4.30.2009

uncoordinated? clumsy?

In all my years growing up, I'd always considered myself a coordinated person. Having played sports since I was born, and then learning to play the piano, how could I not be coordinated, right? Well, it's recently come to my attention, that I may not be so anymore...Take this scenario...

A girl..(for privacy reasons..we'll call her...bre) was working on her computer one day. To give you an idea of the area, her and her hubby's computers are fairly close to each other, so there are two chairs right next to each other. Now, this bre girl was working in the kitchen as well, so to save time, she decided to stand/squat on her chair, which she does quite often when her butt gets sore. Well, when she went to go to the kitchen, she stood up (on the chair) which then (because it's a swuvek chair...) the shift in weight caused the chair to turn, resulting in this girl to fall forward, smacking her leg on hubby's chair, jamming her wrist, and causing a bit of pain...Also resulting in a HUGE bruise that hurts anytime she puts pressure on it. Now...this isn't the first time something like this has happened. I am CONSTANTLY banging my stupid knees on the desk area where I work. They're a constant bruise. But it doesn't just happen at home. It happens everywhere..like at church. I sit up in the choir seats during sacrament meeting, and a few Sundays ago after I had gotten up to play the piano, when I sat back down I totally sat on the armrest...Resulting in a LOT of pain! Oh my heck, it hurt so bad! Sad thing is, that's not the only time I've done that either. When I was the chorister, I would do it all time. Also resulting in a nasty bruise on my butt....I am constantly finding weird and random bruises all over my body, and I don't know how they get there...Not only am I causing myself excruciating pain, but I also do a lot of other damage. I almost ALWAYS spill something when I'm eating. It was so bad for a while, I would burst into tears because I was so frustrated! lol..Seriously. It was horrible. I feel like I've gotten better, but that doesn't mean I don't still trip over my own feet, or the XBox cords and unplug it while Greg is in the middle of a game...Funny story, this one time Greg and I were watching a scary movie, and I had a glass of milk in my hand. Well this scary part came up and I jumped...spilling my milk all over...lol..pretty funny...

But anyway...so after all these tragic accidents, i've had to reconsider my coordination... <---sigh---> guess I'm not so coordinated after all...

4.29.2009

EXCITING POST #1: Part III

So we got to Vegas maybe around midnight? I can't remember, I just know I was EXHAUSTED! The next morning I got up about 10 Utah time, and listened to a little bit of conference...Just pretty much hung out all day. It was nice to just relax after all the driving we did. Yeah...Juanita, Adrienne and I went to Kohls and Target, and picked up just junk food (ha) and some hair dye. Adrienned highlighted my hair (oh, I also cut it...I really like it, but I really miss my LONG hair..however, the time it takes to go from short to long is too long, so I would rather have it short than in between...) Anyway..so she did that, and it looked awesome! I loved it. hmm...what else...Oh, it was nice to be able to go outside in just shorts and t-shirt..lol..very nice...ummm...Kyla and I had fun playing the piano...(She really did warm up to me..lol) I taught her to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star...Well, really I pointed to the keys and she would push them. But she had fun with that. She kept asking me to play it with her. I"m sure everyone else got annoyed with that song, but they were nice enough to not say anything...haha...what else...Oh...While I was playing the piano, Jake toppled over this table thingy in Juanitas house, shattering a glass bowl of potpurri...That was exciting...Kinda scared us all for a bit, but Jake was fine. The table scraped his leg a little, but he's a tough boy. I'm just glad he didn't get all cut up...

That night was pretty fun. Mike, Juanita, Adrienne and I went down to the strip...Wow! lol. It was pretty cool, but there were a TON of people! Crazy stuff! We didn't go very many places, but it's okay, I think we were ALL really tired of walking...plus it was kinda late. So it's okay. They just have to take Greg and I to all the places we didn't get to go to when we can make it down there again. But...we went to the Bellagio (don't mind my spelling..) And walked through that, then watched the water show, which, while very cool, makes ya stop and think, who takes time to choreograph water...lol..Then..I don't remember where exactly we went. Caesar's Palace? and the Mirage? I was honestly amazed at how many stores and gambling areas and skanky people there are in those places. I think if you lived that life style it would be different, but yeah..lol...It was still fun, and interesting, but it's not something I'd want to do on a daily/nightly basis. It was pretty entertaining watching the skanky girls try to walk in their skanky dresses and high heels. I mean really. If I was going clubbing. I'd at least wear shoes that were comfortable. But what do I know. I just know the flats I had on started killing me feet so I luckily had stuffed my flip-flops in my bag that I could wear. Anyway. so I don't really know what to say. It was a way cool experience, and I would LOVE to go there again someday, but it's not the lifestyle I'd want to live...

