Good-bye Sun...you bastard.

A couple weeks ago I decided I don't want to die from skin cancer. So, I called Avanti Skin and Wellness Center and scheduled a consultation. Long story short, I have sun damage from years ago that has surfaced into ugly spots on my shoulders, upper back and chest. The estatition could not believe how much darker my skin is now than it naturally is. And, if these spots don't get treated and everything under them brought to the surface and destroyed, I'd probably have skin cancer soon.

That was enough to scare me. I had to wait a couple weeks to do the first treatment because my skin needed to fade so the laser wouldn't burn my bronzeness that I've worked so hard on. So for 2 weeks, I've been exfoliating, sun screening, and watching the pasty white Andrea return. I feel really white, but I'm still pretty dark compared to most.

Today was the day of my first laser treatment. It was the most painful thing I have ever experienced. It took about an hour and it consisted of ultrasound gel and lasers hitting EVERY spot on me. The laser feels like a needle full of acid piercing and shocking your body. And then when the hour is up and the gel is removed and the Post Laser Lotion is applied, you'd assume pure joy would follow. Nope, the pain actually gets worse. I can't even explain it, it's like the worst sunburn ever...and I know none of you have ever had a sunburn as bad as this feels. I guess it's more like being on fire and having the person who extinguishes you use acid instead of water and then they take all your money and tell you to have a good day.

I thought I was gonna die on the drive home. The only thing that stopped me from taking my clothes off in the car was knowing that the sun would hit my skin. I was screaming because the pain was so bad. At one point I yelled, "HOLY SH*T! I JUST SPENT 1500 DOLLARS FOR THIS!?!?!" Then I wondered if I hit the guard rail hard enough if I would die on impact (that was the goal) but if I happened to unfortunately survive I'd have to stand in the sun with a cop telling him what happened and then I'd go to jail for indecent exposure. Because I promise you, my shirt would have come off at some point. Sorry for being a little over dramatic, the total was only $1,467.52...(saying $1500.00 was the only dramatic part.)

I made it home, ran in the house, stripped down, got my swim suit wrap thing wet and wrapped up in that. Then I took a couple pics, and now I'm typing. It's been 2 and a half hours and I'm feeling a little relief from the pain. Here are the yucky pictures, and it's worse in real life. They say it gets worse before it gets better. The spots have become darker, my skin has stripes, I might get swollen, and look a little scabby for a couple days. 4 more of these torture treatments in the next 12 weeks and then I'll hopefully post some amazing 'after' pictures. I can't believe I have to do this 4 more times. I'm really gonna have someone drive me next time. I'm a danger to others on the road.

Rock Band

Rock Band is addicting. Love it. We got together for Bryon's birthday and had dinner at Market Street Grill and then played Rock Band at the Lafeen's house for a couple hours. I was just gonna post a link to THIS instead of posting about it myself. But I had a couple good pictures so I decided to post too.
I rocked everyone's faces off with Dirty Little Secret. 100% on medium, and 98% on expert. I'm pretty much an All American Reject.



I struggled with drums. I think my highest was 67%. But back in high school I convinced myself that 67% was good, so maybe I'm not as bad as I thought!






Bryon's mad guitar skills blew our minds.












Good times! Thanks Melanie and Justin for letting us hang out at your house.

Pioneer children sang as they walked and walked and walked and walked...

...aaaaand walked.

That was one of the most boring songs from Primary. But it's one of the few things I remember about Pioneer Day. For years, when I was really, really young, like from ages 4-22, I wasn't sure which ones were pioneers and which ones were pilgrims. Oh well. I still got fireworks and turkey sometime every year so does it really matter?
Ok, enough about that. Yesterday was a good day. Lot's of fun stuff. Anne made a big group of us dinner. Delicious. Then we walked down to the park for fireworks. Mandy's mom lives right by the park so she goes early and marks off the best spot and then we all show up a few minutes before and have the perfect view of the explosive awesomeness. This year was SO GOOD! I generally don't get too overjoyed about fireworks, I go cuz that's what you do. But this year, awe-some. These pictures don't do it justice, but it was fantastic!
I hadn't seen a lot of these guys in quite a while, so it was good to catch up. I love people. After the fireworks we went back to Anne's for desert and a few of our own fireworks. And of course, Braden and I did a little of our yearly death defying stunts. Firework Jumping. Gotta keep the troops entertained. (Say that in Micheal Scott's voice when he builds a wall with boxes of paper and pretends like he's going to the warehouse.)


My picture is the only one that looks successful, but I promise Braden did it too.

