MEMORY MONDAY: Europe, May 2008

This year I got the opportunity of a lifetime to go to Europe with one of my bestest friends and the significant other on my airline benefits, Jen! I work for JetBlue Airways and we started a partnership with Aer Lingus. They offered us deals to fly to Ireland for $50 RT. Jen and I jumped at that chance! We would be DUMB not to! So off we went to Ireland! We found a deal to fly to London for $100 as well and figured we would be dumb not to do that too... so we did both!

I don't know how many of you have flown JetBlue but one of our selling factors is how roomie our seats are, we didn't have quite that experience on this flight. By the time that we landed in Shannon, IRELAND our feet were SWOLLEN huge, it hurt to even walk. But for the miserableness of that flt, it was worth it for the price for sure!

We stayed a couple days in Shannon and traveled to Galway and to The Cliffs of Mohr (The cliffs of insanity on Princess Bride) the scenery is BREATH TAKING! We rented a car for this segment and I will tell you what the roads there are so SCARY! They are narrow.. barely enough room for one car and semi's pass you going seriously 80 MPH. Jen was definately scared of me.... so funny! But, might I add, how many of you have driven a car where the wheel is on the right side and shifter on the left? It is hard to re-train your mind, instantly and also with the narrow roads to add to it! I think I did amazing, considering the circumstances!
Jen, would beg to differ :)
These are shots of what the country side in Shannon/Gallway area look like. There are stone hedges lining the road and green, green, green! Oh I am in love with this part of Ireland!



Now, on to London oh what an adventure!! We started out of first day with a train switching nightmare! We were getting off the train to connect to the next train and I was getting my luggage and it started spilling over. Jen had gotten off the train and all of the sudden, the doors shut and I was shipping off and Jen was staying. Literally one of the saddest, scariest moments of my life.


Luckily I had been to NYC and London is just like it, so I knew that I just needed to get on the next train on the opposite side of the tracks to get back to Jen. I was onry when I get back to her... but I did laugh about it later. By the time we arrived to our hostel we had both had it!Nothing could keep us from laughing our head off however, when we got to our door and saw that our room is called the "madhouse".If this doesn't say it all, it sure should hahha it was a pretty hysterical experience. Atleast we got to enjoy the pretty scenery on our 2 mile walk back and forth each day!

The first night Jen treated me to Hairspray the musical on London Broadway. What a fun production!It is so fun to be in a foreign place and see the world out of a totally different prospective. I will have to say that I LOVED everything about Europe minus the food. The food is bland and non-yummy! And on top of that, EXPENSIVE! hahaha You know me and my like for good food!

I think there is a tear in my eye of gladness!

So I definately welcomed the day that we spotted the Hard Rock... REAL FOOD!! You can only eat so much McDonalds. I will have to admit however, that when you don't have much choices for good tasting food, a quarter pounder at McDonalds sounds like Chicken Cordon Bleu!

We toured London on a double decker bus for two days! I loved it! Even though there was little bits of rain we trooped it out and enjoyed ourselves! This is our friend Kevin, everyday Kevin let us in at our train stop since we didn't buy the right train pass. (he saved us a FORTUNE!) He loved Jen, I could tell he had a thing for her.This is definatley one of the AWESOME experiences of my lifetime thus far! We got to attend evensong at Westminster Abby! I have NEVER heard something more beautiful and angelic in my ENTIRE life. The accustics in that building and the gorgeous sites around you, BREATH TAKING! Definately the highlight for me. Look at us sporting the EUROPE look.. Jen got me totally in style.. Thanks H&M These are pictures of St. Patrick Cathedral in Dublin. This is my friend Mindy from JetBlue. She met us when we arrived back in Ireland. We stayed in Dublin at the awesomest Marriott hotel!Classic Views of Ireland. We also took the double decker bus tour here. No more rental cars in Europe for us!

Dublin was a fun, touristy city. I still like Shannon/Gallway area better! All in all, it was a lovely, lifetime dream fulfilled, pleasant, adventurous and best time with my sweet Jen! These are days never to be forgotten!

And.. on the flight home it was awesome! We got the middle section of the plane all to ourselves, lots of leg room and the food rocked! Couldn't have ended better!


