im really liking my new camera. we have been at katie's this week, and tonight we headed up to bethanne's. before i forget (and get bogged down with a billion pictures), i wanted to post a few of my favorites so far.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
so far....
Monday, June 29, 2009
.....out of the mouth
kids say funny things. anden, katie's oldest, is very smart and curious (as are the other two). however, anden is at the age where he has more quotable ideas. here are a few gems from yesterday and this morning:
raegan: (holding up a picture of joseph smith during fhe) do you boys remember who is in this picture?
anden: um.....president monsen?
katie: good guess, but it's actually joseph smith.
anden: (rolls eyes) oh. close enough!
-------------------------------
anden: dad, how high is heaven?
raegan: oh, it's really high.
anden: hm...would you have to take a spaceship to get there?
-------------------------------
katie: (watching hotel for dogs, where the kids have foster parents) sometimes, if something happens to a kid's parents, they go to live with someone else who will take care of them.
anden: like what would happen to them (the parents)?
katie: well they could get sick, or they might die, so someone else would take care of them.
anden: oh. well...could something happen like....wait. do aliens bite?
i think the last one stemmed from watching monsters vs. aliens on saturday (it kinda freaked out both anden and mckay). anyway, just wanted to share. these kids make me laugh.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
updates and countdowns
well, ive been in texas since tuesday, and it has been an eventful (while still relaxing) vacation so far. we've been with katie and raegan and their kids, and they have been very willing and patient subjects for my photography experiments, to which i am most grateful :). i'll try to get pictures up asap. ive been checking the internet nonstop and have found some of the things on my list for my new apt, but i cant buy anything yet until i get paid and get back to utah. i have already drawn a floorplan and figured out how i'd like to set up my furniture, and ive even had some very thoughtful friends offer to let me have or borrow some furniture, so that is making this whole process even more exciting!
in other news, all of my friends tease me about how i look forward to events. i have learned that my life is base on countdowns. countdowns to birthdays, holidays, vacations, summertime, the end of school, the beginning of school, etc etc. as soon as one is done, i can always find a new event to countdown. i guess i was always a little goal (and number) oriented. so without further ado, here are a few things i've counted lately:
5 1/2: # of days in texas
2: # of times ive gone swimming this summer
8: average time im woken up in the morning
729: amount of dollars my dream sectional costs at costco
108: highest temperature outside since ive been here
4: # of movies watched
11: # of raspberries given on my calves and elbows by the nephews in an attempt to wake me up this morning
322: # of pictures taken on my camera (so far)
27: # of text messages recieved since ive been out of utah
....and that's about the extent of my creativity. yeah. it's too hot to think here. on a random note, we watched confessions of a shopoholic last night, and i LOVED it. i read the book (by sophie kinsella), and i would have to say that i did like it a lot, although the author is british and with that comes LOTS of language. im really surprised it tanked, though. there was all of one cuss word, it made me laugh several times, and isla fisher is a very good actress (in my opinion). if you havent read the book, i would strongly suggest seeing the movie instead. you'll bypass a lot of language, and you'll get the overall message of the story. men be warned: it is on the chick flick side of things (but didnt you expect that?) anyway....i'll be buying it for sure. it's a good one.
okay. i think i should straighten my hair and put on makeup for the first time this week. we have church this morning, so i figure i should be a little more put together. my family's stuck with me, whether or not i have my hair done! :)
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
house hunting
it is official...i signed for my own apartment yesterday morning! im super stoked about it, since it is really nice. here are the specs on the place:
-2 bedrooms (one will be used as an office)
-1 bath with tub shower
-storage room with w/d hookups
-linen closet
-pantry
-kitchen with stove, fridge, and dishwasher
it's in the basement of a chiropractor's office, along with 4 other apartments, and adam and belinda actually lived in the same building for a while. everyone we talked to (which means about 4 apartments in the building bc we didnt know which apt # it was) love the place as well as the management. it seems really nice, and it's very unreal that it's mine. no more stinky, rap-music-loving, asian-food-cooking, disney-obsessed girl roommates!! of course, i wouldnt mind a boy roommate, but i wont get into that right now. anyway, here are the pictures of the place (as seen on craigslist):
1. looking past the living room into the 2nd bedroom/office
2. living room
3. kitchen
the pictures dont really give the size of the apartment justice. it's a pretty standard apartment. the only cons i see are that there is no covered parking (which i'll deal with), stairs are involved (also not a big deal), and there is no washer/dryer (but they arent too expensive used on craigslist, since there are hookups for them).
