California!!!

I know, this took me forever. But I couldn't figure out how to get the pictures arranged. So there are LOTS of pictures, and they are in order chronologically, but BACKWARDS! haha But I am not going to spend anymore time on this blog! Enjoy!

California is such a fantastic place to be. I swear I was made to live in Beverly Hills. And I was born to be a star. But alas, I sit home in my little Salt Lake City apartment, unemployed and spending thousands of dollars on a Masters degree I might not even be able to use. (Insert *SIGH* here) If you aren't my friend on facebook (well, add me of course), then you haven't seen the plethora of pictures I put up in albums. There are 7 albums I believe, and that isn't even close to half of how many pictures we took! We took over 1000 pictures in the 6 days we spent in L.A. Since I know most of you are just DYING to know, I'll give you a brief synopsis of how we spent our time! Here you go:

Day 1: Travel. We got to L.A.X. at about 2:30 pm. We picked up our rental car (complete with Monica, our GPS unit that we LOVED), found our hotel, checked in, and instantly took off to explore. We drove to the outlet mall where the auditions would be held the next day. We had dinner at Ruby's Diner, did some shopping, and then headed back to the hotel to get some sleep. We had an early day ahead of us!

Day 2: We got up around 4 am. We got ready and headed out to the BL Auditions. We got there about 6:30 am and were 170th in line. We waiting until they opened up the gates at 7:00 and then got in our place in line. There we waited, and waited some more. There were hundreds of people there. We made some friends in line, and chatted with them, which made the time go by a little faster. Finally at 10:00 the auditions began. It was then that they walked through the line and picked out some people to give VIP passes to, which meant we didn't have to wait in line. Yes, we got picked!! We got escorted to the front of the line, which cut our wait from about 2 hours to about 10 minutes! It was fantastic! The auditions are kind of lame, to be honest. What they do is take you in groups of 10, where you meet with a casting director all at once. Everyone gets a turn to introduce themselves, and then they open up a discussion among all of you and the casting director simply watches. Then after 10 minutes, you are done, and you go on your way. The lady sitting next to me was overly obnoxious and I wanted to punch her. But I didn't. We all got a couple sentences in, except the lady sitting next to Scott who didn't say a word. I didn't feel as confident as I did the first time we tried out, but it was still a good and fun experience.

After the auditions we drove around Beverly Hills, where we saw a LOT of Jews just getting done with church, and we also saw Ben Stiller carrying his groceries. We went up to Hollywood where we had lunch and explored the Kodak Theater, Grauman's Chinese Theater, Walk of Fame, Capital Records and the Hollywood Sign. We drove around some ritzy neighborhoods, and the Los Angeles Temple. We came back to our hotel for some Jacuzzi time and dinner. We relaxed at the hotel and just spent time being together.

Day 3: We had planned to go to Santa Monica and Long Beach but the weather wasn't optimal beach weather. So we went to Rodeo Drive to do some shopping! I got a wallet at Juicy Couture! We went in a lot of the shops (Tiffany's included!) and watched a Rolls Royce almost get in an accident. We also stopped to watch a Jewish wedding there on Rodeo Drive. Very fancy! Then for lunch we went to a place called The Stinking Rose. Not just a clever name! Everything there is made with LOADS of garlic! I had the most amazing Filet Mignon, and Scott had a melt-in-your-mouth Prime Rib. We loved it all so much! However, we definitely smelled pretty bad the rest of the day!

After The Stinking Rose, we went back to Hollywood, where we visited the Ripley's Believe it or Not museum, the Hollywood Wax Museum and the Guiness World Records Museum. We spent a lot of time there, looking at all the random stuff and just having fun! We got some pictures on the Walk of Fame with some of those random people that dress up as characters. Then some Japanese guys (that looked like middle aged business men) wanted their picture with Scott! We couldn't decide who they thought he was - and the closest idea we had was Syndrome from The Incredibles. Or maybe they've just never seen a 6'1", 360 lb redhead before. Who knows??? But it was pretty funny!! After Hollywood, we took a drive up Mulholland Drive, which gives you an incredible view of the Hollywood sign and the city of L.A. It was absolutely gorgeous! Then we took a drive past the Warner Bros Studios. We called it a day and went back to the hotel to relax!

Day 4: DISNEYLAND! Need I say more??? We got there early, and left late! We did almost all the rides we wanted to, and took tons of pictures! I love Disneyland! It really is the happiest place on earth!

Day 5: We got up early to head over to the Warner Bros Studios for our VIP tour! The tour was amazing! It starts with a short video on how Warner Bros came to be, and it was pretty interesting! Then they took us over to the exclusive Warner Bros museum, where they have the actual costumes and props used in many movies, including The Dark Knight, Superman Returns, Matrix, Miss Congeniality, etc etc etc. The whole upstairs was ALL Harry Potter! Even the petrified Hermoine was there, and she looked so real! It was a little creepy but a lot cool! We weren't allowed to take pictures in there, but I wish we could have! Those are things most people don't get to see! And since Scott and I love movies SO much, it was awesome to be there.

