Helpful Hints...

I forgot to say this in my previous post so sorry about that! I know that when you open this site the music starts up right away. Hopefully I haven't scared too many of you! :) You can turn it off if you would like to. Just go to the bottom of the blog page and click on the little box that has the "Pause" sign (2 lines) on it, it should turn to the "Play" sign (arrow). That way you can listen to videos here and not have to also hear my music! :D
And Brooke mentioned that I should add a disclaimer to the YouTube video just below here...you may need a Kleenex or two. I quess I didn't think about it last night, but as I was looking through tributes on YouTube I was sure glad that kids left the box of Kleenex next to the computer! :)
Hope this helps!!!

My Tribute to President Gordon B. Hinckley

I found this tribute on YouTube and thought that it was really nice. It is comforting to hear that other people feel the same way I do about President Hinckley's passing. He was an amazing man who always had a funny story to tell. He loved everyone and encouraged us all to do the same. He was a wonderful prophet and he will be missed. But I can only imagine his joy to now be reunited with his loving wife and family members. I thought it was strange that it rained all day on Sunday but then when I heard that he had passed away I realized that is was just Heaven crying, out of sorrow for us because we were losing such a wonderful man, but out of joy for them because he was finally coming home. I hope you enjoy the pictures and remember to tell those around you that you love them!!

Not The Greatest Week Ever...

Well, this week has been a bust. The highlight has been the fun I had in my CAD class, the floorplans I drew out for one of the warehouses in the company that Tim works for, and some Roswell books I bought on Amazon last week that actually came this week, and they were each only $1.00!! :) Other than that, nothing particularly good has happened. Let's start off with the first bad thing...

My favorite restaurant ever closed on Sunday!! :( Matta's has been around in Mesa for almost 55 years and they just decided to close because the owners want to retire. WHAT?!?! Sadness... Luckily there is a smaller restaurant in East Mesa and they are supposed to be building a new restaurant in West Mesa, which will open in December, but until then...nothing. The only good part of it was that I got to go to lunch there one more time with my friend Melissa, so that was really fun. And imagine my surprise when my parents walked up! They were meeting my Great Aunt Jean and my moms cousin. And as we were leaving we saw my Great Aunt Mary. I'm sure Melissa was thrilled to be a part of my little family reunion!! :D But the food was good and we only had to wait 45 minutes so it wasn't too bad considering they closed forever the next day! But now where will my family go for dinner????

The second sad thing to happen this week happened when I went to my evening class on Tuesday. I had been listening to the radio and they were talking about someone dying but they never said who. So as I sat in class, my friend Erin said, "So did you hear that Heath Ledger died today?" NO!!!!! I guess that's who they were talking about on the radio. That is so sad, he is one of my favorite actors! His movies 10 Things I Hate About You and A Knights Tale are some of my favorites! I used to love seeing pictures of him with Michelle Williams and their cute little baby Matilda. I always thought that was an odd name for the baby, but I guess it must have been an Australian thing. :) And chances are good that she won't have any other Matilda's in her classes growing up! ;) I'm sad that we won't get to see anymore work by him but glad that he did some really great movies while he was here. And just a little extra trivia for you -- he was originally considered for the role of Max on Roswell. The studio decided against him though because of a show he had done in Australian, Roar. I guess they wanted to go with someone new so they picked Jason Behr, and I am all the happier for it!! :)

Then, if my week wasn't going bad enough, I got sick!! I guess it was bound to happen, I always get sick at least once during the Winter, but this year I had managed to avoid the really bad sick stuff. A little cough here and a stuffy nose there, but nothing like I have now. Oh well, not much I can do about it now except endure through the muscle aches, chills, fever, and headaches. Although today my voice is a little scratchy and hoarse too, so maybe there is some chest congestion mixed in. Oh joy...

Well, I am sure you are all grateful for the weeks you have had huh?!?! ;) And don't worry, I will try not to post again when I am sick! :P But things are looking up!! Lost is back in just 6 days!!! And then we all get to enjoy the wonder that is Matthew Fox. Oh yeah, and Jate... (Jack and Kate for those of you who aren't in the know!! ;) ) Plus I might actually get to go see Juno tomorrow afternoon, that is if Tim survives inventory tonight and tomorrow at work... :o

Here's a little preview of what ABC has to offer next Thursday night. If you're like me, I know you'll appreciate it!! :D

I Guess I Can Admit To These...