haha, Do I sound horrible? I really had a fabulous time, and I"m glad that Mike, Juanita and Adrienne took the time to take me there and walk forever with me. It was really interested just seeing the different places, and the different people that were there. Lol, I had to laugh at a few of them...Anyway...here are some pics from the trip. I didn't take many. I didn't want to look like a 'tourist'! lol...

This chocolate shop in the Bellagio. There was a chocolate waterfall type thing that went through the entire store. Pretty cool, but WAY expensive! I don't remember what this next place was called, but it was in the Bellagio too. TONS of flowers...

And last but not least....Mike gave me a couple of bucks to do a little gambling. Since it was my first time in Vegas I had to experience that part of it too...lol...I don't even know what I played...some poker-type game...lol. I think I won maybe 50 cents...but of course I spent it! lol...It was a lot of fun, and if I would have won big, I would have been sure to pay Mike back the 2$ ... lol...Anyway...here's a pic of me at the machine I played...


Lol...So that was my fun Vegas experience. It's pretty cool to walk down the street and have people hand you free porn. lol...Actually, Adrienne warned me before hand not to look when the dudes would tap the cards....What fun. I'm looking forward to doing it again someday. Our night ended around midnight-30, with a debate as to whether we should stop and get icecream on the Sabath. But due to the fact we just got done gambling...we figured it would be okay..So we eneded a great day/night with some ice cream from Sonic...

It was such a great weekend, and I'm really appreciative to my family for taking me on their trip with them. And while I wish Greg and Shaina could have been there too, I'm sure we'll all be able to go again. Thanks Mike and Juanita for letting me stay at your house and for taking me out on the town (even though I'm sure you'd rather have stayed at home and slept...lol) I had a great time, and I look forward to doing it again soon...(well, not too soon. I don't think Juanita wants to go again when she's very pregnant, or with a newborn...so we'll wait a while...:) Anyway...

Yeah, so that was my wonderful week full of new experiences....

4.27.2009

EXCITING POST #1: Part II

Oh...and I forgot to tell you a creepy story about the beach. Juanita and I were standing on the sidewalk in from of all the beach houses, and this homeless guy comes up and asks if we would give him money Juanita told him we didn't have any, and he asked us if we wanted to buy a bus token. Again she told him we didn't have any money, and he just stood there. Luckily Mike came walking over to us, so we had an excuse to walk away. Well, we were standing there talking to Mike, and the creepy dude came and stood next to me by the wall. As we were talking, I could feel the guy getting closer and closer to me...Totally freaked me out, so we decided to walk up the walk for a bit. Anytime we would move the guy would follow us! It was really creepy...lol, FINALLY he found some guys smoking and went and bothered them for a while..lol...it was quite interesting. Gotta love people!

Anywho..

Day 2 of my wonderful trip, we went to yet ANOTHER place I've never been before...SEA WORLD!!! lol. It was so much fun, and I must say a whole lot cooler than the zoo here in Logan, and even better than Hogle...

Shamu, or some other whale..lol..Greg told me before I left that I needed to take a "I'm a People" shirt so the zoo workers wouldn't confuse me for any of their animals...HA! Anyway...all the shows were way fun. lol, I felt like a dork becuase I was just as excited to be there as all the little kids...or at least as excited as Annie was. I tried to keep it in though! :) The bottom pic is of some dolphins.

The pet show...some penguins...the whale show....pretty amazing actually...I must admit. I'd be a little scared to get that close to the animals. I took more video than pics, but I don't want to upload the vids..sorry...The dolphin show was my favorite...haha, pretty enertaining...
Some turtles chillin...Kyla looking at the penguins...Flamingos...pretty cool..and more turtles
Jake looking at the turtles, starfish (it stunk so bad right there!), Jake with the starfish, and Kyla holding the starfish. We weren't supposed to take them out of the water...whoops! lol..
The best part about going to Sea World at the beginning of April was there weren't very people. Well, there were, but not compared to how many I'm sure there would be in the summer. Plus when we were there, it wasn't really warm, so who wants to be out in that? Anyway, so the lines to the two rides we went on weren't long AT ALL. We could have gotten off and right back on if we wanted. Pretty nice. Well...Journey to Atlantis was a very fun ride...though I didn't want to get wet...but I decided to go on it anyway...

