Winter, Spring, Summer and... Autumn

A New Home

2011-11-06T18:13:00.001-08:00

Come see what we're up to @ corbandkerri.blogspot.com

Hope to see you there!

i got married!

2011-05-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

a dose of jersey

2011-03-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

I've met some great people here on the east side. Corbrett has two friends who are married and they are from Jersey. I love people from Jersey because they remind me of my extended family on my mother's side. Al and Ra are too much sometimes but at the same time just enough for me to laugh and have a good time. They are very kind and generous people.

This happened yesterday while C and I were at their house for dinner...

*ding dong*doorbell rings*
Everyone: hmmm... who could it be?
Al: I will get it.
*door opens and it is the security guard for the building*
SG: Do you hear a saxophone? Is someone in here playing a saxophone?
*blank stares from everyone*
Al: No one is playing a saxophone in here.
SG: Well I hear a saxophone coming from the door.
Al: No saxophone but I do have a trumpet in the closet.
SG: Hmm... well... ok. *he walks away*
Al closes the door and says to us, Do you think Ra sounds like a saxophone?

Hahaha. Crack me up.

oh oh oh

2011-03-16T20:22:00.000-07:00

I'm moving to DC in less than 40 hours. I haven't packed yet and I'm blogging. What is wrong with me? I think it is because I'm going to cry when I leave my friends and family behind.

how do you know?

2011-02-20T21:53:00.000-08:00

On Saturday afternoon after a very successful trip to my parent's house to do some wedding planning this is what I was met with on my way home. Snow. If you know me, you know that I don't like to drive in snow. It is beautiful and this is what the desert looks like covered in snow but I don't like driving in it. I don't know if you know this but it snows in Washington, D.C. on the roads. Probably even on the roads that will be between our house and my work. As I was dodging not only snow but pot holes and a partially washed out road I remembered the day after Christmas.

Corbrett and I had planned a trip to Beaver for a short tryst and who would believe it but it was snowing between there and St. George. I knew of the potential and kept thinking to myself that it wouldn't be so bad, surely the snow would not fall very hard. Well it did. As I drove to Beaver dodging pot holes and a washed out road I kept telling myself that it is worth it, I want to see Corbrett. It is just snow, I would be fine. Keep driving. Just snow. Just snow.

Then I got there and it was worth it.

the time has come!

2011-02-13T09:51:00.000-08:00

Most everyone knows now that I am getting married to Corbrett Hodson! I am so excited and can't wait to see what my life becomes. I've spent a lot of time playing, traveling and spoiling myself; such a great time it has been and I don't regret any of it for a minute. I am so fortunate to marry a man I've known for ten years and I can hardly contain myself.

We've already taken engagement pictures and so I will show you the ones that will not be making the announcement...

Wait! Before you look at them I want to tell you all that my wonderful, amazing, talented friend Alysha took these pictures. She is a pro and I can't thank her enough!!!

This is my favorite picture. I love it and I love him.

This is Corbrett's favorite picture :)

You'll just have to wait to see in the mail which one we chose for our announcement... it is a good one too ;)

***PHOTOGRAPHY BY THE AMAZING ALYSHA COX***

my life... a jane austen movie

2011-01-25T18:37:00.000-08:00

Today at work my boss' boss told me that my life is like a Jane Austen movie.

I liked hearing it.

Seattle and Canada

2011-01-22T20:15:00.003-08:00

Seattle and Vancouver were beautiful and there were so many great opportunities for pictures.

I met up with my old roommate, Jenny, from BYU.

There was a belly dancer at the restaurant that kept making the strangest faces. Weird.

Aaron Dean was in Seattle too! It was fun randomly running into him.

Fun with the black and white.

Could you use this toilet? What if you were using it at the wrong time of day and it spit up on you?

Our drive to Vancouver, B.C., Canada was beautiful.

Vancouver at night.

This is a United Way display where these huge statues are laughing. It was rad.

We were trying to take a picture of ourselves but were doing a horrible job and I guess it showed because a passerby stopped and asked us if she could help.

Totem poles. There are people in them sometimes.

This was taken from the seawall. We drove across this bridge and drove all over the place. It was so very much fun and I got to take a nap on the way back.

A beautiful view.

There were two guys fishing off of the seawall and they caught this starfish creature. I wanted to take his picture with his booty but he refused.

I think this is so funny. These statues are sitting outside of the temple and it reminded me of BYU because they are young looking and have very serious expressions. DTR much?

the thing about Canada...

2011-01-22T17:30:00.001-08:00

Is that I developed an addiction to angry birds. Right now I'm at Chucky Cheeses' blogging and not playing angry birds only because I wanted the world to know that I can't pass level 3-9.

I've been packing today... packing and packing and packing. I'm moving in with a friend so I don't have to be under a lease.

I think it's time to take a chance and move to DC. It will be a whole hearted effort this time because I think my job is at risk of being no moreand I've been talking about it for far too long not to follow through with such a good plan.

I am a little bit scared.

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I don't live alone with my cats.

2011-01-13T22:39:00.000-08:00

I was looking at some pictures of a friend's cat on facebook today and it reminded me of something that happened a few days ago.

Me: Hey guess what I got...

ManFriend: A cat.

Me: No (sigh) a new CELL PHONE.

What?? Why are people always asking me if I'm going to turn into the crazy cat lady? Cats are cute but don't hold out hope that I'll ever get one.

**and just because you are single and have a cat doesn't make you a crazy cat lady**

such a funny thing...

2011-01-07T06:38:00.001-08:00

This morning I woke up, heard my alarm singing to me, paused, remembered the dream I was just having and laughed.

I was working at a hotel and was looking for my car with some people (could have been anyone, could have been you) when we decided to go back inside. I had decided to leave work early at about noon because apparently in your dreams you can do whatever you want and anything seems reasonable. Anyway, on our way back inside the "car lookers" were ahead of me and they were walking through a door that another hotel worker was holding open. When it was my turn to go through the door the guy shut it and was holding it closed so I couldn't go through. In a split second I thought, I'll just come back tomorrow to work a little and use the pool. Then I heard my alarm going off and woke up and thought, that's why he wouldn't let me in; it is time to wake up.

I crack myself up. If you are not a dreamer I'm sorry for you three quarters of the time, the other 1/4 of the time when I'm dreaming about tornadoes I'm not sorry for you.

January 5, 2011

2011-01-05T19:54:00.000-08:00

Today I am annoyed but this too shall pass and probably rather quickly if I know anything about me.

January 4, 2011

2011-01-04T19:22:00.000-08:00

We had a baby shower at work today for my coworker, Patty. It is nice how supportive everyone is of each other.

This awesome cake is what greeted me when I walked in...

People were okay with eating the baby belly but not the bust.

Also, Southwest Airlines knows me so well. I had an email in my inbox with the subject line, Vacation withdrawal? Plan you next vacation today!

January 3, 2011

2011-01-03T19:19:00.000-08:00

I already know what you are going to say, Seriously Kerri? Are we going to revisit this yet again?

Don't judge me, I can't help myself. Well I probably could if I tried but I don't want to try. It doesn't take much for me to start conjuring up reasons and ways to get to D.C.

Today I came up with a brilliant plan that I should go back to school and perhaps become a teacher. You really can't beat the schedule or some of the benefits. I could just go out there and do what I want. Make it happen. What's a little bit of school debt, eh?

Maybe it is time for me to do what I want to do.

January 2, 2011

2011-01-02T19:59:00.000-08:00

Today I learned a good lesson in church. This hasn't been happening all that often because I keep Cruz most of the time and he is a hand full. Luckily he fell asleep long enough for me to learn something today. This is the lesson, You don't always get what you ask for but instead an opportunity. For example, if I ask for patience I might get an opportunity to practice being patient ergo developing patience.

Maybe if I ask for a husband I'll get a date so I can do some practicing :/

January 1, 2011

2011-01-02T19:55:00.000-08:00

I was ready to celebrate ringing in the New Year by watching some fireworks but instead I fell asleep watching Lars and the Real Girl. I was happy as a little clam though.

2011

2011-01-02T19:54:00.000-08:00

It is only the second day into the year and I've already learned so much.

I thought it would be fun to post a little something I did everyday (or mostly everyday) for as long as I can stand it.

happy hollandaise!

2010-12-07T20:04:00.001-08:00

Nope, I didn't make hollandaise sauce but I did make some dipped pretzels for my coworkers.

hair hair and more hair

2010-12-05T18:13:00.000-08:00

Two stories. One funny and one not so funny.

At work the other day my coworker asked me if my hair grows fast. I told her yes and then she responded and said that she had been wondering if I got hair extensions. Funny. My hair goes back and forth between these two colors...

This is my hair with blonde highlights. I've recently decided to go all one color...

Although my hair looks like it is all one color I've noticed that there are now strands of grey that are growing out of the top of my head. Boo.

The not so funny story... I donated blood on Friday and the phlebotomist was prepping my arm and taping the needle down and said, "Sorry about the tape, it'll hurt when it comes off." My instantaneous thought was that it was no big deal, just some tape. But then she said, "I have hairy arms too." Oh what? Haha... not cool.

happy holiday? i think so.

2010-12-02T20:23:00.001-08:00

Are you looking for a delightful gift for someone you love this Christmas? I can help.

How about this lovely jewelry box?

What about this foot massager?

How about a delicious bath set?

Would you like your boyfriend or husband to smell like a real man?

