Happy Blogmas, Day 11

I love the lights on Temple Square!!

Hawaii, Day 2

Day 2: Sunday, May 4, 2014

May the Fourth Be With You!! Today was brought to you by the letter "S": 

Swap meet!! We first went to the swap meet at Aloha Stadium. We got there around 8:20 AM and didn't leave until 11. It was a big circle of booths that surrounded the stadium and each booth had something different to offer. I went in looking for earrings (shell or coral) and I've been curious of traditional Hawaiian quilting since I saw classes at Mormon Handicraft when I worked at Repartee. I am happy to say I found both- yay!! Lesley found an adorable mumu which works great as a nightgown.

Shopping!! Then we went to Target- Valie needed a decongestant.

Surfing!! Then we went back to the condo to change then we headed to Heliwea for Val, Cam, and Vickie's surf lesson. Lesley and I stayed on the beach and tried to take pictures of them surfing. We all had a lot of fun. 

Shave Ice!! After the afternoon at the beach, we went to Matsumoto's for the best shave ice in the world. It is SO delicious!!! I got a small strawberry, pineapple, coconut with ice cream on the bottom. 

Shrimp Scampi!! After we finished our awesome shave ice, we headed south toward Laie and went to Giovanni's Shrimp Shack. Yum!!!! We came here when we last came in 2002 and was a cherish memory. It was just as good this time too. Lesley and I shared shrimp scampi and lemon butter. Scampi is the best but I truly enjoyed the lemon butter. 

Swimming!! When we got back to the condo, Valerie really wanted to go to the pool and try out her new snorkel gear so we headed to the pool by our condo. It was a great way to end the day!! 

Now we're all in our jammies and watching the Avengers while we upload the pictures to our iPads and update Facebook and Instagram. 

Sent from my iPhone

Hawaii, Day 1

Day 1: Saturday, May 3, 2014

We left super early this morning when Cameron and Vickie picked us up at our apartment at 4:15 AM. Cam drove down to City Creek and parked his car in his reserved spot. We then called a cab who met us on the corner of Main Street and South Temple to take us to the airport. Our flight to San Francisco was un-eventful as was our layover. We boarded a 777 jet to Honolulu but had to wait an hour after we boarded (there was an issue with back-up to the back-up radio/ satellite phone). I was so tired from waking up at 3 AM that I just slept through the whole delay. 

We arrived around 2:30 pm, got our rental car, and headed to Costco. I love a good Costco but this Costco was amazing!! It has fresh pineapple for $2.99 (we bought 5!!). We bought other fresh foods for breakfast, salad, and a rotisserie chicken for dinner tonight. Then we made our way across the island to the North Shore and our rented condo at Turtle Bay (64 West). We unloaded the car and prepared dinner. Vickie cut up one pineapple and we all devoured it- so tasty- bursting with flavor and juice. After dinner, Val really wanted to go to the beach even though the sun had already set. The beach is kind of a walk from the condo but worth it to stick our feet in the sand. We walked home, nearly zombies by now from waking up so early. We are trying to go to bed (it's currently 8:50 pm) and Lesley and Val see a gecko on the wall (the three of us are sleeping in the loft of the condo) and Les is trying not to freak out like the last time we were in Hawaii in 2002. I think she is doing really well managing her fears and phobias. Val always helps Les get over her fears. 

Sent from my iPhone

30th Birthday Luau, blurry video

30th Birthday Luau, photos 7,8, and 9

Family dinner!!

30th Birthday Luau, photos 5&6

Vickie's amazing cupcakes!!

30th Birthday Luau, photo 4

We had such a fun time at our Luau birthday party at the cabin over Memorial Day weekend 2014. I'm so lucky to have a wonderful, fun family. We had Hawaiian Haystacks for dinner and Vickie made the most delicious pineapple coconut cupcakes that were to die for delicious. My family made turning the big 30 rather enjoyable!!

30th Birthday Luau, photo 3

Blogmas Day 10!!

We are in to double digits already!! December is flying by!! Did you know that this is the warmest start to the month of December in Salt Lake City since 1939?! I saw it on Facebook so it must be true (wink!).
In other news, I'll probably jinx it by saying it out loud but... I feel like my pre-mono self today and didn't have to fake my energy or attitude. I'm sure I'll have a relapse in a day or so but today has given me lots of hope to believe I'm nearing the end of this awful mono journey.

Happy Blogmas Day 9!!!

Happy Blogmas Day 8

He is the Gift- Blogmas Day 7

Happy Blogmas Day 7!!
#sharethegift

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://youtu.be/uzjFEMmM0Xs


Sent from my iPhone

Happy Blogmas Day 6

Happy Blogmas Day 5

Dear Kitten
Check out this super cute cat video on YouTube:

http://youtu.be/G4Sn91t1V4g


Sent from my iPhone

Happy Blogmas Day 4

This is the view out of the parking garage at my work. Christmas lights are always magical and can surprise you in the most wonderful of ways.

Happy Blogmas Day 3

Happy Blogmas Day 2!!

I am trying to blog each day in December and I'm calling it Blogmas (like Christmas). I follow several Youtubers who do Vlogmas and I thought I'd join in the fun here on Art History Alli.
I wish I blogged more but my life is pretty boring, but good, but boring.
I'm still sick with mono (yuck!) but I did change jobs in November. I am still with the same company but I was promoted to our customer service department at our corporate offices. Bye-bye retail and Hello cubical! It's a huge change but I really like it so far.

