Something's Different...

For all the people out there that watch The Hills...

Have you noticed something different about Audrina this season?

Guess What Came in the Mail...

Thanks to my cyber BFF Kristina, I won this US Weekly subscription on her blog and it came today! Hooray! Thanks Kristina. She seriously has one of the funniest blogs I know. She already has tons of blog stalkers, but she welcomes more. So if you are bored and want someone who will brighten your day a little (and make you laugh out loud at your computer screen) you should visit her blog. Here are some of my favorite posts by her.

If the Tent's a Rockin', It's probably the Train a Knockin'

Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood (Rated PG-13)

Eat, Pray, Fall Asleep (this one I had tears streaming down my face. I even had Chris laughing and he has never read the book!)

Biting My Time

Beware! You might become so addicted, you'll spend nearly all of your free time blog stalking!

Thanks Kristina for the laughs. Hope it is OK that I linked your blog so much in this post. If it is not, leave a message and I'll remove this post!

Karma

I decided I am a true believer of Karma. Good and Bad. What goes around, comes around. You get out of life what you put into it.

Of course, when I decided to become a nurse, I knew that I would have to work long hours, weekends, and holidays. I could work in a clinic Monday-Friday 8-5 and have all my hard work in nursing school and experience I have acquired since dwindle away into the mundane routine of taking vital signs and medical history's. I wanted to be a hospital nurse to keep up on my skills.

So I knew when I started at my job that I would have to give up some of my traditions and holiday practices to be at work. They told me, before they hired me that I would be working Christmas that year. They require us to work a Christmas shift every OTHER year.

However, because my unit did not hire anyone the year after I started working, I had to work Christmas for 3 years in a row. I was bitter about it. But I just kept trucking along. (When you are a nurse at Primary Children's... your seniority is EVERYTHING!)

Then last year, my first year to have Christmas off, I worked Thanksgiving and had a horrendous day! A clinic job was looking better and better by the moment!

Well, I guess my good Karma finally came. Because I got a sneak peak at the holiday schedule and found out I am working on Christmas day, but at night, and only for 1/2 a shift and then New Years Eve. So I get all of Thanksgiving, and most of Christmas off. This is a pretty good holiday schedule for some one who has worked on the unit for a little more than 4 years.

So if you ever have felt like you have been dealt a bad hand in life, or are getting screwed somehow, don't worry. Good Karma will come. Sometimes you just have to be patient.

P.S. a little side note. I also recently found out that 3 of my ex-boyfriends who broke up with amazing me (2 who crushed my heart) are now divorced. Karma baby!

I must be an Anti-Dentite

I remember reading somewhere that Dentist have the highest suicide rate of any profession. Really? Dentists? I mean they make lots of money, have dream hours (8-4, Tuesday-Friday or Monday-Thursday), and get to have dental hygienists do a lot of the dirty work. They just have to poke at some teeth and tell you whether it is good or needs to be drilled/crowned/root canal'ed.

So why the high suicide rate?

Hmm... maybe it is because everyone hates the dentist?

Most people associate pain and discomfort with the dentist. When you arrive at the exact time your appointment is, you ALWAYS end up in the waiting room. Even if, strangely, there is no one else waiting. Then you sit in a chair and have your teeth cleaned (miserable) as the dental hygienist lectures you that you should be flossing like 3 times a day (Ya right!) then the dentist comes in and inspects your teeth. Then you have to COME BACK to get more work done if there is problems. He is involved with bad news, shots, and drilling. PAIN PAIN PAIN.

So some people stay away for a while (Long time in Chris's case)

Then when you return with a massive toothache the dentist gives you really bad news, causes MORE pain, and then bleeds you dry with an insane bill. No wonder. It is depressing for all parties.

(Did you figure out we just got Chris's bill?)

However, WE will continue to go... because we can't afford not to!

By the way... dental insurance is a joke. Thanks a lot for covering $40 of my crazy expensive bill. Glad I pay you regularly, every paycheck, for $40 and some teeth cleanings...

Recipe

If you don't have your own delicious recipe of Funeral Potatoes... here is mine:

One bag of frozen shredded hash browns (26-30 oz) or 12 potatoes shredded
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cups (16oz) sour cream
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup melted butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 cups cornflakes

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cream of chicken soup (unprepared), sour cream, melted butter, onions, and cheddar cheese together. Then fold in potatoes to mixture. Place in 9x13 pan. Cover with cornflakes. Bake 1 hour or until bubbly. Enjoy cheesy goodness.

Now you know why the calories for a serving of these delicious potatoes is probably off the charts. But the deliciousness is worth it!

P.S. You can probably leave out the melted butter. I do sometimes and don't notice the difference. Totally your call though!

Greatest Side Dish

Yesterday my cousin Mindi and her husband Leo had a BBQ/Housewarming Party at her new house in O-Town. Leo is from Brazil so he was in charge of the barbecuing (his Brazilian chicken- AMAZING!). She asked everyone to bring a side dish. I thought about bringing dessert, but I didn't have many of the ingredients I would need. However, I conveniently had all the ingredients to funeral potatoes (weird). So I whipped up a batch.

When I brought it to the barbecue I had to laugh. Half the people invited were from Leo's band and all from Brazil. The other half was Mindi's family and friends. So amongst the pot luck of side dishes included rice, beans, different kinds of salsa... AND... chips, jello fruit salad, potato salad, and MY funeral potatoes. The perfect mesh of Brazilian side dishes with Mormon staples. I think I brought the most Mormon staple of them all, but the jello fruit salad was a close contender. And let me just add... Funeral Potatoes never disappoint! Even though a serving is probably more artery clogging then a double bacon whopper with cheese. The whole pan was polished off.

Oh, I forgot my camera (weird). So sorry there aren't pics.

Old Survey I Found...

Found an old survey while cleaning up my email box and decided to fill it out...

1. WHAT IS YOUR OCCUPATION? Registered Nurse

2. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR UNDERWEAR-RIGHT NOW? Umm White...

3. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The subtle hum of my laptop and the clicking of the keys as I type.

4. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Garlic Bread

5. DO YOU WISH ON STARS? I have before. (Dreams really do come true according to Disney...)

7. HOW IS THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW? Sunny, 82-ish degree's

8. LAST PERSON YOU SPOKE TO ON THE PHONE? Chris

9. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON THAT SENT THIS TO YOU? ya

10. HOW OLD ARE YOU TODAY? 26

11. FAVORITE DRINK? Cherry Limeade from Sonic

12. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? Basketball (Go Jazz)

13. HAVE YOU EVER DYED YOUR HAIR? Every 8-12 weeks!

14. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS OR GLASSES ? Contacts

15.PETS? My Kitties, Squeakers and Ashes

16.FAVORITE MONTH? May

17. FAVORITE FOOD? What a question! Sushi... I think.

18. WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? The Neverending Story (I was having a nostalgic week!)

19. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR? Umm I like the Day after Thanksgiving because I am one of those people that wake up at 4:00 am and go shopping with my Aunt and cousins. It has been a tradition since I was 14. This is year 12! I go more for the fun experience with them. The great deals never hurt either.

20. WHAT DO YOU DO TO VENT ANGER? Blog about it!

21. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD? My Carebears!
22. FALL OR SPRING? BOTH! Spring and fall weather are perfect!

23. HUGS OR KISSES? There is nothing like a great hug...and you can share them with more people.

24. CHERRY OR BLUEBERRY? Blueberry

25. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS? Condo

26. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Last night I felt like crying (It was insane at work) But I think it was more like last week. Who knows. I am a crier.

27. WHAT IS ON THE FLOOR OF YOUR CLOSET? Shoes!

28. WHO IS THE FRIEND YOU'VE HAD THE LONGEST? My cousin Katie.

29. WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT? I was the charge nurse for my unit all night!

30. FAVORITE SMELL? The mountains in the Fall

31. WHAT INSPIRES YOU? Music

32. WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? Hurting others unintentionally. And bugs of any sort.

33. PLAIN, CHEESE OR SPICY HAMBURGERS? Cheeseburgers are the ONLY way to go in my book.

34. FAVORITE CAR? I sorta like the Nissan Altima's right now. 2.5.

35. NUMBER OF KEYS ON YOUR KEYRING? like 8

36. HOW MANY STATES HAVE YOU LIVED IN? Good Old UTAH (1)

Hopefully your life is more enriched now! Love you all (Kristina, Amanda, Jill, Kim, Nicole, Lisa, April, Annie, and all my other mysterious readers!)

