Checking it off the list.

One of my goals for 2008 was to FINALLY use my passport.  I have had it for over a year and I'm sad to say I have yet to use it.  Well things are about to change.  Luckily I have a good friend Jess that served her mission to a foreign country and she just happens to be going back to visit.  I wasn't about to miss my opportunity to finally bust out my passport so I sorta invited myself along.  We will be going to Sao Paulo, Brazil for ten days in September and I can't wait.  The only thing holding me back is that I have to get a visa.  I am probably like most people when I didn't realize I would need one.  It's just a good thing Jess knows what she is doing and has been there before.  It kinda sucks though because it's like 200 bucks......but it will be well worth it.  I have to pay 140 to the consulate to get my visa, but because you can't just mail it in like a passport I have to pay another 55 bucks so someone can physically go to L.A. and turn it in for me and pick it up.  I am just glad they have these services because $55 dollars is a lot cheaper than and airplane ticket.  I will be in L.A next month but unfortunately the only time you can pickup the passport from there is a Tues. or Thurs. from 12-1 pm, crazy huh?  Wish me luck with the whole visa thing, I will keep you updated on if I get accepted or not.  I thought I would post a couple of pics of some of the beaches we are wanting to visit.  

Looks pretty sweet huh? I will admit I've been wanting to go to Europe forever, but I think South America has a lot to offer.  The best part is our dollar is more than their money (unlike Europe) so we can get a beach house in this city for like sixty bucks a night and that is split 3 ways!!! I don't think the motel in Roy is as cheap as that!

These are a few of my favorite things.

I have recently discovered (or rediscovered in some cases) things in the last couple of months ranging from new food to music.  I decided to name a few of my favorite things I have been doing instead of blogging......sorry unfortunately I am still a slacker and with the good weather we've had lately I'm not behind the computer as much......anyways here is the list. 

Badminton- I bought a sweet set at Wal-Mart and me and my friends (Pej) can't get enough.

Wendy's spicy chicken sandwiches....they are definitely spicy but really good.

Lupe Fiasco- After seeing him in concert I can't get enough of his new Cd "The Cool" for those of you still into hip hop I highly recommend it. 

Papa Murphy's Take n Bake- I use to think is was a hassle to have to cook it yourself but I prefer their sauces and ingredients.  My favs are the Gourmet Vegetarian w/o tomatoes and onions and the Mediterranean. 

Reading!!!! I used to never read in fact I can probably count on one hand how many books I had read (all the way through) in the last 5 years until "Twilight". I owe this book and the ones that followed a lot of credit for getting me to read again.  Since finishing the first 3 books I have read 4 more.  I'm definitely not a speed reader but I stay up all hours of the night so I can read for hours on end and usually finish them within a week. So far the best book I have read besides the Twilight series is "My Sister's Keeper". It is a tear jerker but a pretty interesting story. 

Rob & Big reruns- Since the show is officially over now I am getting caught up on all of the great fun and adventures that Rob & Big had.  I used to watch the show occasionally but now that my bro has been recording them I watch them all the time and laugh my butt off every episode.  I know some people have been watching them from the start like my friend Jodi, but I am just glad its on MTV so I know I can catch them all in reruns.   

Blackberry- I am starting to wonder how I ever survived without it!! 

Another artist I have constantly been listening to on repeat is Sia. The whole Cd is really good but one song I can't get enough of is called "Little Black Sandals" it's on her Some People Have Real Problems album so check it out if you have the time. Thanks again Aimee for the Cd.

Racketball- I used to play this back in the day and until recently I hadn't played in years.  Me and a couple of friends started playing again at Golds in Ogden.  If any of you play let me know and you can get in on the fun....that is if you don't mind a few curse words now and then!! 

 I noticed my list is getting long so I will end with a website my cousin Aimee also hooked me up with it's called Sidestep.com.   For all of you travelers out there it is a really convenient site. You can go there and check out airfare, hotel, cruises, etc. and it searches for it on a ton of different websites to tell you where to go to get the best deal.  They also send you weekly emails to keep you updated whenever there is a good travel deal going on.  

I hope you guys will check out some of my favorite stuff.....let me know what you think of about any of it if you agree or disagree.  

Summer is finally here!!!

                               The Gang

        

To celebrate the beginning of summer I decided to have a little BBQ at my house.  It was a small gathering of friends so it was really fun.  A couple of my friends live or lived out of state and I hadn't seen them in awhile so we had a nice little reunion.  I was really proud of myself  because I had to start the grill with a match and I didn't singe my hair or burn down the house. Jessica and I did a great job cooking up the hot dogs and hamburgers, Amy made a yummy dessert, and Jo made a great salad (at least that's what I am told since I don't really eat salad).  We had fun playing with all the little kiddies.  My friends all have the cutest kids and they are such great moms.  Although, they are definitely lacking in the Guitar Hero skills department.  I am proud of my friend Tiff cuz she finally passed a song now I just need to help Lori get there.  Thanks to everyone for coming we need to do it again soon!!! I bought a badminton set to play but we didn't have time so the next one we will have to for sure.  We played it a little tonight with my family and I am happy to say that me and Ryan beat everyone.  I think it helped though the fact that Jen couldn't serve the birdie over the net if her life depended on it.      

