November 3rd

Technically, it's the 4th but I haven't gone to bed yet...so it's still the 3rd to me. :)
Today I'm grateful for great friends.
To be honest, family is number one. Always. But I'm 23, I live with roommates, I have a full-time job, and the boyfriend's job adds many more people to the equation. I'm surrounded by my peers, my friends 87% of my life right now. It's a good thing they're so amazing. I know I always have someone there to count on no matter the circumstance, or hour.
I have people to listen, to get my mind off things, to shop with, to craft together, to teach me, to cry with. I'm so blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful people that I'm so honored to call my friends.

November 2nd

Today I'm grateful for my childhood.
Cousins.
Barbies.
Sisters.
Rice pudding.
Riverdale.
Camping.
As children, we have little knowledge of the real world and growing up. We live in the moment and into the fantasies we created for ourselves.
My childhood was full of so many amazing times and amazing people. I cherish every moment I can remember and that made me who I am today.

Thankvember begins...

In an effort to keep a more regular cyber record of my life's happenings for the umpteenth time this decade...I have come up with Thankvember. Life gets so crazy sometimes and we live in such a self-centered world, it's sometimes hard to stay positive and remember how many blessings we are given everyday. This is an effort to blog everyday for the whole month a November, reminding myself of the small things that make a great life.

November 1st:
Today I'm grateful for my job.
Today I was reminded that working is definitely not anyone's favorite activity. Unless you're a billionaire and you work for fun. There are so many people that work jobs they hate, jobs they're over-qualified for, and search for any available job. I'm so blessed to have a job I love going to (almost) everyday where I'm surrounded by so many friends and a great environment. It's not the best place in the world, it's not where I want to be for the rest of my life, but it's perfect for me today.

sunday blues

this term, 'sunday blues.' is pretty common around the rogers' household. as a college drop out and currently employed server, it's a phrase not commonly coined by this chick. but today, i've got them sunday blues. for the first time in months, i have to work monday morning [insert tears]. in an effort to cheer myself up, i thought i would recap this great weekend that just happened.
after a let down change of plans, a weekend that was supposed to be spent driving to the big saint geezy was now to be spent finding the most entertaining, time consuming activities in cv. thought at first to be a challenge, i took on that challenge and fully conquered it. yay me.
thursday night: bees game. the first of many hopefully. the last time i went to a bees/buzz game i think i had diaper rash.
friday: sleeping in until 12, i wasn't mad. boutique shopping in logan (yes, this happened: bella me, and violet hill are a little out of place around these parts but so great) with a few of my favorite ladies. ever been attacked by box elder bugs at 2 am and had to sleep in your friend's bed with said friend plus one when the spouse is out of town? true story. attacked.
saturday: no sleeping in :( but for a greater cause: boating at willard with the veibells and zundels. two great families that have taken me in as one of their own. i can't remember the last time i went tubing but i know for a fact that i definitely wasn't as sore the next day as i am today. ouch, i'm getting too old. first complete grilling adventure finished off with a new recipe: pink lemonade cupcakes.
sunday: sleeping in and laying in bed to watch 3 episodes of bridezillas with celeste. a minor incident of me being a bad friend did occur and put a slight damper on the weekend but i definitely learned my lesson. dinner with my rogers' family. they're are among the greatest people i've ever met. evening walk with jk and lissi lou. loved every second of my extended weekend...

dear monday,
i've been well-prepared. let the games begin.
love, me.

oh, hello blog.

blogging is hard. at a time in my life when i should be recording my every move; for my future fam to learn that i was young and super awesome once, for myself when i'm old and decrepid and senile to remember how great i really had it; it's hard to sit myself down and analyze my feelings and detail my experiences. i'm at a place where the sky's the limit, i can literally do whatever i want to do: live where i want to, be with who i want to, work where i want to, do whatever my heart desires. i'm trying to live every moment to the fullest and sometimes i need to take a step back and record. so here is the first post in a promise to myself to ponder my decisions and remember what life is all about. in the words of the late gordon b. hinckley, "life is to be enjoyed, not endured." so here you can catch a glimpse at the sources of my enjoyment.

