Merry Christmas

My favorite Christmas song is O, Holy Night and I just happened to be at the Bellagio lately and caught this.




I hope you've had a wonderful Christmas!!!

A.D.D. Interference

First, I must apologize. I've had multiple ideas for fabulous posts over the last few weeks but by the time I get in front of a computer I've forgotten what they are. Seriously, I've determined that my brain moves on to a new topic every 5-10 seconds. And most of the things floating around up there aren't very interesting.

So, I decided to make an A.D.D. post.

First up... this is how work has been lately:



Second, some hilarious YouTube stuff:

Subscription recommendation: Shaytards
The Shaytards post a video diary entry every day. Such a cute family, and they're LDS, too.

Video recommendation: Child Hoarder Intervention
Mr. Arturo Trejo (not his real name) posts videos of his family 1 to 2 times a week. He has a great sense of humor about life and the above link is one of my favorites of his. His posts are family-friendly!

Video recommendation 2: Red Eye Flashes Twice
Julian Smith posts hilarious skit videos approximately every 2 weeks. The topic of the above video is one I'm very familiar with. From what I've seen, most of his videos are also family friendly.

What YouTube personalities do you love to watch? Please let me know!

Third, I spent many hours at the South Town Expo Center over the weekend helping out at the Festival of Trees. (I know, you were probably annoyed by my status updates on facebook.) I'm hoping to make a short video about some of the time I spent there and will have it up sooner or later. (Yeah, I'm non-commital like that!)

My work donated 3 small trees and 4 wreaths. (At least I think that's the right number.) Here's the tree I helped decorate:


And the quote of the week:
"The trees were cool but make me feel so inadequate as a christmas decorator." - Said by my sister after she spent an evening at festival.

But you should see my sister's tree. If she feels like her tree is inadequate then the one at my house looks like a Charlie Brown tree.

Lake Powell - The End... Maybe

So, this is technically the last clip from my lake powell DVD. I do reserve the right, however, to post a Lake Powell - Part 5 video because there is more video but it's, well... some of it is only funny if you were there. You know what I mean? Like an inside joke.

I'm just sayin'... there was this one night where someone must have spiked the punch water and,... well,... crazy things happened.

You can't HANDLE the crazy!

Well, I mean, I haven't decided if you can handle the crazy or not so, we'll see!

Anyways, here's the ending. And I'm super excited to show it to you (are you excited too?) because I was able to leave my original music in. Yay to YouTube for obtaining the copyright!!

Enjoy!!

Lake Powell - Part 4

Are you sick of these yet? Don't worry, we're almost at the end!

Lake Powell - Part 3

Lake Powell Part 2

If you haven't seen part one you can check it out below. Here's part two.

The original soundtrack was Days Go By by Keith Urban.

But this song is good, too. And, most importantly, it's free.

Lake Powell Part 1

It's done! I finally finished my Lake Powell video and I'm really proud of it. It's far from perfect but I think I did pretty well for my first video editing experience ever!

Originally I put this video to music although, due to copyright, of course, I had to change it to whatever was free on YouTube. If you ever want to see the video with the original music you'll have to come to my house! I'll be posting the rest of the video throughout this week. And, of course, all of it will have music substituted in as necessary. But enjoy...




The original soundtrack is Tremble for My Beloved by Collective Soul. If you happen to have it, mute the youtube soundtrack and play it while you watch. The video/pictures are somewhat choreographed to it!

PS. Let me know if you have problems viewing the video.

Dyslexia

So, I know the suspense from my last post must be killing you and I value your friendship too much to let that happen so.... Katie, you came close, I was playing volleyball. It was with my stake, and, as much as I love playing any kind of volleyball, the level of play was not so high as to warrant a "bump, set, spike" on every play. It did, however, turn out that there were a number of guys who could hit the ball decently but not many people who could set well. And that's where I gained the advantage. So, yes, I had multiple men (all married, unfortunately) wanting to stand next to me in rotation so that I could set to them.

If only this could be a metaphor for my life... and, of course, the men would have to be single. Still, a girl can dream. The whole situation just made me chuckle to myself, though, because how many times have I been in a social situation and, while watching a girl/boy interaction, muttered under my breath, "I wish I had boys fighting over my attention like that!"? It just goes to show, prayers are always answered, just not necessarily in the way we were hoping for!

On another note, I was in the grocery store the other day when I walked past a woman who had a toddler in her cart. They were standing in front of the pop corn while the woman was trying to decide what to get. Her toddler started being fussy when the woman said something like, "Just a minute, honey, I just need to get some pop corn." The toddler then tried to impress it's mother by repeatedly shouting "pop corn" only the child swapped the first letter of each word. The mother quickly tried to cover the toddler's mouth and said, "no, honey, that's something totally different" at which point I burst out into laughter, causing the mother to lose it, also. It was quite a sight, I'm sure.

Now every time I smell popcorn wafting through the office I think of that child... and I chuckle.

…in mysterious ways!

Last weekend I was at some kind of social gathering and I’d love to tell you more about it but I can’t cuz I want you to guess where I was. And I’ll give you hint… I was at an event attended by lots of guys and a few girls and the vast majority of the guys were fighting (figuratively, not literally) to stand next to me. And I know you must be thinking, “Oh, I get that ALL the time,” but that NEVER happens to me. And I must say I LOVED IT. And it kinda boosted my self esteem even though there is zero chance of anything coming from it.

But anyways, can you guess where I was? 10 points to the first person who gets it!

And I know I need to blog more. I’ve been editing what is turning out to be a wicked awesome lake powell video and just today I started editing a book that my wonderful friend wrote and I hope to someday be able to tell you more about it because I’m only 50 pages in but it’s really amazing!

And hopefully I’ll edit her book better than I’ve edited this blog.

Oh, and when I get the lake powell video done I’ll definitely share!

Ta ta for now!

(I’m starting to think somebody spiked my lunch… General Tsao’s Chicken!)

My MAD Ninja Skillzzz

Watchin’ Conference

aka. sitting in the same room as the TV that is broadcasting conference; being in either a state of consciousness, or not.

I had a wonderful weekend hanging out with my sister. I called her on Saturday and invited myself over for a sleepover. Yeah, I’m nice like that!

If you’re on FaceBook much you might’ve seen my update last Friday about my mom’s theory on my life. We were hanging out and I believe I was telling her my new life plan. And when I say “new life plan” perhaps I should really say “plan of the day”… that might clarify it better. It might also clarify why my mom rolls her eyes at me every time I say, “Ok, so,… I came up with a new life plan.” Anyways, I was telling her my plan and after she listened to the whole thing (in stunned silence, I might add) she said, “You know what your problem is? You analyze things too much!”

I’d like to state, for the record, that I am aware I analyze things too much. In fact, I analyze how I analyze things too much. Does that make sense? I wonder what it means about me if I analyze things too much.

And in order to preserve your insanity, the analysis will stop… NOW!

I’ve been working on getting Lake Powell pictures up. I actually don’t have many pictures (I know, who am I and what have I done with myself?!) from the week-long vacation. What I do have is lots and lots of video… of people failing to get up on water skis… and maybe a few other things. I’m getting the rest of the pictures from the group this week and I finally got some video from my sister so we’re all set. I’ll be dabbling in a little bit of video editing so I hope it goes well cuz I’ve always wanted to get into video editing.

The one kinda sad thing about all the photo and videos I have of Powell is that I’m not in many of them. I was usually the one filming/taking the picture but considering I was mostly in a swimsuit I don’t really mind!

Perhaps this post should be called A.D.D overload.

Stay tuned! I’m out!

PS. I’m back in. Have you heard of the Shaytards on YouTube? Love them… check it out if you’re bored.

PPS. I put a few Powell pictures up on FaceBook, and there will be more to come!

PPPS. I’m really out!

Bad Day?

If your day's not going so well you've gotta check this video out. I'm amazed!!

Inside me lives a skinny woman crying to get out...

...but I can usually shut the b!±¢# up with cookies!!...


...Or this: Peanut Butter Brownie Pie

What’s a-happenin’, hot stuff?!?

I caught a showing of “16 Candles” over the weekend. Such a classic. I love that movie!

So, the summer’s been busy. As you can see, I haven’t blogged much. And I haven’t been up to anything big in particular, just stuff.

Recently I got to photograph this cute family:

And this adorable doll, who I would totally steal, if I could. (And who may or may not share a first name with my future, firstborn daughter! Not that I actually have a list of good baby names, or anything. Cuz that would be lame.)

I’ve been bathing suit shopping (ugh!) for the upcoming lake powell trip (yay!). Bathing suit shopping is an emotional roller coaster and a necessary evil. Enough said!

I’ve also had a ton of fun making birthday cakes using this marshmallow fondant recipe:
http://notsoidlehands.blogspot.com/2009/10/spooky-cupcake-ghosties-plus-easy.html

My sister and I made a couple of cakes. One for my bro-in-law:

And one for my sister’s good friend:


I’d never, ever, used/made fondant before and it was SO easy. I’m glad I dared to try!

I’ve also fallen in love with this blog lately: http://milasdaydreams.blogspot.com/
That woman has more creativity in her little pinky than I have in my whole body.

And now, I think you should go watch 16 Candles. If you’re anything like me you’ve probably forgotten how funny it is!!

As for me, I bought 13 going on 30 for $5 today so I might watch that instead!

Wait, ...what?

Dear Mom & Dad - I'm on to you...

Winner, Winner!! Chicken Dinner!!

If you're 4th of July weekend was half as good as mine you are one lucky person! I had a blast doing everything from boating to biking, and building to photography (ran out of "b" words).

And I'm going to show you ALL the photos I took this weekend, but first, the important stuff. Here is what my camera looked like Tuesday morning:

If you can see on the display, it says 169 pictures. I also took 3 on my phone's camera so that comes to a total of 172. And the winner is...

Monica H., with a guess of 109. Congrats, Monica!!! I don't have your address so if you can send it to me at myownkindofcrazy at hotmail dot com

And the second winner with the most people who linked from her blog to mine was Melanie D! Congrats Melanie! I'm not sure if I have your address either so if you could send it to me that would be awesome!

And now to the pictures. I feel I must add a disclaimer first, though. I've never... and I mean NEVER... shown anyone all the pictures I've taken over a period of time. Almost half of these I took just to see what number I got to for the contest. The other half is a big mix of mess-ups on my part and the few good pictures I got. I'm confessing now that I'm not a great photographer, I just get lucky sometimes. And that's the naked truth.

Bike ride on the Union Pacific Rail Trail:

Rail trail plus 3rd of July Parade in Huntsville (Katie, I saw your parents but didn't get a chance to say hi!):

The end of the parade plus family and boating:

More family plus the sunset and fireworks:

Yes, it took me a while to get the fireworks right:

I know, that's a lot to handle. But now for some favorites, some highlights, and some lowlights:

Hannah:

Lance with a bloody nose from a baseball:

Lance is an awesome pitcher! Catching... well, didn't go so well this time.

Aiden:

Woodland creatures/gnomes collection:

I vow to never, ever have anything like that in my yard.

Sign on the bike path:

The only picture I was in all weekend:

Sunset on the 3rd:

Fireworks on the 3rd:

And an appropriate ending. Sidewalk chalk on Bountiful Blvd. July 5th:

Amen!

I'm drowning in photos!!!

I know I said I was going to post the winner of the contest today but... well,... it turns out I lied. I'm still busy editing photos and will post the winner soon!

Randomness Vol. 1

• My best friend gave birth to a precious baby boy yesterday! I hope she lets me babysit.
• I get to have lunch with a wonderful friend who gets to spend the whole summer with her little baby girl. I’m so jealous!
• I’m apparently baby hungry. I wish my sister would hurry up and get pregnant. Waiting for the right time is over-rated.
• Rated R is over-rated. (Anyone watching The Bachelorette?) And I knew that from the beginning.
• If I were The Bachelorette, I’d choose Frank or that guy who’s mom died a year ago. (I always forget his name.) Roberto just doesn’t do it for me. And Ty… well, at this point who am I to be picky, right?
• My favorite line this week: “Backyards are over-rated!” Spoken by my sister after she spent 5 hours weeding her new yard. Why don’t people ever believe me when I try to tell them that home-ownership isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
• My house was dang hot already this morning as I was getting ready for work. It finally feels like summer.
• My legs are silky smooth right now. (Sorry if that is TMI.) I waxed last night after not shaving for a little over a week, which is SO itchy in this heat, but SO worth it in the end.
• I hope you aren’t thinking about my silky smooth legs right now. That would kinda creep me out!
• I like cantaloupe when it gets really, really ripe.
• I’ve caught the craft bug lately. I realized this weekend that I’m in the middle of 8 different projects. Apparently I have trouble focusing. (I’ll show you what I’ve been working on (and what I wish I had time to work on) in another post.)
• It’s come to my attention recently that I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting some (or at least one) of the people who read my blog. So, welcome, stranger(s)! I hope you keep coming back for more!
• I hope to take lots of fun pictures this weekend of all the patriotic festivities. Sometimes I get carried away with taking pictures.
• I just had a brilliant idea! I’m going to hold my very first contest. Here are the details:

1. Leave a comment below with your guess of how many pictures I’m going to take this weekend which I’m going to count as Friday morning through Monday night (that’s July 2 – 5).
2. No entries after 2400 Monday night (that’s military time for 12:00pm Monday night)
3. I promise not to read any comments on this post until Tuesday morning. (Pinky swear!)
4. Winner will be announced Tuesday morning.
5. Only one comment per person is allowed but 2 entries per person are allowed. Read on for more details:
6. There are 2 ways to enter: I will also give a prize to the person who has the most people visit my blog from a link on their blog. Does that make sense? So, tell everyone you know to go to your blog then click on a link you have there, either on your sidebar or in a post, that sends them to my blog. Does that make sense? If it doesn’t email me at myownkindofcrazy at hotmail or at my personal email if you know it. (Don’t leave a comment on this post because I won’t get it until Tuesday morning and it’ll be too late to win and then I’d feel guilty!)
7. Now I suppose you want to know what the “prize” is?! It’s a $15 gift card to my favorite restaurant Macaroni Grill!!! You can also use it at Chili’s and I think another restaurant or 2 if you’re not an Italian lover. (Personally, I wouldn’t mind finding an Italian lover!) So yes, 2 (dos) $15 gift cards will be given away!

And to help you in your guesswork I’ll now tell you what I currently have planned for this weekend:
Friday morning: Either a rail-trail bike ride with the family or a fishing trip up the canyons.
Friday afternoon: A couple craft projects with Sister.
Saturday: Parade, BBQ, game booths, fireworks
Sunday: Teaching primary
Monday: Totally undecided (possibly some home projects, maybe a BBQ)

Good luck!

Stick's Memorial Day Weekend

So, now that you've met stick (or if you haven't, here he is again... in the mud... get it? stick...in the mud!)

I met Stick on the short hike between String and Leigh lakes in Grand Teton National Park. Stick joined me and my family for the rest of the weekend and wanted to share some of his favorite pictures.

Stick in a lake:

Stick at a picnic:

Stick getting nervous:

Baby Great Horned Owls (no Stick):

Stick at the Bar J:

Stick in a boat (at Jenny Lake)


Stick at Hidden Falls:

Stick and a mama moose (or, just a mama moose):

...or two:

Stick and a bird:

Another moose:

A grizzly bear (too far off for Stick's little legs to carry him):

Stick's weekend ended up being very nerve-wracking for him. At one point he awoke in the middle of the night screaming "not the nest!" Now he is off to a nearly-as-nerve-wracking event:

Stick at a family reunion:

Stop being such a...

Story of Stick, to be continued...