Oakland

This past weeked, I went to Oakland on a business trip. Billions of good times are what we had! So here's a recap...

Thursday I picked up Lisa, and we soon met up w/Jaron. Thanks heavens for medallion status....we skipped security which was a relief b/c the lines were terrible and not only would we have missed our flight, but we would've missed breakfast too! No--we just couldn't have that!

I think pics like these are probably illegal but whatever--I wanted to capture the beginning of our trip somehow. :) Anyway we arrived.....

Jaron, Darlene, Lisa and me on the shuttle to the hotel (do you think I look like Ronnie Milsap?)

Checked in, set up.....

Lori & Lisa....

....and Me & Jaron setting up

And then Jaron, Lisa & I headed to downtown San Francisco.

Here they are on the BART just as we went under the water and our ears had to adjust. :) Once we got into the city, we immediately happened upon thousands of people standing in a square, waiting for the clock to chime 6pm....and when it did, this is what we saw....

Indeed we just happened upon the biggest pillow fight in the world! Apparently this is one of San Francisco's Valentine's Day traditions. It was awesome! Then we were off to Pier 39 for some delish seafood & magnet shopping.

On our way back to Oakland, we saw the pillow fight again because more than 2 hours later, it was still going on!
And so we wandered around and found this cool waterfall...and just had a grand ole time.

Friday & Saturday were show days and everything went really well. Have I mentioned before how much I love my job.....but really.....I do!!!

Here's Jaron at the end of one of the days making fun of me....yes that's right, I went on stage w/my jacket buttoned improperly. :) Like I said, billions of good times!

And here I am w/my crown--and the crown's creator. And just a note, this shirt that I'm wearing is super cha-cha! At least that's what a demonstrator told me. :)

Saturday night we went back into SF to find H&M. We heard it was there and we were determined to find it.....and SUCCESS!!

We did find it but by the time we got there, we were so worn out and hungry that it was a shorter shopping trip than I would've liked. We needed fuel! Oddly, we had time for one more stop---at possibly the most amazing accessory store I've ever laid eyes on. There is no equal!! I can only compare it to the ring store in Ukraine where I would spend hours trying to decide which of the sparkly gems to purchase! I bought a headband that I really think I might wear every day for the rest of my life! It deserves its own post so I'll not put a picture here right now...

Sunday we came home.....and that's the end.

2 Hours

2 HOURS!!! That's how long it took me to get home from work tonight--normally a 25 min commute. Needless to say, those were 2 of the most frustrating hours of my life. It's really bad here--I don't ever remember a winter like this.

However, when I say bad, of course to me it means good. :) I was disappointed to arrive home and only have traces of snow on the ground--even though there are many inches in other areas of Utah. It makes me so happy to look outside and see snow falling! I LOVE WINTER!!!

Dayglo!

Last night, I went to the Mika concert with two of my sisters and two of our friends. The concert was In the Venue--which was actually a pretty cool place to go to a concert (despite the sketchiness of the location) because it was so small that everyone had a great view. When we arrived, an hour after the official start time, there was still a line all the way around the block. So we waited until the line was moving before going out into the cold. :) It was a great opportunity for people watching! Here we are on our way in...(L to R) Lindsey, moi, Hillary, Shelly & Natalie.

Sitting in the car and people watching for an hour made me sad that I didn't come to the concert decked out in dayglo. I'd say only about 1% of the crowd did. Dayglo is a term that basically means flourescent colors--b/c it evolved from flourescent lights or something. Lindsey taught me about this--so thanks Pop! I snapped one photo while we were waiting in the car....there were lots of cute girls in leg warmers and t-shirt dresses and it was so fun to watch! And of course we knew Mika wouldn't disappoint--he'd have his on for sure!

Just before we went inside, we learned that Mika's equipment was stuck in Idaho somewhere, so instead of canceling the concert, they gave us all a refund of 10 bucks and did a 45 min acoustic show. Mika unplugged! haha Probably hard to imagine considering all the electronic everything he has in his music....but we were optimistic and once we got inside--the stage was truly a vision of happiness!

