I got a new car today! It's a 2008 Ford Escape XLT...I love it! I'm going to miss my good ol' truck though...it was a perfect first car. But- this one has satellite radio, a sunroof, 6-disc CD changer, MP3 input, direction and temperature gauges, and is BRAND SPANKIN NEW!!! Plus, it gets much much better gas mileage and the insurance will go way down! SO excited to drive it around! :) (It's a pearly-white color if you can't tell from the pics)
Just got home today from the best vacation EVER with my best friend Danielle. We have known eachother for about 13 years and this is the first vacation we have ever taken just us. We drove to San Diego on Monday and spent time on the beach and at Sea World. Basically, we just relaxed and destressed and scoped out all the good lookin guys. I'm too tired to actually write about it, but here are a few pics from the past few days. 
The new hair-do. Short. Cute. LOVE it.
And a few pics from my friends wedding last weekend (Heather and Brant). The ceremony was at Community Church of Joy and the reception was at the Sheraton Crescent. It was beautiful. It's weird that one of my friends is married(or two actually because I'm friends with the bride and the groom). I'm getting old. Pretty soon everyone will be married and popping out babies. Cept me. :) Well...not soon at least.
Tonight was our last night working out with Todd...it's sad. Hopefully I can reach my goals without him.
Jacob is in the middle of this pic...his class had little caps and gowns!! It was so adorable!
Basically I can't believe how old they are...they will be FIVE tomorrow! They each have such great individual personalities that come out more and more everyday. I can't wait to see them grow up, but I still cherish every moment I have with them now that they're young and they still hug and kiss me without being forced! I love my nephews and neice more than anything! They bring a smile to my face no matter what else is going on in my life. They'e amazing!
A few books on my summer reading list (in no particular order):
These will probably last me through about the end of June, depending on how often I get to read at my job. I love bookstores. I think it'd be so much fun to work in a small bookstore where you can sit around and read all the time. I don't get to read books I actually want to read during school, so I have to catch up over the summer. Although my pile is not nearly as large as Amy's !!!
So this is the tattoo I'm going to get....
The only problem is that I don't know anyone who can read Japanese. I found it on Google, and according to the site it means "Inner peace, Inner strength" but I want to know 100% for sure before I go putting something permanent on my body. For all I know it says something really obscene.
Hey Kev- do you have any linguist friends who know Japanese???
you know what the best feeling in the world is?
when the guy you loved and trusted and depended on for 4 years calls you up out of nowhere and accuses you of cheating on him because some random s**thead told him that I was. And this guy chooses to believe said s**thead said over you.
yup-it's amazing.
So for many people that read this, what I'm about to say will come as a complete and utter surprise....if you don't want to know than don't read on.
Davis and I are no longer together.
We have been having problems for months now and trying to make it work. I realized after thinking about it for many, many sleepless nights that the only way to make it better would be to end it. So I did.
I just want both of us to be truly, utterly happy and I realized that wouldn't happen while we were together. In the four years we were together we became different people, and the people we are now aren't right for eachother.
I never thought it would happen, but it has. I am ok. He will be. I hope that one day we can be friends again because that is what I will most about him. I will never stop caring about him.
So for the family members who read this...feel free to pass along this news. I don't really have the desire to talk about it, so I figure this will get around by word of mouth eventually.
"Some people believe that without history, our lives amount to nothing. At somepoint we all have to choose: do we fall back on what we know, or do we stepforward to something new? It's hard not to be haunted by our past. Our history is what shapes us... what guides us. Our history resurfaces time after time after time. So we have to remember sometimes the most important history is the history we're making today." -Meredith on Grey's Anatomy
I'm stressed, I'm stressed, I'm very very stressed. (Sing to the tune of "I'm late, I'm late, I'm very very late" from Alice in Wonderland.)
At least the due dates for one of my papers got pushed back! yay!
It may seem odd, but the tragedy that happened yesterday at Virginia Tech is taking a profound toll on me and the way I view the supposed sanctuary I am in everyday at school.
School is supposed to be a safe place, a place we go to to get away from our other problems, to absorb knowledge and learn about problems that are happening around the world. But when those problems come home, we don't know how to react.
