Really Amy??

*** SHAMELESS PROMOTION ***

The Story of the Pink Jacket.

Hong Kong. 2007. I'm almost headed home after an 8 month contract and an LDS guy joins the cast of The Festival of the Lion King. Nice guy. We hang out. We're walking in the streets of Hong Kong and without much thought I glance at a store window and say, "That's cute." THAT IS ALL I SAID. Next morning- guy shows up with the jacket. Super super nice of him... but that thing cost almost $600!!!! What the???

I've still never worn it. Anyone wanna buy it for $200? It's Lambs skin, pink- LAMBORGHINI. Please.


ALSO- if you know anyone who wants to not spend too much on a wedding dress, I've decided to RENT mine out. $1200 dress for $250.



http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=6663887&cat=240

http://bridal-expressions.com/bridal/etienne.shtml

Sunshine of the Sunday Sort

#1: Today was our first day in Primary. Chuck already has a little girl, Emily, in love with him. She saw him writing his name on a sign-up sheet during Primary and said "Your name is Chuck?" Five minutes later, "Chuck is a nice name." I watched her throughout his lesson and Sharing Time flirt and giggle and insist that he sits next to her - Guess I have competition! Ah yes, after many years of the singles wards, Chuck and I are full fledged members of a gigantic family ward. What an adventure.

#2: I jumped a hurdle this week and got nearly everything cleaned out of ONE of my spare bedrooms. The DI now has a collection of my old things- which was hard, but I did it!- and I now have a room to set up all things WORKOUT. Got the tredmill, the weights, a TV- fun fun. I can't wait to get back into my routine.

#3: This week was better. Like y'all may have noticed, I'd fallen apart a bit in the last few weeks. Things are looking up, I had a happy week- though my emotions are still extremely on edge- and life is good.

#4: It's SNO-CONE SEASON!!! Bring on Snowie and Snoasis. Yup. It really is the best time of the year!!!

#5: My week became extremely happy with the news that my dear friend Cy has been cast in the national tour of "Annie." Not even a month after graduation he's booked a tour. I'm so proud. And yeah, a little jealous. ;-)

#6: Some of you may think less of me for this, but the movie "Blades of Glory" has brought me a ridiculous amount of laughter in the past few weeks. It's TERRIBLE. And so so so funny. I'm not usually one to be a sucker for cheap laughs like this film throws out- but ha! I really love it. "I see you're still fat." "I see you still look like a 15 year-old girl but not hot."

#7: My husband is cute when he sleeps. Today in church I started to giggle thinking how cute he is when he's dead asleep and I'm wide awake in the mornings. It makes me smile.

#8: Despite the lost-ness I've been feeling the past few weeks, I am a very VERY blessed girl. My life is NOT hard. It's actually quite carefree and simple right now, and I am so thankful for that. Let's be honest- I get up in the morning, work out, do whatever I want, maybe do a cleaning job for my bro-in-law, make dinner... yeah. Life isn't hard. I am reminded of that every time I see someone with REAL heartache in their life. I pray for those people who I see struggling in so many ways, and know that when my life DOES get hecktic and full of REALLY tough things, I will have many people out there loving me and praying for me too.

#9: My little cousin Kallie graduates this week- which also means that as of Wednesday, I have been out of high school for TEN years. In so many ways that part of life seems AGES ago- almost so long ago that I hardly remember. But the other night I pulled out my old yearbooks and memories- good and bad- came flooding back to me. Guess it really hasn't been that long. :-) Get ready for some fun, Kallie Ann.

#10: I can now say this boy



is "Almost 30." Chuck turned 29 on Tuesday and what did I get him???



The ugliest kitty to date. Good job, Ames.

Have a happy week, y'all.

Sad Belle

Found this picture on Facebook today. It was too good to pass up. February 13, 2009. Sad day.

Uh... WOW

Many of you may not understand that AMAZINGNESS of this...


http://www.playbill.com/news/article/129586-Audra_McDonald_and_Will_Swenson_to_S

Sunday Sunshine

Still a bit emotional and lost. However, I'm not one to drown in my sorrow or feel sorry for myself. These are the things that made me happy this week:

#1: I have a husband who cares. He wants to make me happy, and even when I am an emotional basket case he is there to try and lift me and make me laugh. I'll admit that I haven't been the most pleasant of people this week. I've been unpredictable and whiny, and I am uptight about money. I'm thankful for a boy who will try to talk me through it and still love me. Thanks.

#2: When the sun comes up in the morning, I am in JUST the right place of the bedroom to have it shine in on my face. I LOVE it. I never want to move because I love it so much. I am a morning person. I ADORE morning. That sunshine in my face just thrills me every day.

