Random Things about Me

So, there is this thing going around kind of like a chain e-mail except it is on blogs where you reveal 6 random things about yourself and then pick 3 people you know blog to do the same thing and on it goes. I was tagged by my dear friend M, whose birthday just happens to be today so I want to give her a shout out...Happy Birthday M!! Love ya and miss ya friend!! Anyways, here it goes with the randomness...

1. I dislike foods based on their texture. It doesn't matter what they taste like if it has a texture I don't like then I won't eat it. For example, I HATE pudding. There is just something about that gooey, slimy stuff that I cannot stand! Another one is soggy bread or really any soggy foods. If I order chicken parmesan I get the sauce on the side as to prevent the breaded chicken from becoming soggy. Bread pudding would fit into this category. While it might have a nice sweet taste, I cannot get past the gross soggy bread texture.

2. I love kids. I of course don't have any of my own yet but hope to some day. But that doesn't matter, I can love other people's kids in the mean time. I think the things they say are so funny and just love to watch them interact with each other and play and entertain themselves.

3. Chips and salsa are one of my favorite things to eat. I just cannot get enough of it. I love eating it for a snack at home and before a meal at a mexican food restaurant. It is just so yummy...unless of course the chips stay in the salsa too long and get soggy (refer back to random fact # 1)

4. I love technology. I am always interested in the newest cell phone and cool new computer. I worked for the computer support team for 2 years at ACU and was pretty good at it. I have always been technologically savvy. I can usually figure out tech stuff just by spending a little time with it and messing around with it. And even if I can't have it I am always looking at the new cool electronic on the block.

5. I am a Mac convert. This one kind of goes with the previous one but is different so it gets its own number. Until my senior year of college I was a PC girl. I had grown up with PCs and it was all I knew. But Collin's family had Macs. So, I was converted. I resisted for a long time but he finally won me over and now I will NEVER go back to PC. I love my little iBook even though it is a little out dated and would like to upgrade sometime in the near future (hint hint Collin ;D)

6. I love crosses. Since Collin and I got married I have somewhat been collecting them. I love hanging them on the wall at my house. All sizes, colors and styles. I just love them and what they represent. I think at this moment I have 21 hanging in my house but I could have missed a couple. I know that's not very many but I'm just a youngster...I still have time to add to my collection.

So those are my 6 random things. And the people I am tagging to post 6 random things about themselves are Laura Beth, Amy Wiley, and Collin (and you better do it Collin since you always complain about not having anything to blog about :D)

SNIAGRAB

Collin and I have officially experienced our first SNIAGRAB. For those of you who don't know what that is (I just found out a few weeks ago myself) it is a huge sale held at Sports Authority in downtown Denver every year for ski stuff. If you hadn't noticed it spells BARGAINS backwards...pretty clever if you ask me. And it is pronounced SNI...like ski with a N... then A...long A sound...and then GRAB. Anyways, Collin and I headed out early this morning to see what it was all about. We really had no idea what to expect but were excited to find out. Since we are officially Colorado residence now we figured we needed to invest in some skiing equipment and were told that this is the best time/place to do that.

Now I would consider myself a pretty experienced shopper but let me tell you I have never seen anything like this before in my life. It was so amazing. There was more ski stuff than I have ever seen. When you first walk in it is like a regular sports store except with only ski clothes but then as you continue on you realize that it goes on forever. The store is connected to a warehouse and it is all opened up and filled with ski clothes, skis, ski boots, poles, snowboards, snowboard boots, and every other thing you could possibly need to go skiing or snowboarding.

It was so much fun. Collin doesn't really enjoy big crowds and the chaos that comes with it but I LOVE it!! I'm the kind of person that gets up early to go shopping the day after thanksgiving every year!! I love that atmosphere.

In the end we got everything we needed to head up to the mountain come skiing season. Collin got skis, boots, poles, some new ski pants, and an unlimited pass to ski at Breck, A-Basin, and Keystone. I got a snowboard...and a very pretty one I might add, a ski jacket, some pants, and gloves. I didn't feel like I would go enough to justify getting an unlimited pass, so I will just pay as I go this year. And we both got a new hat and some ski socks because they were buy one get one half off. It's funny because the guy in front of us in the check out line told the cashier to just tell him how much he'd saved and not how much he'd spend because its a little easier to stomach it when you think about how much you saved doing it this way. While its a pretty big purchase it is so worth it to get it there rather than to rent every time you go or to buy them somewhere else when they aren't on sale.

