Amazing...

I was balancing my checkbook the other day after all my christmas shopping was over and done with. When I finally came up with the balance, I was a little nervous about the little amount I had left to last me through the year. I immediately started to panic and wondered if there were things I could return that I didn't really need to get! But I couldn't give anything up...I was excited about the presents I was giving and didn't want to cut any corners.
I could have freaked out about the financial situation (or lack there of in this case), but I decided to just sit it out and see where the week takes me until I get paid again. I mean, there really wasn't anything I could have done to change it right? So, why worry? Or at least why worry right now?
Yesterday, I was handed a check for $100 from my company- a christmas bonus I guess! Whatever it was....it was miracle! God is amazing! Now, I know he didn't just throw money in my lap because I was struggling...I think he knew where my heart was this season! This is really all about giving and the absolute joy of it!
Amazing...now I can relax and enjoy the time with my family and friends!
Happy Wrapping!

My Christmas present from work....

Christmas is here in 2 days, the weather is great, the gifts have been bought...what a perfect day to...be audited??? Not so much!
Who's schedules a workers comp audit for the last few weeks of December, that's what I want to know??? Where's his xmas cheer???

Anyways, he's in the other room working away on payroll stubbs and DE-6's that I luckily conjured up since this audit is for a quarter in 2007- I wasn't even employed here. So do I care about the outcome? Not really! Is he reading payroll reports/summaries/records that I created? Nope. But it does make me grateful for ONE thing I learned at Plums- Organization of past files is key. My current company does not have that AT ALL. So, beginning January 2009 I get to organize and file everything this company has done the last 3 years...FUN! They won't know what hit 'em!
PS- I have this strange love of organizing! Let the games begin!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Wowzer's...I made it!

This weekend was a hectic one! I'm glad I made it to work at a decent hour Monday morning!

Friday was our Ugly Xmas sweater Disneyland trip. Worst traffic I've EVER seen trying to get into downtown disney! We figured the park was going to be super crowded so we spent most of our time bar-hopping. It was a blast....and I was so thankful we were wearing sweaters even though they were all pretty ugly- it was freezing! We had a blast but had to head home early to get some sleep so that we were ready for our party the next night!

Saturday I was up at 8:00 ready with my list of things to do to get "party ready". It was a quick morning...or I was just super busy! Before knew it, it was time to get ready for our "Silver Belles and Blue Balls" Christmas Party. Clay and I had so much fun having friends over. We had plenty of appetizers and wine- not to mention, blue jello shots! :) It was a long night, finally ending the party at 2:30. Here are some of the silver belles- Amber, Emily, Me and Sabrina!

I wasn't too excited to be up at 8:00 the next morning, but it was my best friends birthday and I drove out to the desert to surprise her! And also to meet her twins!!!! Rylee Michelle and Kaylee Autumn were born on December 4th and already growing so fast! I am determined to be the cool "Auntie Brookie" to these adorable lil butterballs!

Gift giving

This is the greatest time of the year! Personally, I hate the cold weather (if you consider 60 degrees cold). But I LOVE how high everyone's spirit is! They seem a little lighter on their feet, a little more bounce in their step- if you will! Thank goodness I haven't had to step near a mall- maybe that's why I'm still satisfied thinking there actually is christmas cheer.

Buying gifts for our family has always been a huge task. Having such a large family can turn xmas shopping into more of a chore than a "desire to give". This year I feel I've given myself enough time to really think about gifts to give to people. I love giving more personalized gifts than simply what people want on their list. After all, it's the thought put into that gift that counts! :)
I just figured out what I'm getting my brother Adam for xmas and I am soooo excited to see his face on xmas morning. As for the rest of the fam, the creative juices are flowing and I am ready to find fun and exciting things to give them too!

Happy shopping/gift giving...and remember one thing while you're out battling the crowds: remember that this is a time to be joyful!

Happiest Place on Earth

I LOVE Disneyland at christmas time! The lights are amazing, the holiday cheer is all around, and there's nothing like getting bundled up and running around like crazy kids. Clay and I went this last Sunday after he got off work! We randomly met up with our friends that were already there and we had a great time! We're going this Friday...AGAIN- it's ugly xmas sweater theme disneyland! I am excited to what hideously disgusting ugly sweaters my friends find!

