San Tan Flat

So I woke up Saturday afternoon after my 3 days of working nights, and remembered I was giving a talk on "Making Time for Christ in our Lives." Ironic that I had forgotten about it for 6 days. But my family was in town, and it was a busy week, and then Brad got called to go on a blind group date. And then I got invited because one of the dates flaked out. And turns out it was so much fun. (I finally wrote the talk about 2 am.)
We went to a place called San Tan Flat. It's a country outdoor/indoor steakhouse/saloon/dance place. The band was so so good. And the food.. for 10 bucks I got an amazing steak cooked perfectly, a great baked potato (and baked potatoes generally bore me), to-die-for creamed corn, and a salad. Oh! And a killer roll. Everything was so good. Then we went and roasted marshmallows over the little fires they have there-- they provide the roasting sticks. And we sat on the saddle benches and took pictures. The band- Western Fusion- was so good and the guys were so cute.
It was a really fun night. :o) cc
p.s. When I get married, my wedding reception will consist of my friends and family just hanging out here and me on the saddle benches in my wedding dress!
www.myspace.com/westernfusionband
www.santanflat.com

Blogging Chain Letter

Four Jobs that I've had:
1. Working at the Children's Department at SEARS
2. Being a SERVER at Winger's Applebee's and at Frontier Pies, Murphy's, and the RAM. My favorites were Applebee's in Pocatello and Murphy's. But I really like Winger's Idaho Falls, too. I did not love Winger's Pocatello AT ALL, where I had to clean the entire floor with Comet every Tuesday, but I did meet my favorite convict there, so it evened out.
3. Being an assistant Administrative Asst. at the Idaho National Environmental and Engineering Laboratory with Shari McAffee, who was darling. And memorizing scriptures with Maria on the bus on the way there.
4. Scottsdale Healthcare- where I work now. As a nurse.

Four Places I have been:
1. NYC
2. Austin
3. Idaho
4. Florida

Four Favorite Foods:
1. Peanut Buttter
2. Nutella
3. Cookies
4. Izze drinks

Four Concerts I'd like to go to:
1. Garth Brooks
2. Live
3. Pearl Jam ( I don't listen to them much anymore, but I still feel the need on some weird level)
4. Dave Matthews (as much for the arms on the violinist as anything)


Four reasons why I love being me:
1. People are generally very nice to me.
2. I can talk to almost anyone, any place. And I tell good stories.
3. My family is great
4. I'm not a very moody or emotional girl

Four Classes that I wish were offered to and that I could participate in right now.
1. Bewitched 101: The art of the nose wiggle. (I'm stealing that from my friend emily because I actually tried to do it twice this week.)
2. How to practice guitar
3. How to breathe when you swim and not drown in a triathlon
4. How to marry off your good friends

Four friends or relatives that I am tagging:
1. Maria (do this as a comment on my blog)
2. Ariana
3. Travis
4. Emily I.

Family Visit

Dad, Candice, and Kaitlynn came to visit the other day. Candice and Kaitlynn had never been here before so it was fun to have them see everything. We went out to eat, and got the oil changed on a bunch of our cars and stuff, which was fun. I realized how different a schedule Candice and I are on. I was tired all the time, and I think she thought I was the laziest ever. And we were always missing the car seat! It was always in the car that Brad had when we wanted to go somewhere.
Candice, however, thought my Bel Air was so fun. She said it made her feel like she was in a Doris Day movie. We had some little adventures driving it around.
Kaitlyyn is so cute now. Ariana's roommate has a Boa Constrictor, which Kaitlynn thought was the coolest. She wanted to hold "the worm" all the time.
That's all for now!
cc
Oh, wait, and Sunday, we had a mini-dinner party with a couple friends that was pretty good. Kind of a Greek theme.

Cold Sores and Care Packages

I got a cold sore last week. It's kind of hard for me to write this because I hate them so bad and it totally consumed every waking moment of my thoughts for at least a week. You see, Josh Olson never gets cold sores. And I never get cold sores. Unless I kiss Josh Olson. Then I do. I haven't figured out how this works. Maybe he's a carrier. Maybe we each have half the virus. But I feel like I'm walking around with the grossest thing ever on my face and I hate it. It's finally finally gone, but this was the worst I've ever had, and all the Abreva and Neosporin in the world wouldn't make it go away. Bleech.
Care Packages: Kind of unrelated, except it pertains to Josh and I got one today, which I love. Care packages are the funnest thing about long distance relationships. I never got to do this for missionaries, which I'm fine by, because this way, I get cool ones back, too. For example, today I got a John Deere hat, some bubble bath, an article about his uncle's new harvester, his sticker from his army test to be a helicopter pilot, and some little floaty boats and ticket stubs. And a picture of me moving from Boise that I had never seen. And I love that kind of stuff. :o)
Some stuff he gives me I like. :o)
ADDENDUM: Josh reminded me yesterday that my first cold sore actually occurred when I bought some blueberries a few years ago. As I put one to my lips, it exploded into a cold sore. Immediately. It was the weirdest thing ever. So I guess Josh and blueberries just bring it out, and I got the icky virus from someone else.