So...Happy Pioneer Day. (The Mormons) In my defense, the pilgrims and the pioneers were both seeking an escape from religious persecution...so you can see how I was easily confused. ;)

I have, I have not.

200 random things...the bolds I have done, the not bolds I have not.

1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby's diaper
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said "I love you" and meant it
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold bath
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
33. Adopted an accent for fun
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied...well, define 'truly'...
38. Watched wild whales
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Gone on a walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving
42. Visited Ireland
43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files -do dvd's and credit cards count?
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain (amazing)
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch
62. Won first prize in a costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
67. Bounced a check
68. Read and understood your credit report
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. gone back to school
89. Changed your name
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes
92. Read The Iliad
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair
102. Dyed your hair
103. Been a DJ
104. Rocked a baby to sleep
105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all four
106. Raked your carpet
107.Brought out the best in people
108.Brought out the worst in people
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112.Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe
113. Buried a child
114.Gone to a Broadway (or equivalent to your country) play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116.Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum
121.Tutored someone
122.Ridden a train
123. Brought an old fad back into style
124. Eaten caviar
125.Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need
126. Ridden an giraffe or elephant
127. Published a book
128.Pieced a quilt
129.Lived in an historic place
130.Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131.Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one -mini golfing
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134.Gone roller skating
135. Run a marathon (5k's count)
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something (at the invention convention)
138. Flown first class
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter over the Grand Canyon
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking. (the real spelunking)
144.Learned how to take a compliment
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David
147. Had your portrait painted
148.Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155.Lied about your weight (I weigh 130)
156.Gone on a diet
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget
158.Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Hiked the Grand Canyon
163.Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
164. Gone to the opera
165.Gotten a letter from someone famous
166. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics
169. Can hula or waltz
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177.Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint
178.Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hostel-hotel
184.Been a cashier
185. Seen a geyser erupt
186. Joined a union
187.Donated blood
188.Built a campfire
189. Kept a blog
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes or boots
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube (and I never will)
196. Know CPR
197. Ridden in or owned a convertible
198.Found a long lost friend
199. Helped solve a crime
200. Responded to a NJP newsletter--what is that?

Fun stuff, but boring to blog about.

1. Last night was fun. I went to dinner with Anne and then we found a new fantastic grocery store. It's called Sunflower Farmers Market. Go check it out, it's in Murray at 6284 South State. I got fab cherries for $1.49lb. Their slogan is "SERIOUS FOOD. . .SILLY PRICES" -It's kinda true. When I took Anne home, I hung out with her downstairs neighbor. I met him about 3 years ago and he moved into the basement apartment a few months ago. It was kinda random that he moved there, but it's fun to see him once in a while. They have a nice backyard and last night was such a good night. That's the main thing I don't like about living in an apartment building. No patio and no grass to lay on.

2. For some reason I'm really excited for football season. I love the NFL. I pretend like I know what's going on with lots of the teams, but really I only follow the team I love, the Seahawks. And sometimes Tampa Bay and Miami. Oh, and a couple teams I hate. The Steelers, Lions, and Eagles. I have weird reasons for my hates and loves, and I'm also easily swayed when it comes to cheering for teams, but I never sway away from the Seahawks. I might go to Seattle this year for a game. That's the plan.

3. I'm thinking about making some changes...and by thinking I mean, I am. I'm gonna leave you hanging for a while but I'll keep you posted, I'm just kind of excited so I wanted to throw it out in the universe. I'll have some more definite plans and decisions made a week from today, hopefully.

4. I hate baby worshipping blogs, where its all about the baby and all you see is a bajillion pictures. (If I had a baby I'd do it too.) I hate complainer blogs. (I've done it too.) I hate testimony bearers. (Done that too.) I hate hypocrites. (I'm one.)

5. I'm going to get a pedicure after work tonight. Love. Them. I'm going with my future sister-in-law. That's right, the youngest Greenhalgh is getting married in November! 2 awesome sis-in-laws in less than a year. I'm glad my brothers are picking good wives.

LOL

...and other confusing things about nonverbal communicating...