I'm still prepping for the xmas party at our place on Saturday! I feel organized enough...well, at least until Saturday actually comes- I'm sure it will be a crazy, long day! But so much fun!

My new digital camera will hopefully capture the craziness! :)

Here we go...

December has come! And before we know it- it will be over! Let the craziness begin from now until the end of the year...
I've started prepping for the holidays early this year and am very proud of myself for jumping on it! The lights are up, the decorations are out, the tree is coming this weekend! I should probably thank Megan and her roomie for getting me inspired. They've been talking about xmas since the 1st of November, which is a little too early for me.
Clay and I are having a xmas party at our place and can't wait for the invites to get out! This is my forte....party planning! I just love getting people together to have a great time! This xmas party has a Silver and Blue theme- decor, food, drinks, attire...ALL SILVER AND BLUE! Now on my list is to find the prefect dress- silver, sparkly, and warm would be ideal! So much to do...so little time! However, I will try not to let this month consume me so much that I don't enjoy the xmas cheer!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!

bLuE

Around this time last year, Clay and I got Disneyland annual passes and we started going with a group of friends every few weeks. The trips quickly received the nickname of "Drunk Disneyland" because that pretty much what it was. We usually stopped by a few bars (quickly becoming friends with the bartenders) before heading into the park. Here is a picture of a "Couples" trip last December (2007). I love love love when the park is decorated for christmas!

We continued to try to get everyone to Disneyland every month or so. We always had such a great time with the crew. For my friend Jennee's birthday, we decided it would be fun to all wear red. Yes, a large group of (innocent) drunk people all wearing red...literally running around Disneyland! (5/10/08)

It was so much fun and we took so many fun pictures, we decided to do it the next time we went- only that time wearing orange (6/8/08). I went above and beyond and color sprayed my hair orange...slightly (I was nervous)! We discovered a new drink at our favorite bar, the Hearthstone in the Grand Californian hotel- orange headed sluts! Not so good...but going along with theme of the night we had to do it!

......and then there was yellow disney (7/13/08)!

We were celebrating Clay's 22nd birthday, hence such the happy crowd on the Tower of Terror ride. "Y? Because we like you!" ---------->

*QUESTION: Were Clay and I really wearing neon highlighter yellow colored shirts?

ANSWER: YES- and I was wearing neon fishnets!

...and green disneyland (8/29/08)! Clay and I had matching tye-dye neon green t-shirts for this trip! A store near us has every kind of t-shirt for $5- $10 so it's our favorite place to go look for costumes!

So, we have our blue disneyland trip tomorrow night! It's been a while since our last trip...a few months and everyone is so excited to dress up in their blueness and run around disneyland! I'm excited because this trip we are celebrating MY birthday and I am so lucky to be able to spend it with my greatest friends!

We're also looking forward to Ugly Xmas Sweater Disneyland trip, coming to an ugly sweater near you December 12th.

The fun just keeps on coming!

I love my life...

Clear the clutter...

I went up to Fresno this weekend to visit the brothers and Tracy. I was so excited for the trip and couldn't wait to hang with the family! Here's a small recap:

My adventures began with a wake up time of 4am Saturday morning. And man was that rough since I was tossing and turning from 2:00 til about 3:15...ugggh! So, with the santa anas blowing and the sky still dark, I was on the road, up to Fresno, on my way, wouldn't be long now....

...or so I thought!

A small fire in the Placerita Canyon closed up the 5 freeway from the 210 all the way to magic mountain. So...I did what any girl this day in age would do- I busted out my map! No, not my tomtom or magellan or gps system...a map, a good ol' fashioned map. I manuevered my way back to the 101 and took it up the coast aways and crossed over back to the 5 at magic moutain.
I thought I was taking some super secret way through- but seemed like everyone else found my super secret way also and there was a TON of traffic. 5 and 1/2 hours later, I eventually got up to Frenso- wearing my bulldog red and ready to tailgate.

I guess I picked a great weekend to come up because Duncan's work was having a HUGE tailgate party- open bar and TONS of yummy food! Duncan and Tracy, Adam, Adam Wells, Brett and Erik, and Tracy's friends Bree and Ryan all were there! We had a few extremely strong drinks before we headed into the game...for a little while! Good times... don't know who won- but that's not really important!