Jen, thank you for all the sacrifices you made for this trip! It was absolutely phenomonal!

Wedding Wednesday: Adam Earl and Ann Bahr

LOVE IS IN THE AIR!

I was honored to be the wedding coordinator at the wedding of Ann and Adam. It was an awesome site! Ann was a radiant, call and happy bride. Mom and Dad Bahr were gleeful and everyone was all smiles! How can you go wrong with that!

Ann chose SunRiver Garden's off 1200 N in Orem for her reception. We had a record breaking attendance of at least 900 people! It was amazing the amounts of people that came through that place! Everything went off without a hitch! Turned out to be an amazing reception! First of all, the brides Maides. They were all adorable and pulled off the skirts we had made amazingly!

I actually did all the centerpieces. Ann didn't like what the reception center offered so we did our own thing!

These last few are the details.. I believe that you can see LOVE in the details. Everything just fit together so nicely!

The Candy buffet was a HUGE hit! People gobbled up these sweets in no time flat! Good thing I am an over-planner!

After all the love had settled, we had a sparkler send off to the limo and the guests went their seperate ways, I couldn't have been happier with how it all turned out!

Congratulations to you Adam and Ann Earl!

TAGGED TUESDAY: QUIRKS

This the first time that I have been "tagged" in a post and weirdly I am way excited about it! Everyone knows that I LOVE peoples quirks. To me, quirks are endearing and I love to watch the random things that make people tick.

My cousin Jamie tagged me this and I am ashamed to admit that while I figured out my QUIRKS I am pretty sure they all have to do with OCD. Oh well, you gotta embrace who you are, right?

I'm supposed to list 6 "quirky" things about myself. So, here it goes:

1. Dish unloading and loading

I am so perticular when it comes to how the dishes are done. They need to be lined in the dishwasher a certain way (cups down either side, bowls down the middle of the top. Pots and pans, cutting boards, and plates on the bottom). If I open up my dishwasher and things are shoved in there, I will be the first to re-organize. Who re-organizes dirty dishes?! ME!. Also unloading. I hate when people unload just to do it. What happened to if you do it, do it right?! Why would you put dishes that are still wet and stack them into each other in the cabinet, that is just gross! GERMS! I have to dry all the dishes that are moist and there is a specific plae in each drawer for a certain genre of dish! I will be the first to re-organize a drawer, cupboard etc!

2. Bedding

I would be a liar if I didn't admit that one of my BIGGEST quirks is my bed, or any bed for that matter! I think it is a cardinal sin to sit or lay on an already made bed! Pretty much NOTHING drives me battier! I think it is due to the case that my YW Kelly Stayner helped me PU my very first themed bedroom set and taught me that you should NEVER use your comforter top for anything but decor. If you want to lay down, you should roll it down before positioning yourself on it. She told me that the oils on your body will make it dirty and it will last a lifetime if you don't EVER let anyone sit on it while it is made. Sitting or laying on a made bed to me is like scratching a chalk board! :)

3. Organization containers and Labels

I am a sucker for organization. I think I pretty much own everything that allows you to have an organized space. My roomies experience this a lot. I even have labels on shelves in the freezer (gave each of them their own compartments)refrigeratorbread drawer, cupboards etc.

I would have to admit that I get a lot of grief for my femine products organizer (see the pic below for a laugh at my quirk) I defend myself by saying that it is in my guest bathroom and what if someone has "emergency needs" they will open the cupboard and know EXACTLY where to go! (Always the Mother hen).

My favorites are probably my shoe organizers (which as you can see.. I have many!)

4. Cleaning:My Favorite Spray

So there are 2 quirks that I have when it comes to cleaning. The first would have to be that I can't clean ANYTHING without my favorite SPRAYAWAY brand spray available ONLY at Costco. You get 4 cans for like $8.00. I use it on my granite counter tops, stove top, windows and glass, tv, shelves, stainless steel, pretty much EVERYTHING but wood! If you tried it, you too would be addicted!

The next would be my cleaning order. My Mom will be the first to make fun of this quirk. When a room really needs to be clean, I will start in a cupboard or closet first before anything on the floor etc. If your closet or cupboard is in order, I believe that the rest goes into place so easily!