What I want for Christmas you can't find at Walmart....

what oh what to do with myself?

2010-11-29T20:40:00.000-08:00

My old plan... To slide into a month-to-month in my current apartment and take some time to think about what I'm going to do with myself. This plan has been demolished by the fact that they want to charge me an arm and a leg to do that.

My new plan... I'm going to have to move at the end of January. That is the only part of my new plan that isn't a variable.

The variables...

Move into a place here on a month-to-month basis until I figure out where I want to go or just go where I want to go in January?

Where do I want to go? Where should I go? Is there a should?

Do you see how confused I am? That is indeed a fact and a constant.

Why?

2010-09-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

We are often told not to ask "Why" but rather "What can I do?" Here are some simple solutions.

Why do people put babies in baskets and photograph them? Maybe instead find a jar or a hammock.

Why does everything have to be a secret? I say no more. If you have a secret, don't tell me or better yet don't have a secret.

Why don't people go to bed at normal hours? When I'm moving stuff around needlessly at 1am or looking shifty I want to go to bed. Just get out.

Why are you always so angry? I get it that crappy things happen and your life is so hard and bad things only happen to you and on and on. Get over it, life is more easily lived when you are happy.

Easier said than done? Maybe but somehow we'll manage.

*Note: I have never tried to put a baby in a jar and I don't recommend it either.*

My Public Apology

2010-08-03T17:42:00.000-07:00

Approximately 7 years ago the following happened...

Here are the details.

I was at BYU in the Clinical Laboratory Science program with Natalie and Trecia. Trecia was married and had been for a few years. Natalie was newly married and her husband was off plowing corn fields into mazes. Natalie's birthday was coming up and Trecia and I were trying to think of the greatest gift we could give her. She seemed a little lonely and we happened to know that she loves cats. I don't remember if it was premeditated or not but we ended up at a pet store. There was the cutest little kitten laying upside down in a miniature easy chair as so we thought, "How could we not get this for her?" Another important part of the story was that she lived in an apartment that did not allow cats. Did that stop us? No, it sure didn't. We bought Natalie the cat and gave it to her for her birthday. I think she loves the cat and it has been part of her family since but she had to go through a lot to be able to keep her.

I've been cat sitting for one week of three total. Natalie this is my punishment for giving you a cat for your birthday, even though you do love her.

This is a good action shot... Toshi likes to bite me.

Don't Adjust Your Screen... I actually went to DC again.

2010-07-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

I had a fantastic trip this past week in Washington, D.C. How else to describe it than with photos.

Day #1 - After my grand arrival Corbrett and I met up with some of his friends to watch The Last Airbender. I fell asleep... big snooze fest.

Day #2 - Melinda, a friend of Corb's, volunteered to entertain me while he was at work. We went to Hillwood Estate which was once owned by Marjorie Merriweather Post. She was what I am now calling a high end hoarder. No pictures were allowed of the inside of her home but she collected everything she could get her hands on especially if it had any connection to Russia or royalty. Beautiful pieces but still a high end hoarder.

Some photos of the grounds.

I walked across this pond on those stones.

There was a lot of flowing water which made the place very peaceful.

I thought this was strange so I had to take a picture.

We then headed down to the Mall and looked around at the different parts of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. It was interesting because there were people showing off their craft and you could get right up near it and have a good look.

A blanket was being woven, very beautiful.

Day #3 - Corbrett, DeAnna, Jessica, Kayleigh and I drove to Monticello to check out Thomas Jefferson's house. There were some good parts but overall I was disappointed in Monticello. I did, however, enjoy the company!

A beautiful view of the house.

Kayleigh, Jessica, DeAnna, Kerri

Corbrett, Kerri, DeAnna

It is something akin to pulling teeth to get him to take a picture with me that is not weird.

Day #4 - On Sunday morning we went to church. The DC ward Corbrett attends is something to behold and I love it. There was a woman who spoke and she said that she went to that ward on vacation and had to move to DC and live in its boundaries. I totally get her. After church we went home and made a most delicious dinner that Corb just threw together. Amazing. I didn't really trust it all at first, I believe my exact words were, "if that pork isn't cooked all the way I won't eat it." After dinner and a nap we went down to the Lincoln Memorial and set up camp to watch the fireworks. We had a while to wait so we did a lot of people watching and listened to the iPod. The fireworks were amazing and it was the perfect spot!

Day #5 - It was off to Alexandria, VA to see the George Washington Masonic Temple. It was majestic really and fun to learn more about this interesting society. I don't know much about them and still don't feel as though I've learned enough. We arrived at the temple and the guy up front approached us to give the run down of the place. He said that we could take a tour for 3 dollars or look around on our own. So off on our own we went. We finished exploring the first floor and were ready to go to the second, oh but wait, none of the elevators would work. How strange. I went back to ask and find out what was amuck but was sorely disappointed. The guy failed to mention that the tour was the ONLY way you could get to the other floors and the last one had just left and was completely booked. I was sad but we forged ahead for we had some Moby Dick's House of Kabobs to attend to.

Corbrett and Tim checking the place out.

A view from the outside.

Me and Tim :)

The weather was very pleasand until the end of Sunday and Monday just got worse. The humidity, oh the inhumanity of it! I broke down and bought some Gatorade, yuck. I think I must have been told 500 times not to drink it on the Metro... how I love the Metro I would never defile it.

We then went and watched a one man show about Lord of the Rings, it was very funny. I noticed that the very old man in front of us raised his hand when asked who hadn't read the books or seen the movie. He must have been very confused about what was happening. He just sat there motionless.

I had a great time which words cannot contain.

Nipping it in the Bud

2010-04-18T22:09:00.000-07:00

This is my official declaration that I do not like nor do have any kind of appreciation for people that don't respect the space, privacy or lives of others.

I have been recently reminded of this story from my past. Note that I do not currently have a stalker so please do not worry about that.

When I was 17ish my friend's dad was in jail (or prison- I don't pay much attention to the difference). The guy in the neighboring cell saw a picture of my friend and decided that she would be good prey when he blew the joint. He was in jail for stalking/raping other girls.

Fast forward to him being out of jail. The stalking started with obscene phone calls and escalated from there. I don't know what it is about being a teenager that makes you automatically stupid but we were. He would call and describe the front of her house and note that he saw my car out front, how he knew we were there, etc. etc. etc. and what he wanted to do to us. Did we tell anyone? Nope, sure didn't.

It was really scary not knowing where he was lurking and having to walk/run in the dark from my car to her house or not knowing if he was following us while we were driving.

One day we were at my house and talking about it around my parents. My dad overheard a snippet and immediately went into, whoa whoa whoa mode. He wanted to know why he hadn't heard about this before? What was wrong with us that we hadn't done something about it? Why are kids so thoughtless? ON and ON and ON.

Before we even knew what was happening he had the police on the phone and at the house. We (yes my dad gave my friend these rules too) weren't allowed to sleep at her house or go there in the dark until all was resolved. We were to watch for people following us in the car and "FOR HEAVENS SAKE USE OUR HEADS."

The police tapped her phones and discovered that everything we were afraid of was true. He had been outside the house and basically waiting to strike. It was a violation of his parole and off to jail he went. There was more to the story that we weren't told, maybe because it was too much for us, I don't know. Thank goodness for my dad taking care of that situation and getting it nipped in the bud.

It was all some weird business but I was very glad when he was back in jail. My friend is especially traumatized by this incident, I just don't like to be outside in the dark for any period of time.

A Little Bit O'Crazy

2010-04-05T21:27:00.000-07:00

I was getting ready for bed tonight and was wondering what I was going to wear. Here is a little secret about me... sometimes I like to wear a shirt to bed. I don't like to be too hot because I want to be able to cover myself with blankets.

Some back story... Back in the day circa 1997 I had some pretty great friends. That year Lynley, one said friend, and I went on a trip to Northridge, CA to tool around. I don't really remember our purpose but in included a trip to a Holocaust museum and a lot of talk about Emerald Lagasse. I remember it fondly. While we were there we stayed at her mom's house and from that I remember Aly sticking her elbow in my back to "loosen me up" and her telling us about her sleeping attire. Essentially she would go to bed fully clothed w/ sports bra on and tennis next to the bed just incase she had to out run an intruder. Was she serious? I'm not sure, maybe I think so.

Back to tonight... I was rooting through my dresser and was about to pull out a shirt when I thought, what if something happens and I have to go outside during the night. This will not due. So I put on some shorts. Is it weird that every night I think the same thing? Literally every night. What if I have to make a run for it or am forced out of my house?

The things that stick in my head.

I hope I haven't poisoned anyone's mind.

Who is that girl?

2010-04-01T21:44:00.000-07:00

I went to a hockey game tonight with a few friends. We were buying our tickets and the ticketmaster had a map of the arena and a sticky that had the words "your here" pointing to where I assume we were standing.

I looked at it and said, "Someone spelled this wrong" not even thinking that it might have been him. Then to top that off and to make him think that I didn't think it was him that did it I said, "it looks like girl handwriting," again not thinking that it might be his handwriting that looks like girl handwriting.

Wow, who was that girl saying those poorly though out comments???

It was me. It must have something to do with being 30; it is like a disease.

I Am a Dreamer

2010-03-24T20:27:00.000-07:00

Literally. Almost every morning I wake up and think, "well that was weird" or "glad that didn't really happen" or "dang it why was that a dream and not reality" or "oh my gosh do I still have all of my teeth?"

