Flashback Tuesday

Glorious, isn't it? This glamour shot was taken when I was a Freshman in High School. It was 1994/1995 and I obviously thought that super tight jeans and huge shirts were all the rage. You really must click on this picture to see it enlarged and view it in all it's glory! I mean, how short do a girls pants have to be? I'm even wearing one of those suede volleyball necklaces (courtesy of Kate), does anyone remember those? This picture just makes me shake my head...so many things wrong.

The girl in the middle is Kate who will probably terminate her friendship with me once she sees this. Check out the socks and sandals! The other girl was our friend, Kristie. Who, even with her forest green jeans, is the best-dressed out of all of us.

I was trying to post my Flashback Tuesday picture, but for some reason it won't load. Blast! However, until I get it to work I have included this little pic of movies past. I grew up watching the Disney movie "Babes in Toyland", anyone else familiar with it? Anyway, I recently bought it for old times sake, thought my kids could grow up watching it, too.

Why did I include this particular picture you ask? I bought a cute little green striped t-shirt in Vegas last weekend. It's really long and I totally love it, but the horizontal strips really accentuate the fact that I have a little baby bump. I realize that pretty soon, I will look like Gonzorgo from "Babes in Toyland". Ahem. He's the fat guy.

Vegas, Baby!

This weekend was so much fun! On Thursday afternoon I drove down to Vegas to see my sister and some girlfriends. I actually got pulled over on the way....oops. No ticket, though! Thursday night my sister and I went to dinner and did some shopping, it was such a blast! I didn't get to spend nearly enough time with her, but hopefully I'll see her soon.

The next day Rhonda, Kate, Sara and I went to lunch at In-N-Out. Yummy! As you can see from this picture, I am pointing to my tray which has two - yes, two - cheeseburgers on it. They were both delicious!



Afterwards we wandered around Target for about two hours and did some serious damage! I could spend the entire day in that store. Sara found a great purse (she's going to kill me for posting this picture) and the rest of us left with fabulous loot!

Later that night we met up with our friend Carla (who also lives in Vegas) for dinner at PF Changs. We ate our weight's worth in Wontons and had a blast eating and catching up.

The next day we went to the Fashion Show Mall which is right off the strip. How long were we there, you ask? About...5 1/2 hours. No joke. We had so much fun just walking around the Mall, taking our time in each store. We also did some serious damage there, as well. All of us purchased some great finds! The picture below is of some flats I tried on in the first store we stopped in. I LOVE THEM!

I wasn't sure if I should get them, they were a bit spensy. Aren't they fabulous? For the rest of the day, everytime I tried something on one of the girls would say, "You know what would look great with that shirt? Gold flats". Hahahaha, it was so funny. ALL day I kept hearing that. I found them online for a bit less than what they were in the Mall. Am I going to order them, you ask? You betcha!



After an exhausting and successful day of shopping, we stopped at Baja Fresh for some dinner (yes, another meal) and then back home for some relaxing. We tried to watch a movie, but we all fell asleep. Of course, once we woke up after the movie we ended up talking until the wee hours!




Finally, a farewell lunch at Cheesecake Factory (see, I told you we love to eat and shop - that's all we do!!). It was so great to see the girls for a few days, it totally recharged my batteries and I can't wait to see them all again at the Girls Trip this Summer! The drive home was long and boring, but I was so excited to see Cody and Cache. They spent the weekend in Moab with some friends and I heard that they had the best time! Ahh, a fabulous few days all around.

Viva Las Vegas!!

Yes, kids - I have decided to go to Vegas! It was a hard decision, I really want to go to Moab with Cody and Cache and all of our friends. Hopefully we can go again soon! I'm really looking forward to Vegas - I get to spend a day with my sister and I am so stoked to see her. We are so close and I can't wait to have her all to myself! I intend to do some shopping this weekend and much eating with my girlfriends - two of our favorite hobbies. It will be a nice little getaway and the weather is supposed to be quite balmy! I promise lots of pictures will be taken and posted, so stay tuned!

When I got home this afternoon I found some of our flowers had bloomed! I am so excited for Spring and Summer.

The only downside is that now I have to finish weeding all my flowerbeds after the long Winter. At least I'll be outside!

