What July 4th means

2 Nephi 1:5

"But, said he, notwithstanding our afflictions, we have obtained a land of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands; a land which the Lord God hath covenanted with me shoud be a land for the inheritance of my seed, Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever, and also all those who should be led out of other countries by the hand of the Lord."


D&C 101 : 79-80

"Therefore, it is not right that any man be in bondage one to another.
And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood."


1 Nephi 13 : 16-20

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them.
And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them.
And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle.
And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations.
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land..."

"It appears to me, then, little short of a miracle, that the delegates from so many different states (which states you know are also different from each other in their manners, circumstances, and prejudices) should unite in forming a system of national government, so little liable to well-founded objections." -George Washington



I am the flag of the United States of America...

My name is Old Glory!

I fly atop the world's tallest buildings, I stand watch in America's halls of justice. I fly majestically over great institutes of learning. I stand guard with the greatest military power in the world.

Look up! And see me!

I stand for Peace, Honor, Truth, and Justice...

I stand for Freedom...

I am Confident

I am Arrogant

I am Proud

When I am flown with my fellow banners...
My head is a little higher
My colors a little Truer...

I bow to no one.

I am recognized all over the world. I am saluted, respected, revered, loved, and feared. I have fought every battle for every war for more than 200 years...
Gettysburg-Shilo-Appomatox-San Juan Hill-The Trenches of France-The Argonne Forest-Rome-The South Pacific-The beaches of Normandy-the rice paddies and jungles of Guam-Okinawa-Japan-Korea-Vietnam and many more. A score of places long forgotten by all but who were with me.

I was there.

I led my soldiers

I followed them

I watched over them

They loved me

I was on a small hill in Iwo Jima. I was dirty, battle worn and tired, but my soldiers cheered me, and

I Was Proud

I have been soiled, burned, torn and trampled on the streets of countries I helped set free.

It does not hurt, For I am Invincible.

I have been soiled, burned, torn and trampled on the streets of my own country, and when it is by those with whom I have served in battle--it hurts. But I shall overcome.

For I Am Strong.

I have slipped the bonds of Earth and stand watch over the uncharted new frontiers of space from my vantage point on the moon. I have been a silent witness to all of America's finest hours.

But my finest hour comes when I am torn into strips to be used for bandages for my wounded comrades on the field of battle...

When I fly at half mast to honor my soldiers

And when I lie in the trembling arms of a grieving mother at the graveside of her fallen son.

I Am Proud

My Name Is Old Glory

Dear God-Long May I Wave.

One Nation Under God - Jon McNaughton

While working at Downeast- I had to great opportunity to see this painting from the start and see it all come together. It is one of my favorite paintings and it hangs in my home.

Beautiful America

Mormon Tabernacle Choir Flash Mob - Colonial Williamsburg

a 90's kid

If you are a 90's Kid then you remember

T.G.I.F : a compilation of popular TV shows that you could only watch on Friday nights.....cause there was no such thing as TiVO

M.M.C : New version of the Mickey Mouse Club with familiar faces such as Brittney-Justin-Christina-JC etc....

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Saved By The Bell (old and new class) C:

Remember POGS ???

or those plastic string key chains ???

girls remember the BANGS ??? Curled and teased ???

Barbie and Commando Jeeps ???

VCRs ???

Y2K ???

Beanie Babies and Furby's ???

Power Rangers ???



If you are a 90's kid--- then you grew up in the time of George Bush and Bill Clinton.

You made it through the "Grunge" and "Preppie" style clothing

Oprah was most likely part of your everyday life.

You listened to the Spice Girls.... Hanson.... N*Sync and Backstreet Boys (remember that 'rivalry'?)
Hip Hop and Rap was just coming onto the scene.

When Titanic and Shakespeare in Love were the most popular movies...but you probably weren't allowed to see them.

Let's face it- if you're a 90's kid, your life pretty much rocked. C: Take a trip down memory lane and watch some of these videos...and don't be ashamed if you still rememeber all the words to all the songs

Cleaning things out...It's PaRty TiMe!!!!

Oh these Summer days just make me wanna party!!!

Now that the days are longer....and time is a bit easier to come by... why not spend it with family and buddies?!

As I was cleaning my house this week...I was going through all the closets and secret rooms and such...and I found all sorts of party decorations. Hula Party-Halloween Party-Christmas Party-Disney Party-Black and White Party-80's Party....yep it was all there.

I started catching a bit of nostalgia again and I realized that it's seriously almost been a year since I last threw any kind of party.

11 months too long in my opinion...

So now that I've found all of this stuff again......

I think it's time...

Party Time that is...

On the way to the Ranch for Easter

So we all headed to Alamo, Nevada for the annual Anhder Easter shindig. And boy did these kids have quite a trip.

