Berkley.

For All the Single Ladies

2012-01-25T08:23:00.000-08:00

Ladies, take note. This fellow is a genius.

Jazz Games and Landscaping Duty

2012-01-10T22:22:00.000-08:00

I think I've been ruined forever. Well, when it comes to Jazz games that is. I used to be happy with the free nose-blood tickets I occasionally got at work. But, the last 2 Jazz games I've gone to have ruined all future expectations of Jazz games. Last Friday I got to watch the Jazz beat Memphis from a suite. Yeah, I KNOW. Then the last game I attended (the end of last season) was lower level, about 9 rows up from the floor. It's amazing how much better games are when you can actually see the player's faces.

The only thing missing was my old friend, Kirilenko. I'm quite sad that I won't get to watch my favorite Russian play bball anymore. I might have to add a few stanzas to my Ode to Kirilenko to help give myself some closure. For now I'll continue to wear my Kirilenko jersey to bed every night.

I am highly jealous of their Jazz snug snug.

Oh, and welcome to the team Alec Burks. I may have to replace my Kirilenko jersey with a Burks jersey because, you know, we share the same name. I'll look past his 'optional' spelling of Berks this time around.

After the Jazz game I helped an old ward friend prepare to propose to his girl, Ellie, by helping to blow up a TON of balloons. And by TON, I mean a TON:

Well, I guess I wasn't really the one that 'blew up' the balloons. I mainly helped out by tying off balloons and attaching ribbon to them. Let me just tell you though... at the beginning of the evening it took me 37 minutes to tie off a single balloon (ok, not that long) but by the end of the night I became a trained professional and I am proud to announce that I can now tie off a balloon in approximately .37 seconds. Don't try that at home though, kids. My fingers were killing me by the end of the night from my blazing balloon tying skills and it reminded me of the quote from Happy Gilmore when the Grandma says: "My fingers hurt..." and Ben Stiller says: "well, now your back's gonna hurt, cause you just pulled landscaping duty!"

Finger Update

2011-11-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

This is going to be somewhat of a boring blog post, but some of you wanted an update on my finger (*cough* Erin) :)

The lab results came back late last week and I found out... (drum roll)... that I had a STAPH INFECTION!!! Yup. I'm 99% positive I picked up that beauty at the gym. Now I'm very hyper aware of everything I touch and wash my hands even more than before. There's no way in dang I want to go through an infection like that again. NO bueno.

My finger is back to it's normal size once again (phew). But, since it was so hugely grotesque and swollen from the infection, my finger is shedding an outerlayer of skin. It's amazing what the human body can recover from. Seriously. Right now the top joint of my finger is basically brand new baby soft skin (super pink), with bits of dried old skin that it's shedding. I feel as if the main reason I'm wearing a bandaid now is to keep people from being horrified at my finger if they accidentally see it.

Here's what my finger (and bandaid) look like today:

Now that I took the picture I feel as if I should have prepared a bit more by putting lotion on my fingers or something. Definitely not hand-model material. hehe. AND, if you look closely, you can kind of see a bit of bruising at the bottom of my ring finger from where they had to give me (4) shots of anesthesia in preparation of the draining. bleck.

Never Again

2011-10-24T15:44:00.000-07:00

Never again will I ever, ever, EVER pull out a cuticle that's sticking out of my fingernail. I did that about a week and a half ago and usually it doesn't cause any problems... but this time it somehow got infected. No clue how it got infected. I wash my hands about as often as Monk does so, yes, I'm slightly OCD about having clean hands. So who knows how that little bugger of an infection got in there...

Anyway, I went to the doctor on Friday because it had been bothering me for about a week. It wasn't too bad by that point. Just red and a little swollen. The doc gave me an antibiotic and sent me back on my way. THEN Saturday my finger kind of exploded... It started swelling a TON and I was in so much pain that at around 4am Saturday morning I found the stash of pain killers I kept from my ankle injury earlier this year and downed 2 percocet pills --which is saying a lot because I think I only took 1 pill at a time when I had my ankle injury. Those 2 pills knocked me out until about noonish. Bless the soul of whoever invented that drug...

Fast forward to today... my finger was still killing me, but I thought it was silly to miss work for a little finger infection so I went in... I lasted until about noonish then told a co-worker I was off to the docs again because seriously. My finger was looking disgusting and it was way too painful to do anything...

When the doctor saw my finger he was amazed that I had lasted as long as I had without coming in again (what can I say, I'm pretty tough...? hehe). He immediately brought me to a little room where he could do some minor surgery on my finger and pumped my finger up with 4 shots of anesthesia (yeah, ouch) then pricked my finger and started squeezing (and I wont go into too many gross details about that part).

And yadda yadda yadda this is what I get to wear for the next 3 days:

I go back to see the doc on Thursday, so I sure hope I wont have to go through that fun time again! Wish me luck.

ZOMBIES!!!

2011-10-17T08:44:00.000-07:00

Saturday, October 15th, was the day that Salt Lake City attempted to break the 'Most Zombies in One Location' World Record. The World Record is around 4,500 and Salt Lake City wanted to get around 5,000 zombies.... and we fell short by A LOT. I think we mayyybe had 1,000 zombies show up. Oh well, it was still fun! They're going to try for it again next October so we'll see what happens.

This is our Zombie look:

I must say, I'm pretty proud of our Zombie looks. On our way to the Utah Fairgrounds we got some thumbs up by construction workers and a few different people at the Zombie event asked if they could take a picture of us. I think that means we're professional Zombies now. I should put that on my resume.

Getting Rusty

2011-10-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

This weekend there was a spider camped out above my bed near the intersection of the wall/ceiling. I tried killing it by attacking it with a shoe, but I failed by trying to attack it with a shoe that slightly curved up at the bottom so the only thing that happened when I tried to smash it was the spider falling off the wall and going between my bed and the wall, very much ALIVE still. Only a perfectly flat shoe could have killed the spider in that location. It probably knew it, too. Creepy.

Anyway, later that afternoon I went back into my bedroom and saw a bug on my window blinds (over my bed) that looked like a spider (but it wasn’t). I thought ‘oh ho ho silly Berkley… why did I freak out so much earlier when the thing on the wall wasn’t even a spider?!’ I quickly grabbed a Kleenex and killed the little bug. Easy schmeazy.

Dang spiders; setting bait and throwing me off course.

Last night the spider was back in its usual spot (above my bed, in the crevice of the wall and ceiling) and I had a minor freak out, imagining the spider crawling around my bed while I slept the night before (while I slept peacefully, thinking that I had killed the bug that wasn’t even a spider). This time I knew I had to kill the dang spider or I would be sleeping on the couch that night.

Standing on my bed and staring at the spider, eye to eye, I realized it was pretty dang big and gross. I’ve been rusty in my spider killing skills (you can read about my old ninja spider killing skills here), so the thought of killing a spider grossed me out completely. Even trying to ask Moriah nicely if she would kill it for me wouldn’t work. Luckily this time I knew all the tricks. I had Moriah give me a flip flop that had a completely flat sole. We moved a trash can directly under the spider and flat against the wall (in case the spider decided to fall again). I practiced killing the spider by putting my flip flop against the wall/ceiling next to the spider to make sure it would be completely flat (hey, I had to leave zero room for errors). And then… I couldn’t do it. I stalled. It was similar to the feeling of stepping up to a cliff and stalling your jump into the water below (let’s be serious here, I’d never jump off a cliff into water… too afraid of heights). Finally, after giving myself a good pep talk, I pounced on the spider and held the shoe there for a few long seconds to make sure the spider couldn't somehow escape. That thing was obliterated... take that spiders.

Looks like someone is finally smarter than a spider... (yeah, it's me).

Curse You, AquaScum!

2011-08-31T12:59:00.000-07:00

Today I was eating outside at my usual, favorite spot (see here). It was an especially enjoyable lunch, made up of a few random things I saw at the Asian bar. Usually I avoid the Asian bar because I'm not a huge fan of Chinese food, but today they had a few items that looked delish. Although, they did look suspiciously non-Asian. I picked up some rice (okay, that's pretty asian), little smokies in gravy, a chicken broccoli dish thing (you know, it's kind of like chicken cordon-bleu, but stuffed with broccoli sauce stuff and deliciousness?), and an asian lettuce salad.

The lunch was especially delicious because I didn't have the chance to eat my usual over-flowing bowl of frosted mini spooners mixed with cheerios for breakfast.

Anywho, as I was wrapping up my lunch and finishing off the last 10-ish delicious bites, a large BEE swoops down and starts hovering over my food. I, of course, jump away from my bench and leave my food to the bee. UGHH..

This is how I felt:

Dang you bee, dang you, for stealing the last enjoyable bites of my meal! Well, he didn't 'steal' my food per se, but he certainly walked his nasty little legs all over my food, making it un-edible!

Grrr. Looks like I'll just have to dip into the treat drawer at work this afternoon to subsidize my bee-ruined meal...

Did That Seriously Just Happen?

2011-08-31T10:30:00.000-07:00

I have quite the story from Church a few Sundays back. One of those stories that can be passed down to future generations to scare young children into getting married early so they don't have to deal with singles wards.

Here is the story that takes the cake of pure singles wards awkwardness/awesomeness:

Two Sundays ago I was filing into Sacrament meeting and spotted my roommates at our usual spot (3rd row back, middle section). The row was unusually crowded so I decided to sit one row up, but on the opposite end of the row from my roommates, where there was an empty spot. I sat down next to a random boy that I'd never seen before and didn't pay much attention. I chatted with one of my guy friends behind me until Sacrament started and then turned back around. Once Sacrament started random-boy made the comment that he liked my fingernails and toenails (they were painted an awesome shade of pinkish/orange) and I thanked him... then he asked what the ward building's address was, so I handed him my program (luckily it had the address). That was all our interaction. ALL.

Once the first speaker started into her talk, I noticed that his hand was awkwardly palm up on the bench next to me and he was slightly wiggling his fingers. I thought "hmm that's weird, it kind of looks like he wants to hold my hand." I ignored it, because there was NO way that was what he was trying to do (since we didn't even know each other). After ignoring the icky, wiggling hand for a while, he started to become more persistant and started nudging my leg with his thumb. The first time it happened, I thought "that's awkward, I wonder if he meant to touch my leg?" (apparently I'm very naive)... then he nudged it again. This time I knew it was on purpose and I sat forward to grab my ward bulletin to pretend to "read" and hopefully give random -boy the hint to leave me the freak alone. But no, I guess random-boy can't take a hint because when I sat back up he leaned towards me and asked "can i hold your hand"?

WOW. Just wow. I can give some pretty disgusted faces and I'm pretty sure I, unintentially, gave him a horribly disgusted face and said "I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU!"

Once I turned him down, he moved his knees away from me and leaned forward (I'm guessing to get away from me?)... and I started giggling silently to myself, thinking "Did that SERIOUSLY just happen?"

And nope, I still don't know random-boy's name. We didn't talk to each other again for the rest of Sacrament (thankfully) and I escaped once the closing prayer was said.

Was that the end of the story? I WISH!

This Sunday I had basically forgotten all about hand-holding boy and went into Sacrament. I plopped down at my usual spot and was chatting with my roommate when I noticed somebody coming to sit by my. You better believe it was random-boy. He didn't say anything to me when he sat down, and I did NOT want to go through another Sacrament meeting with him hitting on me, so I made an excuse to get up to talk to a girl a few rows away... and sat somewhere else.