So, Brooke wants me to list 6 of my quirks and 6 facts about me. It's a cute little idea that she did on her blog and then Brianna did it on hers, so I guess I should join in on all the fun. Let's see how this goes... It could get scary before we're done!! Beware!! ;)

6 Quirks
1. I wash my hands about a billion times a day. Everytime I touch something that may possibly have had a germ on it in the past 3 years, I have to wash my hands. Then they get dried out so I have to use lotion on them because I can't stand for my hands to be chapped. I don't know why all this is, but I am sure that the lotion companies are happy! :)
2. I have to go to sleep on my right side, curled up in the fetal position, with my feet outside of the blankets, no matter what the temperature! Kinda weird, I know.
3. When I am eating different foods in the same meal, and the foods are on the same plate (like at Thanksgiving), none of the foods can touch, except for mashed potatoes and corn. All other food must be separate and I must eat them all one at a time. No picking and choosing from this or that, all potatoes, then all vegetables, then all turkey, then all desert, etc. I'm not sure why this is either, but it just grosses me out when two different foods touch and contaminate each other. Who wants to taste Jello when they are eating broccoli? NOT ME!! That's who!!
4. I, like Brooke, have entire conversations in my head, with myself. It might be a conversation that has happened in the past, one that will happen in the future, one that may never happen, it doesn't matter. And it can be with people I know or people I don't know. I guess I just like to imagine how certain things would happen if it was up to me. I should be committed to the nearest crazy person hospital, I know...
5. I like my food COOKED! For example, bacon. If it bends and does not break, it's not done!! If you cook eggs and there is anything runny or wet looking in them, they are not done!! I want it crispy and dry, no chance of getting a little left over blood from the cow in my steak! My kids and Tim hate this about me when I cook things, but I don't care! If they want it a different way then they are welcome to make their own! :)
6. I hate shoe shopping! I guess I'm not a girlie girl because I own one purse and about 5 pairs of shoes, each one with a certain purpose. I guess I hate shopping for shoes because I can never find anything I like. Or, what's worse, I know what I want but I can't find it, and I don't want to settle for anything else. That kind of puts a damper on the whole experience.

6 Facts
1. I am slightly obsessive about things. Okay, I am very obsessive about things!! You may have noticed this about me as I ramble on and on about my favorite tv shows, movies, music, etc. Anything really, I can get obsessed over just about anything! I try to keep it in check but it's kind of hard to do. When I love something I can't stop thinking about it!
2. I am a total perfectionist about certain things (Obviously not my house! :D ) and I am not happy unless they are perfect! A good example of this is my grades at school. I once told Tim that I had failed a test, when I actually got a B, but in my mind I had failed because I didn't get an A. So once when I actually DID fail a test, I told him and he said, "Now is this Brandi failing or actual failing?" When I asked what he meant he said that when most people fail, it means that actually failed, but when I fail it means that I am just at the same level as most everyone else. I guess he's right. I have stressed so much over the 4 B's I have gotten at school. I am still mad that I won't graduate with a 4.0 GPA, but there's not much I can do about it now, other than retake the classes... Which I have thought about... :)
3. I straighten out the shopping carts in their stalls in grocery store parking lots. I hate it when people just push their carts into the stall and leave it, then the carts get all messed up and start pouring out the opening of the stall. I don't know if it helps the cart getters, but it makes me feel good. :)
4. I love green olives!! On anything, in anything, I love them!! My favorite pizza is pepperoni
and green olives, which Tim used to make for me when we were dating and first married. Yummy!!!
5. I love old Saturday Night Live skits!! The ones I grew up with. They are so funny!! In high school my friends and I would repeat them word for word and laugh so hard!! It was great!!
6. I have a really good memory most of the time. I memorize lines from movies and tv shows and then repeat them as I watch the scenes. I remember people that I have met in the past and usually remember their names and where I know them from. I even remember conversations that I had with them or certain things about them. I remember actors from different projects they have done and I can usually recognize singers by their voice. My old boss used to call me and say, "Listen to this and tell me who it is and what the song is," then she would hold the phone up to the speaker and within a few seconds I had it. I know Tim isn't particularly happy about this one all the time since I always seem to remember things he would rather have me forget. But where is the fun in that? I even remember my favorite commercial from when I was a teenager. It was a milk one and it started out with a little girl gazing up at this hunky guy saying, "Michael Martin, I don't even exist in your eyes. Because all you see is a persons' outside. Well, I'm a beautiful person inside... And I'm drinking milk, do you know what that means? I'm growing fast..." Anyhow, you get the picture. If you really want to know the rest you can ask me. I know it!! :D