Worst Movies

The other day Chris and I were talking about movies. He had mentioned a particular movie that I absolutely hated. That got me thinking about the worst movies that I have ever witnessed. And I thought of my top 5. I know some movies are lame, but these are movies I wish I hadn't wasted my time on.


So here are the Top 5 Worst Movies I Have Ever Witnessed:


5. The Grudge- Ok. I was a little scared. But when it was all over, I asked myself why? I liked The Ring because it had high creepy factor. I like creepy scary that makes you jump, not guts and gore, or just plane dumb. Long, boring, LAME!


4. Vanilla Sky - Dreadful show. The person who dreamt up it's theme and script had to be on some sort of illegal substance. It was creepy stalkerish with a psychotic twist. It has been so long now... all I can remember is despising it from the first 20 minutes. However, I couldn't leave because my Aunt had picked it for our annual Thanksgiving Day Movie and she was the one who drove. Plus we were in some theater in O-Town (Ogden).


3. The Village - An M. Night Shyamalan production. I liked Unbreakable and Signs. I even didn't mind the Sixth Sense. So I thought this movie would be good, because I can appreciate a good twist. But this movie... the twist made you feel like you got the short end of the stick. I can't believe I wasted 2ish hours of my life for the ending! You kept thinking, ok it will get better. But nope. The whole show was long and ridiculous. When I was in the theater, as it ended and the credits started rolling, my cousin shouted, "LAME!" I started laughing because that is exactly how I felt! We have an ongoing joke between us that when you feel like you got screwed you say, "I just got M. Night'ed!". I could never bring myself to see Lady in the Water or The Happening after that!


2. Pulp Fiction - I saw this movie because it was free on our on demand cable and Chris said he always wanted to see it. So I gave in. Why oh why? It was just an excuse to have gore ridden murders, drugs of all sorts, and Mobsters. All I remember really is that I have never heard the F bomb used so much in my life! Oh and did I mention it didn't make any sense. If it had a deeper meaning, I sure didn't get it. Oh, and I don't really like John Travolta anyway. Maybe in Grease....maybe.


1. Solaris - The one that takes the cake. This was another pick by my Aunt for our Thanksgiving Day Movie (She was on a roll). She wanted to see it because it promised George Clooney's butt. I didn't know what was going on from the beginning! It was Sci-fi flick, I got sick half way through and missed about 30 min of the show, then returned to utter confusion. Nobody knew what was going on! What a waste of time, money, and George Clooney! I know....you have probably never heard it before. But don't bother. Not even if you are curious.


What is the all time worst movie you have ever seen?


Go ahead. Think about it. I only had a day, so I may think of more...


P.S. When finding the links to the IMDb of these films, I found it interesting that some of these films got great ratings. Guess I just didn't get it? But from my perspective they were horrible!

Utah State Fair

I have never been to the Utah State Fair. (I know, so un-Utahn of me!) So when my sister-in-law invited us, I wanted to go for the experience.

The fair is located in Rose Park/Salt Lake City area on the State Fair Grounds (Surprise!) The only time I have ever been to these grounds was for the many Warped Tours and Big Ass Shows that I have attended in my youth. I have fond memories of the great music, moshing, sweaty bodies, and the time I found blood across my shirt after a fabulous performance by Yellowcard. It wasn't MY blood, by the way (GROSS!!) I know... I was so hardcore!

I learned a lot by going to the State Fair and decided to share my wealth of knowledge to my 9-ish blog readers (the max comments I have ever received is 9 so I am guessing that is about how many read this blog?) This way, all you first time fair goers will know what to expect when you try out the Utah State Fair.

