Bucket List

This is a list of things I want to do before I die. At least the ones I can think of. I'm sure there are more. :)

1. Visit the Galapagos Islands
2. Learn to play the piano
3. Learn to play the guitar
4. Write a book
5. Publish my book
6. Go through the Temple
7. Get married in the Temple
8. Have a family
9. Adopt children
10. Create a large oil painting
11. Get paid to scrapbook
12. Teach scrapbooking
13. Tour the East Coast
14. Go on a Church History Tour
15. Go skydiving
16. See the Northern Lights
17. Go to Austrailia / New Zealand
18. Tour Europe
19. Visit Prince Edward Island
20. Go to ancestral homes in Ireland, Scotland, England, and France
21. Run a half-marathon
22. See the pyramids in Egypt
23. Climb to Macchu Picchu
24. See the Louve
25. Ride an Elephant, in South-East Asia
26. Ride a Camel
27. Go on a Safari--see a Lion in the wild
28. Stand on the Equator
29. Go above the Artic Circle
30. Learn to Scuba Dive
31. Dive the Great Barrier Reef
32. Ride in a Hot Air Balloon
33. Walk along the Great Wall of China
34. Buy/Build my own house
35. Go to the Olympics (to watch)
36. Have my own personal library in my house
37. Watch Nutcracker Ballet
38. See Wicked on Broadway
39. Learn another language
40. Fly First Class somewhere
41. Stay in a fancy hotel, even if for just one night
42. Go to Antartica (yes, seriously!)
43. Visit Temples everywhere I go
44. Learn to fly an airplane
45. Have my scrapbook pages published in a book/magazine
46. Work on a Scrapbook Design Team
47. Build my own furniture
48. Go big game hunting
49. Be debt free
50. Finish my Grandpa's autobiography

Those are just a few of the things I want to do in my life. :)

Things that Made Me Laugh

I like laughing. Like, a lot. It's my favorite past-time. Here are some things that make me laugh recently:

My co-worker transferred a call to me and said that one of my new female clients was on the phone. She was laughing. I asked her why. She said that she had the following conversation with my client:

      Client: "Hi, I'm calling Megan back for a date."
      Co-worker: "Ummm..."         **Awkward silence**
      Client: "Oh my gosh! No! I don't mean that kind of date! Ahhhh! I'm so sorry! I mean I
                  need to get her a date. Uhh, I'm not making this better."
      Co-worker: "Uh, I'll transfer you, just a moment please."

It was cute because she was still laughing at herself when I picked up the phone. I think I'm going to like this new client.

And that, my friends, is a true story.

A laughy taffy joke (or two):

      What kind of shorts do clouds wear?     
      Thunderwear!

      What did the book say to the page?
      "Don't turn away from me."

Here is a joke I recently read in this amazing book. It made me actually laugh out loud. Probably because I wasn't expecting it in such an emotional book. (By the way, I definitely recommend it. Its the second in a series. I loved them both, especially the first one. And there are more jokes in the book, but this is the only one I can remember at the moment.)

"Two muffins are sitting in an oven and the first says, "Man, it's getting hot in here!" The second says, "Holy cow!! A talking muffin!!"

You can't tell me that you didn't laugh at that. Moving on...

Another true story:

When my mom was in town, we were all hanging out at my sister's house and my brother asked my mom what medicine he should take for his headache. Here is how the conversation went down:

Steven: "My head hurts. What should I take?"
Mom: "I'm not a nurse or doctor, I cannot give you medical advice." (she just finished her Certified Nursing Assistant program.)
Steven rolls his eyes: "Fine, Cait, what should I take?"
Cait (a pharmacy tech) was too happy to say: "I'm not a pharmacist. I can't give advise about medication."
Steven turns to me and starts to open his mouth, and I cut him off saying, "I'm not a lawyer, I can't give legal advice."
So Steven turns to Nick, and Nick says, "Motrin."
Steven in an iritated voice: "Finally! Thank you!"