Sobriety Test

I can't believe I forgot to write this. On Saturday night, I think, last week, Ariana and I went on a mission to try to find new car mats for the Bel Air 'cause the current ones are pretty bad. We found out that Auto Zone actually has a few 24 hour stores, which was exciting, and also found out that there are no good bright red car mats.
So, this would have only been my 3rd day of driving a standard and I was still a little nervous, and when I realized I was going the wrong direction, I flipped a U-ie in a major intersection right before a bunch of cars started coming right at me. Ariana was like, "Christin, their light is totally green!" "Oh, well," I said. And then I saw the cop lights behind me. Crap. So I pulled over.
Somewhere I read that it's what you say in the first 60 seconds that determines if you get a ticket or not. I don't think I've figured out what to say in that 60 seconds yet, because usually I always get a ticket. But this time I said, "Hi. Look. I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking when I pulled that move. I just got this car a few days ago and am still learning how to drive it." Then he asked me if I'd had anything to drink and I had to take my first sobriety test. I stepped out of the car and answered no to all these questions,
1- Have you ever had a brain injury?
2- Do you have any nerve problems?
3- Do you wear contacts?
4- Hard or soft?
Then I had to follow his pen with my eyes standing in front of him with my feet together. Of course I passed. I kind of wish they would have breathalyzed me. I definitely got the most boring of the sobriety tests. But it was entertaining. Because (of course) I passed. And because (for once) I didn't get a ticket.

Puking

I got sick yesterday. All day long. I don't know if it was from eating too many cookies (which I doubt), or if it was something I caught from one of my patients in the hospital (which I don't doubt), but I spent all day lying in bed making short trips to the bathroom. After my last puking round in which I broke into a sweat and had to lay down on the floor, Brad went to the store and bought me dramamine, which helped with the puking part of things. I slept most of the evening away. Brian (my first guy friend I've ever had where neither of us have any interest in dating the other) brought me soup from Pei Wei and Gatorade about 10:00. I have to say for Ariana's sake that she sweetly offered to bring over Gatorade earlier in the day, but at the time, I wasn't keeping anything down. Anyways, if you are ever that sick, the soup from Pei Wei is really really good. I had never had it before, but it's all I've eaten so far. Which is how you know I'm really sick. I do feel a ton better today. Now if I could just get up out of bed. :o) I'm wondering if I should call in sick for work for Wednesday night. That sounds like a great idea.

Flipping Out

I knew there was something I was leaving out about today, but apparently the excitement of driving made me forget until now. Sooo...
I am generally a very mild-mannered person, and it takes an enormous amount to really upset me. For some reason anything to do with cars lowers that threshold exponentially. Like, if my car won't start, I fall apart. (This hasn't happened in about 5 years, so I might have gotten over that by now. I don't really know.) But anyways, the DMV can get to me on some level almost every time.
So I haven't driven my car since I got it because it wasn't registered. And I couldn't register it until I got the title, which Josh still had because his friend Isaac still had it in Idaho from when HE had bought it. Josh sent it to me ExpressMail today, which means I have to sign for it (grrr...). And I was asleep. And Brad was in the shower. And if I didn't register it today I couldn't register it until Tuesday because of Martin Luther King day. Against all hope, I went to the Post Office at 3:30. Ariana, who happens to also be our neighbor, was checking her mail, so I took her along with me. The title was still out with my mail lady, and they said she'd be back by 4:30. However, 4:30 is also the cutoff time for the DMV, so that would just not work. Luckily, they told me her assigned area is very small and said I could just to drive around the neighborhood. I found a couple other mail people, and they actually gave me her name and a complex to look in, but she wasn't there. So I drove back to the post office at about 4:00, and she was back early. Sweet! I got back home at 4:11 and Brad and I quick searched for my license and jumped in the Bel Air to get to the DMV. I knew we were so close on time, so I jumped out of the car and ran inside while Brad drove around for the inspection (luckily I had registered a car of his before so I knew how this worked). I got my number at 4:29, but the guy outside was a punk and wouldn't inspect the car (which takes about 3 minutes). So I went outside and talked to him and he still wouldn't. So I went back to the information desk, and they still wouldn't. So I talked to the supervisor and he agreed that Brad WAS there at 4:29, so he did my inspection. Thank goodness. I really was going to freak. And I got sweet gold and red "Historic Car" plates, which really made the whole drama almost worth it.