I hate "lol". But I still use it and understand that it's necessary if you want to be accepted in the world of texting or online chatting. However, sometimes I pretend I'm smarter than I am. I still remember the first time I received an LOL from someone. I'd been tracked down on the internet somehow by an ex-boyfriend who lived out of state. It was a few years ago and I thought, ok, online chatting is harmless, and hopefully it's been long enough and he's over me...yeah right, it hadn't been a lifetime yet, so duh, preeetty sure he's not over me. J/K, lol. (please note my usage of chat shortcuts.) So, my ex-BF (continue to notice) said something maybe funny, I don't know, and then he sent me an LOL. Me in my mind: Oh crap, he's still in love with me cuz I'm pretty sure LOL means lots of love. (what else could it mean??) So I was like, WTF should I do?? So in trying to keep it cool and casual, I sent a "LOL back at you." He responded with something like, Oh good I'm glad you thought it was funny. Me in my mind: What?? He sends me love and then I try to be cool about it and send some back and then he makes it a joke??...Does he not know anything about girls emotions?!? So I said, Wow, umm, not so funny. Don't just throw that term around like that. Him: Umm...but it really was a joke, that's why I typed LOL, to make sure you knew. Finally I figured it out...and smoothed it over by saying..."yeah, I was just kidding too, haha, I'm still LOLing about it." Or should I have said I'm still LingOL? So then I made one up like, SSCBC. Which of course means, Sometimes Shortcuts Can Be Confusing.

I have to admit, most of the time when I send an LOL, I'm not really LOLing. So maybe we should invent one like, LOTI. Laughing On The Inside. Or, S. Smiling. Or, HS, Half Smile. But then the receiver might think, High School? What about High School? Cuz I use HS for that sometimes.

I wonder if we'll ever go back to using cell phones to talk to people...probably not. Oh well. Some of my best (and worst) conversations have happened in text messages. I hate hate hate talking on the phone. If I become friends with someone who doesn't text I teach them how, or I help them come to grips with the fact that it won't be a lasting friendship. Here's what made me think about this. My mom has a friend from her ward that she wanted me to get together with and chat sometime. I was fine with it, but had never met the person. Said person called me a couple days ago and I missed the call. She left a voice mail about getting together for lunch sometime this week, and at the very end she said call me back and let me know...I got this blah feeling like...man, I gotta call her...(nothing against her at all, just the thought of talking on the phone.) then she said, the thing that brought joy to my soul: OR, if you're a texter, text me and let me know your schedule. WooHoo!! Easy. I texted, we planned date, time, place, all via text and had a fab time together the next day. However, I agree that texting has changed the way of communicating. And as someone who su-ucks at communicating, texting may be ruining my life. (dramatic much?) Ok, not really, but I think there was a GC talk about it once...brb...(be right back). K, I'm back. Yeah, here it is. I didn't read it, I skimmed it, and I'm pretty sure it was the one I was thinking of.

Here's some dangers I hope none of you have to face. Imagine you're planning a party with the hottest guy/girl ever, via text. You're coming up with all these awesome ideas and you're texting them to him. He texts some feedback on your ideas and you try to sense a tone from the texts to decided how he really feels. Then he texts: Let's KISS! And you're thinking YIPEEE!!! My ideas are so awesome that they've triggered his hormones and now we're taking this whole party planning/text thing we got goin' on to the next level!!! But what he means by 'Let's KISS' is: Let's Keep It Simple, Stupid. Oopsie, sad. I could probably come up with more, but I'm getting bored. Oh, and this KISS thing didn't happen to me. But it probably could have. And then there are the fast texters (we've all done it) who forget to check their predictor, and send messages like this. "Hey, wanna come over for had cream and able?" That's suppose to be, "Hey, wanna come over for ice cream and cake?" I've had harder ones than that to try and translate.

Ok, that's all. I'm sorry if this is 4N (foreign) to some of U. BTW, (by the way) I found some web-sites with txt (text) shortcuts. Just google it. You should look them up ASAP, but really ICCL, (I couldn't care less). N E way, maybe I'll blog more 2moro. So, thx for reading. TTYL.

the 5 things in my brain today...

1. I'm a distracted driver. I need to focus more and I'm really working on it. I speed up at yellow lights, I sometimes forget my seatbelt, often don't use my blinker, and sometimes I get home and don't remember how I got there...Oh, and once in a while I've been guilty of texting, but in my defense, I'm practicing texting without looking (at the phone) and I'm getting pretty good. But I feel like I'm a good driver so maybe I don't need to focus as much as other people. I've only been in one accident while driving and it wasn't my fault and it was also in my aunts car. So, doesn't count. And, I've NEVER gotten a ticket. 12 years of ticket free driving. I've gotten enough printed warnings to wall paper the Delta Center, err, Energy Solutions Arena. By the way, what is that? I kept waiting for Larry H. Miller to tell us we got punked, but I guess the ESA is for real, huh? Anyway, no tickets.

2. 2 annoying things...one I read on a blog, and one I heard on the radio. "I'm so blessed that I've never known anyone with different beliefs than me." Really? Really? That's a blessing? And on the radio, "I don't believe in ugly people." (Me thinking, WTF?) and then, "There's plastic surgery, there's make-up..." (Me, wow.) I wanted to call in but I didn't know the number and they didn't say it before I had to go in to the meeting I was headed to.