What a Week

2011-08-19T15:58:00.000-07:00

My oh my. This week has shaped up to be quite lovely. Sarcastically speaking, of course. I'm still trying to find a place to live (seeing as I need to be out of my house in less than 2 weeks), work has been supah busy, and I had quite the awkward moment on Tuesday. So glad it's Friday!!

In case you're curious about my awkward moment (so awkward I thought the idea of poking my eye out might be a better situation than the one I was in)... here is the story: Tuesday I was in charge of a luncheon (ordering the food, setting it up, etc) for a certain meeting. Usually I'm not the one in charge of these luncheons, but some things changed... and... yadda yadda yadda I have to put together luncheons once a month for a few apostles and a few 70s and some other people. I wasn't too worried about it initially. I thought "I can get it set up and get out of there before anyone sees me!" But that certainly didn't pan out... at the last minute my boss had me order some placemats for the luncheon and that meant I couldn't put anything on the table until the placemats arrived... and that meant by the time the placemats came the meeting attendees were THERE. AHHH (me screaming inside)!! So, I had to awkwardly squeeze between the apostles and 70s to put their food down. It might have been fine if there was one dish, but I had to go back about 4 times to add other bowls, plates, drinks, blah. I tried to keep a calm face on, but I wanted nothing more in life than to leave. You may think, "oh that doesn't sound bad at all!" But it certainly was. It certainly was. I'm not going to continue with this story... it's making me uncomfortable retelling it...

Race Against Time

2011-08-05T09:09:00.000-07:00

Today I was running a race. It was a race against time - and the phone. My boss was on the line and I had to pick it up in his office so I could check something on his computer. But, that meant I had to transfer the phone to his office...

And that meant I had to answer it before somebody else answered the phone.

I was hoping that the outcome of the race would be like this:

With me winning and picking up the phone.

Here's what went down:

Once I transferred the phone I jumped up, RAN from my desk...

and, in my usual fashion, I failed miserably.

Nope, I didn't run into a door (but I thought this picture was funny so I had to post it). Instead, I somehow BASHED my leg into the corner of my desk.

Anyway, my desk run-in slowed me down enough that by the time I got into my boss's office a Secretary had picked up the phone. FAIL.

After the awkwardness of trying to transfer the phone call back into his office took place, I realized I had a massive bump on my leg... apparently 'Bruise Easy' is back in business.

(Bruise Easy = the nickname some of my friends gave me.... because... I bruise easy....)

Wasting Time

2011-08-01T15:59:00.000-07:00

Dear http://www.iwastesomuchtime.com/

I just wasted an hour of my life on you.

I did find some interesting pictures though....

Check out this beautiful rat tail:

And who hasn't done this:

Sooo funny....

Funny Bones

2011-07-29T14:22:00.000-07:00

Do you ever randomly laugh by yourself?

Maybe that happens to me more than I should probably admit...

Last night I was looking through some of my sister's pictures from our family's trip to Oregon and came across this picture:

It's a planking seal! I seriously died laughing. Luckily I was alone in my room (and my roommates weren't home) so I could laugh as hard as I wanted without them wondering what in the world was going on. If any of you are wondering what 'planking' is... youtube it. It's this new craze/phase where people try to hold themselves perfectly straight across objects. Funny stuff...

This next picture is also from the same Oregon trip they just went on. My little sister Naomi is so funny... her face cracks me up everytime I look at this pic.

Ahhh I like funny people.

Anyway, I can't wait to go home and see my family! One more week and I'll be on my way to MT for Gunner's baby blessing. YA-TA.

A Few of My Favorite Things

2011-07-26T14:33:00.000-07:00

As of July 15, I can now say that I am an aunt to TWO nephews (eh, and zero nieces still... someday though, someday).

I had to post this picture because Carter's face is just priceless. It looks like he is taking the responsibility of holding his little brother quite seriously. What cuties!

Also, I thought I would add another picture to go along with my current Zombie theme. This old picture was resurrected on facebook today when my friend Kate Barlow commented on it, saying "AH, I accidentally just clicked on this picture and it freaked me out. so creepy..."

I'm so glad I can instill such heart warming feelings in my friends. I certainly strive to do my best, even if that means my best is a Zombie face that strikes horror in the hearts of those that view it.

Zombie Land

2011-07-19T08:13:00.000-07:00

ZOMBIES ARE IN TOWN! Well, a Zombie is what I like to call myself after I visit the eye doctor. Dilated pupils are immensely enjoyable. Not so much for the part where you can't see anything up close, but because it makes you look creepy. And being creepy is always fun, right?

My best friend Courtney asked for a picture of my Zombie eyes, so this one's for you! This is my attempt at a ruthless, mean, Zombie face (eh). I think my favorite part is that you can tell my eyes aren't really focused on the camera because, let's be honest --I couldn't focus on the camera and couldn't even tell if this picture turned out until hours later. ha ha

Don't worry though, friends. I'm not a Zombie anymore... although, it does remind me of a dream I had once when I got turned into a Zombie... and then I had to turn other people into a Zombie (with a wand) and I was REALLY good at it. So... watch out people.

Hugh or Toby, Take Your Pick

2011-07-11T16:03:00.000-07:00

Do any of you watch Friends?

There's an episode where Chandler's co-worker Bob thinks Chandler's name is actually Toby (all because Bob said "Hey Toby, want a donut?" and Chandler REALLY wanted a donut... so he pretended his name was Toby). Which, Chandler thinks is fine because Bob works on a completely different floor and he will never learn Chandler's real name. UNTIL Bob applies for a job on Chandler's floor and everything goes horribly wrong (including Chandler's office starting on fire... er, or something).

Anyway.. I'm quite certain that my life is parallel to Chandler's right now. There's a certain Church Office Building Employee that I have to email every week or so to confirm confidential records with. We've never met in person, so he automatically assumes I'm a man (because of my name). I've never corrected him... (which is probably my fault). Today, he took the liberty of shortening my name and calling me Hugh. WHAT THE. Apparently he thinks my first name is Hughes? Not sure where that came from. Anyway. since we're all buddy buddy now (apparently) I can't possibly correct him and let him know I'm female.

You probably think this is all fun and games... but obviously he doesn't have the new version of Microsoft Outlook that I have. I currently have Microsoft 2010 and it shows the employee ID picture of the people who send you email. Who knows when he'll get the upgrade... I just hope he doesn't have a heart attack when he realizes he's been emailing a girl named BERKLEY and not a man named Hugh.

I guess I'll find out when he gets the upgrade when he starts calling me Sister Hughes...

I Could Definitely Get Used to This

2011-06-28T15:59:00.000-07:00

Yup... Summer. This is how I get to spend my lunch breaks. Chillin at the prettiest place in Utah every day, just soaking up the sun.

The only thing that could possibly go wrong with this picture is if my legs don't get slightly darker by the end of the Summer...

I love you Summer.

Ben F, I love you too.

If Ashley kicks you off I will find you.

p.s. Sorry Mom, Ben F. isn't a real boy. Sorry to get your hopes up... (Bachelorette)

Flooding

2011-06-27T08:30:00.000-07:00

This post is for you, Erin! :)

My old roommate Erin is from Minot, North Dakota... and if you have been watching the news lately, you've probably been hearing about the flooding going on over there. Their poor town is inundated with water. So sad...

She thinks that the house on the left is her house:

Please keep her family (husband, 2 little girls and baby on the way) and her town in your thoughts and prayers! This is going to be a long recovery for the whole town, so they'll need all the help they can get...

Expelliarmus!

2011-06-23T15:01:00.000-07:00

In case you're wondering... Harry Potter 7.2 comes out July 15th. Depressing and exciting all at the same time. What's one suppose to do with oneself once all the books have been read (long ago) and all the movies have been seen?

Well, looks like the only viable option is to go to Florida.

Wait, what?

Yup, that's right. I'm going to HARRY POTTER LAND (aka The Wizarding World of Harry Potter) this fall! I'm so excited I can barely stand it!

Even though I'm a Muggle I can still pretend to be as cool as Ron, Hermione, and Harry:

Pretty sure this will be the greatest adventure EVER!

Hypocrite Land

2011-06-17T09:13:00.000-07:00

I am kind of embarassed to admit it.... but I am an avid watcher of the Bachelorette this season. I've never been a fan of the Bachelor/Bachelorette in the past. I thought it was the dumbest show that existed - especially when it was the Bachelor. Nothing irks me more than seeing a flock of girls fawn over one guy (girls in Mormon land are annoyingly way too used to that). But... somehow... I ended up watching the Bachelorette Premiere with my roommates this year... and... (dot dot dot) I've been hooked ever since. Speaking of 'dot dot dot' I'm pretty sure Bentley is the biggest MD I've ever seen. If you don't know what an 'MD' is... check out this blog link:

http://mormonchildbride.blogspot.com/2011/05/unfortunately-not-endangered.html

This show is turning out to be quite entertaining, who knew? My top three guys are JP, William, and Ben F.... I don't think Ben F. was on my radar until he showed up on an episode wearing a beanie... I'm not sure what's up with guys with shaggy hair and Beanies... but I love it.

Anyway... now that we've all lost a few brain cells let's move on to something more interesting.

I am leaving in approximately 4 hours to see this youngster:

Pretty sure he's the cutest little boy in the world! I'm so excited to get to spend some time with Jordan and Alyssa and their cute little family. I'm still slightly in shock that I'll be getting another nephew in a month. Alyssa's pregnancy flew by for me (but she probably can't say the same thing)...

Cops: 3 ... Fire Department: 1

2011-06-16T16:04:00.000-07:00

If you must know, that is the number of times the cops and fire department have visited our house since the beginning of the year.

Nope, my roommates and I aren't a wild and crazy bunch. I mean, come on. Look at me. If you know me, you know that I haven't gotten in trouble in my life - my roommates are the same way. Well, I guess I have gotten pulled over once (if you can call that getting in trouble?). BUT, that was in high school. In my Mom's van. On my way home from prom night, in my prom dress. Luckily I looked sweet and innocent enough that the cop let me go without a ticket, especially since I told him I was late for curfew...

Anyway, in case you're curious, here are the events that caused my roommates and I to get to know the authorities a bit better:

Cop Episode #1: One night our friend Gabe decides to come over and show us his new gun. Unfortunately for him our neighbor was feeling suicidal and cops were outside our house. Once they saw him outside with a gun, they were on him like white on rice... bad timing my friend, bad timing... apparently Gabe doesn't like having police dogs attack and guns pointed at him? Hmm Weird.

Cop Episode #2: This was a few weeks ago - it was really late at night and we were all in our respective bedrooms getting ready for bed. I heard a persistent LOUD knock on our front door and automatically decided to ignore it, since... I was in my pajamas. Whoever was knocking could wait until the next day, right? Luckily my roommate decided to open the door and found an irritable cop waiting for her at our door. Yahoo... apparently somebody called in our neighbors bonfire (neighbors that we share a backyard with) and complained to the cops... thanks Kelsey for taking the brunt of the cops irritableness... (the Cop didn't believe that we weren't the ones who started the fire). Which, thankfully, led to a musical scene in our bathroom the next morning when Kelsey and I started singing 'We Didn't Start the Fire' by Billy Joel. Good song, good song.

Cop Episode #3 and Firemen Episode #1: This happened at mine and Kelsey's birthday bonfire last Saturday. Apparently we throw rockin parties? ha ha just kidding... but seriously. We decided to light a little fire in our backyard and turns out we have quite the cranky neighbor, seeing as he called the Cops AND the Firemen on us. Bleh, whatev. We weren't doing anything wrong, so we didn't get in trouble. It was kind of funny though, seeing firemen examining our bonfire to make sure everything was Kosher...

