Princess me.

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.


I guess. I've never thought of myself as Pocahantas out of all the Dinsey princesses but I think it's cool. I love that she was her own person and didn't marry John Smith b/c he didn't give her want she needed. John Roth was willing to man up.

Anventured Filled Weekend in Austin

I kicked started my birthday weekend with the Midsingles weekend in Austin. It was so much fun. We got lost in Texas chainsaw murder territory, sweet talked the front desk clerk Tinashe for an extra room key, snuck into the hot tub in the hotel across from where we were staying (thanks Fernando), service project planting seeds, canoe racing, showing up at the wrong hotel (thanks Steve for the wrong directions), making Anel, Monica and Kim scared we weren't going to make the dinner cruise on time, having a blast on the dinner cruise, getting lost over and over again and calling Kati U a million times even though she gave us detailed maps and sharing 1 bathroom between 6 girls. Wow. Fun times.




If you know me, you know I made a beeline for the smallest bucket. Unfortunately for me, Anel had the same idea and called dibs first. I was forced to work hard.




Looks like I was working hard right? Well I was really posing. Monica pointed out that I could really be seeding as pictures are being taken. Good point.



I think it's amazing that this many people showed up seeing it was so early in the morning. We did good.




I've finally been able to fulfill a year long dream of going to eat at Salt Lick. Ever since I saw it on Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels I've been obsessed. I researched the menu, history and watched the video clip of the restaurant over and over again. I had this face the whole time.




I have wanted to eat here for so long but I never thought I would get to eat in the private room. I feel so VIP.




I shared this massive plate with Monica. We had sausage, ribs, brisket, beans, potato salad cole slaw, pickles, and delicious bread. Yummy. I was so full.




This was so cute. This was on every table. I wonder if they are used boots or made specifically for this purpose. No matter though cause it just added to the amazement of Salt Lick.




Even their bathroom was cool and decorated for Halloween. Monica was embarrassed to take the picture, esp when a stranger got out of the stall. She felt the need to explain why we were taking pictures. I had no shame. What is so weird about taking pictures in a stall?



In the history of the Salt Lick, it states that it used to be the old stopping ground for Paul Bunyan and his blue ox Babe. This is his official boot so it has to be true. I almost sprained myself climbing this pillar.




Off we went to canoeing. Anel and Kim thought they could beat us. I don't think so.



Good friendly competition between friends. Steve, Christy and Sunshine may have won but that was only because they were holding Monica and my canoe back. I say do over. Competition was the only way I pushed myself to finish though.




We needed to be back at the hotel by 4 so we could get ready in time for the cruise. We pulled up with a minuet to spare but.... the hotel looked different. We made it to the wrong hotel.


This is the correct hotel 7 miles North of where we were at. Technically though we made it to the Fairfield Inn by 4. Just the wrong one.



All aboard. Get ready to meet and mingle.









Kati was dancing to New Kids on the Block. She is a die hard fan and will be seeing them on the 17th. Only she can make something as lame as that seem cool. She is what I call classy funny.


A dentist on one said and a doctor on the other. I'd say this is a hard choice ;)


This could have been our engagement picture...



Kim, Anel and me after a long fun day. These poor puppies are in need of a foot massage.

Much Blessed

Sometimes I really just feel so loved and blessed and right now, as my birthday rolls around, I am reminded of how great my life is. As the big 27 looms near, I was feeling a little weird about being the oldest I've ever been. I went through a lot of the normal freak out and just wanted a quiet birthday dinner w/ close friends. Lucky for me, my very good and wonderful friend Chrissy Freeman (who makes me feel good about every decision I make in my life) wanted to have a big birthday party and invite everyone. She really outdid herself w/ her lovely photo shopping and Facebooked it to everyone we knew.

Just that picture alone made me happy. What really surprised me was the out pour of love and friendship from everyone. Bear w/ me on this one. It's a very Linda thought. As of right now, 31 people confirmed to come to my party. That's a huge deal. Even if they don't come, it takes a lot to actually confirm on Facebook. I always check "maybe" or "no" to most events because I don't want to be accountable for flaking. "Yes" is a huge commitment. It was a very nice thought from them.I got some really nice and positive messages from people who couldn't come and wanted to wish me a happy bday. It just brought a huge smile on my face and was more than I could have ever asked for. I even went so far as to compare the number of confirmations I have to confirmations in other events like dances and parties and my confirmations holds up very well against them. What I'm getting to is that it feels so nice to be blessed w/ such wonderful people in my life that this small act means so much to me. It really shows me that to some degree, people think of me and that makes me feel good. Sometimes I get to thinking about how little of something I have, or how much more I need to improve or that I'm just not enough. Then something as little as confirmations on something as superficial as Facebook makes me feel like I could have been some sort of impact on others. Maybe every now and then I brightened someones day. It means a whole lot to me that someone is willing to spend an hour of their time w/ me when they could be doing something else for them. I don't need a lot, just the knowledge that I was able to be someone fun, if even for a moment, in their life. Service is so strong and makes such an impact on a person's life. A lot of times, people don't even realize that they are doing a service and that exactly is what those confirmations and messages my friends wrote is; a service to me in raising my spirits and making an old gal feel important and special.

nemeses

I will roll w/ the punches for the majority of the time except when it comes to my nemeses activities. When these things come up, I will state that it is my nemesis and shake my fist in the air in defiance and refuse to participate.

- The game Apples to Apples. I've only played it twice and never want to play it again. It's because you really have to know your opponents in order to win. It doesn't really have anything on skills. Also it really irritates me when I know that I picked a much better word and the player picks something that has nothing to do with the word association. You just don't want to play with me.


- Mr. Cheeks Cha Cha Slide Song. I refuse to dance to this song because I refuse to let some dude tell me how I need to dance. Maybe I don't want to slide to the right and take 2 hops 2 hops. I will dance how I choose thank you very much.

- Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette. I know Chrissy likes the film but I can't stand it. I have never wanted to walk out of a movie before until this one and since I was there with someone and it was free, I stayed. There were many times where I wanted to stand up and say, "seriously? Does anyone else want to pull out their hair too or is it just me?". I didn't because I didn't want to embarrass the person I was with. **Spoiler alert** The one thing I was looking forward to was Marie Antoinette getting her head chopped off and you know what? That didn't even happen! That would have at least made me happy but no, the film continued to disappoint.

Go Cougars!

I watched my very first college football game tonight. It was the BYU vs. Utah State game. It was ok. I am just trying to do new things with new people and I accomplished that. BYU is ranked 8 nationally (or 7 depending on the stats ur looking. This said for Brandon's sake). They won 34-14 and continued their winning streak of 15-0. That being the longest winning streak in college history. What I do find amazing is the ability for me to learn and remember these facts to something I really don't care for. I try to keep up enough to last in common conversations. I would like to say though that they played very sloppy considering Utah State is ranked really badly. I also have to say that I was quite proud of some of the plays Utah State did, esp. in the last half making 2 touchdowns in 10 mins. I rather like the underdogs and I liked how the quarterback ran the ball a few times. OK that is all the football talk I can do. Maybe Texas is really getting to me.

Ugly/Silly

I had a very enjoyable evening w/ my good friend Mike Garcia AKA Miguel Garcia. There is just a randomness about him that is very endearing. In my quest to find a new BFF via Facebook pictures we are tagged together, I was giving Mike an edge over Monica with these 2 new pictures.



I was hoping against all hope that he wasn't going to do his Ugly/Silly pose.... but I should have known better.




I always have to ask him (or beg) to get a "nice" picture with him. So far I think this is the best I can get. Honestly though, I think this is part of what makes him Mike, and that's a really cool thing.

Some Like it HOT

I've fallen in love.... with salsa. It's been a long journey but now I can't turn it down. I discovered a few years ago that fresh salsa tastes so much better than store bought salsa. So I slowly started to eat more. Then the past year, I've been surrounded by friends who are die hard salsa fans and so I've had more opportunity to savor the flavor. I've also found that it is a quick and easy fix for my occasional hot pepper fix. It's also easier on the stomach than straight up peppers. So I am going to attempt my first salsa using this recipe. It's fairly simple and I can add more heat if I'd like. I will do a follow up on the results.



PREP TIME
5 Min
READY IN
3 Hrs 5 Min
SERVINGS (Help)

INGREDIENTS
2 (14.5 ounce) cans peeled and diced tomatoes, drained
1 bunch fresh cilantro
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, mix together tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, and salt and pepper. Mix well, cover, and chill for at least 3 hours before serving.
FOOTNOTE