3. So is anyone else loyal to the Sinclair on 11th east and like 1970 South-ish?? I think the gas pumps are magic. No matter how empty my tank is or how much the price has climbed since the previous week, it ALWAYS stops at exactly $50.00 -6 times in a row!! That's weird.

4. I'm trying to simplify so my brain doesn't explode. Everything is too crazy and fast and busy and optiony. I'll never say I need to buy a schick quattro, or a titanium whatever, or a Braun Norelco, or a Gillette Venus Embrace, or a Panasonic ES2216PC Close Curves Ladies Shaver. I'll always just need to buy a razor. And, (Grape Nuts agrees with me, even though I think grape nuts are sand in a box. They have this new un-sugar coat things canpaign going on.) Beds are beds, not sleep systems. And lastly, to me, all game systems are Nintendos.

5. I was in a dressing room tonight trying on a dress for a wedding I have to sing at and there was a mom and a little girl in the room next to me. The girl sounded about 5 or 6. She tried something on and the mom said, "Do you like it?" And the little girl said, "Wow! I look kind of gorgeous!" It was so cute.

Small Acts Of Service...a Mormon leader who knew what was up.

Bits and pieces of this quote have been going through my head the past few days, it was driving me crazy that I couldn't remember it, and a total stranger helped me find it. Thank you.

I like it, and I agree with it. So many people have been there for me, and I know maybe the past few months I haven't done as well as I should to be there for others. Praise the Lord that I always have learning and growing experiences, and the chance to do better.

It's a quote by President Spencer W. Kimball, the 12th prophet of the LDS church...I think it could and should apply to people of any faith.“God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom. The people of the Church need each other’s strength, support, and leadership. … So often, our acts of service consist of simple encouragement or of giving mundane [ordinary] help with mundane tasks, but what glorious consequences can flow from mundane acts and from small but deliberate deeds!”

I guess this is my follow up post to this one, from a couple days ago, which was a bit confusing and pity party-ish. Sorry.

A plethora of diet coke.

I know this is blog #2 in one day which is slight overkill, but this just happened and I thought it was funny enough to double blog. So I was driving to the bank this afternoon and decided I needed to stop at the sev (7-11) and get a diet coke. Doesn't seem too complicated, right? I'm at the machine filling up the 32 oz cup, thinking about dumb and dumber, and as the pop nears the top I stop filling and go to take the cup away but the diet coke keeps flowing! Somehow the damn machine malfunctioned and it wouldn't turn off. It all happened so fast! DC was running down my arms and splashing on the floor and I yelled, OH, SH*T!! There was a guy next to me also filling up a cup and he started laughing and jumped back to avoid getting splashed, but in the process he dropped his cup on the ground. It was an explosion of carbonation. We both started punching the machine and finally the heavenly goodness stopped flowing. I always thought I'd love an endless supply of diet coke, but then when it happened I changed my mind. Be careful what you wish for. It was so funny!! Luckily we were both wearing shorts and flip flops so we just went to the dirty little sev sink and hosed each other down. Maybe this was God's way of reminding me that righteous kids don't drink caffeine. When we were finally unstickyed the nice guy took me to Subway for lunch. It was fun. He didn't get my number and I didn't get his. I love those pressure free situations where random paths cross just to put a little bright spot in the day.

By the way, today is 7/11/08 and every year on July 11th, 7-11 gives away free 7.11 oz slurpees as a celebration of the creation of the slurpee. But only between 7am and 11pm. You learn a lot when you hang out at a convenience store. Psh, more like INconvenience store. Hah! Man I'm funny. These things just come to me.

I have pretty eyes.

I'm finally coming to grips with it. I get an overly abundant amount of compliments on my eyes. Sometimes its awkward, like when I meet new people and I'll be shaking hands with a group and one will say, "beautiful eyes" and I'll quietly say "thank you" but someone else heard it and wants to see so then I have to turn back to someone I already met so they can see and then everyone looks at me and agrees, even if they don't think I do, it's the new hot topic of the moment so they give into the pressure and agree. It happens other lame places too. Like the gym while I'm running and out of breath, so the complimenter gets a strained, thaaksss. Or the dentist when I have a mouth full of tools and as drool is running down my cheek I try and force out a, hank who.

So anyway, today I was doing my make up and thought, maybe I'm missing something here cuz I think they're pretty normal blues eyes. But then I thought of when me and my last boyfriend of two years decided to break up because we were both too awesome and we didn't want all of our other couple friends to be jealous, so we took one for the team. It was kind of that type of realization...everyone else knew, it just took me a while to see.

