Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Congratulations..
To Hang Nguyen of Raleigh, North Carolina for being the moron of the day and calling my house not once, not twice, but three times! If you'd like to call her, you can reach her at (919) 271-8053. This is her cell phone, so feel free to text her as well.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Weekend fun
On Friday, my boss let me off work at 12:15, which was awesome. I went over to Jeff and Daniel's house and played Settlers of Catan for awhile before switching to Phase 10. I did very well at Settlers, but not so much in Phase 10, which usually ends with me throwing my cards at the winner. :)
Saturday started with a lot of lazing around the house. Lately, I have been reading a lot. Some of the books I have read include Last Night at Chateau Marmont, Breathless, Buried Prey, Robopacalypse, most recently, a nonfiction book about the 1999 tragedy Columbine. That's what I was reading most of the day Saturday. Then, at 4, I left and went to Concord for the baptism of my 'nephew' Dalton Balmori. Rarely have I felt so loved, as when he walked into the room and his face lit up; "AUNTIE KATY!!!" I am really grateful to Heidi and Ramon for making me an honorary aunt; AnaSophia, Dalton, and Abigail are all unique and special people, and I love them. The baptism was marvelous.
After that, I hit up the Nordstrom in Broadway Plaza and got myself a pair of Cole Haan flats on sale. Thanks to my boss for the giftcard! Then, it was off to home. Lisa got home around 9, and I looked at her and said, "You wanna go to the 9:30 Monte Carlo?" Of course she wanted to go with me; it was a cute movie. Totally predictable but in the good, funny way.
Sunday I headed to the Pleasant Hill second ward for Dalton's confirmation; it's been awhile since I've seen a lot of the old Mtz 2nd people, and I really enjoyed it. Everyone from the Bergs to the Echols and even Mary Bell, whom I adore, was there.
Monday of course was the 4th of July; I started off by going to the gym and getting on the treadmill for half an hour. After that it was reading (Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub). I headed over to the 'rents house; my mom and I went to the grocery store to buy some stuff, and Guy went to pick up a 15 foot ladder. About an hour later, I was asked to help on the ladder; my parents were applying some sort of crazy stained glass looking thing to the window above the stairwell. We also ended up mounting a 4 foot tall print of the Boston Temple.
Shortly after that was swimming; not gonna lie though, I only got in the water for about 5 minutes.The rest of the time was spent reading in the shade or laying out in the sun. Swimming was followed by a quick rinse, and then cooking. I made an apricot, blueberry, and strawberry crisp with my gluten free flour. Mom made fruit salad, I made corn on the cob, Guy cooked the steak. We also had macaroni, green, AND potato salad as well as chips and baked beans. Yeah, we ate.
After dinner was a boys vs. girls game of trivial pursuit. I am sad to say that the boys beat us....twice. Then I skipped the fireworks and came home - if you know me, you'll know that I need decompression time, and was utterly lacking that by Monday night. No fireworks, but a great weekend nonetheless.
Saturday started with a lot of lazing around the house. Lately, I have been reading a lot. Some of the books I have read include Last Night at Chateau Marmont, Breathless, Buried Prey, Robopacalypse, most recently, a nonfiction book about the 1999 tragedy Columbine. That's what I was reading most of the day Saturday. Then, at 4, I left and went to Concord for the baptism of my 'nephew' Dalton Balmori. Rarely have I felt so loved, as when he walked into the room and his face lit up; "AUNTIE KATY!!!" I am really grateful to Heidi and Ramon for making me an honorary aunt; AnaSophia, Dalton, and Abigail are all unique and special people, and I love them. The baptism was marvelous.
After that, I hit up the Nordstrom in Broadway Plaza and got myself a pair of Cole Haan flats on sale. Thanks to my boss for the giftcard! Then, it was off to home. Lisa got home around 9, and I looked at her and said, "You wanna go to the 9:30 Monte Carlo?" Of course she wanted to go with me; it was a cute movie. Totally predictable but in the good, funny way.
Sunday I headed to the Pleasant Hill second ward for Dalton's confirmation; it's been awhile since I've seen a lot of the old Mtz 2nd people, and I really enjoyed it. Everyone from the Bergs to the Echols and even Mary Bell, whom I adore, was there.
Monday of course was the 4th of July; I started off by going to the gym and getting on the treadmill for half an hour. After that it was reading (Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub). I headed over to the 'rents house; my mom and I went to the grocery store to buy some stuff, and Guy went to pick up a 15 foot ladder. About an hour later, I was asked to help on the ladder; my parents were applying some sort of crazy stained glass looking thing to the window above the stairwell. We also ended up mounting a 4 foot tall print of the Boston Temple.
