney and her one day fiance may ask you to do such a thing ; )
Enjoy... and enjoy the days ahead!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0

Update City

2009-07-23T14:22:00.000-07:00

Hello, and welcome, once again to the comedy blog of CoCo-Mi-GoGo (as my lovely mommy likes to call me).
Welp. There are have been tons and tons and tons of things that have happened.

Number 1:
My cousin Megan got married, in Paulina, IA, and it was a blast! I was able to see a ton of my crazy family, and enjoy the time there talking, drinking, and taking in how great it is to be a part of such a great group of people. Megan and Chris looked amazing, of course, and I am so glad they are going to be living in Des Moines NOW!! YEAH!!!! I get to see her whenever I WANT!!! Finally!

Number 2:
I have been working my freaking lil’ tail off. I have been getting hours like crazy at the YMCA (come see me!!), and have actually really been enjoying it. You know how sometimes you get a second job, not really caring whether you like it or not b/c all you need is the money?? Nope. I will NOT settle for such a thing. If I am going to be spending a lengthy amount of time there, getting to know the people, and earning money, I HAVE to like it. Sara, my sup, has been great. She has been so flexible with me. Like Monday, I was home sick. I hurt my back doing gosh knows what, and could not make it into work. She found a sub for me! She is great!!!!

Number 3:
Mom, Dad, Morgan, and I all went to Colorado for a family trip. It was amazing! We all had such a good time, well… can’t speak for everyone else, BUT I HAD A GREAT TIME!!!!! The mountains are so beautiful. Knowing the person who made them is pretty stellar too : ) I will try and post pics here and on facebook of all my recent travels. They may take awhile to get there though.

Recently, I have just been working my tail off at CWG and the Y. With everything that has been going on, I haven’t really had time to reflect on what I am going to do this fall. I dropped my classes for the fall…and NO I don’t want to explain why. Don’t ask, b/c I’m not tellin. I am going to keep trucking along with work here and there oh… and everywhere else. I am going to continue the flute lessons this fall for Arien. I really enjoy the time I have with that family, and plan on making it a habit of spending time with them!!

Yikes. Ok. Really. If there is nothing more to type about, then I am DONE!
Ciao!

Happy 3rd Birthday Julianna!

2009-06-17T14:06:00.001-07:00

I know her birthday was yesterday, but with all the chaotic mushy lives we live, you HAVE to know I didn't have the extra five to post this...

Happy Birthday Lil' Girl!

A Bloody Hard Rock Concert

2009-06-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

Lazerfest was an amazing time…
Anne and I were so excited to get there and hang out with Holly and Nate, and watch the crazy bands rock their butts off!!! It was great~ ~ ~