I took this picture a while ago and thought it was so hilarious. Cache puts on my shoes very often. He'll slip his little feet into them and walk around our bedroom. The other morning (before I had put his shorts on...oh dear) I heard him walking around in there, so I took some quick pictures before he took the shoes off! He has great balance in 3 inch heels. At a party the other night, my friend was wearing this fabulous green, glittery heels. She had taken them off, so Cache slipped them on and paraded around the room. Should I be worried?

I posted 3 times today, so keep reading!

Platinum!

So I got my hair done today - a lovely indulgence. For those that know me, I usually have my hair bleached out so it's Platinum Blonde. However, the last few times I've gone to get my hair done I have had some dark streaks put in to darken everything down a bit. Well, I went in today and asked that she put just a little more blonde around my face and at the top of my head. WHOA. My hair is sooooo blonde right now! It's not bad, I really like it - but it's just so bright! I tried to take some pictures so you could see how light it is, but I don't think any of my pics really worked. Here are my attempts:

Quite blonde, no? My sister has told me lots of times that I should try going brown, she thinks it would look really good. I did go dark a few years ago, but I thought it looked SO bad. It wasn't done very well, the color faded really quickly which left me with an ashy, brownish-grayish color. I should give it another shot
...or should I?

Anniversary

My friend Whitney does this thing on her Blog called "Flashback Friday" where she posts pictures or stories of special things that have happened in the past few years. So here is my "Flashback....Tuesday?" I realized that this week will mark the 4th Anniversary of when Cody proposed. I tried to find the pictures that were taken right after he popped the question - to no avail. Instead, I have included a pic that was taken right after we came out of the Temple. When Cody proposed, I was totally surprised - I had NO idea. I mean, we had talked about getting married and we had picked out the ring, but I still wasn't really expecting it. That weekend we had planned on snowmobiling and staying up at our friend, Adam's cabin (where we had first met two years earlier). We had finished eating dinner and were all sitting around the fire in the Living Room talking. I was sitting next to Cody in this big chair and actually fell asleep! I woke up to him rubbing my leg saying, "...most you know that Jewels and I met up here about two years ago..." I kinda sat up, still really sleepy. Then he said, "...and then we fell in love. I love her very much and I want to spend the rest of my life with her.." Naturally, this got my attention and now I was fully awake. Just in time, too! Right after he said that he got down on one knee!! I immediately started to cry as he said, "Julia, will you marry me?" I was so happy, I wrapped my arms around him before I answered! I pulled away and said, "Yes! Yes!" Ahhh, it was perfect. I'm glad he woke me up, I nearly slept through the proposal! He is a dream, my best friend and I love him so much. I'm glad we have each other!

Postings

I thought I would sit down this morning and post some random things that I have been thinking about. I just found out from my friend Ann that the fabulous Forever21 is coming to University Mall! I am beyond excited, I love that store! However, it is a little bittersweet because now everyone will know about it. It's sort of how I feel about Ikea coming to town. I can't wait - but now it will be all the rage. Sigh... will this prevent me from braving the crowds to shop at these venues? Never!


This whole daylight savings thing has me totally turned around!! I think that "Spring Forward" is much more difficult to adjust to than "Fall Back", and for some reason this time around has been worse. I have been sleeping in until 9:00 - 9:30! I am ashamed. Cache is my alarm clock and he hasn't been waking up until 9:00 or 9:30 either. We are usually up at eating breakfast by 8:30, but now? It's more like Brunch. Oh dear! Hopefully I'll get myself up at a reasonable hour so I can enjoy more of the day!

Last night I was with some friends at a Birthday Party. It was so much fun! It was nice to just hang out and chat. They are all planning on going to Moab next weekend with their Jeeps to go on some trails. Cody is also going, he just bought some fancy brakes to put on his Jeep for the trip! He is taking Cache...it sounds like it's going to be so much fun. Me? I? What am I doing you ask? Well, I am going to Vegas to meet some girlfriends for the weekend. We have been planning this for MONTHS and I cannot wait! I had this trip organized before Cody and our friends decided to go to Moab, but now I'm feeling torn. Cody has been working so much and I feel like I really should go on this trip to spend time with him and Cache. I mean, it's like a Family Vacaction...and I'm going to Vegas. How irresponsible does that sound? Cody and I talked about it on the way home from the party last night. He does want me to come with him, but he also knows that I have been looking forward to this Vegas trip, too. Ugh - I don't know what to do!

