He knows whats up

If you know me, then you know one of my FAVORITE foods is Octopus! I love it! I usually have it for my Birthday and Christmas. If you think its rubbery, you havent had it made right, the key is to boil it first, then bake it in the oven with onions and coconut milk for a LONG time so it gets nice and soft. YUM! This year I made a pan of it to take to Patricks family Christmas party and saved a little bit for myself :) I took it to mom & dads Christmas morning to see if anyone wanted to try it. No takers... EXCEPT my sweet baby nephew Stone Face! He was so down with it! Here's the proof:
What a smart baby!

Have we met?

The first time I met Patricks dad we were sitting in the kitchen at his parents house and his mom had just come home from visiting some ladies in their ward. His dad was doing the normal asking me about myself...he was really nice and pretty funny, I felt really comfortable talking to him, not nervous at all. At one point he called me Vickie. Excuse me? Everyone stopped talking and starting laughing. Apparently one of the ladies his mom had just seen was named Vickie and he got confused. Ok, no problem. We kept talking, laughing & then his dad said "Sorry for calling you Vickie" to which I unbelievably said "Its ok but do it again & I'll smack your face". WOW! Now normally you wouldnt say something like that to your boyfriends father.....not me though! Luckily he busted up laughing and we continued talking. ~whew~
Now, I THINK I'm on good terms with him but I'm not real sure cause I havent seen him since then! Whenever Pat talks to his mom on the phone she always asks how Vickie's doin so I think I'm safe!

Another day Pat & I were over at my mom & dads house sittin in the kitchen talking and mom said to Pat "Dont be mad at me if I call you Sam" lol
She said when she looks at him she thinks 'Sam'... reasonable enough.
The weird thing is that he has an older brother named Sam.
Whenever I talk to mom, she asks how Sam's doin.



So, there you have it, two people who have REAL names but are called something else.

Thats all I got,
Vickie

Recap...

So lets see, Thanksgiving came & went. Stace came down & it was really nice to see her. Unfortunately it was also finals week @ school and my Psyc teacher was kind enough to give us our exam to take over Thanksgiving! Thanks!

Patrick & I went shopping at 5AM on Black Friday lol we went to 5 stores and bought ONE thing! hahaha oh well, it was fun.

Played Scrabble that night (Me, Pat, Stace & Dad). If you ever have the opportunity to play with Dad or Stace, be prepared to PLAY! They're ruthless and they'll make fun of you :)

Saturday morning Mom, Asian, Belle, Stace, Me & Patrick went out to breakfast. Belle was very entertaining...especially when she stuck her straw in the maple syrup & drank it :(

I am very greatful for my family!

(On a side note: Uncle Pat was in the hospital and I'm SO SO greatful he is home now and I hope he's ok and will get better...LOVE YOU)

My finger

You may or may not know about my finger.... Those of you who do know and dont get, let me explain in detail.

I would say it all started about, oh, 6 years ago maybe? It was winter and I went outside and notice that my ring finger, at the base of my nail, on my left hand started hurting. Let me rephrase that, it felt exactly like I had slammed it in a car door! Some of you might be thinking, "thats pretty extreme Steph" yes, yes it is. IT HURTS JUST LIKE THAT! I immediately ran in the house and stuck my hand under the faucet and let hot water run on it. In a matter of seconds it was gone. I remember thinking "what the crap was that"?! After about 3 years of this I decided to go to the Drs... I actually went to 2 Dr.s. This is what I told one of them:

ME: Something's wrong with my finger, when I get cold it feels like its being slammed in a car door and it wont stop until I get warm again.
DR: Meaning?
ME: I run in the house and stick my hand under warm water in the faucet.
DR: That doesnt make any sense
ME: Thats why I came to see you
DR: Let me look at my book (proceeds to grab this cliff note like version of medical ailments)
ME: It also hurts if I myself am not so cold, but I go outside and I have to go pee.
DR: (looks up from book with a VERY strange looks on face)
ME: Yeah, so if I know I'm going outside I have to make sure I pee first
DR: So, it hurts when you're cold and it hurts when you pee?
ME: Yes.
DR: (still looking confused)
ME: But it can be cold outside and if I myself am warm, like all bundled up, then it might not hurt at all. :)
DR: (looking @ book) I dont see anything in here even close to what you're describing.
ME: I was thinking maybe it had something to do with when I was going to school to be a nail tech. Could I have caused some kind of nerve damaged to the base of that nail what with all the acrylic being put on and ripped off?
DR: (humoring me I think) Yes, yes that could be it.
ME: Hhhmmm, well, can we just cut this top part of my finger off?
DR: (looking REALLY shocked) It hurts that bad?!
ME: Yup, real bad.
DR: Well, we dont usually cut body parts off randomly. Besides, what if you had phantom pain?
ME: True, if its gonna hurt I'd rather have a finger there.
DR: It doesnt hurt when its warm right?
ME: Right
DR: Maybe you should move
ME: I'm not letting this finger run my life!