3 year drought...Oi Vey.

So I was thinkin the other day while driving my car....not quite sure why I was really thinkin about it. There wasn't really any specific incident that brought it on. But yes this does come up every once in a while.

I haven't been on a DATE in almost 3 years....
There it is.... I said it.
It will be 3 years on Labor Day weekend. Sad that I know exactly when it all went down....shoot I could even tell ya what we did too C:
And 'tops it off'---it was a "It's Complicated" Blind Date..... sooooo not a good way to get the drought up and going.

Not sure where exactly my "MoJO" went. C:

Continuing on the road in the car- I got to thinking of some of the best "words of wisdom?" that I've received regarding my datelessness C:

"It happens when you're not looking."
"He's Out There."
"You'll find the right person for you."
"It will happen when you least expect it."
etc etc...
These ones are great. -BUT- I think " it " will happen whether you're looking for it or not. Some people just have crazy luck--other's not so much. You're not doing anything wrong by going out-meeting people and having a good time while your at it.

"How can you still be Single?"
"What is wrong with the guys these days?"
I figure these statements are meant to make me feel better about myself--that there's nothing wrong with me and what I'm doing. I've found myself saying these to other people as well and that's how I mean them to be taken anyway. -BUT- believe me, if I knew the answers to these questions- I wouldn't still be single.

"Have you tried Online Dating?"
when I get this one- I automatically think of this

hahaha! You bet I have -BUT- will I ever try it again????


negative.


"Some guy is going to come along and ruin your career/life plan."
hahaha! -BUT- still waiting for that one C;


"Wow, I wish I was still single and in your shoes!"
hahaha. -BUT-Really?
Again- I reckon this was said only to make me feel better. C:


This is kind of the first time that I've really ever talked about this cause A: I hate the pity and 2: maybe it's kind of embarassing and depressing. But I think that when this topic does come about- the best kind of advise given is just the good ol fashioned neutral grounds. "This too shall pass" or "There's so much to be grateful for right now/Count your blessings." etc. and ya know- I don't think that I'll ever get tired of hearing

"He's just not that into you."
So just get back up on that horse and keep holding on for dear life.
-BECAUSE- it's supposed to be a bumpy ride.





But in all honesty- I haven't really done anything to fix this. So it's half my own dang fault C: I guess if I'm not really willing to put in some of the work-I can't really expect it back right? I can't just sit around waiting for a love-life to come poke me in the shoulder.

So here I go. I'm gonna throw myself out to the universe. Date's every single weekend....ooh....maybe that's a bit......
NO! Bring it On! Jump into the Planner Fella's!!
I'm gonna Dry up this Drought. I'm forecasting some rain.
I'm gonna be the "Hang-Out Buddy" No More!...well except for...
NO!
I'm gonna..
Nip it in the Bud

Oi Vey. I'm gonna need some help ya'll.

Holy Cow!

Yikes! So it's been about a month since I gave an update on my resolution.




Well.



It's still going good. Kinda slowed down a bit-but still kinda on track.

To date I've lost about 16 pounds altogether. :) Probably my favorite thing about it-

I went and bought a smaller size in pants :) So as slow as it's going- I'm still feeling good :)

Awe Valentines

I Wuv You!
I will Always Wuv You!
Even if you UnWuv Me-
I will never UnWuv You!

Precious really :)

So this month - I decided to bring in Valentines Day with a different attitude. Still aware of my "singleness" but I don't wanna brag ;) Let's be honest- you don't gotta have a "signif" in order to enjoy V-Day....I'm sure they're great to have but I can't say that I know from experience. And I don't think that Valentines Day was made to only show love to one other person in your life---but to everyone in your life. One of my favorite memories of love came in a cute little stuffed animal all tied up with balloon strings that my mom had delivered while I was sitting with my 3rd grade class way back in the 90s :P And the little "Be Happy" note that was dropped into my high school locker by one of my best friends because he knew that I was having a bad day.

So Valentines for me this year isn't about the many bombarding "Signifs" wandering around- or the flowers - or the jewelry. It's about LOVE....go figure. Think of it more as a "Show your Appreciation Day" right? There's plenty of people around to show your love and appreciation to!

You gotta tell them when you can-and mean it when you do.

What the??

Online Dating Sites

hahaha! Oh yeah- I've tried....and no...not ever again.

So lately- I've been in need of a some sort of an experiment if you will. Nothing too serious...just wanting to see. Recently - I was hooked up with a Free week from one website- so basically I decided to try it out. Had a lot of mixed feelings.