Tanlines

How gorgeous is this weather?! I LOVE this time of year, love it. I had to take a break from Spring Cleaning to go sit on my porch and soak up some sun. It felt so good! It's not hot yet, but the chill in the air is gone and all of my neighbors have been out mowing lawns and doing yard work. I have included some pictures I found, don't they just make you long for Summer?

Mmmm, I can't wait. Even though I will be a huge pregnant girl, I'm going to enjoy the season! Cody and I are hoping to go to Lake Powell at the beginning of June...that's coming up so fast! I should probably do some lunges...

...but before I do that, I think I'm going to see what the weather is going to be like tomorrow - I just might take some time and lay out! You know, while I can still lay on my stomach.

Now go outside and soak up some sunshine!!

5 things...again!

Ah yes, I have been tagged once again to post 5 things people may not know about me. A little indulgent to oblige? Perhaps. I took a little more time to think about some things that usually don't come up in conversation. Hope you enjoy!
1 - I threw away my friends' Wedding Ring:
Ok, ok - let me explain. Most of you know that my Dad is a Jeweler. When I lived in Vegas, a girl I worked with wanted her diamond tightened on her Wedding Ring. I was coming home for the weekend, so I agreed to take the ring to my Dad and have him work on it while I was in town. When I got to my parents house, I couldn't find the ring ANYWHERE. I remembered that I had wrapped the ring in tissue paper and placed it in my car...somewhere. After many hours of searching and panicking, I came to the conclusion that I must have thrown it away with some other garbage when I stopped for gas in Cedar City. I cried my eyes out when I told her what happened and she was very understanding. I paid for a new ring (turns out she had wanted to replace her old one, anyway!) and all was well. Lesson learned - ever since that experience, if someone gives me a ring to give to my Dad, I wear it on my finger!

2 - Grocery shopping is like Tetris:
Every time I go to the grocery store, I organize the items in my cart. It's like Tetris. Big, heavier things go in the back of the cart, lighter things can be stacked and closer to the front. Cody thinks this is hilarious, especially since he just tosses things in the cart when we shop (which makes me crazy). I honestly will go back and organize it so everything has it's own little spot.

3 - I love Bon Jovi:
Yep! I'm not ashamed. I never listened to heavy metal or glam rock growing up. I idolized my older sister (still do), so I listened to and loved whatever she listened to (The Smiths, Morissey, The Samples...you get the idea). I had always liked Monster Ballads and a few rock songs here and there, but it wasn't until I met Cody that my true love of metal surfaced. Bon Jovi is one of my favorites along with Def Leppard and a little of Skid Row. Oh dear! I also enjoy The Darkness like you wouldn't believe. I once told my little brother that if I ever saw Bon Jovi in concert, I would show him my boobs. He thought this was hilarious and decided to tell that to all of his friends. Thanks, Rich...

4 - I feel immense pressure to keep my house clean:
I love to throw parties, this is no secret. What you probably don't know is that the day of a party I am in a frenzy cleaning my house. My husband is always telling me, "Don't worry about that, it looks fine, they won't care". The thing is, I care! I try to stay on top of the cleaning, I do - but sometimes I just fall behind and have to do some serious catching up. I get so nervous when someone comes over and my kitchen is messy or the floor needs to be vacuumed. It's exhausting and I wish it didn't get to me, but I can't help it!

5 - I don't like singing in front of small groups:
I don't mind singing at Weddings, in Church, or other places that a large group is assembled. But don't even try to get me to sing in front of 3 people...I can't do it. I get way too nervous. Once when Cody and I were just barely dating, he asked me to sing while we were up at his friends cabin. I think there were 3 or 4 people around and I thought I sounded so lame. I was like, "Ok, he's dumping me after this weekend". I even have a hard time singing in front of Cody! If I have to sing for something, I like to rehearse and get his opinion, but I hate having to sing in front of just him. I also don't like to make eye contact with people when I sing - you know how when you see two famous people singing a duet together and they can look into each other's eyes and sing their hearts out? Yeah, can't do it. Way too cheesey, I'd probably bust out laughing.

