Your favorite comfort foods

This one is really easy! If you ask me my favorite food I will hem and haw all day long. With so much good food in the world is hard to pick a favorite. But I know my comfort foods. I'm not sure why they are my comfort foods, maybe because it was all I knew how to cook for a long time, thats my best guess. But if I am feeling down about something I know exactly what I want.

White bread, american cheese and a can of condensed soup. Ahhhh! 

Grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup.

Brownie goodness! 

If that doesn't do it, then give me brownies. I'm not much of a chocolate eater, even brownies I don't eat often. But if I'm looking for comfort, its where I'm headed.

Devil is right. Only explanation for me eating them. 

Now, if things blow beyond sucky-town. If I am at my lowest point of despair and don't know what to do. I reach for a green box. I don't touch these things any other time. If you see them with my just insta-hug me. Seriously. And if I get them, I eat the WHOLE box. All by myself. And I cant say why, they really taste awful. But somehow they became my go-to sad food. Snackwells Devils Food cookies. Don't ask me.

Your views on religion

Ahh, this is a tricky one. Remember how its my top pet peeve? I don't want to start any hard feelings here. I'm going to figure this is a safe place and say whats on my mind though. Please do not take offense. I never judge anyone based on their religion. I don't choose my friends based on it, either FOR or AGAINST. I think everyone should have their own beliefs. These are MY beliefs. I don't expect you to believe the same as I do. I just hope you can respect that I deserve my beliefs the same way I respect yours. And I will be sharing my experiences. They are mine. I'm not trying to put anyone or any organization down. Just sharing. 

I do not believe in religion. 

I grew up in a very Mormon neighborhood. I was the not Mormon kid. I heard a lot growing up 'my parents wont let me play with you, they say you are a bad kid' That is hurtful to hear as a kid. And I let it get to me way more then it ever should have. It still hurts me today. And truthfully, I was a dang good kid. They would have been lucky for me to be an influence on their kids. 

My best friend was one of these Mormon kids, occasionally her parents would decide she couldn't play with me anymore unless I went to church. So I went often enough to have my friend. But I never fit in. There were some people who would try to help me fit in but I was the odd kid out. When we got a bit older I would go to church and she and I would slip out the door as soon as no one was looking. We would just walk around the neighborhood until it was time to go home. 

I went with this friend to a big multi-ward youth event one time. I cant remember how old I was but teenage-ish. The event was a giant plane crash, all of us there died. We then went 1 by 1 into a room where we were judged. Any one not familiar, the Mormon religion has 3 levels of heaven and then outer darkness. Outer darkness is reserved for those who turned their back on Jesus and there are very few inhabitants. In our Judgement we were told which level of heaven we were fit for. I answered their questions honestly. They were along the lines of do you go to church regularly? Do you pay tithing? After answering them I was told that I would be going to the lowest level of heaven. I would be spending eternity alongside murders and rapist (exact words, I remember clearly). Because I didn't give the church 50 cents out of my birthday money from my gramma, I was to spend my eternity paying for it. 

That was the last Mormon event I attended. I felt bullied in this religion. I refuse to believe in any organization that treats people that way. 

When Zach was a baby I went kinda crazy about religion. I decided we NEED a religion or Zach will be pushed to be Mormon the way I was. I researched a ton of churches trying to find one that fit our beliefs. Some came close but when it came down to it, I wasn't comfortable signing up with any church. I was letting a church I didn't agree with make me choose a belief out of fear. That isn't a good reason. Church goes against my spiritual beliefs. I don't think God is going to judge us based on where we spend our Sundays. I like to think that he will judge us as the people we are. 

So my views on religions go like this, I believe there is a need for it. I believe that for some people it does make a difference in who they are. But like all things in life I don't think its for everyone. And I absolutely don't think God has a favorite religious team. I think that if I am able to judge someone on who they are, sans religion, that God is also able to make his choices that way. 

My top 5 pet peeves

1. Politics/Religion. This is my numero uno. We live in a beautiful country founded on the belief that we get to make choices. Choices that make us happy. People then take those choices and make them ugly. They use them to make themselves feel better then someone else. Use them to decide who their friends are. The choice is there for you to make for you. Not so you can make everyone you know think and believe the way you believe. See that people have different thoughts and feelings for things and realize that thats what makes us all stronger. Dont argue and call names over who someone voted for, that is ridiculous.