5. Laundry: OCD to the max!

I am SOOO particular with my laundry! I would NEVER mix anything that isn't the same hue. My whites will be washed on HOT. My lights (pastels) will be washed on warm/cold. And my darks will be washed on cold/cold. The only things that I ever dry are underware and socks, undershirts, pajamas and towels and sheets. The rest get hung to dry or laid on drying racks.
The other thing is that I am really picky how my underware and undershirts are stored. They are always rolled and placed in piles and baskets. I can't wear them from a laundry basket, they have to be organized. I know I am weird!

And last but definately not least... drum roll please...........

6. Eating Habits

This is something that gets commented on everytime I go out with people. I apparenly have weird ways that I eat things.

Let's start by talking about the Cafe Rio salad. I eat this salad from the outside in. I guess I compartamentalize the lettuce to one side of my salad till there is a perfect line. It gets commented on a lot!

Next would be fast foods. If I get a combo at Wendy's, I will always eat the fries first and save the sandwhich for last. What good are cold fries?

Cereal. Have I told you that I hate milk?! well I do but what is cereal without milk? So I will pour in the milk to wetten the cereal then as I eat it I will skim all the cereal off the top to get rid of the milk.

Ice cream. I can't eat it unless it is solid. If it get's too milky then it is just milk and must be destroyed!

And lastly would be bread. If it isn't new and soft I can't eat it as a sandwhich. It has to feel soft to work for me. However I can use it for toast, french toast, or grilled sandwhich.

Now that you know a little to well how quirky I am.. will you still be my friend?! I figure that I can tag 6 people since I had to come up with 6 quirks. Today I am going to tag, read my Stephanie Martinez, Angie Sullivan, ERO, Amy Jensen, Val Clegg and Jessica Nye cause I know they actually blogs.

Thankful Thursday: Emily is HOME!!

THIS PICTURE SAYS IT ALL!!!

Emily we are so happy that you are at home with you family! What a great place to be! You have been SO brave and all the prayers were worth it!

Praying for you that you can stay with your parents, friends and favorite dog Leo!

Look at all the friends that showed up to welcome her home!

EMILY YOU ARE LOVED!! I love you girl!

Carly Cusack is 25 today..HIP HIP HOORAY!

As you know I served my mission in this wonderful place called OHIO! Carly is one of the blessings of my mission. How I love her.. she was a pain in the rear teenager then, but she has become a GORGEOUS, talented, educated and loving woman today! Carly is from my sweet adopted mission family, the Cusack-Lewis crew!

I definately celebrate Carly's birth and these are a few reason's why...

Carly knows how to have fun! She is fun-loving and as long as you don't do something to embarras her, she will play along with you!

Carly is talented... she runs marathons! I don't know about you, but that is TALENT to me!

(She even went to Hawaii to run one!)

Carly has a love for he Country. She is in the Air Force, a nurse, (I hope I got that right) and works at a hospital as a nurse taking care of children. All I know is she always talks about her kids in San Antonio and loves them deeply.

Carly loves her new found best-friend Kyle. BFF if you know what I mean!?!

Carly loves her family deeply, if someone is hurting, she is hurting...they are her best friends!Above all, Carly has a love affair with the Gospel Of Jesus Christ! She has allowed it deeply into her life and wants everyone to have the same peace and knowledge that she has gained.

It wouldn't be right to stop this Birthday tribute without showing you the "TEXAS PRIDE" Carly willingly shows off! She is cute in a cowboy hat ain't she?! Don't worry, she has more midwest pride!

Happy Birthday my sweet Carlyn! If you didn't know by now... I ADORE YOU!

Tribute Tuesday: Ode to being 30 and SINGLE!

