Monday, April 9, 2012

my life would suck


without this girl.  not only does she give the best christmas presents
in the world, but she knows how to have a pretty good time.

rachel jenkins gave me tickets to the kelly clarkson concert for christmas,
and we finally got to go a few weeks ago.  this was the fifth concert we've
been to together, and the second time we've seen ms. clarkson.

we started off by stuffing our gourds at chili's.



and then made our way to the e center.  it will always be the e center to me,
no matter who owns it, because that is where i saw the backstreet boys the
first time around.



she killed it, of course.  every song was a hit.




i love that we have a picture like this at every concert we've been to.




big mark

i had the "pleasure" of being on the spring break training committee at
work again this year...
committees really aren't my favorite thing in the world (far from it, actually),
but i created a committee and conned a handful of poor souls to be on it,
so i do it.  karma scares me.  anyway, this year we had a march madness
theme, and we got mark eaton to be our keynote speaker.

here is our committee with the big guy.
i love that sarah dawn got on her knees for this picture.



he was amazing, obviously.
and surprisingly, this is the second celebrity (remember raja bell?!)
i've come into contact with (recently) that i didn't humiliate myself
in front of...or scare.  no, i don't think that this face is humiliating...or scary.
and, being a jazz fan, i reserve the right to call two successes in a row a streak.
i just may be on my way to crazy-celebrity-reaction recovery.  i did have
weeks to prepare (and sedate) myself for this one, but i don't think that's
the most important thing.  i think the most important thing about this experience
is that i got a side-hug from one 7'4'' mr. mark eaton.




happy hunger games

yes, we got caught up in the hunger games excitement, and we loved
every minute of it.  i read the books around the time that last of the trilogy
was released, and then richard borrowed the first book on cd from a
coworker and we listened to it on our drive to st. george over new years.

he loved it just as much as i did.  his whole family (almost) read the books
as well, so, thanks to dale, we made it a big to-do when the movie came out
a few weekends ago.  we all went to the movie together, and then dale treated
us to dinner at the olive garden where we discussed/compared the book and
movie.  the general consesus:  the movie was a hit, even though there were
parts of the book that were left out (which is usually the case).



i loved "reading" the book and watching the movie with richard!  i'm
usually doing the book-before-the-movie thing on my own, but it was fun
to have a partner in crime this time around!  we finished the second book
on our way home from this st. george trip, so that just means more of this
to look forward to.  may the odds be ever in our favor.


racjac

that was our team name at the jackson hole tourney this year.  it may
have had something to do with the fact that we played so poorly, but i'm
sure there were other reasons, too.  none come to mind, and it seems weird
that jackie's inability to come up with a better team name than that would
have sabotaged us completely, but nothing's impossible, i guess.

aside from our record, it was a great weekend...full of girl talk, lots of
laughing, and lots of junk food.  volleyball, too.  we did play some volleyball.


 


 

we stayed in the same hotel we did last year, and the continental breakfast
was just as enjoyable as i remember it.  i think it has something to do with the
company i kept during the meal.  and the fact that they're so beautiful
in the wee hours of the morning.


we compliment each other that way. 

 
it doesn't get much better than hanging out with your best girlfriends all
weekend, playing your favorite game in the world, and reliving your glory
days nonstop.  or at least being able to live in a fantasy world where you
think you're reliving your glory days...pretty sure our highlight reel these
days looks a little different than it did 7 years ago.  no less fun, though.

 
last year we took third place overall.
this year we also took third place....

 
in the loser's bracket.  boo.
however, i did get to make new memories with some of my oldest friends.
priceless.



 

Sunday, April 1, 2012

happy bawitdaba, chelsa chow

yes, those are glow sticks hanging from paper clips on my sister's ears.
 she knew exactly what she wanted for her 17th birthday, and lucky for
us she got it.



thanks to jon and dan, the greatest parents in the world (or at the very
least west point city), she was granted her wish of a white trash-themed
dance party, complete with a killer dj and west point city hall at our
disposal for the night.



there were no complaints from the rest of the porter clan because this
meant that we got to dress up (or should i say down?) and get our wicked
dance on all. night. long.



only some of my accessories lasted the entire night...not because mom
was thirsty, but because it was a high school party.  whatever, it was funny.



i enjoyed cutting loose to "single ladies" with the youngsters, but...



i really was missing richard.  he'd never be out on that dance floor with
me and a million minors, but it would have been nice to know he was just
in the other room wearing ear plugs and rolling his eyes with my dad.



however, i was able to put out of my mind the fact that he'd be hundreds
of miles away for another week and give my family a little preview of what
they have to look forward to when i am great with child.  hopefully the extra
weight i'll be carrying will only be that of the pillow i was wearing that night
so that i can still drop it like its hot.



it was pretty much the most legendary birthday party the porters have
ever seen, and hopefully this will be the new standard for all future
family functions to live up to.  its pretty cool when your sister in high
school isn't embarassed to have you posing as a pregnant alcoholic and
dancing with all of her friends on her big night.  its just another reason
to add to the list of why my family is the cream of the crop, and the
trashiest of white trash.



happy birthday, chelsa chow...kid rock style.