So we get there, wait in line for awhile…
Ya.
Then, we finally got the front gate, and these women patted us down like we were criminals… looking for weed, drugs, and weapons, I am guessing. It was a little weird. I don’t think I have ever had anyone intentionally grab me like that before..yuck.
Anywhos… We got in, and Hailstorm was just coming on stage. We had missed the very first band, so Hailstorm was second. We rocked out in the crowd for the band, then we decided to grab something to eat. We grabbed some food, and found Holly and Nate. We watched Veer Union play, with them, and were scooching even closer to the stage at that point. In between each band, there is a lapse where the sound people set up the next band, and it takes about 15-30 mins. The crowd usually hangs out so no one loses their spot. Well, we sat and watched Rev Theory (YAYAYAYAYAYAYA!!!!!!!), and rocked out with them. There was this other band that came on right after them, and they were ok too… In between the last band and Saliva, which was coming on next, we were all standing around, talking, and being smuuuuushed by all the people around us. All of a sudden, out of NO WHERE, I wiped my nose, and my finger had blood on it. My nose began its usual run, bleeding all over, and making a little pool on the ground. Trying to hold my bleeding nostril away from my white shirt, I was asking around for Kleenexes as Holly and Anne helped. We finally got out some wet wipes, and began shoving them up my nose so it would stop. Anne decided to go get me some actual napkins to wipe my face with, and right after she left, it began gushing… understatement… really…no joke… I am not lying…seriously…got it?
Holly looked at me, and she’s like,
“Courtney, let’s go NOW!”
She grabbed my arm, and led me out of the crowd. She was shouting the entire time,
“MOVE!! My friend is bleeding HERE!! MOVE!!”
It was awesome.
We made it to the Papa Johns tent, *yum*, and she grabbed a 3 inch wad of napkins, and shoved them up to my nose. Some security guards came over, and asked if I needed help getting to the med tent. We didn’t know where it was at, so the one grabbed my arm, and helped lead me there. I was feeling really light headed, and as we were making our way through the hundreds of crazy rocker people, this one guy had his foot out. I freaking tripping over him, and he shouted,
“OOOOOOpe!!! We’ve gota bleedeeerrrr!!!”
Butt hole.
Finally getting to the med tent, a medic had me sit down, and chill out for awhile. I filled a white towel with my blood, and tried not to cry :* (
It was weird. I sat there for several minutes, and finally, after drinking a bottle of water, and missing Saliva, I walked out of the tent, and left to find more food. I had to fill my blood filled belly with something besides my yummy red snack. Puke.
Later on, I wasn’t feeling well, so Anne and I headed home, missing Korn and Buckcherry. Ah well, there will always be another time.
Got home, and took a warm bath to rest my spiking nerves. My nose began bleeding again. I called my dr., and different dr. called me back. He said not to worry about it. I went to work the next day, and had a nose bleed at work. I walked over to our nurse on staff, Stacey. She told me to get into the dr. right away! I made an appt for the next day.
I saw my regular dr., Barb, on Tuesday. She said she wanted to change my allergy medicine, and also place me on an antibiotic due to the inflammation in my nose. She said I may have a sinus infection (sinusitis), and then she made me an appt to see her recommended ENT. Big mistake.
She gave me a note for work, and told me to go home and rest up for my next appt, which was at 2:45. Ya… rest up for the next 30 minutes of hell. Heh… if I had only known before-hand.

So.
I get to the ENT. His name was Dr. Porto, Parco, something…
Anne and I sat in the waiting room for about a ½ hr before I even got in. I finally got in, and sat in a room with this chair that looked like it belonged in a dentist’s office. The Dr. came in, and said,
“So… you are having nose bleeds?”
“Yep.”
“How many?”
“I have had about four since Sunday around 4pm.”
“Alright. We have two options. We can cauterize your nose, or let it go. You can be put out for the cauterization, or just do it now.”
“Um, ok… how painful is it?”
“Well BIG GIRLS usually take care of it the day they come in.”
Um… excuse me?
“Oh ok. Guess I’ll do it today…”
“Good, now, lay your head back.”

He grabs my forehead with his one hand, and sticks this spreader thingy in my nose and pushes down reeeaaallly hard! Then sticks this poker thing up there and starts burning my nostril. I freaking passed out. No joke. I came to, probably about 15-30 seconds later, and realized he wasn’t done. He finally finished, and asked me if I was alright. I couldn’t even talk. I was like,
“bbiisuuhfklsfnc,msdflknlaf…mmmmhhmmm…”
He just looked at me.

What the crap, dude?

