Confession!

Okay so here's the deal.....I'm just not that into Christmas music. Why? I'm not sure. Probably because my mom only listens to Bing Crosby and Amy Grant Christmas music. It's nice, but after however many years of it, I'm done. I'm on a quest however to find some music that I like. I do like most Christmas hymns, and an occasional goofy song, but as far as the "Classics", I get this irritated, back muscle tightening, feeling. (A little over dramatic, of course, it's me!!!) So far my playlist is:

1. The Messiah
2. MoTab Christmas CD
3. The Nutcracker
4. The Elf Soundtrack
5. Face of Love- Jewel
6. Nuttin For Christmas- Smashmouth
7. Merry Christmas from the Family- Dixi Chicks
8. Ay Ay Ay It's Christmas- Ricky Martin
9. Rockin Around the Christmas Tree- Jessica Simpson
10. Xmas Time- Christina Agulera
11. All I want for Christmas is You- Mariah Carey
12. All I want is you this Christmas- NSYNC
13. Baby please come home (Christmas)- U2
14. A few songs from James Taylor's Christmas songs
15. Some hymns from CDs auntie burned for me last year!

So....any suggestions?!?! I'm desperate.

Elf Yourself!

My sister Megan did this!
http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/bDxlEYvYwwXscKbTqUu0

YIPPY!!!

Today at work Jai walked up and handed me a little wrapped box and said Merry Christmas! It was an IPOD!!!!! Thank you Neetu! She wanted to give it to me early so I could start enjoying it sooner! (She's so thoughtful!) I've only been home for an hour and I've already transferred all my music over and we tested it out on our sound dock. Sounds amazing! I am so excited to be able to listen to music at the gym and in the car again!!!!!

Twilight Pictures

Me and Ashley happy we're finally sitting down.

we're very excited.

tired after waiting for 7.5 hours.

bored. waiting for it to finally begin.

its starting.....

after the movie. it was good.

i'm going to turn ashley into a vamp. (she's so excited!!!)

now shes going to get me back.

The Movie

So I was a total nerd and waiting in line starting at 4:30pm yesterday for the 12:00am showing! Yes..that is a long time. It was worth it though because our group of 16 was able to sit all together. It's hard to say if waiting in line going insane or finally watching the movie was more fun. I'll post some pictures later, but I warn you I am like a 12 year old at a sleep over party when it gets past 9:00pm and the pictures are proof of that.
Most people don't know this about me, but I have a huge anxiety problem when I am going to be in situations where I meet new people or have to speak in public. It's so bad I usually get sick over it. Josh thinks I'm a total nutter because I'm the most talkative person in the world. Our group was a lot of people from the ward that I see all the time and recognize their faces, but because I'm in yw and they are in primary or relief society I've never actually MET them. It was a blast to be able to put names to faces and get to know everyone better. They are all hillarious fun girls, and very very crafty. They made so many fun things for the movie it's ridiculous. It's sad that I'm just starting to make a lot of friends inthe ward right before we're moving out :-( The movie was AWESOME. Totally cheesy, a bit stiff in the beginning, but it was so fun to WATCH the story. Like all books turned to movies...the book is sooooo much better, but the movie was better than I expected and I hope that the cinematography gets better with each sequel.

TWILIGHT!!!!

i'm leaving right now to go wait in line to see tWiLiGhT!!!

12 Weeks!!!!

I have to wait 12 weeks for my album!!! Oh well... it'll be worth it. I should get it right around valentine's day! woot.

Wedding Album

I did it! I finally ordered our wedding album. It's about time right!! It took me forever to pick out which pictures I wanted because he took about 1,000 pictures but the album only holds around 100! So I put all of the Temple and Family pictures in the fancy album and then ordered 4x6 pictures for the Reception and Candid shots. I ordered a really nice flip book size album for those pictures from rusticoleather.com They have albums, journals, binders. It is awesome. The photographer had some samples in their gallery, and his wife told me she used to go up to Sundance to get them, but now they have them online! I can't wait to get everything!!!!!

