A train of thought . . . starting with stock photos

In the next city over, new homes are replicating like wildfire. There's a huge sign advertising the new neighborhood, and it has a picture of this young couple; the photo actually looks like a dental advertisement.

With the image of those pearly whites burned into my memory, I just couldn't help but notice the same photo at a gas station in Colorado when I was there this summer. I can't remember what they were advertising, but it sure wasn't a home.

The same thing happened with another guy in stock photos. So the couple picture was the same in both Utah and Colorado. But have you seen this man?



The man on the left is in so many stock photos, I'm convinced! I first saw him on a billboard, advertising the new Utah Jazz Ticket Buddy promotion. I then saw him on a couple websites. It's weird (a) that I looked at that billboard so closely and (b) that I now see this guy everywhere!

These random photos took my train of thought to glamour shots (chugga chugga choo coo, right?). When I was about 6 years old, my sister Jordan and her best friend (was it Taylor?) got glamour shots. I was really confused because I didn't understand that "shots" was another way to say "photos." I imagined a little of this:



I saw the pictures later (and was really jealous, I must admit, of the blue 80's prom dress, the mounds of hairspray, the red lipstick, and the boa) and thought the glamour "nurses" had given Jordan literal "shots" to make her look like that. I stayed far away from glamour shots because the beauty was just not worth the pain!

And the train of thought made its way to the final destination of funny advertisements. About a year ago I started noticing these outlandish advertisements popping up on Yahoo! mail. I just had to start saving them so that I could, you guessed it, show these beauties to all of you.

The first ad (which I didn't save but instead found the picture on Google) shows the cure for dark circles *IN CASE YOUR EYES LOOK LIKE THIS. They're not going to sell anything!



I'm afraid to say it, but nobody walks around with black football paint underneath their eyes!

And then this is for all those girls out there who are self-conscious about their small lips.



But make sure you don't get the wrong lip plumper! The results could be mortifying.



You could say I'm observant.

'Twas a Happy Halloween

I used to dress up every Halloween when I was little. My mom would make the cutest costumes, and I couldn't wait to show them off to my friends and neighbors. I was a Spice Girl one year (although I never even liked them, but my friends did!), a genie the next, a bumble bee, pumpkin--you name it, and my mom would make it!

In college I really slacked off. I made a feeble attempt at being Deb from Napoleon Dynamite (complete with caboodle, leggings, and side ponytail), a detective, a cowboy, and an iPod commercial (you know, the all-black, dancing character with the white headphones and iPod).

Here's what I pulled off this year . . .

A cow!?



Another cowgirl?! Being from Texas, I did lasso the longhorn, albeit fake longhorn, in two attempts.



A mime, you might think. No, this is just the beginning stage. We're getting closer.



Say hello to Keiko.



Konichiwa! Acting dollish--you know, how I usually do.



Adigato! The kimono had to come off so Keiko could dance. (You can see a pedometer at my hip--proof that I counted my steps for a full month for my wellness program at work.)



I fooled a lot of people. I'd never painted my face before for Halloween, so this was a special treat. I kind of liked the stares when I danced crazy because, unlike other dances, this time I was in disguise.

Catching some serious Zzzz's

Last night I headed to bed at 10:30. I was stoked about my decision because, as of late, I have been getting about seven hours of sleep during the week. It turns out eight and a half hours of sleep doesn't do the trick; I either need around seven or eight hours, but more than that requires at least nine. Needless to say, I was oddly dragging a little more than usual today.

Anyway, that's totally off the subject. Last night my poor, poor roommate lay in bed for over three hours because she couldn't fall asleep. I felt even worse because, let's face it, I get really into my sleep and maybe saw some logs for a few minutes. But just a couple--don't worry. Melissa said I didn't do that, but I did start talking in my sleep . . . and then started whispering sweet nothings. It was garbled, so it was literally 'nothings.' Since she hadn't fallen asleep by 1:30 (my designated chatter time), she busted up laughing and proclaimed, "Katy!"

