Happy Blogmas Day 6

Happy Blogmas Day 5

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

http://youtu.be/G4Sn91t1V4g


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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.

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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








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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.

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Bedtime

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

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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!!

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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!!!

I didn't get a lunch break today...

So I ate a box of Milk Duds instead. #healthychoices

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Green Smoothies are Delicious...

... If you like drinking salad.
Maybe it's an acquired taste I have yet to acquire.

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I Heart Summer

We started the day with a 5K and ended it with an 80s dance party with my BFF and her family. Life is wonderfully fun!!!! I ❤ Summer!!

A Great Way to Welcome Summer!! Color Me Rad 5K #doradstuff

If you don't like the weather...

... wait a few minutes (or days) and it will change. It's hard to believe how cold it was just 5 days ago when it's 95 degrees today!! Happy First Day of Summer 2014!!!

46 Degrees in June

Today is June 17, 2014 and it is 46 degrees in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is pouring rain, the streets are practically flooding, and I don't want to get out of car and run the 50 feet to my apartment. Sad thing is I kept a rain coat in my car for emergency but I took it out just last week thinking "it's Summer!! No need for a back-up coat any more!!"- ya right!! It's snowing in the mountains!!

Boo... 46 Degrees... In June...

Silver lining: this will help with the drought and fill up our reservoirs but...




... I can see my breath

Saturday Seething: part 66 of a 444 part series

I can't stand it when people waste ice. When I'm at 7 Eleven, it drives me nuts when I get behind someone at the soda fountain who takes forever filling their Super Big Gulp cup full of ice, dump almost half of it out, then fills it with a little bit more ice. What?!! Are they scientifically measuring it? Are they counting exactly how many cubes of ice they have?! Agh!! Do they not realize it takes FOREVER and a line of people starts to form as they are filling, dumping, and filling again? Maybe it's some sort of sick ritual.
And it's not just at the Sev, it happens where ever there is a self-serve soda pop fountain (Cafe Rio, Crown Burger, Maverick, and even at VRx).
I don't understand these people!! It is super simple to get the right amount of ice the first time- you stop filling it when your desired amount of ice is in the cup. If you do get a little too much, dump a little out, but please don't go back for more.

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The Last Day of May

On this the last day of May 2014, I have found a recipe for a great afternoon: watching the mini-series North & South while cuddling with my purr-fect kitties.
I used to watch North & South almost constantly while I was in grad school and watching it today has brought back so many memories.
I'm always sad when May ends even though I love Summer. May is my favorite month of the year with its nice weather and general Spring-time frivolity. Now it is time for Summer and time for fun!!

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My Last Day in My 20s

Today was a pretty good day with a fabulous afternoon/evening with my beloved mother.
She met me after I got off work at City Creek Center and we window shopped. With how busy my work and life seem to be, it is so easy to forget how good it feels to spend time with my mom. She is brilliant, visionary, and can see beauty in so many forms. Walking through Anthropologie with a creative person (like my mom) was really fun as it is a creative store for creative people. I kind of threw a fit when she wanted me to try on clothes, I am really unhappy with my body and buying expensive clothes is the very last thing I want to do. So we left and headed to one of my favorite fancy stores... Tiffany!!
My mom was so nice and bought me a pair of gorgeous, classic, timeless earrings and I will cherish and think of this afternoon every time I wear them. I am so grateful for such a generous gift. Mom knows that I love memories more than "stuff" and nice jewelry gives me both!
We then went across the mall and looked at the Rolex store. I have never understood the appeal of a Rolex watch, until I actually saw one. It's no secret that I love designer knock-off shopping so I have seen quite a few Faux-lexes but they really cannot compare to the real deal. Expensive but stunning.
Lesley met us after she got off work and we went back to Tiffany and she got a pair of earrings too. Lesley and I may be extremely similar in likes and dislikes, but our Tiffany tastes are vastly different. She picked out some earrings that I didn't even take notice of when I has been there earlier this afternoon, and yet I totally love them and think they are perfect. This is why is much more fun and helpful to shop in groups; each person sees something different.
After we finished shopping, we took Mom to Pizzeria Limon for delicious caprese pizza. It was the perfect way to end our day.
I'm not sad to be 30 years old, but I am sad this chapter of my life is over. My 20s are over.
I am 30. I am in my 30s. Does this mean I am an adult?
I received this "fortune" in my Chinese lunch I had this week. All I can think of what I will think of 10 years from now is "Dang, I'll be 40 in 10 years" and that is way scarier than being 30 years old.
Cheers to a new chapter!!!

