I love back blogging.

It's sort of like reliving the past and helping the fun last even longer! I promise to try and update a little more often, though, and update myself on what's going on in everyone else's lives a little more, too.

You may or may not know that I have currently reached the pinnacle of my career as well as church calling aspirations, by being selected to serve as the *gasp* girl's camp nurse! I have been waiting for this day since I graduated from the Lord's University almost 4 years ago.

It was seriously awesome. I totally bawled at testimony meeting, read ,like, 5 books and pigged out on smores the whole time. Girl's camp is way better when you can sit around with your feet up under a mister, read a book, put a band aid on every once in a while and sort of have no responsibility for a week (except for the occasional 5 AM wake up call for the homesick 12 year old).

(Just a little disclaimer- I didn't bawl at testimony meeting- and I only read 1 book, but it was a long one. I did, however, take the girl's on a snipe hunt after which my eyes watered for a day due to toothpaste residue that we rubbed under our eyes {to keep the snipes away}. It was pretty much the best thing I've done all summer.)

The girl's had to learn a dance to perform at camp. Again- one of the advantages of being camp nurse- no pesky dances to teach or learn. I totally enjoyed watching all the dances, though.
The smokin hot leaders from our ward. I, on the other hand, looked terrible all week without my blow dryer and mascara.
My personal spa at Turner Falls- one of the most beautiful places I have been to in Oklahoma. (Maybe the only place I have been to in Oklahoma... hmmm...)

The girls from our ward- taking pictures by the latrines, of course.
One of the little falls along our 5 mile hike (which, I think, actually ended up being only 3 miles).
Me and Syd- the best babysitter in the world (Dave is in love). Oh, and glow bracelets.The only other thing I have left to say is that, albeit fun, I was wounded at girl's camp. I received my first wasp sting (ever) while unsuspectingly trying to sneak into the men's showers (all the men were gone and the women's were full) after our day at Lake Murray. Wasp stings aren't actually all that bad. Better than I expected to be honest. It felt like I got slugged in the arm really hard for about 20 minutes. I feared the worst of course (anaphalaxis- my throat swelling shut in the middle of Nowhere, Oklahoma) then everything was fine, I took some motrin and never thought of it again. Wasps! Pssshhaw! I can totally take em.

This guy on the other hand...

Let's just say I checked my sleeping bag thoroughly every night before I crawled in.

Wordless Wednesday

(me contemplating a career change)

True Stories of the ER: Kozy Shack (it up).

This is a little late in coming (as all things seem to be on my blog these days), but I finally switched to day shift. And what a difference it makes (lit'rally). It is so nice to sleep at night- every night. I have found myself wondering for these past three weeks why I didn't make this switch long ago (though I still miss my nocturnal friends!).

My night friends threw a little "going away" party for me on my last night- complete with roast beef sandwiches, pickles and pie (apparently someone has been observing my eating habits this past 2 and a half years). The going away gift happened to be my favorite, though. It was an extra large container of creamy and delicious Kozy Shack rice pudding.

In other news- Mike got a scholarship for his last year of school! He's gotten straight A's (little smarty) and we're coming up on the grad school home stretch. We're now accepting bets on where we'll live (AKA- where Mike gets his first job) after grad school. I'm voting for that big, fancy apartment in the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

I should start looking for new furniture.

Wordless Wednesday: My favorite view (from my front porch)

Apparently

my planter is a very safe spot.

Catch up

These pictures are a little late in coming, and I have some other blog material, but being the obsessive/ compulsive blogger that I am I have to go in chronological order. So here are some pictures of my brother's wedding reception in Texas that happened mid-May. Oh, and happy June!

There were many "self portraits" taken at this event. Some (and by some I mean many) of them didn't turn out so well (hence why they are not posted). Here's one example.

Attempt #1:

Attempt #2 with some assistance from Ian (and Mike, apparently).

Attempt #3 after some scolding and hand slapping of the two boys.


And last but not least- I discovered that Dave loves butter mints.

The End

I saw this car yesterday

and I thought I should get me one.

Wordless Wednesday (and my new favorite Dave-ism)

(Sometimes, when Dave is going "number one" in the potty, he calls it 'Taking care of business'. )

(If he ever gets a lip ring he's grounded for life.)

You know you're getting old when...

you have to preface your best friend's name with "doctor". Way to go Andi! I'm so proud to be your friend (PhD or not)!

Two completely unrelated products in the world of grocery and beauty care retail have recently come to my attention that I feel deserve their own blog post (collectively). I would be remiss if I did not share with my friends a new way to fritter away your food and beauty care allowance.

Exhibit A: The Dove SkinVitalizer. Believe it or not I have never spent a day at the spa. I have never had a facial or my eyebrows waxed. But this product helps me imagine what it may be like to spend a small fortune having a trained professional work his or her magic (minus the eyebrows part). I just love how it exfoliates and massages- and with it's space aged water resistant technology you can also take it in the shower without fear of electrocution. We really have arrived in the 21st Century!