I went with Mike and Robert. And well, when we got to the ride there was an two open in the third row, and two in the second. Robert got in the third row, and I thought Mike would be nice and let me go in the third because the people in the 1st and 2nd get the most wet. Well Mike so rudely butted in front of me (haha...jk) but he went in the 3rd row, and I got stuck in the 2nd. not so cool...I didn't think it would be too bad, but when we came down and hit the water, I got splashed RIGHT in my face! Haha, not so funny...and I thought it only happened once, but nope, it happened twice...lol, I got pretty wet. Luckily Laura let me borrow her jacket which I turned inside out so the slick side was out, and I was wearing board shorts, so they dried fairly fast...(my underwear, not so much!) lol, but at least I wasn't wearing jeans...Here's some great pics.. We went on this ride twice, and the other ride they have twice. It was fun...lol...It really was a good day. I would definitely go to Sea World again. I don't think I'd even want to go to Disneyland. I'd prefer Sea World...It was a great day, so thanks family for taking me! :)
On the way into Vegas the first night Adrienne asked me if I had ever eaten and In-n-Out burger. I never had, so she said we'd have to one of the days we were there. Well, on our way to Cali, Mike asked me the same thing. So he too said we'd have to stop. Right after Sea World we headed back to Vegas. We didn't know exactly where we were going, but Mike just kept driving. We drove up the coast to...somewhere I don't remember the name...but we passed the San Diego temple, which was cool to see, and I was able to see (kinda) a real sunset. I wish we could've been on the beach that night. It was awesome. The way we were going took us right past an in-n-out burger, so we stopped...It wasn't too bad, I must say...I'd go back...Anywho..here's a pic of that!

Anyway, so that was day 2...sorry not as many pics. I was having too much fun! :) It was a great day, and I can't wait to go back with Greg...someday! Anyway...yeah...here's the final collage!
Oh, and I really am asking a serious question in my next post..I really want answers...lol...It's for a project I'm working on! Thanks and have a great day! :)

A Mother is...

Lol, I didn't think about this before I posted it, but now that I have, it makes it ten times funnier! lol...and of course, only I get my oh so funny jokes. But...I need you to complete the sentence...

A Mother is...

using one or just a few words...

I'll tell you why soon...lol...

4.24.2009

EXCITING POST #1: Part I

Alright, so I know I've been putting this off, but here it is...and I'm warning you, it's going to be a LONG (wordy!) one!!

So, a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go to 3 places I have NEVER been before. (Yes, I was a deprived child. Thanks mom and dad!) It was spring break for my MIL, so they decided to take a trip down to Las Vegas (where my SIL Juanita lives) then onto California. My dear sweet hubby got it all set up so that I could go with them. However, he didn't get to go, so that was a total bummer. But it was still fun. So here's how the trip played out...

Wednesday April 1, my FIL, MIL, and SILs Adrienne (who was home from Kentucky) and Annie stopped in Logan to pick me up. From there we started the forever long journey to Las Vegas. I have NEVER been to Vegas before, so I was really excited...(haha, you can make fun of me all you want.) I didn't want to fall asleep, cuz I didn't want to miss anything. (lol, right?) So can I just tell you that coming off of the mountain and seeing the lights was like the COOLEST thing ever. My heck. those lights go on FOREVER! It was pretty cool..lol...I didn't get any pics though...just a mental picture that I can't share. HA! The strip looked way cool. Kinda floated in the middle of the lights. Pretty cool...Well, after getting a little lost we finally made it to Juanita's house. Jake was asleep, but Kyla was waiting to see Grandma. I walked in last, and I think she was expecting to see Shaina, cuz when she saw me, all the excitement drained from her. lol. She wasn't too sure about me...It was kinda funny. Grandma got her (well Jake) this little lamb that would sing when you pushed it's nose. Well, she would go around to everyone and wave it in their faces, and when she turned to me, she just paused....then turned around...lol, it was pretty funny. But it was good to see Mike and Juanita and Kyla. We haven't seen them since last summer.....