Shortly after that was swimming; not gonna lie though, I only got in the water for about 5 minutes.The rest of the time was spent reading in the shade or laying out in the sun. Swimming was followed by a quick rinse, and then cooking. I made an apricot, blueberry, and strawberry crisp with my gluten free flour. Mom made fruit salad, I made corn on the cob, Guy cooked the steak. We also had macaroni, green, AND potato salad as well as chips and baked beans. Yeah, we ate.
After dinner was a boys vs. girls game of trivial pursuit. I am sad to say that the boys beat us....twice. Then I skipped the fireworks and came home - if you know me, you'll know that I need decompression time, and was utterly lacking that by Monday night. No fireworks, but a great weekend nonetheless.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Wow
So, there has been a bit of drama between myself and Jeff & Daniel since I told them on Sunday I wasn't going to Vegas because I wasn't feeling well enough. I have been on antibiotics for a week now, and am making progress, but can tell I'm still not 100%, because despite sleeping until 11am today, and only doing mildly taxing things (went to temple and saw a movie...the end), I am exhausted less than 12 hours later.
Anyway, I posted my two activities on Facebook, which exacerbated the problem. See, they think that I didn't go with them because they are gay. Yes, my family expressed some concern about me traveling with two guys, but only because they thought people at church might assume they are straight and that it might look like I was doing something bad with them in Sin City. I don't necessarily agree with that assessment (I also think it underestimates many of the friends I have at church), but I can understand it. Then, when I got sick, and the hotel needed 72 hours to give me a refund, and thought of hours in the car blowing my nose, and walking through a smoke-filled casino with already reactive lungs (I have asthma), and thought that I should take care of myself first.
Sadly, the way the whole thing played out gave them the impression that I decided not to go because they are gay, which is not the case at all. Hello - I spend every Friday night (practically) at their house,and they are like my brothers! If I end up losing two friends over this, I will be hurt; mostly because I thought they knew me better than to assume the worst about me.
Anyway, I posted my two activities on Facebook, which exacerbated the problem. See, they think that I didn't go with them because they are gay. Yes, my family expressed some concern about me traveling with two guys, but only because they thought people at church might assume they are straight and that it might look like I was doing something bad with them in Sin City. I don't necessarily agree with that assessment (I also think it underestimates many of the friends I have at church), but I can understand it. Then, when I got sick, and the hotel needed 72 hours to give me a refund, and thought of hours in the car blowing my nose, and walking through a smoke-filled casino with already reactive lungs (I have asthma), and thought that I should take care of myself first.
Sadly, the way the whole thing played out gave them the impression that I decided not to go because they are gay, which is not the case at all. Hello - I spend every Friday night (practically) at their house,and they are like my brothers! If I end up losing two friends over this, I will be hurt; mostly because I thought they knew me better than to assume the worst about me.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
My bad
I realize I only posted once in May; the month was an extremely busy one for me. We spent much of the month driving to and from Petaluma for work, which is a 150-mile round trip every day. I ended up driving 1650 miles in 16 days.
So, you already know that I went to Yosemite. The weekend after that, I went to Monterey. Jeff, Daniel, Juka, and I visited the aquarium, did lunch at Bubba Gumps, visited the tidepools, and drove down 17-mile drive. We then drove back up the coast a little and had dinner on the beach in Aptos. Here are some pics of that fun day:
The weekend after that I did girls' night at Delphine's on the Friday, but made a point of doing nothing on Saturday - it was really nice.
However, last weekend, I went up to West Point with Jeff and Daniel; we stayed at Daniel's grandparent's house there. Being away from TV, computers, cell phone signal, the freeway, etc. was REALLY nice, and allowed me to win pretty much every board game we played. I won Monopoly twice (probably the last time that'll happen).
We went to Black Chasm cavern and to Moaning Cavern, and here are the pics and videos:
Ziplining was SOOOO fun!
All-in-all, May was a busy, but highly entertaining month for me. I hope June will be the same!
So, you already know that I went to Yosemite. The weekend after that, I went to Monterey. Jeff, Daniel, Juka, and I visited the aquarium, did lunch at Bubba Gumps, visited the tidepools, and drove down 17-mile drive. We then drove back up the coast a little and had dinner on the beach in Aptos. Here are some pics of that fun day:
The weekend after that I did girls' night at Delphine's on the Friday, but made a point of doing nothing on Saturday - it was really nice.
