Lesson NOT learned...

So last night, I was pulled over. No amount of sweetness and girly naiveness could get me out of this one. 15 over in a construction zone. BUSTED!

I have decided to finally admit to my poor driving skills. I have received 6 speeding tickets since getting my license 7 years ago. Only two are on my record since I have now become a regular in traffic school but I don't even want to calculate how much I've paid in fines so far. Why can't I just learn? A year and a half ago I got 2 speeding tickets in just a week. You'd think that that would be enough scare anyone into driving the speed limit for the rest of their lives. You'd think. Not me.

My car is also a sight to see. I have dents and scratches on all sides. My driver's side door has big scratches going down from the time I turned out too wide in the parking garage and hit a pillar, my back bumper has a small dent from backing up into a garbage can on the street, my left side back door has a giant gash from some jerk hitting it with their door in a parking lot (so not my fault), and my favorite, the front bumper has what I call a "dimple" from sliding down a hill in snow and hitting a dumpster at the bottom of the hill. Oh, I almost forgot that I also have a small dent in the front bumper from rear ending someone. My poor car is only a 2008 and needless to say, I haven't treated it very well.

I must be stopped from getting behind the wheel ever again. But until then, WATCH OUT!

Late June: time for colds...?

Sore throat Tuesday. Ear aches yesterday. Unrelenting congestion today.

It's summer time.

C'mon!

A little something for Dad

Hero Dad

You are my hero, Dad
You're my secure foundation.
When I think of you, I'm filled with love
And fond appreciation.

You make me feel protected;
I'm sheltered by your care.
You're always my true friend; and Dad,
When I need you, you're always there.

You have a place of honor
Deep within my heart.
You've been my superhero, Dad,
Right from the very start.

By Joanna Fuchs

Every girl deserves a good father and I have one. I am so lucky to be able to say that my dad told me silly stories when I was little, taught me how to read, taught me how to ride a bicycle, and always let me know how much he loves me. He stayed up with me every school night to help me with my math homework, even after a long day at work. He's written countless talks for me for church, won 3^rd place in the science fair for the project that he did all by himself while I slept, and tried countless times to get me interested in throwing a baseball back and forth. He's always been an example to me of hard work, following the commandments, and sacrificing so much for the ones you love. He is always quick to apologize when he's lost his cool, firm to say no when he feels he should, and never treats my mom as anything less than gold. I have so many good memories of long car rides listening to talk radio, animated dinner conversations that always ended up about topics that shouldn't be discussed around food, jumping on the trampoline and watching him fly off and land on the ground and laughing at him instead of asking him if he was okay, watching him eat grass to get my picky sister to eat her vegetables, teaching me how to drive a stick shift in an empty parking lot and stalling most of the time, and many times of him doing embarrassing things in public while I tried to pretend I didn't know him. He was always there to pick me up from school, give me advice when I was quarrelling with friends, and teach me lessons whenever an occasion called for it. He was there to tell me to change my outfit when going out, to ground me when I was being a disrespectful brat, and to turn off a show that was inappropriate to watch. I didn't always like him, but I know what a good father he is and how much her cares about me and my well being. I hope that someday my own children will have a dad just like him.

Thank you for all the ice cream and long talks at McDonald's. Happy Father's Day!

Love,

Daddy's Girl

AI HAZ A CONFESHUN

I am a cat person.

Actually I am just an animal person in general with a special fondness to felines. There are many haters of this species I am coming to find out. The second you say you like cats, people will say how badly the hate them. Fine, everyone is entitled to their own opinions but I am not ashamed. I think that they are like any animal that without proper care and training (yes you can train a cat...to a certain degree), they can be dirty, misbehaved, and run wild ruining your things. I am a big believer that animals are as good as their owners. Some may say that this is very judgemental but I do think that 90% of the time when a dog, cat, etc. is acting less than ideal, its due to the owners negligence, lack of education, or mistreatment. With that said, I am a crazy cat lady.

There is something about their personalities that amuses me. They are very curious, independent, self aware, intuitive, and just plain bosses of themselves. It cracks me up how they are slightly snobby in who they like, picky in what they eat, and extremely lazy most of the time. I'd say they are a lot like people. I love dogs too for their unconditional love and loyalty and they are great for certain personalities mine included. But cats are animals that make your work for their love and affection so that there is a special connection made when it comes over to you when you call its name or if it lays on your lap without being put there. Haters can scoff all they want but cats melt my heart!

So, about a year ago I discovered an internet sensation known as “LOLcats.” I may have been late in discovering this but it has brought me many, many lols since. It's a website full of picures of cats being cute, silly, mischevious, and always trying to take over the world. Traditionally there a captions incuded in block letters and full of misspellings describing what's going on in it. I could be entertained on this website for hours. I know, I'm a loser.

