Uniquely Me.

This is me.

1. All of my hangers must be the same. same color. same style.
2. The clothes on those hangers are color coordinated and sorted by type of clothing.
3. I love Great Harvest...I go there to buy something just for the free piece of bread.
4. I want to be a photographer when I grow up.
5. My little sister is my hero.
6. I plan out what I will say in a conversation. especially on the phone.
7. I worry too much.
8. I love the rain.
9. Fall is my favorite season. football. hoodies. hot chocolate.
10. I have a phobia of the telephone.
11. I have never been gambling.
12. I can't stand having dishes in the sink.
13. I have a really hard time telling people how I feel.
14. I do everything I can to avoid confrontation.
15. I am the queen of the silent treatment.
16. My perfect day will always include seeing my family.
17. I don't give up. even when I should.
18. I am a water conservationist.
19. I have a fear of heights.
20. I want to go sky diving.
21. I love birthdays.
22. I don't like when people see me cry.
23. I love road trips.
24. I get claustrophobic.
25. I like me time.
26. I prefer not to go more than 3 days without seeing those I love.
27. I want to be a mom more than you'll ever know.
28. I like routines. but sometimes I get stuck in them.
29. I love peanut butter and banana sandwiches.
30. I can't wait to run a marathon.
31. Seeing a picture of Noelle never ceases to make my day.
32. Sometimes I just like to sit in silence.
33. I bruise easily.
34. I love to dress up
35. I eat cereal with chocolate milk.
36. I love to sing.
37. I love to watch the stock market.
38. I love budgeting.
39. I'm pretty sure my calling in life is to be a nutritionist.
40. I would rather not wear make-up.
41. I love car ride chats.
42. I love sweets. pretty much all of them.
43. I clean when I'm upset.
44. I love spoon me.
45. I have great hair.
46. I am competitive.
47. I love cooking anything and everything.
48. I have high expectations for who I think I should be.
49. I love notes/cards.
50. I want to be happy. everyday :)

2 Years and One Crazy Ride Later...

Me: Did you think two years ago...
Mr. Army: Nope (shaking head with amazement)
Me: Yeah, me either.
Mr. Army: (takes my hand and kisses it)

I was thinking about all that has happened in the last two years and how much it has helped me grow. I am grateful for Mr. Army and all the things he has taught me. Here is an ode to us.

• We are the only two people I know that can fake fight and end up laughing so hard we cry as we try to stay mad.

• I can't stay mad at Mr. Army, I just can't. And he just doesn't really ever get mad at me, which I enjoy.

• We are truly predictable no matter how hard we try to be spontaneous...Aristo's (best greek ever) and Arrested Development = a perfect night to us.

• We are amused by the simplest things. Give us a melted candle and we can spend an hour dipping our fingers and other objects in it to see the shapes we can make.

• We never listen to music in the car and sometimes I take the long way home just so we can talk longer.

• We don't cuddle in the summer because I'm a sauna. I've learned to deal with it and to love Fall even more.

• We love to make dinner/food together. Anything from our favorite Fettucine Alfredo to Chicken Tikka Masala to Breakfast Burritos. Usually I end up handing over the reigns to Mr. Army, he is so good about it :)

• We are never on time...that is just something I have come to terms with.

• Utah football will always bring us together.

• We both get "wildhair ideas" as I like to call them. Usually mine are to make some crazy new dish or to completely change our diet or run a marathon. His are more along the lines of making a zipline in the backyard or making our own big candle out of the mini ones or budgeting!

• We are frugal, and we love it. We love that we understand each other. Sometimes we can get a little out of line, but when it comes down to it, we'd rather make hamburger helper than eat at a restaurant.

• We are good road trippers. We don't get sick of each other easily...this is a huge feat for both of us since we are such private people.

• We love to tease each other. The more time progresses, the more we have to tease about and the more fun it becomes!

• We don't have to be together all the time. Mr. Army's phrase is "I know you get bored with me sometimes, so when that happens, you can hang out with other people." I have yet to be bored with him, but it's good to know I have my options.

• And most importantly, we're a team!

This was the first picture we had taken together at the Xi Barn Dance in October of 2006.
Mr. Army's Birthday 2007- This is the awesome quilt I made him (with much needed help from Reb, thank you!) I think he likes it.
Our first camping trip just the two of us...Canyonlands- April 2007
Trip to Boston - June 2007

George Foreman S'mores - Summer 2007First Utah Football Game (2nd Row!) - September 2007


Wasatch Christmas Party - December 2007

My Birthday - June 2008
GO TEAM!

Quiz...Modified to Fit.