The mass murder at Virginia Tech is situation where everyone says "that will never happen at my school". But why could it happen there and not right here at ASU West? There are disgruntled people everywhere, people who don't know how to handle their rage any way other than violently.
I was listening to NPR on the way to school yesterday (as I usually do), but yesterday was different. They had the President of Arizona PIRG, which is a student organization at ASU. He was saying that one of the problems at Virginia Tech was that the students were not notified immediately after the first shooting happened. (Who knows how many students may have stayed in their dorm if they had known there was a shooter on campus?) There is no system in place at ASU, other then email, to notify students if there is a problem on campus. And what about commuter students like me? How would they get the word out if something happened on campus to students who don't watch the news?
I was walking up to campus yesterday after hearing the news all day and listening to information that was coming in, and all I could think of was what if that happened today, at ASU West? There is no way of knowing. There was alot of talk about the 1966 UT Austin shooting, which before yesterday was the deadliest campus shooting in history. In that case, a man was on top of a building and shot down at students walking to class. I walked up to campus yesterday and on one of the buildings was a person standing on a high balcony looking down at students. This was not someone suspicious, it was just a girl probably waiting for her next class to start. But it made, well, freak out a little bit. And right now I am in the library. I keep thinking "what if someone comes in and starts shooting" like the kids at Columbine did? What would I do?
I guess the point of this is to vent my fears and to realize that I can't live my life in fear. I didn't know the kids who died yesterday at Virginia Tech, but my heart goes out to them and their families. They are kids like me, just students wanting to make some difference in the world by getting a higher education. It has made me realize the importance of just...living. Living day to day and living like you have 100 years still on Earth, even if you may die tomorrow.
Unfortunatley, a tragedy like this also has political implications. Already there is talk of gun control issues, and campus security problems across the country. Why did it take President Bush a week to go to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina where hundreds were killed, but he is already in Virginia the day after the shooting? Honestly, who cares? It sickens me that after 32 young, intelligent people were murdered the media and politicians have to turn this into a political issue? Yes-gun control and security are important issues, I am not saying they aren't. But can't we, as a country, unite under this tragedy and mourn for the studrents who died? Is that really so hard? Apparently it is, and that makes me so sad.
My prayers go out to everyone affected by the Virginia Tech shootings, and I pray to God that even after this our schools can become sanctuaries yet again.
I just met author Tania Katan. She is by far the coolest person/author I have ever met. I got my picture taken with her and a book signed...I will post pictures later, but right now I am in my Social Statistics class and I should probably pay attention.
Today is a good day.
omigosh
I just babysat for the President of Capital Groups investment firm in his $6.8 million mansion that he bought from Dan Majerle.
It was amazing.
And to top it off his kids are the sweetest little boys and he and his wife are both very, very nice people.
And I get to sit for them again in 2 weeks.
I had a great night...
Happy Easter tomorrow everyone (all two of you who read this...)
The picture above is supposedly the line that Liutenant (Forgot his name...) drew in the sand and said "Anyone who wants to stay and fight for freedom, cross this line". Of course it is probably just someone's idea of where it happened...considering a major battle took place there after he drew the line and chances are it wasn't there when it was over. :)
The Riverwalk was so pretty....it's what I think New Orleans and Venice would look like if they were smashed together. 
The river runs strait through downtown San Antonio, and they Riverwalk is lined with great shops and restaurants. It was St.Patricks day weekend while we were there so there was some great Irish bands and festivities going on (and some really good green margaritas!!!). Texas is surprisingly gre as you can tell by the picture. I really thought it was a big desert...kinda like Arizona! 
On Saturday we drove to Houston to visit my cousins Bobbie and Travis. I forgot to take pictures while we were at dinner with them, but I got one of their house. 
It is such a pretty neighborhood-very unique and green and tons of trees. All the house are made out of either brick or stone...none of the stucco cookie cutter houses you see here. You can kinda see my cousin Travis on the far left in the picture.
All in all it was a very fun weekend. I'm glad I got to go see my dad and see Texas! My mom loves it and wants to convince everyone in my family to move over there!