2. Whining. Can not stand whining. Use your big kid voice! Grr!

3. Lateness. This one makes me crazy. Not in other people, I can wait on other people. In myself. I hate hate hate to be late. And I happen to married to a man who is not very capable of being on time. I get flustered and crazy when we are late. Its not pretty. I seem to have passed this on to Zach. Of all my crazy, its one I'm ok sharing with him. Every day on the way to school he asks 'am I going to be late??' and he hasn't been yet!

4. When someone doesn't say thank you when a door is held open for them. Seriously people, one word, thanks. Not so tough. And not even just for the door. If someone is nice, appreciate it. At least smile. Makes me doubly mad when my kids are holding doors for people and they don't say thank you.

5. Blame. Not every one of your problems is someone elses fault. Sometimes life sucks and its hard to get past but if you sit and think about everyone that messed it up for you, you wont get past it.

Where you'd like to be in 10 years

Holy cow. I am having a tough time with this one! I have been thinking about it all day. In all honesty, I would like to be a lot where I am today. I will be 40, my kids will be 17 and 14. 

I want to still be a mom that cheers her kids on. They have tons of talents and I want to be their top cheerleader in whatever they decide to pursue. I always want to be the mom in the stands for every event and hope they know I believe in them.

I want to be working somewhere that allows us to travel. When I thought of this question it was the top thing that came to mind. I want to be able to travel a lot. I want to see the whole dang world. I would love to pack a bag, head to the airport and pick where we are going based on which flight is leaving next. I miss flight benefits so very much.

I want to be out of debt. Brandon and I took some big financial risks awhile back and lets just say they didn't pay off. We have been working hard to dig out of our mess. Its coming along. We have taken big steps toward it lately and its making a difference. 

I'm seriously sitting here staring at the screen. I don't have a 10 year plan, I really just want to stay the course. In 10 years I want to be ME. 

I wouldn't mind being a hot 40 year old though!

What I would like to be in 10 years!

Your Current Relationship

Day 1 and I am behind. Well, not yet. I have exactly half an hour to get this in before I miss my deadline. Way to cut it close!

Day 1 is your current relationship. I am pretty lucky in this area. I have been married to a great man for nearly 7 years. 

We met online, which is becoming more cool now but 8 years ago it wasn't so cool. I worked a lot, at night. I didn't know where to go to find someone. My friend Tami told me about a dating website she was on and told me I should try it. I was... hesitant. I looked at it a bit but not too closely. There was 1 guy on there that caught my eye but I couldn't get myself to sign up just yet. Right about this time one of my moms friends offered to set me up with a guy that worked in their building. I went out with him a few times but it didn't work out. After that I thought about that dating website again. And I thought about that 1 guy I saw on there, I wondered if he was still there. So I pulled it up and checked it out. He happened to still be on there. So I signed up and sent him an email with the subject line "if you like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain" luckily he got it (or was smart enough to google it, I haven't ever asked) after talking on the computer for a few weeks we went to lunch. 

We started spending a lot of time together after that. I had to adjust to his ridiculous work schedule, that was probably our biggest hurdle. After we had been dating for awhile we took a trip to San Francisco. It was my first time visiting there. We went to the pier, alcatraz, china town, golden gate bridge (I can see it, we can walk there...), all over. Then one of the days I got really sick on BART. We got off and I said I need a bathroom NOW! We move toward the exit and he asks where the nearest restroom is and is told its on the other side of the station, you have to exit and reenter to get there. So I run to a trash can AND false alarm. So I turn to leave and vomit allllll over the train station. I am mortified and this guy asks me "Hey, what did you eat that was red??" UGH. 

The next day I'm not feeling very well still and we decide to have an easy day. We take our rental car and drive to Monterey. On the way he got himself KFC, to this day I still cant stand the smell of the Colonel. We spent the day at the aquarium there and cannery row. It was amazing. After the aquarium we found a nice spot by the bay and sat there for ages watching an otter crack open clams with a rock. There was a shark that kept swimming through and we would watch the otter then he would disappear then we would see the shark then the shark would disappear and the otter would come back. It was so fun. We sat there at the bay and watched them as the sun went down. That was the exact moment I KNEW I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this man.