Here are a few pictures of our new gear!!!







So if anyone wants to come visit and go skiing with us we are ready to go!! All we need now is some snow. ;)

Keep Boulder Weird

Today Collin and I spent some time hanging out in Boulder, Colorado. We had been warned before we went out there that people are a bit different and it was true. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with people being different...I'm just stating the fact that it is a very eclectic town. People here compare it to Austin, TX.

We started out our day at the University of Colorado campus. We walked around there for about an hour and couldn't find anything because the campus is so huge. We wanted to go to the student center but just couldn't figure out where it was. I would have taken some pictures but since school is in session there were a lot of people around and I was embarrassed. But it is a beautiful campus. There are trees everywhere and you can see the mountains...NOTHING at all like ACU.

Once we left CU we headed to the Pearl Street Mall. We had heard it was really cool so we went to check it out. It is really just a street with lots of stores on it. We felt like all the stores were kind of weird though so we only spend about an hour or so there. Somewhat of a let down after all the hype.

After Pearl Street we decided to go to a regular mall we had seen on the way in to Boulder. It was your typical mall, which I love, so it was ok with me!! We didn't spend too much time there but Collin got the new Tiger Woods game for PS3 and I got some new tennis shoes (one of my favorite things) and a new pink golf bag that I am very excited about.

We had fun and really enjoy checking out new places around town. Tomorrow morning we are going to SNIAGRAB so check back to hear about that or find out what it is if you don't know!! :D

New Hobby

I have recently gotten into the hobby of card making and am really enjoying it. I have always liked to scrapbook but haven't had much going on lately worthy of going in my scrapbook. So, I have turned to card making. With greeting cards being so expensive these days it is a really good way to save money. Of course the materials cost but you can buy the paper in bulk for pretty cheap and you only have to buy the stamps and what not once. Here are a couple that I made today...let me know what you think!!

It's Here, It's Here, It's Here

My new camera has arrived and I am so excited...even though I have no idea how to use it yet!! I stayed home all day waiting for the UPS person to come because I knew I would have to sign for it and hate it when I have to wait an extra day for my delivery because I wasn't home when the delivery person came.

It is a super cool camera and I am so excited to take my class in October to learn how to use all of the cool features it has. I only wish the class was sooner so I could learn how to use it right now!! There are just so many things on there that I have no idea what to do with to make my pictures look the best. For example, white balance, iso settings, the like 15 different picture taking settings, shutter speed and so many other that I'm sure I don't even realize it has?!?! I'm pretty much lost when it comes to anything besides taking a basic picture. I really hope this class will teach me all I need to know about my new camera so that I can take awesome pictures!! :D

Tonight I am going to play Bunko with a group of girls from church and am leaving in a few minutes so I don't have time to look at the manual at all right now. But I am hoping to be able to open it up a little tonight after I get home and then for sure tomorrow. Maybe I will be able to learn a little on my own before I start my class. I will try to figure it out well enough to take some pics to post soon. At this moment I don't think you would be able to tell any difference from any other pictures I have taken before anyways so I won't bother posting any right now.

Anyways, I'm off to play Bunko...wish me luck!! :D

Closing Ceremonies

Well after 2 intense weeks of staying up late and watching hours upon hours of television coverage the 2008 Summer Olympics are finished. The USA came out on top of the medal count with 110 total medals with China in a close second with 100 although China led the gold medal count with 51 compared to the USA's 37. I think the greatest moment of the entire Olympics was Michael Phelps winning another one of his 8 total golds by only .01 second. I think everyone thought he had come in 2nd until it came up on the screen. What a scene it was. Phelps winning 8 golds is one of those feats you tell your children and grandchildren you watched happen live.

The Olympics are truly an amazing thing. It is one of the only events that unites the whole world. People from nearly every country come together to compete in different events and despite what's going on in the rest of the world cohabit peacefully for 2 weeks. There really is nothing like it.