Now I am am sitting in the living room with all the doors open, listening to and smelling the rain. I love Arizona. It's amazing that it was 99 degrees outside a week ago, and now it is stormy and probably in the 70s. Sorry mom, I don't think I'll ever move (no matter how hot it gets!)
Oh and I tried to make homemade chocolate chip cookies earlier. And they are bad. Very Very bad. Oh well-it was my first attempt at homemade cookies and I will try again.
Now I have to do homework. Bah.
I got a job with a great company called Sitters and Company . It is basically a baby/pet/house sitting service. The premise of this company is that clients pay a $50 membership fee and than get to search for qualified reliable sitters in the area (me!). It allows people who may not have family or friends in the area to have access to good sitters (me!). Clients can search for specific dates they need a sitter, then a request is sent out to all available sitters. So if I were to get a request, I could either accept or decline depending on my availability. It works perfectly with my school schedule because I can be so flexible.
The company was started by two men (amazing right?) who were both in the military. They are both married and have kids and were frustrated by the fact that every time they were relocated thay had to build a brand new network of sitters. So they thought of the idea for this website and bam! here it it. The website just went live today, so I got to setup my sitter profile and whatnot.
I really hope that this job will bring in enough money so that I don't have to look for a job this summer. It would be great if I could build a clientale of 6-8 families to sit for on a regular basis, or even one family who needs a full time summer nanny. We shall see.
So if you know anyone who needs a sitter, tell them about the site. Actually, tell them about the site and then tell them to search for me so I can start making money! Sits cost anywhere between $10-$15 per hour, depending on the number of children, etc. The guys who run it are so nice and professional. All of the sitters have to have a certain amount of experience and we all had to provide references who were called to verify that we aren't insane :)
Or if anyone needs a job, I believe they are still looking for sitters and you can apply on the website.
I am pretty excited! Yay for me! Yay for jobs! Yay for money!
oh yea...I have also been watching Grey's Anatomy almost nonstop since Thursday night. My mom got Season 1 for Christmas, but lost it for awhile and just found it recently. After watching Season 1 I decided I ahd to watch Season 2. SO I went out and bought it...and finished the entire season in less than 2 days. It is such an amazing show. Anyone who wants to watch it is more than welcome to come over...or borrow it...but not until I watch the second season again (like I am right now instead of doing homework).
I am not dead...just stressed out. Whenever I sat down to write the past few weeks a wave of stress would hit me and I realized I had more important things to do. Of course now I have a million things to write about and still not much time to do it.
First, I got a job. It's with this company called "Sitters and Company". In essence it is like "The Babysitters Club" books from way back when, but more professional and actually a real business. Basically people can pay a fee to go on this website and search for qualified sitters (baby, house and pet sitters). They can then request a sitter for a particular day, and the sitter (me!) can either accept or decline the request. It is not exactly my dream job, but it pays well and allows me to be flexible with hours during the school year. Hopefully it will be something I can do full time over the summer also so I don't have to stress out about finding a job.
I was elected to be the student coordinator for this food drive on campus. It is pretty exciting, very stressful though. I have to coordinate different activites to get students involved, talk with clubs on campus, and many many many more things. I swear I have been spending at least an hours or more just answering emails dealing with the drive. It's fun though...definately something I am considering as a career (on a much larger scale of course...)
Spring break is next week and I am so ready for it. No big plans really-doing homework alot probably. But my mom and I are going to San Antonio for a few days to see my dad which should be fun. We get to go to the Alamo and the Riverwalk (and see the river dyed green in honor or St.Patty's Day). I've never been to Texas so I wonder if it will be like I expect it to be.
I also have an informational interview next week with the volunteer coordinator for the Arizona's Children Association, which is a group that helps place foster children into permanent homes. It's an assignment for a class, but it should be interesting at least. It'll give me an idea about what being a volunteer coordinator actually entails.
Probably very boring, but it is all I have time for right now. Amy was talking about how she makes lists all the time, and so did Kevin. This is something our Grandma Jaye does basically everyday. It really must be something hereditary, because I do it all the time also. ALthough my mom doesn't...so maybe it skips a generation. Anyways, blogging was on my list for today, but not for any other day this week. Check! OK-time to do homework.