We had a good laugh about that. And it's kinda pathetic that technically it was all true.

So I hope that you had a good laugh reading this ridiculously awesome post.

My Break-versary

This is the story of a girl (me), a birthday (my roommate's), and a garage door.

Today marks a very special anniversary today. Today is the one year mark of when I crushed my finger. And since, apparently, it is such a hilarious (and a bit graphic) story, I will share it. :)

Once upon a time, in the not-so-far-away-land of Lincoln, it was my roommate Brittney's birthday. The big 25! Ooooooo! We decided that as roommates we would take Brittney out to dinner to celebrate. Well we celebrated, but not in the typical fashion--we ended up in the ER. Okay, I ended up in the ER. (I seem to end up there a lot...hmmm...I think I need to revise my health insurance plan...)

My brother wanted to borrow a movie and I didn't want to wait around for him to come pick it up so I told him that I would put it on the ground just inside the garage door (it wasn't automatic and it didn't lock--good thing people didn't know that!) and leave it there for him. I quickly pushed the door up, tossed the moved on the ground, and thenI grabbed the door between two sections (there was no handle) and pulled down. Then everything happened in slow motion. ...are you cringing yet??...

I knew as soon as I put my fingers there, it was a bad idea. But I can distinctly remember thinking, "This isn't good. I need to move my fingers. I should probably move them now. Ok, I really need to move them." I didn't move them. Actually I tried, but I was too slow. Case in point of sometimes I think too much.

As I was spending what precious miliseconds I had to move my fingers, I could hear my roommates (who were all sitting in the car waiting for me to hurry up) yelling for me to move my fingers. All four of them. I'm pretty sure even a neighbor who was in her yard was yalso yelling at me to move my hand. Obviously I ignored them. "I am so smart. S.M.R.T."

The fortunate part is that I was able to get two of the three fingers out before it closed. My middle finger on my right hand was crushed in the door. It shut so hard that there was a dent in the door where my finger was. I pulled out my hand and instantly it started throbbing. I'd never felt pain like that before. And it was bleeding everywhere. I felt bad because I got blood all over Brittney's car. My roommates instantly rushed to my side and walked me inside. I was sobbing. I tried to wash my hand off to see how bad it was but in the 45 seconds since I had crushed it, it had swelled up really huge. There was a crack along the entire nail and it wouldn't stop bleeding. My finger is aching right now as I think about it. Blech!

My roommates instantly started trying to convince me to go to the ER. I figured it was pointless because even if it was broken (which I highly doubted), there wasn't anything they could do about it. I got really nauseous and dizzy and thought I was going to pass out. I was pushed to the couch and instantly had a towel and ice on my hand. It was seemingly like magic. :)

My roommates were so sweet and tried calling practically every guy in the ward to come over and give me a blessing. Nobody was home or available. My brother showed up to get his movie, saw that we were still home and came in. And saw me on the couch with my middle finger in the air (with an ice pack on it) and was so sweet and went to the store to get me a splint and peppermint (I was in shock and very nauseous still). And once Dessert, er, Jared got to the house, Steven gave me a blessing. It was sweet and his first one! :)

Anyway to make a long story only slightly shorter, at about 11pm, my finger still hadn't stopped bleeding and so Birthday Girl Brittney and Kelly took me to the ER. I was only there for a couple of hours and found out that I indeed had broken the very tip of my finger and that yes, there was not really anything they could do about it. I didn't even get a cast for the effort. Such a waste. :) Though, they did give me vicodin so I could sleep. We finally got home about 2am. I'm such a thoughtful person, I gave my roommate an adventure for her birthday. :) Look at me go. :)

I was going to post some pictures, but I figured that might be too gross.

So I had to keep the splint on for about a month and now my finger is slightly twisted and deformed. I love it. It has character.

And that, my friends, is a true story.

Weekend Recap: Random Pictures

Here are some random pictures from my weekend in Monterey with Monica.