The Free Week: I maybe only spent a whole 10 minutes filling out a small questionare. And then at the end- I had to compile everything that I am and everything that I'm looking for into a 500 character "essay" And I was set to go. So I start to just kinda dink around the website trying to get a feel for it when all of a sudden I get a chat request. So I open it up and the first thing that is written (my random thoughts in BOLD---I swear I had to really push myself not to type them)
HIM "Hey! You're really cute!" Uhh....?
ME "Thank You." and the conversation continues
HIM "How are you doing today?"
ME "Good thanks. How bout you?" ????????????
HIM "Good. What are you doing right now?"
ME "Just chillin out here on the computer."
HIM "thats cool. You have a really pretty smile." Uhh....?
ME "Thank You."

the conversation continues with more small talk for probably another good 10 minutes. Honestly I'm getting slightly bored with it. Then there's a bit of silence...Oh but wait for it---here's what he said...

HIM "So what do you think of me?" Whoa! Seriously?!?!
ME "Umm...you seem nice. I don't really know that much about you though."
HIM "What do you wanna know about me?"
ME "What kinda stuff do you do for fun....." But he totally interupts me mid sentence and quickly sends
HIM "Are you doing anything tonight? Wanna go out for dinner? I really wanna take you out tonight. U-SO-HOT"

Seriously by this time--I'm starting to get a bit ticked off. Guy can't even stick to a subject. Not to mention he's totally laying it on thick and nothing could possibly bug me more than that. So I say...

ME "I'm not going to go out with you tonight. I don't know you and you don't know me. It wouldn't be appropiate and I absolutely don't feel comfortable doing that."
HIM "Oh come on. I promise to be a perfect gentleman. I totally respect girls. I open the door for you-push in the chair-bring you flowers. I'm totally not one of those creepy guys."

For some reason- I'm not exactly ready to believe him. Not to mention---isn't that something that a creepy guy would say to try and make you believe that he's not a creep? Kinda reminds me of the saying "You said it-not me." He continues

HIM "I'm so attracted to you. You kinda scare me."

Dude- You Scare ME!!! A couple more clicks of the mouse---taken care of.

Whatever happened to getting to know each other first???

High heels in the Super Market---try not to die out there

Well--usually a quick trip to the grocery store turns into an hour long event. Everyone is in a hurry, they gotta get to the cash register, to the cereal isle, back to the meat department etc... It occured to me- People walk around the grocery store like they are driving. They shop like they drive. With a cart-you even increase your chance of a crash. People stop right in the middle of the isle- or they are going in the "Wrong Direction"/against the main flow - ya got your texters and chatters - and my favorite pulling out of the isle and wizzing into the main flow without even looking. People drive their shopping carts like they drive their cars.

Plain and Simple.


Back to the point---
So this particular trip started out just like any other---except---I wore my high heels. Which NEVER happens!! I also happened to be wearing a cute new dress that I had resently purchased. My hair was done up...in short- I was feeling pretty darn cute. Confidence is a great thing! Walking through the isle's of the store- back straight and head held high when I happened upon seriously one of THE cutest looking fella's ever. So you know what I do---- I smile :) and you know what he does--- he smiles back :)

Hahahaha!!! You know where this is going right?


SLIP!!! All over the place! Oops!

High Heels in the Super Market--great for a confidence boost but try not to die out there C:

Oh my gosh! week 5??? Really??

Alrighty- here we are to week 5 already. Time is seriously going so fast---where the heck did January go???

So this week- I kinda felt a little back and forth. Some good days - some not so good days. I missed drinking a few waters-missed a few workouts-etc...

So I get on the scale this morning not really knowing what to really expect---hoping that I didn't gain but not exactly assuming that I lost either.

Well---


I lost 1 pound C:

And you know what- that's totally okay with me C:

BUT---- I totally don't even want to know after today. SUPER BOWL SUNDAY---and I'm pretty sure I blew it BIG!!! But I gotta say---it sure tasted good! C;

So back to it tomorrow!! C:

Something on my mind these days C:

K- so I admit that this is indeed strange...I've totally come to terms with that. BUT- It really is something that I've really wanted to do for the past few years now. And funny enough I've had a few people ask me about it. So now is the time to really really start thinking about it.

My 25th Birthday.

I know- I just got finished turning 24...I know I know I know... What the heck right?!

So I really wanna bring on 25 years with a bang!! So I do indeed plan to have a fun celebration. I've got a few idea's for "theme-age" and such...it's all kind of scattered at the moment-but I have a whole year to bring it all together so I'm really not too worried C:

I think that I'd like to do little updates on this "SAID PARTY" here on the blog. Keep people somewhat posted on the progress and such.

So there---it's been thrown out to the universe. Now it's time to get to work C:

ZUMBA!!! YAY!