So this quiz is supposed to be a Husband quiz, but I don't have a husband therefore, I am calling it my boyfriend quiz :)

Boyfriend Quiz: How well do you know your boyfriend? Answer these questions about him and find out:

1. Sitting in front of the TV, what's on the screen? UFC (or any MMA fighting), Arrested Development or the Office

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Ranch and on certain occasions Blue Cheese

3. What's one food he doesn't like? Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Spaghetti

4. You go out to a bar. What does he order? I don't think Mr. Army has ever been to a bar and every time we have gone out he has only had water...EXCEPT at the Boston Cheesecake Factory, he got Strawberry Lemonade. And yes, I do remember everything.

5. Where did he go to high school? Davis High

6. What size shoe does he wear? 8

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? He can be kind of a pack rat actually. At the moment I think he has like four computers that are just sitting on the kitchen table. Useful, I know. But if he had the funds to do so, I think he would have more guns.

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? He always wants to buy ham, which I am not a huge fan of, but he seems to like it.

9. What would this person eat everyday if he could? As of late, greek food. He loves it. But he is a big fan of cheese, Brie and Gouda to be exact. That and blueberries.

10. What is his favorite cereal? He doesn't eat cereal. He likes this oatmeal called Dee's Cereal, which is crazy delicious but looks disgusting.

11. What would he never wear? Hmm...tight straight leg pants. He can go preppy but a polo is as far as we go.

12. What is his favorite sports team? The Utes. He watches NFL, but isn't partial to anyone that he has ever made known to me.

13. Who will he vote for? He is pretty conservative and I know he has issues with Obama...

14. Who is his best friend? Me, Nick, and then I would go with Lacy

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? I used to do this excited voice, it drove him crazy. Other than that, I'm a worrier, and sometimes I think my driving scares him.


16. How many states has he lived in? Two, Washington and Utah...and then he lived in Germany

17.What is his heritage? German

18. You bake him a cake for his birthday, what kind of cake? German Chocolate, though he would eat pretty much whatever I gave him unless it was white chocolate. "It isn't even chocolate!" -straight from him.

19. Did he play sports in high school? He was in Debate. Outside of the high school team, he played soccer and did karate.

20. What could he spend hours doing? Walking around the Home Depot. One time when we first started dating he was 2 HOURS late picking me up because he had lost track of time in the store and I didn't want to sound needy and therefore waited forever to text message him.

21. Does he belong to any men's organizations? Um, not that I am aware of.

If Mr. Army actually read this I would have him see how well I did, but I'm just going to say I'm amazing :)

My Life Motto...

Well, here I am again with another epiphany. If you have talked to me much in the last two weeks you will know that I have a new life motto...

"Live your life so that you can look back and know you lived it with dignity." - me

Since my motto isn't as elegant as some quotes I found on dignity, I will show you some of my favorites.

"I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence."
Frederick Douglas

"Human rights rest on human dignity. The dignity of man is an ideal worth fighting for and worth dying for. "
Robert Maynard

"Dignity consists not in possessing honors, but in the consciousness that we deserve them."
Aristotle

"Where is there dignity unless there is honesty?"
Cicero

"Whatever games are played with us, we must play no games with ourselves."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

I think these quotes pretty much sum up how I feel about my life.

Recently, I took this communications seminar that was given by Val Baldwin and we took this quiz on how we respond to conflict (either silence or violence). My scores were a little out of the ordinary because I was equally silent and violent. My interpretation is...I tend to be more violent in "home life" conflict and silent in work conflict, but can be silent for home as well. Anyways, I have really wanted to work on my communication skills so I don't resort to silence OR violence when a conflict does arise.

If you know me well you know that I don't have the best track record for expressing my true feelings about situations...I tend to not trust people and the potential of a bad reaction hinders the possibility of actually telling someone how I really feel. After re-reading that I just thought "Wow, basically you spent the last 22 years lying to people to either spare their feelings or your own."

I'm lame, but guess what, I've had a chance to redeem myself and work the next 80 years (yes, I'm going to live to be over 100) to becoming a more effective communicator. I digress, I'm blabbing.

What it all comes down to...what really stuck with me from the seminar was...do not EVER use personal attacking. It is common and I know I've done it before, but no more. The recent fiasco that has plagued my existence has helped me; I have kept my dignity. I have not once personally attacked this person though she has chose to do so to me. I have kept all defenses to the situation at hand. I have not rehashed or brought in unnecessary points to be used against her.

I feel amazing about that fact. end of story.

Someone Else's Life...

