The ABCs Of Me & My New Hair Cut

Happy Thursday everyone! In honor of Thoughtless Thursday over at Life In The Fulmer Lane this week I will share some snapshots of my new hair cut! My hair was getting crazy long and I decided to chop it all off! It is a little hard for me to get used to but I love how cool it is on my neck and how easy it is to take care of! What do ya think?

Sorry for the "in the car" pictures, but I haven't taken any new ones lately. Since I had my shades on in this picture I thought I would share this silly picture of Ty... I torture him sometimes, but he still loves me ( : Isn't he the cutest? I never wear those sunglasses, so I am glad someone is getting some use out of them. Haha!

I also found this little quiz in my drafts so I thought I would finally share it! The ABCs of me!
A. Age:24

B. Bed: Queen

C. Chores You Hate: Washing the dishes

D. Dog's Name: Ty

E. Essential "Start The Day" Item: Toothbrush

F. Favorite Color: Pink, Green, Blue

G. Gold or Silver: White Gold

H. Height: 5'4"

I. Instruments You Play: I attempted the flute and drums in elementary school... I guess you actually have to practice to be good!

J. Job Title: Staff Pharmacist

K. Kids: Someday, but not right now!

L. Living Arrangements: home

M. Mom: Sweet

N. Nickname: Kate/Katie/Katesy

O. Overnight Hospital Stay: Never for Me

P.Pet Peve: Rudeness

Q. Quote From A Movie: Too many to list!

R. Righty or Lefty: Righty

S. Siblings: Brother

T. Time You Wake Up: As late as possible

U. Underwear: Victoria's Secret

V. Veggies You Hate: Brussel Sprouts

W. Ways You Wear Your Hair: Up, Down, Wavy, Curly, Straight

X. X-Rays You've Had: Tons, mostly at the dentist

Y. Yummy Food You Make: Chicken and Broccoli Braid

Z. Zoo Animals You Like: ALL! Giraffes, zebra, red panda, otters, lions, just to name a few!

Another Thursday To Be Thankful For

I am back from my vacation (and blog-cation.) I spent Memorial Day weekend with Dave and a big group of our friends in Las Vegas! It wasn't the most relaxing of trips... there was some MAJOR DRAMA with two of our friends. Dave's best friend and his girlfriend have been together for four years, but they have some issues and I think we all knew they were going to call it quits sometime soon. Unfortunately for all of us, it happened the first night of our trip! Dave and I and his friend Eric and his gf got into town later than the rest of the group. When we got there we found out that J had been dating someone else and A had just found out about it. YIKES! It was so crazy! I never thought she would do something like that! She slept in the room that first night and we all went out without her. Friday was a really fun night! We went out on the strip, had a few drinks and went dancing at Coyote Ugly! In honor of Thoughtless Thursdays here are some of our pictures:We went to a breakfast buffet Saturday morning and I had the most delicious breakfast pizza. Then we crashed in the hotel for a little while and we we woke up we went to the pool. Dave and I spent a lot of time Saturday trying to keep J and A apart so they wouldn't get angry and cause a scene. Everyone was ignoring J because she cheated, so Dave and I were really the only people she had who would talk to her and just be nice. Yes, she made a mistake, but I am not the kind of person to be nasty to someone I have known for three years because of something like that. Everyone left Sunday morning except Dave, Eric, Sam-his girlfriend, and me, so we had at least one day that was drama free! We went to the shark exhibit at Mandalay Bay which was smaller than I expected, but still fun. We also hit up the premium outlets- which has a great Coach outlet. Dave bought me some new Coach sunglasses- Gingers in black and green. He is so stinking sweet and I LOVE them!!
We also spent Tuesday night out with Ben before he had to go back to the Midwest. We went to Dave & Busters and played some games. My favorites were a trivia game (which I got the bonus for getting all the answers right one round!) and the basketball game. Here is Dave and his Trivia ticket winnings ( : We also went bowling together that night and had a blast. Ben is such a fun and sweet guy and I can't wait until he is back in town for Labor Day and our trip to Cali!
To play along head on over to Life in the Fulmer Lane and link up!

For Thankful Thursday Five at MannLand5 here are five things that
I am thankful for this week:
1. Delicious Cold Drinks On A Hot Day
Nothing is better than an ice cold drink on one of the many hot days here in the southwest. Lately I have been making my own smoothies a lot. I used to work at a smoothie shop and I make some pretty delish frozen treats. Here is a simple recipe in case you are interested in making your own:
1 cup frozen strawberries, 1/2 banana, 2 scoops frozen yogurt, fruit juice (I like pineapple, but you can use whatever you like) Blend until smooth and enjoy!

2. Long Weekends With Friends
Vegas was still a great get-away even with all the DRAMA! My favorite things were dancing at Coyote Ugly and all the buffets!

3. My New Sunglasses
(see above) They were on sale and they are pretty timeless! I will be wearing these beauties for a while!

4. My DVR
Sometimes after a big trip you just need a few nights of watching TV and relaxing at home, or at least I do! I love having all my shows recorded and getting to skip all the commercials!

5. My Pup
There is nothing better than coming home to a loyal little guy who has been missing me and is super excited to have me back home!

Share all the things you're thankful for over at Mannland5!

Thanks for stopping by! I always love all the sweet comments! Have a great Thursday!

Fossil Creek

I know how blessed I am, but lately I feel like I have been complaining a lot! I know life is never going to be perfect and I need to start focusing on what is right in my life instead of what's wrong.