Academy Award Nominations
I know they were announced like two weeks ago, but oh well.
I would really like to see all the movies for Best Actor and Actress too, but I don't think that will happen in 3 weeks.
I really need to go to movies more often...
I saw Little Miss Sunshine tonight for the first time....
It was amazing...
My goal this year is to see all the movies nominated for Best Picture before the Oscars. So far I've seen The Queen and now Little Miss Sunshine. Still have to see Babel, The Departed, and Letters From Iwo-Jima.
Good Stuff...
I have been tagged to talk about my 6 unusual things...
This will take me awhile to think about so I'll get around to it soon...
Colts won the Superbowl!!!
And Peyton Manning won MVP (of course) I'm definately a Manning fan...
This is the first year ever that I actually watched the entire game. Although I don't like football, it was still very fun. Good food and good company too.
Gotta love the commercials...
I'm babysitting right now...Kassi is throwing up and has a fever, Jacob has a fever and is coughing, and I'm pretty sure Josh is starting to get sick too...poor babies.
And I'm watching Legally Blonde...funny movie.
Great night tonight....
New episode of Ugly Betty
New Episode of Grey's Anatomy (I just joined a Facebook group called "Bug me during Grey's Anatomy and I will insert this scalpel into your spleen"...haha...I love it)
Last two epsiodes of FRIENDS on TBS...made me cry
Then I made brownies...for no reason at all.
Bad part? I started my Statistics homework and it sucks...sooo freakin hard.
I realize that it seems like I write a heck of alot about TV, but I don't really ever watch it. Pretty much Thursday and Sunday nights and that's about it. Other times it may be on in the background, but I don't really pay attention.
All in all- a very good, yet not an extremely productive, night....
This is so sad...
Well today is my 20th birthday and so far I am feeling very blessed and loved. It's nice to be the center of attention for just one day, then tomorrow life can go back to normal. :) Happy birthday to me
The past 24 hours have been absolutely the most fun I have had in awhile! My best friend, Danielle, called me on Thursday night to tell me that she was getting me a professional massage for my birthday (which is on Tuesday by the way...)! I was so excited because I have never had a massage before. Along with the massage, Danielle spent the night at my house last night and we stayed up until 5:30 in the morning girl talking...which we haven't done in awhile and it was great! So on about 5 hours of sleep, we got up and drove to Body and Soul Spa in Scottsdale, AZ. Danielle and I each got a 30 minute heavenly sugar scrub and 30 minute therapeautic massage. 
This is the room where they did the sugar scrub. You can kind of see in the picture the shower nozzles they used. After the massage therapist did the scrub, she turned on these nozzles and it was like warm rain hitting your body. The bed you lay in also fills with water so it's similar to laying in a bath. Basically, it was incredible. There was soothing music and heat lamps and.....aaaahhhh....it was so relaxing. For an entire hour I didn't have a care in the world. here's a few pictures I took there:
After the wonderful relaxation, we ran some errands, got some lunch, then went to her house to watch her sister get ready for winter formal! Her sister, Ashley, is 15 now but I seriously remember her when she was 5. She is so beautiful, but she is getting so grown up. She was excited because she was going to the dance with a boy she really likes and we got to meet him too! it just brings back so many memories from high school. Me and Danielle both wanted to go to the dance with her!! Here's some pics of Ashley and her date, Chris:
All in all, an extremely fun weekend. I decided if I'm ever rich, the first thing I'm getting is a personal massage therapist!!! I'm so lucky to have an amazing best friend-she knows this is exactly what I needed! Too bad I have to do a ton of homework tomorrow, but now it's time for bed to catch up on some sleep....Goodnight!
I LOVE this show ....it is the one show I absolutely have to watch every week...I need silence and I cannot do anthing else while watching it. And, lucky me, if I happen to be home on a Friday night like tonight, I watch it again. And usually cry... hehe...I'm a complete nerd
Just found these classes at PVCC. I think I may sign up for the beginning and intermediate workshops in May, but $139 is alot of money for some who is currently unemployed. Anyone interested in taking the classes with me?