I told him I was really hot, and he said that was all apart of the side effects. Seriously? I was so hot that I was sweating down my back, arms, legs, and face. My arms were so sweaty that my arms were slipping off the tan dentist chair. It was weird. I literally felt like I was high on drugs, and unable to get a comprehensive word out. *shiver*
He kept asking me questions like if I was an Iowa fan, what my last vacation was, and what I studied in college. I could hardly answer him. I told him I felt nauseous. He asked me if I was going to throw up, and I said I might. He gave me a wad of paper towels, and told me they had a sink near by if I needed it. Um… thanks… what a winner. He asked me if I wanted a glass of water. I said yes. He came back in with one of those Crystal Clear cone cup thingys, and filled it half full with warm water from the tap. Once again, WINNER!!! He turned my chair to gaze out the awesome window at the awesome parking lot, and he said he would be back in a few. He was going to see another patient. By the time he got back, a couple minutes later, I was better, and just wanted to leave. I said goodbye, and made it to the waiting room, where I found Anne with this horrific look on her face. I said, ever so loudly,
“I am never doing that again… EVER!!”
There was a random couple in the waiting room, and they just looked at me like I was nuts. Whatev. They had it coming to them. Watch it, or he might just stick that poker through your freaking brain!! Anne and I walked out, and I started to cry a little. Anne was in shock for like 3 minutes just listening to me. She felt bad, b/c she wasn’t back there. Well, now I know. I am NEVER going back to that guy again. And if there is anymore cauterization in my future… hello Gas and Novocain!!! They best be putting me out for that crap!

I’m done now. See why it took me so long to get all that out. I haven’t had a decent amt of time to get that all out. What a poop head Dr… don’t go see him.

2009-06-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

“I brought him into this world, I will take him out!”

Now… does this sound like something you should be screaming at a cop? Um… nope. Pretty sure we have some really dumb people in our apartment complex. “He came at me, and was screaming. He shoved me down with his chest. He will not come into my house and disrespect me…”
“Is he your son?” – Cop

“Yes, but he is in foster care” - Crazy Lady

“So he is your son?” – Cop

“I am his biological mother…” – Crazy Lady

“But he’s in foster care??” – Cop

“Ya…” – Crazy Lady

“So, why is he here? Why isn’t he there with his foster parents?” – Cop

Silence.

Ya…heh. Anne and I were thinking how great our lives were… We never had to deal with too many crazy times with our parents. When we heard…
“If you hurt me, I am going to hurt you!!!” – Some Guy
…we freaked out!!! Anne came barreling in my room saying, “Dude! There is this guy outside, cussing up a storm on the phone, and he is yelling at someone!!!” Of course I HAVE to take a peek at this crazy person. Well, when I got to my window, there he was, trying to get into his mom’s apartment, then he screamed at her, and sat on her chest… He was like on top of her, and she was screaming her lung out. That’s why I called the cops. Man Oh Man… I am pretty sure I came to live in Urbandale so I could get away from that East Side bull crap… I guess this kind of stuff will follow me, all the days of my life. Yikes.
Interesting evening…I must say.

More to come... Soon...?

2009-06-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

Well, I know it will probably be the next century before I get photos up from Lazerfest and Todd's B-day party...Aw well.
I had such an interesting week, already and don't really feel like typing about it at this moment.

Real quick... Anne is next to me listening to a song called, "Put A Banana in Your Ear...."
Um... Riiiight.

Right, so... if I can't sleep tonight, there will be a post about this nightmarish week.

One Craaaazzzyyy Weekend!

2009-05-27T08:56:00.000-07:00

This weekend was crazy! (As are most Memorial Day weekends).

First off, I would really like to offer up my prayers for the families who lost loved ones is accidents this weekend. I was listening to the radio, as usual, this morning, and I heard there were several people from Iowa killed in accidents across the state. I can’t imagine losing someone so close in a holiday weekend accident. God Bless, and know you are being thought of.

Second: I was so entirely busy, this weekend. Friday was a night with the Spencer family. They all crack me up. I am giving lessons to one of their girls, Arien, and I am able to spend quality time with them once a week. It is really awesome being surrounded by good people, with good attitudes, and all smiles. They make the week fly by! We spent the evening eating dinner, then playing fun mind games on each other. They taught me several great games to play with things from your house. I taught them the “In this world you can have (blank), but you can’t have (blank)” Game. It was a riot watching everyone slowly getting how to play. Then I taught them a college class favorite- Slavinction. Good one : ) We watched “Down Periscope,” and their family just cracks me up. It’s one of their favorite movies, b/c they get to laugh and carry on about all the crazy jokes. It is pretty funny. We had some homemade apple crisp and choc/p-butter dessert as well. After a long week at work, though, it was time for me to head on home. Love that family, YES I DO!