Next they took us on an exclusive tour of the E.R. set. It was so weird to be there, since I've seen the set on TV HUNDREDS of times! Our tour guide showed us some of the magic, like how most of the sets are just HUGE printed backdrops, not real hospital rooms, and how most things in Hollywood are totally fake but you'd never know it! We got to walk through Chicago, New York, and then around to some of the random buildings they use for lots of movies. We got to go to the place Jurassic Park was filmed, which is basically a jungle in the middle of the studios! We saw a lot of houses and buildings and parks and things where places are filmed, and it's funny to see things in real life that you've seen in movies and tv! They drove us through the shops, where the sets are constructed and painted, and cars and props are made, and it just so happened that the Bat Pod was sitting in there (ya know, that motorcycle from The Dark Knight). It was huge. Super cool though. One of my FAVORITE parts of the tour was paying a visit to the set of FRIENDS. That is by FAR my favorite show ever, and they've immortalized the Central Perk coffee shop. We got to go in, and take pictures. We couldn't touch anything, but it was simply amazing to be there! I know my pictures don't do it justice, but it was freaking awesome. If anyone is wondering if they should do a VIP tour of Warner Bros, DO IT!!

There is a LOT more I could tell about it, but this blog is already getting ridiculously long. After the tour, we had a couple hours of free time, so we decided to stop by the Getty Museum, since we were right there. It was such a gorgeous building and we loved exploring the gardens and seeing the exhibits. And the best part is that it was free! And it has such a gorgeous view of L.A.! I definitely recommend the Getty for anyone visiting L.A.

After the Getty, we headed to Westwood Village, where the premier for the new movie "I Love You, Man" was taking place. We lined up at the red carpet, and watched the stars arrive. It was interesting to see which stars spent time with fans signing autographs and stuff, and which stars thought they were too good for it. I got to see some stars I like, such as Niecy Nash, Paul Rudd, Jason Segal and a couple others. Some of the fans there are a little crazy, though, and we ended up leaving before Jack Black and Ben Stiller got there. But that's okay. We ended the night by spending more time at the Walk of Fame. For some reason, we just LOVED being there. We wandered through the mall, spent a lot of time in the Virgin Megastore, talked with random characters and just hung out. It was pretty cool to be there at night because things are all lit up in neat ways, and it was really quite pretty. We couldn't get enough of it. But we did eventually leave and go back to the hotel, even though we really didn't want to!

The next day we got up, had some breakfast at the hotel's restaurant, and then said our goodbyes to L.A.! We took back our rental, and hopped on our plane back to Salt Lake. Little did we know we'd come back to get snowed on and frozen! Ugh! I want to go back to L.A. so badly! It was one of the best trips I've taken in a long time! Hopefully we'll get to go back soon!!

A Warning of Blogs to Come

It's been a CRAZY busy and AWESOME week! From going to L.A. to audition for Biggest Loser, going to a star studded movie premier, spending time in Hollywood and shopping on Rodeo Drive to buying a new computer for an AMAZING deal, I have a LOT to blog about. But, since it's late and we have a yard sale to do all weekend, I might not get around to blogging till later!
But two things you should know right now:
L.A. was AMAZING and I TOTALLY belong in Beverly Hills
This new computer ROCKS and we couldn't have gotten a better deal! No more waiting for 20 minutes for the computer to boot up! YAY!

Will return soon for more blogging!

The Picture Tag!

Here's what you do: Go to your My Pictures, go to your 7th picture, post it here and tell us about it! Then tag 7 of your friends to do the same! Here is mine:


I took this picture at Scott's Grandpa's funeral this past January. When the pallbearers were bringing his casket to the gravesite, Michael, who is 3, ran up on his own to help them. He was actually listed as an honorary pallbearer and it was just so sweet and touching that he wanted to help carry his Grandpa's casket.

I tag:
Heather
Trisha
Schuyler
Jessica
Alisa
Nancy
Heidi

It's Almost Time!!!

In two weeks, Scott and I are flying to Los Angeles for a week. Here is why:

As some of you may know, we went to Vegas in 2007 for a live casting call for the Biggest Loser. Two days after we got back, we got a call asking us to come to Los Angeles the next day! But, since we'd just spent all our money on our travels to and from Vegas, we couldn't go to L.A.! I was SO disappointed. We wanted to be on the show SO badly! And we had to pass on what might have actually been our shot!

Scott and I at the Vegas Casting Call - with our Biggest Loser sashes!