Sent from my iPhone

Blogmas, Day 1

Fun Facts About Getting Mono at Age 30: The Rants

Fun Facts About Getting Mono at Age 30: The Rants of an Ill, Delusional, Exhausted Spinster

- did you know your armpits can get swollen?
- did you know it's possible to actually wish you were a teenager again? I wish I back in high school and had mono, where my only worry was if I'd get asked to Prom and not how am I going to make rent.
- did you know you can totally live off of apple sauce, Advil, and Powerade Zero?
- did you know your spleen can hurt? "Ow, My Spleen!"
- do you even know where your spleen is? Hint: higher than you think.
- did you know you can be jealous of people sick with the stomach flu? Hey, at least it's over in a few days rather than this horrible mono that lingers for weeks on end.
- did you know you can be too tired to eat ice cream even though your sore throat is unbearable and keeps waking you up?

All joking aside, mono is awful. It's not the sickest I've ever been (that honor goes to Christmas 2009 when I had swine flu and strep at the same time) but it's been the longest I've ever been sick- about a month in now and still haven't started feeling better.
I wish I could just lay in bed all day but I have to work. I try to fake feeling better in the hopes that one time it might be true.
Teenage brats that get mono are so lucky: they get to miss school, they have mommy to take care of them, and they really only need to focus on getting better.
Getting mono at 30 shouldn't be allowed!!

The End








Sent from my iPhone

Mono

I'm single, 30 years old, and I have Mono.
I would love to know whom I've been kissing in order to get this horrible illness!!
I have never been so sick for so long in my life. Today is about the 2 week mark and we really have no idea how much longer I'll be sick. It could be another 2-4 weeks of extreme fatigue with severe sore throat and swollen glands.
My focus everyday is to drink at least 64 oz of fluid, I'm loving Powerade Zero heavily watered down, and to be still as often as I can. I'm so tired I can hardly hold my phone. This fatigue is a different kind of tired, it's like a deep down-to-the-bone tired where I am zapped of all energy but I can't sleep because my throat hurts so much it wakes me up. I've been taking Advil and Tylenol for pain and fever but they really only take the edge off the pain.
I keep looking forward to Thanksgiving (thinking I'll be feeling much better by then) and remind myself no one dies from Mono. I will be fine and I just need to suffer through this.

Happy 9th Birthday Blog!!

My sister Haley mentioned to me a few days ago that this here blog was about to turn 9 years old. Wow!! Has it really been 9 years?!
I have attached an image of the very first post. It seems so silly 9 years later but this blog was created just to have fun and to be funny. I hope it hasn't lost too much of that over the years.
Thanks for reading all of these years and here's to all the years of Art History Alli in the future!

Rock Bottom Has a Basement

Did you know that rock bottom has a basement?
Actually, rock bottom has an entire multilevel parking structure under it.

We had the great opportunity to visit the LDS Ogden Temple Open House this morning. Thank you Haley for the tickets!!

This renovation has been a giant transformation and it is one of the most ornate, gorgeous temples with stunning details. STUNNING!! The dome in the celestial room literally took my breath away with its beauty.

I felt so very blessed to be there with members of my family and whisper my feelings about the temple in my nieces's ears as we moved from room to room. I love the temple. It is a place where heaven and earth intersect. It is the place where we make covenants with our Father in Heaven and where we are bound for eternity with those we love most. There is power, peace, and clarity in the temple.

Some of us went to Maddox in Brigham City after the tour and we had an amazing lunch. Seriously, the best way to cap off this great experience.

I love my Heavenly Father, I love my family, and I love the temple; combine them together and we are one.

We had the great opportunity to visit the LDS Ogden Temple Open House this morning. Thank you Haley for the tickets!!

This renovation has been a giant transformation and it is one of the most ornate, gorgeous temples with stunning details. STUNNING!! The dome in the celestial room literally took my breath away with its beauty.

I felt so very blessed to be there with members of my family and whisper my feelings about the temple in my nieces's ears as we moved from room to room. I love the temple. It is a place where heaven and earth intersect. It is the place where we make covenants with our Father in Heaven and where we are bound for eternity with those we love most. There is power, peace, and clarity in the temple.

Some of us went to Maddox in Brigham City after the tour and we had an amazing lunch. Seriously, the best way to cap off this great experience.

I love my Heavenly Father, I love my family, and I love the temple; combine them together and we are one.

Note to Self (no. 1)

Purple eyeliner makes your eyes look bruised.

Sent from my iPhone

Bedtime

Is 6:30 PM too early to go to bed?

Sent from my iPhone

Hold

You know you've been on hold too long too frequently when the music playing in your head as you try to fall asleep is the hold music.
Easy Listening will drive you to insanity!!

Sent from my iPhone

Happy Pioneer Day 2014!!

My First Post as a Contributor to Stroked to Life

http://strokedtolife.wordpress.com/2014/07/14/a-pebble-in-my-pocket/

I wrote an article today on the blog Stroked to Life. I wrote about my feelings of grief on the 30th anniversary of my father's death. Regular readers of Art History Alli know how much I miss my dad even though I have zero memories of him. 

If you choose to follow the link, I hope you read my words with the hope and gratitude they were written in.

 

I tried to pretend this day was like any other day, and it worked until I took my lunch break and got on Instagram. My amazing sister posted an adorable photo of herself as a baby with my parents. They all look so happy and young. I am so grateful to her for posting that sweet memory. 

I struggled the rest of the day to not cry and then I had an amazingly inspired conversation with my boss, which I talk about in the article. She asked if I was going to his grave tonight, which is something I didn't think of doing. I stopped by there after work and even though it was over 100 degrees, Dad's grave is shaded by a beautiful tree. I sat there next to the grave and wrote my post for Stroked to Life. I felt loved and inspired and like my dad was cheering me on. It is an honest post of how I have dealt with grief my entire life. 

Grief is a process and a constant battle but I am grateful for what it has taught me. We are not victims of grief but champions of hope and perseverance.

 

Happy Independence Day 2014!!!