So there you have it! Hopefully this is the last time I get tagged...who knows what depths of my dark past I would delve into if I were to be asked again.

WOO-HOO!!

Yes, indeed! Cody and I found out that we are having another little boy. We went to see Cody's Mom at the hospital (she works in Labor and Delivery) and we were able to take a little peek. I was sure they were going to tell me that I was having a girl, but make no mistake - there is a little boy in there! We are very, very excited. I can't wait for Cache to have a buddy to run around with!

L.O.V.E.

This weekend, my whole family went to Vegas to see the show, LOVE. I have never been to a Vegas show before and I was completely blown away, to say the least! Let me tell you a little story. I grew up listening to The Beatles. My sister and brothers and I listened to them all the time. We listened to them during road trips, at Lake Powell, at home - ALL THE TIME. My sister lives in Vegas and she saw this show a few months ago. She said it was fabulous and that we all had to drive down there and see it together. Most of you know that my family is extremely close, so it was a blast to spend the weekend together! On Saturday night we went out to dinner and then headed over the The Mirage for the show. We had great seats and we were all SO excited!! The lights dimmed...the show began...it started out slow and quiet..then suddenly the music got super loud and the lights came up and confetti was falling everywhere! People were swinging on ropes and there were dancers and so many colors. I burst into tears - literally. My hands were over my mouth and tears were just streaming down my face. I was just overwhelmed! I looked at my family and they were all doing the same thing. Sitting through that show brought back so many memories of our childhood and growing up together. The show was incredible, and there were many times when I had to wipe tears away so I could actually see. Cody was awesome - he knew how much this show meant to me and my family and it made everything perfect to have him there sharing this with me. When the show was over, we all stayed in our seats for a while. We just hugged and cried and laughed. I don't really know how to explain that feeling. I feel very lucky to have those memories of growing up on Center Street with my family - it's crazy to think that a show could bring up so many emotions! I'm sure that if I see LOVE again, I won't be as emotional as I was this past weekend. I'm just so glad I got to share it all with my husband and my family!

Here is a picture of Cody and I after the show. My eyes were tired from all the tears! Ahh, Cody is so wonderful. I'm sure he didn't realize that when he married me he would have to get used to the fact that I cry at everything. But rather than roll his eyes, he just gives me a hug and lets me have my little moment! Mmm, he's so cute.

Some other things did happen this weekend that didn't involve family memories and tears. I was able to see my friend Sara on Friday night!! I love her. She is so fabulous. She moved to Vegas last May and I miss her like crazy. Her husband and son joined Cody and I for dinner. We talked forever and it was so nice to be able to catch up! Sara is having a baby girl in April and Sara looks beautiful. Look how cute she is! I, on the other hand, look like I've been up for 36 hours. I get to see Sara again at the end of the month - some friends and I are going down to Vegas for a few days!! I can't wait.

This is Cache enjoying the road trip. Haha! My parents drove, so Cody and I were in the back with the little Cache Man. We brought our portable DVD player so he could watch some movies on the way. He was such a good traveler! All in all, the trip was super fun. It went by really fast, we were only there for two days! But we were able to get in some family time and relax just a little.

Goodness! This post was much longer than anticipated! Hope you enjoyed the posting - now go buy tickets for that Beatles show, you'll love it!

Girl's Night At PF Changs

Ahhh, PF Changs. SO delish! Heather, Brittany and I got together last night for some Dinner. It was so fun to spend some time with them! We consumed entirely too much food (or that may have just been me...my belt had to be removed after the meal) and were able to catch up. Heather and I are both expecting babies later this Summer, it's so fun to be pregnant at the same time! I hope we can make this a regular thing, it was awesome to be able to just sit and talk. Our other friend Ann was going to try and make it, but she had family in town. Next time for sure! OH, and next time we do this I'm going to wear stretchy pants - that way I can be more comfortable while I eat myself into a food coma.

Bath Time

I love when Cache is in the tub. He's so cute! He splashes a lot...makes quite a mess. After we got out of the bath and I was drying him off, he was making the funniest faces, I had to get a picture! He was raising his eyebrows and making this "Oooh" sound. I was laughing so hard! Ahhh, he's hilarious.