#3: My house is cute. I love it. I'm getting closer when it comes to being organized and living like normal people... still lots of work to do, but I know it'll be done sometime!

#4: Holidays: I love Memorial Day. Friday night Chuck and I were driving home from Provo and I got REALLY excited for all the people leaving town with their campers and boats and RVs. (I wasn't one of them, but hey- I was REALLY happy for all those folks!) GAH! I LOVE SUMMER!

#5: Our Ward: Today Chuck and I were called to work in the Primary. We'll be teaching the seven-year-olds and I think it will be a lot of fun for us. I feel blessed to be able to feel a part of the huge ward that we live in.

#6: Birfdays: This weekend we've celebrated birthdays for both Chuck and his dad. I love celebrating birthdays and going out to dinner and having cake and ice cream. I love being with family.

#7: Walking makes me happy. My allergies have been CRAZY this week, but I had the chance to hike around the neighborhoods here as I delivered some fliers. Good thinking time. :-)

#8: West Side Story is on TV. Happy.

#9: I weeded the flower bed in my front yard on Friday. I haven't cared for a yard since the Layton days. Loved it.

#10: The Bachelorette started on Monday. I dunno what it is about that series, but gosh- can't get enough of it. It's awful. Ha.

#11: I loved the new show GLEE on Fox. It's so totally up my little musical theatre alley. There was a part about a turkey baster that made me laugh out loud- for awhile. Had I never worked in professional theatre I would not have appreciated the hilarity of the turkey baster. Sigh. :-)

#12: The DI is a great place. I will be contributing a good deal to that place this week. I love simplifying my life, even though my sentimental self gets a bit in the way of that...

#13: My hubby loves me and puts up with my emotional self. Yep. I mentioned that. But I needed to mention it again.

#14: This week I reconnected (Thank you, Facebook) with a childhood friend of mine. During our teenage years she chose a very different path than me and I haven't heard anything from her in years. I'm proud of her. After eight years of being an addict, she's been clean for two years. She's still got a rough road ahead of her, but I am glad to know she's where she is.

#15: Tomorrow Chuck joins my Verizon account. WE GET TO TALK FOR FREE NOW!

#16: My friends Lindsey and Tyler made it to the final cut during their Rockette auditions in Chicago the other day! I AM SO PROUD!!!


Let another week begin. Life will be good.

Happy. Happy Happy.

I need to clear something up. I am OBVIOUSLY an Adam fan, I admire his AMAZING vocal abilities, his stage presence- EVERYTHING about him as a performer. He. Is. Brilliant.

HOWEVER- I am probably MORE happy that Kris won. I'm a fan of the underdog- and he IS great. Like I said before- I'd buy his album before anything of Adam's.

I love American Idol. Awwwwww. Now what do I do with Tuesday and Wednesday nights???

Suggestions?

Why I am an Adam Fan

Do you have ANY idea what kind of control and technique it takes to do all this, people??? Adam wins. That's all.

Sunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnndee Sunshine

Ah- what a blessed week. And there's another great one ahead.


# 1. Kensie can now say "AMY." For a long time she has been calling me "Bee," but on Saturday she very clearly said my name. Gah! I'm a sucker for that kid.

# 2. This week has been full of nostalgia and regret for having saved so many things throughout my whole life. I have spent the entire week sorting through the things I've had in storage for the last ten years, and I'll admit, I'm a sucker for the sentimentality of it all. I found the notes my friends and I all passed throughout all of junior high school, I found my American Girl dolls, I found my old journals and old sets of keys... it's just good stuff. I have the intense urge to keep it all. But I have found a solution. Digital cameras- thank heaven for them.

Sort sort sort...


Favorite Treasure of the Week: THE PEOPLE BELT.

First of all, I have to admit that I stopped breathing for a minute when I realized that my hips are about two inches bigger than when I wore this in high school- but whatever. Heather and I both had this belt... we wrote the names of boys we liked under certain characters. Awesome.



# 3: Look at my cute husband and his project. He's helping to make the Springville City float for the summer parades. He's cute. And I love that he is good at stuff like this- cuz heaven knows that my attempt at making a giant ViewMaster would be futile.


# 4. The girls at B and B made this rose for me the day I left. I miss the stage and I miss my friends, but I am extremely thankful for the memories I made while I was there. Happy, happy times.


# 5: It's American Idol FINALE week!!! YAY YAY! Here are my thoughts: We all know I am Adam obsessed. HOWEVER- I'd be more likely to LISTEN to Kris' music. I want Adam to win because overall he is a BRILLIANT artist. I hope that Tuesday night is filled with EVERYTHING Adam can do and not a bunch of "Ring of Fire" repeats. Sing to me, Adam, sing to me. But don't rock out too much...