One night I dreamt that I was saving people on the ocean with my friend Greg. Another night I dreamt that I was talking to my friend Maren and asked her if she wanted to go somewhere with me and her response was, "I DO NOT LIKE PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN!!"

The night before last I dreamt that I was in love. It was not new love it was well established we already know we are in love, love. That is not the interesting part of the dream though. The interesting part was with whom I was in love. I'm not going to give the name because I knew this guy in college. There are many of you that read this blog that know or knew him but you would NEVER guess who it was, though I would love for you to try. From that dream I woke up and thought, "where did that come from and what was that all about?"

P.S. I just gave you an hint.

I just love being a dreamer.

Family, Friends & Donkeys

2010-03-14T16:54:00.000-07:00

Or is it donkies or are a bunch of them called a donk?

Several weeks ago we went to Oatman, AZ where donkeys roam the streets.

We fed them carrots, they babies had stickers on their heads that said "Don't feed me."

After roaming the streets and looking at the shops we got a bite at the local saloon. There were hundreds of thousands of dollar bills stuck to the walls.

This past weekend I spent with my family in UT.

Amber (12 yrs): Kerri, did you have braces?

Kerri: No.

Amber: Did you know about braces?

Kerri: Yes, Amy and Matt both had them.

Amber: Oh, cause I was just wondering if they had them BACK THEN.

There is a "back then" already.

Here is a good one with my dad.

Dad: Who's eyes do you guys think are the bluest in the family? (This would be just between the kids, my parents don't have blue eyes.)

Kerri: It is hard to say.

Dad: I think Amy's they stand out the most but it could be Kristen too.

Kerri: Kristen doesn't have blue eyes.

Dad: Well then Matt maybe if it isn't Amy?

Kerri: I guess Amy's are the lightest and people notice them the most. I think Matt has blue eyes. Mine are darker.

Dad: Well then if it isn't them who else has blue eyes?

Kerri: Me, dad. I have blue eyes.

Dad: You do? Let me see. Oh yeah, I guess you do.

Kerri: Ppftt.

Dad: I think Amy's are the bluest.

FYI... this is what my life has always been like.

Wowzers

2010-03-10T22:07:00.001-08:00

I think that says it all.

My problem(s).

2010-02-28T21:14:00.001-08:00

Everyone has problems, right? I think that my biggest problem right now is that I am addicted to leaving Las Vegas. Why to I want to leave Las Vegas? Is it because it is featured in so many songs and has therefore become part of my brain as so many songs have?

From Cheryl Crow...
I'm leaving Las Vegas
And I won't be back
No I won't be back
Not this time

Lyrics from various songs from the movie Leaving Las Vegas...

Pardon me
But I "gotta run"
The fact's uncommonly clear

or...

Blasting down the highway
In my Batmobile.

From Tonie Christie...
The lord above made the world for us, but the devil made Las Vegas
Oh Las Vegas, youll be the death of me, city of sin oh what a mess Im in, look what youve done to me

Just saying.

I was talking to "he who will remain nameless" on the phone tonight and I was almost consumed with the idea that I should go to D.C. again. What? That is crazy, right? Or is it? Before I was off the phone I had in my head a trip that went a little something like this...
Fly to D.C. - spend some days there
Take train to Richmond - spend some days there
Take bus to New Jersey/ New York - spend some days there
Take train to Philadelphia - spend some days there.
Take train back to D.C. - spend more days there.
Fly back to Vegas. Gag.

I think that sounds pretty nice.

Then I got on facebook and saw a comment made by a guy we met on the cruise and I thought, Oh doesn't that sound lovely? I should go on another cruise. Maybe next time to Hawaii, I wonder which season would be perfect for a trip to Hawaii?

Perhaps my real problem is that I don't have anything planned for the upcoming year so my brain is just going crazy with ideas. Anything to get me out of here if just for a short amount of time.

I wonder why this is my problem. There are better things to think/worry about.

In my defense so that I don't sound completely shallow (which I am not) and to prove that I am doing something with my brain, I joined the Red Cross and will be on their Disaster Action Team and their Military Caseworker Team. I am pretty excited to do this business :)

The Family Ward

2010-02-21T13:33:00.000-08:00

Well. Today marks the second Sunday I've been in the family ward. I'm officially in the ward, they read my records in and everyone looked at me. I smiled and turned red. Then I saw an old Bishopric member and he said, So you are getting old? Brother Gardner was never one for tact. It is okay though because they are all friendly and have made a strong effort to make me feel welcome. It is funny because I feel like I'm in some other world when I'm there. A world were people have families and have other people to worry about other than themselves. A world where you have to scrimp and save and plan to go on a vacation, not just say, Hey I want to go to D.C. and buy a ticket for the following week.

I think I will learn a lot from them and I look forward to it.

Something of a Guilty Pleasure

2010-02-15T21:10:00.001-08:00

I'm a little behind the news lately since I don't have cable TV. Today I found out that Captain Phil Harris of the F/V Cornelia Maria passed away on February 9, 2010. Deadliest Catch is my favorite TV show to date. Strange, I know, but I can't help it being my guiltiest pleasure. I was so sad to find out that he had a stroke and did not make it. Last season he came back from the previous where he had a brush with death when he got blood clots in his lungs and had to be taken off the CM in the middle of season 4. Unfortunately he didn't take very good care of himself and I think to his demise smoked a terrible amount. He knew it but I guess it was a vice he could not shake.

I set out to get some information and noticed on all of the other F/V websites they had pics up of themselves with the Skipper. So with a little bit of help from Photoshop I did the same. Captain Phil was a ornery man and was always fighting with people but he still found a little place in my heart. My sympathy also goes out to his sons Jake and Josh who will hopefully be able to carry on with the show. I don't know what I would do without Jake on Deadliest Catch, he is one of my favorites.

As they would say, I think this next season is going to be a CRABALANCHE!

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T19:43:00.000-08:00

I love everyone. That is the long and short of it. OK well maybe not everyone but almost everyone. So if you are reading my blog it is very likely that I love you.

What a nice day this is. I had a wonderful one with some friends, got myself a Valentine and will be starting the week off with a.... bang.

I Love DC

2010-01-31T20:41:00.000-08:00

My last trip to Washington, D.C. in the middle of January was as of yet my favorite. We went to the Holocaust Museum which was so sad but a great opportunity to learn about the great mistakes of our history.

I went there with Scott Pickett and he doesn't like when I take pictures. Well I should say that he doesn't like it because I always want people in them, it makes the majority of them more interesting. Corbrett was also there and he doesn't like my picture taking habits either so I didn't take my camera anywhere we went which is why I am posting low quality pictures taken on my cell phone.

This is Arlington National Cemetery. We were able to see the changing of the guards at the

Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers and the flame at the Kennedy grave site.

Korean War Veteran's Memorial

Vietnam War Veteran's Memorial. It is nice to be able to go to these memorial's and remember the incredible sacrafices that have been made and continue to be made on behalf of our freedom.

Lincoln Memorial. This place is amazing! It is so beautiful and mesmerizing and as you get closer and go inside of it it keeps getting better.

Corbrett was kind enough to pick out some sun glasses for us, aren't they lovely? He and I bought ours but for some reason Scott just wasn't feeling his.

"The truth shall make you free."

All over DC you can see words inscribed on walls, ceilings, and perhaps even the loo but it is by far one of my favorite things about the place.

In Richmond, VA I spent some time with Holly and I had a great time. We had a tasty lunch and then did some shopping. She took me to some great stores where I found some great jewelry. It was good to see her and meet the kids.

So all in all I had a wonderful time. I was able to see a lot of my DC friends and we even hosted a little dinner party for them on Sunday. Happily dinner parties are fun everywhere you go.

There goes 2009...

2010-01-04T19:42:00.000-08:00

Wow where did the year 2009 go?? Behind me and I know this because it is gone. Here is my 2009 in summary.
- Many trips to CA to see my brothers and sisters.
- Many trips to St. George to see even more family.
- Trip to SLC to visit friends.
- Amazing trip to New Orleans w/ Lauren were I visited a plantation, ate alligator, held an alligator, rode on a boat on a swamp, and tasted many kinds of new foods.
- Had and lost 1 boyfriend (and by lost I mean canceled.)
- Went to Washington DC and visited Corbrett and some museums.
- First ever trip to New York and much to my mother's dismay want to live there now. Saw a strange play and had a fast forward tour of the city.
- Kept one job.
- Made new friends and held one to the old ones.
- Celebrated birthday #30.
- Shocked everyone by staying in the same city for a 3rd year in a row.
- Did not buy a house.
- Bought one new car.
- Went to a haunted corn maze.
- Amazing, fantastic trip to the West Caribbean with Julie and Lauren where we picked up Di, Todd, Grant, Connor, John Michael, Jeff & Bonnie, Fred & Francine and of course Christian (aka Christopher). Saw Mayan ruins, swam with dolphins, saw the Bahamas; Roatan, Honduras; Costa Maya, Mexico and Belize City, Belize.
- One stamp on passport.
- Fantastic holiday with nieces and nephews.

Seeing it like that makes me think that I have a pretty great blessed life. I LOVE IT.

I LOVE my shirt

2009-12-27T20:43:00.001-08:00

Last weekend I was at my sister Amy’s house for a little pre-Christmas visit. I had just finished my portion of our nightly TV watching and was ready for bed when I walked out from the kitchen into the living room and my brother-in-law, Lew, took one look at me and said, “You need to toss that shirt.”