This blog is aleast 8 yrs overdue.. cause I have been ready to get married since then! But lately I have been thinking a lot about the stigma of being old and "SINGLE" and realizing more than ever in my life that I am okay with the fact that I am single. I know of God's love for me and know that he is aware of me and wants the best for me, so I am willing to have the faith and make the best of it. Although Single has been my way of life-for my WHOLE life and I have accepted that, there definately are some drawbacks to being single, in a church where marriage is the way to make it in this world! I am serious, I have been to several weddings and cried at them (not because I was single) but because I am happy for the couple and have literally had friends and family come up to console me that I too would find my mate and to not be sad about. That annoys me! Am I not able to feel the same emotins as those who are married? Please don't ever do that to someone it is ANNOYING! hahhah My friend Andrea so beautifully put the hard parts of this stigma on her blog and I stole it cause it is so true! (I did change my age howeever so that it applies to me, sorry Andrea!)

-just because I am single does not make me useless to society.

- i am 30 years old and i can count on one hand the number of times i have been asked out by a guy. (although hard at times - i am fine with this.) however - this doesn’t mean that it is my fault - sometimes it just is the way things are.

- just because I am single does not mean i have more time than those who are married or have children or both. we are all busy in our own ways.

- just because I am single does not mean that I have a problem (although it can sometimes be the case I am speaking for myself. . I am not perfect - I know this - and i have things i can work on - we all have things we can work on.)

- certain things that are said can and do hurt my feelings although i try VERY HARD not to let them. I don’t think I have chosen, nor have most of my single friends chosen to be in my/our current situation. (to some degree)

- just because i am single does not mean my statements, comments or observations about life are pointless. we are all different and come from different backgrounds that is what makes us great.

- being single is difficult for its own reasons and great for its others. Just like being married, having kids, being single again, divorced whatever it is - they all have reasons to not like them or be happy they occurred.

- being 30 and single, does not mean i am anti dating, bitter towards men or too picky.

- just because i am single does not mean that i do not understand that marriage is hard nor do i think it is the only path to happiness and that it is complete bliss.

- being single does not mean that i sit around all day praying that someday mr. right will come along and sweep me off my feet. I have more to live for than the waiting game. however to say that i have never thought about mr. right - would be a lie.

- just because i am single does not mean i am crazy - therefore still single.

- just because I am single does not mean i do not know how to flirt, that i don’t go to parties, hang out with people or have any friends that are guys.

- being single i have had to be independent. this does not mean i do not want to be treated like a lady or that I want to do it all by myself - it just means I have had to.

- just because i am single, a woman and the bread winner does not mean i do not at some point in my life want to be a mom.

- just because finding the one was easy for you(an impersonal you) - does not make it “easy” for me

I realize that all of these things do not apply to all those that are single - however they are my thoughts. I also realize that we all have room to grow, change, improve and learn from each other. I am in no way perfect or have it all figured out. . . again. . . these are just some of my thoughts. I also realize that we could all write a list weather we are single, engaged, married, divorced, widowed etc.

-by Andrea -

On reflecting on the truths of Andrea's statements, I realized that there are some really funny things associated with the word "SINGLE". Why is it that your best friend could be in the relationship from you know where, your cousin could be in an awful abusive marriage,
but people still feel sorry for you for being single? Is something wrong here? Single life can the most exciting time of your life! Right?!
I'm going to make myself believe this for the time atleast!! Don't get me wrong, I have FANTASTIC examples in my life of AMAZING marriages. I am most definately NOT anti-marriage, it would make me very blessed to get the chance to find love. But while I am single, it's fun to find the quirks in the other.. Get it? Got it? GOOD! So here I have listed the reasons that make single life worth it when you don't have a choice!

The Top 40 Reasons being single can be beneficial...

You can do all sorts of odd jobs so that you have more freedom to travel the world with friends.

You can continue relationships with life-long friends of the oposite sex, without anyone being jealous or restricting it

You can do whatever you darn well please

Shave your legs and the razor is never dull from his face

Not only is your razor not dull, who needs to shave at all now

You can leave bra and other unmentionables in view

You can slump around the house in any old thing

You can go out and flirt as much as your heart desires, without a worry in the world

The toilet seat issue -- need I say more?