some of the pros are that it is in a good condition, it is HUGE compared to what i have now, i dont have to share a fridge, it seems very safe, the utilities are practically nonexistent, there is a huge parking lot to choose from (and i have 2 spots to myself!), it's not available until the end of july so i dont have to eat a month's rent to get the place, i can move in slowly before school starts, if i do get married the manager will just change the # of ppl living there and there wont be any problems, and did i mention i'll have my own apartment?
i feel like such an adult! i dropped quite the deposit, as well as the first and last month's rent, so im pretty broke right now (at least until i get paid on the 5th), and im crossing my fingers that i get all of the merit pay from school this year (up to $1500 based on my performance throughout the year) so i can buy some furniture. oh yeah.... did i mention it's not furnished? this is a pro and a con in and of itself.... i get to choose my own furniture, but that also means i have to buy my own furniture as well. so if any of you bloggers would like to donate old stuff to the mallory-needs-a-place-to-eat-and-sleep charity, please feel free to get in contact with me :). here are the things on my "need" list (yes, i made one, as well as a "have" list and a "want" list):
-mattress (queen or king sized--no frame needed, i can worry about that later)
-dresser
-computer/work desk
-couch (i can make/buy couch covers if needs be)
-kitchen table with 3-4 chairs
-microwave
-vacuum
aaaaaand just for fun, here's my "want" list as well:
-washer/dryer
-3 pocket laundry organizer
-rug
-sewing machine (brad's roommate is in the process of selling me his)
-couch covers
-bed frame (queen or king sized)
-bedside table
-blender
-good set of knives
-steamer pot
-griddle
anyway, just wanted to share some of my excitement :). if only july 27th would roll around sooner! well, that would mean summer is over, but it's okay. im in texas until july 7th, im going to arizona july 19-25, and then park city the 26-august 3, so i'll move in the next day. technically, i only have 1 1/2 weeks left in my current apartment! thank my lucky stars!!
Friday, June 19, 2009
babies, birthday bashes, and....beautification?
okay, so i was trying to be all cutesy with the title, and i had to stretch a bit, but it works. boy oh boy....it's been a crazy week. possibly the best birthday week ever, but crazy nonetheless. and since ive done so many fun things (and i'll be out of town for a few weeks so i probably wont post until afterwards), i feel like i should document it all. i wish everyone could have been here....23 really wasnt that lame of a birthday after all!
so it all started with the week before my birthday. alli (one of my very close friends) sent me a survey she had filled out, and one question was what day she was most excited about in the future. she put 'next week, when i get to come play in utah!' i didnt understand, so i emailed and asked her. she said 'crap!i meant to surprise you for the party brad's throwing you next tuesday.' little did i know that was supposed to be a surprise, and brad was way bummed when i asked him about it. i was so sad i ruined the surprise, but i made him promise not to tell me anything else about it and i moved on.
thursday night, i headed up to adam and belinda's house to babysit kennedy and noah, because belinda was going to be induced the next morning. they left around 6:30am, and i plunged into mommy-practice mode. i was up at 7 (the kids even earlier than me) and we did tons of "actiffanies" as kennedy and noah kept calling them. thank goodness bethanne is crafty, because i never would have kept these children occupied for 3 days! we played games, blew bubbles, colored in coloring books, made edible aquariums, put on a 2-minute play rendition of rumplestilskin, and went to mcdonalds, all while checking the internet regularly to see if the baby was born yet. kennedy and noah put together cute little books for the baby, and noah guessed she would have a small head, be bald, and have green eyes. kennedy was a little more forgiving, thank goodness. when they finally saw pictures of the baby (who is now called elliot whitney--she will go by ellie), they announced that she looked 'funny and yellow.' gotta love the honesty of children! she was teensy. i was so excited to go see her, and so were the kids. after i put them to bed, i went into babysitter mode, cleaning everything, and making sure it all looked the way belinda keeps it (even though i could never be that amazing!).