summer is unreal amazing. anyone who knows me knows my feelings about this season. in 2011, nothing has compared to the afternoons i've been able to join up with my roommates and bask in the sun's rays on so many occasions. speaking of roommates, all of mine are some of the world's greatest. lynsi elise allen, the newest addition to our home has been so GREAT. i love her more than words. melissa mortenson, those curls are an announcement of the crazy fun she brings always. i love having her as my floor-mate and waking up to her greatness. margee jean cooper, our little baby who just turned 22. i love her, one of the greatest friends anyone could ever imagine having.

probably the most sucky part about summer is having my amazing boyfriend all the way across the country. looking at the more positive side of the situation, besides the fact that we get to play for the other 7 1/2 months of the year, this means that i get multiple summer vacations in a new place. when else would i get the chance to vacation in beautiful minnesota? hopefully never haha. a visit in may, and a visit a few weeks ago and now we're visited out. minnesota is beautiful. i never thought i would say that but here i am, typing it up. great girls and great activities were the equation for fun afternoons while we waited for work to be over and the boys to get their cute behinds home. his office is now located in toledo, ohio. since we're down to the last six crucial weeks of the summer, my patience is being tested to its max, my heart is being stretched past its emotional capacity, and my understanding button has been taped down, and i can not wait for august 28th. don't tell anyone that all i want is for the summer to be over. i feel like wishing that is committing a sin, who wants summer to be over? this girl does.

i think that's about all the recap needed for now, so prepare yourselves for more insights and replays to come.

Day 20: Your Favorite Christmas Tradition

My family is what we'll call "unconventional." Whenever I think about holidays I feel like we don't have specific traditions that we've done every year since the beginning of our family. There have been so many disruptions and changing circumstances that we just started blowing in the wind and doing anything that meant we could be together.

During the years of two Cole children at Todd and LuCinda's there was a playroom downstairs and a shared bedroom with bunkbeds upstairs. When two became three, playroom turned preteen bedroom for Kirsten and half bunkbed/crib for Courteney and Spenser. When I think about Christmas as a child there is one specific thing that replays in my head year after year...

We weren't allowed downstairs until 8:00 a.m.

Spenser was always the first one awake, not just because it was Christmas but because this girl was the naughtiest of naughty kids. As soon as she saw one of my eyes bat open I could hear, "Courte? What time is it?" I would bust out of my sheets, let down her crib door, and somehow the two of us together could get her out of the crib. We would run to Mom and Dad's bed and jump on them yelling, "Hurry! It's Christmas!" and then snuggle with them until they told us it was 8 and we could go get Kirst.

Even though we were an official 4 years and 7 months apart, we shared so many moments together. I guess I've always been a little on the immature side. I hope my kids share as many great times as we spent together.

Day 19: A Hobby of Mine

As I get older, I'm seeing my adolescent hobbies, such as dancing and spending hours on msn messenger (yes, at one point in my life this was considered a hobby), start to diminish. Sometimes I get caught up in the moments of "I don't have any hobbies! All I ever do is go to work, sleep, and eat!" but the difference now is that I've established myself a bit more and realized what hobbies bring the most joy and will most likely be a help to what future goals I have in mind. Dictionary.com defines a hobby as follows...

hob·by

¹  [hob-ee]

–noun, plural -bies.

1.

an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation andnot as a main occupation: Her hobbies include stamp-collecting and woodcarving

While I'm not interested in collecting stamps or picking up on woodcarving, my current main hobby is probably working out. I'm all for looking great for this upcoming swimsuit season, but I don't hit up Sports Academy & Racquet Club for three hours a day pumping iron and running half marathons, I work out because I like it and I feel so much better afterwards. My best workouts come after a fight or a long day of waiting tables or a bad day of missing Ty.

