Me, In 3's

I've been tagged. The task is to list things in 3's, namely:

Joy-joys

1. Snuggling

2. Text messages
3. Grocery shopping

Fears

1. Facial disfigurement
2. Unemployment
3. Bunnies

Goals

1. Stop renting
2. Write a book
3. Laser hair removal

Obsessions

1. Music
2. Making lists

3. Dolly Parton

Surprising facts about me
1. I have O-negative blood (i think)

2. I want to marry a canadian

3. Kangaroo is my favorite zoo animal

I'm tagging Lauren C., Brandon F., and Laura D.

Ocean Park, WA

We have a really beautiful country. The last few years I've tried to experience my 4th's of July in areas other than Salt Lake. I figure if I'm celebrating this great land, I oughta know what's here.
I went to Knoxville in 2004 and enjoyed their firework traditions with Billy, Teresa and Chandler (pre-Brielle). Let me tell you the excitement that comes from cramming hundreds of thousands of rednecks beneath the Sunsphere. They had a lot of live music, dead animals, body odor and a shaved ice stand that made my whole trip worth-while.
I went to Seattle in 2006 and watched fireworks over Puget Sound. It was cool to see all the sailboats anchored out in the water, floating on the fireworks' reflection.
This year, I went back to Washington state but this time I was on the coast. Long Beach Peninsula is 25 miles long, 2 miles wide and very fun!

Welcome to Ocean Park

The Long Beach parade was actually quite impressive. I wish I'd taken pictures of their synchronized grocery cart marching segment. Terry made all of us wear something funky to the parade. I don't know how Max got off so easy. Ayden was wearing a Wonder Woman wig (or something eerily similar) but wasn't happy with it.

Above: Avory, Terry, Ayden, Ryley, Jeni, me, Max.
Below: me trying to get warm...it was like 60 degrees and drizzly.

We did some of our own fireworks before dark. Ayden got scared by one of them and took off running...

He got a little braver with the smoke bombs once he saw Ryley jumping on them.

What happens when you tell five little boys they have to play inside? They turn into five little monkeys...

Ry-guy:

Ayden:

The Hammonds: (thanks for treating me to such a wonderful trip!)

Come to my bosom!

I've been enjoying a lot of concerts lately. So far this year I've seen Tally Hall & OneRepublic with Todd, Alan Jackson with Scott and am due for Sheryl Crow with Jess in August. Dolly will be in Sacramento soon and that one might be too tempting to pass-up but we'll see what the budget allows.

Now, we all know how much I adore Dolly, but I drool for only one country legend: Tim. Yes, Faith's Tim. He has "Faith" tattooed on his arm with a little heart dotting the "i" - so what! Jeni and I scored 8th row (with a price) and it was worth every penny. We passed through four lines of security personnel just to get to our seats and every time we showed them our tickets they would look at us, smile and nod - the only thing missing was the wink. But yeah, we were sumpen special. As soon as Tim took the stage, we did too. We got up close and not-quite-as-personal-as-we'd-hoped for but still touched the man! He would come by and reach down to us earthlings every so often. Jeni's arm is longer than mine and she kept blocking my chance and taking all the love for herself! He would grab her hand, skip over mine and grab the next tall hand. I finally triumphed by jumping and reaching as high as I could and grabbing his wrist, just above his right hand. Joy!

Yes, this is for real:

I didn't even have to zoom to take this picture.

There's that stupid Faith tattoo. I'm not worried about it though because he has enough money to get it laser-removed later.


Hold on, it gets better...


Possibly the best picture I've ever taken:

Princess Quiz

My mom suggested I post a picture of me. Here I am:

You Are Megara!

Charming and witty. You are always the first person to come up with a wisecrack. Sure, you have an attitude, but that's why people love you. You keep them on their toes. Sometimes you can be misleading, but always end up doing the right thing for the people you love.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

The Weepies

...are finally putting out a new album, hideaway, on April 22. Yes!

Plug for Dolly

Dolly's new album, Backwoods Barbie, will finally hit shelves Tuesday 26. I'm so excited! I've already listened to it and it is g-hood! I hope all of you will give it a try. It will be available on iTunes if you want to start light - with just a song or two. She does a fun cover version of Drives Me Crazy which will be familiar to everyone.
A few people have asked me, "Why Dolly?"
I think my love for Dolly stems from the fact that, contrary to her plastic appearance, she is absolutely genuine! I learned this by listening to interviews. She is funny! Better than this? She is NICE! As Dolly says, "I hope people realize there is a brain beneath the hair and a heart beneath the boobs." So true.
This isn't my favorite Johnny Carson interview with Dolly, but it still shows her cute personality. Carson loved Dolly. In fact, after her first time on the show, reviews were so great that she was invited to come back in less than a month's time. Pretty impressive.


Isn't she fabulous? I hope you enjoyed her!
This next interview is a bit longer, but it's recent. It recaps a lot of the things she's accomplished in the years since the Carson days. She's such a good person:

Weirdness

Maats "tagged" me and the name of the game is list six quirky things about yourself. As I am a fan of all things self-promoting (or self-degrading) I happily take part in this exercise.

1. When I was 6, my favorite movie was The Thorn Birds (technically, it’s a miniseries). It's about a Catholic priest who falls in love with a little girl, waits for her to grow up, then renounces his commitment to God in order to “be with her”. I watched this repeatedly. This no doubt raises a couple of questions: A.) Where was Mr. Rogers when all this was going on, and 2.) What sort of parents set up the VCR for their kindergartner to watch this? While this is not a "quirk" per se, I have no doubt it made some sort of lasting impression on me.
   

2. I've adopted a bad habit of getting up and leaving on a moment’s notice. My family has commented on my untimely and tactless exits from various get-togethers. I’ve offended several of them. Perhaps this is why my mother found it necessary to give me a tutorial on how to warn my host/hostess of this departure several minutes before it happens. If you're reading this, consider this your "warning".
   

3. I have what some refer to as an unnatural fascination with Dolly Parton. I will not take the opportunity to defend myself at this time. There will be plenty of time for this in the next couple of weeks as I promote her newest album, Backwoods Barbie, due in stores February 26. *wink, wink*
   

4. I don't wear deodorant. Wait! Before you navigate away from my page, let me explain. I really don't have a malodorous problem - I promise. My mom would have said something about it by now. She's not shy about these things ("Your hair looks like a rat's nest." etc.), so I'm sure she wouldn't mind saying I smell like one, if I did. What about an antiperspirant, you ask? When I work up a sweat playing sports or whatever, usually it's my face that gets hot. I'm not going to lather my face in deodorant, so don't go there.
   

5. I’m unable to sleep if my feet are cold or if I’m wearing socks. It’s a vicious cycle.

6. I deal with my suicidal tendencies by placing an order online through Zappos.com. Waiting for my merchandise to arrive in the mail gives me something to live for - just long enough for the suicidal thoughts to pass. Subsequently, I have a lot of shoes.

I’m kidding, folks! It's called retail therapy.
TAG!: Katie, Marielle and Shannon.