Telluride!

So 6 days in beautiful Colorado (2 spent driving) and now I'm home. It was wonderful as always. his is my FOURTH year going with Davis and his family, which I think is pretty cool. And since

Amy got mad for never posting pics on my blogs I guess I will this time. There aren't any pictures from when we were actually skiing, simply because it is way to hard to get a camera out when it is freezing and snowing and you have two pairs of gloves on. :) The pretty tree below is right outside our hotel room.

Saturday was spent driving....and driving...and more driving. It takes about 8-9 hours to get to Telluride from Phoenix. We got to walk around Mountain Village a little bit, which is a town right on the slopes by Telluride.

Sunday was going to be our first day skiing (we were going to ski 3 out of the 4 days we were there), but it was snowing so we decide we would ski the next 3 days instead. These two pictures are from walking around Telluride. There are no chain stores of any kind in town, so all of the shopd are very original. You can see where the mountain is supposed to be, but due to the snow/fog it's hardly visible. I LOVE the town though....it looks like the little towns you see inside snowglobes.

Me and Davis's tradition every year is to make a snowman, and then have a snowball fight, and this year was no different. Our snowmen are always fat, and weird looking, because the snow there does not stick very well. We end up just making a pile of snow and carving out top middle and bottom. This year was our best one yet though....his name is Bob.

Monday was our first day skiing and it was wonderful!!! We went all day, only stopping for lunch. I'm getting to the point where I can almost keep up with Davis! We went out to a coll litlle pizza place called Brown Dog Pizza, named because of the dog that always sits out front of the restaurant.

Now Tuesday was not so good. It started snowing Monday night and it was pouring snow on Tuesday. Everyone else had goggles they could ski with so the snow wouldn't get in their eyes, but I only have little sunglasses, which protect nothing. I could've bought some, but the cheapest ones were $80 and I didn't want to spend that much. So the rest of the fam went skiing, and Davis stayed behind with me (sweet kid huh? He said he didn't want me to be by myself all day). We went and walked around Mountain Village again. The coolest part of that was the gondola ride to Mountain Village from Telluride. The first picture is a shopping center in the Village, the second is a view of Telluride from the Gondola. The gondola is much like a ski lift, except you are enclosed in a little capsule. It takes you all the way across the mountain...so pretty! Davis kept getting scared because the Gondola would stop and start swaying back and forth....he's cute. The ice skating pond was buried in about a foot of snow by this point. All the trees looked like a postcard! When we got back we had another snowball fight and stayed cozy by the fire the rest of the time. That night we ate at Fat Alley's, a cool little hamburger place in town.

Wednesday....still snowing...alot. But I dealt with it because I had to go skiing!! It was foggy and scary, and I couldn't see half the time becuase me glasses were foggy. It was fun though. We did some harder runs and I was proud becuase I didn't fall! This picture is me, Davis, his bro Justin, and Justin's girlfriend Jackie at the bottom of the mountain. That night we ate at Smuggler's, which is a restaurant that had it's own brewery downstairs. We eat there every year, and every year it's good. This year I had cheese ravioli with marinara sauce! YUM!!!

Thursday was the long drive home. It was a beautiful day out- no snow and lots of sun...perfect for skiing. Oh well. For those of you who have heard about the blizzard that shut down Denver...we got the beginnings of that storm. It literally snowed from Monday late afternoon until late Wednesday night nonstop. Telluride got about 2-3 feet of snow in that 3 day period. Insanity. These icicles were about 6 inches long the day we arrived...the day we left they were a couple of feet long!

And now I'm home!!! Normally I wouldn't be so excited, but my Christmas starts today! Me and Davis are making a ginger bread house today, the later going to decorate cookies with his Grandma. Tomorrow is the Perkins Christmas, then xmas eve and xmas day!!! yay!! Hope you all enjoyed my incredibly long post!!! I'll leave you with a beautiful picture of the mountain from the day we left...the wind was blowing the snow of the top of the mountain...so pretty!