Here is a picture of my friend Amy with her cute little girl Sydney.    

   

   

Jodi and Heston (he didn't want to look at the camera that night). 

Jess and Deagon.  Lori joked that Deagon looks more like Jess than her, I think I might agree.

The best 10 bucks I've spent in a long time!!!

Two weeks ago I got an email about STP tickets going on sale for 10 bucks if you bought them between that Sat and Sun.  I sent a message to my sister Heather to see if she was interested and she was down so she bought our tickets as soon as they went on sale the next day.  We weren't expecting much since the tickets were so cheap we were just hoping for something in lower bowl.  I called Heather to see where she got our seats and to my surprise she said we got 6th row on the floor.  I couldn't believe they still had seats that close available. She bought four tickets for me, Heather, her friend Nicole, and Scott.  I drove us down and we got there early so we were able to eat at the Training Table before the concert started.  The opening act was already playing when we arrived.  They're a local band called Royal Bliss.  I have heard of them before but didn't know many of their songs. They were pretty good, although no one else I was with was a fan.  We had some interesting people next to us as usual.  I think the winners for most annoying went to the two dudes in front of us.  One guy had a sparkly blue button up shirt on with dark brown dress pants and dress shoes.  I wish I would've got a pic of him but you will just have to visualize it yourself.  Him and his buddy kept doing the fist pump and giving each other double high fives all night long.  Luckily I remembered earplugs this time so I was able to tune most of it out.  Fortunately we were so close to the stage there wasn't too many distractions anyways.  They sang all of their hits and all looked the same as they did the last time they were together.  Scott Weiland was great I was very impressed.  He started out the night with this nice suit on but was shirtless by the end of the night.  If the concert would've went on any longer he might of been down to his skivvies. I was able to hear all of the songs perfectly even with the earplugs and my ears didn't ring at all after (unlike Kanye).  I think I'm going with the earplugs from now on.  Also I got a little camera crazy and took way too many pics and some video.  I posted some of the best ones for those of you who care. 

                 Before STP went on

                   The evolution of Scott

    I wasn't too sure about the bright orange streaks in his hair but he is a rocker so I guess he can get away with it!!! 

Am I getting too old?

Or are the girls nowadays just getting skankier and skankier? I went to the the Kanye West concert last night with my friends Ashely and Natalie and it was ridiculous.  The night started off on a bad note when the concert got delayed for about 2 hours.  I guess one of the semi's that carries the stage set up was stuck in traffic in AZ and made it so our concert was late.  It wouldn't have been that bad if there were only two performers but since there were four acts it made for a long night.  Don't get me wrong it was a fun night and the acts were all great...just a lot of b.s for one night.  There were a bunch of skanky drunk girls in front of us that kept trying to pick fights with other skanky drunk girls.  They all looked too young to be drinking in the first place but I guess that's what fake I.D's are for.  At one point one of them tried to call on my friend Ashley just for looking in her direction.  This girl was so immature it was sad.  I know Ash could've taken her (even though she had the flu).  After putting up with all of the drama and throw-up (we still never figured out who the culprit was but we could sure smell it) Kanye finally came on at about 11:45.  I have never been to a concert that was that far behind, and I have definitely been to my fare share of concerts.  I know it's not Kanye's fault but it sure would've been nice if he would've apologized or even acted like he cared we were there.  He is a great performer and very talented person just a little too cocky.  I doubt Kanye will ever be back (especially cuz the place wasn't very full) so I am glad I did see him.  I just hope one day he will get over himself.  I did think Rihanna looked amazing and I was very impressed with Lupe Fiasco.  I always have a good time going to concerts with the Holt sisters.  We have been to a lot of good concerts and it's always a guaranteed good time.  Hopefully my concert tomorrow (Stone Temple Pilots) goes a little better than this one.  At least I will remember some earplugs this time cuz the E-center sound sucks and I could barely understand what anyone was singing.  Here is a picture of two of the girls that were in front of us. My only question is that really a dress or is it suppose to be a shirt?

                      

On a positive note: I did become a fan of the guy that sings background on Lupe Fiasco's "Superstar" song.  His name is Matthew Santos and he is really cute and talented. Here are a few pics of him so you can see for yourself.  Unfortunately after googling his name to find some pictures to post it came to my attention he was just here last month!!! I guess he performed after the Ogden Marathon for only ten bucks......dang I'm sad I missed it.  