I've Been Slacking

Okay here's my catch up!
Thursday- I ran a ton of errands which enabled me to visit with Grandma and Grandpa Davis and drop a bday present off to Jai (one of the little boys I nanny..he just turned 3!!!) I got him a large picture book of Stuart Little with really nice illustrations and The Little Mouse, the Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear! I definitely inherited my mom's love for children's books! I spent about an hour shopping around and browsing. Then I had a stake auxillary training meeting. Last one went really late so I was really appreciative that the new presidency was mindful of the time and got us out RIGHT on time. Nothing like a brief effective meeting! After Josh and I went to see the new 007 movie with some friends. I actually stayed awake the whole time, which means I really liked it!
Friday- I cleaned, cleaned, and cleaned. The apartment looked awesome. Then Friday night we went out with Josh's best friend from college and his wife and kids. We had a really great time!
Saturday- more cleaning (yes our apartment was that bad). Worked on xmas presents. Babysat with Josh.
Sunday- church, nap, made dinner and an apple pie, getting stuff ready for YW of Excellence on tues!!!!

Another Twofer

Tuesday's- negative: flags (like the boy scouts, putting them in yards) positive: got to spend 7 hours of fun time talking and laughing with the girls (young women)
Today- no negative! got to go to the temple with a friend, ran some errands, worked on xmas presents!!!!

I've got two for today!

negative: i've been having china tummy to the max

positive: i didn't have to make dinner...we got Paradise Cafe soup :-)

negative: i was supposed to pick up dinner on my way home and completely forgot!!!

positive: josh came with me and so i didn't have to go in alone (i hate doing that)

Mrs. Brightside

Ok. Enough is enough. I tend to be a bit pessimistic but I've decided it is time for a change. I think that even bad situations can bring about positive things. I'm going to try putting that to practice. Everyday I want to think about something bad, frustrating, annoying that happen/ is happening, and find a positive. I feel like if I post it I'm more likely to do it, even when I don't want feel like being positive. So here it goes....
Negative: ipod got stolen
Positive: I now only listen to my "Work it out" playlist on the computer while I'm cleaning and getting chores done. It makes it much more enjoyable and I don't get sick of the songs because I don't listen to them all the time.

Problem better...not solved.

So after talking to a few different blockbuster employees we were able to get a $312 refund. One manager figured out that we got charged for 6 seasons of the Lost dvds because if you rent one disc and don't return it on time they charge you for the whole season and we were just lucky enough to have the whole season so we got charged 6 times (once for every disc). He refunded us allof the money except for the charge of one season ($60) and a $1.25 restocking fee for each dvd. We then bargained some more and traided our newly purchased season 3 of Lost for other dvd's in the store. The selection wasn't amazing but we ended up with a few good ones and some others. The good ones are: Vantage Point, National Treasure 2, Night at the Museum, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Hunt for Red October (Josh's), Fantastic 4 Silver Surfer, Peter Pan (the newer one with real people), and College Road Trip (the Disney one with Raven), and Another Cinderella Story (I secretly love disney shows like Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place). So...after picking out our movies Josh got a haircut while I went grocery shopping. He Surprised me by getting a "faux hawk" cut, and then I got Golden Spoon. I'm into chocolate malt, peanut butter, and pumpkin pie all mixed together. I'm still frustrated we had to pay $70 for all the movies, but I already know...it could be worse!!!!!

Arrrrgggg.

