Christmas Prank

A couple posts ago I blogged about a prank my friends pulled on me with my broken car window. Retaliation has begun...

I gift wrapped one of the pranksters desks...including everything on top ie. computer, keyboard, mouse, phone, pictures...even her cell phone she left at work.

Then I ribboned off the desk area with a gift tag...

I worked on mastering my wrapping technique.

Here's the end result.

More pranks to come...

Whovillation

Halloween is fast becoming one of my favorite holidays; mostly because I work with some awesome people who give in to my crazy demands to dress the department up in a theme. The past 2 years have been pretty good...but this year tops it.

Not only did I get everyone to participate, but we even had a Whovillation and invited our reservation team to join us for a Christmas dinner including a roast beast.

To quote the Grinch himself "A holiday Whobe Whatey?"

Welcome to Whoville

We decked out the office in Christmas. We got a lot of people upset with us the day before because they didn't know what we were doing. Many yelled...it was quite funny.

Here's the entire gang...including the Mayor, little Cindi Lou-Who, the Grinch with his dog Max and several Whoville residents.

I was lit up from head to toe...literally. I used battery powered Christmas lights on my skirt and in my hair.

My mom did my awesome hair. (Yes, that's my real hair.) I had 4 styrofoam cups in the middle to keep it standing tall all day.

This is last year's group. Only 3 of us participated. (I think the others felt left out so that is why we had so many participate this year.) We came as SNL and Mad TV characters: Mary-Katherine Gallagher "Super Star", "Coffee Talk" Lady and Stewart. We had fun being "in character" all day.

This was the first year's pic. We were super heroes and villains. I of course was my favorite...Wonder Woman.

I found a surprise...

As I was walking to my car tonight I noticed from a distance that there was something sitting by my car tire that looked like garbage. As I got closer it was the remains of what looked liked a brown bagged lunch. I was annoyed that someone left me their trash.

But when I reached my car, I found more than just garbage...

Someone was sleeping in my car!!!!!

Turns out it was a dummy and I was being pranked.


I will admit that I jumped at first. Who wouldn't if they found what looked like a person sleeping in the backseat of their car? After the initial panic (and testing to make sure it really was a fake)...I immediately had my suspicions of who would have done this. Turns out I was dead on.

Back story:
I still have not gotten my broken window fixed in my car and my friends at work were giving me a hard time since it had been several months since it had been broken. I admit it...I am a procrastinator; especially when it comes to car repairs. I drove through an entire winter on bald tires because I just never "got around" to getting new ones. (I am happy to report that this winter will be much safer.) I did try once to get my window fixed...but they didn't have the right window in stock and I haven't really tried since. Anyways...because of the crazy weather change, we were chatting yesterday in the office about my window and one of my friends joked that some bum could climb in my car to get out of the rain and take a nap. And so the prank was born.

I applaud my friends...this was a great prank! I'm going to have so much fun paying each one of them back! Ü

Halloween Costume Ideas

Halloween is fast approaching...and I thought I would offer some helpful ideas for costumes in case you were having a difficult time finding that PERFECT costume. All three of these ideas were generously inspired by Lady GaGa:

If you want to be a bride...but are looking for something a little bit more unique, here's the costume for you.

If you want to be a princess with a devilish side, this one is for you.

This last one is my ultimate favorite. If you're a huge fan of The Wizard of Oz, and playing the Cowardly Lion is your ultimate dream...this costume is hands down ideal!

(All 3 outfits were worn by Lady GaGa at the 2009 VMA's. I'm so glad girls today have such a great role model to look up to.)

Buses & Trains

I came across a song today that relates to my life at the moment:

Hey Mom

Why didn't you tell me

Why didn't you teach me a thing or two

You just let me go

Out into the World

You never thought to share what you knew

So I walked under a bus

I got hit by a train

Keep falling in love

Which is kinda the same

I've sunk out at sea

Crashed my car, gone insane

And it felt so good

I want to do it again

Hey Mom

Why didn't you warn me

Coz about boys is something i should have known

They`re like chocolate cake

Like cigarettes

I know they're bad for me

But I just can't leave 'em alone

So I walked under a bus

I got hit by a train

Keep falling in love

Which is kinda the same

I've sunk out at sea

Crashed my car, gone insane

And it felt so good

I want to do it again

Hey Mom

Since we're talking

What was it like when you were young

Has the world changed

Or is it still the same

A man can kill and still be the sweetest love.

