because it's almost friday- happy gleeking

can't stop this train

no, this post is not about john mayer, but i see how you'd be confused. no, this post is about

my bestie jessica p. stoneman called my cell thursday morning in a tizzy- seeing as how i was at work, i voicemaled her. she then called my work- i saw on the caller id "SUU" [my college. and stonifer's employer]. i don't know why but i panicked! honestly, i thought it would be one of my professors- who knows why? maybe they missed my excellent academic record and was calling to ask me to return- they miss being challenged by my superior intellect? [i know, i'm not that awesome. but pretty close]. so ya i answered and it was stone [insert let-down here]. she said there was an emergency-

train was playing the red rock casino friday night and she had to go!

well how could i say no to an emergency like that? so friday after work she came to town and we partied it up.

now you may be asking- "train? who the heck is train" or "what do they sing?" or "aren't they a '90's washed up band?" well no! we aren't talking about chumbawamba here!

their hits

• meet virginia
• free
• i am
• drops of jupiter
• something more
• she's on fire
• calling all angels
• when i look to the sky
• ordinary
• get to me
• cab
• give myself to you
• hey soul sister
• if it's love
• save me, san francisco

come on, don't embarrass yourself. you know them.

highlights: the band was AMAZING. playing "dream on", aerosmith's song aka one of my FAVORITES. meeting some fun strangers from santa fe, nm. toe dipping in the pools.
low lights: the venue [horrible!]. too crowded for a 6 ft walkway. being surrounded by 'tards.

great times, great music.

oh, and pat monahan is a certified stud. i didn't realize how old this dude is but ya, he rocks those skinny jeans like no one under the age of 13 can.

WARNING: if you watch this video,  you are required to dance. shake what yo'mama gave ya

monkey-see-monkey-do

 

lookey lookey what i made this weekend! these are the bracelets i talked about here. finally got around to making them and i lurv them. they are actually 3 different necklaces of different lengths [i usually make them long enough so they can wrap around 3x around my neck] oh and i made this cake for my friend at work's, best friend who used to work there, her husband's daughter's 8th birthday [wow that's a mouth-full]. that cake basically contains everything i love, except substitute the soccer for lacrosse and dog for another cake. so really, i have the exact same taste as an 8 year old girl- go me. i am amazed at my craftiness.

chitty-chitty-BANG-BANGs

anyone watch 'how i met your mother'? well if you don't then you should. granted, this statement doesn't have alot of weight on it, considering i watch 10 shows currently (considering adding more- the new will arnett show & 'my generation' look promising...) and watch even more seasons. but honestly, check that buizness out.

reason why i bring it up- i've learned a valuable lesson from this 30 min sitcom. last season, there was an episode where ted confessed to writing himself letters after breaking up with a girlfriend. this helped avoid hooking back up with her (meaning someone was wearing their bad-idea pants). as i was getting ready this morning, i decided i need to write myself this same letter. you see, i have a disease. it still hasn't been recognized by the american medical association but i heard they might be doing an episode on it on 'grey's anatomy' (yet another show i watch). it's called

bangatosis

and believe me, it's contagious.
i had bangs throughout my childhood then sporadically through young adulthood (is that the current state i'm in?). the process is still the same.

mel gets bored with her hair. mel dyes her hair. that's not enough so mel gets bangs.mel loves the bangs all the way til she gets home. mel hates her bangs and pulls them back with a bobby-pin. mel resents the bangs for covering up her forehead. mel loves how her bangs look in an up-do. mel counts down the days til the bangs can be pulled back in a ponytail. mel despises the bangs for getting in the way of her workout. justin tells mel to never get bangs again. mel agrees. until mel gets bored with her hair again.

(wow- talking in third person is annoying. mel agrees).

currently, i am in the last phase. last august was the last time i had bangs. i remember my cousin julie asked me twice, making sure i really wanted bangs (julie: are you getting married soon? because you don't want bangs for your wedding mel: oh don't worry, i'm not getting married for a LONG TIME [insert resentment here]). well julie, i was wrong. i got married less than 6 months later. with bangs.

[don't be fooled by this pictre. i may look happy but believe me, it didn't last long}

so here i stand, hating my hair right now. wanting a change- let's hope it doesn't result in bangs. just in case though, i've included a letter to myself to HOPEFULLY avoid this whole cycle of destruction in the future.

you're welcome, future mel.

birth day part tres: the day & party

september 16- the day the mayflower began her voyage. mexico started its fight for freedom from spain. GM was founded.


notable births: david cooperfield, molly shannon, marc anthony, alexis bledel, nick jonas, jessica p. stoneman, and the one and only, mr. justin harrison- the love of my life.

his day started off with some of these delicious boogers of fat.

story of the donut to your right: i came home to find 1/2 of the maple left so i assumed my hunky husband left it for me bc he knows i love them! hence the love donut. later he told me he just forgot to finish it....oh so romantic.