Day 18: Put iPod on shuffle and list the first 10 songs that come up

1. Frank Sinatra "The Way You Look Tonight"

2. Regina Spektor "Eet"

3. Glee Cast "Pokerface"

4. Janet Jackson "Call on Me"

5. Adele "Turning Tables"

6. Gavin DeGraw "Dancing Shoes"

7. Miley Cyrus "Party in the USA"

8. Britney Spears "Womanizer"

9. In The Heights "When You're Home"

10. Black Eyed Peas "Meet Me Halfway"

My music taste is obviously pretty broad... haha

Day 17: A Habit I Wish I Didn't Have

SLEEPING IN. I wish I didn't sleep until 10:00 every morning. It's not because of lack of sleep. It's not because of going to bed too late. I genuinely NEED ten hours of sleep every night if my schedule allows.

Day 16: A Favorite YouTube Video

I love youtube. I use it on a regular basis to keep some healthy laughter in my life. Jake and Amir are among some favorites that I visit. Sorry, it would let me post it here but follow the link for a great laugh.

http://youtu.be/rQt6EQsXZDc

Day 15: Next 3 Items on "The Bucket List"

For my sister, this question is easy. She has a literal bucket list she actively visits and edits. Whenever she talks about hers I get slightly motivated to start my own but I never get to the step of actually writing anything down on paper. A few things that I do want to conquer in the near future are...

1. Finally get my passport and go on a real out-of-the-country-big-girl trip. With some huge boyfriend convincing, hopefully Bolivia.

2. Kirst and I share this one, but I want to speak Spanish semi-fluently too. Nothing is more embarrassing as when I had to ask for someone that spoke English when I went to a 'tienda' by my house the other day.

3. Finish college.

Day 14: My Dream House

A few years ago while Ty was looking for his house, we stumbled upon the Kartchner model home in Logan. I instantly fell in love. It had so much space and the greatest layout. If I ever grow up, get married, have a small family, I would be more than happy to have this house.

Day 13: What Did You Do Today?

What did I do today?...I'm so boring...

9:30. Woke up and called my boyfriend.

10:00. Got out of bed and showered.

11:30. Got to work for a blessed 3 hours.

3:00. Searched Kmart and Shopko for some cheap rubbermaids. Successfully put all my winter clothes into said rubbermaids, a task I've been striving to accomplish for a couple weeks. Accomplished.

4:00. Back to work, for the next 7.5 hours. Yay son.

12:00 am. Laying in bed blogging, reading, waiting for Ty to finish his conference call so I can finally talk to him.

Sometimes I wish I had a cooler life. But then again, I'm pretty happy with the boring stuff. For now :)

Day 12: A. Favorite Quote

ICBW

My best friend from high school had this amazing father with one of the greatest outlooks on life that I had ever seen. At the bottom of each of his emails he would always have some sort of inspirational quote, most often it was "ICBW. It Could Be Worse."

No matter what life was handing to him, his attitude and manner stood true to this quote. Whatever is going on, whatever trials we're being dealt, It Could Be Worse.

We are so blessed in so many ways it seems almost impossible to focus on the negatives in our lives, but we let ourselves do this from time to time. If we can always just remember It Could Be Worse, we'll realize just how good we really have it and how to stay positive with what we have.

Day 11: A Favorite Book

Day 10: A Favorite Recipe

The infamous Neiman Marcus cookie story has been circulating since 1997, but wasn't introduced into my palette until 2009. My friend J.K. is a great baker in my eyes and never ceases to satisfy my sweet tooth cravings. Her rendition of the Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookie is to die for. She does have a few of her own little changes to the recipe but she follows the original pretty closely...

(Recipe may be halved):
2 cups butter
4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups brown sugar
5 cups blended oatmeal (measure oatmeal and blend in blender to a fine powder)
24 oz. chocolate chips
1 tsp. salt
1 8 oz. Hershey bar (grated)
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)
2 tsp. vanilla

Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla; mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey bar and nuts. Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet..Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 112 cookies.. Have Fun!!!

Day 9: A Favorite Movie

At one point in my life I watched this movie every night before bed for at least 40 days straight. My mom was worried that crying myself to sleep everyday was not healthy, but I love it. It makes it even better to watch it when the bf says, "Let's just cuddle on the couch all night and watch a good movie like the Notebook."