 Monica and Kiona made this cute little cupcake for me for my birthday.  Below is a hair flower that Kiona embroidered on her fancy embroidery machine. So adorable!

 Baizen and Sierra watching a movie.

Sierra, Becca, and Hailey playing Sunday morning.



Baizen and Sierra's eye. We were having sword fights with my finger and a play dinner knife that Baizen takes EVERYWHERE. So adorable.

 Pretty roses at the Mission we visited.

Conveniently on the way home, I passed the cemetery where my grandpa is buried. So I stopped and hung out there for awhile. The wind was horrible though. Bad enough that my dress completely flew up and I was awkwardly exposed! I put on pants right then and there--in the parking lot. Fortunately no one else was there. :)

This is the view West standing right next to my grandpa's plot. It was really pretty, despite the wind that was gusting 60-70mph (seriously!).

So that was my freakin' awesome trip. I absolutely loved every minute! And I already want to go back!

Weekend Recap: 17 Mile Drive/Carmel/Big Sur

All day Friday I kept trying to decide if I wanted to go to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk (I've never been there) or to Carmel/Big Sur (I'd never been there). The weather hadn't been very clear so I didn't know what I wanted to do. That night I prayed that the weather would clear, even just for a couple of hours so I could see the ocean in all it's glory. I woke up on Saturday and it was clear! And soooo beautiful!! It was a little tender mercy that reminded me that no matter how petty my wants are, Heavenly Father listens and loves me. It was a fantastic way to start the day. Monica and I decided that the drive down the coast would be better than Santa Cruz.

It was sooooooo freakin' gorgeous on Saturday when we went for a mini roadtrip. I had wanted to take 17 Mile drive through Pebble Beach and go to Carmel/Big Sur. And the $10 fee to get into Pebble Beach is soooo worth it. See the pictures below to prove it! :) Oh, and the golf courses seemed nice enough. :)

Pretty sure that Monica and I took over an hour and half just to drive like 8 miles. Just about every time there was a turn out, we pulled over to admire the view. (Just as a side note, I did not retouch any of these photos. The color is accurate and that is really how blue it was!!)

We came across two very cute older couples who were doing the same thing as us and we traded taking group pictures. We got to chat with them a little and saw them multiple times throughout the morning. They were so cute. They are the ones that took the picture above for us. Oh, and I'm not sure why I chose to wear a "I Heart NY" t-shirt. I didn't even think about it. ha ha ha.

 Me writing my name in the perfect white beach in Pebble Beach. Yes, I was Here! And now everyone knows it. :)

I discovered that my phone takes very cool panoramic pictures--which was VERY exciting and a perfect trip to try it out on. :) The above pics are of the Lone Cypress, the symbol of Pebble Beach. It is over 250 years old and sticks out on a lone piece of rock.

Carmel Beach. We didn't get to go. There was no parking there because as it turns out, there was a wedding just about to start as we drove up. It was cool. The water was amazingly blue. Again, I didn't retouch the photo. :)

I didn't get to many pictures of walking around Carmel, I was too distracted to think about it! There were so many shops and art galleries and things to look at. We ate lunch at an adorable little Swiss restraurant that was off the main roads. I had a club sandwhich which was fantastic. After lunch we headed back to the car to check out the San Carlos Mission in Carmel. It was so beautiful!

There was another wedding going on, so we didn't get to see the chapel, but the grounds and outbuildings were beautiful. I'd never been to a mission before so I found it quite interesting. After walking through the little museums, and seeing the depictions of Christ, I was very grateful for my testimony and knowledge. Despite the building being of a different faith, it was still a moving experience for me. I'm really glad we took awhile to stop and visit.