Off to the Slopes

Well I am off to go skiing for 6 days in Telluride, CO!!! We actually leave tomorrow and are back the 21st. I am so excited!!!!! I will have many many pictures when I return! :)

Perfection

My friend Theresa posted this on her blog...I'm not positive if she wrote it or not, but either way it is pretty cool....and very true.

"The Perfect Man...

Now, I have heard that the "perfect man" doesn't exist, by a number of highly respectable people. But Pleaaasse, send my apologies to Oprah because I refuse to submit to this nonsense. The perfect man DOES exist, and he's not as hard to find as people think!

What women today need to do is reassess their definitions of "Perfection". It seems that "Perfect" is all too often being mistaken for "WORSHIP" and when a woman "feels" that she is no longer the literal source of her boyfriend/husband/significant other's oxygen intake, He doesn't "appreciate" her anymore and should be imeddiately burnt at the stake.

I am sorry, maybe I am not up to date on the "How to be a snot-faced-hard-to-Deal-with-everybody-hates me- Princess manual" But ladies, through the course of history science had proven a number of highly remarkable things, one of which, is that you're boyfriend can inhale on his own. It's called the respiratory system, and its main function is to ensure that your lovie is breathing, whether he is with YOU or not.

I don't mean be harsh, but women would be a lot happier if they would just recognize that all men aren't the devil. They need to Stop watching all these soap operas and movies, that portray the PERFECT man as being someone who would literally walk bare foot one-hundred miles through the worse snow storm of the century, while singing "you are my sunshine", just to retrieve the left sock that you PURPOSELY left at your grandmothers.

It's not going to happen ladies...Only a moron would even attempt a task such as that. And for those girls who are like, "my boyfriend would do that for ME!" You're wrong, or at least let's hope you're wrong. Because if he would, that would make your boyfriend an Idiot, and we all know that the "perfect man" can't be that!

No, he has to be a genius, the kind of Doogie Houser genius. This way, you and your friends will never be capable of having a real conversation with him because through out the two years you were in beauty school, you never attained a FRACTION of the intelligence he acquired in the eight years at Harvard Medical School. (That's a winner.) So, six months later when you're feeling useless, unappreciated, and heaven forbid, normal, you're going to hate him for not acknowledging that you are in fact the female equivalent to God, and thus should be treated like a God, not as though you could possibly be like anyone else every brought into existence!
Puh-leasss ladies, read the following carefully, because if you can store even the smallest bit information that is written below, you may have a chance at happiness in love, which will result in the happiness in life….

The perfect man isn't a genius, he doesn't hang on your every word, and he doesn't do EVERYTHING you ask of him. He is in fact normal, and he will probably forget your anniversary or birthday at least once in your life. He will probably break something trying to fix it, he will probably lock the kids in the car a couple of times, and he will DEFINITELY say the wrong things. But you have realize that it's the flaws in a man that will make him "perfect". It's the fact that you CAN have a real conversation with him, without feeling stupid and that he DOES treat you like a normal person. It's that every time you're with him, you get to laugh at his mistakes, his lousy jokes, and the stupid things that he tries, but doesn't successfully achieve, doing for YOU. It's the fact that he'll tell you, "NO" or that YOU are being ridiculous, that YOU are over-reacting, that YOUR cooking is HORRIBLE, lol… and that it's okay, because to him, it's YOUR flaws that make YOU perfect."

No more school for Lisa!