Day 8: A Favorite Song

The first time I really listened to this song was on So You Think You Can Dance a few years ago. Not only was Mia Michaels' choreography unreal but the song was so amazing I instantly became addicted to it. This is one of the very few songs I will blast in my car and sing all the lyrics as loud as I can.

Day 7: Something I Want To Buy

Better late than never...Day 6: Something I Bought Recently

Have you ever bought five plane tickets for one round trip? I did this week. Proud moment in my life. I'm going to visit Ty in a few weeks, real excited :). A few of the wives in his office are traveling around the same time and we thought it would be fun to ride the big bus in the sky together. Ticket #1. Our flight was scheduled for a little late in the afternoon on a saturday in may but then a few days later we found one for the same price in the morning. The perfect switch, ticket #2. I still needed a flight home for wednesday and was watching prices when Ty impatiently told me I needed to book one in case the prices shot up. Ticket #3. Ironically, a few days later I learned I had an appointment in Logan BEFORE I was even scheduled to board the plane in Minneapolis. I called US Airways and after a 15 wait i learned that my "nonrefundable, nontransferable" ticket would cost me another $150 + $25 just to come home a day earlier. we are now haters of US Airways. Stressed to the max, I booked a new flight using my very trusty and very favorite Delta Airlines for Tuesday afternoon which shortened my trip a bit. Did i mention this is flight #4? The brat inside me that will only fly with a window seat was frantically changing seat assignments when I looked at the top of my screen and noticed I was booking seats on a flight that went from Salt Lake to Minneapolis. What?!?! Holy smokers! Am I really that dumb? In Ty's words "what happened? You're usually good at this stuff." a very frantic call to Delta then took place. Luckily, I had a good friend by the name of Wanda on the other end of that call that cancelled my incorrect flight allowing me to book a very correct one. Ticket #5. Good thing my boyfriend is so cute and I miss him so very much.

Day 5: Top 10 Pet Peeves

Pet peeves

10. People who say they'll do something and never do it.

9. Chaos. I need order.

8. Being late. Don't be late and I won't either.

7. People who demand respect. I'll try to give it to you whether you deserve it or not, but don't expect it.

6. Forgetting funny things.

5. Liars.

4. Slow technology. There's nothing worse than waiting for a text message to send or a webpage to upload.

3. Dirty dishes.

2. Losing items.

And the biggest of them all...

1. People who take self portraits and post them on the FB. Please stop.

Day 4: Something I Crave...

Day 3: A Favorite Photo

This 9 year old picture is currently displayed at my house, Kirsten's house, and our parents' house. My dad used to make us go to photos all the time as younger children and this one was made an instant favorite. It shows our personalities and my physical dominance in our very special relationship so perfectly. I can't believe how much has happened since this was taken and how much we still need each other in our lives. Love ya sis!

Day 2: A Picture of You Last Year, and Now...

My dad took this picture last year when we conned him in to taking our 'annual' cousin dance pictures...
At my little Kruzer's first birthday party a month or so ago...

Have I changed at all? Good question...

I got a new job... I'm working as a server at Hamilton's and liking it a lot better than the last one.

I moved out of the rents house. I live with two amazing girls, Miss and Marge, and I don't know how I ever lived without them in my life.

I kind of love working out. I repeat, kind of. I used to despise it and now I at least feel like I need to go daily and don't want to become anorexic in opposition.

I asked for Ty's help with this one... he says I've gotten a lot cuter, and lot less ornery. I hope those are both true.