I 'woke' up. "WHAT?"

"You were talking and then you started whispering," she told me.

"Oh, that's creepy," I replied, still sleeping.

"What's creepy?" she asked.

"That I started whispering."

She proceeded to keep talking to me, but sorry Charlie, I was out like a light.

I've been thinking about how I haven't been remembering my dreams lately, and this, of all things, makes me really sad. No need to fear, though. I had one last week that I can recall!

I dreamed that I sold my little car to a friend of mine, Alison. Alison is a little Asian who I went to high school with. Her ex-boyfriend is now an aerospace engineer, which basically translates into 'genius.' As a sidenote, Alison drives really close to the steering wheel. I dreamt that she had Brady move the steering wheel to the passenger side, and it was super low to the ground (even lower than now). I think I was actually really irritated in the dream because (a) Brady moved the steering wheel to the other side of the car--we're not in Europer! and (b) I sold the car (c) at a loss! But the funny part is that as I was driving to work the next morning (luckily it was just a dream and I still had Beyonce), I thought of the dream and, like a mad woman, started laughing hysterically--to myself.

I value my sleep and I don't know that a lot of people do. Get your sleep, people! It makes for more funny stories. :) Supposedly I laugh a lot in my sleep, too, and that's good for your health, right? Oh the endless number of benefits!

Check out the poll to the side. >

Sweet dreams. :)

Company Party

A few weeks ago my company started a Rock Band competition with teams playing each week for the 3 weeks leading up to the company party at a local waterpark. I must admit that it was pretty cool getting to play Rock Band at work for 3 weeks. My Guitar Hero skills have declined slightly since I haven't really played since my roommate (fellow Guitar Hero and biggest competition) went on her mission 17 months ago.

And then it came time for the summer party. Don't worry, my team got 7th out of 9 teams--it's fine. But we did win best make-up and won $100 (yes, we dressed up at work, and I drew a star and skull-and-crossbones tattoo on my arm, complete with heavy eyeliner)!



I redeemed by prize at the party last night, which was at a local waterpark. My sister Stacy and husband Pierce came to play with me, and we had a blast! No, we did not ride the same ride nearly 10 times so that we could touch the top with our foot . . .



That's not us, obviously, but that's the ride. The first time I stretched my foot to reach the top, I said, "Ohhh! I touched it!" I was about two feet away, but I had high hopes of touching it. I never touched it. I got a brutal cramp in my foot, though that lasted for the rest of the ride.

It then came time to announce employee giveaways. Pierce said he had a feeling my name would be called--of the hundreds of employees who were there, mine was one of 35 names called. Go figure! But we couldn't just walk up and claim our prize; it was a competition. We had to stand at the top of the wave pool holding a float, and when they said "go" we had to swim to the deep end and grab a floating ball. There were only 26 of them, so no guarantee that you'd win. Well it didn't start out well when I fell in 6-inch deep water. I later asked Stacy how I fell and she said that a boy next to me ran into me, so I fell into the guy on my other side, who in turn pushed me the other way, and boom! I found myself face in the water--second to last person in the race. Embarrassing! But I was probably the third person out of the water, so I'm going to go ahead and brush my shoulders off. I ended up winning a $200 GPS! The announcer (my boss) said, "Now you have no excuse to be late to work!" I didn't hear the punchline and just started to walk off the stage and then I heard, "I don't think she heard the joke." Nope. Sorry, Dave.

I came out a winner last night. With $25, a GPS, and 2 camping chairs (the employee gift), I definitely had a good night. Oh yeah, and I got to ride water slides and eat funnel cakes and dippin' dots--all for free! I love where I work.

Oh yeah, and I'm working at the Real Salt Lake game tonight and get to go to the game for free. :) We're playing a really good team from Mexico, Club America. Here's a pic of us volunteers in our sweet outfits from the first game in April.



I'm wearing about three layers in this picture because it's still really cold in April.