Last Week in my 20s

I turn 30 years old 1 week from today.
This is actually not as bad as turning 28 (that was awful!!) and I've been lying and saying I am already 30 for a few months now.

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Peep Show, Easter 2014

This is so wrong that it's right, and by right, I mean hilarious!!

Today is the Day...

Today, Wednesday April 9, 2014, my allergy season started in full force.
I knew it was coming but I kept hoping this would be the year where they won't be so bad and I can avoid the stupidity inducing medicine.
After one day, I surrender.
Farewell brain cells, I will see you back here in June.

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I'm a Part-Time Tooth Fairy

It is no secret that I love pulling teeth. I pulled out ALL of mine and Lesley's in one night while in the second grade. We were toothless monsters for years!!
As a teenager, I pulled the loose teeth of the kids I would babysit.
Now as Auntie, I have pulled at least 1-4 teeth of all my nieces and nephews, minus LaurieLoo and Lady Cate. Jackers was the last hold out. He never would let me even get close... Until tonight (insert evil laugh here). The whole family is at the cabin for LDS General Conference Weekend. I went to bed earlier than everyone else but I was awoken by sweet Laurie's voice, "Auntie, Auntie wake up! Jack-Jack has a tooth you can pull out!" and I was instantly up. She led me upstairs and Jack was there at the top with his mom. His front tooth was just hanging by a thread and it was an easy job. He was so nervous that his mom had to hold him down. He kept curling his top lip around his teeth and crying out in his deep baritone voice. Two pulls and it was out!! We all cheered and Val and Ash both got it on video.
I know I'm a freak about teeth but I am SO happy that I have been able to help my nieces and nephews in these big moments in their life.

I helped Val pull out her front tooth at Leatherby's.
I pulled out Ash's front tooth right before a family photo.
I pulled out Evan's front tooth at Aunt Nancy's BBQ.
I pulled out Aaron's front tooth at Grandma's house.

And now we will forever remember the time Auntie pulled out Jack's front tooth at the cabin on General Conference Weekend.

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1st Ever LDS General Women's Meeting

It was fun to witness and be a part of history today.
Today, March 29, 2014 was the first ever General Women's Meeting for the LDS Church. Women gathered at the Conference Center in SLC and LDS meeting houses around the world with women ages 8 and above invited. The womens choir at the meeting ranged in age from 8 to 80 and they sang beautifully and with great spiritual power.
As this meeting was such a big deal, my wonderful mother organized and cooked the most delicious light meal, invited us over for dinner, and then we all (mother, sisters, niece) went to the local stake center to watch the meeting via satellite. I ran in to one of my dearest childhood friends in the parking lot and met her 3rd child (!!!) born 6 weeks ago, and saw a lot of the women that touched my life growing up.
The meeting started and I literally had tears running down my cheeks throughout the entire meeting. It was so amazing to join with my sisters in the Gospel all around the world, all daughters of our Heavenly Father.
The feminist in me was gitty with the historical importance of the event, an international and intergenerational gathering of women, while the covenant keeping disciple in me was over come with the love of God.
We are all so very loved and The Lord sent us here with each other so we can help each other return home.

Saturday Seething: part 65 of a 444 part series

Why is it that a dog lover is totally socially acceptable and yet there is still the stigma of the "crazy cat lady"? Don't people realize cat lovers run YouTube and own the Internet?

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Yes, I'm a Baby Hog

But I can't help it when the world's most beautiful baby is around.
I had the best day cuddling with Cate!!!

Wise Words for a Friday Morning

In Summer- Our Version of Frozen Lip Sync

We finally got all of my nieces and nephews in one video!!! They all did an A+ job

http://youtu.be/CdS3vfTfj48


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Catherine The Beautiful

I love my baby Cate

Bonding Time

Baby was awake and alert for a good 30-45 minutes last night and it was so fun to interact with her. She would hear her mom's voice and she would turn her head slightly and move her eyes to follow the sound of her mom's voice. I have never seen a 12 hour old baby do that before!
She has a round face with chubby cheeks and gorgeous lips. She is the most beautiful nameless baby ever!! It is safe to say that I'm pretty much enchanted by her.

Being an Auntie Never Gets Old

2/20/14... A good day to be born

My 5th niece was born this morning. I am dying with anxiety to see her but I'll have to wait to head up to Ogden after work this afternoon.
Lauren has been calling the baby Rainbow Diamond for months and since the baby has yet to be named-

Welcome to the World Rainbow Diamond!!!!
You are already so very much loved!!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day 2014

My mom gave me the most perfect valentine ever!!! It is of two kittens in a Victorian tea cup which perfectly matches the flowers I got at work today.
Best Valentine EVER!!