# 6: My left leg is healing! I don't think I've mentioned this before, but more than three weeks ago I worked out with my trainer.My hamstrings were apparently damaged because they were still extremely sore up until a few days ago. I am pleased to announce that I can touch my toes again. It was stressing me out there for awhile! But I have a wonderful hubby who spent weeks trying to massage the ouchness out. Thanks, love!

# 7: I STILL love my wedding pictures.

# 8: Cereal. It's my favorite. All kinds.

# 9: My blankie. At Christmas in 2005 "Santa" brought me a blanket that I LOVE. I use it every night. I get cold, Chuck gets hot. I LOVE IT.

# 10: I'm glad I am funny. This is a part of me that not everyone sees... or they see a very subtle version of it because ya know- I have that whole lame SHY thing about me. ANYWAY- the other morning I plopped myself in front of the bathroom door, wrapped in my blankie, and waited for Chuck to come out after his shower. He laughed and remembered that he's married to a crazy lady. At least I'm fun.

It's bedtime for me. Let another week of sorting and playing begin. Life is happy.

Sunday Sunshine

Well my friends, it's finally time for me to get back to a regular schedule of weekly "Sunday Sunshine." I've been out of the habit for several months now, posting periodically and randomly here and there, but now it's time for me to share with each one of you the things that have made me happy throughout this week. I love the little blessings in my life that help me see the good things around me during times when I'm feeling a little lost.

1. LIGHT: I love the light that fills my bedroom every morning at six am. I love the light that fills my living room and kitchen throughout the entire day. I love the light I feel from the people around me.

2: Funnies: This afternoon when we got out of church, Chuck used the remote to unlock my car, but we quickly realized that not only did the handy gadget release the locks on MY car, but it also made the van parked across from us chirp. You know the sound the car makes to let you know it's locked or unlocked? Yep, somehow my Mazda remote made the Honda across from us react. It was hilarious. Silly little thing, but it made me laugh for a good ten minutes.

3. More Funny Funnies: My father-in-law is still hilarious. Tonight, after they left our house, we escorted my mom out the door only to find these:


Welcome, Mildred and Frankie the Flamigos, to our home.

After pink flamingos and a "Shave Your Legs Barbie," I'm gonna have to start getting creative to keep up with this man!

4. Wonderful Friends: After my last post, I received a Facebook message from an old friend of mine from BYU-I. (You know who you are, lady...) Like I said in that post, I have been feeling a little lost lately. I'm happy, and life is great, but I can't help feeling a bit lost and down because life has taken such a huge turn when it comes to my career (Which is what I have focused on for the last three years of my life...) Please understand that I would never change the way things have turned out with Chuck and our home, but I honestly have NO idea how to allow myself to feel fulfilled and content artistically when I cannot perform. (For those of you who don't know, performing here in Utah will be hard for me now because of my association with Actors Equity.) The other night I completely broke down to Chuck about how I honestly don't feel like I am good at ANYTHING right now. Because I cannot perform, I am searching everything in me to find something to be good at. And this week I feel like nothing has come to surface. Anyway, the point is that this sweet friend of mine wrote me a message that really made me feel so much better. Maybe I just needed to be validated in the way I was feeling, or complimented to remind myself that I am a good, talented, and worthwhile person. I love friends that are there for me. This girl is a friend like the one I want to be to the people who mean so much to me. Thanks.

5. The Boys Next Door: My husband has made some good friends here in our neighborhood. Duncan and Tyreese- the eight and ten year old boys next door, have become quite fond of him. Last Sunday our doorbell rang constantly the whole afternoon. Chuck kept giving them reasons why he couldn't come outside with them and finally Tyreese looked up at him and said, "Hey, do you wanna just come out on the porch and talk???" I'm just waiting for them to knock on the door and use these words, "Can Chuck play????" He's terribly cute with them.

6. Hyperness: I am HYPER in the morning. Very hyper. Chuck is NOT. It makes for great entertainment.

7: Making a Pretty House: My sweet sister and her husband have lent us some furniture for the time being. It makes our house feel more like a HOME and it really motivates me to start making things look wonderful. My hubby also has quite the eye for interior design. As we speak he is looking through home design magazines...

8. Wedding Photos!: The more I look at them the more I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE them. THANK YOU TRAVIS!!!! And I still love my engagement and bridal photos too. Yay Brittany.