I couldn’t imagine what he meant or how any shirt I own might need retiring. I looked down and there it was, my red shirt.

My next thought was WHAT?!?! I told him that my shirt was fine, I wear it mostly to bed and I’m pretty sure I haven’t even had it that long. Then he got that look in his eye that so many do (this is not my first conversation of this sort mind you) when they want me to retire the red shirt. The look clearly says, Do you see the date printed on it? It is old and that is proof.

Quite frankly I can’t imagine life without my red shirt.

I was at the gym when I lived in SLC probably sometime around 2004/2005 and heard a guy ask me, “Did he win?” I looked at him in bewilderment, what in the world are you talking about?? I responded with, “I’m sorry, what?” He pointed at my shirt and I had to explain that I didn’t actually know. It was a little embarrassing.

The story of the shirt is as follows: I was over at my friends’ Scott, Doug, Phil and Jed’s house when these shirts were being handed out. I got there a little late only to receive an XXL. Eek… that would only be worn to bed. That was 2000. For two years I wore that shirt and then one summer night (really summer? I have no idea) my roommate Joni and I were up in Idaho Falls, she was there for a mission thing and I was there to tag along so I could visit Scott. He saw my shirt (because of course I was wearing it) and said wow that is big. My response, “Yes, but I love it.” Chances were that he had another smaller one (his that he received that same day) that didn’t fit him and he asked if I wanted it. Oh yeah I did.

Now I have 2.

These are the majestic places I’ve worn the Scott Howell red shirt…

(in no particular order)

Everywhere I go.

If you know me, you know the red shirt. So please, don’t be a hater.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-17T21:57:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday I went to my annual Christmas party hosted by an old coworker of mine. Julie came (we used to work together) and we brought some awesome dates. I felt like I was going to prom, it was pretty funny because I felt like I was at the prom. OK that isn't true because I didn't go to prom and so I don't know what that feels like but it was fun to wear a fancy dress.

Kerri & Josh

Kerri & Julie

I found my dress but it was too short so my roommate Xanna altered it for me. Amazing! I loved the whole night and it was a good way to kick off Christmas. Let the Holidays begin!

I hope everyone has a happy and safe Merry Christmas!

Shadows and Dust

2009-12-06T18:59:00.000-08:00

This is what Connor (a guy we met on the cruise) said the vacation would feel like by the time we left Miami. He is wrong. Wrong. I am going to post some pictures and let everyone know what a good time it was as soon as I can pull myself out of the post vacation funk. It has now gone on for one week.

A Little Bit of Charity

2009-11-07T17:41:00.000-08:00

Today my ward helped out with a garage sale put on to support a family that is in need of financial help. Their daughter Jordyn has FOPA (Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva) where her soft tissue is turning into bone and there is no cure. So the next time you want to complain about something, think twice. Not only do they have medical bills taking over their lives but they can't seem to catch a break either. Today while the husband was putting up signs for the garage sale he got a ticket for not having his car registered. Not his first ticket for that and as a matter of fact they are impounding the car soon because they don't have the money to register their car. So with the new ticket the wife pulled their leather couches out and put a for sale sign on the set just to pay for the ticket. Again, let's try to complain a little bit less about the small things.

Mike and I did get to do some Vegas style advertising and had a great time singing and dancing for the traffic passing by. He even made me feel good (or at least OK) about spelling the name of the street wrong which took some skill :)

I MADE IT

2009-10-28T21:45:00.000-07:00

It happened, I turned 30 and I survived it well.

Onward and Upward.

I've been meaning to tell you...

2009-10-18T22:00:00.000-07:00

I think I've had my cranky shoes on for a few weeks. You wouldn't really know it because I like to keep that in check but I know it is because I've had a few things to say to some people that I probably shouldn't. I'm thinking that maybe if I put them all down here I can take those shoes off.

Here is what I've been meaning to tell you...

"stop looking at me, stop watching me you are creeping me out. that goes to both of you"
"stop touching me, stop saying those things, I AM NOT GOING TO DATE YOU. please get this through your thick head"
"not everything has to be about you, i'm tied of everything having to be about you"
"your dog peed on me, that is gross. i'm about to hate your dog"
"i am mad at you. i am mad at you and i don't know why. i'm so mad i'd like to scream"
"YOU ARE RUDE and being rude is not ok"
"this may be shocking to you but you are not the center of the universe"
"please pull your head out of your rear. you are not that great"
"she is too good for you. you are stupid"
"don't pretend like you are a nice person, people tell me what you say about me behind my back. get over it"
"i don't want to hear about you anymore"
"get some self esteem, you are driving me crazy"
"please learn to take care of yourself"
"i am not a bank so please don't treat me like one, not unless I start getting some bailout money"
"i do not like you, i do not like listening to you talk. listening to you talk is like listening to nails on a chalkboard"
"making fun of that guy does not make you cool and it bothers me that you think it does"

I think that is it. I don't complain all that often and this was a lot of complaining but I think I'm done.

On a little bit of a better note I'd like to say that I saw something pretty cool at church today. I went to a smaller class for genealogy and the teacher said some things that lead me to the conclusion that he is trying to change his life (some fairly big changes) and he is actually taking the steps to get that done. Teaching the class is part of it (he was very uncomfortable with it even though he was doing a fine job) and I thought it was pretty neat that he was willing to do whatever he had to do to get it done. Good for him and it was refreshing to see that some people do want to change for the better and are willing to do the work. It warmed my heart.

I just realized that last bit proves that I am just not very good at being cranky. Haha. Oh well.

T minus 15 days

2009-10-11T23:18:00.000-07:00

Some of you may disagree with some of the things I'm about to say. I apologize but I'm going to say them anyway.

My friend Ronelle came for a visit today (she lives in CA) and we had what I believe to be an enlightening talk. First off, she gave it to me straight that TURNING 30 IS NOT FUN. That is what I thought but a lot of people have tried to convince me otherwise. I mean, it is fine, whatever, 30. Um 30? That is a little bit much for me to digest right now. In normal land when people turn 30 they start to think that getting married might be a good idea. I don't live in normal land, I live in Mormonville where most everyone gets married before they hit the big 2-5 and have most of their kids before they turn 32.

So this is where the point comes in. I think that my getting married is going to have to be a TEAM EFFORT. It is sad to say but I'm going to admit now that I needed some extra time to get all of my wiggles out, play a lot and grow up a little. This extra time has resulted in a decreased dating pool. Whenever I see Brent (Ronelle's husband) he always tells me that I need to marry Craig. Craig is from back in our BYU days. Craig is not the point exactly he more represents the "team effort" that I am suggesting. I told Ronelle and Brent to put their thinking caps on and find me some dates. Hey, I'm even willing to travel.

If you are one of my girl friends reading my blog, you and your husband might want to take a good look around for some quality guys that I might like to "get to know" aka date. (Ronelle, you can tell Brent that I will go on a date with Craig.)

If you are a guy reading my blog... maybe you need to date me.

Just remember, I'm a good catch and once people catch on to that I think I'll be off the market pretty quickly (one can hope, right?) so act fast.

I crack myself up... hey you can add, "she's got a good sense of humor" to the list of reasons why I'm a good catch and please put that one above, "she's got a sweet spirit".

It's amazing what turning 30 will do to a girl.

have you ever wondered what it is like to be me?

2009-10-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

On Sunday night I was at dinner at a friends house and he kept turning the radio on and off. The volume was set so low that it was barely audible causing me to look around searching for the source every time it came on. Some thought this funny and kept commenting that maybe I was hearing songs in my head. "Kerri, if you were hearing songs why would it be Macho Macho Man"? He doesn't even know the strange songs that pop into my head every day, so I decided to keep track of them.

Here is a list of the songs that "went off" in my head during the day...

America by Neil Diamond "TODAY!"
Borderlin by Madonna "FEELS LIKE I'M GOING TO LOSE MY MIND YOU JUST KEEP ON PUSHING MY LOVE OVER THE BORDERLINE."
God Love Her by Toby Keith "She’s a rebel child and a preacher’s daughter She was baptized in dirty water Her mama cried the first time they caught her with me They knew they couldn’t stop her."
Hey, Soul Sister by Train "HEY SOUL SISTER IS THAT MISTER MISTER"
Lady Marmalade from Moulin Rouge "FOUR BAD A$$ CHICKS FROM THE MOULIN ROUGE, HEY SISTER SOUL SISTER GOTTA GET THAT DOUGH SISTER"
Sandra Dee from Grease "LOOK AT ME I'M SANDRA DEE, LOUSY WITH VIRGINITY"
If Today Was Your Last Day by Nickelback "HE SAID EACH DAY'S A GIFT AND NOT A GIVEN RIGHT"

The words between the "" are the words that were on repeat in my head for a bit until I stopped think-singing or new ones took their place.

It is fun to be me :)

my less than productive saturday

2009-10-03T20:49:00.000-07:00

Part of my Saturday was productive while I watched General Conference. One of the apostles actually backed me up in an argument I didn't have in DC. The actual argument didn't happen because one time in my life I kept my mouth shut. Let me just say though... sometimes you've gotta fake it till you make it. Thank you very much.