I just had a meeting with my academic advisor...dun dun dun. No-it went very well actually. She said I am all on track to graduate in Spring 2008, as long as I take 15 credits the rest of the time I'm here, which shouldn't be a problem. The GREAT news is that she said I don't have to go to grad school. Everyone had always told me that as a sociology major I should go to grad school. My advisor said that unless I want to teach or do research it is not important that I go. So...I'm not going to. :) I have no desire to spend 2 more years in school after I get my BA. Plus, I can always go back to grad school if I decide that I really want to later on. However, I am considering adding on another minor in Special Events Management, so that means I wouldn't graduate until December 2008. I'm just excited that I am soooooo very close to being done with school. At most I have 4 semesters left, but possibly as few as 3! Oh-I decided I am going to take that Contemporary Women Writers course instead of Religions of the World, so that I can get some upper division credits out of the way. OK-time to go to class and listen to some very boring presentations. Last day of this class though-and no final! Hope everyone has a fantastic day!

Oh and btw- Brad Paisley has a Christmas CD coming out! I can't wait! Someone better get it for me (ahem...Davis...ahem...)

Oh School....

So I changed my schedule today for about the fiftieth time since registering a month ago. When I first registered I was taking Politcal Theory, Contemporary Women Writers, Social Statistics, Women, Power & Politics, and Current Issues in National Politics. Then my advisor said I should take Adult Career Development in order to help me decide what I want to do with my life (blah!). Added that, dropped Current Issues. Then I decided my schedule was fairly difficult and I wanted to lighten my load slightly. So I added Religions of the World (a 100-level course), and dropped Women Writers (a 400-level course). I was satisfied, except that the last switch made a huge gap in my schedule. I was going to add an internship, but was told I can't do that until next fall. Then yesterday a girl who I talk to in one of my classes said she finally registered for classes, and one of the ones she signed up for was Women Writers. When I had first signed up for that course, I didn't know who was teaching it. Now I find out that it is being taught by a prosfessor that I have now that I like and who is extremely easy as far as coursework goes. So today I added Women Writers back to my schedule, hoping that the professor is as easy in this course as she is in the one I'm taking now. However, I am not dropping Religions yet. That class is full so if I decide to drop it there is no going back. I may go to both on the first day and see which I like better, and drop the one with the most work....is that bad? eh-who cares? lol anways-this is extremely random and is another example of me being one the most indecisive people on the face of the Earth.

In other (school) news- I got my 15pg term paper back today....dun dun dun! I got an A!! yay! I was very nervous about it so I'm ecstatic I did well. And I got a 100% on a final presentation I had to do (in the class with the Women Writers professor!) All in all-lokking good going into finals! woo-hoo!

In other (non-school) news- my life is boring. We put up our Xmas tree and decorations! There is already a large pile of presents under the tree, and I thankfully have almost all of my shopping done...just a few little things left to buy. I am soooo excited for Christmas. I get four in a row! The 23rd w/ my mom's family, Xmas eve w/ my dad's family, Xmas morning w/ immediate family (parents, sis, etc), and Xmas afternoon with Davis's family. A fun filled holiday! Then right after Christmas I believe my mom and I are going to go visit my dad in San Antonio for a few days, so that'll be interesting...I've never been to Texas. Oh-and I can't forget that the 16th-21st I'll be skiing in Telluride, CO! I love wintertime-it is so fun filled and relieves all the stress of the prior semester!

OK-nice quick update on me! Going fishing tomorrow and then we have our 2nd tournament on Saturday-hopefully we catch some big fish and make a lot of money...lol. We'll see....

Reason #645790300729 that my boyfriend is the best boyfriend in the whole world

He brought me dinner tonight....

My parents abandoned me and I was extremely stressed out about this term paper I have due tomorrow. I had no clue what I was gonna do for dinner. Normally I would've just gone to his house, but with this paper due I had to stay home and work on it. He came over without me even asking him to. He brought me pork chops, rice, applesauce, salad, and cookies for dessert. He said we should've lit candles and had a mini romantic dinner...on paper plates :) It was plenty romantic for me though. It's the little things like this that make me fall in love with him all over again. OK-sappiness over now. But it's true...he's amazing... <3

Disgusting!