Well, hopefully that's the last we'll see of the authorities for a while. But, I guess if all else fails... the cops/firemen know exactly where to find us in case of an emergency?

Why I Wouldn't Have Made a Good Pioneer

2011-06-16T09:16:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of visiting this crazy girl in DC:

She had to work the Friday I was there, so I explored some of the Smithsonian Museums, the Holocaust Museum, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing by my lonesome. No biggy, I kind of enjoyed taking my time at the exhibits I went to without feeling rushed.

I think my favorite monument was the Lincoln Memorial. I mean, come on, look at it! It's amazing! And ginormous.

Although my favorite monument was the Lincoln Memorial, I think the Holocaust Museum left the greatest impact on me. Just walking into the building made me depressed - lately I've read a few books based on WWII and/or about Jews, so I felt a little more connected to the place than I probably would have had I not read them. The museum had so many pictures of Jews literally seconds before their deaths -- I kept looking at their faces, trying to see if there was fear in their eyes since they knew they were about to die. None of them showed emotion. I remember looking at a particular picture of a group of Jewish leaders sitting on the ground, just waiting for their turn to get shot - and none of them showed fear. It made me wonder how I would react if I was in that same situation. What a sad time in history...

Anyways, now that we're all good and depressed, I'll see if I can cheer us up a bit.

On my way to the Lincoln Memorial I came across this beauty:

Isn't that gorgeous?! Possibly the best rat tail I've seen in my life. It grosses me out just thinking about him washing that sucker. A long string of wet nastiness. bahaha

Oh, and in case you guys are wondering, you walk A LOT while you're visiting the DC area. I was told to wear comfortable walking shoes. Which I did. But, the soles on said comfortable shoes were not quite up to snuff when it came to protecting my dainty feet and what-not. So, on day 2 of walking 12 hours straight everyday, both of my poor feet ended up with blisters right below my toes (if you don't like graphic pictures, look away now):

Yeah, pretty gross. And painful. Want to hear a gross analogy? Once again, if you get grossed out easily, look away now... Walking on these blisters felt like walking on big, juicy, potato bugs, ready to pop at any second. bahaha. Hey, I told you guys it was a gross analogy!

My blisters reminded me of the pioneers... especially those Pioneer Children who sang as they walked... and walked... and walked... and walked... walking across the plains. And I decided I wouldn't have made a good pioneer. Two days into the walk across the country I would have thrown my towl in. Said something like "I've been turned into a cow... can I go home now?" (name that movie)

Anyway, my trip to DC was a blast! And thanks go to Kate for being an amazing hostess. And thanks also go to my buddy Cody who kept me company on some legs of my trip. I'd say the weekend was a success.

A Cheeto Kind of Day

2011-06-07T15:52:00.000-07:00

Somedays are just special, you know? The kind of days where you walk through the grocery store or cafeteria and say 'I could really go for some Cheetos right about now.'

Well, that kind of day happened today. It was divine. I grabbed a a bag of Cheetos and ate it with my sandwich and mixed veggies. Fantastic mix, if I do say so myself.

I've always loved Cheetos. In fact, when I was a wee lass, I ate so many Cheetos at my Dad's bank picnic one year that I was sick later that night (TMI?). Since then I've learned to curb my Cheeto appetite a bit, just to avoid the 'being sick' part. Sometimes I can even make a bag of Cheetos last the afternoon (like today). So proud, so proud. Oh, and want some random Berkley Cheeto trivia? I've kept a certain Cheeto since my college years because it looks like a dude doing a push-up. No joke. So, if you're ever at my house, feel free to ask to see it. I'll gladly oblige.

Oh, and want to know what else made this Cheeto day extra special? It's my BIRTHDAY!! Between a few early morning happy birthday texts from friends, facebook well-wishers, emails, and my co-worker who made me this (and draped it over my desk):

I'm feeling pretty good about life. Feeling loved. Oh, and to top off the 'feeling loved' moment, I even got an email from TripAdvisor with the subject line 'Without you, we're nothing.' Looks like this is going to be a good year.

Katniss

2011-06-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

So, there's this movie coming out in the near future called the Hunger Games. If you haven't heard of the book series, you've probably been living in a cave for the past few years. If you like to read (or even if you don't like to read), and you haven't heard of the trilogy, I highly recommend getting all three books. Yes, all three books. Once you finish the first book you will hate life a little bit until you can read the second book. And then the third book. They're THAT good.

Anyhow, I was Katniss Everdeen for Halloween in 2010. Yeah, maybe I was a bit obsessed with the books. And maybe nobody knew who I was at Halloween parties. But I had a blast being Katniss.

Today I saw a picture of Katniss. I've seen a picture of the actress before, but she was all dolled up and had blonde hair. Now that she's dressed the part, I think she looks amazing! I am 100% for this girl as Katniss. Now I just hope they can work on Peeta....

Graduation and Rainbows and all that Jazz

2011-05-31T13:39:00.000-07:00

I went home to Montana this past weekend for Naomi's high school graduation. Holy Moly... I still can't believe she's old enough to graduate. I remember when she was a baby!

Naomi's graduation party was Saturday night with a bunch of other kids. Lots of food and cake and people everywhere. And don't worry, I surely got asked by a stranger if I was the Hughes kid that was graduating from high school. I wonder when people will stop mistaking me for a high schooler. Seriously people....

My drive back to Utah yesterday was what, I assume, Hades would be like. I think I had about an hour total of dry weather and roads. The rest of the time I was flying through rain and drenched roads, praying that I wouldn't hydroplane while, at the same time, cursing the heavy rain that was falling. During a short break in the rain I saw something bright out of the corner of my eye and saw this amazing double rainbow (pictured above). The picture doesn't do it justice... it was incredible!

Luckily I made it home safely -- I can't say the same for a poor car I saw upside down after an especially heavy downfall. Ugh.

Gulliver's Travels

2011-05-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

Aka Berkley's travels. Let's just hope mini people don't try to stake me down... that wouldn't be cool.

Anywho. This weekend I'm off to the land of my forefathers... the Bitterroot Valley.

It's my youngest sibling's High School graduation on Sunday, May 29th. What the heck? I'm getting old... seeing as I remember her as a baby and everything. Weird.

Speaking of babies, I get to see that very baby that's sitting in Naomi's lap! C-Mike is having his 1st birthday May 27th, which is convenient because it is also my brother in law Allen's birthday AND Grammer's Birthday all on May 27th! PARTY weekend! Good times are about to be had.

AND next weekend I'm off to Washington D.C.! Woot. I've never been there before, so I'm ready for some adventure!

(Now is the time where you give me suggestions and tell me what to do/see/eat)

My itinerary canvas is blank...

Shark Attack

2011-05-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

So, question. Are you occasionally scared by people’s ID pictures? My Outlook email (at work) shows an employee’s ID picture in the bottom right hand corner of the screen when viewing their email. And not gonna lie, sometimes I have to change the email my screen is showing to get rid of a particularly frightening picture of somebody. I can just imagine the Jaws theme music running in the background as I hurry to change the email (and subsequently, the picture). Don’t worry; I’ve had my fair share of awkward ID pictures in my lifetime so I don’t hold it against them. These people look fine in real life; their pictures just seem to tear at my soul - in a bad way.

In case you were wondering about my awkward ID pictures, here are a few that top my list:

At BYU-Idaho, my roommates labeled one of my ID pictures ‘Christmas Alexaphee’ since one of my eyes happened to be green, the other red. Ohh life (and I can’t quite remember why they nicknamed me Alexaphee that semester… help, roommates?).

In SLC, the Bishop in my last ward said that my ward directory picture made me look like a German girl. I am German, but not 100% German. And no girl wants to be told they look like a German girl (it brings to mind stocky women with names like Bertha).

Oh, ID pictures... how I hate you. Too bad real life wasn't like Harry Potter world. Moving pictures would be so much more agreeable than the mug shots our Muggle world has to use.

Explosions

2011-05-23T15:36:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel like your head is going to explode? Well, that's me today.

Lately I've been trying to make some big decisions and I don't do well with making decisions... so I guess we'll see what happens. Hopefully my head doesn't explode before I can finalize that decision...

Berkley Hughesová

2011-05-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

My name has always been mistaken for a boys name (same with my sister Jasper). No biggy, I'm used to it. I sometimes receive random junk mail for a 'Mr. Berkley Hughes' (which makes it easy to chuck - real people know I'm a girl), and at work I occasionally get emails addressed to a 'Brother Hughes' from people around the world or in the COB who have never met me. Meh, whatever. No point in correcting.

Anywho, today at work, my boss taught me that in Slovakia the females end their last names in an 'ová'! Greatest. Invention. Ever! Why doesn't every country do that? It would make life so much easier. Seriously. No more mistaken gender identities! From now on, I'd like to be known as Berkley Hughesová. Just kidding. Actually, I don't know all the rules about the 'ová' application in Slovak. Perhaps it's only used for women who are married, who knows. But I like it!

In other news, why do painters wear white jump suits? That seems odd to me, since white would show any splatter. Just wondering (and I saw a painter today).

Tigger

2011-05-16T11:17:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those mornings where drivers were being... well, stupid drivers. You know how it goes. When I finally got into the parking garage, I noticed that there was a line of cars because one car in particular was just sitting at the gate. They probably didn't know what they were doing, or their card wasn't working, or whatever. I didn't care. I literally said out loud "what the crap. GO!" And, finally, I think the parking attendant heard me (not really though because my windows were rolled up), because he got out of his booth and opened the gate for the car that was stalling everybody up (and, in the future, if you're in a parking garage and don't know what to do... DON'T just sit there. Take a ticket. It's not that hard).

Because I had time to sit in my car and enjoy my surroundings, I noticed that I had kitty foot prints all over the front windshield of my car. It's happened a few times before, but this time it reminded me of my family's cat back home, Tigger. I think that cat sometimes had it out for me. I love the cat, but just because she's been a part of our family since I was a kid. I'm deathly allergic to cats, so she (and her brother Bob, before he died) were strictly outdoor mouser cats. I think Tigger was born to be a house cat, because she would ALWAYS try to sneak into the house whenever anybody opened the door. I mean, who wouldn't? It was always nice and warm and welcoming inside our house. Remember when I said Tigger had it out for me? I think she knew I was allergic to her and hated cats. Maybe she wanted to win me over, but all in the wrong ways. One time, when nobody was home but my Mom, Tigger slipped into the house. Where did she run to? You guessed it. She somehow ran all the way upstairs, around the corner, down the hall, and to the farthest room down the hall -- my Mom found her sitting on my bed. On my PILLOW. I guess she loved me so much she wanted to leave behind her imprint and hairs as a present.

Now Tigger is a decade older, is missing half of her tail, and still rules our neighborhood. I'm guessing she's probably 87 in cat years by now. I'll be going home in two weekends for my little sister's High school graduation and I can't wait to say hi to Tigger (through the kitchen window, of course).

Ginger Training

2011-05-13T14:53:00.001-07:00

I'm covering for a lady named Ginger at the end of June - she's the Managing Director's staff assistant and I get to leave my division and hold the MMD fort down while she's gone. She emails me tid-bits of info every once in a while and I finally decided to make a folder in my Inbox to hold the correspondence. I labeled it 'Ginger Training.'

After I made the folder, I glanced at the folder name and giggled to myself. Sounds like I'm in training to become a red head!