work + school dominated most of his day. oh, that, and the dmv. my silly hubbyspend forgot to renew his license so had to on his birthday- poor fella. luckily he decided to ditch class and head to the dmv then. after i jetted home from work early and we partied it up- lounge style. that's right- we chillaxed on the couch, eating papa johns & watching lost. for some reason (work? school? his nagging wife?? no...def not the last one), that's all my hubsters wanted to do. so his birth night was very boring relaxing but hey! it's what the birthday boy wanted.

the PARTY was another story. friday after work we rushed home and got things ready (well, not that much of a rushing. i gots to chat with my poop of a friend stonifer).

guest list

-steven & meghan

-danny & lauren

-ryan & whitney

-sam & caitlin (under the cloak of invisibility, of course)

 

menu

-homemade bagel bites (steven was beyond amazed that one could do this. i felt like a supa-star)

-teryl's famous bean dip (if i love you enough, maybe one day i'll post it here. it's THAT magical)

-hot cheese & salsa

-rachelle's o'henry bars (again, a trade zobrist secret)

-carmel popcorn

-an awesome fruit bowl. justin tried to do a whale we saw at my bro's party a few weeks ago but alas, the tail broke. this is kinda what it would make looked liked.

-angel food cake (i've had SEVERAL people try to milk this off me. available to the highest bidder)

we had a blast- played a couple night games until the boys got tired then played a vicious round of taboo. danny & justin ganged up on me on one round so i fully admit, i am the reason we lost by one. that's not too surprising considering i am the world worst gamer. ask anyone, no one wants me on their team because i am a professional loser. (sidenote- i swear i took a pic of ryan & whitney! i blame voldemort....also notice danny and justin crowding in on me. they got me so flusterated [judy's word] that i messed up. even more than normal).

saturday we had a fabulous day- donated blood at our church then house hunted (we are professional HGTV watchers so we were completely prepared. if only they took submissions for property virgins, we'd be a shoe-in). i found one i LOVE! downside? it's about 5k over our budget and HOA is $50/month but its in summerlin! plus the virgin mary dutifully looks down on us so really, its a win-win (it backs up to st elizabeth's parish). pictures cannot do it justice. a girl can dream right? 

after that we fatted it up at bj's (justin's favorite) and got some letherbys with some family friends. oh, did i mention he got 5 more boxes of fruit snacks? i swear, this boy is going to go into a sugar coma. highlight of letherbys? seeing justin & keith's plaque. you get this if you eat the daddy dave (or whatever its called- a humungo pile of ice cream and toppings). justin never ceases to amaze me.

gotta love him.

so a happy end to a birth week for my hubsters.

birth day part uno: the present

when justin's birthday was about a week away, i was still drudging through internet crap trying to find something cute & unique for my main squeeze. after many, many, many failed google searches for "cute homemade gifts for him", i decided to put my blogstalking skills to the test. i can't remember how i found Love, Actually but if you have a man in any shape-size-fb relationship status, you need to check this out. i don't know how she comes up with this stuff but it's golden. that's where i stumbled upon the date of the month club.

basically, you assemble a little packet full of updated love coupons tickets (really-who HASN'T give love coupons out before? ) , a calender full of date ideas he can pick out,  "vacation" packages, and chocolate kisses to be redeemed for the real thing.

brilliant.

here's my attempt to hone in on the domestic diva inside me.

this is Love, Actually's Date of the Month Club Kit

INSTRUCTIONS

- make a "brochure" that lets your man know he is the recipient of a date of the month club that entitles him to a month full of frenzy and fantasy! i used the same verbiage as Love, Actually but feel free to let your creative juices flow.

- for the ticket's, i used Gunhild Storeide's tiny tickets template. can you believe how amazing these are?! she includes directions how to personalize them too. fonts you can get here. it takes some time to download the fonts and assemble them together. you have to be somewhat computer savvy to navigate through these waters. if you email me, i'll send you my copies.

-next you need to make a calender for him to fill out and a sheet with all of his options. i used most of Love, Actually's ideas but here are some more ideas for tickets/date ideas.

- make two vacation packages for your beau- Love, Actually made a las vegas and a bed & breakfast getaway. you could also do a beach theme, carnival, or even an exotic, tropical vacation package. NOTE: make sure he understands that these are not real vacations. why would you go through the hassle of handmaking a gift when you could get away?!

 i am just sooo proud of myself--- for successfully copying someone else's idea.

birth day part dos: the activity

i asked justin weeks ago what he wanted for his birthday.

he said a house.

since i can't really give him a house (we are working on it though), he said he didn't want to spend money so we can save for a house. that, and a costco sized box of fruit snacks. but that shenanigans didn't work out too well...