This is a great quote about how counting your blessings can make you happier and healthier from Time magazine:

"At the University of California at Riverside, psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky is using grant money from the National Institutes of Health to study different kinds of happiness boosters. One is the gratitude journal--a diary in which subjects write down things for which they are thankful. She has found that taking the time to conscientiously count their blessings once a week significantly increased subjects' overall satisfaction with life over a period of six weeks, whereas a control group that did not keep journals had no such gain.

Gratitude exercises can do more than lift one's mood. At the University of California at Davis, psychologist Robert Emmons found they improve physical health, raise energy levels and, for patients with neuromuscular disease, relieve pain and fatigue. "The ones who benefited most tended to elaborate more and have a wider span of things they're grateful for," he notes."
Read more: @Time.com

I thought it was perfect for Thankful Thursday Five over at Mannland and I am really going to try to come up with a great list every week!

1. We finally got our air conditioning unit fixed. It is starting to get hot here in AZ and it was starting to get pretty miserable without it!
2. Going on a long walk with my dad. He is trying to lose a few pounds and we went on a long walk this week together. It was really nice spending some time together just the two of us and I think it was good motivation for him to start getting active.
3. Having a great doctor. I had a little bit of a health scare and had to have some biopsies taken this week, but my doctor is really nice and definitely knows what to say to make me feel better about everything.
4. Great friends. I am looking forward to a girls only weekend! My bff is dog siting for her brother and I am going to spend the weekend hanging out with her at his house. I am baby sitting Sunday for my other good friend, and I am so happy to be able to help her out when she needs. It feels great to have a few really good friends in my life right now!
5. An amazing day trip to Fossil Creek with Dave yesterday. I had never been and it was so beautiful! I love that we had the time off to go on a weekday and it wasn't crowded. We also found this amazing mom and pop cafe in Strawberry, AZ for some ribs and pie- YUM! He is my best friend and we had a great day together.

For Thoughtless Thursday and Shoot Me this week, I will share our pictures from Fossil Creek yesterday. I couldn't go in the water because I had just had the biopsies taken yesterday, but it was still a lot of fun and I am hoping we can go back soon with some of our friends!

We even saw a deer on the way home! It was a great trip and seeing all that natural beauty and being with my best friend made me realize how blessed I truly am!

To play along head on over and link up! Happy Thursday Everyone

alt="Photobucket" width="125" height="125" />

Midwest Trifecta- Wisco, Michigan, and Illinois

My boyfriend is finally back from his trip home to Wisconsin. It made me think of our trip there last summer, and so for this weeks Thoughtless Thusday I will share my pictures from my first Midwest vacation. We were able to see his family in Wisconsin and Michigan and to do some sight-seeing in Chicago, IL. We packed A LOT into a relatively short trip. The first day we walked around Lake Geneva with Dave's parents. It was beautiful! The next day Dave's parents rented a pontoon boat and we all went out on Twin Lakes. I tried to water ski but it was so hard! I have done it before in Maine, but this time I couldn't get the hang of it. The water was freezing so I didn't want to be in there too long. That night we went to Friday fish fry at the country club. It was so tasty! Then we headed to Champs bar to meet Dave's friends. They were so nice and we had an awesome night! We stayed up all night hanging out by the bonfire at Tyler's and ended the night with breakfast at Manny's. Needless to say we were a little tired for 4th of July. Dave's mom's family came over for a family get together. Dave's uncle and his family were really nice. That night we watched fireworks at the lake and then the guys lit off some fireworks at Tyler's houseThe next day,on the 5th of July, we drove up the U.P. of Michigan to visit Dave's Dad's side of the family. It was a long drive but it was nice to get to know Dave's sis and her bf. We went to a mine tour in Iron Mountain before we got to Ishpaming. While we were in the Upper Peninsula, we saw Lake Superior:
Pictured Rock: Lakenland Junkyard Art:and the Yooper Touirist Trap:Our next destination was the Wisconsin Dells. It was such a fun place! We camped in a little cabin at Sherwood Forest with Andy and Jenn:The first night we were there we went to Marley's for dinner and drinks:and then to the Tommy Barttlet water skiing show. The next day we went to Mount Olypmus. We went on the rollercoasters, the go-karts, the ducks tour, and of course all the water slides:We also had a lot of fun goofy golfing at Pirate's Cove and playing Catch-Phrase around the campfire at night. We also went out for a nice steak dinner at some place in the middle of no-where! Andy and Jenn told us about it and it was worth the drive! Before we headed back to Dave's house we had some burgers and cheese curds at Monk's
Our last destination before heading back to the Southwest was a day in Chicago:We took the train into the city and headed straight to Shedd's Aquarium. It was so much fun! We saw the show before we left, but it was weird- none of the animals did their tricks except for the dolphins!We spent most of the day in the aquarium, but it was a good way to spend the day. Then we walked down to Navy Pier and looked around for a while before we had to catch the train back. I wish we had more time in Chicago, but I guess that gives me something to look forward to next time we visit! I am already making a list of things to do and see (and take pictures of) next time we are able to go together...Sears Tower, Hancock Observatory, Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor (aka- the mirrored bean thingy), Buckingham Fountain, Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, Magnificent Mile (for shopping fun), Taste of Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, Union Station, Harold Washington Library, Lincoln Park Zoo, Wrigley Field, and maybe a Chicago Bulls game... Just to name a few ( :

To link up and play along, head on over to Life In The Fulmer Lane!

alt="Photobucket" width="125" height="125" />