The cake was the less than productive part of the day. It is amazing though in all of it's glory. Ronelle, Brent and the kids are going to stop by tomorrow on their way through Las Vegas and I thought it would be fun to have for them when they get here. I couldn't resist cutting into it to see what the inside held.

Happy October, again

2009-09-27T01:32:00.000-07:00

The end of September and beginning of October are usually a bit of a struggle for me. Last year I made a playlist because it was October again, this year I wrote a poem because I'm trying to do things that are a stretch for me.

life will always move forward
my resistance had no effect
there was no spiral downward
one million tears could not protect
days will pass by slowly

the leaves they begin to fall
the sun light fades away
my memories burning bright
kept with me everyday
three years feel they've gone too quickly

happiness overcomes me
with such joy we will meet together
knowing we can all be free
without words to explain forever
here, time will always govern the pace

My two fantastic friends that were lost 7 and 3 years ago.

We Can Be Heros... Just for one day.

2009-09-24T22:08:00.001-07:00

I was busy thinking about funny things when I decided to share them with the world.

funny thing #1
Moulin Rouge songs pop into my head all day long. I just noticed this today. Songs pop into my head all of the time and they usually have a strange tail, but this is the number one theme.

funny thing #2
I made myself some free-range eggs this morning for breakfast cut a piece of cracked wheat sourdough bread and jumped into the car. I put the egg in my mouth and eww-uh! It turns out that I like the taste of eggs that come from non-organic chickens. Oh but wait, later on in the day I was reading my book and discovered that "free-range"= hogwash. A chicken door in the coop to lead out to a little "range" is what can be labeled "free-range". Please.

funny thing #3
I like instant gratification and I want it now. I have applied for 5ish jobs in DC, denied for 2 that I was not qualified for and am still waiting to hear about the others. It is driving me crazy that I've had to wait so long. Apparently to me so long is one week. I can tell that this could turn into a great opportunity for me to learn patience, so I want to be patient right now so that I don't have to wait to find a job. Tangled web. It would probably be good if I just relaxed a little bit.

funny thing #4
I think everything is funny. It is not but I think it is, this is why I laugh and smile so much.

funny thing #5
The icing on the cake (from cake decorating class)...

2009-09-20T21:42:00.000-07:00

This book is making me not want to eat. I would say corn specifically but I had some delicious corn for dinner. Meat and processed food is especially less appetizing. I am going to be a vegetarian for two weeks and I'll be keeping this blog updated. I'm not really sure that I mean vegetarian so much as I'm not going to eat meat or processed food as best as I can. Good luck (said in the voice from Taken) to me.

Washington D.C. 2009

2009-09-17T21:10:00.000-07:00

I went to D.C. and had a great time. I love it there and I just can't help it. I want to move there now and it will likely happen. Picture taking was not a high priority on this trip, I don't know why but I will share what I do have...

We went to New York on Saturday. This picture documents my first Subway ride.

Corbrett hates taking pictures that are not candid, tricky when I'm involved because I like taking pictures at all times.

Me and the Statue of Liberty.

Corbrett and Alejandro... great tour guides.

Time Square

Here I am taking a tour on an open top bus by myself. For some reason that was the only thing I did alone that was not cool. Good thing the guy didn't charge me.

River Rafting!!!

2009-08-01T16:39:00.000-07:00

Our third annual river rafting trip in Idaho...

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this was the best one yet! It was a beautiful weekend in Idaho/Wyoming and this year some fun people came. We switched things up a bit and we did some camping, hiking and the ever popular rafting.

Scott diving... he is pretty great to take us rafting every summer.

Jimmy and Dawn (aka Rose) - the token married couple on the trip

Me and Julie - these are some of the first pictures taken... we were very excited to be there. Julie, Jimmy and I are the only ones back for a third year.

Our first group shot. From left to right... Greg, Kerri, Scott Pickett, Josh, Maren, Levi, Brent

Not very original of us to go to Cafe Rio after we landed in Idaho Falls.

Josh and I took so many pictures together, I'm not really sure why other than I told him that I make other people a ten when they take a picture with me and he thinks he's normally a 6.75. I'm guessing it was his own vanity that encouraged all of the picture taking together.

We LOVE Levi!

We went to Walmart to do some food shopping for our camping trip to come. That night we decided to stay at Scott's sister's house. He didn't tell us much about the place...

This is a picture of the meat locker in the house. It is an old grocery store turned storage unit/apartment/the place Scott lives.

We had a nice night of sleep then got up and made some breakfast. This place we stayed was incredible. And we had bacon.

We spent some time inflating the raft and getting ourselves ready for the river. Maren wore her hair "girls camp style" and I loved it. I got to help her take it out on Monday before trip #3 down the river. Fun.

Oh glorious river.

I'm not going to say much about this other than it is a better idea to sleep on a camping mat with a pillow than without, it makes for a better night's sleep.

It was a tich (tich- unit of measurement) cold in the mornings. I guess this is what it looks like when you take a bunch of people from 100+ degree Las Vegas and put them in Wyoming mid July.

We took a hike on Sunday to a gorgeous waterfall. Here are some photos from it.

We hiked up the side of the waterfall, got a little wet, and went back into the cave behind it. It was about 40 degrees. BRRRR...

This is a picture of Scott getting out of the truck and the guy to the right is the 1st of 2 hitch hikers we picked up.

So there you have it. It was a fun trip and I was sad to leave. If I could I would do it every day of my life.

Oh Snap

2009-07-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

I offer no excuses on my absence.

I moved to the west side of town (maybe north-west-ish) and have enjoyed it for the most part. The ward I'm in now is always doing something new and exciting.

Las weekend we went up to the Manti pageant and stayed on a farm. It was pretty great, I rode a horse for the first time. A real horse, not one at waller part attached to a round about deal.

We also went on a fun little hike up to a waterfall that ended up not having much water.

Last night I went with a few friends to Boulder City to watch the fireworks. I love fireworks and I love the freedom I enjoy in this great country. This coming weekend the great and amazing Scott Pickett is taking me and 10 of my friends river rafting up in Idaho. Please stay tuned for those pictures :)

slap my hand

2009-03-01T10:45:00.000-08:00

It has been some time since my last post... my sincere apologies. On the bright side I have been having a lot of fun and I will catch you up only on my most recent...

A few weeks ago Travis took me to see Kenny Wayne Shepherd and he was amazing (both of them). For anyone who doesn't know (I was in that category previous to the concert) he is a guitarist and a fantastic one at that. We were smelling weed during about half of the concert and come to find out it was the guy right behind us. Once security caught on they came over and told the guy that he needed to leave. The guy said, hey

man it is fine I put it out and the concert is almost over. I'll just leave with everyone else then. Somehow that was perceived as a reasonable argument by security so they let it go.

Here is a photo of Kenny Wayne Shepherd.

The next day I went to NASCAR with Laruen and was go glad that I got to experience it for the first time. We went around 10am and looked at all of the haulers. When the race started I couldn't believe how loud it was and was very thankful for my earplugs. I was okay with missing out a little on that part of the experience since we were two rows up from the track and had tire hitting us the entire time.

Here are some fun pics of NASCAR...

There is a lot of drinking that goes on at NASCAR so the Coke hauler was the only place we could enjoy a cool beverage.

This is the simulation ride that proved that I could never be a driver because I'd spend all of my time on the grass in the middle or on the wall. I think Lauren might have been there with me.

The cars were so LOUD!

I also went up to Bootleg Canyon with Sarah and Levi and had my first mountain biking experience up there. It was pretty fun and I think I did a good job considering how dark it was, maybe not the safest thing I've ever done.

I'm going to try to be better and get back to blogging!

How much will 60 seconds cost me?

2009-01-14T20:42:00.001-08:00

Work is boring, this is a statement of fact. There is no one to talk to or have any fun with so I turn to the internet on my cell phone during my breaks. Last month my bill was a little bit high so I wanted to call verizon to determine how much using the internet was costing me.

Here is how my conversation with verizon wireless guy, Jeff, went...

Me: Hi, I'm calling because I want to know how much it is costing me to use the internet on my phone.

Jeff: They charge by minutes.

Me: Ok well how much does a minute cost?

Jeff: I don't think you understand, they go by minutes.

Me: Um... well how much am I being charged for those minutes?

Jeff: When you use the internet they charge minutes.

Me: HOW MUCH IS A MINUTE???

Jeff: A minute is 60 seconds.

(at this point I was dumbstruck)

Me: I know HOW LONG a minute is.

Jeff: Let me explain this again, try to keep up. They charge you out of the minutes on your calling plan instead of a by data usage. Do you think you understand now?

Me: Great, thank you. Click.

Seriously?

some things i like that i probably shouldn't

2008-12-13T10:00:00.000-08:00

1. Chicken Fried by Zach Brown Band

Lately I find myself listening to the radio hoping a certain song comes on the radio. Generally speaking my preferred kind of music is alternative rock and most of my years growing up I had a particular distaste in my mouth for country music. Now I am okay with it and at times I seek it out. This song, however, is ridiculous in every sense of the word. Here are some reasons...

a. "you know I like my chicken fried" - this is false, I do not like fried chicken

b. "i like to see the sunrise" - true but I also like to be sleeping when the sun rises

c. "cold beer on a friday night" - i'd rather be on a hot date

2. Hostess orange cupcakes

On the package it says, "natural orange flavor." There is nothing "orange" about these cupcakes other than their color and if you know anything about me you know that i look at them and think... yellow? orange? i don't know.

