September: Lunching and Brunching

So if we are friends and haven't had a lunch date yet, we should. I love lunching! Especially with friends and those I love-what could be better!? And this month I've been so lucky to have lunches and brunches with some really great people. First, Kristine and Meg. These are my girly girls. I think it was around Fourth of July last year that Meg and I learned a statistic that when girls talk among each other a certain "happy hormone" (you brainiacs may know what this is, but to me it's just a happy hormone) is released. So we decided that monthly lunches would help us in getting together to have our "happy hormone" time :) Unfortunately due to schedules and Kristine moving to Idaho these outings have, over time, become bimonthly, then semi-annually. The good news is that we were able to get together this month for brunch on Labor Day! It was such a good time. We met at Mimi's Cafe and got to catch up on a good six months worth of life, jobs and of course relationships (..or lack thereof..) So not only was the company great but the food was fantastic too! I highly reccommend Mimi's for brunch. Okay, next lunch outing of the month: September 11. To commemorate Patriot Day at work we decided to have a potato bar luncheon. Kudos to our manager for such a good idea! It was fantastic. We all signed up to bring either toppings or salad or something to go with our baked potatoes and our boss Kris made the best banana cream pie I've ever had. Yumm! Good stuff. And then there's today. I had the opportunity to go to lunch with my old roomie, Maryvonne. She has been in Southern Utah all summer and spent the day in the Provo/Orem area before heading off to Europe tomorrow! So this was the only time we had and we seized it. We met up at California Pizza Kitchen and had a yummy Italian lunch (my aunties would be proud!) Ah, catching up is oh so much fun! It was nice to hear what she's been up to and hear all about her adventure to Europe. Fun stuff! So, bottom line, lunching with friends is one of my favorite things. It's also one of the things I miss most about home. I miss lunching with my mom! We have the best lunches. In college I would call her on my way home and be like "Meet me at South Side in 15 minutes" and we'd have a nice lunch just the two of us. Good times.

Summa's Over...

I really should be more committed to this blog...

So summer is over :( Boo! It was one heck of a summer for me. Lot's of new things, meeting new people and making new memories. Fun stuff. Gosh, it went so fast. But now it's almost fall and more new things to come.

::valuable lessons learned this summer::

: work can also be FUN! who knew!

: living in EM (eagle mountain) = good times! (Except for their stinky hard water)

: rock band is for those with musical talent. i have no musical talent....

:4 hours of sleep is not enough for miss amy-even in the summer

: even a stay-cation is worth it. i'll take r&r in any way i can get it

: dating is difficult.....but very rewarding :)

: roots keep you grounded

: friends make all the difference!

;)

Go Cards!

So just a quick blog to show some love for my most favorite sports team ever....The St. Louis Cardinals!! Last week the All Star Game was held in St. Louis and I'm not gonna lie, it made me a little homesick. Go Cards!

Fake N Bake -- Minus the Bake :)

So we have the no bake cheesecake and (my favorite) the no bake cookie, but I've found the no bake tan! On Monday I went and got a spray tan. I am a big fan of being tan, especially in the summer and when I'm trying to attract the attention of a certain boy, but I'm also a big fan of not getting cancer. I have one grandparent who died of cancer and another who is now in remission (way to go Grandma!) but literally cancer scares the begesus outta me. So as I was considering it, weighing the pros and cons I came across the spray tan. I immediately thought of celebs like Jennifer Aniston but then I thought of Paris Hilton and that sometimes orangey glow she has..not so cool. But I decided I would try it anyway, if the worst thing about it is having a Paris Hilton orangey glow then I'm down with at least trying it. So I read about it a little online. I'm always a little cautious about reading about things online because you never know what kind of information you are getting, but I found some good tips: hydrate well a week (..or a weekend...) before getting the tan and exfoliate the day before. This worked well because I researched on Friday and had planned on getting the tan that Monday. So all weekend I lathered up with lotion and made sure to drink lots of water and then Sunday night I exfoliated well. Monday I got to the tanning salon and the attendant was super nice and explained to me what to do. It was a little weird though. So it's just a big booth and you first get undressed, cover your hair with a cap and apply the base cream to your fingernails, toenails and drier spots just for coverage. Then I walked up to the door and swiped my hand across to open the door (it's all motion sensored- how cool!) and got in. The door closed and then started the semi creepy computer generated female voice.... "Door closing" "Please face forward your tan will start shortly" "In 5...4...3...2...1.." (Yes, it really counted down like that, I was like.. Um am I in a tanning booth or a spaceship...??) And then the spray started from bottom to top. There are marks where you should stand so you aren't too close, but it sprays for 15 seconds and I'm a breathing kind of girl so I sucked in a breath....and some tanning spray :( . So then Ms. Creepy Voice says to turn and the spray will start again. For all those who have seen the Friends episode where Ross gets a spray tan (lol-i love it!) I made sure to learn from his mistake and turn around. :) So after I was sprayed down again it was done. I stepped out of the booth and started to dry off. When I stepped out I wasn't totally convinced of the spray tan. I looked down and couldn't see any noticeable difference except that I was wetter oh and I smelled like tanning lotion. So I patted myself dry and proceeded to dress. They say that it takes 12 to 24 hours for the tan to set in but I saw results throughout the day. The only bad thing was my hands. I thought I had generously applied the base cream but apparently I didn't do such a good job because my hands were pretty orange. Not like embarrassingly orange but a darker shade than the rest of me. And that was it, I was done. Not bad. In all I think it's a pretty good trade off for looking tan and not risking cancer. The other pros I saw were how quickly you tan-mine was noticeable after a few hours and how easy it is to do. Some cons though, splotchy spots-not really too obvious, except for the hands, getting the spray in my nose and the price. My tan was 24 but it was buy one get one, so I still have another one to use, but if I were to keep it up, it might be a little pricey. Also, the attendant said it would only last about a week or so, so we'll see. I used the Mystic Tan but I've heard there are others out there too. Hm...not bad :)