I took this pic from back behind the bar, just after the show started. You can see the fabulous chandeliers and disco balls (two of my favorite things)--and you can also see Mika's back--white shirt and the fabulous electric blue skinny jeans that he wore on SYTYCD--which was my first introduction to him.

Here's the front view of the stage. The drummers were sitting in these huge throne like chairs. They seemed like just a bunch of funky people, playing and having a good time!

Here's a clip of Billy Brown. This isn't my fave song but it was really a fun one to hear live--and the crowd really got into it!

Another one of my fave parts was towards the end when several fans got up on stage in the left corner and started dancing and singing. They stayed there for several songs--no one told them to get down and they didn't try to attack Mika or anything. It was so awesome!

The biggest disappointment of the evening was when he played "Relax (take it easy)" about the 3rd song in....and it was totally slow and acoustic-ish. It was pretty cool, actually, but I was slightly devastated that I didn't hear the real version, which was pretty much the main reason I wanted to go to the concert! I'm putting the song on my playlist so you're probably listening to it right now and noticing how cool it is. :)

In the end, it was such a great night--just the right amount of time & fun--I am so glad we went!!

A Dozen Roses

The past week has been one filled with roses--not the flowers but rather Hillary's family. :) Zoey turned 5 last week!!! It was such a fun day that it almost overshadowed the fact that she just keeps getting older and it makes me sad. :( Hill and Zoey and I went to Zoe's favorite restaurant for lunch: Chili's. Here she is showing off her new b-day outfit.

Then we went to Color Me Mine to do a ceramic--Zoey spends many hours a day coloring and drawing and is actually in art school to learn all kinds of arts & crafts. So Hill thought Color Me Mine would be fun activity that Zoe would love.....and she was right!!! This next pic contains 3 of my favorite things--can you find them?

We finished the night w/a fun family party at the Pizza Factory. It was a great day!

Thursday through Sunday, I watched Zane & Zoey while Hill and Lance went out of town. So we had 3 more fun-filled days....starting w/a sledding party. The kids sure are taking advantage of all this snow! Here's Mikey and Zane, during a quick hot chocolate break. I love this pic b/c it shows them just having fun and goofing around!

Saturday we went to Kangaroo Zoo (playground w/big jumping toys) AND to see The Water Horse. I also took it upon myself to pass on one of life's most important lessons by teaching the Z's to smuggle popcorn, drinks and donuts into the movie. :) As their aunt, it's the least I can do!

Sunday we weatherd the next snow storm and made it to church! I curled Zoe's hair for church and when I was finished, she looked in the mirror and said "My hair looks fat! Put some pomade on it!!" hahaha It was so funny I laughed outloud for a good while!

Later I tried to take a pic of the fat hair but she refused to smile--and you can also see that she did everything she could to disguise it w/her headband. :) It does look a little Dorothy Hamill in this pic--but it doesn't really matter b/c every look is cute on her!

Top Ten Tuesday: Shows I am watching thanks to the strike!

Vanessa and I just decided to do Top Ten Tuesday....and what better topic is there than all the lame shows we are watching thanks to the strike!! Feel free to blog your own list or tell me what lame ones you are watching. Seriously--when is this madness going to end?

10. Brett Michaels: Rock of Love. This is #10 not b/c it is the lamest....I would be watching it anyway w/out the strike b/c it's probably the most entertaining trainwreck of trash I've ever layed eyes on!!! I'm posting it here b/c I'm pretty sure this never would've gone for round 2 if it weren't for the strike! (so in the end--maybe the strike is a good thing?)

9. The Biggest Loser. This in fact is my fave reality show of all time....but I am currently watching every rerun (and there are a lot) on the Style network, Bravo, etc. I'm rewatching them even. I can only credit that to the strike b/c a sane person wouldn't do that!

8. Miss America Reality Check. Not only did I record the whole series, but I am NOW watching it--after Miss America has already been crowned (now that's desperate!)