So, the last week, I feel that I have been living in some alternate universe and have switched places with a total stranger that is about 14 years old and has drama seeping from her pores.
I have never been so appalled at what lengths people will go to in order to receive the outcome they desire. I know I am not the most rational person on the planet, don't worry Mr. Army has confirmed this, but even Mr. Lets Keep Kati in Line agreed that I was put through quite the whirlwind of unnecessary drama so that one person could feel justified in what she thought was right.
I am not saying that people are not entitled to their own opinions, in fact, I am in favor of people having opinions and expressing those opinions, but that's the end of it. Tell me your opinion, give me your criticism, tell me how much you agree or disapprove, but that is as far as you have the right to go. I feel that I should be able to live my life the way that I choose without other people feeling the need to interfere by causing unnecessary altercations that will get me to "change my behavior".
This last week has been nothing short of a complete shock. Mr. Army and I will sit on the couch at the end of the day in amazement at how much worse this situation is getting. I don't know how it will all work out, but it will...eventually.

The problem I see is...how do you stand up for what you know to be right when it stressing you out so much you can't see straight? I am not a quitter and I won't back down, but the emotionally discord that is resonating throughout my life is starting to become a bit much. If anyone has any ideas on how to stand up to those fighting against you while living your life...please let me know.

On East High School, On East High School!

1. Did you date someone from your school? People always thought I was dating Dustin and for most of high school I hoped that I was dating Dustin...but gay is still gay anyway you look at it :)

2. What kind of car did you drive? I drove quite the array of vehicles, but settled on the red Jeep Wrangler... 3. What was the most embarrassing moment of HS? I'm sure this isn't the most embarassing moment, but everyone remembers passing notes, right? Well...I think our friends were a little out of control about the whole ordeal. Anyways, the day Star Wars came out in theaters we all had bought tickets to see an afternoon showing. The kid I was totally in love with got ahold of some notes I had written about how much I liked him. Being the freak that he is, he decided to show the whole group of about 15 people my notes. I was mortified and kind of always thought that we would have dated in high school had he not seen those "love notes". Oh well, I dated him after high school and it was no good so I am way over the embarrassment. 4. Were you a party animal? I was the life of every party...okay, that's not true. But here are some pictures that show my attempts of being the life of the party haha.

5. Were you considered a flirt? Probably not...more like the DC prez (yep, drama club president is how one group of guy friends referred to me)

6. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Junior Choir and A'cappella Secretary...I love singing, but looking back I think "wow, we really were nerdy." It was a big thing at East.

7. Were you a nerd? Refer to above.

8. Were you on any varsity teams? I played Varsity Lacrosse as a freshman...don't kid yourself, it was nothing prestigious, we weren't that good.

9. Did you get suspended/expelled? No, but I'm sure the adminstration would have, had they found out that I forged excusal notes for like 20% of our senior class. Pretty sure on record they have more of my signature than my parent's.

10. Can you still sing the fight song? I was going to type yes, but as I sit here, I can't remember all the words. haha, whoops.

11. Who were your favorite teachers? Anne Applegate, Anne Story and Suzan Lake

12. Where did you sit during lunch? The wall...thanks to this nice high school musical picture you can see the wall at the very top in the back.13. School mascot? East High Leopards!

14. Did you go to homecoming, and with whom? Yep yep...hmm, Junior year - Dustin, Senior Year- Robby Boyd (that was at Timpview though)

15. If you could go back and do it again, would you? Not if my life depended on it. Sometimes I miss the predictability and the lack of responsibility, BUT I would never take lack of responsibility for added drama...oh wait, who am I kidding, I am living with high school drama.

16. What do you remember most about graduation? Jamie and I driving to the school for the graduation party which we did not want to go to, but turned out to be a lot more fun than we anticipated. Oh, and I thought "I hope nothing changes after high school. I love my friends." Bah, everything changes, which turned out to be a good thing.

17. Where did you go senior skip day? I'd like to think that every day I sluffed was senior sluff day...therefore, anywhere between Dees to the Swensons to Baja Fresh to anywhere else we could find.

18. Were you in any clubs? Key Club, National Honors Society, S.P.O.T.S., I think I am missing a couple...oh well.

19. Have you gained some weight since then? Nope, actually I lost weight ironically enough.

20. Who was your prom date? Well...Junior Prom Sophomore year- Joel Stice, Jr. Prom Junior Year- Jordan Swenson, Jr. Prom Senior Year- Sam Richards. Senior Prom Sophomore year- Jordan Swenson, Sr. Prom Jr. Year- (I don't remember), Sr. Prom Senior Year - Dustin

21. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? How about I get passed the 5 year first? Which I probably won't go to because...come on, if I already see the people from high school that I want to see.

22. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself? Don't try so hard. High School means pretty much nothing in the real world. Relax...life gets better :)

Tag some people: Lisa Western and Chelsey and anyone else that wants to!

Tutor Anyone?

So, in the last week and a half I have found that Cost Accounting and I have not been the best of friends...I am going to have to work pretty hard on this one. If anyone is pretty good at cost accounting and is willing to help me out, let me know...

I know I have really only completed the first week and can defintely step it up given what has been going on in the personal realm of my life, but you can never been too cautious.