i got a call from brad at 8:30pm, saying that he wanted to come up to see me on my birthday. a&b live over an hour away and i thought he was being crazy, but i consented since i wanted some adult time on my birthday. well, 2 hours later, he finally showed up, with a big cake and a present. i was very excited :), but i really wanted to show pictures of ellie on the computer first. we went down stairs, and as we were looking at the computer, brad suddenly announced that someone was at the door. i told him he was wrong....after all, it was 10:30 and he couldnt have heard a knock anyway. he told me to go get the door, and then he started pushing me towards the stairs. that's when i knew something was up. i slowly went up the stairs and i saw balloons through the glass. i turned and looked at him and he continued to push me up the stairs. i opened the door, and there was alli (brad's sister from california), scott (on of our really close friends), and laurel (another really close friend and scott's sister). i started freaking out. apparently, when alli realized she spilled the secret that she was coming out, she decided to lie about WHEN the surprise would occur. sneaky!! they asked a&b and they were okay with everyone staying over, and it was so fun. they brought over my favorite things, like root beer, gatorade, gushers, peanut butter and peanut m&ms, my favorite type of cake, and my favorite ice cream. they also brought presents. they thought of everything! alli, scott, and laurel got me the movie hercules, a shirt from my wish list, and 2 other shirts (that i actually already owned, but we exchanged them later:)). and brad got me....a new camera!! after playing with it (and being disappointed that it had to have a special memory card that is extra expensive), we decided to switch it out for another camera, but i'll get to that later.
the next morning, the kids had a free-for-all with everyone. they were SO EXCITED to have new friends, and they LOVED playing with scott and brad. the kids were very sad when everyone had to leave for work. luckily we were on our way to go see the baby. brad came, and it was really fun. ellie is a DOLL (literally) and she is so chill! She just sat and slept while noah, kennedy, brad, and i all took turns holding her. she really is beautiful.
noah seemed pretty standoffish, but kennedy was really excited about ellie. it was fun to see how they reacted with her. after we finished at the hospital, we came back, brad had to leave, and everyone (me included) had a much-welcomed quiet time. we spent the rest of the evening making handprint art, shrinky dinks, dirt cup desserts, making posters and cards, watching movies and playing games.
scott, laurel, and alli came back saturday night and spent the night and helped me take the kids to church in the morning. brad met us right after church (he desperately needed to study for a test on monday), and the kids played like crazy again. everyone left except for brad while we prepared for a&b and ellie to come home. finally (the kids were getting stir-crazy) they got home at about 5:30, just in time for dinner. we all had dinner together, took some pictures, i hoarded the baby as much as possible, and then finally headed home. it was a wonderful, crazy weekend.
alli stayed at my house until tuesday, and we did a lot of shopping, running around, and visiting our old boss at the ASB copy center. i then spent the remainder of this week reading, sleeping, working out, and (unsuccessfully) apartment hunting. i hope im not homeless this fall! last night i had a wonderful time playing lego star wars at brad's house, as well as guitar hero, and we made plans for today. and then we have today, another wonderful day in the history that is known as my existence. i planned on seeing some more apartments (which were all taken already...urgh), but we ended up running to staples to look at another camera so i could make a final decision on what kind of camera i wanted. i just wasnt sold on the fact that sony makes you buy a special memory card that is extra expensive, but i was VERY proud of brad for picking it out himself. i was debating between keeping it or ordering a kodak online, and i found out that staples carry it (best buy only offers it online). we headed there to check it out, and after some playing, brad picked up another camera. he managed to take a picture of a woman's face from 100+ feet away! the camera had a 15x optical zoom, and it looked pretty ligit. of course, it was on sale, so after the rebate it would be the same as the kodak or the sony brad got me. so....i got it. and here it is, in all its glory:
yes, that's a nikon coolpix l100! certainly not as stupendous as adam's d60, but for $150, i'll take it (especially when it goes regularly for $280)!! i cant believe the pictures it is taking. i wanted a point and shoot because i am admittedly afraid of adam's d60, but i like that this is a happy medium-sized camera. i was very excited! and i love that brad helped me pick it out after all :). so he's going to return the other camera and give me the cash in its place. overall, im very pleased and im excited for an evening of manual reading :). after buying the camera, i rushed over to the mall and got a mani/pedi from this really nice spa. it was definitely the best i have ever had, although i wouldnt have gone without the $15 off coupon i had. i got a neon orange nail polish (yes, you read it right--neon orange) and i keep looking at my nails. theyre so pretty! of course, i cant do this much, since i feel all high maintenance with them, but it's fun for now :). i'll get pictures up as soon as i learn how to upload them onto my computer! finally, i rushed from remedez (the salon) and headed over to tucanos, where brad was waiting for me. we ate an AMAZING dinner (at lunch prices, since we went right before the dinner meats started to be served), and mine was free! i even got a birthday sundae. in the end, we paid $15 for a meal that normally costs $40. it was really amazing, and im surprised i havent fallen into a food coma yet. after dinner, we went back to brad's house and i played with my camera while he played call of duty 4 and then got ready for work. and....here we are. me blogging, and you getting tired of wayyyy too much detail, im sure.