Fast forward to 2 years ago.... I was sitting in my apt. on the couch watching TV. It was August. All of a sudden it felt as if someone were stabbing my finger with an ice pick! I looked down at my finger and started yelling! Ran to the sink and let the water run over it.. NOTHING! IT WASNT WORKING! What was going on?! It stopped after about 10 seconds (which felt like forever) I looked down and there was a blue dot under my nail. Had a blood vessel just popped? That had to have been it. Man that hurt! So now, on top of the whole cold=pain thing, I cant touch anywhere near the base of that nail, it is so tender. The blue dot is still there. If I hit it or bump it, oooohhh man! I also cant snap with my left hand anymore

Anyways, so there's the story. Its a mystery that lives to this day. I'd go to another Dr. but I dont want them to touch it lol

So if you ever see me bent over a sink, always have my left hand in my pocket or wonder why I'm always waiting to go to the bathroom until the last minute, now you know.
I'll be better when winter's over...

Dreams...

If money were no option what would you do?

I would have my own bakery.

I adore baking, for realz! I love to make stuff and give it away. Just ask people at my work, they know :) Its all I can do to not make something everyday. Last week I made chocolate chip cookies, coconut bread & cinnamon chip cookies.

This week I'm gonna make some dirty snowballs and half moon pies. Whoo Hoo!

When I bake, I turn on my music real loud and dance around the kitchen, have I said how much I love it?! Anyways, with the holidays upon us I desire to bake twice as much, if there's something you want, let me know.

If you guys have any really good recipes you could share with me that would be great!

Also, if anyone has a grip of extra money, lets talk!

Halloween Week Re-Cap

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays! I just love it! The fall leaves, the smell outside, the CANDY, everything! I decorated my little stairwell with a black lantern & cobwebs and bought 8 bags of candy...(hahaha) On Tuesday, Patrick (thats his name), me and his 2 kids went to This Is The Place haunted village. It was scary, but not too scary.

Then Wednesday I made witches fingers (cookies) and a graveyard cake for work. The cookies turned out horrible, but the cake was yummy. On Thursday night I made another graveyard cake and some dirty snowballs that I transformed into eyeballs for Pat to take to work on Friday. Halloween night I worked for a little bit and got off early, got my candy ready and NOT ONE TRICK OR TREATER! lol Good, more candy for me :)

)

Be Quiet!

So, hi! Remember me? hahaha I know, I know!

So, here's a quick update on the haps...

#1: I moved out of the basement! Yup, I moved at the end of Aug. I live in a (little, tiny) studio in Sugarhouse :) Can I just say I was always anti-East Side but I LOVE it here! It is so peaceful and beautiful and I really dig it! Gas was KILLING me going back and forth to work so now I'm much closer and am loving being on my own and having my own space again!

#2: Another reason I love where I live is because I am approximately 5 blocks away from my man, thats rights boys and girls, I have a man. :) Snack Pack introduced us in July and we have not gone a day since then without talking or seeing each other. He is by far the best thing that has ever happened to me and I am greatful everyday for him :)

#3: I, just like my beautiful sister-in-law went back to school. I KNOW! Whats the big deal you say? Well, I have not been to school in, um, 12 or 13 years (dont do the math)! So, I am just now starting to not FREAK as much. Most of my classes transfered from Snow so I dont have to take too many before I get my associates. School is hard...thats all

I think those are all the major developments in the last few months... I'm exhausted but now I can be a better blogger and I will be! Once a week is my goal!

The Herp...

I know I know... HI! I'm back and ready to blog!
Last couple weeks have been a roller coaster and yeah so lets try this again.

Most of you who know me also know that I get 'Cold Sores'. Now, those of you also know that I ONLY get cold sores when I am EXTREMELY stressed out. I believe the last time I got a cold sore was when I was getting a divorce a couple years ago. Well guess what?!
I've had oh lets say SIX cold sores in the past 3-4 weeks!!! Somebody put me out of my misery! My bottom lip can only handle so much!





Anyway, I'm thinkin the 'drama' is over and now my lips can have their needed rest.
Wish me luck!

This, That & a new 'Do'

So, its been awhile since I last blogged. Not much has been going on, Snack Pack, Me & Stace drove down to Vegas to move Stace.. LONG drive but fun! Stace cracks me up! We ate at In-n-Out in St George, YUM



Then last week Snack Pack & I drove up to Manti for the Manti Pageant, it was nice.



Worked, worked worked: Got a REAL nice tan from all that workin, AND a REAL nice Farmers tan on my legs, yeah!



Last night The Pack and I went to Taylorsville dayzz and watched the fireworks:
Awesome! I heart fireworks so much!



I also decided to add a little blonde to myself for the summer:

Thats about it! More stuff to come!