7. Political Shows. I've turned over a new leaf......YEAH RIGHT even a year long strike couldn't get me to tune in to these shows! Notice how I don't even know the names of any of them?!

6. Cooking shows. (sorry Hill!) I don't cook. I don't like these shows. Yet I watch....

5. CSI: Miami. I NEVER watch CSI or L&Order or any variation of these that ever was. I've seen 2 full episodes of this show now. I need help!

4. VH1 Top 20 Countdown. I don't even know why I recorded this.....I guess I just felt I needed to get back in touch w/my MTV obsessed roots. In the end there were some good ones though! :)

3. Celebrity Apprentice. Um...wait--I think they got the wrong name for this show. Seems like "My Life on the D-List Apprentice" would be more appropriate.

2. Deal or No Deal. I HATE THIS SHOW. I think it is the damn stupidest bit of drama that ever was. And I actually watched a full show. :(

1. American Gladiators. I can't find words to explain this! Really, it's just too stupid!

Matt & Vanessa

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT!!! Well really it was Friday which is technically two days ago but I thought it was the 26th and so even though I was late, I was later than i thought. So I had to do a quick shout out anyway b/c I forgot to call you today.....and forgot the right day too! duh! :(

Favorite moments w/Matt are many---here are just a few that are at the top of my list:

1. Xanadu, Philly, NYC & day club in DC this past September (including introducing me to Friday Night Lights--THANK YOU!)
2. Seeing Willy Wonka in SLC Oct 06
3. Countless pop culture phone calls and texts
4. Watching the American Dreams pilot together

Here's a pic of us at VYNL in NYC. Matt, Brandon, Me & Amanda. Hope your b-day was the best yet!!

In other news, tonight Vanessa and I did blogarama (according to my sister), or in other words, you can see that V helped me pretty up my blog a bit--isn't it awesome?!?! She'll help you too for a small fee. :) It was a fun night w/the Schmidts--Leann included. Thanks so much for your help and ideas, V!!!

i heart u!

Last night I wanted to make an "i heart u" card. In the end I loved it so much that I made a bunch more! I put the following things together and voila:

• The template that was on the cover of our Spring/Summer Preview Brochure
• One of Stampin' Up!s new packs of designer series paper.....which gave me my color scheme
• And of course I had to use a little glitter because we have tons in the new catalog!!!

Palm Springs

No, I am not deathly ill--thanks to those of you who have expressed words of concern. :) It turns out that it has just been a pretty busy month for me so far. If this is any indication--it's January 19 and my Christmas tree is still up.

Anyway the root of my busy-ness was my business trip--we had our big January show which was all last week in Palm Springs. Being a cold weather person, I had low expectations for this locale and so I was very pleased to have such a wonderful week in 70 degree weather, with just the right amount of everything. :) Actually though I never really saw the light of day except through the convention center windows. But this was my favorite event to date.....it was pretty much perfect. Here are a few highlights:

The first day of the event, several of us did demonstration booths. This was mine--an example of how to organize your stamping stuff. It was 6 hours of straight talking that truly flew by because I was surrounded by the coolest people in the world!!



Day 2 is not only the first day of classes, but also the first day of prize patrol! This is a pic of me, Whitney & Lisa. I love this pic b/c of how happy and excited we look!


The 3rd and final day was also filled w/classes, prize patrol and many many other fabulous moments! Here's me and Lisa right before the last general session.


And then we did dinner at Ruby's Diner which was a delish 50s joint--we sat outside under the heaters while sipping malts! haha It was such a fun night. The first pic is me, Carrie & Selma....


And Amanda, Linda & Karah.


And that was about it. My description hasn't done the event justice--maybe I'm a little out of blogging practice. :( It was truly the funnest week.

Anyway one last pic...on Jan 5th, Lindsey went w/me to my work winter party. It was at the Grand America with pretty much the best food I've ever eaten--plus everyone was dressed in black & white (such a cool effect to look out over the entire room). The entertainment was dueling piano players who knew every song ever written! So here we are....


....and we sat next to the Winders so here they are....