If I only had a Blog...

Hawaii

2011-10-02T19:17:00.000-07:00

There is something hard about coming home from vacation

Especially after seeing so many amazing sunsets

I have seen so many new remarkable things

Experiencing a piece of history

Then there was the beach

And the sunrise

A small amount of hard work...for someone else that is

TONS of Waterfalls

Good bye Hawaii, and Thank you for the good times!

Happy October

2010-10-15T19:00:00.000-07:00

In honor of the month that give us the only holiday...or one of the few holidays where I can dress up and feel confident with my decision to act like a child, that brings the warmth of hot chocolate back to our lips...unless you drink it all year round (mmm...yummy!), and reminds us why we planted pumpkins in the garden even though they took over EVERYTHING I have a video to share.

Video compliments of these two darlings. Thanks chicas! I am glad to see the self made mullet has grown out some since this picture was taken on the first day of school. Don't worry though, they haven't grown into those backpacks quite yet.

Utah State Fair!

2010-10-11T18:38:00.000-07:00

I love the state fair! It is pure entertainment. You get to take all sorts of cool pictures like these:

Then there is the food:
A bit of real BBQ

The Fried goodness a snickers bar in fact:

Then there are the animals. I am not a huge animal person but when it comes to the state fair I get super excited about them.

If any one knows why the sheep are wearing coats I would like to know!

The piglets kept fighting or playing who knows whay they were doing.

And then there are the cows and they only ever show their best side.

Of course the section with the dressed up squash is always a favorite as well. Lets face it is you are going to dress up a veggie it might as well be a squash

Or a Gourd
Or maybe a Potato

Then of course what would the state fair be with out some really men dressed in costume

Who doesn't want to be a robot? (his line was WAY too long to wait in so I took a picture of him with this guy.)

Here is the one that concerns me...for some reason this guy had no line and let me take like 5 pictures of him shifting with the light.

That's right folks he is dressed up as a bottle of shampoo. Wow. Definately a confident person under there!

Well there you have it. That is the state fair in a nut shell. I realize this is a month late but better later then never.

Oh p.s. did I mention that I saw Boyz II Men? hmm...must of slipped my mind. I wouldn't want any of you to judge me after all.

When life gives you Lemons...

2010-03-02T10:19:00.000-08:00

The old adage has never seemed more applicable in my life! First of all a follow up to my last blog...Santa did bring me jumper cables. It seemed a little less humorous then I meant for them to be considering I was in the hospital at the time and my life had just received a "jump start". I did however pen a new phrase which I hope someday to become a quotable adage "when life tries to kill you, have jumper cables on hand." Okay it seemed funny at the time.

So here is what happened in a brief-

I fell while snowboarding directly onto my abdomen (and just in case any of the medical personal who questioned me constantly- NO I DIDN'T HIT MY HEAD.) I had a joyous toboggan ride down the hill, and then an ambulance ride to the hospital. How was it you ask? Strap yourself down to the hardest piece of none pliable material you can find and start stabbing nails into your stomach oh and position yourself so your head is the lowest part of your body. You get the idea.

At the hospital I get scanned and they see a bleed and go in for my spleen. Luckily from this point on I was drugged. While digging out my spleen they discover it is actually fine and the problem is a 15 lb tumor just chillin' with my Pancreas. To bad they already removed Steve*(*means see the PS below to understand why I am referring to my spleen as Steve) After a touch and go day of fluids, more then a dozen blood and plasma transfusions (good thing I was sedated) they did another emergency surgery to remove the tumor. It was amazing how my body decided it could stabilize with out its 15lb nemesis.

Recover has been hard too, but at least it isn’t life threatening. I did get an infection which caused my doc to open me back up partially and not close me so I am now experiencing a wound V.A.C. If possible I recommend avoiding this opportunity, because it is a slow but effective healing process.

The plus side to all of this is I have watched more movies and TV shows then I ever have before. Not to mention actually getting sleep. Who knew I was missing out on that!

I can't give enough gratitude to all the people who have stuck by me through EVERYTHING. It has been one of the hardest challenges of my life, but it has been rewarding. My reward came in the form of flowers, cards, movies, Christmas carols and most importantly visits. It amazes me the community of people that have come to see me. From my dear friends who came almost daily to coworkers (who I know had better things to do for their holidays), many relatives and neighbors even my contractor came to see me. I am honored to know such amazing people. I have realized that I need to take the opportunity to reach out to more people and help them feel the same kind of love and support I have felt. Our world is so full of suffering and pain. It is so easy to get caught up in your own hardships. I tell you though, you do make a difference. I can remember every face that came to the hospital. I spent hours looking at each vase of flowers; they comforted me during some long hard nights. I still take time each week to look at the cards and notes of encouragement.

Here is what I learned-

When life gives you lemons or tumors, take a look around and realize life also gives us plenty of sweet for making lemonade. You just have to look a little harder to see it when you are so focused on the sour or pain.

*P.S. if you do ever visit my house please please don't over look my new coffee table reading material entitled Steve the Spleen written and Illustrated by Tyler. Hopefully one of these days we can add another book called Terence the Tumor, but until then...

Dear Santa or other generous backer or sugar daddy, whoever,

2009-12-16T20:06:00.000-08:00

I have broken down my list of needs and wants accordingly please don't disappoint me.

I NEED jumper cables because apparently I am incapable of turning my light off in my car. Since I am not able to change my behavior it is vital that I get the gift of jumper cables to offset my future stupidity

I WANT a robot that shovels snow. Do they even make these? I promise though I would share him with my senior citizen neighbors just as long as my drive way gets done with out me having to get up an extra 20 minutes early.

I NEED slip covers for my down stairs couches. Now I realized you think this isn't a need but remember how I ever so KINDLY let my room mate have a cat even though I swore no pets EVER? Well that generosity has led me to NEED couch covers. I know I know I only paid 20 dollars per hotel couch and that one slip cover will be worth more then all four couches combined. Just think how pretty my basement would finally look with them.

I WANT my own direct highway that will lead me everywhere I need to go. Preferably one that will get me to my lessons in Riverton on time. I realize the building of said highway may create a little back up for at least a few months so I propose we build during the summer when I don't drive out to Riverton twice a week so I will not be negatively affected by my own Christmas gift.

I NEED new materials for my ipod. Looking back on the year I have been particularly decent at being frugal. I have ALMOST completely cut out my spending that go towards entertainment such as movies and cds and mp3 books. Due to my faithfully frugal nature I NEED new ipod tunes or I will be insane by the end of 2010.

I WANT peace on Earth and Goodwill to all! After all it is Christmas and the world should be a happier place.

Now off to finish my Christmas shopping!

I stole instead of of thanked...

2009-12-09T20:33:00.000-08:00

How did I get to this point? That is right, I stole something this weekend. In my defense...I didn't mean too and it was completely accidental. Maybe they will let me off easy. Lets review the weekend to figure out where it went wrong.

Thanksgiving= Good.
Turkey=Good.
Movie with roommate=Good.
Black Friday= DIDN'T HAPPEN

I think I see the problem.

Here is the story...I didn't go black Friday shopping, instead I went out for the 3 day sales on Saturday. I found myself in a happy place called ikea. In said happy place all reason walked out the door. My motor skills were still mostly functioning correctly as my mouth kept blabbing and my hand kept grabbing. I love Ikea. It is a truly happy place...oh yeah, the story. So you know when you get to the end and there are like 4 real checkout and approximately 400 self check outs? Well I should never ever use self check out. You ask why? Let me explain:

1. I get a panic attack every time the stupid this makes a noise.

2. There is always at least 1 item that will take me 2 minutes to scan which makes me start sweating profusely and makes the scanning process harder.

3. I am paranoid the people in line behind me will start chanting slow poke or something mean like that.

Then newly added reason:

4. They increase the odds that I will steal in my life time.

So I am checking myself out at the self scanner trying desperately to hurry but of course it is ikea and I don't want to buy a bag so I am trying to stack my stuff correctly as I scan it so I can carry it out like a pack mule instead of in a sack like a normal person. So I cut a corner...I know I am buying 4 count them 1,2,3,4 throw pillows. Since I was buying 4 throw pillows I instead of scanning each individual pillow cover I just scanned one four times. It saved tons of time.

When I got home I happily started putting my throw pillows together which I did have 4 of, but some how I ended up with 5 pillow cases. I double and triple checked my receipt and had only definitely only paid for 4 covers. I only needed four. But my over active deal grabbers and my lack of reason brain apparently couldn't do four in the pillow section. So blame it on whoever let this brain dead girl in that store but I stole extra pillow case.

The happy ending- I did go in and returned my stolen item and it went like this.
Sue- "I accidentally stole this and I want to return it to you"
Sales Associate- (laughing, laughing and more laughing)
Sue-"umm...I am so so sorry I didn't mean to" (starts to walk away maybe they will forget I ever spoke)
Sales Associate- (Still laughing) Hollers "Want me to have security follow you around this time?" (More laughing)
Sue- head hung in shame and mortification
Meanwhile the sales associate has all his coworkers rolling around on the floor laughing about the girl who stole.
Sue- Perks up as she goes for round 2 of ikea shopping. Though the sounds of laughter continue to ring through Ikea today, I am the proud owner of 4 beautiful throw pillow and 0 stolen items.

Now I know not to ever miss black Friday shopping again. It makes me do crazy things when I don't shop with the insane.

Pot Luck and Mass Chaos all in the same small moment in life...

2009-11-12T19:36:00.000-08:00

Who likes pot lucks? Seriously? Don't lie. Either you do or you don't.

Some times you have good experiences sometimes you have bad ones. The person that you are is built on how straight a face you can hold while eating someone elses home made mayonnaise salad while telling them how delicious you think it is.

We had a pot luck at work a few weeks ago. It was one of THOSE potlucks. seriously, who doesn't put out a sign up sheet for a pot luck? In fact I hope who ever created the idea of the pot luck sign up sheet gets a Nobel peace prize for ending Chaos at company functions everywhere. Here is what happened at the no sign up sheet pot luck... 10 bags of tortilla chips, 2 bag of potato chips, 3 green salads which were luckily all different (Asian, Cesar, and olive garden varieties), 1 relish tray, 1 cheese ball, and 8 chip dips 5 or which were in fact different forms of salsa.

So the appalled pot luck guru's decided we needed a do over thus planning another company pot luck. This time not only did it have a sign up sheet it had a theme! WHAT??? Move over all you poor potluck planners our potluck is Themed. What was the theme you may be wondering about now...CHILI.

*Please note we are not actually eating chili peppers but chili the soup

Okay so the theme may be a little weak, but it could have been a no sign up sheet pot luck. Maybe I will come up with a catch phrase for the Chili themed pot luck.

Now the telling moment of this blog...did the Chili themed pot luck have a less disastrous demise then the no sign up sheet pot luck? I will let you be the judge.

Here is what we had:

BREAD BOWLS FRITO CHIPS CORN BREAD

With a little sour cream and cheese topping on the side and a few cookies for dessert.

I can't even remember the chili because I was so concerned about what to eat it with, but if you ask me it beats out no sign up sheet day any day.

Next time I will be in charge...theme Mass Chaos in the key of Blue. That would sure throw them all for a loop. That is right every one start pulling out your food coloring.

If you can only get 4...

2009-10-01T21:28:00.000-07:00

Harmons was having their case lot sale. If there is some thing I love in this world it is a good deal. I went 3 times to the case lot sale! How can you pass up such great deals? Lets face it who doesn't need food storage. Granted by the time you make the last trip to the case lot sale you know you are bound to run smack dab into adventure.

Our adventure begins with a coupon, the Buy 3 get one free soda deal. Yes it is a splurge, but it is a fun splurge and it produced enough humor to make the full 30 minutes on the soda aisle worth it.

Here is the cast:

This is our soda lifter. We were a little in decisive for him. This was his general position and he was constantly asking which one am I grabbing?

This is our Laugher, humor alone was her mission.

The indecisive buyers

Oh and me too, also a buyer.

The events-

Who can fill the shopping cart the fastest...We don't know it got to full and heavy.

The "Sunkist"- Mission, not a success the lifter kept moving.

Good thing someone was smart and grabbed a camera after 20 minutes on the soda aisle. Who is honestly that smart? Oh right...me!

Good times, Good Memories, and Great Deals. Don't worry eventually I moved on to the quaker Sale. A box of cereal for a dollar is something you don't pass up! For future use, please note that cereal does fit nicely on the top of a cart full of boxes of soda

Oh and our lifter...he found the toys.

Never fear...the laugher didn't miss a beat the entire night!

Thanks for the adventures friends...until next time, don't forget your coupons, they don't give them to every one (say that last phrase as a pick up line and this blog will end a lot funnier for you)

Between a Rock and a Hard place...

2009-09-26T09:26:00.000-07:00

Or perhaps sometimes you find your self sinking in sand...up to the rims

Don't worry, as long as you have a team of good faithful friends and some extra horse power you will eventually make it out.

You may need to brush off after because the odds that you face planted while sinking are great.

But lets be honest, as long as you can laugh it off and still have fun it doesn't matter how terrible your odds are. At least you made it out alive.

Some gals have all the luck

2009-09-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

So I have a friend. She is lucky. In fact we will call her Lucky Scrunchy, partially because she named herself that and partially because she is the luckiest person I know. She is constantly winning concert/movie/sporting event tickets on the radio. She just has the luck.

I however, do not.

I wish I did. In fact recently I have tried a few things hoping it would change my luck, I thought it may be working until... well let me give you an example of my recent luck.

Monday July 13th- I found out my friend had access to Harry Potter Premier tickets for the next day. Granted we had to pay for them, but this was GREAT news considering I was leaving for Florida at the end of the week. I struck gold with out even trying.

Tuesday July 14th- I am EXCITED! Harry Potter here we come!! We are in the car, we are buckled, and we are on our way. LUCKILY we left early because we ran into some stop and go traffic on the freeway. It is okay though! We are going to Harry Potter and have reserved seats! BAM! CRUNCH! SERIOUSLY??? Yes, in fact I did get hit by a Semi Truck in stop and go traffic on the freeway. Yes, he had been behind me the whole time we were driving in the slow moving traffic. Yes, I did miss Harry Potter because of it and Yes, my car looks like crap. So much for that goldmine of luck.

*Please note Lucky Scrunchy and my sisters saw Harry Potter at a REALLY special premier on Monday- no they did not have to pay for their tickets, and no they did not get hit by a semi.

So I start working on my luck again and I get on the 1:00 am flight to Orlando FL. Fate would not let it be so. I sat by myself, next to some lovey dovey newlyweds. Super fun. Also I don't know exactly how, seeing how it was off, but sometime between the time we left Salt Lake to the time I got to Florida my phone battery decided to kick the can. Not a very good thing when you are constantly anticipating insurance people to call. Luckily Stevo has the same phone as me and I was able to get my message from my appraiser and work everything out there.

Back to being lucky then...we aren't able to get our hotel room until 4pm (please remember we came in on a 1am flight) the Hardy's start to get cranky after a bit. So we decide to go to Gatorland. Why not? None of us have ever been to Gatorland and it sounds like the perfect way to waste a day. Overall I was actually quite impressed and found my vacation was starting off quite well. We got some goofy pictures which make me laugh and the first few shows we went to were quite funny.

We decide to go to some of the shows one of which was called up close encounters. There are two men running the show and the first thing they ask is for anyone in the audience who is a little freaked out by "creatures" to raise their hands. Well, I don't particularly care for creature no, but I don't care what those dudes do with their hands/feet/neck or any other body part they sacrifice for creepy crawlies. Apparently I should have taken the question at face value though because next thing I know one of the men runs up behind me and sits a padlocked wooden box on the bench. I didn't look at him because I don't want to know what he is doing back there, but then he pokes me and says (pointing to the box) that one is yours.

**please note in this moment how I reacted and how I WANTED to react are two VERY VERY different things.

Lets start with what I wanted to say..."No thank you. I appreciate the gesture, but I prefer your hands/legs/neck and any thing else you want to sacrifice for wild creatures be the subjects of their evening dinner. I am doing just fine up here in the stands. Go you! I support you in your job."

Here is what happened...my eyes BULGED out of my head and I laughed awkwardly. My brother started busting a gut. The rest of my family just stared, and watched the man run back down to his buddy on the stage. Then I started to sweat. I thought I had been sweating before in the Florida heat, but no, NOW I was sweating. I was thinking fast...how am I going to get out of this? Why in the world when I get picked out of the audience does it have to be to hold a creature best left alone in nature? Why can't I be with Lucky Scrunchy at a concert right now? Heck why didn't I go to Harry Potter today??? Gatorland seriously? Who* goes to Gatorland?

*Note we do for pictures like this

The show really gets started now and first up is the other "lucky" person in the audience on the other side who got a box by her. The man opens her box and shows the audience two large Tarantulas. They tell her to close her eyes and open her hand...I look at Steve who is still laughing at my impending doom. The lady has her eyes closed but she is freaking out! She peaks right as her guys is about to drop the large hairy spider into her hand and she screams and runs. The spider fell on the sand. They were kind to her, but you could tell they really wished she would have just raised her hand in the first place instead of looking like a fool in front of the crowd.

Now I start feeling stupid...I can't look like her when I go up. Don't get me wrong I am a complete wimp, but she is pathetic. I am not ready to be pathetic. In fact I am to young to be pathetic. I just wanted to be lucky. I am honestly going to have to hold what ever is in my box. I thought I may die right in my moment of realization, but then my friend came running up the stairs. Thinking time was over.

We chat for a minute...He unlocks and glances in my box and slams the lid down. He tells me I don't have to come down...come to find out the snake in my box is so poisonous that he isn't even going to touch it with his hands...Stevo has a look of disappointment on his face and I breathe a sigh of relief. The ministers of luck were smiling down on me. I even started to enjoy the rest of the show until the end... They decided to let the audience pick which box should be opened for the last creature of the day. Of course it is the biggest of the boxes on the stage and they decided they needed a volunteer. Stevo starts laughing and my buddy on stage say, "well I know just the gal. I have a friend here, we have been friends for about 20 minutes, her name is Sue. Sue can you come help me please?" Oh crap he said please now I have to go.

How does my good run of bad luck end?

That is right. Holding the butt of a big old Boa Constrictor. At least I got the butt. My friend told me to call heads or tails and I am NO FOOL at least poop washes off (do snakes poop? I am sure they must...maybe I will wikipedia it) bite marks are much more permanent.

Welcome to Florida Sue! We are glad you were our LUCKY girl today.

A day in the life of Bob the Accountant

2009-08-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

Meet Bob

Bob is an accountant. He was inspired by the other tax accountants in my life. Here is he is at the computer.

He lived like a normal man

He cooked some breakfast

And then ate it

He drove to work

And he WORKED

Then he would pack up and come home

In Fact he would drive home, much like he drove to work, but in a different direction.

He would enjoy an afternoon snack

And Answer the calls of nature

Oh sorry Bob, excuse me.

He was environmentally friendly, in fact he was thinking about going green

And he loved himself a good book

Bob always valued the importance of a good workout

Bob is also a great appreciator of music

At night he cozies up in his monkey blanket with his remote

Weekends were a real treat in Bob's world

Hiking was a passion

Fishing, or at least dreaming of fishing

Gardening the necessity

He loved games, and especially loved playing with the kids, even when they looked at him with disdain and loathing.

The struggle of Bob's life occurred every time the beginning of the year came around. Tax season is a beast. The kind of beast that causes those horror flick shrieking noises...EEK EEK EEK. Then came April 15th though. Bob felt so much relief he jumped for joy. Tragically, he jumped so high he head came into contact with a bat and his guts came flying out. Bob really was made of money because in fact he was a pinata stuffed full of gold coins. He will be missed. Don't worry though I saved his face as a memory.

There will always be this memory of Bob, the tax accountant pinata. You truly lived.

Holiday with the Hardy's

2009-04-24T22:52:00.000-07:00

We know how to party. In fact I dare venture to say we party "Hardy". When we party there are a few things that are almost always a guarantee. One of those things is food. There will be TONS of FOOD. We usually plan on feeding 12 armies. I am not sure why. We really can't eat that much food, but we think we can. There is usually a wide variety of food too. It is hard to just pick one of two favorite dishes to make, plus what if someone doesn't like part of it? We need stuff that everyone will like. Therefore we need a TON!

Since it was Easter we of course had to dye some Eggs. Every year we have apx. 6 eggs per person. If you multiply it out that equals 78 hard boiled eggs. I don't know anyone that can eat, or use 78 hard boiled eggs before the excitement caused by colored eggs wears off. It usually only takes a day or two and the poor rejected eggs live in the fridge until the coloring on the shell becomes so unnatural that someone finally take pity on the fridge and throw them out. This year I talked my mom down to four eggs per person (my goal was 2 per person). I was excited that she even agreed to dropping the number down, but when I got home that afternoon I discovered 6 eggs per person waiting to be dyed. Old habits really do die hard. When all is said and done, after 2 bowls of extremely "eggie" potato salad and pawning off as many eggs as we could there are still 2 dozen in the fridge. Just waiting for their turn to break out of the dark enclosed spaces that surround them. Wow that is deep on so many levels.

The other thing about dying eggs is the box of dye you buy at the grocery store, or in our case at the Walmarts. It came with 14 colors. Or that is what the package said! That is excellent news for people who have 78 eggs to dye. Come to find out though 14 means 6 colors times 2 and then 2 special extra colors. So really there were only 8 colors. That is okay though, when you have 78 eggs to dye they all start looking the same after a few eggs anyways. Occasionally someone gets all crazy and pulls out rubber bands or crayons or something to makes the eggs more exciting. Oh wait that someone was me. Rubber Bands do make a cool looking dyed Easter egg.

Usually a Hardy Holiday includes some sort of Crazy Project too. This crazy project 95% of the time revolves around food and usually start with my brain. Back at Christmas it was doughnuts, for Easter we made Cream Eggs. Now I am humbly going to admit that HANDS DOWN they are better then any cream egg you can buy at the store. Go us! It was quite a fun project. My job was the cream filling so naturally I didn't follow the recipe and ended up with 3 different flavors of cream filling. Butter Cream was the biggest hit, Almond and Vanilla were both great though. Liz was in charge of the chocolate (because even with meltable I manage to burn it sometimes!)

Then to differentiate them we let Megan be in charge of drizzle, a different color for each different flavor. They turned out beautifully. Tragically there is still a whole bag of these still living in the fridge too. Luckily these will actually keep for a while and not turn unnatural colors nor will they release odors. Chocolate eggs are Heaven sent.

Tragically there is still a whole bag of these still living in the fridge too. Luckily these will actually keep for a while and not turn unnatural colors nor will they release odors. Chocolate eggs are Heaven sent.

Finally the blessed Holiday actually comes and we eat all the food that we have prepared...or we eat a third of the food we have prepared. Then we have an egg hunt. Well not really a hunt as most of the eggs are just laying on the grass so it really isn't too hard to find. You do have to be careful though, you can only pick up the eggs that have your name and color on them or you could start a brawl. Mine are light purple. My favorite egg contained a five dollar bill. Lets just say it was a great Easter season.

If I were a cupcake...

2009-04-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

I would be a Toasted Almond Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting. So says Betty Crocker at least. It was a fun test and Betty Crocker is my new favorite website and their recipes have been great. So I would recommend you go check it out...What cupcake would you be?

http://www.bettycrocker.com/Community/QuizCupboard/CupcakeQuestions.aspx?Quiz=Cupcake

The Dog jumped over the moon

2009-03-28T23:14:00.000-07:00

My Dad had a dream about our dog last night.

Ferocious beast, I know.

Let me tell you about my dog; he is annoying. He is really fury and his favorite pass time is barking at people. When MY SISTERS brought him home we decided he needed a big, strong, and powerful name. You see he was so little and we didn't want him to have a complex so we gave him a big name. Many were discussed including Star Trek characters (we once had a cat named Oboe, oh wait or Odo I guess it the right name. That's not what I called the poor cat.), tons of names from Lord of the Rings, a few from Harry Potter, but we finally settled on the Greek God Hercules (Thank Heavens we didn't go for Zeus! Just thing of the power complex my dog would have then!) It is my theory that Herc (his nick name because those are required in our household) took his name to heart and head and he truly believes he is a big dog. That explained, yes my dog is mentally ill, but lets face it we all are.

Wow I get easily side tracked! Back to the dream. Oh wait...one more thing you need to know, Herc doesn't really do downstairs. He will go upstairs, but not down. I think he is scared of the basement. He hasn't even seen Silence of the Lambs or the Burbs! He must have a 6th sense about it.

(Please note he is chewing the plastic, not the actual toy.)

So my Dad had a dream that Herc ran down into the basement. He went down after him and picked him up and notice a wet spot on the carpet so he rubbed the dream Herc's nose in it (doggie toilet training technique apparently). As he was standing back up to walk Herc upstairs he saw another Herc looking dog run out from behind the couch, then another behind the furnace, and yet another from the toy room. Needless to say the Hercs were multiplying before his eyes. He assumed his kids had been bringing home all the stray Hercs they could find because they felt bad for the poor rascals and the egos that caused them to have no friends and family. Needless to say he woke up about this point and recounted the story after we read the scriptures as a family. I pointed out that none of his children are really into hoarding dogs but he on occasion had problems with forgetting he already got something and the Hercs could have been the result of such a mental blockade. Lucky for all of us it was just a dream. There aren't any extra Hercs hiding out in my house.

On a happier dream note, for the first time ever I remember my dream having a resolution!! I don't remember much about it but it ended with me sending some piano students out the front door and me saying goodbye with my best Donna Reed voice. The door closed scene fades to black and the alarm goes off. It was a beautiful moment at 5:15 this morning!

I just opened my eyes part deux

2009-03-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

I drove to Riverton for lessons again last night. Guess what I saw when I opened my eyes? That is right...another peacock! Probably the same one actually, but I have learned that if one of the peacocks get out the goal is to chase it until it flies back over the fence. Hopefully next time I will have the courage to try it instead of just closing my eyes pretending it isn't there!

P.S. Riverton has lots of strange urbanized animals. I swear I saw a pig walking in someones yard yesterday. Don't worry the llama and goats have come out too since winter is hopefully really over.

I just opened my eyes...

2009-03-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

I am amazed. I wouldn't call myself an overly ignorant person. I am fairly aware of my surroundings and the people in my world. It is interesting though how blind I really am. In general I think as humans we look for and at the things we want to see. I am not immune to this.

I always work really hard to try and look at the world through different eyes. I try to see multiple sides to every story and lets face it I have become very analytical. I love observing people and situations. I try to imagine how different people must feel and how situation affect them. I love learning about people and I have learned a lot about empathy because of it. I am a firm believer in taking a walk in new shoes.

Yesterday I realized I have never been very good at looking at myself. A lot of times I just focus so hard on other people and things so that I don't have to look and see things about myself I don't want to see. I finally opened my eyes and realized something, I am so blessed. I love people and yesterday I realized there are loads of people who love me. People who love me in spite of my flaws and imperfections. People who want to be my friends and want to know about me. People who would laugh with me and cry with me. People who would fight to save me. People who would see me even when I look past them because my tunnel vision is so focused else where.

Don't get me wrong I have felt this before, I have seen inklings of this, but in the last few months I was blind to it. I was focused on other people and other things. Pieces of my life I had no control over. Situations in my past I have observed and re observed and even though all the signs and messages were clear I was ignoring them because I didn't like what they were saying to me.

Opening my eyes has opened my world. Everything seems more vibrant today. My world seems so easy so livable. Have I changed? No not really, I am still human. I still have many very apparent flaws, things about me that are hard to acknowledge. Today my flaws won't bring me down though they will make me stronger and better. Today I don't ache for the situations and people I can't change, but I am full of respect for the people who loved me while I figured out where I stood.

Where did the eye opening come from? At the end of the day yesterday I looked back at my day (it was a pretty crazy one! Lets face it my life generally is) and I realized that there were a dozen or so people who knew it was going to be a crazy evening for me and EVERY SINGLE ONE of those people, plus a few others sent me messages of support. I am sure some of them were sending the message while thinking, "I am happy it isn't me" but honestly looking at that at the end of an odd day makes a girl feel pretty special. To know there were so many people aware of me and what I was doing and going through. I feel so honored.

So here it my shout out to those people, and to you I say...THANK YOU! I love that I know you!

Slime Line

2009-03-21T23:08:00.000-07:00

What is Slime Line? I don't know. Probably because it doesn't exist. Slim Line however does exist. Please make a mental note Slim is not = to Slime. Just in case you didn't know that. Plus I don't recommend hanging slime in your closet. That just sounds messy.

That is only a brief preview of my evening. The rest is summed up quite well in this video. Before we get there here are a few other highlights.

1. Friend to Waitress- "This may be hard for you, but..."
I recommend not starting a conversation with your waitress like this. You feel really obligated to leave a big tip because you questioned her intelligence.

2. Screaming YES in public
I do however recommend doing this as long as you aren't embarrassed when everyone around you realizes it was you because all of the people you use to be sitting with are no longer at the same table.

3. This doesn't come in Tiny...That's okay I will just get a women's large.
Psych makes for an entertaining event. After all Psychics do come in above Bounty Hunters. (side note- If you have not seen the show Psych...it is time to step up to the plate and accept the fact that you have been missing out!!)

4. Senile Sue- A Glimpse into my future
Was I really talking about Canned Green Beans tonight? May I go on record and re-state my opinion again that Fresh and Frozen are WAY BETTER then canned. I don't care if I lose all my teeth and have to smack on them with my gums! Don't ever feed me the canned mush!

5. Warning, you are sitting where there use to be a pile of cheese.
Why not do this to a stranger? Especially when just minutes before you were feeling bad for the bus boy that had to clean up the cheesy escapade? (He totally caught us staring at him. OH WELL!) Just imagine how grateful you would be if a dear deranged stranger from the next table over came up to you and informed you what your table looked like before you got there. Who wouldn't love this? If you are lucky you will get an arm around your shoulder when the information is delivered. How much better when you realize it is the same girl who was just screaming YES at the top of her lungs.

6. DOI or DOY? Also known as the main event

http://www.hulu.com/watch/19679/saturday-night-live-he-likes-you

Please Watch this link. It is worth your laughter.

Bring on the Madness!!

2009-03-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

I don't get March Madness. I don't follow college basketball not even the Mountain West. I thought I should state that upfront just in case there is any questions at the end of this. That warning out of the way, I filled out 6 brackets this year. That's right I said 6. You may be asking WHY, my rebuttal to you is WHY NOT??

I have a history of running with the crazies in my life. I am not sure why, but I hope to analyze and come up with an answer by the end of this blog. Let's start with a few scenarios.

1. Black Friday
I hate shopping. Most people know that about me. Unless it is shoe shopping I am usually not too excited about doing it. Tack on more than one hour to the want to go shopping offer and I run away. For some reason though I tend to be the front runner in the family these days for Black Friday shopping. I scout out the adds, make maps of stores and meeting points, and create a time schedule so we can hit a new store every hour. Madness Yes. Success Rate? HIGH!

2. No Deal
I have always had a desire to be on a game show. I don't watch a lot of game shows but I honestly think I could win an additional prize for having the best reaction to winning a prize. Let me win some dishes, free groceries, a new car, etc. Any thing coupled with the words free or win I get pretty stoked about. So when I hear there is an open casting call for Deal or No Deal I pull out all my best moves! I buy some dinner to go, grab a blanket and a camping chair, and sit in a parking lot all night. About 2 in the morning I thought nothing really comes of open casting calls like this, but I didn't budge. I needed to thrive off the opportunity to show the friendly casting folk the only GAME SHOW CONTESTANT SUE HARDY and what I had to offer them. I almost even whipped out a marketing proposal. How does this story end? They said NO DEAL!

3. Did someone say FREE?
You wouldn't think a person could have more then one sleep in a parking lot story, but I do. You see I was a young college student and the Olympics were coming to Salt Lake City. Tickets for the Medals ceremonies were being offered for FREE! Not only do you get to see the medals awarded there was a comedian and a concert each night as well!! So I joined the rage. I nearly froze to death that night, in fact that was one of the coldest winters in my memory. I barely made the cut, but got tickets to two different shows. Macy Gray- eh, Train- YES!

4. Midnight Release
Who started midnight release parties? Don't they know that I crave this type of crazy? (Excuse the typo, I meant craze. Crave this type of Craze.) I have dressed up for midnight movies, I have been to TONS of book releases at the beautiful hour and now tonight will be my first midnight video release. WHY??? Why can't I just go the next morning? There will still be copies in stock. Its not like I am going to rush home and watch it. But, No that isn't good enough for me. I have to be where the madness is! There are so many memorable midnight release memories, but the fondest coming to the brain right now was Harry Potter 7 after which my brother and I stayed up ALL NIGHT and finished in apx. 10-12 hours. I won $150 for doing it! Worth it? YES! Took a nap after I finished YES! Had anyone to talk to about the book for days? NO!

5. 4 Day Concert in Colorful Colorado
I didn't really enjoy my last year of choir in high school so I decided that instead of going on an organized tour with the sane people I jumped ship and headed to Country Jam USA. I had no idea at the time but it is like the Woodstock for Country Music. I think for most people it was a really good excuse to be drunk for four days straight, I thought people went for the music. I also didn't realize it came with so many drunk people. I never knew there were so many friendly drunk people out there either, in fact there was an old man and woman who though I was their child. The MAJOR sunburn should have been expected, but I wasn't a good planner back then and learning to have amazing control over bodily functions became a great benefit. The beauty of the madness though, we actually did enjoy the music and got GREAT seats everyday because we didn't have hang overs. If my parents had known about all the madness they probably would have never let me go!

Needless to say, Madness is my middle name. Why? WHY NOT?? Is it always worth it? Not always in a hard core evidence, but no one can ever accuse me of not making the most out of what this world has handed me. Plus if you live to tell there are amazing stories in the end.

So far today the amazing story is that ONE of my SIX basketball brackets is WINNING! Does anyone else smell this sweet success?

WINNER!!!

PS I just got home from buying Twilight at midnight. BOUYA!

There is something afoot...

2009-03-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

My life is bizarre! There is never an end to the madness. I love to laugh. I love to have fun and to be perfectly honest, I do love my perfectly odd life! On occasion though it is just strange enough to blog about (this all happened in one day believe it or not.)

1. He loves me, he loves me not- I think I understand boys. I don't. I listen to story after story from men about love lost, and it always leaves me wondering, do men AND women realize that they are both idiots? I love peoples stories and here is why- Men think women are mean and judgemental. Women think men are mean and judgemental. Men think women are picky and rude. Women think men are picky and rude. Men think women have impossible standards. Women think men have impossible standards. I would continue, but I am afraid you all see where this is going. Meet the big complicated dating circle. My Philosophy...Can't we all just talk about it our issues and get over them? Let's just be friends and give everyone a chance even if they don't meet the idle you have ingrained in your mind. The truth is you aren't perfect he/she isn't going to be perfect either. Give everyone a chance if nothing else you will learn something about yourself even if it is just patience.

2. The Blast from the Past Phone Call- So with all the issues of point #1 on the brain I get a message on my phone asking for my company on a date. Knowing how I feel about choosing to be a hypocrite or in every case trying not to be one, I realize that I am going to have to be a nice girl and go on this date. I am not going to lie, I feel awkward. I haven't seen or heard from this guy for probably a year and a half, and I am a little freaked out by the fact that he tracked down my number. It would have been so easy to not call back or to fake married. I however am not that girl. So I have a date. How nice that there is a boy that wants to go out with me! (I have got to be optimistic)

2. Sakada- I deal with a lot of names of people, places and things at work. This name was pointed out to me today as the odd name of the day and then it was coupled in this phrase- "I Sakada quarter back" (Translation- mockery on the name saying it drawn out to mean I sacked the quarter back) That poor child growing up probably never lived down that name. Hopefully it was really a place or last name. I really hope that those A don't really make the harsh A (apple) sound.

3. Australia- So in order to find balance in my life I watched a good long movie and I LOVED IT! I love EVERY MINUTE of it! In fact when it ended I was ready to start it again just to stay away from real life for that much longer. Hugh Jackman the gruff look works for you! DANG BOY! Seriously though, if you can handle a long flick, this was a great one! The cinematography, The actors, The Scenery, etc. It was great!

4. Hint of pre green- After the conversation, the date request, the joke, and the movie had all ended. I was offered a row of mint brownies (Mint green in honor of St. Patrick's day the next day). It is amazing how sweet of an offer of a whole row of mint brownies really is! I only took 2 though, brownies, not rows. I ate one for dinner and saved one for breakfast for the actual St. Patrick's day.

I can honestly say my crazy life still has great balance. I hope you all had a great St. Patrick's day! Hopefully you didn't have to resort to Christmas Frog socks and a green boa like I did!

The Diet Coke Experiment

2009-03-11T16:30:00.000-07:00

So it happened today at work. A challenge was presented and accepted then carried out stopping the consumption of diet coke in one woman for 45 minutes. Here is the story from my eyes, as a completely, or almost completely innocent bystander.

Coworker #1- "I am ready for a diet coke."

Innocent Bystander (AKA-me)- (looks at the clock) Yeah it is that time for you (10am is the ideal for the morning fix)

Coworker #2- "Seriously? Is it really clock work? I think you should wait until at least 11."

Thus the challenge was presented.

Coworker #1 "I can't do that! I NEED my caffeine fix. It is my vise."

Coworker #2 "You are addicted, you need a break. Just go until 11"

The Challenge is presented again.

Coworker #1 "I know I am addicted it is like my coffee. It is diet Coke time!"

Coworker #2 "I am just helping you do what your Dr. told you too, its only an hour!" (Stemmed from earlier conversation about Dr. telling Coworker #1 to cut back on diet coke. "Just Try it!"

After the 3rd presentation of the challenge it is accepted with silence and a little laughter from the innocent bystander.

15 minutes later...

Coworker #1 "I am going to die" (Leg Shaking uncontrollably)

Coworker #2 "You are doing Great"

Innocent Bystander thinks "Why are we doing this again?" as the awkward silence pursues.

15 more minutes later

Coworker #3 enters and tried to talk to coworker #1 to no avail. Finds out about the challenge and makes a funny about there being no diet coke left in the vending machine.

Coworker #2 "Run before you get punched"

Coworker #1 Almost punches coworker #3 and tells him he is about to fall below the yellow line. Don't mess with her right now. Verifies the vending machine really still contains diet coke. (Which is did, don't worry, this isn't a horror story nor a bad nightmare)

15 more minutes later again

Coworker #1 decides 45 minutes is close enough to an hour. Enters the lunchroom while Coworker #2 and Innocent Bystander listen closely... Pop

Coworker #1 "AWE, Sweet Nectar"

Innocent Bystander laughs, mostly grateful that the awkward silence is gone!

Coworker #2 "Good work, tomorrow we will aim for the full 60 minutes.

You know I used quotations to tell this whole story and yet I am pretty sure I may have gotten some of the word for word wrong so don't quote me on it. I did get this next bit word for word though... Coworker #1's advise to you and the final words of the conversation, "Don't quit cold turkey it isn't worth it"

I am guessing when she reads this she will once again vouch that life with out diet coke is life with out living.

Holy Peacocks Batman

2009-03-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

Thursdays are like a marathon day for me, I work all day and then I teach lessons all evening. So I pull up to one of the houses I teach at out in Riverton and I do a double take...there are definitely peacocks walking around on the side walk. Now once I truly confirmed with myself that I wasn't hallucinating I started to wonder if they were dangerous. You see my lesson was about to start so I needed to get out of the car, but what if they are man-eating peacocks? I don't know anything about the birds. Do they ever have a wild side? If I pretend I can't see them will they pretend to not see me? Should I wait this out in the car? Does it hurt to be pecked to death?

Eventually I got out of the car and went with the I can't see you, you can't see me method. I tell you what getting a guitar out of the car with my eyes closed not easy! Good news though, it worked. I survived to tell the story.

I make it into the safe house and ask my student about the ginormous birds, apparently someone thought it would be idea to have them as pets. Go figure. About half way through the lesson the birds decided to cross the street. You wouldn't believe the chicken crossing the road jokes that went through my head. Then all of the sudden these young boys start charging the monsters and guess what...Peacocks can fly! DANG! Apparently the birds belonged to the boys who were doing the chasing but honestly didn't they realize they would fly up to the roof if they charged them? It didn't seem like the smartest corralling method. I laughed out loud about it, then apologized to my student for paying more attention to the birds then the music.

Here is what I learned from this little experience...

1. I know very little, if anything about birds, but particularly about peacocks.

2. Nature played a mean trick on women. The Boy peacock was so much pretty then the girls and it made me realize human men (as opposed to peacock men since that makes so much sense) have smaller non expanding hips, higher metabolism, and don't have to worry about make-up and leg shaves. I would take the pretty feathers (or skinny hips) any day!

3. Nature played an even meaner trick on men. The boy peacock was the first one caught and put back in its pen. Not to smart if you ask me. The smart female flew up to the roof and stayed there until all the other birds were safely put away then she took her time and eventually walked herself right in to the pen when she wanted to be in it.

4. I would rather be smart then pretty.

And so it goes...

2009-02-08T07:30:00.000-08:00

Change is inevitable. It lurks around corners just waiting to spring itself on you. Change kind of like the boogie man. You like to think you can control him (the boogie man after all is only in your head) and yet your subconscious can freak you out over the stupidest things. Okay maybe a bad comparison to change, but work with me here. I honestly like to feel like I have a grasp on the things that happen in my life and have control over them, but change is an unavoidable curve ball, even if you duck you get nailed in the head and it just hurts more then accepting it.

So why the dramatic beginning? Because it is my birthday week and I have convinced myself that I rule the world during this week of my life. I love my birthday. It is one piece of change I have always accepted. I don't know that I really support the getting older stuff, but I love looking over my life accomplishments from the last year and being able to see that I have become more grown up (this is at least the goal!) Looking over this last year the only good title I could think of was Change. Don't get me wrong it has been a GREAT YEAR!! I have learned more about myself then ever before. Honestly though the stupid boogie man kept catching me off my guard. I had some many curve balls that I kept trying to juggle so they wouldn't come down on me, but I couldn't prevent change. As of today though, looking back, I am proud that I survived. I did the best I could with what I was given. There are somethings I probably could have done differently that may have changed some of the mapped outcomes (retrospect give you that kind of thinking), but the truth is I did my best and I am the only person I can control. That makes this birthday another great one.

A couple of days ago I was asked what my greatest accomplishment of my life so far has been. So in keeping this an upbeat happy blog about change I am going to share the answers I came up with. Now don't be disappointed, starting a blog is not on this list. I know that is a tragedy but I had to cut something out of the top three and it was the casualty.

3. Finishing college with no debt. Still having no debt 2 new cars later. I know that is silly, but with the currently crashing economy I am proud that I don't have to worry.

2. Putting on my first ever concert filled with my own original music and then creating a music video. (I am not going to lie all of this SCARED the dickens out of me to do! but I still did it!!) Don't worry someday soon I will post the music video.

1. Having the best, most amazing support group ever. People are the most important to me. This year more then ever I know that I am loved. Some people question if this is an accomplishment. I admit loving and supporting others is the only thing I am really great at. I love everyone, but to build an keep a true lasting relationship with anyone it has to be built from the ground up and it is DANG hard work. I have failed at this in the past and even recently with people I didn't want to fail with. Often the ground broke for reasons I don't understand and may never understand, but looking around me this weekend I knew that there was a room full of people, family and friends, who would never leave me nor forget me even if I was the one breaking the foundation. There is no greater blessing, gift, or accomplishment then this.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ME!!

Key to the songs...

2009-01-27T17:00:00.000-08:00

HAZZA! I walked away owning no ice cream! Come on people cheat next time or something! Ice Cream would have been a great prize too. So here they are, the title and the singers:

1. I'll Still Love You More, Trisha Yearwood

2. When You Say Nothing At All, Keith Whitley or more recently and less twangy Alison Krauss

3. I'll Be, Edwin McCain

4. The Way You Look Tonight, Tony Bennett (and every other crooner ever!)

5. I Could Not Ask For More, Edwin McCain and Sara Evans

6. If you Ask Me To, Celine Dion

7. Endless Love, Lionel Richie and Diana Ross (Or for the more hip generation Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey)

8. I Love You Just The Way You Are, Billy Joel

Bada Bing! There you have it. Now for your viewing pleasures, I share with you the greatest moment in Love Song History, as well as the best scene in Hell Boy II The Golden Army. Enjoy, and imagine me singing along, or laughing my head off, in fact imagine both at the same time.

* * Please note I don't condone or agree with the drinking beer remedy, in fact I stick with what aqua man says about it and I don't give in for love!

Congratulations are in Order

2009-01-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

I played at a wedding recently (or a month ago, I am bad at updating my blog!) I actually enjoy playing at weddings, and honestly I enjoyed singing at this wedding even more then I ever thought that I would. There is just something about cheesy love songs that really gets me going. I have included a few examples. I hope you are sitting down and not near any one of the opposite sex these songs have a lot of power. Please note mockery is what I do well, and if you LOVE love songs either don't read this or get ready to shake it off at the end. Buckle up and enjoy the ride...

"... Ask me just what I'd do for you And I'll tell you I would do anything..."

...except laundry I am not a huge fan of it. I am not a huge fan of dishes either, but I guess can do them for you. Oh, and don't ask me to not smile because that just makes me laugh.

"...All day long I can hear people talking out loud. But when you hold me near you drown out the crowd..."

If only this were true! Picture this, you standing awkwardly in the middle of one of those TMI moments. I would scream, "BABE, HURRY ON OVER HERE. This guy is saying too much I need to you to drown him out with your love!" (Read that quote redneck and it is even funnier!)

"...As we lie awake in my bed You're my survival, you're my living proof My love is alive and not dead.."

People pinch themselves as proof of life or at least alertness. This is one super charged heart if the only proof love needs is lying next to someone, awake, in a bed. I am assuming this is circumstantial.

"...Lovely, never, ever change. Keep that breathless charm. Won't you please arrange it ? ..."

Honestly if I could choose to never change (gain wrinkles, bags, age spots, weight etc.) I would. Tragically I can't arrange it because the big man upstairs told me no. I will try to smooth things over though and get back on those arrangements. I am sure we can come up with something. Maybe a plea deal.

"...No I could not ask for more then this time together, could not ask for more then this time with you. Every prayer has been answered every dream I had come true..."

Did you say you come with a big house, a cook, a maid, a new car, oh and don't forget your horse! Oh wait I wanted to be a rock star too, can you fulfill that one as well? Where are you going??? Come back here??? Please fulfil my dreams!!!

"...Somehow ever since I've been around you Can't go back to being on my own ..."

Really? Sorry man, you don't have a choice I HAVE to go to work today and the boss man didn't like it last time I brought you with me. Wait don't you have a job you need to get to too? Maybe we could find a couples job somewhere.

"...Forever, I'll hold you close in my arms, I can't resist your charm..."

Just stopping using your charm to get me to take the garbage out. That's not fair, I fall for it every time.

"...You always have my unspoken passion, Although I might not seem to care..."

Finally an honest sentiment. Though on occasion, right in the middle of the 4th quarter tie game, neck to neck, scoring run, I still sometimes wonder if you may have more then one unspoken (or screaming) passion.

If you can name the title and artist of each of these songs, I will buy you ice cream! That was fun. Honestly I could keep going all bay, but tragically I am not as cynical as I make myself out to be. I love these songs and I BELIEVE!

Well here is what you really want to see. Lucky I actually had a camera there!

Hair

The dress

The Event

Congratulation to M-Dawg and Ironman.

The best things in life....

2008-12-25T09:01:00.000-08:00

Are definitely accessories! Those of you who know me probably know that I HATE the cold almost passionately, but I LOVE the snow! I want snow on every major holiday, Birthday included! I realize that is crazy coming from someone who hates cold. I have reasons though. Winter time and Snow (NOT COLD! ICK!) bring out the best accessories! Here they are, my favorite cold weather accessories

SOCKS

Most of the year I don't wear them, but when it is winter time I pull out ALL the stops. Granted some of these have gotten me into a bit of trouble from time to time.

These bad boys aided in the great shoulder injury of 2008. Granted the cause is still undetermined though dancing into the kitchen may have plays a role. Good thing there were a thousand witnesses to this prize Sue moment.

Some socks embarrass me (not really a hard thing to do)

No one told me that wearing red and black monkey socks to a professional work place wasn't super professional. Nor did any one mention I probably should have given up the ankle revealing black pants before pulling out the red/black striped monkey socks. Oh the memories I could have prevented by consulting a fashion specialist. It will take years of therapy to heal these wounds.

Some socks make me laugh, Really quite hard at times.

I know you can't hear them, but the frogs squeak. HAHAHA they ROCK! Wear these suckers around for 10 minutes and you will be smiling!

Then there are socks I wear for the benefit of my toes. Toes really are very useful things they help with balance and I am sure they once made a great chew toy for you when you were an infant and yet they get very little excitement out of life these days. They are shoved inside stinky (not always but sometimes- admit it!), dark, and enclosed places called shoes. Let them breathe and have their own space!

That's right! Wiggle those puppies around! That feels great!

Seasonal socks make me smile as well. I only have Halloween (tragically not pictured), Christmas, and Valentines day seasonal socks though. Do they make them for other holidays? Presidents day? Martin Luther King day?

Now this may seem odd (honestly what about this blog with pictures of my feet isn't off), but there are definitely socks that are comfort socks for me. Some people have comfort foods, blankets, stuff animals, TV shows, etc., I have socks. Generally they are fuzzy/hairy, soft, and are super warm!! Oh and the more colorful they are the more comforting they become!

There are other socks that are also great comfort socks...I call them slipper socks. Much more conservative then my hairy monsters above.

Classic and conservative socks are the ones that most people see me wear; these days especially (remember the striped monkey socks). They deserve a lot of credit for helping me to appear normal when I am out in public.

Thanks for the facade boys! (Side note-the far right pair is my favorite pair of socks!)

Finally the wayside collection that I never wear, or only wear when I have no other clean socks.

The ones you should really feel bad for are the ones not pictured above. I didn't even dare let them out of the drawer!

For an extra benefit for reading the coolest blog ever- The Official Monkey Sock Collection

Huh this is the first time I have ever noticed that I have tons of Frog and Monkey socks. Why in the world can't I grow out of them?? Oh well just don't mock my coolness and we can still be friends.

HATS

Holy cow who in the world is honestly that long winded about socks when there are Hats to show off? Crazy Banjosuey! Oh wait, except the crazy part! So in order to get you all out of blog land before dark I will skip the details and pictures of the hats for now (They will probably get their own blog someday!). Just know I have an intense passion for Hats! So keep your hands on them if you want to keep me from trying them on!

CHRISTMAS SWEATERS

Just kidding I am not really a fan, but Merry Christmas regardless!!

Pretty Amazing Neil...

2008-12-21T21:25:00.000-08:00

So I have no idea how but Neil Diamond turned me on last night! The funny thing is I don't find him attractive, but when singing "Play Me" and taking off his jackets my heart started thumping and my voice jumped out of me with a major "OW OW, Neil baby I will live my life forever in blue jeans for you, OW OW" Then I turn my head and the #1Neil fan next to me is laughing at me. HOW did I get to this point?? I don't know. Let me retrace my steps...

It was a snowy day Friday so #1Neilfan and I decided to take trax. Trax however decided not to take us! Okay that is an exaggeration, but honestly Utah Transit Authority if you want me to actually pay for my Trax ticket then you need to clean out the money case on occasion so it will take my money. So trax was running double the trains (every 7 minutes instead of every15) and our train was coming and the machine wasn't working! So I saw some of the UTA security dudes and so I go up and explain my problem "Excuse me Madam, I have to go see the "Jazz Singer" and your machine won't let me do it honestly, would you like my $4, I sear on my Neil Diamond ticket I am not trying to get out of paying" and the tough security lady said in her Aussie accent, "Which train are you taking, this one? Just make sure you buy one at the other end", so the whole time I was on the train I was stressed they were going to ask for my ticket!! I had my $4 ready to hand to anyone walking by looking for tickets.

Finally we made it to our destination and started walking the "Brooklyn roads" (or the streets of salt lake, I feel a song coming on) and all of the eating establishments had long waits so we thought about our op ions and since neither of us are into "red red wine" we went and got the Island grill on! Yummy Rumbi! It was full inside, so we looked around to decide who would be the most entertaining couple to become acquainted with. Our options- 1. The awkward couple who insisted on sitting on the same side of the table instead of facing each other. 2. The couple you couldn't keep their hands off of each other and held hands the whole time they were eating 3. Join the family party in the south 40 of the complex or 4. Sit next to the nice looking older couple. We picked option 4, it seemed the most sane option. It turns out the couple was with a group of 8 that traveled from Idaho to come see Neil. Apparently Neil doesn't make it up to the potato state anymore, doesn't he know there are "Kentucky women" up there? Oh wait or Idahoans.

We walked to the Delta Center and EVERY single portal says no cameras and no cell phones! We started thinking that they were serious about that. We get in our seats and the anticipation starts. I am getting antsy in my seat muttering things to myself "then Sue came along, loved me strong..." Apparently I wasn't alone in my anticipation because in the middle of my rendition of "Solitary Man", the guy behind me yells, "Come on Neil I just want to hear some Cracklin' Rosie!" We all have our song you know! Don't worry then our anticipations were then settled as a mystery voice came over the intercom and said "the show will start shortly and be warned the lights will turn off abruptly" OH GOOD! When you say abruptly what do you mean? Oh well, Shortly, that is soon right? WRONG! We had to wait for Santa to show up, which he did. Funny though He was so little and his elf was SO BIG! It was strange too because the Elf's assistants were all posh! It was an interesting Christmas crew, but they got the attention they were looking to get. There were 4 members of Santa's crew in total. So once we were all in our seats and Santa had his moment to shine (I believe he was sufficiently well watered before arriving) the magical intercom voice comes on again, by this point I am just irritated so I ask "COME ON! Where was the abrupt lights out? What happened to Shortly? Neil, I am going to stop "Thankin' the Lord for the Night Time" if you don't start now!" Once my rampage ended, the lights started (SLOWLY) going out. Honestly hire me as the announcer at least I tell the truth.

Finally he came out and the #1Neilfan said "Hello Again Neil" and I said "Oh Neil, you look so much like yourself!" It was a "Beautiful Noise" and he came out with a POWERHOUSE play list! He sang "Love on the Rocks" and he went right into "Play Me" and we are back to the moment...I never dreamed this could happen. I am too young for the Neil appeal, but he said "turn on your heart light" baby and I said OK! Well that is a little extreme. Actually after #1Neilfan started laughing at me I joined him back in reality and danced with him through "Sweet Caroline"(Neil could sung this one all night and I would have been happy) and "America". We (well I, #1NEilfan is tougher then me) cried through "You Don't Bring me Flowers" Neil sang to my soul when he whipped out "I am I said". By the way Neil quick question who honestly needs a 15 piece band? There is a lot of personality on that stage up there with you! I am just afraid the Diana Ross/Tina Turner want to be back up singer of yours may steal the show! Hello Mr. Percussion, you make that look so easy! Oh wait...Neil, baby sorry I got distracted!

He encored with "Hallelujah" I walked away grateful that I had a chance to see Neil for myself and from the 6th row. Back on Trax we herded in and stood next the the DoRagman and his wife who didn't stop talking the whole time, then we got stepped on by the I have never stood on a train before girl, oh and I am pretty sure I saw my 5th grade teacher. Regardless, Banjosuey has officially seen Neil Diamond and LOVED it! Thanks #1Neilfan for being in charge of tickets! You rock!

Finally, for documentations sake, a picture of the evening: me and #1Neilfan. Proof that we LIVED on Friday!

A few small observations...

2008-12-13T13:27:00.000-08:00

So I was walking downtown Friday evening after the AWESOME Christmas Concert at the Conference Center! (Richard Gilmore I love you!!) and I noticed a few things. Here they are in order of observation with a little added commentary.

1. When a Man Loves a woman

I think Michael Bolton may have missed a line when singing this song. Last night I was walking behind a couple. I am really not sure what my eyes are thinking sometimes but all I could see was a big black handbag. Here is the funny thing, it was in the hands of a man. Granted that sparked my interest so I checked. Sure enough in his other hand he had a woman. Wow if that's not love what is? Word to the men, beware no matter how nice you are being, the person walking behind you is laughing their head off. Even though I was laughing it was a very loving gesture. Good work sir on making your wife happy last night!

2. Marque

I love the Melta Center...or what every eco friendly thing that arena is called these days. So they have a flashing marque that tells people of the upcoming events. At the end of its announcements it flashes two screens. The first says "We hope you had a great evening" Sue says back, "Why thank you for caring, what a thoughtful building you are!" Then the second thing the screen says is "Drive home Safely!!" Sue responds with "but I am not driving!" Then Sue thinks..."Wait a second he isn't even talking to me!! He is trying to distract one of those other people so that they will hit me or some other (possibly deserving, possible not) pedestrian." So I start doing the maniac dance and screaming, "don't pay attention to the marque! It is trying to distract you from being a good driver". Then I realize that it is a good thing this whole conversation is happening in my head because people would surely think me crazy and possibly a little distracting! Lesson learned don't read flashing marquees while driving even if the message is directed at you.

3. Beeping Crosswalks

I was once told that cross walks that beep were for blind people so that they could know when to cross the street. I am no fool though. I realize they are for those oblivious idiots who are so stuck in their own worlds: on their cell phone, reading while walking (not a super safe activity when it is crowded down town), or starry eyed gazing. What ever the cause there are some oblivious people who get beeped at (compliments of the intersection) that they best start walking. So maybe I am wrong but honestly if they were made for blind people how do you know really when it is you turn to cross? Are the beeps different for the North to Souths and East to Wests? Maybe I am the ignorant fool. Hmmm...I am going to go stand on a corner until I figure it out.

4. Bigger Trees Smaller lights

When I was a kid the lights at temple square were MAGIC! There was nothing I loved more, but it is funny as I have gotten older I have realized I hate the cold more then I love the lights. But I did observe this year the the Mega Granddaddy trees in the middle of temple square didn't have any lights. It made me wonder if when a tree reaches a certain age it has a light retirement. Are all the other trees staring in jealous awe at the amazingly past and history of the granddaddy tree's lighted years hoping they can some day reach the point of light retirement. While the tree itself is crying inside for having no purpose this time of year anymore. My opinion is just because the tree got a little bigger that is no reason to discriminate against him. Give him some lights and a purpose! Even it is just a single strange that can only make it a fourth of the way up the trunk. Bring back some magic and light into that poor trees life. (Why have I digressed to feeling pity for trees? Maybe I should discuss this with my therapist.)

So there they are my minor observations. Oh did I mention the Christmas concert was PHENOMENAL??? Richard Gilmore I really do love you! You tale was EPIC! Don't worry all of you who missed it they are making a PBS special out of it!

Party planner 2008

2008-12-05T19:04:00.000-08:00

I really like giving myself titles. This year my title shall officially be the party planner of 2008. Now I can't take all the credit there have been a lot of helpers and we have done a GREAT job at throwing uniquely themed parties. I am going to do my best to recount them. Oh and for an added bonus I will be attaching pictures!! Oh and if you read this and know of one I have missed let me know!! Oh and...just kidding no more Oh ands!!

White Winter Party- What better place to have a white party then in Logan where there is always snow! We ate all white food consisting of White chili, marshmallows, White Oreo truffles, etc. We watched white Christmas and played games well past the Sue 10pm melt down. In fact we went to bed about then, wait not until 2ish when I was well into my melt down. In the morning we had a fantastic FULL COOLER breakfast thanks to #1UTE! She made sure we were well fed!

Twilight Party X2- Now you may be wondering is it possible that these people really had 2 twilight parties? Answer is YES! The first one was for the 4th book release! Breaking dawn night was quite a success. The Barnes and Noble was packed and afterwards we went back to my house for some speculation and treats! Poor brother of mine was the only boy who stuck out B and N with the girls! My sis made a special Breaking Dawn Cake in honor of the event. The picture below shows the people who made it the whole night.

As for party number 2 it was the Twilight Queens birthday and how better to celebrate then with a Twilight party!! All of the food was black, red, and white! It was impressive to see what people brought. My personal favorite was the tomato mozzarella and balsamic vinegar dish. What Twilight party would be complete without a black, white and red cake. We provided fangs for everyone (even though they are not typical in the books). We had people make Vampire capes and do Bag Skits. It was very entertaining. No blog would be complete with out a picture of the hostess.

Mystery Night- Now, up front confession I didn't plan this party, but I was included. We played a few varieties of clue including a debut of clue DVD!! I highly recommend that game. For food we had sloppy joes (not sure what the mystery is other then it is a mystery to me what is in sloppy joes!), surprise cookies (I made these! Yum!), and mystery airheads! I must admit too I am not sure what the movie we watched was called.

Graduation Party- The best fun of this was making the participants wear crowns. We celebrated 3 graduations and 1 welcome home! Please note in the picture, geocasher is wearing his do rag like a bonnet.

Hat Party- This one just kind of happened because of my passion for hats. Don't worry I have a single picture of myself in each of these hats!! In Fact it is sad to admit but I am pretty sure the hat party was just a Sue party. At least I shared long enough to take a picture. Yes there is a pot on one persons head.

08-08-08- What a great day to be born!! We had 8 food dips and activities based in triples, 8's, or multiples of 8. It was great. Since it was Devo's birthday evening we let him pick the movie, so we watched Fletch in the homemade out door theater!!

Gilmore Night- This could also be known as the triple birthday. We made newspaper hats (the best was when one caught on fire in a citronella candle!). We also built snowmen with treats! Marshmallows being the main bodies. We watched some Gilmore on our outdoor screen while we ate some quality Emily Gilmore pastries. I am very proud of myself and my sis for making them!! Petit Fours are now our specialty! The picture shows our newspaper hats, and my party planning crown.

Same Day, Same Year, and Same Profession Party- This was also a dual birthday party. The geocasher and bomb have the EXACT same birth and the same profession. The real joy of this party was that we kept it a secret and planted lots of false trails up to the actual event. We had pictionary with only number pictures and watch 13 going on 30. We ate pie for obvious reasons!

The picture below show the winners of the guess how many games (yes we really counted all of those containers. The nerds were the worst.)

Is it sad that all of our parties revolve around food???

I only I had paid better attention...

2008-10-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

You know it is funny this blog should come right after my white board blog. You will see why momentarily. A few quick notes going into this...1. It is okay to laugh at me, I laugh at me all the time and laughing is always more fun when it includes others. 2. If you set some mood music in the back ground while reading this it will be almost like you were there. Think car radio- I would suggest something classic rock or boy band examples- Hot Blooded by Foreigner or Jack and Diane by John Mellencamp, I Want it That Way by the Backside I mean Backstreet boys (a little Gilmore humor for you there) or Bye Bye Bye by Nsync. In fact that last one might be the most fitting for the story. Regardless turn on your radio and hold on tight.

So I walk out the door, clean the leaves off my car, find a good tune, buckle up, and pull out of the drive way. Pretty normal routine going here. I knew I had needed to stop at the gas station for a fill up because well I had run my car down to nothing the night before and the RWAE(refill without any effort) flying grease monkeys forget to stop by my house (I will talk to them later about that!) So I pull out of my neighborhood a different way then normal knowing I had to add to my morning drive to work routine. So I turn out and I pullup to the left turn arrow, second car in line, SCORE! I glance to my left into the first gas station (the one not good enough for me) and I notice there a TONS of cars there. Then these two cars pull in at the exact same time and head to the same place, and they proceed to dance! It was hilarious they would reverse at the same time then pull forward at the same time. I was enjoying the show. Finally Johny Oldsmobile decided to find a new path to his destination and the show was over. Luckily I looked up in just enough time to see my turn arrow turn red again. Well now I just feel foolish and all the people around me are laughing and pointing and I start screaming at them to invest in a white board and then they think I am really crazy so they laugh harder. So I pull up (First car in line now Super SCORE no way to miss the light in the first car spot! I just learned it is possible to miss as the second car in line) and vow I will pay close attention. I will not miss the next light.

So I wait and I wait and sing and wait until finally I watch as the pedestrian timer starts counting. I realize that all the bozos blocking the intersection are going to spoil my second green arrow for the day! (At least it wasn't my fault this time.) So my light turns green and I am blocked in. I thought frantically of things I could do to get around them but was coming up with nothing finally I tried something, "GO GO GADGET LEGS" I yell and nothing happens. I swear it works for everyone in the movies, maybe I am not nerdy enough. Finally the last car clears and I go to gun it only to remember that the straggler left turners from the previous light had also been held back by the rude driver barricade. So I wait patiently and then gun it and start making squealing noises (with my mouth not my car) just so I don't feel so stupid and half way through my light turns yellow. WHEW! I made it, no one else did but I did! What a morning, now what was I doing? Oh yes pumping gas. Darn those imaginary RWAE flying grease monkeys for not being real! Moral of the story- When you pay attention to things you miss out on FUNNIER things. Enjoy the funny things in life people.

If I only had a white board...

2008-10-19T17:54:00.000-07:00

I need to get into a better blog writing rhythm, but special from this weekend and for your blog reading pleasures I present If I only had a white board.

The white board theory was actually developed a while ago. It has improved over the years though. You see I would very much so like to use a white board in the car while driving. Let me present some scenarios

1. Have you ever been getting on the freeway and glanced at the exit across the way and it is backed up to the the next week. I look at all of the cars sitting there just waiting and I think it is time to pull out my white board and as I cruise pass, not in traffic my white board message reads- RECONSIDER YOUR DECISION!

2. Do you ever see people dancing or singing overly expressively in the car? These people are my bosom buddies. I try and restrict my dancing and belting for the night time hours when no one can see my, but there are times when something comes on and I just loose control. I come to about the second verse but usually not until after my "favorite part" that I realize that I probably shouldn't be spazzing out at a stop light. My message to these people myself included is- DO THAT IN FRONT OF A MIRROR BEFORE YOU DO IT IN YOUR CAR!

3. My personal favorite is two lane highways. First you must know I am an avid cruise control user. My speed is fairly consistent I like to set my speed and just cruise. So either cruise control is very unreliable or else there are some people who really like going fast AND slow while on long drives. So there is generally one car per long drive that becomes my nemesis. I (using my cruise control) will pass some car, any car, today a silver Hundi and will continue on my way. The problem occurs when that person then passes me 5 minutes later. So I accept it and let them on their way, but I haven't changed my speed and then after a few minutes I have caught back up to them therefore creating the need to pass them again. We go about this process generally throughout the whole trip. White board message to the fast and slowers- CRUISE CONTROL FOLKS!

Too bad driver distractions are greatly frowned upon in the state of Utah! I would probably buy a white board tomorrow if I could get away with it! Oh wait and I probably shouldn't be writing on a white board while driving.

I have one more message for all you people who have read this blog. White board message to you- GO DO SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE! oh and THANKS FOR READING MY SOAP BOX!

Third to the last row makes everything funnier

2008-10-03T23:02:00.000-07:00

Tonight's experiences were the pivitol ones that led to this blog. Therefore I figured this would be the perfect place to begin my blogging journey.

It all started with 2 concert tickets which took Allyson (the name has not been changed because there is no innocense to protect) and myself to downtown Salt Lake City. Our eventful evening started at the CPK (if you don't know that acronym you don't eat good food as often as you should!) After a fabulous meal we realized we had 10 minutes until show time. There had been some discussion about hopping onto the public trax system to get us to Abravanal Hall, but decided we could walk faster. I tell you what we booked it and do you know what we learned? The train was faster. Oh well. We made it in time and got to our seats. We were located in the third tier. The air is really thinner up there, oh and heat really does rise!) After our speed walking adventure we were both sweating like pigs and breathing like wild boars.

The concert was for a charity (oops didn't really know that officially going into it) so there were some introductions of the rich people who were sponsoring the event (I think that's who they were, I may have tuned this part out because I was working on inhaling and exhaling at a normal rate still.) At last the time came and they announce the performer of the evening. The music starts and the random nut case in the front row starts dancing (Yes the ONE, remember we are in a concert hall not a sports arena with a fold out stage) (Question- how is it that crazy people always have front row seats??). So I laugh at that pathetic woman (with minimal jealousy at her show of overwhelming confindence in her dancing skills) until the singer walks out (the name is this time left out to protect the fashion flaw, I am sure it wasn't her fault!) and I don't know what happened to me but I was distracted from that point on. She was wearing a mini dress with long sleeves and lots of leg. The real distraction though was the at the bottom of the leg in the form of an ankle boot. Why were these shoes ever made? After debating why a person would wear those shoes with that dress we realized that either A. Our far away seats aren't painting a very clear picture or B. The ankle boots are the only support system she had to work with because, by gollie, those tooth pick legs are not helping with anything!

Next point of humor occured when we realized that the poor guy running the spot light was not use to performers that move freely about the stage. Don't worry though we cheered him on (seeing how he was basically right above our heads) heck had his hands not been busy we would have high fived him for his efforts. I did get to thinking though what an odd sensation it would be if you felt like someone was following you come to find out it was just a spot light that is running a second behind. Nice try spot light guy! Better luck next time.

Problem 3. Abravenal Hall is one of the best acoustical buildings in the state of Utah, so how is it that I couldn't understand one work of what was said??? I am pretty sure all the running and sliding though I must admit it was pretty impressive, just does not help ANYONE with diction and enunciation. At least she was in tune. The worst communication error came in the form of the term Disfunctional Family. Now there are not many things that phrase could be turned into, but there is at least one that is far to crazy to list here. I am sure Allyson would love to enlighten anyone that asks (after she blushes). (By the way Al the lyric is dirtier then I realized when I first posted it here!)

Now I know what you are thinking...this entry has got to be coming to an end, but in fact not quite yet.

As I mentioned above this was a charity event so as we left the venue there were volunteers holding baskets giving you puppy dog eyes and a pleading smile in anticipation of the contents of your wallet dumping itself into the basket. Well I had no money, because who carries money around anymore? All I have in my wallet is Mil Calones (Costa Rican money worth maybe 2 dollars) and I realize the well rehersed money pleas are going to be wasted on me. I decided though that if I were confronted I would put on my own puppy dog eyes and use my sweet inocent voice and say "I didn't know" "I wish I would have know" "I could have saved the children" "Do you accept Costa Rican money?"

So we stroll (a bit more causally this time) back to the car parked at the Gateway and after a nice drive through the parking stucture we finally find the exit. There is a parking attendant directing trafic by our exit and I tell you what HE WAS INTENSE. I am pretty sure he had a 3 centimeter and 3 second rule. Basically if you didn't get as close as he thought you should be (to the car in front of you) or if you didn't gun it and slam on your brakes in the stop and go traffic he would start waving his glorified glow stick and be screaming move along, move up, keep moving. I was about to ask him if different rules applied for the gas conscience people who didn't like the gun it/slam it option but I was afaid the glow stick would double as a weapon so we did as we were told and stopped just short of ramming the car in front of us 3 times.

Well after that kind of an exciting night we grabbed some diet cokes (we figured we earned them for all of our mockery of the night) and we headed home. I am pretty sure my life will never be the same.

If I Only Had a Blog...

2008-10-03T22:49:00.000-07:00

There comes a time in life when you realize you have said something so many times it might as well be. Let me explain-I LOVE reading blogs, but I swore I would never be a blogger. What changed my mind, you may ask, and I will tell. You see there are moments in life when I take a step back and look at my world (the world of Sue) and think...Oh Man! If I only had a blog the world could laugh with me, cry with me, drive with me, vacation with me, etc. (you get the point) So I started keeping track of all of the times I have thought, If I only had a blog. Then it hit me tonight, I have said the phrase so many times now (including tonight) that it is time to let everyone else enjoy this. So world here it is! Sue officially has a blog and you best believe there will be amazing things shared here so buckle up and enjoy the ride!