I feel like Jackie-o!

I drove my car today. First I armor-alled it so it was all shiny and pretty and then I drove it in the parking lot with some friends. And then Ariana and I went to the store together. It was so much fun. I don't think I've ever had more fun driving a car in my entire life. :o)

The Reason You're Dog-paddling Like That...

Today I practiced swimming for my triathlon for the first time. Robert, in the next lane, soon started watching me. I stopped and asked him if I was in his way at all. "Oh, no," he said. "Has anyone ever taught you how to breathe while you swim?" "Um,no." "Well, the reason you're kind of dog-paddling like that is..." So many thoughts were running through my head at this point. The foremost being that somehow I must have dog-paddled my way through my first triathlon in 2005 and in that case it was a miracle that I had finished at all. Not so miraculous how much water I swallowed.
We proceeded to have a 40 minute lesson that including kicking (this was also "all wrong and weird," how to not swim "crazy" - also known as diagonal with my eyes shut- and to pick my arm up when my thumb hits my hip. And mostly breathing. Breathing INTO the water with my head down and sucking in air with my head tilted. A lot.
Have I mentioned that Robert is 70 and in great shape? What a fun time!
I say this, and I mean it, but it was also really hard. Learning in general is kind of hard I've realized. School stuff is semi-hard. Wrapping my head around my guitar lessons, how to drive a standard, and how to swim well, are VERY HARD. I am so happy to be learning all these new things, but it's kind of rough, you know? I stood there in the pool trying to think of good learning quotes, but none came to me. Maybe I'll look them up tonight. :o)

High Magistrate of the Church of Serendipitous Love

I can now share the other part of Jessica's wedding. I get to marry them! Meaning, thanks to the wonders of the internet and Rose Ministries in Las Vegas, NV, I get to perform their wedding ceremony. Now, I thought about this for awhile, thinking, "Is this blasphemous, is this in conflict with my own beliefs?" but decided ultimately that I was being seriously respectful of their marriage and do not really put anything but legal belief in this ordination, and for this occasion, that's what matters. And I got to pick my own title. Which is the High Magistrate of the Church of Serendipitous Love. Yay! I bought a fun suit and a necklace. Now I just have to figure out how to unite a Christian and a Buddhist for life!! :o)

We Made it Home

I drove the car. For 1/4 mile. I suck at it. It is actually quite difficult and scary. New goal for this year. It's gonna be okay. Brad drove a little fast around the mountain curves and Josh almost had a heart attack. Some fun things about New Mexico: We were driving through and I start singing, "Home, Home on the Range.." and suddenly there was a herd of antelope. Not kidding. And then I sang "Across the Great Divide" and about 3 miles later we crossed the Continental Divide. And we drove through Pie-town, where there is the Pie Cafe and and the Pie-o-neer Store. And then we passed a bunch of satellite dishes where there was some sort of Radio Observatory. It looks like something out of an alien movie.
AND... we drove through Las Vegas, NM, which apparently has lots of cool historic stuff that we were too busy to see.
And in Globe, AZ, we stopped at the Belle Aire Motel and took this picture. It was great.

Christening the Back Seat

Um hi dad!! So now we are in New Mexico and Brad is driving. Somehow Josh doesn't trust me to drive my own car. Something about being an EXTREMELY LONG car and a standard. It's a three on the tree with overdrive, if anybody female who reads this blog actually gets what that is. It's going to be an adventure. So far it drives like a dream.
So Josh and I are trying out the backseat. Which is huge. Holy crap. Amazing. Here's some pics. I accidentally bonked him in the nose, so there's some pics of him recovering. Brad took those pictures behind the shoulder. We tried to show how wide the car is, but it's kind of hard to get the picture. I can lay completely straight, though, across this car. So it's about 5'4".
:o) There's only AM radio in here, so I'm serenading Josh and Brad. So far, Love Shack (I got me a car...it seats about 20), Hey Jealousy, O,Valencia (We're in Valencia county), and some ACDC. They love it.