The only reason I work.

Some of you may or may not of noticed I have been slacking on the blog posts lately.  The reason for this is I have been going out of town a lot lately (plus my new obsession with reading).  I went on a wonderful family vacation a couple of weeks ago to Vegas or Vegas Vegas as my nephew Justin calls it.  We had a nice carpool with me, my mom, Jen, Ryan, Ally, and Justin in the minivan and Heather, Jim, Erin, and Scott in the Pacifica.  The little kiddies were perfect angels considering how long they had to spend in the car.  I'm sure it helped that me and Justin had a DVD player in the back so we watched movies the whole time.  Once we got to Vegas we had two condos next to each other so we all had plenty of room which was nice.  The first day we went swimming all day and some of us got our first sunburn of the year.  It was fun to be in the hot sun all day and especially at night cuz it was still warm which was nice for a change.  We were able to eat at my brother's friends restaurant he works at Tera Rosa (or something like that). He hooked us up big time with a bunch of free appetizers and stuff.  The food was incredible I recommend it to anyone who goes to Vegas it's at the Red Rock Resort so it's a ways of the strip but still worth the drive. The next day we swam again and did some shopping.  Me and my mom and bro went to the shops at Planet Hollywood and when we got there a bunch of cameras were following around some people.  I asked someone who it was and he said it was Ludacris.  I was shocked because the guy was so short he looked like some teenager in a boy band or something.  I heard a commotion so I turned around and Tommy Lee was behind me with another camera crew.  I guess they are filming some reality t.v. show surprise surprise...who doesn't have a reality t.v. show nowadays.  It was kinda cool to see someone famous again that's 3 in one year, now if I can just find a way to meet Brad my life will be complete. ha ha.  Although I did hear on the news last night he is filming in Utah right now so my chances are increasing by the minute.  After shopping we had a nice Guitar Hero session which was fun because we have two guitars now.  Justin wanted to play so bad so we gave him a guitar and let him think he was playing when really I was the whole time.  He was so proud of himself because he passed a song it was really cute. On our way home we had to stop by In-N- Out Burger so we went by the new one in St. George.  It was so crazy the line to the drive thru was wrapped all the way around the building.  I don't eat hamburgers so I went next door to Del Taco, but I did enjoy my fries and shake from In N Out. Once I got back home I was already planning my next trip to go to Jackson Hole.  A bunch of friends had it all planned out to go last weekend but it sorta fell through so we went to Zion National Park instead.  I was excited because I have lived in Utah my whole life and have never been there.  We took a 15 passenger van there so it was only 22 bucks for gas and we had a sweet house to sleep in for our tent.  Everything worked out perfect to where I got to hike and spend time enjoying the beautiful outdoors and still get to sleep inside and have the comforts of home (like running water).  I would go camping a lot more if it was always like that.  Lets face it tents are not comfortable to sleep in.  The hike was pretty hard though.  Jodi looked up on their website after and it said it was the most strenuous one in the park and believe me my legs agree.  Once I made it to the top it was all worth it, but I was questioning why I decided to do it up until that point.  Later that night we had a campfire with two girls from Holland we met.  We had smores and hotdogs so we could at least sorta feel like we were camping.  Needless to say I love going on vacation and that is my sole motivation for work.  I guess bills should be on the list too but no one likes to work to pay bills.  Me and the girls are already trying to plan the next vacation though we are having a hard time deciding which adventure to take next.  Any suggestions?? 

I Had a Nice Quickie!!

Trip that is!! Me and my mom and brother went to California a week ago to watch my cousin Greg's boy Tristan get baptized.  It was very short trip.  We left on Saturday afternoon once I got off work and came home on Monday afternoon.  It was just long enough to visit with all of my family.  We had a nice Cuatro de Mayo celebration (since we left on Cinco de Mayo).  My uncle made his famous tacos and my aunt made an awesome chocolate cake.  And of course we were able to get in a movie and some shopping.  Anytime I get to go to Cali. I always have a good time.  I love the weather there and I love being able to spend time with my family.  I am so glad that Tristan decided to get baptized he is such a good kid and I am so proud of him.  Here are all of the pictures I took on the trip.  We talked my uncle and cousin Aimee into trying on my moms wig and got some pretty funny pictures.  My uncle didn't want to take it off....it was pretty hilarious.  He looks like he could be in Spinal Tap or something.  I noticed I was too busy taking pictures of other people to actually be in any of them!! I think there might be one of me in there but I don't think I am even looking at the camera.  Oh well I have enough pictures of myself already.  Me and the fam are headed to Vegas on Wednesday so I will make sure and get some more pics then.