So, I hope that after hearing all of that you still like me. :P I know I may seem perfect but as you can tell, I am far from it!! :D (Ha-Ha-Ha!!!)

January 15 of 15...

So, I decided to challenge myself and do a 15 of 15 this month... Not really!! I am not sure what happened to me on the 12th but I think it had something to do with the fact that I was starting to not feel too great and that Tim was home and following me around all day. I really did take my camera with me everywhere I went that day, I just didn't take any pictures. Oh well, now you get to see the joys of my first day back to school this semester! As always, 12 of 12 is the idea of Chad Darnell, whose site you can check out here --> http://chaddarnell.typepad.com/runchadrun2/12_of_12/index.html

Since I was such a slacker this month I won't post a link on his site, but you don't need to worry about all that technical stuff, just enjoy the boringness of my day!!

6:30am -- My first day of class, why does the morning have to come so early?? I sure was wishing I could have stayed in this spot for another hour or two!

7:30am -- Ahh, what a lovely site to see first thing in the morning!! Jack from Lost... And just think, only 15 more days until the season premiere!!! Make sure and mark you calendar for January 31st and the 2 hour Lost!! As you'll notice, I have my calendar marked for that day!! (And I also will not be taking phone calls during the hours of 8 and 10pm!!) :)

8:15am -- Aahhh, room TC 101. Back to school I go!! And what a surprise to see new monitors for the computers in this room! It seems like I've spent WAY too much time in the room over the past 2 years!! But this new CAD class I am taking should be a lot of fun! We will be learning several software programs and how to alter pictures and things like that. I can't wait!! Fanart, here I come!!!

11:45am -- Time to get Jensen from the bus. Doesn't she look happy? I think she usually sleeps on the way home, which is good since she is on the bus for about 45 minutes! And joy of all joys that she remembered to bring home her coat!! She already lost her cute little sweater...

12:00pm -- Time for homework and lunch! Jensen has her little routine that she likes to keep so here we have the homework paper (she had 2 for some reason today, but usually there is just one, front and back) and her peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which must be cut into squares with no crust. She then takes a bit out of each piece and then puts them back together so that she can see the circle before she eats the rest. And of course, what lunch would be complete without a Capri Sun juicy? Yum-Yum!!



12:05 -- Time for my lunch!! I don't eat out for lunch very often but since I had a few errands to run after my class I decided that only being 2 miles away from my favorite sub place was too much temptation! Luckily it's a lot farther away from my house than that!! And a Coke with Cherry and Vanilla from Sonic is super good too!!




1:00pm -- And now a few minutes to play the Lost Favorite Character game on my Word Slinger website. All my friends there are so fun!! My friend Jobob made my signature picture for me (with Photoshop which is one of the programs I will be using in school and so I can learn to make these things!!) and it has Sydney & Vaughn from ALIAS, Logan and Veronica from Veronica Mars, Max and Liz from Roswell, and Jack and Kate from Lost. it's so cute, I love it!!




2:00pm -- Yippee!! The mail lady came and brought my new Lost poster that I am adding to my poster collection!! It's pretty cool!!!