Then my thought process jumped to actual red heads and why they get such a bad rap.

I really don't understand. Some of the prettiest girls I know are red heads. Is it because they don't tan? Have freckles? If that's the case, then I guess I AM in Ginger training since I can't tan and have freckles. Sure, some red heads are homely looking. But that's definitely the case with any hair color.

Who knows, maybe I just have a soft-spot for red heads. I mean, come on. Who doesn't love the Weasleys? Or FedEx from Cheaper by the Dozen? The hilarious Emma Stone is prettier as a red head than a blonde, and I've known quite a few super cute red headed guys (remember Petey, Kate?). One of my roommates in college married a red head - his last name was Furniss and his nickname was 'Furnace' because he was so HOT (hehe, get it?).

Anywho, I'll enjoy my time Ginger Training... and, ironically enough, she is NOT a ginger. She is, in fact, blonde. :)

The Ugly American

2011-05-10T15:32:00.001-07:00

Before I blog about my a-maz-ing trip to St Louis this past weekend, I thought I'd do a precursor blog post. A blog post about Ugly Americans. No, I'm not talking about un-attractive Americans (physically), I'm talking about Americans who don't care about other people.

People who know me well know that I hate repetitive sounds. I can't handle ticking clocks when it's quiet or I'm trying to sleep (just call me Captain Hook), people who snore, and basically anything that is annoying and repetitive - you get the picture.

There was a woman on one of my flights who fit all of my 'annoying, get the heck away from me' categories, AND she was conveniently placed right across from me (we both had aisle seats).

Let me just tell you why I labeled her an 'Ugly American.'

She snored when she slept.

Okay, I won't call somebody an 'Ugly American' just because they snore. That's something they can't help... but it certainly put her annoyance radar on the map.

This was the REAL reason she made the 'Ugly American' list:

When she woke up, not even kidding, she played bejewelled on her phone with the sound ON. If you've never played this game before, google it. Listen to the sounds it makes. Then pity me. At first, I thought maybe she was hard of hearing, or deaf. Maybe she didn't know her phone was making loud sounds. But, no. I witnessed her converse with a seat mate. She could certainly hear her phone.

Why would an adult play a game on their phone, with the sound on, in a crowded airplane? Did her parents (if she had parents) not teach her to be polite? The only reason that I can imagine her doing this, is that she is in the 'Ugly American' classification. She certainly didn't care about annoying the people around her.

Anywho, I'll end my rant about Ugly Americans. I dedicate this blog post to Mr Mitchell, my High School U.S. History teacher, who read us the Ugly American book.

Hipster 101

2011-05-05T08:49:00.000-07:00

So, sometimes my friends and I like to talk about Hipsters. The guys and girls are attractive and way too cool, and they're all highly intimidating. Sometimes we see a new guy, think he's cute, but find out later he's a hipster (in our defense, you can't really tell when they wear Church clothes). Automatically we write him off the 'list.' Because, we like to say, "once you go hipster, you can't go back" (meaning, once a guy dates a hipster girl he wont go back to normal girls).

My co-worker sent me this video today and I wanted to cry it was so hilarious. I dedicate this video to all the normal girls in the world who want to date a hipster:

Hipster Rule Number 1: Never Try. Never put effort into anything.

(favorite quote: "okay, we're gonna need to put jeans under that skirt. And sweats over those jeans.")

Hipster Rule Number 2: Only like things ironically. Books, Movies, TV Shows, the Environment.

Hipster Rule Number 3: Never show too much enthusiasm.

Final Rule: Everything is dumb. Someone says something you don't understand? You just go "I'm over it."

Tuna-fied and Loogy-fied Fountain

2011-05-04T15:48:00.000-07:00

If you have a sensitive stomach, look away now.

Still here?

Okay.

Let me tell you a story. A story about a certain water fountain at work that can make or break my day.

Most days it's perfectly normal. No scents or 'residue.'

(Actual Drinking Fountain)

But, on occasion, somebody in that area decides to DRAIN THEIR TUNA into that drinking fountain.

Yeah, I know. So gross. Maybe I have a sensitive nose and nobody else is bothered. But, if the scent is there, it makes me gag a little everytime I have to refill my water bottle.

Anywho, back to the story.

TODAY I experienced something even grosser than the tuna smell.

SOMEBODY (I imagine it was a man), had hacked a LOOGIE into the drinking fountain. Seriously. I tried to rinse it down by running water for a while, but nope. No success.

I think it's gone now. But I still gag a little everytime I think about it when I'm drinking my water.

Yeah, I gagged a lot today.

To make up for this nasty post, and hopefully erase the memory of the loogie from everyone's minds, I put up a picture of my Nephew Carter:

See? Don't you feel better already?

The End.

Happily Ever After, Disney Style

2011-05-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

How can you beat a fairy tale wedding...

And death of the evil villain...

All in one weekend?

Life is goood. Real goood.

Evil Step Sisters?

2011-04-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

While perusing a few pictures of today's nuptials between my good friends Kate and Wills, I came across this dandy of a photograph. This is a picture of Britain's Prince Andrew and his daughters: Eugenie and Beatrice.

WHAT THE heck is on their heads? Automatically I bestowed the judgment upon them that they are the evil stepsisters, or whiny cousins, or acquaintances, that you always read about in the Pride and Prejudice type books. You know the kind that I'm talking about - that are always plotting about how they can get the guy. They probably both secretly hate Kate since she got Wills.

Or, you know, I could be 100% wrong. It's hard to believe though - not just a hat rack my friends... not just a hat rack.

Besties

2011-04-27T11:33:00.001-07:00

I am flying here next weekend:

And I couldn't be MORE EXCITED!!! Seriously, I'm so excited I can barely stand it.

WHY, do you ask, am I so excited? Well.... (drumroll).... I get to see my two favorite girls in the whole world!!!

Miss Kate Barlow and Mrs. Courtney Howell!

I've been friends with Courtney since the Winter of 2004.... and Kate since Fall of 2004 (um, I think that's right?). So it almost feels like we've been buddies forever! But now Court lives in St Louis and Kate lives in DC.... pooh.

These girls made my experience at BYU-Idaho quite the adventure, to say the least. We have so many funny stories... one of my favorites is the "to the left" story. One night we were driving back to Rexburg from Idaho Falls and we had to take a detour... long story short, we ended up getting lost (the usual when you're with me). I kept saying "um, to the left?" and we ended up going through Lewisville twice without turning around. Yup. No joke.

Seriously, so many memories..... eating popcorn chicken salads with Courtney... eating my black bean and cheese (with taco time salsa) and turkey dips with Kate... going to Comic Frenzy ('Famous').... Going to Dairy Queen and Wingers... Bowling.... getting Texano Burritos at RAMIREZ.... Rigby Lake.... fishing in the La Jolla puddles.... listening to Matt Nathanson w/Kate before he was cool.... having 'LL' time with Court (language learning time)... Kate reading parts of her English books to me... Kate reading my homework to me... (hehe)... tanning.... volleyball.... wallyball.... DOMINOS.... watching Katschke at softball.... Bishop Hart.... BEEHIVE.... Sudoku puzzles... Tuesday Devos (naptime)....

Seriously, these girls are my favorites! And I miss them like the desert misses the rain (Sting, anyone?). In fact, I miss them enough that I'm contemplating moving to DC at the end of the Summer. Imagine the ADVENTURES!! But, shhhh, don't tell anyone.

9 DAYS!!!!

KSL Headline Picture.... seriously?

2011-04-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

Anybody else see anything wrong with this picture??

Maybe it's just me, but her fingernails DISGUST me! I probably shouldn't be so critical, but I've never been a fan of long fingernails and these might just take the cake of nastiness....

Maybe next time they should think twice about their handmodels. Just saying...

Like Aunt Like Nephew

2011-04-18T15:41:00.000-07:00

I eat my PB&J's EXACTLY the same way. (jk)

But I sure love my PB&J's! Had one today for lunch, in fact. YUM.

Kicked Out and Liberated

2011-04-18T08:34:00.000-07:00

Well, it finally happened. This Sunday will be my last day in the University 34th ward. The Church is getting rid of University wards and my roommates and I will be assigned to a singles ward that our house is actually assigned to (boooh). Well, actually, I'm kind of excited. It will be fun to make friends with people that actually live near our house (since, um, we live quite a ways outside the boundaries). But I'll definitely miss the 34th ward! It's been my home for the past year and eight months and I've made a lot of great friends. And, on another note, the ladies at the Church Office Building have been liberated!! We no longer have to wear nylons to work! It kind of feels like the end of the world. I never would have thought that the day would come when I wouldn't have to wear nylons to work anymore.... well, I guess, it will definitely be a sign of the last days when we're allowed to wear pants to work...

Move over Big Guy

2011-04-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

It's time to go. Sorry Kirilenko. You've been a favorite of mine for years. I even sleep in a Kirilenko tshirt almost every night. But there's a new guy in town. His name is Gordon Hayward. My new Jazz favorite! He scored 34 points in last nights game against Birdman and the Nuggets. Plus, we're friends. Well, in my dreams. Literally. A month ago I had a dream that I was working at Barnes and Nobles (that would be a sweet job, p.s.) and he and Evans invited me to a Jazz after party! Boo yeah.

I think I need a new Jersey to sleep in every night. A #20 Jersey...

I can't wait until next season!

Still Crying Inside

2011-04-11T08:38:00.001-07:00

Jimmy Eat World is coming to SLC May 15th!! When I saw the news I got the biggest rush of excitement, I seriously wanted to explode. I LOVE THEM! I saw the date and decided nothing, no plans, no person, was going to keep me away from that concert. THEN, I looked at the Calendar. WHAT THE. May 15th is a Sunday! NEVER have I felt more disappointment in my life (okay, maybe once or twice, but I can't really remember those times). But seriously, WHY would they book a concert in UTAH on a Sunday? As my old boss would say, I am now suffering from the Black Depression. That's all for now. Please give me your pity, I need it.

Age Spots and Tats

2011-04-08T08:21:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd finally blog about my San Diego trip since, you know, it's been a week. Basically all I'm going to say is that we had a blast. Oh, and that we got to see lots of beaches, Sea Lions, Dolphins, Temples (St George/Vegas/San Diego), ride a rollercoaster by the beach (AMAZING), and get tats. I went with my roommate Kelsey and my little sister Moriah. So much fun! I'm glad I got to spend time with my sister before she heads back up to BYU-Idaho (speaking of, I totally miss the BYU-Idaho days). So, I'm slightly jealous. Actually a lot jealous. Especially since my other little sister will be there in the Fall and my Brother/Sister in Law/Nephew/Future Nephew live there too!

Our second night there we decided to hang out at Oceanside beach to see the sunset. So beautiful! Also, I think I'm getting age spots. Just kidding. But seriously - I used to not get freckles and this year my cheeks are getting full of them. I think it's a sign I'm getting old... or my skin is going through a tri-life crisis.

And, by the way, I totally got a tat!

Just kidding, it's not real. It's actually faded to a light orange right now. Probably another week and it will be gone.... since I work for the Church I didn't have a lot of options on where to put it. So, since I wear cardigans (like a Grandma) to work everyday, I thought the best place to keep it hidden is my upper arm.... I'M A REBEL! (said like that old guy off Emperor's New Groove)

Boy or Girl?

2011-04-05T14:59:00.000-07:00

So... a friend of mine texted me this picture today. I'm really not sure who they're bashing on... BECAUSE I can't tell if that person in the picture is a boy or a girl!! It could go both ways. I need votes here. What do you think this person is?