3. The movie Twister.

Picture yourself in a truck next to the man that you secretly love. He has sought you out to sign divorce papers so that he and his new lady friend can get married. She is a sex therapist. You are in the midst of an F4 tornado. A cow flies past your window... oh, wait... there goes another. Suddenly a semi truck with fuel in it is flying at you... oh it just misses you and explodes into a fiery ball behind you. Enough said. Luckily for me they play this movie at the gym and I find that I can't tear myself away.

4. The TV show Bones.

What is the show about? Guts? Smart people? The same hyoid that breaks suggesting the dead person was strangled. Then suddenly Agent Sealy Booth appears... who even cares about the dead guy?

Those are just a few things...

*giggle*

Guns, guns and more guns!!!

2008-12-10T21:05:00.000-08:00

Ken took me shooting last weekend and it was a new experience.

New=scary.

I think my favorite gun was this one...

Ok, not true I was afraid of the hand gun.

I received one small injury from the 12 gauge shot gun and from the rifle. I guess I wasn't holding either of them correctly and the both blasted into my collar bone. OUCH. It was a lot of fun though over all and I would like to do it again.

Oh what have we done????

2008-11-30T01:47:00.000-08:00

I guess it isn't so much what have WE done but what did HE do?

This is a situation where at the time you think you are being helpful but after it is all said and done you think to yourself, what have I done?

We had just finished up a movie and were walking to my car when a guy stopped us and asked if we had a bottle opener. Gregario (the name has been changed to protect his identity and pride) stops and triumphantly claims that, yes! he has a bottle opener. Prepared just like a good boy scout ought to be. The young man takes it and opens his bottle of beer and hands the opener back to Gregario. The next few moments cause my head to cock to the side and one eyebrow to raise. They guy handed the bottle of beer through the car to the kid sitting in the drivers seat and I saw him commence drinking. Oh, no. OH, NO. Crap, what did he just do???

I hate, despise and loath drinking and driving. Can you say accessory to a crime? Poor Gregario, such a good guy, he didn't mean for it to happen that way.

Bolt

2008-11-30T01:33:00.000-08:00

This post is a little late but I still wanted to put it up. I went and saw Bolt last weekend with Kody and Brent. I was super nervous because I couldn't think of why these two guys were so willing to go see a cartoon movie with me. I mean come on. So I sat there sweating metaphorical bullets until I could hear giggling on either side of me signaling that they were enjoying themselves.

Here is my proof...

My First Salsa Dance!

2008-11-15T16:54:00.000-08:00

This week I learned a little bit of Salsa dancing. I went over to my friend Xanna's house and she gave me my first lesson. I wasn't bad but I also wasn't very good. I did have a lot of fun though. Dave came over and was my partner for the night, he is a great salsa dancer.

Here are some photos...

Us dancing salsa.

I stuffed Dave's mouth full of Julie's delicious banana bread.

This is off the record... ungoogleable...

2008-11-05T22:15:00.000-08:00

I also saw my friend Doug for lunch while in D.C. and this is my proof. These things are relevant and necessary.

Washington D.C,

2008-11-02T19:48:00.000-08:00

I had a fun time in D.C. There really aren't many more words to describe it. Corbrett was a fantastic host and I was able to visit many places in the city while I was there. When I first arrived we went to the temple and it was beautiful.

Thursday and Friday I spent a lot of time walking, riding the metro and buses. I met Corbrett for lunch both days and we had some delicious Greek food on Thursday.

Here are a few fun things that I saw...

The White House

Chinatown (it should be called American-Chinese town)

Modern Art

The Air and Space Smithsonian

The Library of Congress

This is me (alone... yeah that is right, alone) on the steps of the Supreme Court

My favorite thing about the trip was on Saturday morning when we met a local artist at the Easter Market. The day started out a little damp but because soggy quickly when the rain and wind hit hard. Corbrett and I had just finished up our morning muffins and were walking around observing what quickly became chaos when we came upon and stoped to help a woman who maybe looked like she was in more distress than the others or it was just meant to be. I mostly stood and anchored the tent or had the laborious task of holding the umbrella while Corb helped Kevin (the assitant) load up their van. I really felt like it was my good fortune to be there and lend a hand because it was fun to chat with her and learn a little bit about her. She wanted to give back to us so she let both of us pick out a piece of her artwork. We were very fortunate.

I went to Maryland and went to dinner and bowling with some of Corbrett's friends on Friday night. It is expensive to bowl on the eastcoast. On Saturday Corbrett, Tim and I went to a Halloween party. Tim is my new friend. After we went to find some food, big mistake. I think that they were not as clean of a place as I would have liked.

This picture is cute, it is Tim and Corbrett sharing an umbrella in the rain.

Sunday I turned 29 years old... yikes. There were some very nice girls in Corb's ward that invited us over and made me a birthday cake. It was so nice of them and they were so much fun to hang out with.

I had a great time and am so glad that I was able to go!

Short short short

2008-10-17T16:47:00.000-07:00

There are only a handful of people who can pull this short-haired picture from their memory, I think the last time my hair was this short I was at BYU. My apologies if you were in love with my long hair but please, please, get over it, it is gone now. I wanted to donate my 11 inches of cut off hair to a charity that does wigs for cancer patients but turns out they won't take it. Bleach... bla bla bla. Oops. It'll grow back.

The Asylum

2008-10-14T20:35:00.000-07:00

Saturday was my first haunted house of the season and it was a good one! I went with Julie and her friends to one called the Asylum. It was neatly situated near a carnival and pumpkin patch where you could see and smell cute little ponies. There was, however, nothing cute about the haunted house. We had to split up into smaller groups because they only let 6 people go through together at a time. Julie and I went last with her friend Brent, poor Brent. Julie and I are a real couple of chickens. Arms flew, girls screamed, I even pulled Julie's hair one time. Everyone that went before us waited outside where the chainsaw guy chases you out to see Julie run out terrified. Oh, it was me instead. Luckily Mike was on hand with his camera and this was the result: Kerri screaming in a full sprint.

I was thinking for sure that this would be the time the chainsaw guy would get me.

2008-10-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

It was two years ago today when Lorna passed away and I cannot believe it. I remember the day and almost everything I did up until I received the phone call from Mark and everything after I vaguely remember but mostly it is hazy. I'm just glad to know that I will see her again someday but in the meantime this kinda sucks :)

BTW I have no idea why this is all underlined.

This and that...

2008-09-21T17:17:00.000-07:00

It's been a few weeks but my internet is up and running again. I went to California a few weeks ago with Riann where I visited my sister and went to a Padres game. I went with my sister's family to a farm and it was pretty awesome. There was a petting zoo and a cool general store kind of deal and the sold some delicious dried fruit. At the Padres game we had seat with "an obstructed view" so we sat on the grass. It was a new thing for me but it was fun.

Last weekend my sisters, their kids and my mom met me in Las Vegas and we had a great weekend of fun (and a little bit of fighting every now and again... it's a good think we all love eachother.)

Here are some fun pictures of what we did that weekend.

Kristen and my mom outside of the lion's cage at the MGM Grand.

We walked up and down the strip... well some of us walked and some of us were strolled for carried.

We watched the 3D M&M movie, it was a good one. One of the Ms lost it's M but found it again.

It seems that Jenna somehow managed to keep out of all of these... she's a tricky one.

No Internet

2008-09-09T21:48:00.001-07:00

I am currently in the battle of my life with my roommate over our internet. It hasn't worked correctly since the day we got it and it isn't in my name so I can't be the one to call Cox Cable and DEMAND a new modem. My life without the internet is very difficult, right now I am using a friends. No convenient. The most difficult part is that if I were in charge it would have been fixed months ago. Oh, well. Can you say control freek? Ha ha. Hopefully I will be back online soon and blogging and catching up on everyone's blogs.

Make the music stop!

2008-09-05T23:05:00.001-07:00

The music on my blog was driving me crazy so I can only imagine how everyone else was feeling about it. I really like it when I go to other blogs and I get to listen to some fun music but mine drove me bananas. Oh well... maybe I'll try again some other time.

My life right now is a little bit CRAZY but it should calm down once I get a handle on my new oh so busy schedule. It is a little silly how easy my life was it is probably good that I am mixing it up a bit. All at one time I decided to go to graduate school, volunteer at the children's hospital and was called as a temple worker and there is always work that drives me crazy... that won't change no matter what I do though :)

Last weekend I went to San Diego and while I was there Riann and I went to a Padres game with some of her friends. I took some cute pictures of us at the game but Riann told me that I wasn't allowed to put them on the internet. Maybe I will anyway in a few days.

Oh, and I have to buy a new computer, that really gets on my nerves. Not because the one I have is broken but it seems that the world operates mostly in the land of Microsoft and I am too... I'm not sure what is PC here... not good at and not familiar with the MAC. Speaking of MACs I absolutely LOVE their commercials. If I didn't already own one I would go buy one just because of those commercials. I am very susceptible to advertising.

Very random... I know...

Graduate School... What?!?!

2008-08-25T21:51:00.000-07:00

That's right... I, Kerri, am starting graduate school on September 2. I will be working towards a Masters in Business Administration. You might be asking yourself why in the world I would do such a thing and it is because I am tired of working in a lab. I've been tired of lab people since the day after I graduated from BYU. So here I go on this new adventure... let's hope that I can make it.

Breaking Dawn

2008-08-03T11:31:00.000-07:00

Breaking Dawn was released at 12am Aug 2.