I'm considering taking a photography class or workshop. I don't really know if I have time to or not, but I'd like to look into it. Any ideas about where to find one?
I also want to get a semi-good digital camera...for less than $300 preferrably. Advice?
...If one month could go by without someone in my family going into the hospital...that would be fantastic.
So I watched the NBC show "Heroes" tonight...it was soooooo good! I have never watched it before, but decided to tonight just for lack of better things to watch. Originally, I was only going to watch because....ahem...there is a very good looking guy on the show. 
This is Milo Ventimiglia...very yummy. He also played Jess on "Gilmore Girls" way back when. Anyways, considering Milo's character was asleep for the majority of the show I was a little disappointed. However, after actually watching the show I am officially on LOVE with it. It is so funny and suspenseful. There is a character on the show named Hiro (lol-coincidence...I think not) and he is so hilarious. Most of the time he speaks only in Chinese, so when he speaks in 
English, he has the stereotypical Asian guy accent. The fact that I am a complete nerd and happen to have a love for sci fi movies and tv makes it all so much better. I really haven't liked NBC since FRIENDs and Will and Grace went off the air, but I think it's coming back. Now I am watching Studio 60, which also seems like it will be a good show. Too bad I found this out halfway through the season.
I can't feel the bottom half of my mouth....or my tongue. not fun. I went to the dentist because when I was there 2 weeks ago he said I had two very tiny cavities that were so small he wouldn't even have to use novacine. sure ok fine-made the appointment to come in today. Went in today and the dentist informs me that, when taking a second look at my xrays, found another cavity on the other side of my mouth. This one was still very tiny, but the dentist said he decided to give me some novacaine just so I wouldn't feel any pain. 4 shots and 15 minutes later I can't feel my mouth. He drills, fills, etc...and then! he finds another tiny cavity (tiny is his word by the way) and asks if he should go ahead and fill it. Sure-I already can't feel my mouth so go ahead. Drills one more time and I'm done. Now I'm supposed to go workout in an hour and I still can't feel my mouth. No good.
These are my Stratton cousins. I believe 5 or so are missing, plus there are no spouses pictured.
And lastly just my immediate family...my mom made it balck and white and it looks pretty cool. The kids look silly, but adorable as always. 
OK-that's all. I have to go prepare myself for school tomorrow.
I went and got my books today...so far there are 16 books for 3 classes, and at least 4 for the two other classes that the books weren't in for. Amy asked me to post the book list for my Contemporary Women Writers class so here it is:
If anyone has ever read any of these books, or other books by these authors let me know! I'd love to get some reviews!
Has anyone ever heard the story of Tania Katan? It is an amazing story that one of my professors shared with us last semester. Tania was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 21 and had a mastectomy. When she was 31 she was again diagnosed with breast cancer and had her other breast removed. Since then, she has run three 10k breast cancer marathons...topless. Shocking huh? Since she has no breasts, she runs them holding a sign that says "This is what breat cancer really looks like". It's amazing to me. I don't think anyone I know has the courage to do something like that. I know I don't. I found a picture of her:
I couldn't find the one of her actually running the marathon. Anyways, I thought I'd share this incredible story with you.
I will also be reading a Foucault reader for Political Theory and "What Color is My Parachute?" for Adult Career Development, among many others for those classes as well. I'm pretty excited for the semester to start actually. It will be stressful as always, but I think my classes will be awesome! I know, I know-I'm a nerd...it's in my blood.
Lots on my mind recently...making me not be able to sleep...
.....yummy....ahahahahaha...this made me laugh....
You know what excites me to no end? Conan O'Brien is now on immediately after Jay Leno....no more 15 year old episodes of Cheers in between. It's amazing. Normally this wouldn't be so exciting-but since I'm on break I actually stay up late enough to watch these shows! I LOVE Conan, but it's very rare during school that I stay up to watch it (when it began at 12am). Whenever I was actually up that late it was doing homework-not watching TV. Anyways-that was my happy todbit for the day.
Oh-and I did two scrapbook pages today. Only 3 left and I am completely caught up! yay!