Has everyone heard of OJ Simpson's new book? The title is something to the effect of "If I killed her, this is how I would've done it". Basically he might as well be confessing to his wife's murder! He's just spitting on the american justice system for aquitting an obviously guilty man. What's even worse, is that people (such as the publisher) are actually making money off of this! FOX is supposedly (man i have NO idea how to spell that!lol) airing a special showcasing OJ and the new book. My mom is trying to get people to boycott FOX if they actually go through with the special. I definatly agree. Anyone willing to have this disgusting excuse for a man on their network doesn't deserve to be watched. I love Barabra Walters because she refused to do an interview with OJ when she heard what the book is about. You go girl :)

Thanks!

so everyone must've been praying for my grandma because she is so much better already.

the doctors discovered that she didn't have sepsis after all. She actually had extreme dehydration from some drainage and medication they gave her when she was in the hospital last week. The dehydration did cause her kidneys to fail, but the doctors are sure they can reverse it. I am so happy. She is still extremely weak and is not out of the woods yet, but she will be getting some much needed rest by staying in the hospital until the end of the weekend.

so thank you to everyone who reads this and said some prayers. i truly believe it helped because we really thought we might lose her on monday..someone must be watching over her.

Good news, bad news

which would you like first...the good news or the bad news? I'm gonna start with the good news...

I got a 99% on my American Presidency exam (highest in the class!), an A- on my history paper, and 100% on both of my Women's studies papers. woo-hoo! i was pretty dang excited. These grades put me in a much better pre-final position than before.

now the bad news...

my grandma stratton was in the hospital on thursday night because she was short of breath, among other things. She ended up being in the hospital until Saturday morning and was then discharged. All weekend she did nothing but sleep and eat a little. This morning my aunt called to check in and she was incoherent and began vommiting. My other aunt went to see her and called 911 because she couldn't even get her into the car. After many hours of sitting in the hospital, the doctors are saying she has sepsis and acute renal failure. After doing some research, I found out the sepsis is basically an infection of the bloodstream, caused by bacteria entering the bloodstream. It is one of the major causes of death among the hospitalized elderly. Chances are she got it while in the hospital a few days ago, when her immune system was weak. Sepsis also causes major organ dysfunstion, hence the acute renal failure (non med terms-her kidneys are failing). The good part of this is that sepsis can be treated with large doses of antibiotics, and acute kidney failure can be reversed. We are just all hoping that the doctors caught them in time, and will be able to "fix" them. My grandparents were supposd to be moving into a new house this weekend...which is stressing my grandma out even more.

You know what is so amazing though? My grandparents have been married for 50 years, and they are so in love that each one is worrying so much about the other instead of themselves. While visiting my grandma on Thursday, all she could think about was making someone was at their house taking care of my grandpa (who we think has the begininnings of Alzheimers). She called to talk to him, and she was making sure he got his ice cream, made sure my uncle was turning on Jay Leno for him to watch, and that he took all of his pills. She made sure she said 'i love you' more than once. The one thing i will always remember about them is that they always say i love you and kiss eachother goodbye whenever they leave eachother. They both had failed marriages before they found eachother-and have loved eachother for 50 years. isn't that amazing? i truly believe they are soulmates. My grandpa today was constantly asking when he could go to the hospital to see my grandma and make sure she was ok. We couldn't keep him away if we tried. When he got there he sat by her side for awhile and made sure she really was ok before he left. It honestly makes me want to cry to think about an amazing relationship like that. they have truly set the standards that all of their grandchildren will look to find in their relationships. my grandma told me the other day she thinks i found it...i think so too.

anyways- i guess their is always good that comes with the bad and vice versa. I am not and have never considered myself to be a religious person, but I ask anyone who reads this to please pray for my grandma. I know that if she dies, my grandpa won't live long either, because they simply cannot live without eachother. so please say a quick prayer tonight and in the days to come for my grandma.

no time

no time to blog...too much stress...it's overtaking me!!! ahhhhh!!