Well, there is another casting call on March 14 in L.A.! We decided to use our tax refund to fly to L.A. and go to the casting call!!! I am SO excited!

It's weird, but watching Biggest Loser this season has been really emotional for me. I don't really know why. I feel like I relate to Kristin a lot. I don't weigh as much as she did when she started (although she weighs less than me now!!) But her reason for losing weight is to have a baby. That is one of my key reasons too. I feel like if I lose the weight, then I'll have a better shot at having a baby. I also feel like I'm a lot like Kristin. I think if I were to meet her, we'd be good friends, because our personalities are so much alike! She is such an amazing inspiration to me, also. Tonight when she weighed in, she had lost 10 more lbs, and she started talking about how she used to sit and home and watch the show, and want what these people were getting: a life transformation. I just started to cry! I know I'm a nerd, crying at a reality show, but that is exactly what it is. Reality. For me, I constantly battle with my weight. And it's HARD. I feel like everything that goes wrong in my life is somehow related to my being overweight. That may or may not be the case. But I can't help but feel like if I were a normal size, an average size, that things might just be easier.

Kristin Steede- Season 7, from Wisconsin.

The past two years, as I've hit my heaviest weight, I've started to come to the realization that this is my life battle. I've also decided that I am done. And here's the thing. I CAN do it on my own. I've done it before. I lost that 70 lbs in 6 months in 2003. But it is so much harder for me to do it on my own. Scott and I both want this SO bad, and I know there really isn't that great of a chance for us to actually make it on the show, (I mean, they see hundreds of people a week for like 4 or 5 weeks!) but we're going to give it our all and hope for the best. I know that being on a show like The Biggest Loser would change my life, and that's what I need. I am stuck in this rut and I feel like I can't claw my way out of it without some serious help.

I watch Bob and Jillian kick trash every week, and I just want it to be my trash they're kicking! Honestly, I succeed so much better when I have someone cracking a whip over my head. I know if Scott and I got on the show, we would win it! Without a DOUBT! Especially if we're working together.

Anyway, I just thought I would let you in on this information. Wish us luck!!!

Valentine's Day!

Scott is the best husband ever.

Isn't he SO STINKING CUTE????

On Valentine's Day, he had to work from 7 am till 3 pm, so we didn't have plans till later. Around 3:15 he calls me to tell me he had to take a co-worker home so he'd be late. A couple minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and when I answered, I was greeted by a bouquet of white roses and a GIANT velour balloon! A couple minutes later, Scott walked through the door asking where I got the flowers and balloon!! Silly boy.

The beautiful flowers and balloon Scottie surprised me with!

I should know better, this isn't the first time he's done this kind of thing. When we got engaged, we had a ring custom made, and it wasn't going to be ready till a certain day. The day it was supposed to be ready, he was planning on coming to Provo (where I was living at the time) after he got off work to give me the ring and hang out with me. That night I got a call from him telling me the guy that was making the ring had cut his finger, and the ring wouldn't be finished for another couple of days. Then when Scott finally got to my apartment, he was dressed in a tux, with a huge bouquet of roses (which, BTW are my fav flower ever) and he got on one knee and asked me to marry him, with my ring in his hand! SO stinking CUTE!

So anyway, he's done that a couple of times - told me a little white lie and then gone and done something super sweet. And me being the naive blonde I am, I believe him every time!!

After he laughed at me for believing him AGAIN, he took me to my favorite restaurant - TGI Fridays for my favorite meal of a Jack Daniels Burger! Then we went to see He's Just Not That Into You. I read the book a couple years ago, and it was so great! The movie was good - I was impressed at how many big stars were in it! We had a lovely evening, and I was reminded all over again as to why I fell in love with him. He makes it hard for me to forget!! He is such a great husband and I am so lucky to have him! He works SO hard, and he's doing so well in school, and I'm constantly impressed by him. He never ceases to amaze me. So needless to say, I had a FANTASTIC Valentine's Day!

Not the best picture of either of us, but we had fun!

One year older and....

Not so much wiser. Not really different at all. Except just older.



I turned 27 on Monday the 19th. My 26th year of life was absolutely horrible. There weren't very many good things that happened while I was 26. So I've made 2009 - my 27th year - the year of change.



I'm so glad my birthday is in January. I feel like along with a new year, I get a new start with a new age to just start over. So here's how I'm planning on changing.



1. Losing weight! Of course! When I got home from my mission to Wisconsin in November 2004, I was a size 14 weighing 180 lbs. Now I know that's not thin, by society's standards, but that is the smallest I've been in my adult life - including high school. As a freshman in high school I was about 200 lbs. I've always struggled with weight - it's been the issue God has given to me to keep me humble. haha!