Alright, so the next day we continued our journey onto CALIFORNIA!!!! (Where, I have NEVER been!!) Adrienne & I went with Mike, Juanita and Jake, Grandma, Grandpa, Annie and Kyla in the other car, went a different way...(lol, I won't say much about that though! :) Driving out of Vegas I got to see more of the strip. Crazy stuff. It was pretty funny too driving from Vegas to Cali because in the middle of nowhere there would be a big huge casino...nothing else...made me laugh. I did get to see the worlds largest thermometer...Mike pointed that out to me....hmmm...our first stop in Cali was Barstow, just a quick potty/get out and walk around break. Here are some pics of that! (Had to take pictures of my first Cali stop!)

(the last pic on the right is at our motel..)

Then we continued on down to San Diego. I must say that that was one of the funnest drives. Just being able to see a whole new area that I've never seen before. It was a great trip. We finally got into San Diego and it was gorgeous. Even with all the smog. Everything was so pretty......Well, we dropped off our stuff at the motel and decided to go to the beach. I was way excited for that! I have NEVER BEEN to the ocean! So that was exciting. We started driving, and I could kind of see it, but I have to admit, I was a little disappointed because everywhere I saw you could see the buildings all around...(if that makes sense...) I just wanted to see water that went on FOREVER! we got a little lost, but once we found our way, and I was able to see the ocean that went on forever...it was definitely worth the wait! It was GORGEOUS!!!!! Oh my heck. I Love it! I took a zillion pics of just the water...lol...I could've stayed there all day. It was kinda chilly while we were down there, and cloudy, but that's the type of weather I like, so it was all okay. (Besides....it was about 10X warmer than the SNOW everyone else got here! HAHAHAHAHA! Yes I laugh..that's what you all get for complaining about it! :) Anyway...so here are some pics I took. I put them all in a collage, because there are like a zillion (like I said) pics that I took. I will edit some individual ones and post later, but this is what you get for now. I didn't take my real camera with me, thought I kinda wish I would have. But it's okay, because I'm happy with the way they turned out with my point and shoot. Alright...here goes...

OH...it's so pretty! I love the "city" in the distance...The ocean was beautiful too...and Mike..that's him walking..Then my feet...and a bird...Adrienne, Juanita (who is super cute prego) and Jake. and you can guess the rest...

I SO want to learn to surf! I think that would be so fun! And the sun trying to shine through the clouds. GORGEOUS!
Jake, me...yes I look like I was in a car all day...and yeah...I should have edited that one...lol...Jake again, and Adrienne and Jake. Jake was so funny. He didn't like it when the water would come in and hit him...I think he eventually got used to it..
Just some random shots of the beach. I really wish Greg could have been there...
Kyla (when they finally showed up..haha)...the plants down there were so pretty! ... I would love to rent a beach house someday..for a week...any guess on how much they cost?!? Yeah WAY too much...But it was so cool to just look down and see all of the different houses...Would be way fun...
See..Jakey got used to the water...I love that pic of Adrienne. I so love the colors in these pics...(haha, I'm a totally dark person...)...ummm...yeah...we let Jake run around in his diaper...he was so funny. Cute kid that one! He was a lot of fun.
I like this pic too....
Next to the pics I posted earlier (of the lifeguard place, I dunno what they're called), this is one of my fave pics...I should say this is my fave sunset pic because I love all the other pics I have too! Haha! SO PRETTY! (I will say, I kinda wish it wasn't cloudy, because I would have LOVED to see a sunset on the ocean! Oh well...there's always next time!)
And in case I missed any while I was making those collages in stinkin' Picasa...Here's the pics that I had to narrow it down to from the zillion that I took!!

WHEW!!! What an exciting day, right?!?!? Don't worry, there's more...stay tuned for parts II and III...yeah, it was a great trip..
And Lauren...I didn't know you lived in SD. I think I may come visit you someday...lol, and I think I want to do a photo shoot down there. So...if anyone in SD wants to pay for me to drive/fly out there...I'll do your shoot for FREE!! (what a deal! lol)
Okay, that's all! Thanks for sticking with me...It was a long one, I know!
© GREG & BRE AULLMAN
Maira Gall