So I walked under a bus

I got hit by a train

Keep falling in love

Which is kinda the same

I've sunk out at sea

Crashed my car, gone insane

And it felt so good

I want to do it again

I like the last two lines the most...."and it felt so good, I want to do it again." So even though I keep dating idiots, I'm getting back on the horse until I fall in love with the right one.

It's my favorite time of year

Football Season!

Go Utes!

Stupid Vandals!

Some jerk decided to break into my car and steal my haircutting case from the backseat while I was having Sunday dinner at my grandparents house.

The jokes on them...what I'm sure they thought was a computer was just a bunch of combs, clippers and scissors. But now I have to replace all of my stuff before I can do anymore hair :(

I hope they cut themselves while trying to steal my stuff...Rotten THIEVES!

Orange County Swap Meet

The Orange County Swap Meet is a favorite in the Grow family. My cousin and I decided to go down for the day (benefits of working for an airline) and do some shopping. Our flight left at 7:30am so I was up bright and early Saturday morning. Unfortunatetly Kate's alarm didn't go off and I had to wake the entire household to get her up. Sorry Em and Riley! Not to worry though...we made our flight in time.

I don't know what it was about us and airports that day, but we kept coming across some strange men. On our way down to California, the TSA agent told Kate she couldn't fly because "he doesn't let the cute ones go." This was supposed to come across as flattering I'm sure...but it just came across as creepy. Then on our way back (waiting in line again) the guy in front of me was on his phone dancing around (he couldn't keep still). I didn't even know he had looked at me, but as soon as he hung up his phone, he turned to me and said "Your eyes are CRAZY tight!" Um, thanks? This obviously became the quote of the day. hahaha

Whenever we go we always find something unique that we haven't seen before. As you know from my earlier posts I love giraffe print anything. So my find for the day was a carry on luggage case in giraffe print with red lining. I LOVE it! We actually saw a lot of zebra print luggage pieces and were on the hunt for giraffe print. We finally found it at the end of the day.

Kate's great find was a hand-painted pink parasol with flowers painted on it. She got it for her sister's upcoming bridals since the parasol happened to be the exact colors of the wedding. It is going to look so good in her photos.

We rented a car for the day...but did not expect to rent a little fire engine! But that is what we got. We were looking hot in this thing! Well...not really, but we tried. It was actually a really hidious looking car. And of course we had to take a photo with it. I normally drive a manual car and so was not used to driving an automatic. This became very apparant to Kate when we were on the freeway and the car in front of me started to break. On impulse my left foot when to push in the clutch but was instead pressing on the brake which made Kate lung forward in her chair, drop the GPS and hit her head on the dashboard. OOPS. Luckily no harm was done to the car or to Kate's head.

We had a fews hours after the swap meet before we had to head back to the airport, so we thought we would drive to the beach. But we completely forgot that it was the end of June which meant high season for tourists. So while we battled traffic to get to the beach, there wasn't a parking spot for us once we arrived. So we had to turn around and spend the next hour fighting traffic to get back to the airport. But we did get to see the beach on the PCH Highway.

We ended the day by stopping at In N' Out Burger for a quick bite before we headed back home. How better to end a great day?

Sisters

Last Sunday my sister and I took some spring pictures in my parent's yard.

This is a great shot of Steph...very pretty. The wind always works in her advantage when taking pictures.

We are two complete opposites in every imagineable way; from our looks to our interests, but I couldn't ask for a better sister :) Love ya Steph!

Girls Night Out

Bowling: $12

Greasy food at the lanes: $10

Getting silly and laughing uncontrollably with good friends: PRICELESS

Girls night out is something I look forward to every month. Even though not everyone could make it this time, those of us that did had a great time. I love being able to let my hair down and get silly without caring.

Thanks girls for a great night...see you next month!

Mommy 101

This past weekend I had a little glimpse into what motherhood is like. I got to babysit my 1 year old niece for the weekend while her parents went off to Las Vegas. It was a great experience...we had so much fun and she is the easiest baby I've ever watched.

But I did learn some very valuable lessons or should I say some things I can hopefully perfect by the time I have a little one running around.