Do you ever get that feeling that you are the only person on the outside of the circle? The only one who isn't involved and isn't around? It seems like I'm always being left out and not being invited. Does that sound like a 2-year old thing to say? Probably, but I don't care. I have this group of friends that I have hung out with throughout highschool, more recently towards the end of high school. Alot of them I have been friends with since elementary school or middle school. These are people I always thought I could depend on, call if I needed to talk. And yes-going off to college has changed everyone some. However, it is amazing how everyone still gets invited to parties and get togethers, but I don't. Or should I say we don't, because this involves Davis also. It almost like they get together and decide they don't want us to be around. Paranoid? Probably, but once again I don't care. I'm so sick of being forgotten and left on the outside. What did we ever do? Did we piss someone off enough to end our friendships? I don't think so. Now I have been through this before-could we call and ask people what their plans are? Sure, but I am not a big fan of inviting myself along to things I am not really wanted at. Can we call and invite people to do things? Tried it, we either don't get called back or they are always busy. I guess I'm just tired of it all. I'm tired of thinking I've done something wrong. And I'm sad to say that I have almost no friends who actually care about me anymore. It's a really good feeling....
2007 huh? I was trying to remember my 2006 resolutions and I can't. I guess that means I didn't keep them! 2006 brought alot of changes my way. The biggest of all was my decision not to stay at NAU, but to instead transfer down to Phoenix and go to ASU West. At the time, I wasn't sure it was the right decision. I had many reasons for doing so (no matter what other people thought my reasons were), but I was still unsure. I now know without a doubt that it was the right thing for me to do. I was unhappy there, and it just wasn't the right fit. Honestly, I went up there for the wrong reasons in the first place. After my first semester at ASU West, I have a 4.0 gpa and made a bunch of new friends. I love the smallness of the campus. I got enough grant and scholarship money so that I don't have to work...yay! Living at home had proved to be a real blessing. I thought after being on my own for a year that there was no way I would be able to stand living at home. However, me and my parents (especially my mom) have become so much closer, and our relationship has improved tenfold. Plus, other than a few expenses I have, it's almost cost-free. All in all, I am 100% happier down here than I was in Flagstaff and that's what matters most.
That was my biggest event this past year. There have been minor ones along the way, such as finally quitting my job at Petsmart after almost 2 years and possibly adding a double minor to my school load, but other than that it was a fairly uneventful year. My biggest hope for 2007 is for the health and wellness of myself, my family, and my friends. My grandma has been in the hospital 4 times in the past 2 month, including over the Christmas holiday, and I am worried about her. I hope that she is healthy enough to be with us another year of more, but I am afraid that won't happen. At this point I am just wanting her to be happy and pain free. Davis has not had the best of luck this year, especially recently with his engine blow out and then his accident, and now he's in the process of looking for another vehicle. He is stressed out and getting discouraged, but still trying to be positive. I hope his luck improves...especially in terms of winning a fishing tournament or two. I have many friends who will be making major life changes this coming year, most in terms of either marriage, children, or different living arrangements. No matter what my feelings on these things are, I can only wish them the utmost happiness in their new lives.
And then there's me....what are my new year's resolutions? Every year I say 'what's the point?' but every year I do it anyways. I have some small ones-such as keeping my grades up, getting my scholarship renewed, and getting an internship. But I have two big ones also. The first is my exercise/health/weight loss goals. I have set some small goals along the way, hopeing to reach my final one by at least me and Davis's 4 year anniversary in July, but hopefully sooner than that. Luckily, my mom and I are doing this one together so I have a built in support system right here at home. Second is to make a career decision. At the moment I am leaning towards government type work....but I'm still unsure. My mom brought up the point this morning that I don't have to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life, just what I want to do after college. This is true, and one of the main reasons I chose Sociology as a major. I tend to get bored doing one thing for too long, so unless I find a job I absolutely love right out of college, I plan on making a few career changes throughout my life. But I still would like to narrow my ideas down slightly, so that I can begin preparing.
So that's it really...my recap for the year. I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve, I know I did. I wish everyone happiness throughout the coming year! :)