So, for the past year I have been dating Dave who is a stand up comedian. I think he is one of the most brilliantly witty people I know. We both have a connection when it comes to our crazy humor so it is easy to laugh and have a great time with him. He's always found me to have a good sense of humor which is a huge compliment because he's an expert on funny. But he has never understood how I can figure out the many levels of a complex joke, get the hilarious irony behind a simple one liner, and still fall to the ground laughing and crying over stupid picture of cats doing stupid things. Maybe is just my weird thing but I can't help it. Here are some LOLcats classics to share for giggles:

Here is the actual website for more laughs: http://icanhascheezburger.com/

It's official: I am in love!

From the moment I saw you, I knew I had to make you mine.


I worked so hard to feel like I deserve you and I know I do.


I should’ve known that I wouldn’t find you close to home.


So I waited for you to arrive into my life.


I couldn’t wait for the day I could to hold you in my arms.


You came sooner than I thought and was a wonderful surprise.


Your shine still catches my breath.


And you are everything and imagined and more.


So comfortable, yet daring and exciting.


And more that anything…


A perfect fit.


I am crazy in love with you.


Head over heels.

Taste of spring!...Even though it's almost summer...

I doubt I'm the only one who has felt that this spring was long overdue. Even in April and May and the beginning of June, I felt like dark clouds and rain and wind where becoming too consistent. I know, I know, April showers bring May flowers so I was excited to see that that was true. Sometime in the middle of May in between two rainy days, Dave was able to take me to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point. I couldn't believe that I have lived here in beautiful Utah for almost three years now (six months of which I actually lived in Lehi) and I had never gone. I was lucky enough to get the day off work and go see and feel what spring had to offer.

So two things that made the day interesting besides all the colors of the flowers and neat exhibits to explore. First thing: If you have know me even for a short time, you would know that I am a sucker for heels. Borderline obsessed. Okay fine, full blown obsessed. Well anyways, anyone with common sense would figure that a festival consists of a decent amount of walking. Not me. I think,"Oooh I have those cute yellow wedges to go with this yellow top. It's so nice to be able to enjoy a tulip festival on a beautiful day in spring colors!" It was too late when the thought to wear flat shoes fluttered through my mind about 3 or so hours after walking around in my cute yellow wedges. My poor feet screamed in pain and if it weren't for the moleskin bandage treatment Dave's mom helped me out with, I might have lost my feet to a tragic blister accident. Or at least be limping around for a few days.

Second interesting thing: Dave and I were walking (I was attempting to walk) up a hill towards the booths and   food area when we saw a young boy running down some concrete stairs ahead of us. He missed a step and came crashing down face first on the cement. Both Dave and I were pretty close so we ran over to him. A man who was walking next to him helped him sit up and we could see that he had a cut on his forehead and his nose looked broken. If anyone has seen a head or nose injury could guess what the scene looked like. Oh the blood. So much blood...To make the blood look even more red and grotesque, the boy was wearing a white polo. His horrified sister who looked to be about 8 or 9 didn't know what to do other than pat his back as he choked on his screams and his face turned purple. Dave asked the girl where their parents were and all she could do was point over the hill and mumble something about them being there. Despite the lack of description, he took off running in the direction the girl pointed towards. The man who helped the boy sit up had a couple of tissues and was trying to wipe away a little of the blood but wasn't doing much for all that was  pouring out. I decided to make use of myself and go look for something to hold over the cut and his nose. So I ran, yes ran, in my cute yellow wedges through a large crowd of people until I found the first booth which looked like it could have some napkins. I breathlessly told the girl serving snow cones what had happened and she quickly handed me a whole role of paper towels. I then ran back towards the murder crime scene lookalike. By the time I got there, the dad was there with the injured boy trying to comfort him while also getting covered in the red mess. I handed him the paper towels and saved the day. Well maybe not saved the day, but now they had more than a couple soaked up tissues. As Dave and I walked away, I asked him how he had found the father so fast. He told me that he found an entire family dressed in similar white polos and took a wild guess. After it was confirmed that the man had another son running around the place, Dave told him that the boy had taken a spill. The father, in a very experienced dad-like way, raised one eye brow and calmly said, "Oh boy."

We had a laugh over how new parents are so cautious and paranoid with their children and that when they trip even ever so slightly, they fall apart almost as much as their wailing kid. But by the time the child has had a few falls, things like a bloody head and nose can seem pretty routine. Love it.

So here are some pictures from the lovely day. Sorry I didn't take any pictures of the falling incident because I know how much all of you want to see that.

So glad that Utah is getting green again. Can't wait for the blazing hot summer to come!