#1 - Remember to make time for a diaper change even when you have a hectic schedule. I was running around on Sunday picking up my sister before church, running back home because I had lost one of Cali's new shoes I had bought the previous day and then trying to find the new church building. I wasn't even thinking about how long it had been since I had changed her diaper. And at the beginning of our last meeting of the day (Relief Society) I felt something wet on my skirt. And it wasn't just a little wet...I was covered in her diaper overflow.

#2 - Kids don't follow YOUR schedule. Cali had slept in until 10am on Saturday morning, so on Sunday I figured I would get up by 9am...get showered and dressed by 10am and she would be ready to get up so I could get her ready. Didn't happen. She was up by 9:15am...so I had to stick her in her high chair and feed her breakfast while I finished getting ready. (BTW...I totally understand why mom's don't always shower everyday.)

#3 - Kids like to eat anything off the floor. This one I already knew, but thought I would reiterate. I was constantly pulling paper, wrappers, food from who-knows-where, and whatever else out of her mouth.

#4 - Find shoes that stay ON their little feet. As I previously mentioned in my #1 I had bought Cali some really cute sandals to wear to church. But they didn't make it there. I had lost one that morning and didn't figure it out until we were on our way to church. I thought for sure it was in the yard somewhere...but come to find out it didn't even make it out of the house.

#5 - There's no easy way to avoid the weather when your car is parked outside and you are strapping in a child. I'm still trying to figure out a solution for this one. When it was time to leave the house on Sunday it was pouring rain. I was carrying 2 bags and Cali so I couldn't hold an umbrella. As we ran out to the car, I started buckling Cali in her car seat. My back was outside in the rain getting wetter and wetter by the second. I haven't discovered a way of strapping in a child fast with all of the straps and buckles that come in a car seat. By the time I got into the car my whole backside was drenched.

#6 - If you're looking for a fast dinner away from home, drive-through is the only way to go (if you're by yourself). I knew Cali liked pizza so on Saturday night I thought Little Caesars would be easy. That is until I realized you have to go INSIDE to get the pizza. There was no way I could carry Cali, my purse and diaper bag PLUS a pizza. I would inevidably drop something and it most likely would have been the pizza.

#7 - One year olds don't like to hold their feet still for anything...especially to have their toes painted. I thought it would be cute to paint Cali's toes for Sunday with her new sandals. But I got only 2 toes out of 10 painted before she lost complete interest and started to scream when I tried to hold her foot still to paint the others. What should have only taken 2 minutes ended up taking 45 minutes. I had to quickly paint one toe at a time and then wait a while so she wouldn't fight me right off the bat when I tried to paint another one.

#8 - Toys are a great distraction when changing a diaper. Like a lot of kids, Cali doesn't like to have her diaper changed. So to keep the screaming to a minimum I would hand her a toy or the remote control (which is her favorite) to distract her while I changed her diaper. Worked like a charm...most of the time.

#9 - Naps are AMAZING! This is a great time to do all the things you can't do while the baby is awake. For instance, tidying up the house, doing some dishes, reading a book or taking a nap yourself. But I found the thing I always did while she was napping was going to the bathroom. I never found a good time to use the bathroom while she was awake...I guess I was afraid of what she would be doing while I was in there. So this was the best time for me to use the facilities.

#10 - Laundry is endless. Kids are kids and they're going to get dirty. But you don't realize how dirty YOU'RE going to be. I can usually get away with doing a couple loads of laundry a week for myself (if that). But that is just not the case when you have a little one who is constantly wiping food, goobers and who-knows-what else on you all the time. And not to mention when they have an accident while they are sitting on your lap. If you're not changing their clothes all the time, you are changing your own.

I have to take my hat off to all those mom's out there. You just don't realize how much work is really involved in taking care of little ones until you do it. (And I only did it for a couple of days.) I found it bitter sweet when I was leaving Cali last night. I was really tired and excited to sleep in my own bed. But I had so much fun spending time with her that I was a little sad. People kept asking me all weekend if I was ready to be a mom. And although I know it is a TON of work...I think I am. :)

Cake Bag

My friend Terry and I have always loved giraffe print and it all started from our San Juan, Puerto Rico trip where we got matching giraffe bags...

Then we discovered some giraffe print shoes and had to get them...

So it's no surprise that for her birthday I made her a giraffe print cake bag...


Thanks Sue for the great idea! I think it turned out pretty well...and it tasted good too.