You can finally see all the good videos -- the romantic, cheesy, chick flick films

You can get the juice/ice cream/toilet paper/videos/CDs/take-out meals that you want

You can spend as much time as you want with your family and friends

No needless exposure to foulness, burping, gas and so on (unless you have roommates)

Never worry if the milk carton or juice bottles have been directly drunken out of

You are free at a party to talk to who you please, and you don't always have to turn to and say 'Hon, let's go over and talk to so and so

You can watch Oprah, The View, figure skating, and cooking/decorating shows without having to defend yourself

You can buy what you want at the grocery store. So what if you want to have spaghetti four nights in a row

You can talk to your girlfriends for hours on the phone without getting dirty, exasperated looks

No more checking with someone to see if 'it's okay' to tell someone yes or no to an invitation. You can accept on the spot

You don't have to do laundry because he has no clean socks or underware

You can fill the fridge with fresh fruit and veggies, bottled water, skim milk, applesauce and chocolate instead of cold cuts, steak and Mountain dew

No more Xbox or PlayStation, Steven Seagal or Jackie Chan. You are free to watch Emeril and Ming Tsai three times a day if you want

You no longer have to reassure him that he does indeed look like the popular movie stars

You can be happy with who you are, not who he wants you to be

If you are depressed or mad at the world for a few minutes, you don't have to worry about having your 'outlook on life' analyzed

You can buy something for yourself (a new dress, CD, shoes, or whatever) without being asked, 'What do you need that for?

You can eat garlic or onions without a second thought about breath mints

You don't have to give yourself lame excuses for not devoting time to yourself

No one is going to get insulted when you spend the day at the pool checking out the lifeguards

You can have eight hours of undisturbed sleep with the covers all to yourself

You can go to bed in flannel and plaid rather than Victoria

If you tidy up your apartment, it will STAY neat until YOU mess it up again!(unless you have roommates!)

You can spend your paycheck on what you want

You don't have to worry if he will or won't call

No more arguments about things you can't explain

You can have a clean bathroom with the toilet seat where you want it

Not only are your dinners free when you go out on those first dates, but they take you out to nice places

No snoring!

You can have privacy... get dressed, shower and go the bathroom in peace!

You can have a good attitude about being single and write about all of the quirks about being married :)

On Sunday we had an awesome lesson by Sister Shari Johnson. She taught us about 'NECESSARY PAIN" and how we all have to go through it to be able to recieve the blessings we are promised. And that we just need to focus on truth. And deal with the present not the past, nor the future.

The truth is that I am single.

The truth is that there is pain attatched with being single.

The truth is I can choose how to handle that pain.

And the truth is I am going to have a good attitude, trust in the Lord, laugh at the quirks and be single with a smile until I get through this necessary pain stage and on to the next phase of my life..

-the end for now :)

Million-dollar Monday: Jess was the first ever to take home the million!!

What a fabulous Monday for my old school EFY partner Jessica Simmons Robinson!! We were partner's back in 2003 at BYU!

Way to go Jess for making History and being the FIRST EVER MILLION DOLLAR WINNER!! Jessica Robinson Becomes First Deal or No Deal Millionaire
Tuesday September 2, 2008

By Carrie Grosvenor, About.com Guide to Game Shows


Well, we knew it was coming, and here it is. Jessica Robinson, who is pregnant with her second child and dreaming of moving to Texas, won a million dollars on Deal or No Deal Monday night. She's the first million dollar winner on the show which is kicking off its fourth season with a Million Dollar Mission.Robinson started off her game with five cases holding $1,000,000. The game itself was rather uneventful until near the end, with the only surprise being that one of the cases held the gender of the baby, which Robinson's husband didn't know. (It's a boy.) Robinson had an uncanny knack for knowing how much money was in the cases she chose, calling out the penny, the $10 case, the $50 case, and a few others before they were even opened. Her chosen case, #4, held one of the million dollar offerings, and she played the game to the end, turning down the banker's final offer of $561,000.It was disappointing, however, to know how the game would turn out before it even started. In the future, I really hope that NBC and any other network will think twice about revealing the outcome of a game show before it airs. It's one thing to tease that the contestant will win big, or that this will be an episode that we don't want to miss. But the knowledge that Jessica Robinson would walk out with the top prize really took away from the excitement of watching the game.That said, huge congratulations to Jessica Robinson and her family! She was a great contestant, full of energy and guts, and I hope she gets to move to Texas and buy a great house with her winnings.