The long wait is finally over...or has it just begun??

Carla, Kellie, Nikki, Me, and April

Nice Seats!!

April "work'n" the phone

I WON, I WON!!!!!!!!!! I was hoping for a life sized
car but this will do. In addition to my cool car,
I won an amazing bottle of perfume.

Tori and Annette
Owe, Owe! Nikki
Trouble! Nikki and Carla
My feet were killing me in this picture.

I had so much fun at the Twilight Event! There were a total of 15 of us. It was just great to get to walk around to all of the activities and vender's. I purchased a super cute necklace that says "Be Safe." It is a line from the movie but it has much more personal meaning for me. I'm by no means going to give up being daring or adventurous. It more to remind me to take care and be good to myself. Is so easy to feel hurt or worthless in a situation like mine, but that just isn't true. There isn't a sole on this earth that can change my worth but me. And I am going to continue to show myself respect and love.
As for the movie, it was great! It took me a bit to get used to the differences, they had to cut out some stuff, But Edward really grew on me.

New Kids on The Block

I had so much fun at this concert. I know there are some who may judge me for that but who cares!! The second these 5 men appeared on stage, I morphed back into that 10 year old who went to see the New Kids on the Block for her very first concert. I couldn't help but scream like "a little school girl!" The best part was our seats. they were floor seats and we were just a couple feet away from the secret stage they came out on half way through the concert. I got to touch each of them as they walked past!

Hippy Heaven!

Sunday night I attended a fund raiser dinner for an animal sanctuary called the Ching Farm. They do this Vegan Thanksgiving dinner every year. This was my very first, entirely vegan dinner.
It was "hippy heaven!" I had some seriously funny conversations and the whole time I was there I wanted to shout "I am not a hippy, I'm not!" I must admit though...I loved being surrounded by liberals for once. There was a hysterical moment where my ride parked clear out at the back of the parking lot for fear of retaliation from the crazies inside because apparently leather seats could have been just the thing to send the activist right over the edge.

The turkey wasn't actually turkey. It was a made of a what they called Seitan. They pronounced it much more like the word Satan, so as you can imagine, I was a little hesitant to want to eat it.
But truthfully, It was much more tasty than I ever thought possible. I enjoyed the company and had a blast talking with such level headed, sensible, liberals, who shared my views on what makes this country great...(see prop 8 blog)

The most difficult things

I know my self better than anyone else. I know my flaws, I know my strengths. And luckily, I have two amazing tattoos that help to remind me of what I need to remember the most. My first tat is a conji for "Fearless Heart," the second is my cherry blossoms. Here is a part of the blog I wrote about getting my cherry blossom tattoo almost two years ago:

"The cherry blossom, in Japanese culture, symbolizes the transience of life. Life is constantly changing and moving. Just as the cherry blossoms bloom and then die, so does everything else in life. I am constantly trying to hold on to things and people, especially when those things and people make me happy. But as I look back, I realize that people are constantly coming and going in my life and its impossible to keep things still. It has been hard for me to accept that, friends who once played a huge role in my life, sometimes walk away. Most of the time though, people are just pulled in different direction by the currents of their own lives and no matter how hard I have tried, its impossible to keep people for drifting away. Things change, relationships change, and life is always changing. People come in to our lives and leave us the gifts of love, companionship, laughter, mischief, tears, and heart-ache. All of which lets us know we are alive. For me, the lesson of the cherry blossom is to enjoy the "bloom" of things because the flower never lasts forever."
I put two of the most difficult things for me , permanently on my body. I needed to be reminded, especially when my heart is shattered, how many wonderful gifts have come into my life because I took a chance with my heart.

Heartbroken over Prop 8

I am so disappointed with the outcome of Prop 8, but I have hope that people will open their eyes about what makes this country great. So many people get stuck on the fact that this country was founded on the belief in God, but thats not it. What makes this country great is that it was founded on the FREEDOM to believe in God. Its the about the FREEDOM to choose for yourself what to believe in and how to live.
The government is in perfect harmony with its foundation when it provides each of us with equal rights and the protection to pursue our own happiness. We need to let go of our prejudices and cookie cutter antics. We need to let go of our fear and embrace and protect the diversity that this country was founded on.

Final Statement from No on Prop 8 Campaign

From No on Prop 8 | Don't Eliminate Marriage for Anyone

Yesterday at 4:10pm

The road to freedom is a difficult, hard road. It always makes for temporary setbacks.
--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tuesday's vote was deeply disappointing to all who believe in equal treatment under the law.

All Americans are harmed when any of us are discriminated against or have our fundamental rights taken away.

Make no mistake, this fight is not over.

We remain committed to ensuring full equality under the law, just as the thousands of same-sex couples who joyously married in California are committed to each other.

While it is understandable to be angry that a deceptive campaign could lead to such an unfair and wrong outcome, we need to keep focused instead on the progress we have made.

Thousands of volunteers and contributors gave selflessly to this fight for equality. Political leaders—Democrats and Republicans alike–took strong stands and spoke out against the distortions against us. Clergy, labor, educators and business leaders eagerly joined our cause. And we came within 4% of making history and protecting marriage equality in California.

The momentum is clearly on our side.

So, as disappointed as we are, we know that there is still hope and there is still love and, yes, there is still work to do. With our continued effort and by building on the support generated in this campaign, we will prevail. There will be equality. For us all.

Ultimately, America's answer to the intolerant man is diversity, the very diversity which our heritage of religious freedom has inspired.
--Robert F. Kennedy

My Dad, My hero

I am still so amazed at how many people have really come through for me this past couple weeks and I would especially like to thank My dad and stepmom. They came through for me in the biggest way. They actually got on a plane and came up to Salt Lake City to stay with me. It was so wonderful to have two people, I love, filling my home up with warmth and laughter. They gave me a reason to get up in the morning and something to look forward to after work. I had some great talks with Both of them. Sheri was so sweet about my apartment and my dad, as always, knew how to make me laugh. We had some pretty fun adventures together. There was the two pitchers of sangria at dinner...good times. And can anyone tell me what to make of this Ziplock bag of water with a penny inside, hanging from the side door at the Red Iguana. Is is for good luck? Is it an ancient bug repellent? We were both perplexed.