Two Best Friends

2011-04-04T14:35:00.001-07:00

Oh best friends... they make life so much easier. In my previous post I blogged about my other best friend, my winter boots (and yes, I am wearing them right now... with my heater blasting). My other best friend's name is Maggie (short for Magellan). I would have been lost without her this weekend! Southern California roads would have been tricky to navigate without her. So, Maggie, this post is for you. Thank you for making my trip to San Diego a success.

A Girl's Best Friend

2011-03-29T11:05:00.000-07:00

So, being a Church Office Building Employee, I have to wear skirts everyday. Something that really sucks in the Winter time. Just saying. I bought these gems at the beginning of winter/late fall: These have seriously saved my life. Yes, boots like these look tacky with skirts. But I dont care. I have normal Church shoes to change into at work if I'm feeling warm enough, but 90% of the time I end up in these suckers all day long. With my heater blasting. I can't wait till Springtime!!!!

The Greenhouse Effect

2011-03-25T11:21:00.000-07:00

I did it! It's officially been 2 weeks since I've eaten out. I've brought lunches every day and have eaten at home every night. It feels amazing. I would go on longer, but I'm meeting my Visiting Teacher at The Greenhouse Effect tomorrow morning. I'd say that is a valid excuse to break my 'no-eating-out' fast. The Greenhouse Effect is this amazing cafe that serves crepes. Located in SLC at 3231 S. 900 E., for anybody that wants to try it. LOVE IT!!

This picture is from the last time I went to the Greenhouse Effect, about a month ago. Notice the size of that crepe! And the deliciousness that is inside! So good. I will continue my 'no-eating-out' fast after my next crepe. That is, until I GO TO SAN DIEGO NEXT WEEKEND! Woohoooo

Death by Food

2011-03-11T11:15:00.001-08:00

Since I'm driving here in 3 weeks:

And flying here in 2 months:

I decided I need to save some money. Traveling is NOT cheap!

I was looking over my bank account and realized that I have been spending WAY too much money eating out. In the last 2 weeks alone I have spent about $93. EEK. I guess that's what happens when you buy lunch everyday and eat out with friends all the time. meh. Anywho, now that I've realized where my money drain is, I've decided to start packing lunches! And eat out less.

Here is where YOU come in. What kind of things do you pack for lunches? Because, seriously, I can't handle eating a sandwich everyday. Today I brought leftover pizza and yogurt. Yup, so healthy.

So, seriously, please give me lunch ideas!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

2011-03-03T11:16:00.000-08:00

Turn and face the Strange
Ch-Ch-Changes

Thank you David Bowie.

Anyway... back to the blog.

I dedicate this post to you, Mom. I wish I could see your face for the shock-factor...

Here are a few little things that I've changed over the past year:

I make my bed every day.

NEVER happened until about 1 year ago. Lazy? Probably.

I think I can pin this new, bed-making development on the spider-infested house I used to live in. My thought process probably went something like this: "if I make my bed, spiders wont be able to get into my sheets!"

New house and I'm still making my bed. Habits are hard to break, good or bad.

I floss my teeth every day.

NEVER happened until about a year ago. I think I can trace that back to my decision to make my dental hygienist proud. Don't you feel guilty everytime your hygienist asks "now...how often do you floss?"

I'm in a bookclub!

I've always loved to read, but being in a book club is great. I've read a few books that I never would have read otherwise, one of them being "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.' The name itself probably would have thrown me off - it sounds weird. Not to mention that the book is written in letter format. Not my usual cup of tea.

But, If you're looking for a new book to read, I highly recommend it!

I love mushrooms!

Growing up I absolutely hated cooked mushrooms. I don't blame myself - they do look pretty gross. But for some reason I can now look past their outward appearance and eat them by cartfulls. Just kidding, not cartfulls. But enough to get my fill of whatever vitamin they have to offer.

BUT, there are still a few things I need to work on.

Not sure if these things will EVER happen, but here's hoping:

I hate onions with a passion.

Onions make me gag. Please dont give me food with onions. Sick. Perhaps someday I'll be able to eat them...? But don't count on it.

I hate Peppers.
I wish I liked them. But I dont.

But hey, we can't win every battle - right? This is coming from a girl that was so picky growing up I would only eat breakfast foods. I've come a long way!

Paradise

2011-03-02T10:34:00.000-08:00

T-minus 29 days until I get to see this:

Palm Trees + Warm Weather = One Happy Berkley Girl

Top 10 Reasons Why the Ke$ha Concert was the Worst Night of My Life

2011-02-21T16:01:00.000-08:00

I went with my sister Moriah and roommate Kelsey to a Ke$ha concert this past weekend. People keep asking me why it was so horrible, so I decided to post a 'Top 10 Countdown List' (David Letterman style) that I wrote Saturday morning.

Here it goes:

10. The swearing. The audience, Ke$ha's opening act, and Ke$ha all swore like a sailor. Pretty sure I heard the F word more times in one night than I have since high school. And, it's been a while since high school. And no, in case you're wondering, swearing does not make you cool. It increases your level of trailer trashness by about 500%.

9. Ke$ha's skit. She asked for a guy out of the audience, tied him to a chair... and yadda yadda yadda I am now scarred for life (and no, I will not provide details).

8. The amount of high schoolers at the concert. I usually love going to concerts, but I felt 10 years too old to be there. The Ke$ha concert may or may not be my last pit concert. I love concerts, but I think I'll only go now if I have a seat (for my reasons, see numbers 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2 below).

7. The haze in the air. Not sure if somebody snuck weed into the concert, but we left reeking like weed. This morning I woke up, left my room, came back into my room, and almost had to leave again because my room reeked like weed so badly. Now I am doing laundry.

6. The drunk dude that was looking for a 'girlfriend' (and yes he said he was looking for a girlfriend). Within about 10 miunutes of arriving at the concert, a drunk dude found his way to our corner and started hitting on every single girl within a 3 feet area (if you're thinking 'hmm that's not very big' then see 5 and 4 below). He first hit on a cute little blonde girl in front of us. Then, he hit on Moriah. Then, he hit on me. Thank you Moriah for literally pushing him away.

5. The pushing. When I was younger I loved being at the front of concerts and would force my way towards the front. Or, I would even stand in the middle of the pit and not mind the pushing. Now, I can't handle it. We found a good area near the front 1/4 of the concert hall and thought we would be okay - and we were for the most part (see number 2). But, this was one of the worst pit concerts I've ever seen. Kelsey tried to keep track and lost track after about 35... 35 being the number of girls that fainted and had to be lifted out of the pit.

4. The sweaty people. I must admit, there's not too many things worse in life than being crammed against strangers and having a big sweaty person cramming their way through your area, rubbing their dripping, sweaty, nasty body against you as they pass. And yes, once they passed, I rubbed the nastiness that was left on my arms on the person in front of me. Who wouldn't? I'm sure the people behind me did the same thing to me.

3. The amount of drunk/high people at the concert. I'm fairly certain there may have been a total of 5 people at the concert who weren't intoxicated/high --which includes me, Kelsey, and Moriah in that number. You know those scary zombie movies where the good guys are trying to get to a certain location and run into another group of humans along their journey? And the good guys start talking to the new strangers only to find out (and with scary movie music starting in the background) that those humans are indeed zombies and they have to run away? Well, that's what I felt like at the concert. I tried to warn a few cute little girls that they shouldn't force their way into the pit because about 35 girls had fainted, but one just looked at me, smiled really big, said something like "I'm SOooo HIGHHHH!" (with the F word thrown in) and shoved past. Last time I try to help a little girl.

2. The gay corner we were in. Somehow we were surrounded by gay couples, gay 4-somes, and gay people in general. You know, I'm fine with gay people - I have gay friends. BUT, I am NOT okay with gay PDA (I don't even like hetero couple PDA at concerts). This particular group of 4 gay guys was standing right in front of us --making out, groping one another, and dancing like they were exotic dancers. And, no, they didn't have a particular partner. They made out with the closest gay guy available. Scarred for life. Again.

1. Beardo the weirdo trailer park hero. Ke$ha's opening act was the worst act I've witnessed in my life and I've been to quite a few concerts. He was white, looked 45, had a fro mullet, wore hot pink spandex pants, an 80's tank top, didn't have any semblance of being attractive (yes, I tried to look for anything good) and quite possibly sang the worst music I've ever heard, not to mention he said the F word every other sentence. He was so awful that I even tried plugging my ears... but the music was so loud it didn't work. My mouth was open in shock for about 95% of his set, wondering how he even booked this gig wtih Ke$ha, the other 5% was open in disgust.

**post edit note**

I forgot about one thing that made the concert slightly enjoyable. Ke$ha's 'slave' was SANTA!!! Yes, she had a jolly old man dressed up in a Santa suit answering to her every beck and call.

Two of my favorite phrases from the night were:

"SANTA bring me a beer!!"

"SANTA I need a chair!!"

Maybe it's just me, but I thought it was hilarious...

Miracles...

2010-12-20T08:36:00.000-08:00

So amazing.

The Next Beethoven?

2010-11-30T10:33:00.000-08:00

My nephew Carter is only 6 months old and already playing hymns. SUCH a spiritual baby!

haha, just kiddin... he sure liked banging on the keys, though!

Spider Bait Berkley

2010-11-22T13:12:00.000-08:00

I won't deny it - I think they're out to get me. No, I'm not like Hodgins from Bones - I'm not usually a conspiracy theorist. But, I do believe I've accidentally irked the Spider species. There is no other explanation for the multiple times I've had to recently defend my life with a shoe.

You may think I'm exaggerating, but there have been too many instances where spiders have actually run TOWARDS me in my bedroom. I used to squeal like a little girl when I saw them coming at me, but I've become a cold-hearted, wizened, spider killer - quite methodical, actually: grab shoe, smash the beast. My Mom would be so proud. The only thing I need to work on to complete my hardened exterior is the task of disposing. I still gag when I hear them clunk into the spider cans, aka trash cans...

I thought I'd throw in a few good stories just to show what I mean when I say "I think they're out to get me:"

A few weeks ago I was sitting on the floor in my bedroom, blow drying my hair, when a huge spider literally RUNS at me. I yelp, drop my blow dryer, grab a shoe and kill the thing. One less spider in the world. Check.

About a week ago I was in my room, standing by my bed, when I see another spider running at me from across my bedroom floor. Honestly? Does it really think it stands a chance? Shoe. Smash. Check.

Saturday I was sitting on the floor in our living room, eating some food... when out of the corner of my eye I see a spider running at me. Again. It stops about a foot from my leg. I stayed put so I wouldn't scare the spider away and my roommate Kelsey grabbed a shoe and killed it. BOOM. Tag team. Bet it didn't see that one coming. After the kill she said "that spider was HUGE!!" And I was like "yeah, that's the kind I have in my room." No big deal... and I finished eating.

Oh, life... but seriously. What's up with these spiders? Did they get into a toxic chemical, reworking their genetic make-up, causing them to charge at humans? In my previous experiences with spiders they usually run away from people. Not towards.

Ah, well, makes for interesting stories. Right?

Ode to Kirilenko

2010-11-18T13:53:00.001-08:00

Turns out there are more things than freezing weather, figure skating, and gymnastics in Russia.