Well when I got married in 2006 I'd already gained about 25-30 lbs. And in the 2 1/2 years since then, I've put on a LOT more weight and I don't even know how it happened!! My ultimate goal is to be a size 10 or maybe a 12. So I have a ways to go.



Here's what I've been doing so far. And the best part is, Scott is doing this with me, which is a HUGE help!!



On January 7, Scott and I started the Alli program. If you don't know what that is, go to http://www.myalli.com/ and check it out. In the past two weeks I have felt myself shedding some ounces and maybe a couple of pounds!! But since we didn't have a scale, we couldn't tell for sure. But I've felt SO good the past two weeks! Alli makes me not want to eat bad foods, and I haven't been able to finish a regular sized meal since starting it. It's awesome. It's SO important to find what works for you when you lose weight. Because there are so many diets out there, and only a couple will actually work for you. Back in 2003 when I lost 70 lbs, it was from riding a bike every day and eating well. Alli is helping me eat well. The exercise bike Scott bought me for Christmas is helping with the exercise part! I feel like this is the year that things will change. And I'm excited about that. And the best part is, I'm not doing it alone! Scott is such a great husband!



2. I'm giving school my all. I have two years to go before I have my Masters in School Counseling. All through school I've just kind of done the bare minimum to get by with an A or B and been pretty blase about it. But not anymore! These next two years are dedicated to working hard, studying, reading, and practicing the material I learn. I want to be an awesome school counselor, not just a mediocre one. So I am going to do what I can to be an amazing counselor when 2011 rolls around!!



3. I'm going to be financially savvy. That's right. I said savvy. I have always been kind of horrible with money - I love spending it. And I'm good at it. But Scott and I want to buy a house this year, so in order to do that, I need to get a job (obviously) and stick to our savings plan! We have paid off our credit cards and the only debt we have now is our car (and of course, our student loans, but they won't come into play for a couple years). So we can finally save what we were spending on credit cards before. So I am excited to accomplish this goal of owning our own home to prepare for our family to come!!!



Those are my goals. I also have little goals to be more spiritual by reading my scriptures more and getting rid of my bad attitude toward our ward, as well as being a better wife by cleaning more often and not nagging Scott to help clean when he's spent all day at work and school! Shhh, don't tell him I said that!



For my birthday, Scott and I went to breakfast at Midvale Mining, because ALL I wanted was a scone! I hadn't have one in ages, and it sounded SO amazingly good. So we did that. And it rocked. Then we went shopping to make a package for Scott's lil brother Eric that turns 19 in the MTC next week! Then Scott surprised me by taking me to the salon to get my hair done!! I was SO excited because I've been bugging him for months to let me go get my hair professionally colored! Then it was off to Texas Roadhouse to meet my family for dinner! After that we went to my sister's for some Rockband and fat free brownies!! It was a wonderful night. I got spoiled, of course, with some super cute new clothes, and an awesome new scale!!! Scott and I are going to be doing weekly weigh-ins on Monday nights.



So I'm one year older. I don't feel older. I don't feel wiser. But I am hoping to be thinner and richer. That's not too much to ask, right? :)

Welcome, 2009!!!

I can't even tell you just HOW excited I am that it's 2009! After the crud that was 2008, I am really looking forward to a good year filled with exciting and wonderful changes!

Christmas was fabulous, as always. We were all very French with our berets and cordon bleu and other French delights. It was a full house with everyone there but the more the merrier!

Not a very flattering picture, but that's okay!

So since I don't really have anything in mind to blog about, I thought I'd give a teeny little life update.

Scott is still working at the DT and loving it. He is so good with those little delinquents and I'm so proud of him. He is about to start another semester at SLCC working on his Criminal Justice degree. He's a great student and he is so smart. He never ceases to impress me.

I'm still working on finding a job, which is always a painful process. I'm hoping to have one by my birthday, but that only gives me a week and a half. Ugh. We'll see though. If we have to live on savings for a while, so be it. But I'd rather just be working because I'm seriously going stir crazy at home. I mean, how many loads of laundry can a girl do before losing her mind??

School for me started again yesterday. Now that it's 2009 I can actually say that I'll be done with my Masters in 2 years. I hope it goes by quickly. My Tuesday nights are craving some excitement.

Scott's little sister Laura and his brother Eric are both leaving for their missions a week from today. Laura is going to Atlanta, Georgia, and Eric is going to Morristown, New Jersey. I am so excited for them! A mission is seriously the best thing a person can do! We're going to help pay for their missions, so I'm looking forward to the blessings that come from that!

Eric and Laura both go to the MTC January 14.

I'm also looking forward to this summer. If things go our way, we're planning on buying a house somewhere. Somewhere meaning Salt Lake or the surrounding area. It's pretty clear that we'll be here the rest of our lives! I suppose that's okay. It's not a bad place to live!

So that's about it. Boring, I know. But sometimes that's a good thing.