This last past week and a half has been so frustrating. First on my flight home from California my ipod got stolen. That was a major bummer for me because I RELY on music to get me to the gym and to stay on the machines for more than 2 seconds. (I'm not a gym kind of girl. I need to be outside looking at something other than my own reflection bouncing up and down for an hour, although sometimes my ponytail swinging can be quite entertaining!!!) The real delema of the ipod hit home when I started putting everything together for our Halloween mutual activity. I had no way to play the music I had JUST downloaded for the party. Silly I know, but we only had our ipod and a dock to play ipods, no cd's, no cd player and of course my music is all on the desktop and not the lap top. Hooray! So while running to 50 different stores to get everything for the party I had to buy some blank cd's, burn them, and play them on my lap top. I know I'm just spoiled by technology, but man was that a pain I didn't really have time to deal with. But all is well now. After two or three nights of little sleep the party is now over with and all is well. Until the other day I was reading over my credit card bill and noticed a $388 charge. I freaked out because the only time I've spent that much money at one time is to pay rent and thats a check! The mystery store.....BLOCKBUSTER?!? My panic went away because I knew it was a mistake. Sure we didn't turn in our movies right on time, but there are no late fees, and even if there were, not $388 worth, right? WRONG! Apparently after a week you don't pay a late fee, you buy the movie and it's non refundable. We were just so lucky enough to have rented the MOST expensive thing in the store (the manager told us) Lost Season 3. The whole season. They charged us $60 a disc and there is nothing we can do about it. The manager, who I wanted to punch in the face, let me know, "On the bright side...you can keep them, or I could get $388 worth of movies I DO want" I then let him know that if I wanted to buy movies I would go to target and not wasted my time renting them. I had a few more words with him, but I'll leave those out. It wasn't a good moment in "Meredith History". His superior is calling me this week, we'll see what happens.

Fun Facts About My Life

I'm copying mom. this is fun!

Copy and paste the words.Bold the things you have done...

1. Started your own blog 2. Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band4. Visited Hawaii 5.Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 7. Been to Disneyland 8. Climbed a mountain 9. Held a Praying Mantis 10. Sang a solo 11. Bungee jumped 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. 18. Grown your own vegetables 19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France 20. Slept on an overnight train 21.Had a pillow fight 22. Hitch hiked 23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny dipping (Who is really going to answer this truthfully???) 27. Run a Marathon 28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 29. Seen a total eclipse 30.Watched a sunrise or sunset 31. Hit a home run . 32. Been on a cruise 33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 35. Seen an Amish community 36. Taught yourself a new language 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied 38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person 39. Gone rock climbing 40. Seen Michelangelo’s David 41. Sung karaoke . 42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant 44. Visited Africa 45. Walked on a beach by moonlight 46. Been transported in an ambulance 47. Had your portrait painted 48. Gone deep sea fishing 49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris 51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling 52. Kissed in the rain 53. Played in the mud 54. Gone to a drive-in theater 55. Been in a movie 56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business . 58. Taken a martial arts class 59. Visited Russia 60.Served at a soup kitchen 61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies 62. Gone whale watching 63. Got flowers for no reason 64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma 65. Gone sky diving 66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 67.Bounced a check . 68. Flown in a helicopter 69. Saved a favorite childhood toy 70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial 71. Eaten Caviar 72. Pieced a quilt. 73. Stood in Times Square 74. Toured the Everglades 75. Been fired from a job 76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London 77. Broken a bone . 78. Been on a speeding motorcycle 79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person 80. Published a book 81. Visited the Vatican 82. Bought a brand new car 83. Walked in Jerusalem 84. Had your picture in the newspaper 85. Read the entire Bible 86. Visited the White House . 87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating 88. Had chickenpox 89. Saved someone’s life 90. Sat on a jury 91.Met someone famous 92. Joined a book club93. Lost a loved one 94. Had a baby 95. Seen the Alamo in person 96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake 97. Been involved in a law suit 98. Owned a cell phone 99. Been stung by a bee 100. Talked your way out of a ticket

Prop. 8

Josh called me this morning and told me to watch this new tv ad for prop 8. I did and guess who I saw....my dad! I had no idea he did this. Pretty cool!!!!! Here's the link: http://www.protectmarriage.com/

I called my mom and she said there are two commercials, and they want him to do a radio ad and possibly go on a couple talk shows.