ps. In my week of trying new things, I also got a manicure and my color? "Explosive!" But I like to call it, Summer Construction Orange ;)

My Life Would Suck Without You

Yep, that's right, I went to the Kelly Clarkson concert last week! Woo-hoo it was fun times. I wasn't planning on going until the day before the concert when my BFF ever, Mellen, texted me and said that a mutual friend had given her tickets. Yay! I was stoked. I won't claim to be the biggest Kelly Clarkson fan or anything but I do like her music. I especially love to rock out to her newest song "I Do Not Hook Up" (Just ask those troopers I work with, they watch me sing it all day :-]) So fun times! The day of the concert, though, it rained all day and I've heard that that is not usual in Utah. So we were a little worried but it stopped in time for the concert. Unfortunately the concert was outside and our only seating was on blankets on the ground. This would have been perfect for any other day but our poor butts were soaked and cold. :( The wet soggy ground did provide one joy....err...hilarity. As we sat on the hill on our wet blankets we watched others walk down the hill to get closer seats. Well...some people walked down the hill...others slid down it :) It was sooo funny to just sit there and watch crowds of people try walking down the slippery slope and then all of a sudden you see arms go up and booties hit the ground. I felt really guilty for laughing but it just couldn't be helped. I also learned a valuable lesson....Laugh at yourself! It was sad to see those who quickly got up and just acted like nothing had happened. Those that got up and just laughed were so much funner and those who got up and posed like they had just landed a vault jump were the best of all! :) haha Fun times! So after the opening act of "Utah's Got Talent"-it was time for Kelly to hit the stage. She was awesome, such a rocker chick! Uber thanks to Michelle and Mellen for the tickets, it was a rockin good time. Oh and thanks Mellen to for the pics I just stole.... ;)

The infamous hill

I'm in awe :)

Home Is Where The Heart Is...

Warning: Long post to be expected....

So home was GREAT! Here's the recap of highlights...

The "Storm"-I am calling it a storm because I simply don't know what else to call it, but the day before I flew home (Friday, May 8) a big storm hit Southern Illinois. At first they classified it as a tornado, but then as I got home and learned more, they were calling it an in land hurricane and a cycloburst something. I still don't know if they've officially classified it as anything yet, but it was a pretty bad storm. Luckily, there weren't too many injuries and I was still able to fly into St. Louis with no trouble. I spent the first few days of my trip with my dad and his family with no power. There were trees and power lines down everywhere-in some cases, the trees were down on top of the power lines-and so there were about a dozen towns with no power. At first it sounded like bad news, but it really wasn't that bad. The first night my dad just grilled outside, which was ingenius because we couldn't cook inside, the weather was perfect for grilling, and what better way to salvage all the food that would soon be rotten! It was great. And with no tv or computer we just sat around talking all night until it got so dark that we couldn't see each other and then we went inside to candles. It was nice. That lasted a few days, we grilled or ordered out for meals and spent most of the day talking or driving around and I got to use a chainsaw when we were cleaning up some of our fallen trees. Okay, so I only used the chainsaw for about 3 seconds, but it was fun! :) The fun started winding down when I realized just how many things you can't do without power. I was okay with the no microwave and no television but then I was ready for a hot shower and to use my flat iron and the fun ended pretty quickly. :) Good thing we had relatives close by! We spent Mother's Day with my aunt and stole a lot of her power (Thanks Laurie!)