Oh and it scrubs out all those pesky little dirt globs in your pores. Well worth the 8 or 10 bucks just for that!

Exhibit B: The pickle. Not just any pickle. The only pickle you can find in your grocer's refrigerated section which still somewhat resembles a cucumber in texture and color. Seriously, I have never eaten such a fabulous pickle. At the risk of sounding a little grotesque I ate an entire jar of mini dills in 2 days (and I'm not pregnant). I think the goodness may come from the little bits of colorful seasoning floating around in the bottom of the jar, not to mention the fact that these little guys are lovingly refrigerated for freshness until they hit your 98.7 degree taste buds. Besides- who can resist a pickle brand who touts the fact that pickles are a good way to "show you care"? Now that's good eating!

Be a thinker.

My friend Sarah (who is incidentally one of the funniest, awesomest people I know) sent Dave these shirts, which have been putting looks of shock and awe on the faces of people in grocery stores everywhere. Seriously, Sarah, you should start a baby T-shirt boutique. I love them.
I would totally shop there.



My favorite, by far (but Mike says it's only for bed time).

Happy Birthday to me (and Rhi).

I know my birthday was almost a month ago now, but I got an early (and I guess late) birthday present when Mike gave the OK for me to buy tickets to New York with my friend Rhiannon for our collective April birthdays. Rhiannon turned the big 3-0 this year (don't tell anyone), so we had to do it up special!

I'm spoiled now. I want a trip for my birthday every year.

We arrived at LaGuardia on 3 hours of sleep and plenty of energy and grease to spare. I swear I could go unshowered for days and not get as greasy as I do riding in an airplane for 2 hours. If someone can explain this to me I would appreciate it.




We headed right up to the Empire State Building (because our hotel room wasn't quite ready). It was Rhiannon's first trip to New York and I never did any of the really touristy stuff when I went last September. It was good to be kidless (although Dave would have loved it), the lines were long and it was hot and sweaty, but the view was amazing.



This was the point of our trip where Rhiannon became the human New York compass. Her photographic memory became apparent after our panoramic view of the city, and she navigated from there on out. I was happy to follow along.



We saw RENT, with Tamyra Gray as Mimi, before the show goes off Broadway in a couple of weeks. After being up for 21 hours we headed back to the hotel to fill our bellies with deli sammich and hit the sack.
The next day we were much more chipper.
We met up with our "big apple greeter" ,Bob, for an insiders tour of the city and a little insight we wouldn't get on a regular bus or walking tour. For example- this amazing store- the ABC Carpet & Home. I think Bob really honed in on what we liked. I could go crazy with about 70,000 dollars in this store (actually, I could probably only buy a rug with that, but that would be crazy for me.) We walked through Greenwich Village and found some new stores and resaurants to love.

Emily (aka Bone Sr.) arrived via the Chinatown express to show us Heath Ledgers apartment and shed a tear with us.

She was just in time to join us on our quest for stardom. We were invited by some students at NY Film Academy to be walk-ons for a webisode (links to follow when the webisode becomes available).

Ahh, the sweet taste of fame.



Bob took us to Chinatown and helped us barter with our "knock-off Yoko Ono" for Prada, Gucci and Dolce knockoff bags. We actually got pretty good at bartering thanks to Bob. We just needed a little nudging.




Bob helped us barter for some delicious frog legs, fresh from the frog. Only 3.59 a pound. Well worth it, I say.


Then, being the connoisseur of all things New York, Bob took us to the "best Shanghai dumpling restaurant in the city". And it was honestly delicious.


It may not look like much, but I am craving one right now. With a little ginger sprinkled on top.


On Bob's suggestion we rode the Staten Island Ferry and visited Brooklyn Heights for some of the most amazing pizza I have ever had (and the longest line I have ever waited in for Pizza).


It took us an hour to find Grimaldi's, but it was well worth the trouble. And once again, I let these fine ladies do all the navigating.


Time's Square: this is Emily not getting suckered into buying tickets to a stand up comedy show.

We didn't have to go in there... but I thought the flashing neon lights at the Police Depo were funny.

The next morning was Rhiannon's actual birthday, and she got a special treat from the captain of our tour around Manhattan.

Our tour guide gave his tour schpiel from the lower deck, right next to the birthday girl.

I recommend the Circle Line for a good 3 hour tour of the whole Manhattan Island from the water (even the forrested north end). We learned a lot about the history of New York and history in general, including why New York is called "The Big Apple".



Emily left on the Chinatown express back to her hometown, and Rhiannon and I celebrated the rest of her birthday with Thai food, then desserts at a little Italian Trattoria- where a bellydancing bartender blocked our exit for at least 10 minutes. Now that's what I call a goooood time.

Sunday in New York feels magical I think. It was cold and drizzly, but so laidback. The city is so different on Sunday.
We checked out some Monet, Picasso and Van Gogh at the Met- then made our way back down 5th avenue and back home to warm and sunny Tejas.