1. It is EXPENSIVE. I am not sure how much tickets cost since my generous mother-in-law bought them for us. But after you get in, the rides cost money, the food cost money, and then there is loads of booths selling anything from scary medieval swords and creepy porcelain dolls. But they got good stuff too. Knock off purses, info-mercial stuff, clothes, jewelery. I ended up walking out with an awesome ring cleaner and a Sham-WOW. My ring does look awesome, by the way! I probably should have ran from the booths with my hands over my ears, because I easily get suckered into buying stuff all the time.

2. The food is crazy! I have heard there are fried peanut butter sandwiches, fried snickers, fried corn dogs, french fries, scones, fried Navajo tacos, funnel cakes. Everything is deep fried. Chris and I shared a funnel cake and all I can say is NEVER AGAIN! I was burping a strong vegetable oil taste the rest of the night which made me SOOO nauseous. Blech! It's like Cafe Rio dressing. So tasty, but you pay for it the rest of the night!

3. Plan on stepping in animal feces. If you go to look at the prize winning animals, it is a given. Poor Chris stepped in a large pile of manure when not looking. He wasn't happy about this... so don't bring it up.

4. If you eat a lot you may end up, at the end of the day, looking like this:

Apparently we visited the pigs during nap time. Only the one the size of a cow was awake.

5. Bring children, if you know any. We had my nephew. You have an excuse for cutting people off when they walk to slow. After all, you are running after a child. You can ride the kiddie rides with them if they are too short. Plus, it is so much more fun to see them get a kick out of a pony ride, then just wondering aimlessly in the heat.

6. There are shows, but I wouldn't bother. Either they are sort of lame (mind reading guy) or you can't see the tigers because the crowd is so large. I'd rather go to the Zoo or the Mirage to see tigers anyway.

7. I remember why I stopped going to Warped Tour. The fair grounds exude heat. It was only supposed to be like 76 degree's, but I was sweltering! Wear as little clothing as possible, or you will be soaked with sweat.

8. It was a great excuse to get out of the house for the day. Oh and have your husband just love hanging out with his adorable nephew!

Bad Day....with a Saving Grace

You know you have had a bad day when:

*It starts out by waking up at 5:50 AM

*You go to work

*You have issues/problems right off the bat

*You continue to have issues/problems throughout the day

*You have anxious customers that become angry when there are communication issues. (In my case patients parents)

*You spend oodles of time correcting these problems, listening to them vent, helping them feel validated. Putting their needs above yours.

*You don't have a morsel to eat or a drop to drink until 5:15 PM

*You come home exhausted... knowing when you return to work in the morning, you will have a whole new day with the same customers (patients and their parents for me)

That is pretty much how my day went. Lots of fun. My saving grace? The Lord has been thinking of me. He blessed me by encouraged the Udot people to re-pave 33rd south from 700 W to the freeway. Pot hole hell has now turned into smooth road heaven. Yay!

Just needed a little venting session.

I Love/Hate Walmart

I have a Love/Hate relationship with Walmart. I love the cheap prices (for the most part), and I love to hate it. It seems every time I go there I am constantly reminded of why I never want to go there again, and yet...I keep going back. I can't help myself.

I know that Walmart has some shady practices of how they are able to sell products at such low prices. So I've heard through the grape vine at least. However, I am not educated in this subject because I haven't watched the Walmart documentary or read anything on this matter in particular. Sometimes I wonder if it would really matter if I did. I mean, I watched Super Size Me and vowed never to eat fast food again. It worked for about a week. Then it stopped working. I guess I wasn't horrified enough to stay away from fast food. I still eat McDonald's on occasion.

Low prices..... but at what cost?

I wish I was talking about the underpaid and under-benefited employees. But I am talking about going to Walmart to get laundry detergent that is $3 cheaper then at the other grocery store I shop at. But, then I turn around and $5 this and that on crap I probably don't need. I mean it's only $5. But pretty soon lots of $5 items add up and I end up spending way more then I probably would have just going to my regular grocery store. So I actually would have saved my money if I just would have gone to the other store. Sure I have great $8 volumizing curlers now. But I wouldn't have even had the knowledge they existed (therefore not know what I was missing) if I hadn't gone to Walmart in the first place.