SNA

Orange County... The O.C... Newport Beach

Snack Pack & I went there yesterday.
Neither of us had ever been there & his daughter was going with some friends
so he invited me to fly down & kick it for the day.
We got to the airport, nice by the way, its called the John Wayne Airport :)
His daughter & her friends went one way and we went another. I didnt know about this trip till the night before and I'm usually the one who finds out about the town and plans a little so we know what we're gonna do. Snack Pack was in charge of this one...he had no plan lol. It was a little rough at first cause we knew nothing about where we were or what there was to do, (we had 6hrs to kill).
We decided to fill our bellies at the ihop across the street first & plan our attack of the O.C..

We jumped on the city bus and rode it! We ended up at a stop on Avocado & somethin and started walkin towards the ocean.
We walked alot! It is SO pretty there, and CLEAN! lol
Not at all what I'm used to seeing in California!



Oh my goodness how I LOVE the ocean! I cannot express in words the love I have! The smell, the sounds!

For not 'planning' anything, this was such a GREAT day!

Frisco Aftermath...

You know how I told you about all that walking me & Snack Pack did?
Yeah well:





I guess the 'bright side' of this is that my Farmers Tan moved up! lol

Wear Sunscreen Kids!

Rice-a-Roni Town

Me & Snack Pack went to San Francisco!

We got there Wed evening rode around on the BART for a little bit, ate dinner & watched the movie "Definetly, Maybe". Pretty good movie.

Thursday We took the BART to the Pier and walked up to Fishermans Wharf (Pier 39) to eat and look around.

I put my nose to work! I LOVE the salty smell of the ocean!
It brings a wave of peace & calm over me like nothing else can.
I did ALOT of inhaling!There's a bunch of these platforms with seals on them. They just laid around barking and pushing each other off into the water:

This is the Golden Gate Bridge:


We ate at a place called the Wipeout Bar & Grill

I wanted to try something 'different' so I had the fried shark bites.
Nothing but glorified fish sticks haha

Snack Pack had Fried Calamari, I've also never had that: I liked it

There was so much more to see & do, we just didnt have enough time! There's still the Ripleys Believe it or not Museum, Ghirardelli Factory, the Sourdough factory, a Carousel, the Trolley, Lomard Street, Alcatraz, Chinatown & Little Italy, SO SO much stuff to see & do!

Hair-capades

I woke up one morning REALLY early, laid down on my couch, curled up under a blanket & turned on the TV. I stopped on HSN... Have you ever watched this? I watch HSN & QVC all the time, just to see the cool things you can buy. Well, this particular morning, Toni Brattin was on.
I like watching Toni, she's got alot of energy & is real 'peppy'.
So, she was going on about her hair pieces and was talking about summer and when its hot outside & maybe you're sweaty and your hair falls flat and wouldn't it be nice to have beautiful curly locks all summer long? "Yes it really would" I said out loud. So I did it. I bought hair. It was on sale AND had free shipping so pretty much I felt it was destiny....

See, you can even tell! lol I was gonna wear it to work but then had a horrible image of me driving behind a plane and getting blasted with air and my 'hair' flying off! hahahahaha
I'm not gonna tell you when I wear it, we'll see if you even notice!
I think its gonna be a 'good hair day' all summer long!

Happy Birthday Princess!!

Today is the Princess' Birthday!
We had a lovely birthday dinner at mom & dads with
hambugers, corn on the cob, potato salad and watermelon & grapes.
For the birthday dessert... chocolate peanut butter ice cream from Baskin Robbins! YUM!

I LOVE my sister so much! She is hilarious & always makes me happy! She lets me vent or cry or be mad or whatever & loves me anyways!
She is my favorite sister and I am grateful every day that I have her in my life!

Happy Birthday Stace, I LOVE YOUR GUTS!

Oh sweet summer!

Well its official....
Summer's JUST about here...
SNO SHACK is OPEN!!
Whoo Hooo!
I get so so excited when I see that little blue building get ready with their delicious sugary syrups & Ice cold...ice. heehee
I went to go look at some apartments tonight & seeing as it was 7pm and 70+ degrees outside: I'M GETTING A SHACK!

And if I have to tell you what flavor I got, well, you just dont know me & you should get off my blog! lol

So I drove, looked and had my frozen treat.
What a GREAT night!

Lunch

So I went to Los Angeles for lunch today... lol

Actually Me & Snack Pack flew into LAX and went to In-N-Out for lunch, then came back home.

I've heard alot of hype about In-N-Out but have never eaten there, until today.
There is the regular menu:


And then there is the"secret menu" that has been carried word of mouth:


So I got a 1x2 (one pattie & 2 cheese slices) animal style
Pretty darn tasty!

After lunch we walked around for a minute, a gay guy tried to pick up Snack Pack, then we got on the plane & headed back home!

Its so fun to be able to do this kind of stuff!