Summer-itis

Summer is almost here! The sunshine is calling my name and I am having a hard time concentrating at work...being locked indoors all day long staring out the window. I wish we could get summer off from work like kids do from school. I would be outside from morning till night...soaking up the warm sun...drinking nice cold lemonade...eating smores by the campfire...playing a game or two of family baseball in the backyard...but I'm determined to make the most of the summertime I do get. I'll just have to figure out how to squeeze all the fun in between my work hours.

Quiz about me...

I saw this quiz on Kate's blog and thought it was pretty fun.

1. Last beverage→Cherry coke
2. Last phone call→Christine telling me she was waiting at the movie theater
3. Last text message→Tiffanie
4. Last song you listened to→So Small by Matt Giraud (American Idol contestant...my fave)
5. Last time you cried→Wednesday

HAVE YOU EVER:
6. Dated someone twice →Seriously contemplated it
7. Been cheated on? →Sorta...I guess yes
8. Kissed someone & regretted it? → No
9. Lost someone special?→Yes
10. Been depressed?→Yes
11. Been drunk?→Nope

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS:
12. Red
13. Sage green
14. Brown/pink

THIS YEAR HAVE YOU:
15. Made new friends→Yes
16. Fallen out of love - No
17. Laughed until you cried →Yes, one of my favorite things to do
18. Met someone who changed you→ No
19. Found out who your true friends were→Yes...it's been tested a little too much lately
20. Found out someone was talking about you → Yes...but my new favorite quote is "what other people think about you is none of your business"
21. Kissed anyone on your friend's list→ No

TRUTH
22. How many kids do you want to have→It used to be 6...but the older I get the number goes down. I would say probably 4
23. Do you have any pets →Yes, 2 dogs
24. Do you want to change your name→No...it's an okay name and not too popular
25. What did you do for your last birthday→Had dinner with the fam...I don't remember anything else
26. What time did you wake up today? 7am
27. What were you doing at midnight last night?→In bed sound asleep
28. Name something you CANNOT wait for→For the next chapter in my life to begin
29. Last time you saw your father→Sunday
30.What is one thing you wish you could change about your life→ I wish I wasn't so shy and could just strike up conversations with anyone I wanted
31. What are you listening to right now →Soul Mate by Natasha Bedingfield
32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom →Yes
33. What's getting on your nerves right now? →My dog yiping

PERSONAL:
34. What's your full name →Stacey Lynn
35. Relationship Status →Single
36. Zodiac sign →Capricorn
37. Male or female→ Female
38. Primary School→Uintah and La Tierra
39. High school →Mission Viejo, Highland and Jordan
40. Hair color →Brown
41. Long or short →Long but not long enough...I just cut 2 1/2 inches off :(
42. Height →5' 6"
43. Do you have a crush on someone? →Do celebrities count?
44. What do you like about yourself?→I'm a positive person and have a good sense of humor...life is supposed to be enjoyed, even when it's rough
45. Piercings →One in each ear
46. Tattoos →None
47. Righty or lefty →Righty...though I do play cards with my left hand

FIRSTS :
48. First surgery →Hasn't happened yet
49. First piercing →My ears when I was 5...my mom had to bribe me
50. First tattoo →Don't have one...never will, don't like em'
51. First best friend →Stephanie
52. First sport you joined →Basketball...Jr. Jazz
53. First pet →Rusty our dog
54. First vacation→Disneyland
55. First concert →Neil Diamond...don't be jealous!
56. First crush→Jordan
57. First alcoholic drink→None...unless you count the sorbet that had wine in it. The waiter brought it to cleanse the pallat between courses and I didn't know it had anything in it. Leo thought it was pretty funny.