Third: I woke up Saturday to head to the Y to give my weekly swim lessons. It was fun, as usual, and I cherish the time I have to do such an easy, fun filled job.

Fourth: Ok, after swim lessons, I had to get to my apt to get showered and changed. Morgan’s graduation was at 2pm! I got ready, and stopped by Walgreens to grab some new sun glasses. I had lost mine, of course, and needed a new pair. It was sunny and warm all day! Grabbed a pair, and headed to the counter. The cashier looks at me, and says, “You know those are buy one get one, right?” Um… NO!! I DIDN’T! Sweet! Grabbed another pair for free! Headed on home to see Momma, Mo, Amy, and Dad. We all headed to Vets, and waited while Morgan’s graduation began. It was so nostalgic as I watched the grads walk in with their roses. I flashed back to my days at that crazy school. I realized how much fun I had there, and I realized how much I really missed my time there. It was a great time. Morgan looked great, and I was so proud of him. It’s nice knowing that you don’t have to worry about your siblings graduating or not. It’s just a given. And I like knowing he and I have that history there together. I was even able to snap some shots of him…even though he didn’t want me to :)

Fifth: Graduation over- - - on to Brandi’s wedding!!! It starts at 4:15pm! I had to hike to my hot hot hot car, and drive to work to pick up Todd. We headed to Bouton, IA, while it was pouring, hoping the rain wouldn’t follow us there. It didn’t. We got there just in time to see the bridal party walking off the softball field… wedding over…all done. Poop. Ah well, I told her we’d probably be late. We got to hang out with our friends from work, and talk about everything BUT work! It was nice to have time out from the daily routine, with your daily routine people. They are truly a great bunch of peeps. Love ‘em all.

Sixth: Todd and I decided to drive to the Condo to spend the next couple days boating with friends, and taking in the sun… A little too much sun, I am thinking now. Crap. I am a freaking lobster! Serves me right for wanting to get tan this summer. We went boating on Sunday, and ate with Keith and Amelda at their camp site. Played some bag toss, and then headed home for a hot… I mean COLD shower. I about died. I was so warm! We watched Seven Pounds- Will Smith, and I thought it was fabulous! Loved it, and would definitely watch it again. I headed to bed, and got up the next day, and came on home.

Seventh: Finally, home… Jeremy and I hung out a bit, and watched some Planet Earth. He made me some pasta, and tried to make me eat some yucky Italian Graziano Sausage… sick. Nope. Mine was plain. And it was yummy. Thanks, anyway, J. We played some Scrabble, and then went to Famous Dave’s for dinner. I was able to eat the rest of mine for lunch today.

And now… another week has started. Here I am. One work day down, and three more to go. I start school tonight for my Philosophy class at DMACC. Hoping it doesn’t take up too much of my time this summer, as I am taking this really great trip with my familia!

Ugh… got to go now… too much to do!!!!! :)

Grades

2009-05-19T14:42:00.000-07:00

Ugh... nothing is simple in this life. I am so glad the gift God gave us is the easiest thing to accept and believe in. Without that assurance of some one greater, I would be completely lost. Yikes.