9. The Turnover of Cell Phone Minutes: So for the second month in a row I ran out of daytime minutes on my phone. I've had it for SIX YEARS and that's never happened until now. Hmmmmm. Good thing Chuck and I will be able to talk for free when he switches over to my plan this month...

10. The Husband Who Fixes My Car: Confession- I ran out of gas a few weeks ago. SOMEHOW, I don't know HOW- it fried the battery. What the? ANYWAY- I went for about two weeks having to have it jumped every few starts, but the other day my hubby forced me to Checker Auto, bought me a new battery, and installed it. See, I'm cheap. There's no way around it. I would have driven on that battery until I had to have it jumped EVERY TIME I started it. But he solved the problem before I got to that point. I did freak out a bit over how much it cost... I need to not be so cheap.

11. My Wedding Shoes: I still get such great joy out of them. Yep.

12. Kensie: Today when Chuck and I arrived home, Elizabeth, Brett, and Kensie were already here waiting for us. The reaction we got from that little girl when we walked in the room was PRICELESS. She loves me. She loves my man. Awesome.

13. Belated Wedding Gifts: These are the best. We've been married for almost two months now, but we're still getting a few wedding gifts here and there and I LOVE it.

14. A New Week: I have a free week. I have PLENTY to keep myself busy- but gosh, I need this. I need to get some voice students. I need to sing again. I need to go to the gym. I need to make lunch and dinner for my husband. Best thing is that this week I WILL HAVE TIME. Happy.

15. Bananas: Yummy.

16. Custard: Nielsen's Frozen Custard Cookie Dough Concrete. Best thing in the WORLD.




17. Costa Vida Salad: I truly would eat one of these every single day if I could. Chicken. Wheat tortilla. Divinity.

18. Gift Cards: Still enjoying these. Love em.


Thanks for reading. :-) Have a happy happy week. Look for the things that make YOU happy.

My Mommie

Happy Mothers Day to my Mommie. She's hot, she supports everything I do, and she is always there for me. I love you my Mommie!!!! 

The Story of a Cake

No, I did not punch my husband out. HOWEVER- did you notice that he didn't even AIM for my mouth???? I don't eat with my eyeballs, dear. :-)

Married! Flowers! Graduation! Baby!

Well folks, we here in the northwestern portion of Utah County have now reconnected with the world- We have Internet and cable in our home. YAY!!!! Now I can update my blog and Facebook, AND I can watch AI and The Office in the comfort of my own living room- which, by the way, thanks to my sister and Brett, now has some furniture in it. Our home is great, work is coming along, and we're just sitting back and enjoying the whole newlywed thing.

Anyway, LOTS of pics to give y'all the update...

Yesterday, Biff graduated from the University of Utah!!!! She now holds a B.S. in Nursing- and I tell ya, I couldn't be more proud!!!! I have no comprehension of the work this girl has done with school, a baby,a husband, and everything else she's had going on in the last few years. GO BIFFY!!!! Interesting fact: Ever since Biff was a teeny little girl she wanted to be a "nuse." She knew when she was three... I STILL don't know what to be when I "grow up."

Kensie is becoming a full on girly girl and I LOVE it. Before her hair was even done, she was putting on Nana's lipstick.

Yeah, kid. I'm glad your entertained by simple things...

Our graduation present to Biff was an iPod extravaganza. She will now learn to love the gloriousness that is the iPod.

A few weeks ago for FHE, Chuck and I went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point. I LOVE LOVE LOVE FLOWERS and this really was a highlight of my month!

CHUCK'S BIG NEWS

I have a happy husband. Only we've had it for about three weeks and we're just now able to watch TV on it. Ha ha. Good thing he's more of a movie boy.



I, on the other hand, begged him to rig something up so I could somehow manage to watch American Idol. This was what he came up with: (With the use of an antenna which didn't quite get a good signal out here...)



What a nice boy he is. I could hear and see it well enough to be satisfied. But I'm thankful for Dish Network now... no more rigging random antennas.

We have a new niece!!! Mayzie Elise Keeler was born on April 14. We love her!

My husband is still a little nervous with newborns... but gosh he's cute.

A few weeks ago we also celebrated Sam's 30th birthday at Maddox in Brigham City! His wife TOTALLY hooked him up with an amazing surprise party. So glad we were a part of it!

So there's the update on life. I'm feeling a bit lost right now, not quite knowing what to do with myself... I need to really buckle down and make my house cute and get on the voice lesson biz. I had a bit of a breakdown the other night, so I'm thankful for a cute hubby who constantly tells me how great I am while I'm wailing "I'm not good at anything!" Yeah.

But all in all, life is fantastic right now. I love spring.