Coming up next we have the winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C. They start February 12, 2010 so we will be looking forward to that. I hope you enjoyed the 2008 Summer Olympics as much as we did!

Mass Chaos

So I don't know how many of you watch the cable channel TLC but it is like my favorite channel. Since I'm not working now I can sit at home and watch it all day. :D But the point of my blog is not TLC, it is a show on TLC, Jon and Kate Plus 8. I love that show. I don't know why I like it but it is on for hours at a time and I love it.

For those of you who have not seen it here is the run down. Jon and Kate are a married couple who wanted kids and had trouble getting pregnant. They went to a fertility clinic and had twins. Then they decided they wanted one more and ended up with sextuplets. I just think it is so interesting to watch them handle it all. I mean can you imagine having 2 - 7 year olds and 6 - 3 year olds at the SAME time. WOW...talk about mass chaos. I'm amazed that they are able to do anything outside the house at all. But they manage. They go on outings and vacations just like the rest of us.

Collin isn't too fond of the show and doesn't know why I like it but I like it none the less. I would love to spend a day with them just to see how they do it. It just blows my mind that 2 parents can manage that many kids but I love watching them try and honestly they do a pretty good job. 

Here is a short video to give you an idea of what life is like in their house!!

My Favorite Time of Year

No I'm not talking about Christmas, although I do love it and can't believe there were Christmas trees out already when I went to Hobby Lobby the other day. I mean it's only August?!?! Oh well. I'm actually talking about fall TV premiere time! I love watching TV and every year around this time I can't wait for all my favorite shows to come back on after being on a long break for the summer. This year I found this really cool thing that allows you to pick your favorite shows and it will add the premiere date to you iCal so now I won't miss any of the premieres of my favorite shows!! YAY!!! The Hills is the only one that has started but in the next couple of weeks they will all start coming back!!

So Cute!!

I just thought I would share this adorable picture of my little Toby. We went to a beach themed party the other day and got leis so I put mine on him and he didn't even seem to mind. He looked so cute!!

My Pantry Overfloweth

Once again Collin and I have been blessed by our new church family here in Colorado. On Saturday night we had dinner with one of the life groups and they all brought food and recipes to stock our pantry. It was awesome. We hardly had enough room for all of it. Thanks again church family for blessing our lives!

And on a totally unrelated note, rumor has it that the Olympic Committee is considering taking away the gold medal from the women's gymnastics team from China. They are saying they have been investigating the age of their teammates and one of them seems to be underage. We will have to see how that pans out because if they do end up taking it away the gold will be awarded to team USA. Pretty Crazy!

Going back to School

Yep that's right I'm going back to school. But not like you may think!! I have decided that I want to improve my picture taking ability so I am getting a new camera for my Christmas/Birthday present and taking a photography class. I do realize that both of those events are several months away but I got a mail out the other day about non-credit courses offered at the community college and a 4 week digital photography class is one of the classes. And since my b-day and Christmas are less than a month apart I usually choose to get one big present instead of two smaller presents. So this year I'm planning on getting the new Canon Rebel XSI.

I am super excited. I have always loved taking pictures but have never had the opportunity to take any kind of class to show me how to really use all the features on a camera. I think it will be a really good investment because it's something I will be able to use forever. Good pictures are such an awesome thing to have. The class doesn't actually start until October but I just wanted to share the exciting news and will definitely be keeping you updated on how that all goes!! So be looking for new and improved pictures from me in the future!!! :D

Totally Awesome!!!

So, right now it is 50 degrees outside here and it is August 15th. How awesome is that?!?! Growing up in Texas my whole life I am used to there not being any relief from the heat until at least October. It is so crazy. The high today is in the low 60's and the same goes for tomorrow.

Tonight, Collin and I are going to a Hawaiian party that we are supposed to dress up for. I was going to wear this cute little sun dress but now I'm not so sure...I might be wearing jeans and a long sleeved shirt. I don't know we will have to see...Ill try to take pictures and post them tomorrow!!