Meet Andrei Kirilenko:

What in the world did they feed the Andrei tyke to make him grow so tall? I'm thinking it was probably:

Kartofel. Which, if you don't know, is potatoes in Russian. Enough Kartofel for 6'9" lads.
I'm sure he was happy at 18 to go play for the Jazz. Because, as you know, he's really good at
Rebounds, making free-throws and stuff. He even has skater boy long hair- that's so tough. He might wash
It with Clairol Herbal Essence shampoo. But, wait, that's the kind that I use. And yet my blonde
Locks are nowhere near as silky as his bob with bangs. Some people may
Enjoy laughing at it, but I like the way it hangs. I think his cut is more for a technical purpose,
Not style. If he didn't have bangs, his long hair would get in his face once in a while.
Kudos to him for daring to be different! And his non-tattooed arms would make any Mom proud. For when he's an
Old timer his arm tats won't be shriveled like a cloud.

The End.

Umbrella-ella-ella

2010-11-09T08:33:00.000-08:00

Don't worry; I'm not going to be singing Rihanna's Umbrella song... although, it is pretty good. Well, was pretty good. 3 years ago.

Anyway, this morning as I was driving to work it was pouring out. I'm not complaining, I don't mind rain if it's temporary -- although, I don't think I've known anything besides temporary rain.
As I got closer to temple square and the parking garage, I noticed an odd occurrence. I first noticed a lady in a pink dress with a perfectly matched pink umbrella (who wouldn't notice that?). I thought to myself, 'hmm that's weird, I wonder if she did that on purpose?' Then, I noticed another lady walking across a cross walk. Her umbrella was green. Her skirt was green. They matched perfectly. What in the world? I was intrigued. Then, my mind wandered to an old roommate who had the misfortune of walking across the U campus with a BYU umbrella. But, that's a different story completely...

The question of the day is this: Did the two ladies with the matchy-accessorized umbrellas do it on purpose? Or, did they accidentally match? Do they have a closet at home FULL of umbrellas to accessorize their outfits with by chance a rainy day comes along? You know, I'm just a Montana girl. I have 1 umbrella in my possession. It's blue. But, it's because blue is my favorite color. And my Mom gave it to me (bless you, Mom).

So, who knows, maybe there's a fashion niche just for umbrellas... that I've never even thought about. Or dreamed about. Or cared about. Or will ever care about.

Which comes to my next random thought (I've been having quite a few of these lately)... what things do we do, innocently enough, that might cause other people to write about on their blog? hmm...

Think about it. But you don't have to take my word for it (thank you, LeVar Burton).

Carter...

2010-11-05T15:35:00.001-07:00

I thought I would show a picture of the cutest nephew in the world. No contest:

Oh, and I do recognize that I haven't updated my blog in a long time... I'll work on that.

PEACE.

Come on out Baby

2010-05-22T17:50:00.000-07:00

We're just waiting impatiently for lil Carter to come into the world! ANY DAY NOW... I know Alyssa's tummy is probably all nice and warm and comfortable and stuff. But seriously. We want to meet you!!! And I want to be an aunt! :)

And another one bites the dust

2010-05-18T22:51:00.000-07:00

My sister Jasper is getting married! July 24th is the big day. Welcome to the family Allen Peterson!

Here they are with our infamous Grammer :)

Hive-a-topia

2010-04-21T10:49:00.000-07:00

Welp, it turns out I'm allergic to an antibiotic. I should have suspected something, because I had this weird red mark on my neck for the past week. Anywho.

Late Friday night welts started popping up in random places on my body. I figured I must have gotten into something I was allergic to (that night we had gone all over SLC for a scavenger hunt)--so I decided to take a long hot shower to see if that would help (in hind-sight, I shouldn't have done that. Turns out hot water is BAD for hives). I went to bed, thinking I'd be fine in the morning.

Nope. I wake up, with hives all over my body. So not cool. And by all over my body, I mean ALL OVER MY BODY. I think I took this picture Saturday afternoon-before it got really bad. So if you think this picture looks slightly bad, just imagine more hives. And more swelling. :) I should have taken more pictures when it looked awful, but I just didn't care about anything during those moments.

Luckily, my hives didn't really itch too bad Saturday. But as the evening went on, my hives got worse and worse, and my hands and fingers started to SWELL. My fingers were swelling so bad it started to get painful and I had to take off my trusty CTR ring because it was looking quite awkward on my huge finger (and I was getting scared I wouldn't be able to get it off if I waited too much longer). :) Oh, and I think I conquered benadryl. I took about 6 pills throughout the day on Saturday and they didn't make me drowsy anymore! Maybe that's a bad thing to conquer... oh, and benadryl didn't help the hives. Ah well.

This is when I started thinking I might need to see a doctor. It was about 1 in the morning and Kristen had gone out with friends for the night, so I decided to wait for her to get home and see what she thought. She finally got home around 1:30ish and I asked her if I should go to the ER. She agreed quite quickly, so off we went...

The ER was pretty dead when we showed. No line, and not much of a wait. They got me in pretty fast and gave me one of those cool hospital wristband things with my name on it! Wahoo! Then they set me up in a little room. I had a doc and 2 nurses helping me out. One of the nurses told me that if I wasn't LDS she would have told me to go get a 'stiff drink' after I left to try to ease my suffering. HAHA. And the other nurse told me she couldn't even look at me without being itchy...

They gave me a bunch of pills in a cup (probably an antihistamine of some sort--I can't remember) and left me alone for a while so the Doc could research hives and figure out what was wrong with me. I started to get super sleepy (must have been the drugs), and I started falling asleep sitting up-with my back against the wall. I think I probably could have slept like that all night. Then a nurse came and made me lie down on the bed and put a nice warm blanky on me. That bed was so uncomfortable... I'm pretty sure I was more comfortable sitting up and slouching like I was before. Oh well. I think I tried to sleep for about 20 more minutes and the nurse came back. She told me the doctor thought it was my antibiotic, and then started asking me some really HARD questions, like 'what did the doctor tell you to do?' I wonder if nurses get a kick out of asking drugged-up patients simple questions. It took me about 3 tries of 'ummmm what do you meannnn? and finally I spit out that I was supposed to stop taking my antibiotic, and to see a doctor, and to get some prescriptions filled. And finally I was out (after they made sure I had someone to drive me home). haha

I was zonked out all day Sunday until about 2pm (those must have been some crazy drugs!) and by the time I got going I realized that the pharmacies for the day were already closed... I think they closed at 4pm (which shows how slow it took me to do anything with my life that day).

Monday I woke up and I thought I was dying... my hives were out of control again and this time there were weird dark patches where old hives had been. To make matters worse, I had hives on the bottoms of my feet, which made it SUPER painful to walk. Torture. And the joints in my fingers and wrists were super painful too, so it basically hurt to live. It was painful to even open doors...

I went to the pharmacist and got my prescriptions, then decided to stop by a dermatologist to see if they had any openings for the day. She didn't think they did, but she went to talk to the doc and they told me to come back at 3pm that day! wahoo! I guess looking like the living dead has its rewards.

The dermatologist agreed the hives were from the antibiotic, and gave me more prescriptions to fill to try and help the hives. I think me and the Pharmacy staff became good friends that day.

So here I am. It's Wednesday, Day 5 of the hives, and I think I almost have them beat. Thankfully my work has been quite understanding and I've been able to take these past 3 days of work off with no huge problems. I'm still nervous to do anything with hot water-not gonna lie, I've only showered once since that Friday night. :) but I think I may try to be brave and shower after I finish this post. My feet dont hurt anymore, so I can walk okay. And my body is only semi-itchy today. Which means I'll try to go back to work tomorrow, and back to normal life...

Wish me luck!!

Leave me alone, food.

2010-03-29T15:21:00.000-07:00

Do you sometimes fear that your food sends you subliminal messages? Lately I’ve been eating A LOT of the frozen yogurt/ice cream at the COB cafeteria. It’s just so tasty… I can’t help it.

Anywho. Please look at this picture. Does it remind you of anything?

Looks to me like a cute little piggy nose. I think my food is trying to tell me something… am I being a pig?

I hate it when my food speaks to me.

Itunes nerd fest

2010-03-09T22:33:00.000-08:00

See this?

This is what I stared at for about 3 hours straight tonight.

Arghh. I never transferred my itunes over from my old laptop and, seeing how it's been almost a year since I got my new laptop, I decided it was time. I don't have any cool transfer music thingy, so I was just using a good old junk drive. So fun...

So while I waited for music to download onto my junkdrive, I got to do the usual lazy night activity: chat with friends, listen to music, and go through old pictures. Oh, and think about updating my blog. :) Oh wait, instead of just thinking about updating my blog, I actually DID IT! Be proud people.

Winter Dew Tour

2010-03-09T21:53:00.000-08:00

At Denny's trying to get warm after the concert.

We were so bloomin cold it was amazing. Luckily Lynsey brought those handwarmers for all of us (you know, the kind that you can shake and they heat up for 12 hours). Best. Invention. Ever.

Wahoo Dashboard! So much fun.

I think I've seen them too many times recently because

I had a dream a while back that me and Chris Carrabba (lead singer) were friends.

I love dreams.

The girls at Denny's.

You can always count on something crazy happening when all us girls get together. We heard about a free shuttle up to Ogden for the concert--only problem was we didn't know for sure where the Park & Ride was... long story short we ended up rushing a Job Corp bus. Ooops.

The look on their faces was priceless.

I probably shouldn't leave out the adventures of Raptor Park and the adoption center from that night. Wait, was the adoption center for raptors? Or human babies? We will never know.

The Berkley's

2009-11-15T22:38:00.001-08:00

Can you even believe it? I found another Berkley! First time in my life I've met somebody with my name. AND it's spelled the same. Instant Best Friend status. We're unstoppable.

Too bad we didn't have a real camera, these are just phone pics...

Weirdees? Sure, I guess I'll take it.

2009-10-10T01:11:00.000-07:00

Family.... love them. And I love our crazy family pictures.

3 months till I get to go home for Christmas! The countdown begins...

home sweet home

2009-08-24T19:56:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness... what a beautiful sight. My backyard in Montana :)

Props go to Mohita for taking such a gorgeous pic.

2 Important Lessons Learned

2009-08-10T11:30:00.000-07:00

Today has been quite enlightening at work. Here are two important lessons that I learned that you might find interesting:

I have a bad habit of cracking my knuckles on occasion. You know, its just something I’ve picked up--my whole family does it.

Anyways-today, I happened to do it in front of a man from Tonga. He commented on it, telling me that he read a Readers Digest article once about how cracking knuckles doesn’t cause an increase in knuckle size and that people in Tonga, both men and women, crack their knuckles all the time thinking it limbers up their fingers.
Take that life! Especially to my friend, whom I will leave unnamed, that fights with me all the time about who has the better bad habit. She thinks her habit is better, which is picking at her split ends. Mine is so much more convenient. Mess free and so easy-even a blind person could do it.

I think I win, especially after my Tongan co-workers input.

The second lesson I learned today comes from Jeremiah 24:2, which reads:

“One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.”

So friends, please. Next time your fruit goes bad, please call it naughty.

We Shot the Moon/Parachute/Secondhand Serenade video

2009-08-05T21:15:00.000-07:00

Here's the video I was trying to add to the last post... of, you know, me entertaining myself.

For your enjoyment.

We Shot the Moon/Parachute/Secondhand Serenade and Lagoon

2009-08-05T20:11:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I went to another concert... wahoo! Except I wasn't too into this one... here are a few pictures of the group entertaining ourselves. haha

The concert was at thanksgiving point, so we all sat on blankets and were 1,000 yards away from the bands. urgh. And the weekend before I had gone to see Jack's Mannequin, so nothing would have compared anyways.... you think I kid, but I would never.