RIGHT NOW:
58. Eating →Nada
59. Drink → Nothing
60. I'm about to → Watch a movie
61. Listening to →iTunes
62. Waiting for → Warm weather...the sun keeps playing tricks on us!
63. Want kids? →Most definitely
64. Want to get married?→Yes
65. Careers in mind? →Mom, small business owner...either ColdStone or party planner/catering-bakery, hair stylist

WHICH IS BETTER:
66. Lips or eyes →Eyes
67. Hugs or kisses →I like both
68. Shorter or taller →taller
69. Older or Younger →I prefer older but have dated younger
70. Romantic or spontaneous →Romantic
71. Nice stomach or nice arms → Probably arms
72. Tattoos or piercings?→None
73. Sensitive or loud →Sensitive...but still a manly man
74. Hook-up or relationship →Relationship
75. Trouble maker or hesitant→Trouble maker

HAVE YOU EVER :
76. Kissed a stranger →No but I would have if he was staying at the same hotel
77. Drank hard liquor →Nope
78. Lost glasses/contacts →Not that I remember
79. Cried yourself to sleep→Yes :(
80. Danced in the rain→I don't know if you could actually call it "dancing"...but yes
81. Broken someones heart →Unintentionally
82. Had your own heart broken →Yes
83. Been arrested → Nope
84. Turned someone down→Yes
85. Cried when someone died → Yes
86. Liked a friend more then just a friend →Yes

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
87. Yourself → Yes I do
88. Miracles → Oh yes!
89. Love at first sight →Not at first sight...but maybe at first conversation
90. Heaven → Absolutely
91. Santa Claus → Technically no...but it's always fun to pretend
92. Kissing on the first date →Depends on the connection
93. Angels → Yes

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
94. Is there one person you want to be with right now? No
95. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time? →Are you kidding? Too much work...I can only focus my attention on one guy at a time
96. Do you believe it’s possible to remain faithful forever?→Definitely
97. Where is your favorite place to vacation? Big cities I've recently discovered
98. What's the one thing you cannot live without?→My family
99. What is your biggest pet peeve?→Walking around barefoot at work...I don't even do that in my own house!
100. One thing that most people don’t know about you → I'm terrified I'm going to end up alone...I put up a brave front

The Phone Call No One Wants...

Monday night I was at home watching a movie when my brother called me. When I answered the phone, this is what I heard "I need you to come over here right away. Something's wrong with Cali and the ambulance is on the way!" Immediately I rushed out the door scared to death about what's happening to my little 1 year old niece.

When I arrived at their house there was an ambulance and firetruck outside and as I approached the door I saw through the window my sister-in-law in tears. I ran inside to find my niece lifeless on the floor with the EMT's hovering over her taking her vitals. She was white as a ghost! (An image I don't want to see again but at the same time cannot get out of my head.)

My sister-in-law told me she had just put Luke in the bath; when she came into the living room she found Cali on the living room floor having a seizure which lasted for about 1 minute.

The EMT's started giving her some oxygen and she came to and started crying. The best sound in the world! They took her up to Primary Children's Hospital to run some tests on her.

The diagnosis was, Cali's high fever of 102 degrees caused her to have a seizure. Though it was very scary to see, the doctors said that it wasn't too serious. Unfortunately, she had another seizure early the next morning. So since she has had 2 seizures, the doctors said this is more likely to happen again if/when she gets a high enough fever.

So anytime she gets a fever, my brother and sister-in-law will have to watch her very closely and make sure they are giving her tylenol and motrin every 3 hours to keep the fever down.

This was a very scary ordeal for my family, and Cali's fever hasn't broken yet...but I am happy to report that she is doing a lot better.

Fun in the Sun

My sister-in-law and I just got back from a great girls weekend to Nassau, Bahamas. I was a little worried we might not make it on the flights (the joys of flying standby) since there was a huge rain storm in New York and they were canceling flights left and right. But luckily we were able to go through Fort Lauderdale and bypass the congestion all together.

This was my view while taking a leisurely nap from flying all night. I needed it after stressing about our flights.

Bri relaxing by the pool listening to some tunes.

We stayed on Cable Beach which is the nicest beach on the island.

While doing some shopping in Downtown Nassau, I came across some guitars made entirely out of soda cans. I thought they were pretty cool.

There was even a motorcyle made out of coke cans.

A candid shot together while enjoying the resort's nightly entertainment. Some of the music was a little interesting and the Bahamians sure love their music LOUD!
















We found a Ben & Jerry's at the Atlantis Resort...it sure was tempting.




Rum cakes were the dessert of choice on this island.
















Both Bri and I have a big fear of sharks...so we took some pictures of us with a shark (a fake one that is) as an inside joke. Bri wouldn't even go in the water past her ankles.


On our last night, Bri got the crowd jumping when she sang Michael Jackson's "Thriller" at kareoke night. (I chickened out)...but she did a great job!