i would have to say, though, that the month isnt over yet! on tuesday, im flying to texas to spend 2 weeks with bethanne and katie and their families, as well as mom and dad!! im SO ready for some stinking summer weather (it's been in the 60s-70s here since school was out) and im ready to (try to) get a tan! sorry for so much writing....i'll post pictures soon. dont forget about me and my blog, and i'll update as soon as i can! and thank you for all of the birthday wishes!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
i finally have the time....
....but i can't update now. sorry! i need to upload pictures and think about what is most entertining about which i could blog. unfortunately, i have recently become addicted to the stinking twilight series (darn you, stephenie meyer!!) and it is all ive been doing. luckily, i'm about 1/3 of the way through the last book in the series, so it will all be over soon.
anyway, on other important matters, my birthday is a mere 10 days away! after much prodding from the boyfriend, i made a wish list last night. this was partially my boredom while he was at work, since he has since decided what to get me (albeit a mystery to me), but whatever. and in case you are feeling generous and would like to help me celebrate the 23rd year of my life (no, i can't believe it either), here is said list. woohoo! enjoy! (be forwarned, however...my list is vastly different from the long lists of clothing i used to make. ive got lots of super random things. :) )
-Sony Cybershot w230 digital camera
http://www.buy.com/retail/
-flirty apron
http://flirtyaprons.com/cart/
-little big planet ps3 game
http://www.consumerdepot.com/
-papasan chair cushion (off white, khaki, or navy blue)
http://www.worldmarket.com/
-lawn tickets to see the fray july 18
http://www.livenation.com/edp/
-scoop tee, starry blue m
http://www.ae.com/web/browse/
-ae flashback sunglasses
http://www.ae.com/web/browse/
-love burn out v neck tee m
http://shop.pacsun.com/girls/
-kira floral halter babydoll, Clearwater ocean blue l
http://shop.pacsun.com/girls/
-roxy socialite bandeau top, hot pink l
http://shop.pacsun.com/girls/
-lost ivy bag
http://shop.pacsun.com/girls/
-ocean minded savanna flip flops, size 8 or 9
http://piperlime.gap.com/
-madras a-line dress, purple combo m
http://www.gap.com/browse/
-schwinn women’s scenic cruiser
http://www.costco.com/Browse/
-a bug’s life dvd
http://www.amazon.com/Bugs-
-princess cut size 6
http://bidz.com/bzJApp/
-monster’s inc dvd
-mulan dvd
http://www.amazon.com/Mulan-
-tarzan dvd
http://www.amazon.com/Tarzan-
-heart and souls dvd
-101 dalmations dvd
http://www.amazon.com/
-hercules dvd
http://www.amazon.com/
-sarai knotted flats, tan 8.5
-the healthy college cookbook
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.
-great meals for couples or crowds cookbook
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.
-blue line double hamper
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.
-shark cordless floor and carpet sweeper
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.
-remington 2 ¼” flat iron
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.
-progressive onion chopper
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.
-progressive tower slicer
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.
-avocado slicer
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.
-simply strawberries 3 piece tool set
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.
so....that's all. and DONT RUIN TWILIGHT FOR ME! i swear, i'll ban you from my blog. i dont know how ive managed to miss all the hoopla and i still dont know what happens, but im determined to be surprised by the ending. i refuse to have a repeat of harry potter #6 when someone called me ONE PAGE before finding out the death of a main character to ask me what i thought about them dying. i will never forget that. oh, and i promise i'll blog soon! dont give up on me!
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