For all of you in places of the world where it is still a million degrees...sorry!!! Come visit us and you can enjoy this wonderful cool weather too!! :D

The 29th Olympiad

First of all, I don't really know why they call it that and think it's kinda weird but that doesn't really matter. I love the Olympics none the less. I have watched the Olympics for as long as I can remember. It's so much fun. I think I am more a fan of the Summer Olympics than the Winter Olympics. I love gymnastics. Since I was a cheerleader myself growing up I love the tumbling aspect of it. And with a star like Michael Phelps the swimming is so exciting too.

Last night though Collin and I were watching the U.S. women's gymnastics team compete for the team gold and I found myself hoping for the Chinese girls to mess up. I don't really know if this is ok?!? I am just cheering for my team and I suppose having the other team mess up is part of it sometimes but there just seems to be something wrong with that. I mean I am still going to cheer for my team but hopefully they can just be good enough to win without the other team having to mess up.

Pics from Breck

Here are the pictures from our day trip to Breckenridge...

A Super Fun Weekend

Collin and I had a great weekend. He has Friday's "off" so we got to spend most of that day together (he usually has to finish his sermons on Fridays which is why I put off in quotes). But he did stay home from the office and worked on his sermon at the apartment which is better than him being gone. And he only worked on it part of the day so we got to hang out in the afternoon.

Then on Saturday we headed out to Breckenridge, or as the locals call it Breck, for the day. We had so much fun! We just walked around town and had lunch together. The weather was wonderful too. I think the warmest it got was 48 degrees. But up here 48 is different than what we are used to in Texas. Collin had on shorts and a t-shirt and I had on jeans and short sleeves and we were both fine. It was such a nice change from the 90 degree weather we have been having. It is still so hard to believe that we live close enough to places like Breck to just go and spend the day. We both really like the town and look forward to spending more time there.

Sunday started out much like our other Sunday in that we went to church and Collin preached (twice) and I listened (twice) and then we to class in between. After church though we got on the light rail and headed downtown to Coors Field to watch the Colorado Rockies play the San Diego Chargers. Except for a little rain and the Rockies getting smoked it was a good time! However, I think the best part was that today was Faith Day and we got to see Stephen Curtis Chapman do a concert after the game. The concert was unfortunately cut short because of rain but what we did get to see was awesome. I'm sure most of you know what has happened to Stephen and his family recently but if you don't his 5 year old daughter was killed when his son accidentally hit her with the car in their driveway. It was so amazing to see and hear him sing songs like "Blessed Be the Name of the Lord" in light of all that has happened. It was so much fun to be able to spend time with some of our new church family at the game and concert.

I did good about taking pictures while we were in Breck and will post them tomorrow (I don't feel like getting up off the couch to get my camera to put them on my computer right now :D) but I didn't do a good job of taking pictures at the game and concert so I won't have any to post from that.

It was a great weekend and I am glad I was able to spend so much time with Collin and with people from church.

A Little More Decorating

I just thought I would share what I have been doing the last couple of days.

Here is the Guest Bedroom.

Our Bedroom...And no that is not us in the frame...I had to special order the print since it is so big and it's not here yet.

Our Bathroom...I love that frame and am looking for something to put in the middle square :D

A close up of the frame in the bathroom.

I'm glad to finally have some stuff on those walls.  I have been trying to come up with some ideas to put on them and went to Hobby Lobby (one of my favs) yesterday and just looked around until I came up with these ideas.  I'm very pleased with how they turned out!

Put to Work

Well, I have officially been put to work! I have been recruited by Bill our children's minister to help come up with some curriculum for the 3 and 4 year old's. Since I have a degree in children's ministry I suppose I'm a target to help out there, which is fine with me because helping with the kids would be my first choice. I am also really excited because starting in September I will be helping out with "The Roc" which is the program for the kids during worship service. Right now I am going to both 1st and 2nd service so it will be nice to get to spend one of those services doing something different. I mean Collin is a good preacher and all but it sure does make for a long day when I have to do it all twice! I'm glad to be finding some things to fill up my time during the day while Collin is at work.

5,000+ feet really does make a difference

Yesterday, since Collin was gone pretty much all day I decided to go hang out at the apartment pool for a little while. I wasn't out for more than a couple of hours but man did I get sun burned. I will say I have pretty good skin and tan very easily so I don't usually have to worry about getting burned. I guess being 5,400 feet closer to the sun really does make a difference.