Cold, Beautiful, Fun

Let's see...
Brad and I sat on the last row of our Southwest flight where I rubbed shoulders (literally) with an attractive married guy whose was 6' 2" and trying to type in our squished little seats. I also got invited to join an inspirational group of crazy people in front of us. I said, "Thanks, but I'm naturally enlightened." haha. Anyhow,
Josh looked great. He's so fun. We stayed the night at his friend Adam's house who I met about 2 years ago. He's a news anchor in Colorado Springs. Adam Atchinson, Channel 5, if you're ever here. First we went out to pizza downtown. It was a wood fired pizza place and it smelled like a dying campfire, which was awesome. I actually had an amazing salad with walnuts, gorgonzola, eggs, and artichoke hearts. Apparently the pizza was just okay, so I think I made a good decision. (Josh helped by saying, "It's all about how you'll feel in the morning, babe.") :o)
So me, Brad, and Josh slept there, and this morning we headed out in the red car. We are currently in Trinidad, CO making our way out of the beautiful mountains and freezing coldness. Here's some pics of how it's going: Brad is reading a crazy sci-fi book, Josh is in planning mode, and I am pretty much just thrilled about everything.

Excitement

Just so you know, there are a few exciting things upcoming around here. One, the colorado trip. Two, I'm snowboarding next week for the first time. Three, Jessica is getting married next month (There's a little more to that but I'll explain later and the few people who know better not ruin it for everyone else! But I will for sure be coming back to Boise and am SOOO happy and excited about that) and Four, I am starting to train for a triathlon on May 10th!
K- That's all for now!
And sweet em, when would be a good time to come to Salem? I need to see you!

Off to Colorado!!

So when I moved to Arizona on June 2, Josh and I broke up. With the whole complicated religion issues (and maybe a little dose of commitment issues), and with me drastically aging, we both agreed to "get on with our lives." So he lovingly helped me move down here, along with my roommate Jessica and her fiancee Nate. (Not her fiancee then, but is her fiancee now.) We both agreed (ok, this part was more my idea) that we wouldn't see each other for a year. So I could work on getting married. There were two exceptions to this rule. 1- If he went into the army I could see him to say good-bye. 2- If either of us actually DID get married the other was invited.
I didn't include stipulation #3, which now reads, "If Christin buys Josh's 1965 Red Chevy Bel Air." Luckily, Josh is also on his way to becoming a helicopter pilot next month, so he will be in the army. Technically, then, this fits into stipulation #1.
Can you tell I've been up all night?
ANYWAYS!! I'm off to sleep. So I can wake up in about 3 hours and pack. Brad and I are both going to help keep things a little more "stable". And all three of us are driving to Arizona and then Josh is flying back to Colorado. I will try to update along the way. Otherwise, Monday should be fun.
(A couple of my patients were so cute about this. One asked me to e-mail them a picture. Another one said this morning, "Oh, I was dreaming of you and your red car.") How fun!!

Oops!

So I went to a party the other day and used the rest of their toilet paper. And then I broke their toilet. You see, the little handle wouldn't flush so I pushed down hard.. and broke it. This is a picture of me kneeling on the toilet seat holding the little plastic thing waiting for the tank to fill up so I can flush the toilet. Priceless.

We Are Not Dating

I forgot to talk about one of the sweetest things Santa's elf (me) brought me and Brad for Christmas. You see, people all the time think Brad and I are married, or dating, or you know ON a date. And that's really not cool. So we got these shirts. For when we go out to dinner or to church activities or driving around or anywhere I might meet someone and Brad might interfere :o)

My favorite quote lately

which i think is sooooo funny. From The Devil Wears Prada.

"See, I'm on this new diet...I don't eat anything. And right before I feel I'm going to faint, I eat a cube of cheese."

How It Turned Out

Boise won the game 2-0. I was excited. I wanted to cheer for Boise a lot, but I didn't want to seem like a traitor or get killed. Once I shouted, "I love you Boise!" while nothing was really going on, so it was okay. Then we went out to eat at Cooperstown, Alice Cooper's restaurant here, which was very good. I do not like fries, but they had the best fries I have ever had. Or I was starving- take your pick.
Then Doug and I went to my house and just chilled like the old people we are and talked and talked until we got hungry again at 11:30. We had a little kiss at midnight in the drive thru line at Jack in the Box that proved that the chemistry is just not there, but also broke down the barriers. So we got milkshakes and tacos - because I can eat that crap on New Years Day- and talked until like 5, with my legs over his lap, knowing this is just a comfortable friend thing. (Yay!) And then he went home.
And it was just about right.
Happy New Year!!