Hiking in Utah

So this is over a month old, but in the beginning of August Josh and I went up to the cabin. We had a blast. We met up with Aunt Jan and Ann and all the little cousins for milkshakes at Shivers, went to Bethany and Aaron's for dinner with Brooke, and went hiking. It was so fun to see everyone. Bethany and Aaron's house is amazing and it was so fun to hang out. (Thanks again for having us over. I'm officially hooked on papa murphy's!) We also went hiking! We wanted to try timp, but we didn't have enough time and after getting a little past second falls, we relized how out of shape we both are. So here are some pictures from our hiking adventure.


ooh la la.
"but I don't wanna be a pirate!"
lovely moss
can't think of an excuse. we're just weird.
more moss.

the sun was a little on the bright side.

mini mini water fall.
view from aspen grove.
a tree that is now growing sideways after the avalanche a few years ago.
first falls.
he's so cute. i totally made him be in this. you can tell he didn't want to.

I <3 ocean

I love the beach! I tried to go as much as possible this summer. The best beaches for surfing are in san clemente, but the best hang out/exploring beaches are in laguna. My favorite is 10th street a.k.a. Thousand Steps. It is a little piece of Hawaii in California. The sun shines brighter and the water is warmer. (probably not really, but it feels that way!) Actually, these pictures are from a trip down there with JT and Christine and it is the only time it's been cloudy in the 7 years I've been going to that beach! Even then it was still beautiful. I didn't take a ton of pictures, but there are awesome caves and rock to climb on and tide pools to look at. When I went down with Megan Allen and her sisters last week we even saw a star fish! It is just an amazing place. OH...i forgot the best part! There is a hidden ledge at the neighboring beach that is fun to walk to, climb up, and have a picnic. It is high enough to be safe from waves, but not scary. And people from the beach can't see you so it's not akward to have a little date! so fun!
There stairs are a little intimidating. (this is only half of them!!!!!)
JT and Chris working hard.

lovely sand
bubbly water
see the cave way back there?!?
toes

JT was just a LITTLE nervous about the stairs. they are pretty steep.
notice my future house in the background.
charging the waves

JT thinks he is a ninja

Disneyland!!!!

So... I went to Disneyland three times this summer and really only took pictures one of those days! I haven't been a diligent photographer this summer. Actually...I never am.


Katherine and Christian
Christian didn't know what to think about this.
Me and Josh
He was pooped. (Check out his cute mickey mouse hat!!!)
Kat, Me, Christine, and JT
JT was just a LITTLE excited to pull the sword out of the stone
He got a crown....
and a medal and a certificate! It was definately his lucky day!!!

Josh's Birthday/ Wicked

I'm bad...Josh's brithday was on the 8th! To celebrate we went out to dinner at this super cute italian cafe up in LA before seeing Wicked. (It was just a coinsidence our tickets were for on his birthday, but he ended up really liking it!!!! pheeeeew!) For his present I got him the collection of the Lord of the Rings books. He is constantly reading something and our library is extremely limited. We have all the Harry Potter books, Twilight books, a few of my girly/historical fiction books, and Tom Clancy. So now that he has read all of the MANLY books a thousand times he can read these a million times before Christmas!


(not the actually books and definitely didn't get the creepy smeagal book ends)

The italian cafe (really good!!)
"Sexy, Sassy, Sensational" (Gasp!)

my family (minus Kristen, Brent, and JT)
woot woot. (my real birthday present to Josh is me not nagging him anymore to take me to see Wicked!!!!!)

Forth of July!!

To watch fireworks on the 4th we went to the Angel's baseball game!! It was so much fun... we won of course! And we got the must haves: hotdog and a sundae in an up-side-down basball helmet. Yummmy!

That morning Erik, JT, and I decided to run the Ladera Ranch Freedom Run. We found out about it the day before and made up our minds 9:00pm the night before. We got there and went all out with the 10k instead of the 5k. I was happy to actually finish...especially after eating 4 cookies before bed the night before! (I have a bit of a sweet tooth and Jen makes the best chocolate chip cookies!) I finished in just under 60 minutes. JT my 5 year old brother ran the "firecracker" 1k and was thrilled to do a race! Erik my 15 year old brother ran thw 6.2 miles in 37minutes!! He's insane! He placed 1st in his age group and 2nd overall!!!!

Erik with his medal!!!!

me running
Erik running
JT running