Day 1: 15 Facts About Me

1. I'm half Hispanic, have taken 5 years of Spanish classes, and still refuse to speak a lick.

2. I'm addicted to the sun's rays.

3. I hate the word moist.

4. My sisters are my life.

5. If I had all the money in the world I would buy shoes and house decorations.

6. I'm very affectionate, I could cuddle all day.

7. My whole day is ruined if I don't get at least 9 hours of sleep.

8. All I want is a puppy.

9. I hate when people rub their socks or dry feet together.

10. My Grandma and Grandpa Castillo are my idols.

11. I could eat smoothies for every meal.

12. I love babies until they start to cry, then I don't know what to do with them.

13. I could shop at Victoria's Secret all day everyday.

14. My favorite part of my day is when I get to tell Ty everything I did, and he just listens.

15. I love doing laundry, but absolutely despise putting it away.

May Blog Challenge

My sister has been on my case about blogging for quite some time. It's hard living across the country from each other and staying 100% up-to-date in each other's lives. We've been seeing these 30 day challenges all over the blogging world and thought it would be something fun for both of us to do to up our blog postings.

· Day 01 - 15 facts about you

· Day 02 - A picture of you last year, and now, and how you’ve changed since then

· Day 03 - A favorite photo

· Day 04 - Something I crave

· Day 05 - Top 10 Pet Peeves

· Day 06 - Something I bought recently

· Day 07 - Something I want to buy

· Day 08 - A favorite song

· Day 09 - A favorite movie

· Day 10 - A favorite food and recipe

· Day 11 - A favorite book

· Day 12 - A favorite quote

· Day 13 - What did you do today?

· Day 14 - Your dream house…

· Day 15 - Next 3 items on your “Bucket List”

· Day 16 - A favorite YouTube video

· Day 17 - A habit you wish you DIDN’T have

· Day 18 - Put your iPod on shuffle and list the first 10 songs that come up

· Day 19 - A hobby of mine

· Day 20 - Your favorite Christmas tradition

· Day 21 - A travel story

· Day 22 - A photo of my family

· Day 23 - Share a favorite memory

· Day 24 - 5 Things you love about Summer

· Day 25 - A place I love

· Day 26 - A child I love

· Day 27 - A person I love

· Day 28 - A secret you want to get out

· Day 29 - Something you could never get tired of doing

· Day 30 - A photograph of yourself and three good things that have happened in the past 30 days

· Day 31 - Hopes, Dreams, and Plans for the next 365 days

and so my favorite season begins...

Me: I need a hobby this summer

MarGee: Words with friends can be your hobby

Me: That's not a hobby

MarGee: Well we play it enough it could be one

I knew i needed something enjoyable to keep me busy while the bf is gone for the next 4 1/2 months, a person can only work so much, but this convo was a sign that I was in dire need of something great. While I'm still in search of one substantial something that might actually better my life or fill a void better than words with friends, I'm hoping to bring blogging back into my life as one of hopefully many summer hobbies. As I wait for my summer work schedule to go into affect I find myself passing the seemingly endless amounts of extra time by staying at work longer, participating in multiple but not necessarily more beneficial daily trips to the gym, and a few extra long lunches with friends.

I definitely have summer activity ideas in mind but the key is putting them into affect. The warmer months can most definitely be spent working three days, Bear Lake Wednesday, pool for two days, and rounding off with a three hour block every week. Seven days of fun to be repeated until further notice. But today is not warm, tomorrow will not be warm, and Bear Lake will be a chill festival for many more days.

So, I have created Summer 2011 Life Aspirations. I started the list of few days ago but had to do a slight edit after...

Me: The cupcakes I made last week are still all in the fridge. I don't think anyone ate one.

Ty: Why didn't you make good ones?

Me: I don't know. I just really suck at baking.

Ty: You better get good at that soon.

Me: Why?

Ty: I just need you to.

It's time to buckle down and make a more public announcement of my physical, intellectual, and maybe silly endeavors. If I know other people are aware of my plan to better my daily life I can have my own group of cheerleaders to keep me on track to carry on.

Summer 2011 Life Aspirations:

Complete 2 Quilts

Meet & Maintain Goal Weight

Run DAILY

Host & Attend 5 Garden Tea Parties

Take Too Many Pictures

Attempt 2 New Recipes a Week

Visit Minneapolis, Chicago, Virginia, and Vegas

Blog weekly

Master the Baking Basics

I wish myself good luck and hope you all do the same.

You're welcome :)