Sigh!

Here is a list of why I hate Walmart:

1. I spend more money then I plan on. Oh it's only $2?...better buy 2 or 3.

2. The parking lot. It is always full of SLOW people, crazy drivers, and runaway carts.

3. The lines. Even if the line looks short someone is holding it up by paying for their bill with 3 different sources of money. It is a guaranteed 20 minute wait.

4. The produce. This is mainly why I don't shop at Walmart regularly. I have had fruit that never ripens just rots, flies found in my romaine lettuce, and strawberries that go bad the next day. Where are they getting this stuff?

5. Asking a question to staff and have them look at you and shake their head. No comprende?

6. Feeling like you fit in with the general population when you have rolled out of bed, put on a pair of flip flops, and ran out the door. If you have gotten ready at all, you feel over dressed.

7. Clean-up on aisle 4 never seems to get attended to.

Here is a list of why I love it:

1. Low Prices

2....

Hmmmmmm

You would think I would learn. Sad thing is, in a few weeks I will forget. And the next time I need some deodorant, or toilet wand refills, or Q-tips, or jasmine rice... You will probably find me at the local Walmart.

Hooray for my scanner!

I am so glad that Chris is going to school for computers because he is a whiz! After we moved into our condo (ehmm 2 years ago!), I had somehow misplaced my scanner USB cord. Now since every electronic device I own has a different hookup (ipod, camera, palm pilot, etc) I assumed that it had it's own non-universal cord. I looked for it through all the boxes and couldn't seem to find it. Then I just sort of gave up. Every time I wished to scan something I just thought, oh well. I even tried to talk Chris into getting one of those scanner/copier/printers. But that never happened either. Our printer works just fine.

Anyway, last night I was complaining about how I wanted to use my scanner to upload some old photo's and Chris was like, let me look at it. I showed him the outlet. He had thought I had lost the part that plugs into the wall, not the USB port to the computer. After he looked at it, he's like,"That is the same cord that plugs into the printer." So he plugged it all in and Ta Da! It works. I am an idiot. I went without my scanner for TWO YEARS with a solution that took about 10 MINUTES!

But at least it works now instead of collecting dust. Thanks Honey!

(Me in my Grandpa's cowboy boots!)

Shoes

There has been an age old question... Why do women have so many shoes?


I read somewhere that men have an average of 3-5 pairs of shoes. That's all. But when I think about it, Chris has about 7, but he only regularly wears 2. He could never survive without his DC skate shoes. He wears them to work, out to dinner, to the grocery store. They are worn with nearly every "outfit" no matter what it is. He would not survive without them.

SO. Why do women have so many shoes? I looked to my closet to ask myself why I too have so many shoes. As I looked through my closet and shoe rack, I decided there are so many shoes that serve so many purposes. So here is a list of the variety of shoes I own, and why I need every last one of them.

The "Crocs"

Now before you cringe, vomit, or get angry at the sheer fact that I own a pair of these... I have a good excuse. My sister Sara, who is my resource for fashion advice, says that the only people who have an excuse to wear Crocs are children under the age of 5 and people in the medical profession. Being apart of the medical profession, I am allowed to wear these. They are light weight and comfortable to wear for 12 hours. My feet don't hurt when I get home. So I own these (in purple, navy, pink, and tan of course).

Flip Flops

I find it interesting that Flip Flops are either widely loved or widely despised. I like my flip flops. They are almost like slippers. You can slip them on and go. They are easy to wear in a variety of situations. There are more formal/nice ones with sparkles or platforms, then there are the Old Navy $3 that you can trash at the beach. Easy, fast, and disposable.

Wedges

Wedge sandals are some of my favorite shoes to wear. They are comfortable, easy to walk in, and can be worn in a variety of situations. You can wear them to church with a skirt, coordinate them with a great outfit, or can be slipped on just as easily as a flip flop for a quick jaunt to the grocery store. However, in a wedge you don't feel like nearly a such a slob as if you were to just throw on your $3 flip flops.