Another reason I wasn't too into the concert is because we had gone to Lagoon earlier that day and I was still recovering from the affects of taking 2 Dramamine pills. So worth it though. Lagoon was a blast!!

Berkley + Dramamine = unstoppable.

Wicked? Bring it on. White roller coaster? Bring it on. Pirate ship? Bring it on (although the pirate ship still kind of got to me... dang little kid ride). haha. I even went on the waterslides and I hate waterparks... I almost started enjoying myself the 3-4 time going down the waterslide. Why, you ask, did I go on the waterslides if I hate them so much? Because I didn't want to be stuck at the bottom, like a mom, watching my friends come out.

Anywho-back to the concert. Here is a video I took to entertain myself. Which I will try to upload again....

Jack's Mannequin and The Fray

2009-08-05T19:28:00.000-07:00

I LOVE JACK'S MANNEQUIN! There, I said it...

This concert was amazing. I was in 100% heaven the whole time. Pure bliss.... Yes, that's what Jack does to me. In fact, I'm listening to Jack as I type. :)

Um, anyway. Enough about my love for Jack. Here are some pics! All my pictures stunk, so I stole these from my friend that was in the pit. muahaha

JACK!!

I went with my buddy Mark, his sister Jamie,

and their friend Jessica. Awesome people.

Me and Marko

The Fray! I never really listened to them before the concert

so I wasn't as into them as Jack. But now I listen to them everyday...

LOVE THEM.

Their songs are what I'd like to call pure music:

incredible lyrics, great vocals, great band.

MAE

2009-08-05T18:42:00.000-07:00

My roommate Jennifer and I went to a Mae concert a few months ago! I actually forgot I even went until she gave me pictures a few weeks ago. Awkward...

I guess I've seen them so often that their concerts all roll into one. Who knows. haha
Or my Alzheimer problem is kicking in.

Me and Jen-dont mind our awkward faces, please.

These next 2 photos are from previous concerts....

All the pics that I took at this latest concert looked horrible

so I thought I'd rehash a few good old ones. :)

Parachute + Windsor Drive + Channel 2

2009-07-27T17:52:00.000-07:00

My roommate Jennifer is a producer for Channel 2. This morning they had Parachute on their show!! She got to meet them and asked if they could get me their autographs since I like their music. What an awesome roommate! And too bad they spelled my name wrong, but hey--its the thought that counts, right?

A month ago the band Windsor Drive came and performed on Channel 2,

so Jennifer got their number....
That night after their concert at the Avalon, Jen asked if they wanted to

go get some pizza with us girls.

They came... and let me tell you, what a crazy night we had. haha

Their music isn't too bad either-check them out.

From left to right

bass, Kimmi, Jen, Me, Lead Singer, Drums, Guitar, Keyboard.

Fame hasn't quite hit these kids yet, so it felt like we were just hanging out with

a bunch of goofy, down to earth guys.

Good times.

Just a glimpse of the craziness we encountered...

I think this is when their drinks kicked in.

The Life of a COB employee

2009-07-27T17:46:00.000-07:00

The other day I looked down at the floor in my bedroom, saw all my work shoes on the floor, and had to laugh. Oh the life of a Church Office Building employee....

Speaking of work.... it will be my 1 year anniversary on August 1st! wahoo! Go me.

Sapphire Mining-4th of July

2009-07-15T21:09:00.000-07:00

I'm still waiting to get pictures back from friends on a few recent fun-times I've had, so I thought I would do a filler blog entry on what I would have done on the 4th of July... these are pics from my family going to Skalkaho Falls and the Sapphire mines, our yearly 4th of July tradition.

p.s. thanks go to my sister-in-law Alyssa. I stole these pictures from her facebook. aww what's family for? :)

Skalkaho Falls

And again, Skalkaho Falls

Sapphire Mining!! WOOT.

First, you have to put dirt in a screen- and swish it around in the water.

It's actually takes a bit of talent-you have to get all the dirt lined up perfectly in the middle.

(it makes the heavy stuff (sapphires) sink to the bottom of the tray)

Then, you have to flip it over...

if you did it right, the sapphires 'should'

be right at the top of the pile, ready to go.
Most of the time though, you have to dig around...

We seriously have loads of sapphires at our house.

Good times.

Maybe next 4th of July I'll head home and do the hunt for sapphires...

Alyssa and Moriah showing off their BUFF arms. :) haha

No, but seriously, they're buff.

Birthday's all around

2009-06-11T15:26:00.001-07:00

It was Jerason's birthday (Nitnoo's husband) on June 10th, so I went with the Boyce's to help celebrate! We went to dinner at Chili's and we had to get a picture with the sign... HILARIOUS. I love it when places make funny signs.

Jerason decided that his birthday-day is bad luck. June 10th is the day Hayley broke her leg, the day Nitnoo almost drowned, then this year June 10th was the day that both Nitnoo and Hayley were sick (throwing up sick), Merralee slammed her finger in the door so it was bleeding, I sliced my finger at work so I had to get a tetanus shot, and while we were at Chili's, the waiter dropped the plates and spilled food on Courtney! (so funny....) So yes, I agree with Jerason- June 10th is bad luck day. haha

Quarter of a Century!?!!

2009-06-11T15:06:00.000-07:00

Kate was so kind to make me a fantabulous birthday cake on June 7th. I even got to pick it out and everything. Lemon cake with vanilla (with sprinkles) frosting. mmmhmm

Thanks Kate!

Courtney came over to help us eat it. We wanted to eat the whole thing in one sitting, but after 3 pieces we were feeling a bit icky...

This pic is slightly awkward of all 3 of us, but it was such a cool picture

(you know, with the cool 25 in the front) that i decided to post it.
Me with my b-day cake! We were too excited to eat it, so we put the frosting on a bit premature... and it started melting off and pooling at the edges. haha

Moriah's weekend

2009-06-03T15:25:00.000-07:00

I went home to Montana this weekend for Moriah's State track meet and High School graduation. I love going home! I'll just say I have the coolest family ever. It's a tough one to beat.

Saturday was Moriah's track meet and we were there ALL DAY. Pretty exciting times (besides the fact that I got fried like no other). Hamilton (the town I'm from) has a pretty amazing track team. Moriah was in the 1600 relay (4 girls, each girl does a 400), and they ended up with 3rd place for that event. Moriah ended up PR'ing (doing your best ever) for her run even though her dang shoe was coming off! haha poor girl. Maybe next time she should get shoes that don't have laces. Do they make velcro cleats? jk...

The other girls on the Hamilton track team did really well, too-so the girls team ended up taking 2nd place overall at state. woot!

Here are some pics from her graduation and track meet:

Her with some friends. I think the theme for these grads this year was being a "creeper". jk

(that was the kid's goal who was sticking his head in the pic)

Mo with Grammer

Mo with Mom and Dad

Hands down my favorite picture this year.

Naomi jumped in the picture while they were taking a pic of Moriah.... haha

Moriah with one of her relay team members, Misha Trotter.

No laptop = New Show

2009-05-27T14:52:00.000-07:00

Ever since my laptop died I’ve had some spare time lately (no more hulu episodes… no more music… no more facebook/gmail chatting, etc). And sometimes, that spare time means I have nothing better to do than sit down and watch some good, old-fashioned TV once in a while. Oh, and read. : )

The past couple weeks I’ve enjoyed watching ‘Jon and Kate plus 8’ episodes. Basically the only reason I watch it is because those kids are so dang cute! I don’t know what’s so addicting about watching sextuplets on TV, but the addiction is definitely there. And I’ve come to grow sympathetic towards Jon because Kate is the bossiest lady alive (and anybody that knows me knows my aversion towards bossy people). If she only learned to have a different tone to her voice, or say ‘please’… life would be so much better for them.

But anywho-enough about the show. Here’s a pic of the cutest kids ever!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

2009-05-27T07:50:00.000-07:00

Today is Grammer's 89th BIRTHDAY!!

Wahoo!

The girls

2009-05-18T15:17:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would share my new favorite picture, at the moment. Good times.
All of the Hughes girls doing what we do best.

Mr. and Mrs. Hughes

2009-04-25T22:22:00.000-07:00

The Mr. and Mrs.

Alyssa's sister, my 2 sisters and my 2 lil cousins

Alyssa with Jordan's boys

The Hughes girls

Jordan with his boys

Alyssa and her bridesmaids

The original Hughes kids at the wedding dinner friday night

Springtime on Temple Square

2009-04-25T21:30:00.001-07:00

Temple square is gorgeous right now. It's seriously amazing. Here are a few shots I took on my way home one night after work:

Yay for babies!

2009-04-05T18:04:00.001-07:00

Elizabeth Dawn Camp. Born march 9, 2009

The happy new 'aunt' :)

My best friend Rachel (that I grew up with in MT) had her baby!!! Sorry this picture is so blurry, but this is awkwardly the only picture I have of me and Rach together. meh

hmmm

2009-03-26T23:40:00.000-07:00

Matt showing off his freakishly large hands. Just kidding Matt, they're normal....

Awkward pics are our specialty.

ZSC

2009-03-23T18:24:00.001-07:00

Two years ago Courtney and I worked at a place called Zions Securities Corporation. It was THE lamest job in the world. But we're so glad we worked there, because we made some pretty awesome buddies that we still hang out with 2 years later. And a lot of awkward stories that we get to re-live.

This is us at our usual hangout spot. Freaky Dee's. Good times, good times.

From left to right: Liz, Matt R, Me, Court, Allen

Hate is a strong word, but I really really really don't like spiders

2009-03-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you a story:

Last night I had a pretty vivid dream about spiders. One of my guy friends was killing spiders (well, trying to). They kept leaping around-defying gravity (oh, you know, like spiders usually do). And I can't really remember the end of the story. Or which guy friend was doing the 'killing'. All I know is I wasn't the one doing the killing (which will come into play later) and that there were spiders.

Anywho. I woke up this morning and went into the bathroom to do my usual routine. AND guess what. There was this MONSTER spider crouching on the wall above the toilet. Apparently dreams do come true. So, I avoided the toilet. Which means, I waited to go to the bathroom until work. Yes, I go to extremes to avoid spiders.

I left the spider in peace and washed my face--when I opened my eyes the spider was ON THE COUNTER next to me!!! Why did it want to ruin my life?! I watched it, making sure it wouldn't pounce on me (it was moving one of its legs back and forth like it was wanting to jump on me). ugh. So I did the first thing that came to my mind. I grabbed a paper cup and trapped it! WOOT. Go Berk.

I got to work and texted Courtney warning her about the cup with the spider (secretly hoping she would take care of it while I was gone).

Nope. When I got home the cup was still there!! 9:00pm rolls around and Courtney finally gets home from visiting a friend in Provo. By this time, I'm kind of hoping the spider is dead (who can survive 15 hours being trapped in a cup?). There was NO way I was getting near the cup, so Courtney picked it up. It was gone! (gasp).

Just kidding. Apparently it was crouched at the top of the cup like the freak it was!!! Courtney screams, drops the cup and the spider lands in the sink. I was screaming in the hallway, cheering her on--at a safe distance--trying to get her to kill it.

She takes off her flip flop, but decides its too big of a spider for a flip flop to kill--so I run looking for a bigger weapon. I find a platform flip flop (eh, good enough) and give it to the Court. Woot! She accepts the weapon and decides she cant kill it yet. She grabs some air freshener and starts spraying the HECK out of the spider! I peek around the corner and see the spider flying around in the sink. Yup (later, after discussion, Courtney thought the spider was flying, but I think it was from the force of the spray).

