My BFF

Way back in middle school, I met a girl at school named Allie. We never really were all that close; just casual acquaintances.  Fast forward to high school.  Allie and I became better friends, and soon best friends.  We were near inseparable.  We double-dated to dances at school, went to concerts together, stayed at each others houses, attended family events together, and covered for each other when need be. From sneaking alcohol and dancing in our old prom dresses, to taking a Spring Break trip to Vegas, to getting tattoos, Allie and I did it all.

Here are some pictures of us throughout the years:

 

Our senior year of high school, we both had boyfriends who were far away.  So, we were each others dates to things!  We say plays together, went to dinner, and just did basic best friend stuff.

Then, after graduation, Allie moved to Hawaii for college.  We were both devestated, but vowed to make our friendship work.  And work it did!  We talked several times a day, everyday, shared photos, kept up on Mypsace, etc.  It was kinda like we weren't even apart.

Allie eventually moved back to Washington, but went to the University of Washington in Seattle.  We still stayed close, but eventually drifted apart for several reasons.  This took place over a couple of years.  It crushed me to know that my best friend was no longer there; I had lost my Allie-Bear.

We have recently (since Spring 2009) begun repairing our friendship.  It kind of started while being in Mass one Sunday.  The Homily discussed repairing those relationships we have lost.  It struck my heart; I knew I wanted to repair my friendship with Allie.  That night, I tried texting her old number; I had it memorized still.  She answered, and we begun talking that night.  We hung out once this summer, when I went to Seattle to see her.  It was the first time we had seen each other in over a year.  It was awkward, and strange, but it was also familiar.  And I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This past weekend, Allie was down here in Olympia for the holidays.  Saturday, we got together for lunch and a little shopping.  And I didn't want it to end!  I am loving getting back into our friendship, and wish she lived closer so we could do this type of thing more often.  I'm already planning a day to go up to Seattle soon.  Our birthdays are close together in February, and we have tentatively planned to go skydiving for our birthdays together, since we have always talked about doing it.

I am so excited to see how this all pans out!

People ARE C-R-A-Z-Y!

What is it with fads and trends? What makes us as humans latch onto something simply because a bunch of other people have it? I will admit that I too, succumb to trends at times.  But some people just take it too far.  Case in point:

People are C-R-A-Z-Y about these Starbucks cups.  And yes, I do own one. 

I saw these cups a while back, and thought they were neat.  I intended to get one, but never got around to it.  In case you don't know about these cups, they are modeled after the Starbucks clear, cold beverage cups.  But these ones are a hard plastic, and double-walled, with a rigid plastic straw and screw-on lid. 

Then, my mom came home with a "grande" sized one for her the other day.  Complete with candycane striped holiday straw.  Then I found out they make the "venti" size too!  And I decided that, okay, I really wanted one.  I was able to get the grande one with relative ease.  Problem is, these venti suckers are now hard to find!  Most Starbucks stores will have a few of the grande ones in, but almost no store in the country had the venti ones!  These puppies are selling like hot cakes! (PS- where the heck did that phrase come from, and why are we still using it?!)  People have actually bought several of these, and are selling them on eBay, craigslist, and amazon.com for between $50 and $80.  For a $16 plastic cup.  I will admit that I have searched for this larger sized cup in several Starbucks locations on my way to work, all to no avail.  But I will in no way spend that much money on a clear, plastic, cup.  A cup that doesn't automatically refill my water, or keep it extra cold, or wash itself, or fly or do anything special.  So, here I sit, sipping water out of my grande Starbucks tumbler, refilling it more often that I would have to if I had a venti one, but that's alright.  At least I'm not one of those -C-R-A-Z-Y people.

*Sidenote:  I have always had a problem with not drinking enough water.  However, drinking it through a straw just seems so much easier.  I gulp down 5 or 6 of these cups a water during the day without even batting a Maybelline Colossal Volume Express-coated eyelash.  Same thing with my Nathan-brand stainless steel flip-straw waterbottle.  Why this is, I have no idea.

P90X: Day 1

Yesterday was day 1 of my 90 day P90X journey. I did the Chest & Back workout, along with the Ab Ripper X workout. Chest & Back is mostly pushups and pullups. Since I don't have a pullup bar, I use resistance bands.  Ab Ripper X is a 15 minute session of just abs, and man do you feel the burn!

After my workout, my arms felt like jello.  But in a good way.  And this morning, I am a little sore, but mostly my arms just feel tired.  And so do my abs!  However, I like knowing that I did something.  That I pushed myself.