High Heels AKA Devil Shoes

I used to never own high heels because I am already 5'9" and would tower over the majority of the female population wearing 3" suckers. Luckily I married a 6'3" man. These are the funnest to buy, but probably the most uncomfortable to wear. My old roommate nick named them devil shoes because they are devilishly handsome, but a devil to wear. I know that some peoples feet have grown accustom to high heels and they find them comfortable to wear. I guess my feet aren't accustom. (Remember I wear Crocs to work). I have a few that are comfortable. But my super adorable ones I love can be a devil to wear. And of course I own a pair in all the neutral colors: white, brown, and probably 4-5 black pairs. Plus any fun color ones. I did say the were the funnest to buy.

Tennis/Sport/Athletic Shoes These are comfortable and useful for doing physical activities, but are the most unattractive for every day wear. Sorry, but they are. Some sneakers can be cute, but I would much rather don a great pair of heels or some wedges. However, in cold weather they are sometimes necessary to cover your tootsies. And I could wear these to work, but with crocs you don't have to tie any laces and the just slip right on. These shoes take effort. (Can I sound any more lazy?)

Slippers

Bacteria traps. I have made a reference a lot in this post to slippers, because they slip right on, comfy and soft to wear, and keep your feet warm. I know I own a pair, because in the winter my feet can get quite cold when the heat is down. But I usually have to buy a pair every year because they have a large potential of getting gross. (They keep my feet so warm that they sweat sometimes!)

Boots

Boot are the most difficult to find. And may the Lord have mercy on your soul if you own a pair of Uggs (Doesn't that stand for UGLY!) It is hard to find a pair of great boots. If you do, you can't let them go. Buy two pairs. I have difficulty because the boot people sometimes underestimate how meaty your calf may be and so it can be difficult to fit into the high calf boots. I don't own many boots, the only boots that really get a lot of use are my snowboard boots.

So this is why women own so many shoes. Each shoe has a purpose. If the shoe people hadn't thought of so many types of shoes (and then made them cute) maybe we wouldn't own so many!

Wasn't Quite the Same

Traditionally, my Dad's side of the family goes to my Grandpa's Cabin every year for Memorial Day and Labor Day. We usually go the Sunday before, stay up late playing games and talking, sleep overnight, and then wake up to the best breakfast feast with my Grandpa's famous delicious pancakes. I have missed out the past couple of years because I usually have to work. However, I lucked out this year and they gave me Labor Day off.

After watching the weather forecast, I knew it would be rainy. Nearly every Memorial Day is wet so this wasn't going to put a damper on things. I just packed my clothes that could get muddy in case we decided to go on the ATVs. (Although I am sort of against them since there are so many accidents that end up at my work.)

So we drove the 1.5 hours up there and it was a nice day...sunny, almost a little too warm. We set out the table and started getting ready for dinner. As we were grilling our steaks, the clouds started rolling in and it started to sprinkle.

Then it started to rain....and then it started to POUR. So we hurried and finished up using the grill and sought shelter in the cabin. Then something happened that none of us anticipated...

The power went out.

Now, I know that man has survived many thousands of years without electricity. But we were very ill prepared. There was not a candle in the entire place. And the only flashlights we had were emergency ones from peoples cars that were nearly out of batteries. So we were all using the lights of our cell phones and ipods to stumble around the cabin. It was still raining so bad, and I believe that we all had hope that it would somehow turn on by the morning so that my Grandpa could make us his incredible pancakes. So we didn't really think about the possibility of leaving.

After sitting around talking for awhile we decided to turn in for the night. Everyone slept horrible! It rained most of the night and someone got up to go to the bathroom at least every hour. Since it was dark, each bathroom breaker made loud noises stumbling around in the dark. AND, after I woke up with each of them it took me about 15-20 minutes to get back to sleep.

We awoke very tired and sad. The power had not miraculously turned on during the night. My Grandma was devastated. She was trying to find a way to be able to cook the breakfast. We all finally decided to go to my Grandparents house (about 30 min away) to eat the famous breakfast. It was delicious, but not quite the same. There is nothing like eating Grandpa's Pancakes with the trees all around you and the smell of truly fresh forest air.

Oh well....Happy Labor Day anyway.