Road Trips

I went on two road trips this past week--one to Rupert, Idaho and one to Seattle, Washington. This is just a heads up that I'll be posting (with pics) soon!

That they might have joy

"Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy."

I usually don't touch on religious subjects here, but since my religion is part of my every being, I had to share that scripture.

Ever since I started driving home from work today, I've been repeating this scripture over and over in my head.

I hopped in my car after work, turned on the radio, and listened to the first song on my CD: "Boys of Summer" by Don Henley. It got me pumped for summer. I rolled down my windows, turned up the music, and started cruising. A few minutes later I rolled my windows back up because it was too choppy on the freeway (thanks, Kari), and I kept on cruising. The mountains and sky were so ethereal today, and the scripture popped back into my head. "Men are, that they might have joy."

I think we get so caught up in life and somehow just end up going through the motions that we forget that the purpose of this life is to follow our Savior's example so that we can return to the presence of our Father in Heaven. While we're in this probationary state, we are to have joy. There are ups and downs, but our Father is so aware of each one of our circumstances that we have no reason to despair; he will lift us, strengthen us, and mold us how he sees fit.

I've started running for 30 minutes every other day. I'm not a runner by any means, but I figure that I don't spend enough time outside what with working eight hours each day, the hour-long commute I make to and from work, and the rest of the time being spent with friends. Last week I left work for lunch and decided not to take the freeway--I don't know my way around the area aside from the freeway, but I thought it'd be fine to get lost . . . and not stress. I went to the park and swung on the swings for half an hour while talking to a friend who lives in another state. Tonight I walked to the grassy hill on campus and lay on the grass while the sun was setting, just trying to soak up the Vitamin D.

Life isn't meant to be monotonous. We're here to learn, to read and study from the best books, to create beautiful things, to love, to grow, to lift and strengthen one another, to become our best selves. And what better place to do that than on this gorgeous green earth? I guess I'm just suggesting that one way we can escape life and enjoy the creations around us is to explore nature. One of my absolute favorite things is a Texas thunderstorm, and though I miss those, I have the picturesque mountains right outside my bedroom window, painted on a perfect light blue backdrop. You just have to smile and be happy about where you're at in life.

I understand I sound a little preachy--I'm sorry. It's always nice to think about things from an eternal perspective and to remember that sometimes all we can do is keep breathing.

"Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy."

Momma, I ain't goin to work no more

The only way I know how to get to work is via the highway. The main highway here stresses me out, though! First there was the bird incident. Now this.

But before I get to that, let me tell you a little something something about drivers here. For some reason the HOV lane is a free for all where drivers come into and leave the lane at their leisure. In less than a minute, I saw 5 cars cross the double-white lane of the HOV lane--I don't get it!

In Texas, when you see a sign that reads "Road Work Ahead; Speed limit 55; Fines Double," you usually slow down to 55. Here you drive on your merry way like the signs, crane, big concrete cylinders, and freshly painted lane lines aren't there! Can someone explain this to me?

Anyway, I'll get to the point. This morning a highway patrolman pulled in front of me on the highway, and I drove up next to a semi. Next thing I knew, I heard a POW! or BANG! or POP! and I was instantly freaked out. The first time I ever drove on the highway alone my tire blew out, so I knew that it didn't happen this morning because it wasn't the same. I think I saw metal fly this morning, and I definitely saw the rubber. The semi's tire blew out RIGHT next to me, and I drive a tiny tinker toy where the top of the car probably doesn't even reach the top of the semi's tire. My heart started racing. The highway patrolman pulled over, so I followed suit, and the semi pulled behind me. We assessed the damage, and nothing had happened to my car that we could see--doesn't hurt to check. He said something about how it always sounds like a gunshot when that happens, and I couldn't describe it better. A gunshot right outside my window!

I'm fine and I got to work okay. The most damage I could see was the CD I broke on my way out the passenger side of my car when I pulled over to the shoulder.

Dang you, highway.