but on a quick note-tucson was great, pics to come
halloween was great, cute pics of niece/nephews and cousins to come

i got a really cute pair of boots yesterday at payless. they're the first things i've bought myself other than gas in awhile so im excited...

i have a meeting with the internship coordinator at west tomorrow..if i'll goes well i'll be interning somewhere next semester!

ok-homework...sorry for the terribly boring post....i promise after next week it will get better!

oh yea....

i'm going to tucson this weekend to see Danielle , perhaps the coolest girl in the entire world...besides me of course! anyways, i will figure out how to post pics when i get back. so be excited...be very excited!

did you know the younger you are when you get married the more likely you are to get divorced?

ah yes...another reason to convince myself not to get married right now...

my dad just got pictures he took from my cousin Amy's wedding...that was last year. but they're beautiful. unfortunatly my dad installed like 10 pop up blockers on my computer and i can't figure out how to turn them off to post pics on here....otherwise i would.

people bug me...

So I was sitting in my Urban Studies class this morning and a girl sits down next to me. She begins to complain to the person sitting on the other side of her about how hard this class is and how she isn't going to get a good grade. Ok-this is a 400-level course, not supposed to be easy. BUT I have 3 other upper division course that are as hard if not harder than this one. That's not the point though. Our professor is nice enough to put her lecture online every week so we can print it out and follow along/take notes during class. This girl who is complaining about this terrible class does not have the note printout and tells the guy next to her that she never "bothers" to print them out. Then, as soon as class starts, she proceeds to whip out her phone and text message for the entire class period. Hmmmm...I wonder why she thinks the class is hard....

Anyways, it really bugged me. I think that you only have the right to complain the classes if you legitimately do all the work and pay attention, but do not get the material. Oh well...it made me mad and distracted me during class. ok-time to do homework now....

La Vie Bohem

I'm watching RENT right now...not a good idea while trying to do homework. I love this movie, but as much as I love the movie I wish I could see the actual musical. I bet it'd be amazing and 10 times better than the movie...one day...

I'm having trouble posting pictures on here...any advice?

is anyone else loving this fall weather as much as me? it's amazing-i love having the doors/windows open all day and driving with the windows down....b-e-a-utiful!

sara evans dropped out of dancing with the stars. I'm sad-I don't even watch the show, but I love her! It's because she's filing for divorce from her husband, who cheated on her and abused her...IDIOT! I'd post pics from when she opened up for Brad Paisley, but I'm at Davis's and he doesn't have them on his computer. sad stuff...

Oh how life changes....

So...

I just found out a girl I've known since 7th grade is getting married in March...and one of my friends from elementary school is getting married in May....and one of Davis's good friends is getting married next fall...another girl I know got married last April. It's just amazing that we're all adults and we can do these things without people thinking we're crazy. Granted-I still think 19/20 is too young to get married, but I understand that for some people it is the right thing for them.

Of course, with all these friends of mine getting married, and considering I went to FIVE weddings last year (all of them cousins...can you say ginormous extended family??!!) people begin to ask questions. Most of these revolve around "When are you and Davis getting married? Are you engaged yet? When are you getting engaged?" And so on and so forth... I understand that we've been together for 3 years, and after that amount of time those types of questions are warranted. But man alive it gets old. I want to...let me rephrase that...we both want to wait a few years until we are done with school or almost done with school. I don't see anything wrong with that. We love eachother so much, but we don't want to have to plan a wedding and go to school and pay for it (big reason!). Like I said before, it's cool if others want to do that, I'm not going to judge others for wanting to start their lives with those that they love.

Oh and in the process of figuring how to use this blog I deleted the rest of the post....I guess I'll just have to leave you in suspense about my view on marriage. I have a term paper to start and a journal entry to finish...

Wait! I started working out tonight with my parents' personal trainer! I'm in a little bit of pain but all is well and I'm very excited to start going three times a week. Should be fun...we'll see if I change my mind on Thursday after the first full workout...

New!

So my first post...it'll get better once I figure out how to use it :)