After that was sushi and then back to Adam's for a dance party! So much fun...even though it was just me and Tracy and my brothers running around Adam's living room like lil kids on christmas. We had some pretty banging dance moves, I must say! :) It was such a long day so I went back to D's and T's and spent the night! Woke up the next morning, chatted with them a bit and then was on my way home. It was a quick trip but soooo much fun! (Tracy, how come we didn't take pictures???)

But I must say...after such a stressful drive up there- Yay for American Ambulance and their open bar!!! :)

I am so fortunate to be able to do things like take trips to visit my brothers and sisters. This is the second weekend in a row visiting family (San Diego trip to visit Meg, Robyn, Chels and Carrie Underwood was last weekend) and I have had the best times!!! Just goes to show how important it is to never take these times for granted. Life's short and the most needs to be made of it! I love my family and without them, I'd be lost!

The more and more life gets cluttered up with busy schedules, the harder it is to make time for what's important! It's hard to plan things ahead of time and actually follow through with them...but if you don't, the clutter will take over. Clear the clutter and fill your calendar with what's important! :)

Hmmmm...what's next?
Next weekend- I'm off to the desert to visit my 8 and a half months-pregnant-with-twins BFF. I can't wait....even if I do have to drive out there alone!!! :)

Ok...this is just getting ridiculously long!
Until next time!

disappointed.

My brother's actions have once again surpassed ridiculousness! :(
I know he will upset many...but do his actions upset me? (Ponder a moment) No.

Is it horrible to say his faults have become my reassurance? This reassurance of not having to feel bad anymore about not believing in him. Everytime this has happened, it's the same song and dance. I would stand with my family and "support" him- each time never really believing that "he will actually make a change...that maybe this time he will take the high road" (*clarification: not literally the "high" road). I get some sort of sick self-satisfaction knowing that I was right and everyone who had hope and believed in him was wrong.

But
That statement makes me sad. Because I know with my sense of satifaction comes a world full of hurt for those who were made fools, yet again.

Maybe it's just not his time yet.
There is a plan for him...
I just have zero hope for whatever it is.
That way,
I won't have to be
disappointed...




Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
-Robert Frost

Morning Coffee*

A year, 2 months and 4 days ago, my world changed forever with a simple night out with some "friends" on Labor Day weekend. Little did I know, that night I would find the love of my life. Ever since then, Clay has been nothing short of amazing.
He has been supportive, caring, reliable, and can always make me giggle like a little schoolgirl! I get butterflies everytime I see him...even still, after over a year of being together. I know what people mean now when they say they fall more and more in love everyday. He allows me see the world with no worries, carefree, and fully content. He is my rock, my support, my right hand! He is the caffeine of my life- he is my morning coffee!

It's my bday month...

NOVEMBER- the 11th month of the year, 30 days of fun, Thanksgiving with family and friends, Veteran's Day, Daylight Savings, Election day, Black Friday, etc. What's not to love about it?
To top it all off- it's my birthday month. Amazingly enough, I've already created a birthday list, which in turn transfers over onto my xmas list. It's sad when you start realizing the things on your list aren't toys and games anymore. They usually aren't the things you "want", but the things you "need" and can't really afford! I guess that goes with the whole "growing up" and "responsibility" thing.
But let's look at the bright side of things- All in all, life is good and I can't complain.

TODAY I AM THANKFUL FOR: my short wishlist, because it means I don't NEED too much!

New Beginnings...

So, I copied my sister Megan and decided to start a blog today. I am going to try my hardest to stay dedicated to it... because I've heard from friends that it is difficult to keep it up and current! But...I do have quite a bit of time on my hands at work to keep everyone posted on my "Oh So Exciting" Life. :) So, I hope you sit back, relax, blog and be merry as you "ketchup" on my life.

FIRST EVER BLOG TOPIC:
How did we get to this point???

You know....it's amazing to me to think how much the world has changed since I was a little kid. That statement definitely ages me- and makes me sound like my mother...which I always said I never would but lately find myself trying to emulate eveything she does- weird, huh? We live and we learn. Back in my day, we didn't have blogs, or myspace, or facebook, or youtube, etc.
If we wanted to talk to our friends- we called them or wrote them a note! Even though these things such as blogs and facebook and myspace give off the perception of keeping people connected- it is such an impersonable connection that we continue to develop! Even though I am on Myspace and Facebook and have started this blog...I am going to challenge myself to call people more, just to say hi! Take the time to keep what's important to you close* So...you can expect a call from me in the near future! :)