We did later discover that it wasn't motion sickness but a little hitchhiker that caused me to vomit like that. I was already pregnant with Zach then. =)

A few months later I was living with him in his house and pregnant with his little baby and Brandon spent a day acting really weird. We went to Trolley Square and out to eat and I was all freaked out the entire day trying to figure out what his deal was. After we got home he was having issues with his computer and he wasn't handling it very well. So I told him to let me sit down and I would take care of it. He left the room and I thought man alive, he does not deal with computer problems well. He came back a couple minutes later and as I was fixing his virus he opened a ring box that had a 50 cent blinky ring in it and asked me to marry him. My response was not so kind. I pushed him over and told him to shut up. It was a beautiful moment. I very honestly thought he was screwing with me and I didn't think it was funny. He wasn't sure what to say or do at that point. He stammered and stuttered for a minute and then said Umm... I'm serious. 

Of course, I said yes and I am very happy to be married to him still. I can not imagine choosing anyone else to spend my life with. We have time where we just cant stand each other. We have times that make us question our choices and our sanity. But overall, we are a strong couple and spend most of our time happy with our choice in each other. 

I love you Brandon Walker! 

My 30 Day Blog Challenge

I have been wanting to do a blog challenge for awhile. I think about it, I might even do some light googling then I don't do anything about it. I considered making mine own, sorta. I have this book, the big book of IF, and I thought I would just flip to a page and write a post on the question. So I pulled it out of its spot on the bookshelf and flipped it open. Its not as cool as I remember. So I googled again, different wording hoping to find something. I picked this lovely one. Not because its the best or the most fun but because it is a photo not a list. I cant sit and nitpick at it. It is set in FONT. I mean, I'm sure its change-able but not by me. And I tend to be a nitpicker. I was trying to handpick all my questions. That really takes away from the reason to do this. I want to expand myself a little. I could write a really boring list of questions for myself that would basically be what I write about anyway. So I will be working off of this list, that I honestly haven't looked at too closely yet. Wish me luck! And feel free to join me! 

A Very Disney Christmas!

On Christmas Day we loaded up and drove to Disneyland. Being in Milford made it possible to drive straight through without stopping and staying the night anywhere. 

Road trip! 

Well, that was fun. 

Stopped in Primm, NV and saw Bonnie and Clydes death car

A road trip on Christmas day is fun but it makes it hard to stop for food. Or snacks or potty breaks! Everything is closed. Even all the casino buffets were closed for Christmas. We ended up eating at a coffee shop in Primm, NV. They had a whole display of Bonnie and Clyde stuff. It was a bit morbid. They had the car they died in. The shirt that Clyde was wearing when he died, complete with blood stains and bullet holes. And pictures of them after their autopsies. A strange way to spend your Christmas dinner but OK. By the time we got to our hotel we were all exhausted. We unloaded and crashed. The kids thought the room was sooo awesome. They had their own room with bunkbeds in it and their own tv. It was pretty neat. 

The next morning we got up and FINALLY made it into DISNEYLAND!

My princess was so happy to see the castle!

Buzz Lightyear 

Jedi training! 

In line for the submarines 

On the submarine

Very first thing we did was get my princess into the castle! I didn't know we could go in the castle but they have an adorable walk through in it. All she has wanted to do was go to Wonderland and go in the castle. It was exciting to get her there! Next we went in to Tomorrowland. Got fastpasses for Star Tours then went on a few rides. We went on Buzz Lightyear a couple of times because the line was pretty quick. Zach got to do Jedi Training. I was pretty set on getting him into Jedi Training. Someone told me about it over the summer, before we started planning our trip and I have thought about it since. I didn't know much about it but I knew Zach would love it. He was pretty shy and I had to beg him to raise his hand to be picked, then I begged him to bounce a little to be noticed. They went down the line and picked the 2 kids next to him but not him. So I thought ok, we will come back for the next one! Then they came back and called him up too. He was the last kid to be called up. I was so very excited! One of the highlights of my trip was watching him in Jedi Training. After he was done he came back and thanked me for talking him into it because it was one of the most awesome things he had ever done. Made my heart full of happiness! 

After Tomorrowland we kind of wandered a bit. We watched the parade, it was cute. Then we wandered through FantasyLand but it was PACKED. The lines were crazy and you could barely move. So we went to FrontierLand. Zach of course asked if that is what it looked like when I was a kid. They had Santa in there with Mrs. Clause and the reindeer. That was fun to see. We got fastpasses for Big Thunder Mtn. but just as it was our turn the ride broke down. So we ended up missing that. Shortly after that we headed out for the day. We packed a lot in!

The second day we had passes to get in an hour early. So we woke up and got moving. By the time we got through security and the crazy lines it was 5 minutes to opening anyway. But we got on Alice in Wonderland without the huge line. Next we went on the teacups. Kids loved them, Brandon not so much. He begged me to not make him do any more twirly rides. 