My Dad and I after grilling

The Fam-Speaking of Mother's Day, one of the biggest highlights of the whole trip, of course, was seeing family. It was sooooo nice to see everyone and how they've all grown. Seriously, I almost didn't even recognize my youngest brother Austin who is 14 and must have hit puberty and a growth spurt while I've been away! And there's nothing like being with sisters! ♥ On Tuesday night my sister Ali had a softball game so we went to watch her play and then we all went out to eat as a family. And it was the whole family! That never happens. My oldest brother Michael drove down and we all had dinner together. It was fun and such a great (although a bit belated) Mother's Day present for my mom. On Saturday we had one of my cousin's weddings to go to and it was nice there too to see so many family members I hadn't seen in a long time. There were some of my cousins children I had never even seen! They were all so cute! And the aunts. Oh the crazy aunts! They're Italian and I love them, that's all I can say :) I spent one day with my mom and one of my aunts just going to eat and getting pedicures. Fun stuff! And I was way excited to be home when my sister Michelle got her ACT scores back, she got a 33 that little genius! I'm so proud of her!

Me and the Smarty Pants Michelle

Ali and I after her ballgame
The Girls-They got me flowers! Aw!

Me with Baby Tristan-she's 1 and I just met her!

At the Wedding... "We Are Family..."

The Cardinals Game!-That was a big highlight of my trip! I love the Cardinals, but unfortunately never get to see them play. Even though I didn't have tickets and I knew it would be a long shot, I had even checked their schedule to see if they were playing at home the week I would be there. Sure enough they were, but the only game I saw as even a possibility to make was a Sunday game and that just wouldn't work out. Well, then my dad asked me about my plans on Friday and said that he had tickets to the game. AHH!! Yay! So we went with my dad's boss and his wife and it was great! We got there early, even got a free t-shirt and went to eat in downtown St. Louis and then got to our amazing seats. It all started off great, I was busy snapping pics of Albert Pujols (see below), we almost caught a foul ball and Colby Rasmus hit a home run, but then.....then the rain came. It started pouring! Luckily, we stayed dry and waited it out in hopes that they would continue the game, but when it finally stopped they said that the game had been cancelled. Bummer! It was still such a fun time and I was happy just to get to go for those two innings :)

Pujols at first base...YUM!

Rain, Rain Rain...Go Away!

Sad!

I think that's most of the highlights for me. It was a fun trip. I want to send apologies to everyone that I didn't get to see though. It's sad but there are soo many people in Southern Illinois that I love and would love to catch up with but there was only so much time and it was already split between all the sides of family. So hopefully to all those people, we will get to catch up soon! Also, I feel like I learned a lot on this trip. First off, I don't miss humidity at all! ;) It's sticky and it makes my hair expand by tenfold. But I also realized how much I love my life in Utah. I started to miss it after just a few days at home, and I realized I'm so grateful for the life I have. I realized so many blessings, I am so lucky to have such an amazing and supportive family and friends and two "homes"! Another thing I learned is that I'm not a vacation type of person. I was looking forward to not having to work for a whole week, but after a couple days I was bored! I played solataire, caught up on my facebooking and watched an entire season of Grey's Anatomy in two days and then I was ready to get to work :) So I think vacations are nice but maybe a shorter one next time ;)

May Day!

Oh Hapy Day! May is here! I looove May! Here are some reasons....

*I get to go home! 8 days and counting....
*Cinco de Mayo-One of the coolest days to celebrate and party
*Barbecues Galore and it's the month of summer kickoff's!
*If you re-arrange the letters in MAY...it spells...AMY ;-)

And some fun facts about May-thanks to the ever so scholarly Wikipedia:
::May is Older Americans Month as established by John F. Kennedy
::It is also Mental Health Awareness Month (this in no way related to my trip home; hehe)
::Both the Kentucky Derby and the Indiannopolis 500 are held in May
::May Day is celebrated on the Roman calendar, in the United Kingdom and in Ireland, but the reserved holiday is actually the first Monday in May.
::In Germany, it is an old custom to plant a "tree of May" to honor someone. Often young men set up an adorned birch in front of their girlfriends house the night before May 01. Aww...

Who knew!?
Happy May! :)