This evening I will be doing Plyometrics.  I'm going to try to get Josh to do this one with me.  Wish us luck!

Accountability

When I was in school, I was held accountable for my actions. Or my lack thereof. If I didn't do my homework, my grades reflected it.  And my parents kicked my butt.  But now that I am out of school, that same system of accountability doesn't apply. 

So I am creating one.

Getting into better shape, feeling healthier, and losing the pounds that I have gained over the past year have been a huge goal of mine.  However, it seems that whenever I try to start working out, it doesn't last very long.  I want to fix that.

So. 

Here it goes.

I am embarking today on a 90 day journey.  A journey called P90X.  If you haven't heard of it, turn on your TV late at night and watch the infomercials.  You'll find them.  This is an intense, at home workout program.  I have known many people to experience significant success on the program.  I just need to stick to it!

So my plan is to use this blog to chronicle my journey.  Everyday, I will blog about my day's workouts, any results I have seen, etc.  I am hoping this will drive me to achieve this goal of mine.  But I'm asking for your help!  If I don't blog for a while about my experience, PLEASE ASK ME ABOUT IT!  This will, in a sense, force me to keep going. 

So, wish me luck!  I will be blogging later tonight about Day 1!

Its Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

This past weekend, we went and got our Christmas tree! Now, in my parents' house, we have 16 foot ceilings in the living room. And every year, I try to get the biggest tree possible. Well this year, I succeeded! Our tree is a whopping 12.5 feet tall, AFTER we had to cut 12 inches off to fit the trunk in the base! Here are some photos from our tree-getting experience.

These trees made us all laugh so much.  They were tall trees, with the lower limbs cut off.  We called them ostrich trees.  Then Nathan had the brilliant idea that these trees looked like ladies lifting their skirt bottoms up so they didn't get them dirty or wet.  That kid cracks me up!

Check out my photography blog for the above photo of my dad, edited in a different way!

DJ & Kristina's Wedding

Here are some pictures from the wedding of two of our friends recently... none of these photos are edited, so please forgive me for the quality. I will be posting a few edited ones on my photography website!

Click here to view these pictures larger

Josh's Trip to Wyoming

Recently, Josh, his cousin, and his uncle took a road trip to Wyoming to do some hunting. It was his cousin's first big hunting trip with the "big boys". He and Josh both snapped photos along the way. There was no way I was sending Josh with my Nikon, so he took my old Sony CyberShot camera.

Here is a slideshow of their photos, edited slightly by me.

WARNING:  PHOTOS BELOW ARE FROM AN ACTUAL HUNTING TRIP, AND DO SHOW THE ANIMALS THEY KILLED.  IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH, PLEASE DO NOT SCROLL DOWN ANY FURTHER!

Click here to view these pictures larger

My Christmas Craft Project

I recently completed a project inspired by an idea from Jessica Sprague.  I wanted to do something crafty and homemade for Christmas, and this is what I ended up with!

I started by painting some terra cotta pots a deep red color.

After they dried, a put a clearcoat on them, which had red glitter in it.  Who doesn't like glittery Christmas decorations?!

I cut Christmas scrapbooking paper into strips, and started layering the strips around the trees, according to color/pattern.

To assemble the trees, I pained wooden dowels a dark brown, for the trunks.  I placed rocks in the bottomof each pot, because the trees themselves are a little top-heavy.  I put Styrofoam in each of the pots, and covered with artificial moss over the Styrofoam.  Then I just jabbed the dowel into the tree Styrofoam and the pot Styrofoam.

I finished by putting silver bows on the top of each of the trees.  I ended up with 5 trees in varying heights.

These trees are by no means perfect or professional looking, and I like that.  They are uneven, maybe a little crooked, but they are mine.  And I love them!

So Behind Schedule!

I have seriously been slacking lately!  I have so many projects and photos I want to post, but I just can't seem to find the time!  Here is brief rundown of (hopefully!) the posts to come this week:

• My Christmas craft project
• My beignet recipe
• Our recent Leavenworth trip
  
• Our friends' wedding
• Josh's trip to Wyoming
• My Christmas cooking plan/recipes
• My grandma's 75th birthday
• A special blog I think everyone should follow
  

As you can see, I have much to do!  I am going into work late tomorrow, and getting off early today, so hopefully I will be able to get things checked off my list! 

Be on the lookout for many posts soon!