Tea Cups

Tea Cups 

Here kitty kitty......

After the couple of rides we had to get moving. We had a character breakfast scheduled at one of the Disney hotels. I was excited for this and it was a ton of fun. When we got there and I saw the prices I was wildly glad that we had ordered them with our package! Holy expensive pancakes batman! On our way to the breakfast Zach found his mecca. The LEGO store! I had to pinky promise to come back when they opened. 

Open... Open.... Open! 

With Mickey! 

Stitch sure liked to mess with everyone! 

Silly Stitch! 

She wanted to see if Pluto would chase her kitty. 

Lego Vader

Sitting on a Lego giraffe foot

The happiest yellow bag ever! 

After all of this fun-ness we made our way into California Adventure. None of us had ever been there. Following my moms advice we went and got a fast pass for Soaring over California first thing. It was good we did. The park had been open less then an hour and our pass was for after 7 pm. They were gone pretty soon after. 

We headed over to Bugs Life first. 

Chip and Dale

Its tough to be a bug show

LadyBug spin. Brandon says PLEASE dont make me go!

Mater and Pa-Pow

Little Mermaid ride. =)

Little green men, they were fun! 

The Bugs Life show, Its tough to be a bug, was so much fun. Its a 3D show but with extras. Zach says its a 5D show. It has smells and feels too. At one point the seat stings you, it kinda hurt! Then at the end the bug says for the people to stay sitting so the bugs can get out safely. All of the sudden you can feel the bugs running under your bum. Chelsea started screaming hysterically, it was awesome. I wish I could explain the way she screamed. I will always remember how funny it was. After that we hung out and went on as many rides as we could in California Adventure. We saw the Aladin show, it was amazing. We went to the fort area for awhile. The kids really enjoyed it. They were nervous on the rope bridges but we couldn't get them off of the tire swing things. We finally left when it was time for fast pass to Soaring. 

Phineas and Ferb dance party! 

Rope bridge (don't look Coco!)

Chelsea was really nervous on the rope bridges. 

I didn't know if they would do these.
They had to drag the swing to the top of the hill,
climb on and swing down. 

They LOVED it. Had to go again. 

Soaring was really amazing. Glad we got the front row. After that we went went back to Disneyland and went on a few rides in FantasyLand. We were waiting for the fireworks. Then they announced that they were cancelled again. =( They didn't have them any of the nights we were there. We finally got back to the hotel and fell into bed. We were out for 15 hours this day. 

Day 3, also known as make a list of what we really DONT want to miss day!

Dentists in training. 

Purple lollipop tongues. 

On the Winney the Pooh ride, Chels and I loved it. 

Going on the canoes

My pirated Splash Mtn. photo

Brandon was in the front and got SOAKED. He doesn't think its funny.
You should ask him. 

On the Zepher, Chelsea is my daredevil baby! 

The 3rd day was fun, I think it was the day we did the most. We got fastpasses for Splash Mtn. as soon as we got there, went on pooh and canoes and then it was time for Splash Mtn. Brandon ended up in the front and got so wet. It took hours for him to dry. 

We spent some time in Toontown. The kids liked it but it was really crowded, hard for them to do much in there. The only time I got impatient in a line was waiting for Minnie and the Roger Rabbit ride. Minnie was ridiculous. We waited almost 2 hours. The line wasn't very long so I figured why not, by the time I realized how long it was taking I was too stubborn to leave. That and Chelsea was set on it. Roger Rabbit was right after that and it was long too but I think I was really just frazzled from the Minnie line. 

Zach and I got to go on Indiana Jones, I really wanted to take him but Chelsea was too little. Zach and I got fast passes for it and had to wait the whole day for our turn. Then when we got back it was broken down. We were both hugely disappointed. I told him we would go have dinner and come back after to see what was happening. Luckily it was back up after dinner. 

Toontown

Mickey Mouse! 

Minnie Mouse

In line for Roger Rabbit

Weasel

Dip em! 

Rebel!

Long day! 

Its a small world all done up for Christmas

Amen. 

It was really an amazing trip. We had a wonderful time. I couldn't have asked for anything better. It was crazy crowded and we had to spend a lot of time in lines but we knew that was going to happen when we booked it and we were ok. I am so thankful for this trip with my family. I couldn't come up with a better Christmas! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday also! 

Happy New Year to all of you!