2:30pm -- Just enough time for one episode of Roswell before the kids got home from school! Here is my little collection of my favorite shows -- My So-Called Life, ALIAS, Veronica Mars, and Roswell. One of these days I will add those Lost dvds and get the last season of ALIAS. But I need something to look forward to...besides, I have ALIAS season 5 taped on VHS tapes. :)


4:30pm -- All the kids are home!! And playing with the newest addition to our family, a little 5 month old male Min-Pin. Sadly we haven't been able to decide on a name yet for the little guy. The girls want Max, the boys want Spike, and Tim wants Buck. I told Tim that if he names him Buck then I will just call him Dog. So if you have any good name ideas, don't be shy!! Fork 'em over!



5:30pm -- So here is the dinner I WISH I made for the night...Lemon Chicken and Egg Noodles. But, of course, Tim hates it so since I made it a few nights ago it looks like I won't be making it anytime soon. I guess the whole "I'll eat whatever you make" thing isn't true after all, huh? I think he doesn't like it because it's actually kinda healthy and doesn't have too much fat. Oh well, I love it!!


6:00pm -- Here's the dinner I actually DID make! Corn dogs and french fries. Yummy and quick as I ran out the door to my evening class. Well, at least the kids all like this one.


6:50pm -- On my way to school, wow, the freeway is so dark!! Just wait until I am making the same drive in May and the sun is still up! That's one thing I like about the summer, it doesn't get dark until like 8:30pm!


9;30pm -- After my Sales and Marketing class at school, this is the lobby/walkway area outside of the library and my classroom at school. I love the lights, they are just so cool!!



9:40pm -- On my way home, I hit every stinking red light!! Man, I hate that!! I know I'm not the only one who this happens to, am I???




Well, there you go!! Nothing too exciting, but it's a day in my life! And just think Blake, it's not even midnight yet!! :P Oh, and if you haven't read the comments on my last few posts, you should. My brother Blake is so funny!! I have been laughing so hard at seeing all the famous people posting on my blog... :D

It's Almost Here...

You know what tomorrow is, right??? The 12th day of January!! And you know what that means?? Time for 12 of 12!!! You take 12 pictures of your day and then blog them! It's fun, and it's pretty easy, so why not give it a try! Apparently there won't be any bonus words this year, guess people found them too challenging, but you can choose your own or pick a theme or something if you feel like it. So get those cameras warmed up and let's see what a day in your life looks like!!

Favorite #14...

Another favorite!! I know how excited you are!! I don't know if I can live up to the greatness of favorite #13 but I'll try! :)

I love posters!!! When I was growing up my bedroom walls were plastered with them!! I had all different kinds and I loved them! I still do, but the only difference is that Tim won't let me put them up on the bedroom walls... So I have another plan! :) Someday I hope to have an office in my house, someplace that I can do my work and that is a room just for me. My plan is to plaster the walls with all my favorite posters! I have been collecting them over the past few years and I should hopefully have enough to cover the whole room someday. I have been able to get most of them on eBay, so they don't even cost too much, for the most part... ;) I have gotten posters of my favorite movies and tv shows, but I still have a few more to go! My latest purchase is a Roswell poster that is really cool! And if I am lucky I will add another one to my collection tomorrow.

Here are a few of the posters I have collected. I guess I really should go through them all and see exactly what I have...

First my tv show posters!! This one is my latest purchase. I just love it!!

And with any luck I will own this one tomorrow...

This one is my pride and joy! It is a huge bus stop poster (3'x6') that is printed on canvas and is double sided. I guess I could back light it... :)

And another ALIAS one. I think I have a couple more, but I really can't remember! They have been packed away for far too long!

And now my favorite movies!! This one is my 1st favorite!! I've loved it ever since I was 14 and saw it for the first time. :)

And another favorite!! I think I had every line in this movie memorized at one time. Pitiful, I know!

And finally Blue Crush!! I love this movie so much!!

I think I also have The Notebook and Sweet Home Alabama and maybe another one or two. The only one I know I still need is Return to Me. I did buy it once but the guy never sent it to me. Oh well, it was only like $3, and I saw another one on eBay the other day... Maybe I have Hope Floats too... Man, I guess I know what I'm doing tomorrow!! Cleaning out my closet and finding all my posters!! My future office is gonna look so cool someday!! :D How fun will it be to be surrounded by pictures of all of my favorite shows and movies!! Now I just need to find posters for Lost, Veronica Mars, and My So-Called Life. Look out eBay, here I come!!!