This was the fist release party for me and it was definitely and interesting experience. We went to Borders and I hate to say it but I think that they did a crappy job putting the party on. I heard rumors that Barnes & Noble did a better job with the before party. Luckily for everyone that was there (Lola, Stephanie, Ruth, Riann, Andrea, Kerri, Jordan) there were plenty of people to watch and wonder "what in the world are they thinking?" Most of the people there were teenage girls with VERY high pitched voices. WOW. There was a debate that I missed but others informed me that it was a little strange in that they asked obvious questions that don't really need to be debated. An example was "Do you think that Bella is using Edward for his money?" What? I've never even heard anyone bring that up as an issue. There was a palm reader there and I went over to listen in for a minute and it was funny. She was examining the love, life and health lines. Not an exact science I would say. I looked at my hand after taking note of a few things and I realized that some of my lines don't exist. Weird. I'm sure she'd think of something though if I'd given her the chance.

The t-shirt contest was funny because there were a few different ideas going on. We received a lot of attention for ours and I'm pretty sure that we would have won had it been up to the judges and not a bunch of high pitched screaming teenage girls.

This is the front of the shirt...

This is the back of the shirt...

Then there was a costume contest... most people were dressed up goth or they were dressed as vampires. Not actually like the kind of vampires you'd think the Cullens were but bloody sharp teethed caped monsters. I'm not sure that after reading the book they got the picture right in their heads.

All in all it was fun and the actual getting of the books was so fast that I was very impressed by Borders in that department. I think my next book release party I'm going to pre-order from Borders then go to the party at Barnes & Noble then go to Borders just before the release and pick up the book there.

River Rafting

2008-07-25T15:51:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Idaho/Wyoming to go river rafting was AMAZING. This is the second year that Scott has let me bring a bus load of people to his house to take rafting. That is pretty much incredible. So here are some pictures of our adventures...

Julie, Jimmy and I flew from Las Vegas to Idaho Falls. Due to Jimmy not talking with an inside voice we attracted what seemed like every Mormon within a 100 ft radius. It was a lot of fun to visit with them and it made the 1 hour we had to wait fly by.

Our original intent was to go to The Roadhouse but they had about an hour wait so Scott suggested Okies Burgers and Chili. Oh wow, we were feeling adventurous so we went for it. It ended up being pretty good.

On our way to the river we stopped for gas, etc. It was about 80 degrees and were were wearing jackets... yeah, we're from Vegas.

Julie likes to keep me hydrated so she made me buy a Gatorade... and then she made me drink it. I'm getting more used to this whole Gatorade idea.

This is just before our first run down the river. Yes, Scott took us twice and the second time was way better than the first. For some reason we only have pics from the first run, maybe the second was too exciting for pictures.

The Lunch Counter - it's called that because people gather with their lunches to watch people fall out of their boats. I hope they enjoyed us.

After we got off the river we headed to Jackson Hole to have dinner at Bubba's. Mmm...

Julie and Jimmy. Jimmy, way to keep both of your eyes open together... you're a champ.

Getting us to cooperate is difficult but when we do we are cute people.

On Sunday we went to church and then just hung around Scott's house until some of his friends came over for dinner.

I borrowed a shirt to wear while I fried taco shells... sure glad you can't read the writing on it. Yikes!

Everything about this trip was awesome. We went home on Monday afternoon and barely made our flight out of Idaho Falls. We really do like to live on the edge.

Dead Battery

2008-07-24T22:37:00.000-07:00

I talked so much on my phone today that the battery died. Not good. I should burry my head in the sand for a bit... that might help.

Mason Matthew

2008-07-15T22:07:00.000-07:00

A bunch of weeks ago my nephew, Mason, was at my house and I forgot to post some photos. For those who might not be aware he is Kristen's baby. Babies having babies... fun.

4th of July Weekend

2008-07-15T21:40:00.000-07:00

Over the 4th of July weekend I went to CA to visit my sister and her family. It was a lot of fun! The babies are getting so big and are smart little creatures. Here are some photos...

Extreme water sports.

Me and my grandmother.

Alexis and her transition lenses... pretty cool.

Amy, Alexis, Louie and me.

Hey Jude

2008-07-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

I am going rafting in Idaho this weekend and I am so excited!!! This is the second year Scott Pickett has taken me and 10 of my closest friends and I'm sure it'll be just as spectacular as it was last year. I am going to buy one of those underwater cameras to take on the boat so please check back next week to see how it goes...

Update

2008-06-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

Ok today at church this guy came up to me and said, "that scar is so sexy" and then he growled while he touched it. So maybe the tides are turning with these outspoken folks.

So much to say so little time...

2008-06-27T18:33:00.000-07:00

So today at work I accidently made everyone think that someone was going to get laid off. Well it was really their own fault because they are the biggest bunch of overreactors I've ever met. I am not kidding around here. The funny thing is that I thought of a few better things I could be doing with my time than working in a confounded laboratory testing blood and all other manner of body fluids for infectious diseases. (insert throwing up face) Here is my list...
1. go back to school and get another degree
2. get a better job that is fun
3. travel
4. live in europe
5. buy a trailer, a porch swing and a fly swatter
6. run off and get married to a rich guy
7. run off and get married to a not so rich guy

I get it... the scar is ugly

2008-06-22T20:34:00.000-07:00

I love the summer. I love it better in Utah and California but I still love it anywhere. There is something about May/June that makes people bold, it's a scientifically proven fact (in my head.) For some reason around this time of the year people start asking me about the scar on my arm. It doesn't matter who they are or how they know me... grocery store clerks, waiters, strangers passing on the street, friends... they all ask. It doesn't bother me for the most part, I guess if it did I would always wear long sleeve shirts. The only thing I ask is don't make the face. The face says: Do you know that your scar is really ugly? Do you know that you should go under the knife and have plastic surgery?

Today at church the 2nd counselor called me in to give me some callings and right out the gate we had to talk about the scar. He came right out with it though and made the face and told me it was not attractive... not in those exact words but he said that there were injections I could get to reduce the size and make it less colorful. Bla bla bla 5 minutes later... Thanks.

I get it, it's ugly. I guess I should be thankful that people can't see the other 5 that are covered by my clothing.

A fun weekend...

2008-06-09T19:52:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a lot of fun. Friday-Saturday I went camping with my old ward to Valley of Fire. It was SO windy I could hardly believe it, it was hard to sleep at night. I am a pretty good sleeper so I got a decent amount of sleep, unlike my tentmate who claims to only have slept for 10 minutes. At some point in the night I woke up and screamed, OH MY THECLA! The tent had come down on my face and woke me up. So Jimmy came to the rescue and put the spikes and the tent back into the ground. Then on Saturday night we went to the ranch and had a fun time with the friends. Here is the only picture I am willing to put out on the internet. It's me and Julie...

Peggy Sue's Diner

2008-05-29T19:58:00.001-07:00

This is an amazing find! For years I've been driving to California and passing the big truck on the side of the freeway that has a huge "Peggy Sue's Diner" banner on the side of it. I always thought it was just another one of those abandoned water parks in the desert thing. That is wasn't real. Well I've got news for you, it is and we stopped. We were mostly entertained by the gift shop that was attached.

Highland Festivalu

2008-05-29T19:36:00.000-07:00

If you know me at all you know that few things can hold my attention for very long, I was trained at BYU to hear the sound of a bell after 50 minutes and become restless. The Highland Festival managed to keep me entertained for a solid 5 hours or so.

First I'd like to introduce the Tartan Midgets...

Next we have the man I wouldn't want to meet up with in a dark alley...

This young bagpipe carrying kilt wearing man was kind enough to pose for a photo, it's the one thing I wanted during the festival...

Our time at the Orange County Fairgrounds was well spent, we even had some authentic fish and chips for lunch. Luckily Lola traded me her fish for my chips... so technically I had fish and Lola had chips.

Question

2008-05-17T23:57:00.000-07:00

Why do I live here...

and not here...

This picture is courtesy of Scott and it is Switzerland.

A Lonely Window and a Sheet

2008-04-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

My roommate decided to move out and what really makes all of this funny is that it felt like we were getting divorced and she left in the middle of the night to run away with the mistress. Oh wow. Here is the funny part though... she took the curtain out of my bathroom and there is a clear shot from the outside into the shower. I mean, seriously, I would have returned it in a month when I moved out. Oh the joys of living in crazy land with roommates. Certainly this time I will make sure to own any of the curtains hanging in my bathrooms in the future to prevent a repeat. Oh wait, there was something else to make this even better... she left a bag behind that she meant to take with her and in that bag was a laser pointer/usb presentation kit that I let her borrow. Worth much more than a curtain I assure you. My solution is the photo that you see, I thumb tacked a sheet up to the window in my bathroom. Luckily I had a sheet that happened to be the same color as the curtain that used to occupy the same space so I still feel at home in my bathroom. Great day!

The Troll Under the Bridge

2008-04-23T22:09:00.000-07:00

First, before I even get to the story about the troll, let's talk about my tour guide who brought me here to the troll under the bridge in Seattle. One word for him, crazy. No wait... there is another, bitter. So on my "crazy bitter" tour of Seattle we stopped by this landmark. The under part of the bridge used to be primarily occupied by drug dealers who would not go away despite the local law enforcement's best efforts. The art department at Washington University was called in and carved out the troll under the bridge. The drug dealers had such a hard time doing business with all of the attention the troll was drawing that they had to find a new location. Genius.