So then I thought, maybe that's why I have that freakish fear of things going in my eye or seeing other people scratch the corner of their eye or put contacts in or something...makes me wanna throw up. But maybe, deep down I know I have those stunning, traffic stopping kind of eyes and so that fear is because I never wanna harm my best feature!!

Then I thought, man I really do wanna keep these beauties safe and full of color so maybe I should wear safety goggles on a regular basis, just as a precaution. But then people wouldn't see my eyes and they'd just think I was some chick who was always on her way to weld something.

Ohh the struggles!!

false sense of security

...that's the worst kind of security. Except maybe working security at an art museum, that would be really boring. But false sense is up there on the list.

Last night I got a little blindsided by a good friend of mine...kinda my best friend these days. It hurt. It probably would have hurt less to get plowed over by a freight train. Come on, if I wasn't a little dramatic people would think something was really wrong.

I'll keep this short, I just need a quick blogosphere vent session. (which I try not to do, by the way)

Over the past few months a lot has changed in my life. I've felt relationships being strained and friendships kind of dissolving . Mostly because of the spiritual journey I'm on. I've distanced myself from people but I've also felt it happen to me. It's my decision though and I know there will always be consequences for my decisions, and I also feel blessed for the good changes I'm making and my desire for truth.

Ok, I guess I'm almost done. I'm just grateful for the friendships that are remaining consistent in my life. Every Sunday I go to a new church. I am always the new person with a story. I'm always by myself, (which surprisingly I like at church for some reason) I never know what to expect. And I always have questions and wish I felt like I belonged somewhere. Tonight I went on a walk with my new friend Dave and I described my relationship with most evangelicals like my relationship with my little group of Ukrainian friends. There are 4 or 5 Ukrainians that I spend time with when I'm there. They all speak english, so when we go to dinner or sight seeing or whatever it starts out in english but I find that as the conversation goes on it eventually turns into russian, and I feel myself fading out. That's how I feel with Christians sometimes. When we start spiritual or theological conversations I get it, but the longer it goes on and the deeper we get the more I feel like I fade. The more I learn I realize the less I know. I've felt a big need for consistency these days. So to those of you who have said you'll be there no matter what...and actually are there no matter what. Thank you. I'm a huge mess right now, but I'm so thankful for those who are hanging in there with me. I have good friends and more importantly good family. Sometimes (almost always) I'm maybe too hard on myself. I think I'm doing alright.

So I'll close with this, the profound words of one of my awesomest roommates ever, Diz.

"I am enough, and there is more."

Independance Day, and stuff.

Why is it more commonly known as "The 4th of July"? And why don't we call Christmas "The 25th of December" or Halloween "The 31st of October"?? Get it?...yeah, you get it.

Anyway, I had a fabulous weekend starting Thursday night. I had a 'Good-bye Kristin' party at my house. It was really fun. Good to see a lot of friends from the Univ. 34th ward. I just wish I had a bigger kitchen. And I guess if I'm wishin' I'd take a bigger living room, and a back yard.

Friday was all day family fun. Paul and I went up and had some of dads home cookin' for breakfast. Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Barbara came too. We stayed for a couple hours and ran home for a short break, then headed back up for more family and friends and a BBQ. It was great. We ate lots of food, talked, laughed, played some intense ping pong, (I won the most, not important), then lit off our own fireworks. Paul kept us entertained for quite a while...long enough that we never went and watched any big fireworks. Oopsie!

Saturday I went to breakfast with Kristin and old roomies just before she left for Vegas. Then I spent most of the afternoon with my mom and my friend Anne. We went to lunch and spent a couple hours at IKEA. Love. it. That night I went to the Bee's game with Erik and Deb and 10 of their friends. It was tons of fun. They had 5th of July fire works so I got to see some, just a day late. I'm not sure who won the game...that's how much fun the group was.

Today was pretty good too. I went to church with Dave the Intern. He's here from Chicago interning at Standing Together. The ministry Paul works at. After church I cleaned my apartment. It was much needed. No one could see the mess but me cuz I'm a good surface cleaner, but I did the deep cleaning today and I feel so good. I love knowing things are super clean. Later Paul and Dave stopped by. We ate dinner, watched some tv, and played Phase 10. (I won, also not important.) I love those two. I never stop laughing.

You'd think that with such an awesome weekend with amazing people I'd have some fun pictures...sorry. I know mom and Deb took a few, maybe I'll get theirs and post 'em later. This is honestly the only one I took. Me and My Steve.