However, last weekend, I went up to West Point with Jeff and Daniel; we stayed at Daniel's grandparent's house there. Being away from TV, computers, cell phone signal, the freeway, etc. was REALLY nice, and allowed me to win pretty much every board game we played. I won Monopoly twice (probably the last time that'll happen).
We went to Black Chasm cavern and to Moaning Cavern, and here are the pics and videos:
Ziplining was SOOOO fun!
All-in-all, May was a busy, but highly entertaining month for me. I hope June will be the same!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Yosemite!
Every year, our family takes a trip to Yosemite National Park; the constants are mom and Guy. This year, for the first time in 6 years, all of us kids got together for the vacation as well. I had a blast hanging out with my bonus sisters Monica and Rebecca, and talking to bro-in-law Zack. My sisters are unique women, and each of them has different strengths. Both of them are good listeners, and more patient than me by far. Monica seems to totally understand my warped sense of humor, and my perspective on dating in the YSA ward. Rebecca understands the annoyance of being chronically ill, although she deals with it with much more grace than I do. Zack is just Zack: he is a storyteller without an off button, but it's okay, because he makes us all laugh.
It was a great trip, and here are some of my pictures:
It was a great trip, and here are some of my pictures:
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
People from Arkansas can't take a hint
And called 4 times this morning. The caller ID said Shirley Cordell, and the phone number was (479) 459-4475. We answered three times around 7:30 this morning, and I finally told them their information would be posted here on the internet.
Someone else from Arkansas (I assume a friend of Shirley - not to be confused with a friend of Dorothy) called back just after 11 from (479) 552-2951 and left an unintelligible voicemail.
Someone else from Arkansas (I assume a friend of Shirley - not to be confused with a friend of Dorothy) called back just after 11 from (479) 552-2951 and left an unintelligible voicemail.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Car Smashing!
Saturday at noon, I headed out to Bollinger Ranch to participate in some good times. At the December 2010 YSA Charity Ball, Dave Haupt and Mike Corrigan had bid for (and won) and tractor ride with Aaron Locey. This tractor ride also was to be accompanied by smashing some stuff. Aaron had a couple ovens he was going to smash, but this year, he also had a full car to demolish. It started with them attempting to remove the windshield by kicking it out, which was unsuccessful. Aaron then set out to remove the side windows - he got two out without problem, but the driver's side windows both shattered.
While they were doing this, Katie (Schirtzinger), Caroline (Melgarejo) and I took turns swinging the sledgehammer at the bumper (after Mike and Dave had a go at it of course).
Sledgehammers are HEAVY! Once all the side windows were out, the guys had to empty all the fluids out of the car (oil, gas, transmission fluid, coolant). And, if you don't have a hydraulic lift, you simply use your backhoe.
While the car was lifted Katie got to slash a tire, which is something she'd wanted to do. At last, the car was ready for smashing. But before the guys could do that, Aaron had to teach them how to drive this beast of a dozer.
Katie, Caroline, and I got lost about halfway through the instructions. Terry (Hagen) said it takes a lot of hours before you totally get the hang of it, but that it's easier to just do it. As a prelude to the car smash, the guys ran over some ovens.
Now we get to actual car smashing:
Once the car was smashed, Aaron decided to cut it in half to fit it in his scrap metal bin.
I have to say, this was pretty fun; it took longer than expected, but there is something quite satisfying about crunching metal. Next year, we drive a car off a cliff and watch it explode. :)
While they were doing this, Katie (Schirtzinger), Caroline (Melgarejo) and I took turns swinging the sledgehammer at the bumper (after Mike and Dave had a go at it of course).
Sledgehammers are HEAVY! Once all the side windows were out, the guys had to empty all the fluids out of the car (oil, gas, transmission fluid, coolant). And, if you don't have a hydraulic lift, you simply use your backhoe.
While the car was lifted Katie got to slash a tire, which is something she'd wanted to do. At last, the car was ready for smashing. But before the guys could do that, Aaron had to teach them how to drive this beast of a dozer.
Katie, Caroline, and I got lost about halfway through the instructions. Terry (Hagen) said it takes a lot of hours before you totally get the hang of it, but that it's easier to just do it. As a prelude to the car smash, the guys ran over some ovens.
Now we get to actual car smashing:
Once the car was smashed, Aaron decided to cut it in half to fit it in his scrap metal bin.
I have to say, this was pretty fun; it took longer than expected, but there is something quite satisfying about crunching metal. Next year, we drive a car off a cliff and watch it explode. :)
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