Spraying done with, Courtney finally kills the spider with the platform flip flop. And I dont know what happened after that. I ran into the kitchen.

Now, here it is, 10:30pm and I still cant shower. The bathroom reeks like air freshener-and I like to breathe when I shower. That spider officially ruined my day.

And thank you to the Courtney for killing it.

The End.

p.s. sorry that this story bounces from present tense to past tense. When I get excited I accidentally start doing play-by-play present tense.

Finally-a real pic

2009-03-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

I decided to post a real picture of my brother and Alyssa so you can see how freaking adorable they are (without crackers falling out of their mouth)...

oh-and if you want to see the rest of their engagement pictures, go to heartphotos.net

--dang photogenic couple.

I'm getting a new sister!

2009-03-02T17:40:00.001-08:00

Woohoo! My brother Jordan and Alyssa Offill are getting married April 25th! I'm so excited... My family curse has been BROKEN (this is the first sibling getting married)! But anywho-i'm stoked, and I wish them the best in their new life together.

And please enjoy the pic... yes they are a crazy couple. haha

Before I die

2009-01-27T17:33:00.000-08:00

I get to look at a map quite often at work and lately I've noticed some places that sound pretty dang awkward:

Gulf of Bothnia - sounds like a little kid with a lisp trying to say Bosnia
Belcher Islands -no comment needed

**I will add to the list as I notice new and awkward places around the World (the Gulf of Bothnia is a body of water in between Sweden and Finland, and Belcher Islands is in Northern Canada).

Before I die I want to go to both places, just to say I did.

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-30T22:23:00.000-08:00

SNOW!!! My Ma needed us to shovel our driveway so she could get out and run errands... it took us a while. Our driveway isn't the shortest..... This first pic is us shoveling the driveway. Good times.

I was sooo excited. woohoooo. Actually, it was kind of fun.

My sis Moriah knocking some snow off a tree.

I'm not a fan of cats, but our cat Tigger can be cute sooometimes.

Pretty mountains. Ahh there's nothing better than the Bitterroot.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-30T21:45:00.000-08:00

Grammer wanted us to take a picture all together so she could send it to our relatives off in China (they're teaching or something) and I gladly volunteered to take the pic since I hadn't showered yet for the day, or done anything to make myself presentable since I flew in the night before. haha tricky/lazy me.

Pictured is Grammer, my family -minus me and my older sis (who didn't come for Christmas), and our Aunt Julie (bottom right).

Grammer's Family

2008-12-09T12:28:00.000-08:00

Here are all the pictures that I received. Thanks everyone for sending them! They're off being printed right now-I decided to put them in a slideshow so the whole fam can see (and enjoy) all the pictures I got. We have one CUTE family!! :) And it's not too late to email me pictures. If you noticed anybody that didn't get into the slideshow (and have a pic for them), send it to me!!!

For people not in my family-we have the coolest Grammer Hughes EVER. So I thought she might like a photo album of her kids, grandkids, and great grandkids for Christmas....

ENJOY!

***disclaimer: Grammer wont see this slideshow-i'm printing off actual hard copies of all the pics for her... haha. So dont worry about the music! Jordan was worried... it was a valid worry, though. I dont think she would have liked the music, either. :)

Shout out to Nicole Sheahan

2008-11-10T16:55:00.000-08:00

My buddy Nicole Sheahan is a new singer/songwriter and I wanted to give her a little shout out so all my other friends can enjoy her music! She is great. Yay for Montana girls.

Her CD is on itunes, and here are a few links to get you started (if you're interested)...

http://mormonartist.net/issue-2/nicole-sheahan/ (magazine interview)

http://www.yldsr.com/segments/new-artist-show .html (radio interview)

http://www.myspace.com/nicolesheahan

http://www.nicolesheahan.com

Jon McLaughlin Show

2008-10-08T20:37:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy going to concerts, seeing musicians in their element. You can tell some people were just born with an awesome gift of music so it's fun to hear them sing and perform, and just know that they love what they do.

I heard on the radio (our very own 99.5fm) that Jon McLaughlin was playing at a store in SLC to promote his new CD 'OK Now', so I went to check it out. There wasn't a huge crowd there, so it was a cool experience. His voice is incredible and he was so intense on the keyboard that he reminded me of Schroeder from Peanuts, the little piano dude.

If you haven't heard of Jon McLaughlin, definitely check him out. Some of his more famous songs are 'So Close' from Enchanted, Beautiful Disaster (which was on the radio a while ago), and Beating My Heart (which is currently on the radio). Very talented kid.

Knittin Time

2008-10-02T17:07:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited... some girls and I are going to learn how to KNIT! Random, you ask? Yes, very. But I'm stoked!

Expect to see some pictures of the finished products on here soon.... so put in your orders now for what you want.

p.s. Have any rad ideas for knitting projects? Let me know!

Booya Grandma.

SYTYCD Concert!

2008-09-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

Only REAL fans use the acronyms. haha jk...

Uh, awkward, but anyway.... Last week (September 23rd) me, my buddy Kate, our friends Chris and Trenton, Colt and his fiance Sally, and Trenton's sister and her husband went to a SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE concert! WOOT! We faithfully watched the show all summer long, knew all the dances, knew all the dancers, knew their favorite outfits, knew who was crushing on whom, watched and were excited for Cat Deeley's outfits every week, and basically loved everything about Nigel Lithgoe and his show (even Mary Murphy's screams). Yes, we were the SYTYCD nerds of Summer 2008.

The concert was incredible, though. They danced all of our favorite routines. The door routine, the suitcase routine, the white dress routine, the half dress routine... okay. So maybe we weren't the ULTIMATE nerds. I still dont know the routine names, but we had our own way to differentiate between the dances....

Gev was my favorite. He was this tiny little guy, but he could break dance like no other! He is from Russia, but is 'from' SLC. Very cool dude. And Courtney shouldn't break his heart by always telling him she has a boyfriend, when everybody knows they should date. ha jk.... but seriously. Am I right?

But Joshua, Katee, Twitch, Courtney, Gev, Kerrington, Chelsea, and all the others... we will miss the fun! Til next season.

Bonfire

2008-09-29T18:17:00.001-07:00

This wasn't so much a bonfire as an icecream making night. Super fun! Wendy had a special recipe to make baggy icecream. And yes, it was sooo good! This bonfire happened about a month ago, so I'm a bit behind the times on updating. And thanks go to Wendy for the pics!!

Me and D made some awesome Strawberry icecream with marshmallow chunks. A bug flew into one of our bags, but the bags got mixed up and who knows where the bug went. I didn't find the bug in mine....

Fellow ice-cream makers

This was harder than it looked... incredibly cold plastic bags aren't good for the hands. Especially when you have to shake them around a lot. brrr!

Apparently it works best when you wrap newspaper around your plastic baggies. That way you dont feel the cold as much...

If you build it.... they will come....

2008-08-25T21:06:00.001-07:00

I'm not too sure what 'they' will be. Perhaps clothes? Junk? Who knows. BUT, I did build them!

The dresser... OH MAN. I almost gave up on that. This had 1,000 screws to put in and my little screwdriver was giving me blisters on my fingers (yeah yeah, sob story. 3 weeks later, and I still have remnants of the blister on my finger). I basically gave up for the day when I walked into the living room and saw that my roommate had a stinking electric screwdriver (uhhh are they called electric? I have no clue. But the kind that you can push a button and they screw screws for you). I dont know if I've ever used one of those before, but luckily it was pretty straightforward. pheww. Luckily for me I'm a college graduate. Otherwise I probably couldn't have figured it out. haha jk...

The instructions say you can build it in 1 hour, but I'm pretty sure it took me close to 3 hours. Hey-I've never built anything before! And they had probably timed Bob Villa building one.

The lovely bookcase that I built with my pink flowered hammer (that also transforms into a screwdriver).

Also, I hope Kate notices the 'Happy Halloween' thing hanging on the doorknob (and that door never gets opened, I have 3 doors to my room. So it's a perfect hanging spot. haha). The sign adorned me and Kate's bedroom wall during the Summer. Apparently Halloween is an everyday thing in the life of Berkley.

And please disregard the random clutter and junk inside the bookcase... haha

Family Vacation

2008-08-25T20:34:00.001-07:00

After my graduation my family and I vacationed for a few days at all the random Utah tourist attraction places (whatever you call those things). I can now say I've probably been to anything worth looking at in Utah. haha jk...

Moriah and Jordan chillin on the tracks at the Golden Spike monument place.... There were ugly bugs everywhere that kept randomly landing on us.... don't ask why. I think they were friendly and liked people? They especially liked my little sister, Naomi. haha

THE coolest hat ever. We found it in a random gift shop. It folds up into this little round purse looking-thingy! I didn't get it, but we all had fun trying it on... That brim went ALL the way around the hat. Guten times. I also like how Jordan's face is creepy and slightly morphs into the background...

Another stop on our amazing race was Antelope Island. The sky was beautiful that day! The fam had fun skipping rocks and trying not to hit the people that were floating in the lake. But let me tell you what... that place stunk like no other! Please note Jordan and Naomi's faces. haha. Apparently me and Moriah are the only ones that can pull through the pain of incredibly smelly things.

Another random stop on our family adventure was the BYU stuffed animal museum (whatever it's called). They had a lot of really random, cool animals there. And yes, we're behind the barricade. Don't worry about it. haha

The whole fam also went to a Bee's game while they were in town. I enjoy sports, but sometimes baseball games get a little long for me... might have come from the time when my Dad drug me to one of my little brother's little league games when I was younger and the game ended up going into thousands of extra innings. Possibly the longest game on record. Seriously.

Graduation

2008-08-21T19:01:00.001-07:00

HOLY COW! I finally graduated! About time, huh? Even though I'm making this update a month after my graduation, it still doesn't feel like I've graduated.... my mind is forever in the time frame of, 'work 4 months, go to school 8 months'. It's going to blow my mind when I finally realize that I have to keep working after 4 months is up. Ask me in December how I'm handling my job... I hope I survive. haha

But anywho... I finally got my degree in Business, Finance, and German.

I got to walk with my buddy Eric Katschke! I've known him since one of my first years up at school, so it was fun being able to sit with him during the ceremony.

Me with my roommates (and Chris Black). I'm going to miss these folks!

Me with my lovely sistahs. Yeahh for the Hughes girls! My sisters are the BEST!

Me with the coolest Professor of all time... Brother Kusch! (who also happened to be my Stake President).

My whole family came to see me graduate. I love my family!

Summer FHE times

2008-08-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

This summer we had a blast with our FHE group! These guys are great. So many memories... Rigby Lake, water balloon fights, Logan splitting his head open outside our apartment, Stewart always crossing the chastity lines and attacking me in my bed or bedroom (or always attacking me in general), Michael Fish being Michael Fish (yeah Michael Fish!), Marcus taking us floating and me quizzing his German skills, Jason's longboarding and crazy entrances/faces, and yadda yadda yadda.... our lives have been changed forever. haha

Stewart is the craziest guy I know.

Michael Fish and Logan being their normal selves, with me looking guilty in the background... I wonder what I just did? haha

One of THE greatest semesters of all time! You girls are amazing!!!

Our amazingly attractive, hilarious, spiritual, nicest, uhhh what else... musically inclined, sportiest, manliest, strongest, corniest, FHE brothas!!! (Jason didn't make it to this FHE pic, but he's cool, too)