This is the part of town that I thought I wouldn't mind living in. I think most of the homes were well over 1 million dollars but can you blame me? Look at that beautiful landscaping. It was a far cry from the dirt and rocks of Las Vegas.

I'm pretty sure behind me in this picture is Puget Sound. We drove over it to get to Seattle. The whole city is pretty remarkable and has a lot of interesting history. My favorite story, which I hope was true, was how the streets used to be below the level of the stores so people would have to climb a ladder up to the shops and then to get to the next they'd have to go down and up another ladder. Just think of the women doing that in those monsterous dresses, that must have been a lot of work!

My Mom's 55th Surprise Party!

2008-04-12T16:29:00.000-07:00

Last weekend almost my whole family was here in Vegas to visit and celebrate my mom's 55th birthday. We had a lot of fun at the park on Saturday during the day and on the Strip that night. Here is a photo of Louie, Alexis and Amber. Everyone is growing up so fast!

New Camera... Time to Start Blogging

2008-03-26T21:52:00.000-07:00

This is the fakest smile I have :)

Today I bought a new digital camera after one year of going without. It was a wise purchase considering the 50 bucks I recently dropped on developing 35mm film, half of which pictures I didn't even want.

Here are the first photos taken with new camera... There are some of them anyway, the rest were taking too long to upload and my patience was suffering.

you don't have to tell the truth to the guy that looks homeless...

2008-03-23T22:15:00.000-07:00

I felt very suspicious writing this blog, mostly because of the title I gave it. I really mean it though, you don't have to tell everyone the truth.

Last night at around 9pm a group of my friends and I went to Buffalo Wild Wings for some dinner. There were 6 of us in 3 different cars all arriving separately. Jimmy and Lola were the first to get there and passes the man outside of the restaurant and the guy asked Jimmy if Lola was his girlfriend. He looked a Lola like he was a little kid in a candy store. Jimmy took the honest approach and said that they were only friends.

Fast forward about 67 seconds as Levi and I entered the restaurant. Levi was about two paces ahead of me when I spotted homeless looking guy number two. He asked Levi if I was his wife (he had nothing but lust in his eyes) and Levi gave him a very firm yes, almost as if to say, "Yes, she is my wife and if you get too close I'll punch you in the face." As amusing as it was I was glad to be Mrs. Frampton for the next hour so as to avoid any unwanted advances from the stranger.

The moral of this story goes out to all of my fine male friends and it is to just say, "Yes, this is my girlfriend and I would appreciate it if you stopped looking at her like that. Don't look. Don't touch."

2008-02-24T00:02:00.000-08:00

Today Loni, Levi, Julie, Jen, Tanner and I went to Fremont Street and "had the experience." There were some very interesting people there, it is Las Vegas after all so I guess that really shouldn't be shocking to anyone.

We heard some good music and got rained on. It was a surprisingly good night for everyone.

My True Color is Green!

2008-01-20T22:58:00.000-08:00

I love everything about the fact that I am a green...

You're green, the color of growth and vigor. Good-hearted and giving, you have a knack for finding and bringing out the best in people. Green is the most down-to-earth color in the spectrum - reliable and trustworthy. People know they can count on you to be around in times of need, since your concern for people is genuine and sincere. You take pride in being a good friend. for you, success is measured in terms of personal achievement and growth, not by status or position. Rare as emeralds, greens are wonderful, natural people. It truly is your color!

Take the test

My new job.

2007-09-19T21:58:00.001-07:00

On Monday I was offered a position as a Medical Technologist II at Quest Diagnostics. Quest is a reference Laboratory here in Las Vegas. It is a pretty sweet deal, one I didn't think possible here. It is a weekday, day shift... that's right... no weekends... no nights... no holidays. Again, a sweet deal. When the lady from HR called to offer me the position in Virology she gave me the details of the shift then casually mentioned a sign on bonus. Oh, the deal just got sweeter. I am so excited for this I can hardly contain myself. Today was my last day at my temp job. Good day. The day that job ended was bound to be a good day.

Girl, What's Wrong With You?!

2007-09-04T20:21:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago my dad found out that the air filter in my air conditioner had not been changed for over 1 year. Documented it has been at least 15 months, beyond that I did not live her so I cannot confirm, though I'm sure it's been a while.

In my and Loni's defense I just have to say, how would we know? I've never taken an air conditioner air filter maintenance class. Is it supposed to be common knowledge? I sure didn't know. Loni didn't know. There are two very intelligent girls right there.

When I found out that it needed a change I opened up the secret closet containing the air conditioner and found a horrendous sight.

Oh, that is right. That is one clogged air filter. I decided to get on the purchase immediately but found it rather difficult when none of the stores I went to carried the size I needed. Finally, a last minute stop at the Home Depot proved fruitful and a nice man in an orange apron helped me find what I needed. He went on to give me a 10 minute dissertation on how the packaging said it may last up to 90 days but if I felt like I needed to I could change it earlier. I can't help it... I laughed and said I'm sure it'll be fine since the last one hasn't been changed for over a year. "Girl, what's wrong with you?!" That is all he said before he walked away from me.

Well there you have it. He is a picture of the other side of the filter...

I feel pretty confident in saying that I don't think any air made it through all of the dust.

Here is a progress note. The air conditioner doesn't come on nearly as often as it used to and it is way cooler in here.... it's like magic.

September

2007-09-02T11:32:00.000-07:00

I have a strong disdain for the month of September so much so that for 11 months of the year it doesn't really exist. All throughout the month of September I have to consciously not write August or October on paperwork, etc. It is the strangest thing, I've not liked September for as long as I can remember. I'm thinking that something pretty significant will have to turn the tides to end my battle with September.

It's A Boy!

2007-09-02T11:29:00.000-07:00

Little sister is having a boy baby in January! My first purchase for said baby is a BYU Football outfit... or clothing ensemble since boys don't like to be considered wearing "outfits".

Rafting the Hoback! Don't be jealous.

2007-08-20T21:24:00.001-07:00

I would like to share with everyone the good times that were had over this past weekend. We rafted the Snake River and had a good time. Thanks to Julie's red personality we were all able to go on the same boat. The following photos are of us going into the Big Kahuna...

Here we are approaching the Big Kahuna...

I'm in the front bracing myself...
Here we go into it... you can see TJ in the back feeling pretty victorious... not so sure he'd feel the same way in the front...

We like to call him cowboy TJ... Jimmy and I are buried in the front by water and you can barely make out the top of John's head...
Oh the disarray... we made it out alive though... that was good. There are two things I love about this photo... First, nearly everyone is in the middle of the boat, mouths wide open with laughter. Second, the cute look of amusement on Scott Pickett's face. It must have been a great sight from his perspective at the back of the boat. Thanks to Scott Pickett and Brad for taking us out there. That was a great weekend!!! I heart river rafting!!!

Corb is here to visit!

2007-06-07T18:23:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday #18!!!

2007-05-29T21:20:00.000-07:00

I love my little sister and it's her birthday!

*said birthday is May 30th

Nick

2007-05-23T22:36:00.001-07:00

We are some attractive people and this pretty much proves it.

Tennis

2007-05-23T21:45:00.001-07:00

Today I am a lucky girl. I went to the park and played tennis with Jimmy and Thomas. We had to wait for nearly an hour before the "huffing and puffing" old men finished their sets, I'm pretty sure they played for 20 hours. The first time I played tennis was many years ago with my sister, Amy. She was up in Santa Maria from San Diego and for some reason she had tennis rackets and roller blades. I don't remember much about that experience other than it happened. My next shot at tennis was in Provo when I lived on Apple Avenue, how cute is that? For some reason I knew so many people who loved to play tennis. Now it's like pulling teeth to get people to play with me. Maybe it's because I'm not the worlds greatest tennis player, I don't know. I hope that my love for it makes up for my lack of talent. So if you read my blog and you want to play tennis with me, just let me know. I'm always up for it :)

Oh, I almost forgot about the best part. I went to buy some balls (because my old ones aren't bouncy enough) at Kmart and I found the perfect ones. They are pink! I was so excited to use them but the guys on the court next to us said to T and Jimmy, "I can't believe she's making you play with these." Come on now... they are pink, it doesn't get much better than that. Here is another benefit, you'll never ask the question, is this yours or my ball? Sweet!

American Idol

2007-05-23T21:37:00.000-07:00

Today a new American Idol was crowned, Ms. Jordin Sparks. I will admit right now that I don't watch the show regularly, I don't vote and frankly I don't particularly care (most of the time) who stays and who goes. Today, still, I did not watch but I was informed that she won the title. I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing. Blake may have more freedom to do as he wishes and not worry about what the AI record wants him to do. But whatever...

New Job

2007-05-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a problem in society, one in which you have to have money to survive. So... I got a job. I guess there isn't much by way of options when you start to run out of funds. I did have a nice 2 month run though. I've been sleeping in and doing what I want but that is going to come to a screeching halt when my new wake up time becomes 5am. YIKES! I am going to guess that my hair will take the fall and looks like this most of the time...

More pics of the family.

2007-04-07T15:57:00.000-07:00

My sister and brother...

I obviously have way too much fun with photo booth :)

Trip to California!

2007-04-04T16:41:00.000-07:00

I'm in California visiting my sister and her twins, Louie and Alexis. They are so cute and I love them!