it all started with a sale at smiths for boxes of fruit snacks. these are justin's one guilty pleasure (my equivalent of a slurpee) so i bought 8+, giving him a box at at time, since he can't control himself around betty crocker. well come the first day of school, i went to my stash and it was gone! he FOUND them! so that night i told him i would never again buy him another box. luckily, i had bought the costco sized box for his bday and hid it at work. well silly me- he came to my work the following friday and discovered them! his excuse of "it's my birthday" held up over him so he got them early. i guess i can't compete with a box of fake fruit flavoring and empty calories...

anyways so i thought- what can we do that won't cost a lot of money? well, it is his birthday.... so i got the BRILLIANT idea to do a day of freebies. when you sign up for some buisness' mailing list, they send you coupons. when it's your birthday, they send you freebies! so about two weeks before justin's birthday, i signed up my work email (like i want spam in my email account?) to all the companies he likes and ones i know give good free stuff.

then i just created a brochure of all the coupons we have and he got to pick what/where!

the picture is hard to read the list so here it is:

On this blessed day, I’ve prepared a day of fantasy and frenzy fun for us! Since we are unequivocally poor, I cane up with this BRILLIANT idea for us to have cheap & free fun!

Below are different places we can go to get our grub on for free!
• BJ’s for a FREE Pizookie
• Tony Romas for a FREE entre
• Cici’s for some CHEAP pizza
• Qdoba for FREE chips & salsa
• Regal Theatres for a FREE movie
• Terrible Herbst for a FREE Car Wash
• Dairy Queen for a FREE Blizzard Treat
• Ruby Tuesday for a FREE Burger
• Fuddruckers for a FREE 1/3 lb Burger
• Famous Daves for a FREE dessert
• Red Robin for a FREE Gourmet Burger
• On the Border for a FREE Dip Trio or Brownie Sundae
• IHop for a FREE Rooty Tooty Fresh & Fruity
• Denny’s for a FREE Grand Slam Breakfast

• The Putt Park for a FREE round of mini-golf

• Red Lobster for some CHEAP dinner

• Coldstone for a FREE bowl of ice cream

awesome right??

oh and i lied, i did buy him more fruit snacks. i guess i make empty threats. in case you are wondering, this is 176. oh lordy i love this boy. oh, and he's frowning bc originally i told him there was a puppy inside. it was a bitter-sweet moment to find only fruit snacks.

snapshots of things i love this week

my magic beans

my dad gave me some bean seeds. i grew them from a tiny ziplock into these monsters- these pictures are taken 2 days apart- can you believe how fast they've grown? they're MAGICAL

wishbone

this is the dog that followed me home from the gym. he played coy with me (much like snickers- man i have a habit of trying to steal the animals in my complex) so i fed him water. he left as mysteriously as he appeared.

storm drain kittens

meghan has spotted some neighborhood storm drain kittens living a block from our house. i've tried to flee from our home many, many times to capture them and smother them with love but justin always catches me. this is the can of tuna meghan & i left for them- we came back a while later and it was empty but i forgot to take a pic of that.

robin sparkles

this weekend we had a couple group date to play some mini golf then menchees froyo- this is what i found written on the wall in the back. coincidence? i think not. this was the universe's way of saying that someone in canada loves me.

 

friends

i have been blessed with so many friends that are there right when you need them. the bestest of my friends live in california, cedar city, salt lake, but not in vegas. so i'm grateful for quick trips to said places to see my hoes. in the different area codes.

sandy valley pearls

in our stake boundaries in a tiny branch of sandy valley- it's about 30 minutes outside of jean, nv. our friend the irelanders were originally going to speak there but had to bow out due to the primary presentation so we were asked (yes, that does make us second stringers). we were so excited- as everyone knows, i like to speak. it was such an amazing experience- not only was everyone INCREDIBLY friendly but the spirit was so strong there.

we spoke on the 3 fold mission of the church

preach the gospel - perfect the saints - redeem the dead

i spoke on perfecting the saints and used a story that i've loved for years. to me, it's a story about giving up those things in life that turn our neck green for those things of eternal nature. enjoy below.

highlights of the trip: seeing places where mobsters obviously bury bodies (i even told that to the congregation!), seeing justin finish getting dressed outside the chapel, and the awesome homemade jam a member gave us- i guess he gives it to all guest speakers but we got 2. so i guess we were his favorite, OBVIOUSLY.

the pearls - author unknown

　

The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. With her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box. "Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please!" Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face. "A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00 If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."

　As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbour and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.


　Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere -- Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.


　Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"


　"Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you."


　"Then give me your pearls."


　"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess -- the white horse from my collection.


　The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She's my favourite."


　"That's okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.


　About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"


　"Daddy, you know I love you."


　"Then give me your pearls."


　"Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."


　"That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you." And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.


　A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian-style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek. "What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?" Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here, Daddy. It's for you." With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny. He had had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her genuine treasure.


　So much like our heavenly Father. What are you hanging on to?