Well, grades from D-Slack are IN! I took a Sociology (Marriage and Family) Class this semester. It was pretty interesting. I was doing pretty poorly when the semester started due to my inability to read directions properly... poop. Anywhos---I was able to bring my grade up to a high 'C,' and I knew that if I got everything done in a timely manner, this time, instead of slacking off, I would be able to pull off a 'B' and feel a little bit better about myself. I turned in my paper 2 weeks early, finished all my discussion questions way before time was due (and I did more than I was supposed to), plus took my test and got a B+. Here's the kicker. I waited and waited and waited for grades to finally be posted so I could get the money from CWG to pay for the tuition. I look online the VERY first day the grades are posted, and guess what?!??! I had a 'C'--- A C!!!!!--- in my soc class... OH NUH-UH!!! Nope nope nope... I was on that teacher like flies on poo... (hahahahaha...). I went back and double checked E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. I was supposed to get a 50/50 for my discussion...she gave me 30/50. PLUS she didn't even post why I got a 22.5/25 on my last paper.... YUCK-O! I emailed her ASA I could, and ever so politely asked her to review the grades she gave me. Luckily, I heard back from her the next day with a 50/50 on my discussion questions, which changed my LETTER grade, but nothing back on why I only received the 22.5/25 on my paper. I was done fighting, fidgeting, and messing with her. I let it go, and I let it go with my lovely 'B.'
: )
I also took a math class and aced almost everything, except for one test, and that test was dropped at the end of the semester. Yeah! A!

Whew... Last week was a little more annoying, stressful, ridiculous...blah blah... whatever, than I would ever want to face again. Work sucked. School crap sucked. Life sucked... bleck. I was SO ready to get the bad taste that last week left, out of my mouth, I was desperate to do something else! Now... it's a new week, with new stresses, and new excitements.
Hope yours goes great!

My Iowa... Enjoy the ringtone!

2009-05-16T22:12:00.001-07:00

Create free ringtones at Phonezoo

Everything...

2009-05-15T12:59:00.000-07:00

It seems like forever since I haven updates this blog. I wish I were as efficient as my sister who loves blogging and updates her weekly Julsieisms… Heh.

Well, recently, I have had a ton going on…and I guess that isn’t news to anyone. I went to the zoo in April with my friend, Todd, and had such a great time. I hadn’t been there in years and was able to see so many things! I will post a ton of pictures of all of my events here soon.

I was also able to go to my cousin’s bachelorette party here in DSM. She is so cute, and we had such a great time celebrating her and her new husband to be! Wedding in June 6th and I CAN'T WAIT!!!

My sister had her b-day party last night. She is so sweet. I love going over to her house, where her family is, and being a part of their busy lives. Everyone is there, and we can all catch up all at once. It was really nice to see Mariah and her family as well.

Mother’s Day was Sunday and I have some photos from that as well… Hope that brings everyone up to speed. Will write again, once I get my grades tomorrow!!

Adrian's Birthday Party Night

2009-05-15T12:55:00.001-07:00

Jules at the park!
Jules climbing the steps

Jules with G & G Howard... she loves them!

Jules and her beautiful Mommy!

Oooo! Yummy cake!

Adrian's cute cake

Mary and I

Cute Mary!

Mother's Day

2009-05-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

Our Mommys are amazing! Thanks fo all you do!

Phyllis, Susan, Sue (mommy), Pam, and Adrian

Our family generation!

I love that the youngest is sitting with the oldest!

: )

Here are all the ladies present that day at Grandma's house.
Me, Grandma, Susan, Mom, Joelle,
Arianna, Pam, Adrian, Julianna, & Megan

My family!

My sister and her baby bear!

The Deitrick Family

The Dawson Family

I liked this pic of Julsie Bear

Being Silly : )

This one is for Adrian : )

Megan's Bachelorette Party

2009-05-12T13:41:00.000-07:00

Megan dancing like a true Bush Family Member!

This is all the money Megan got for selling her bouquet of suckers...
and other assorted items... Heh

Megan and I on our way down town!

This was one of the Piano players at Blue Moon.

He brough Megs on stage, and embarassed her really good!!!!

This was one of the HUGE fish bowls of raspberry yumminess

that Aunt Mary bought for everyone to share.

We left half of it there by the time we were ready to leave : )

Aunt Mary and I

The beautiful bride and her awesome cousin!!!

Had a great time, and I CANT WAIT for the wedding!!