After the Mission, we drove down to Big Sur and enjoyed the ocean and sunshine. Once we got to Big Sur, we turned around and drove back. About half way back, clouds started rolling in. It was perfect timing. It's like Heavenly Father was watching us and letting me enjoy His creations as much as possible! :) Yeah! And I did. :)
I'll post some more pictures tomorrow. I figure this post is long enough. :)

Weekend Recap: Monterey

I decided that for my birthday I wanted to to go on a little trip--which I'm trying to make a tradition. Last year I went to Alaska, another year I went to Seattle, and I've been to San Francisco to see Wicked (AMAZING!) too.

So since Monica has been staying with her sister, Kiona, in Monterey (that is where Kiona's husband, Adam, is stationed right now), I thought I would go visit!!

My honest opinion about the trip?

P.E.R.F.E.C.T.I.O.N.!!

So Thursday I left early from work and finally left Rocklin at 3pm (my goal was 2pm). And then hit traffic almost immediately in Sacramento. I finally got to Kiona's house in Seaside about 7pm. The drive was beautiful and uneventful once I got out of traffic. (Note to self: Don't take I-99 South...Ever.) Once I got about an hour away, I kept expecting to the the ocean after I got to the top of every hill, but I was disappointed. Finally I came into Marina & Seaside and there were sand dunes everywhere, but no ocean. Then there it was. I caught a glimpse in between dunes. But normal weather down there consists of fog, clouds, and cold, so it wasn't super fabulous looking. But that is okay. I was expecting that, so it was fine with me. Which is a good thing, because, let's be honest, there is nothing I can do to change the weather. :)

Friday consisted of Monica and I hanging around Monterey. Monica had found someone that was willing to loan us passes to the Aquarium and so we got in for free. Yippie!!! Which turned out to be a very good thing because when we eventually got back to the car, I had a parking ticket that was the same cost as the aquarium ticket. (Apparently they don't like it for you to try to get around paying for parking. We parked in a shopping center and walked to Cannery Row to avoid paying for it. So now I have to pay 5 times as much as I would have paid if I had parked in the paid parking.)

Okay, so enough jibber-jabber. Here are some of my favorite pics of the aquarium. (As a side note, between Monica and I, we took about 300 pictures on my phone this weekend. I'll highlight my favorites.) We got to the aquarium a little before it opened so we walked around Cannery Row for about 45 minutes. The history was very interesting and I loved the feel of it.

 From the pier the Aquarium is on.

Cannery Row.

Fortunately we didn't have to pay for the aquarium (Monica got guest passes from a neighbor) and so we walked right in. It was amazing. There weren't too many people there, so we were able to walk through the entire aquarium in about three hours. And I didn't feel rushed at all. Here are some pics. Some of these have been retouched, but most haven't. The colors of the fish are accurate. Pretty amazing, eh?

 Feeding the fishies in the Kelp tank.

NEMO! As soon as I saw this tank with the Finding Nemo fish in it, I said, "Nemo!" a little too loud. I think I embarrassed Monica. Ha ha ha. It was cute then that night I was showing Monica's nieces the pictures and we came to this one and they said, "Nemo!!" in unison. Monica and both started laughing.

I have TONS of other pictures from the aquarium, but I'll spare you. :) After the aquarium, Monica REALLY, really wanted Clam Chowder from the Wharf, so we headed over there for lunch. There were lots of little restaurants offering samples and we picked our favorite (who was also giving out free calamari appetizers! yummy!) and ate. SO AMAZING! Even days later, I am still dreaming of that clam chowder and right now I am salivating thinking about it. I wish I knew which restaurant it was so I could give them a shout out, but I know they have a sister restaurants on Cannery Row.

Monica was talking, not reacting to the little octopus I was about to put in my mouth. I just really like this picture. :)

Our Clam Chowder. The stuff dreams literally are made of.

Since not much could top our late lunch, we headed back to Kiona's house to help with a dinner party Kiona was throwing for some friends of theirs that were moving.

I'll post some more pictures of our mini roadtrip through Carmel tomorrow.



More Pages

Here are some more pages I made for Caitlin's Wedding Scrapbook. I'm quite proud of myself. I've been busting them out. And so far, I'm pretty happy with them. :) Yeah! Me!