So my folks got me Zumba for my birthday present- and I did it for the first time tonight ... Oh My Gosh!!!

It's soooo much fun! I absolutely Love It!!
Although- Here is the before and the after :)

Pure excitement to Sheer exhaustion.

...but oh so worth it :)

Forgot about Birthday Week (4)

So----my birthday was this past week. Nuf said right?

Wrong-o!

So I was good pretty much the whole week -knowing that I was probably gonna blow it on my birthday. I worked-out every single day for about a combined hour. I ate what I was supposed to...even with the delicious looking chocolate chip cookies that my bishop brought over during his visit... Drank gallons and gallons of water etc...

Here comes Thursday... THE DAY!

And boy was it great!! I had Denny's, Olive Garden, cake, soda, you name it- and boy was it great!!! Thanks Regina!!!! C:

So then the next day- I've still got all of these left over's from the restraunts that we hit...gotta get rid of those----so I ate them on Friday. And went to the movies with Brandee where we both got some good lookin nachos C: That makes two BLOWIT days. So I workout like a horse so it doesn't have too much of a chance to hit hard.

Saturday - I "kinda" jumped right back on after a quick little lunch trip to the Pizza Factory with my sister. C:

Sunday was a lot easier because I actually had to go to work for most of the day. So I decided to jump on the scale this morning and......



WHAT?!?! I actually lost 2 pounds!!! C: YAY!!!

Shoot I would have been happy just to not gain anything---but to loose??? That's a complete and utter miracle right there. C:

So what I learned this week is-- You can be allowed to "BLOWIT" but gotta keep up a pace. If I go out to eat - I don't gotta eat the whole thing then and there. I'm allowed to have the things that I like--but not all the time. I can make due with every once in a while. C:

I'd like to just give a Thanks! shout out to all of my good friends and family who really made this past week such an incredibly fun week for me!! Birthdays freaking ROCK!!! Thanks everybody!!! C: LOVE YOU!!

Week 3 With a Bang!!!

Alrighty folks!

So I got a new battery in the scale so it should be good to go for a while now.

My workouts kinda were few and far between last week just cause school and work were totally taking over my life. So I maybe only got to work out maybe twice last week.

But I did keep close tabs on what I was eating and drinking. And so I was feeling pretty good over all.



And in the last two weeks....




Lost 4 lbs :)

I'm pretty happy with it- but now that life is kinda slowing down just an inch I'm looking forward to having more time to do what needs to be done and I'm hoping that good numbers keep coming C:

Uhhhhh....week 2 ???

Soo.... Week 2 and I already was slacking off a bit. Not having as much time to work out - not keeping such close tabs on the food etc.... So I wasn't feeling too confident about weighing in and getting too great of a result.
Basically I hit a slight glitch??

But redemption is mine--- my scale's battery died. Therefore - no weigh in :)

So I'm completely relieved that really I'm getting a second chance at this. A Do-Over of sorts and I'm for sure gonna take advantage!

Hopping back on the wagon now- super duper glued to it :)

WaHooo! OnE WeeK DoWn!!

Well made it through the first week of this new diet. And it's been great! I feel Great! Totally have gone cold turkey off soda and most sugars. I've really only had water to drink. Lots more meats and vegetables. Watching the carbs and calories.

Seriously I feel great! I feel like I have so much more energy. And I feel just so much more healthy...

And only after a week C:

Have I mentioned that I feel great!? C:

Oh yeah--ya probably wanna know a result????









Loss of 6 lbs. C:





WaHooo! OnE WeeK DoWn!! Look at me go! C:

This Is It!!! for real this time..... no really.

So many people ring in the new year with resolutions....and let's be honest- most the time they turn into "revolutions" ... by about March or April- these goals have pretty much been forgotten and we are right back where we started...until the next January. C: I've fallen into this cycle many times. I found it easy because I never really told anybody of my resolutions- so I didn't have anybody to really answer to. Pretty easy to forget all about them by March or April.

BUT NOT THIS TIME!!!!

I'm here- and I'm laying it all out on the table to anyone who's listening!

Gosh darn it!- I'm gonna lose weight this year!!!!!
There I said it.

It's been a while since I've even stepped on a scale. Probably because it was just easier not knowing the reality. But I ain't gonna run from it anymore. I walk upstairs and into the bathroom. I kick off my shoes and then I start to feel a little nervous. Honestly this object is nothing but some plastic and metal---yet what it's about to tell me has the potential to either make or brake it. Plenty of others before me have faultered because of this contraption....but here I go. 245. Whew! It sure was easy to get there- it's probably gonna be a heck of a time getting away from it- but you know what- I'm so ready to. This Is It!!! for real this time.....no really.

Will keep ya updated weekly. Watch me go! C: