day 72

i love shopping. 

day 71

things i like about the gap:

1. you get a sweet discount on their clothes. like the awesome skinny jeans i got for $35. 


2. you get a discount on your verizon wireless bill. hello savings!


3. they feed you pizza, candy, fruit, slushees, etc. all my favourite food groups. 


4. they have the best potlucks. 


5. they enter you in "safety" contests where you can win things like a fire extinguisher... hmmm...

i suppose for the time being, i can sacrifice seeing my husband and working until dawn, so long as they continue supplying us with the above items...

day 70

okay. it has been wayyyyy too long since i last saw my beautiful and amazing friend, mrs. jayna renee taylor brafman. all i can say is i absolutely LOVE that girl! the thing i love about having close friends is it doesn't matter how long it's been since you've last seen each other- you just pick up RIGHT where you left off. now, if only she could move back to sacramento...

(back in our SLO days...)

day 69

i have absolutely no idea what i did today. none. 

but here's a random picture i took of braden right after he got done with the dentist. obviously he didn't want anyone to see his completely numb face. darn root canals. 

day 68

there are two types of people in this world: funny people and not-so-funny people. although i can make people chuckle every once in awhile, no one would call me the "funny" girl. my sister, on the other hand, is such a person. tonight she decided to leave me 46 comments on facebook re-living our memories together. i love her.

day 67

"welcome, courtney. 

the retail world is happy you've returned."

sigh.  

yes, today was my first day of training at Gap Inc. Direct. If your shipment was late or you just hate the gap, i am the girl you wanna call and complain to. just be nice. i'm all about fixing your problems, just not when it includes yelling and name-calling. thank you kindly. 

day 66

i need to read my own blog. on day 55, i wrote about being selfless and doing more for others, yet i haven't been following my own advice. i've felt more selfish lately and need to get out of this rut before it sticks. any ideas?

day 65

"i just want us to be happy like when we're at costco."

i love this. 

my wise husband made a good point. every couple has some great days in marriage and some lousy ones. what matters, though is that the majority of your life together is like the day you spent at costco. for others, it could be the day the two of you changed your oil, or watched a "full house" marathon. it's that feeling of contentment, being happy with your life and loving your spouse more than anyone in the world. 

p.s. i just watched the scariest movie ever- "paranormal activity." if you want something to scare the heebie jeebies out of you, go rent this. 

day 64

some people take their jobs wayyy too seriously. i mean, really seriously. i am not one of those people. don't get me wrong, i take pride in the work i do, but i still know that it's only retail. 

other people, however, have a different perspective. 

let's take today for example. as some of you know, i got a job. yes, it's true. i am now an employee of gap inc. direct. today was our orientation and we were introduced to someone named, "Safety Lady." i've never seen someone so proud of a job that literally has NO purpose whatsoever. 

i swear this is the video she watched before she gave her spiel.

day 63

i would be willing to give up 10... nay 15% of my paycheck if i could work with either of these three men...

long live "the office."

day 62

wow. it has been farrrrrr too long since i last went to the dentist. well, not *that* long, but for someone who goes to the dentist every 6 months ON THE DOT, i was starting to have teeth cleaning withdrawals. thanks to my wonderful career-husband, i was able to get dental insurance and finally get my long awaited check up. happy day to me. 

number of cavities= zero

compliments on nice teeth= one

love it. 

day 61

holy smokes, i'm turning into an old lady. i figure that as i approach my 28th birthday, it's only natural to start using things like a crock pot (though i refuse to believe i'll ever cross over and use a sewing machine). so today i experimented with pot roast. the outcome? not great. but not terrible. i suppose it will take more than a few tries to get as good as julia. 

day 60

i called a stranger today. yes, me. the "white" personality who can't talk to anyone she doesn't know (i used to make brooke call stores to ask if they were hiring- she was 11). 

but today, i called a stranger in my ward to see if she wanted to go running. and she said yes. i nearly patted myself on the back. 

p.s. i know this is old, but i just found these pictures so thought i would post them with the accompanying story. 

a few weeks ago after church, i was sitting lazily on the bed and the following took place...

me: "hey will you grab me some clothes to wear?" 

blake: "sure, what do you want to wear?"

me: "anything."

blake: "anything?"

me: "yeah, i don't care."  

he then pulled out this:

yes, this is a scuba suit. 

so, i made him wear this:

hospital scrubs, taxi cab hat, napoleon dynamite shirt, looney tunes jacket, pink tie, and graduation gown. 

i still think my outfit is worse. 

day 59

i love general conference. love it. it always seems to come when your cup is running a bit low. it's funny how the general authorities talk about the same things over and over, and yet we never seem to tire of their words. on the contrary, we crave what they have to say, using their words and directions as a map for life. i love that. 

many thanks to emily and bryce for feeding us breakfast and lunch.   ;)

day 58

i've never been a big fan of utah. mountains, dry weather, snow... no thanks. 

that being said, i was pleasantly surprised by one of utah's unknown (well, unknown to me) treasures. 

rather than watch conference on TV like most people, my lovely friend beth suggested we get breakfast and drive the alpine loop for the saturday morning session. 

this is what we saw:

gorgeous, right? 

later that evening, while the boys were at the priesthood session, we did what all other utah ladies do: eat cafe rio and see a $3 movie. the movie of choice is entitled, "flipped." it's the story of two 12 year old kids, julie and bryce, and their relationship from second grade to junior high. cutest movie ever. 

day 57

there is nothing more beautiful and satisfying than a well-made sandwich. 

(i do realize that several of my posts are about food, but i come from a "food family.")

pair that with a cheesy (but likable) movie, and one is good to go. 

day 56

UTAH

skittles, in-n-out, and delicious mexican food: $58.25

getting gas in places like winnemucca: $140

driving all night long to see your best friend: priceless

day 55

most of you know that i have the memory of an ant. or an alzheimer's patient. or... whatever. the point is, i can barely remember what i did an hour ago, let alone several years ago. 

that being said, there are those occasional times when a memory pops in my head. a random memory that comes out of left field. 

today's memory is of when i lived in utah, back in 2001. i was working at lowe's, paying extravagant amounts of money towards overdraft fees and credit card payments (terrible lesson to be learned), and starving to death. being the prideful person i was/am, i refused to eat my roommates delicious food and instead resorted to toothpaste and 88 cent jiffy muffins. true story. 

when i came to work the next day, i found a bag of groceries with my name on them from a girl i worked with, whom i barely knew. nothing super expensive, but it was enough to tide me over until i got paid. i was amazed at her generosity, being a pooooor college student like myself. 

note to readers:

IN FASION                OUT of FASHION

philanthropy              self absorption 

p.s. "full house" is the CHEESIEST show ever. 

day 54

TRAGEDY:

when one is 5 seconds away from winning MUSE tickets on eBay, only to be outbid by some stupid (lucky) person. 

TRAGEDY. 

day 53

in a world filled with movies such as "glitter" or "corky romano," it's nice when you stumble upon a film of higher caliber. here is today's recommendation...

"frost/nixon:" brilliant movie about the first big interview of president nixon by british talk show host, david frost. excellent acting. watch it on a clearplay for best viewing. haha!