Rain drops keep falling on my head...

On Thursday night,I went to my first professional baseball game!
I went with Brad, Gary, Rachel, and the girls to see the Albuquerque Isotopes.
Apparently some dude from the Dodgers was supposed to be playing, so the guys were all excited.
Anyway, as soon as we started to park, it started to POUR rain!
It was absolutely insane, so we waited in the car for a while until it lightened before we decided to walk to the stadium.
We got in, found a place to sit on the Berm? (The grass area) and then went to get some food from the vendors.
This whole time, it's on and off sprinkling, with the occasional insane rain.
The crew people kept taking the tarp on and off of the ground? field? Can you tell I don't know the lingo?
Anyway, we were all getting soaking wet, and then the announcer dude told everyone that the guy from the Dodgers wouldn't be playing due to the weather.
Big bummer.
So because of the cold rain and the lack of this Major league player, we left after only two innings.
Kind of lame for me, since it was my first real game and I didn't get to stay for the whole thing, but I suppose not getting ANOTHER cold would be a good thing, considering i've already been sick twice in the past month.
We only took a few pictures since I didn't want my camera to get wet, but here they are.
There's a couple more on Brad's blog if you want to check it out.

Daddy Day

So, I saw these UBER cute cupcakes on bakerella.com and I knew that I would have to make them for father's day.
They are just basic cupcakes, with a brownie in the middle, colored frosting for condiments, and some sugar cookie french fries.

I printed out the templates from Bakerella and put them together, then used plain old tissue paper inside the trays. The "fries" were made with just a basic sugar cookie mix that I laid out in a flat thin layer on a cookie sheet, and then sliced up as soon as they came out of the oven. Then, with the help of April, I sprinkled sugar all over them to look like salt.

I enlisted April and Brad to help me make the "condiments." Rather than dirtying any bowls, I scooped the frosting right into little ziplock bags and poured food coloring into them. Then we squished em all up until we got ketchup, mustard, and lettuce. (The ketchup looks a little dark because Brad put too much blue in it when I told him to just do a teeny little dab.)
The fries were really yummy and Brad, Rachel, Taryn, April, and I kept snacking on them all day while I was getting everything else cooked.
These are the "burgers." They don't look nearly as cute as on Bakerella, but that was to be expected. My frosting was also a little runny, so that didn't help much.
But when everything was assembled, it was so cute!
The aftermath. The recipe made 24 cupcakes, and I really only needed 6, 1 for each of us. Plus, half a brownie pan left and I pile of fries. If you make these, be prepared to have lots of leftovers.
They were super yummy though. We ate em up as soon as Gary got back from the airport.
I hope everyone had a great father's day, especially you dad! Sorry I wasn't home to share it with you!

Shaved Ice, Cinema, and Sunburn.

An update on what Brad and I have been up to the past week.
I don't remember when (last Thursday maybe?) but Brad and I went to Tropical Sno up the road and got some shaved ice.
Brad got green apple, yuck, and I got strawberry and lime, yum!
Earlier in the day (It was Thursday, I remember now), my RS president came by to visit and get to know me a little better.
She's super nice and I would have liked to talk more, but she had to bring her two little boys with her who were starting to act up, so the visit was cut short.
After shaved ice, Brad dropped me off to head to the Inn at Rio Rancho for a job interview!
I found an ad at this hotel for a night audit and told Brad to stop by for an application, and he actually did!
However, the man who was supposed to interview him apparently wasn't actually working that day, so the day manager told Brad she would give him a call on Saturday.
Well, come Saturday, there was no call, so Brad called in to see what was up and the guy said he would be doing interviews probably Sunday or Monday and to wait for a call.
Well, it's now late Tuesday night, and no call.
Brad will give em a ring tomorrow, but the way this is going, it's probably all a waste of our time.

On a happier note, we went and saw "Up!" on Friday.
It was really cute and I cried during a lot of it.
Man, I love Disney & Pixar movies.

Today, I packed a picnic, a bag full of games to play, a book to read, Brad's DS, and a blanket and dragged Brad to the park with me.
The picnic was yummy, at least to me.
I made turkey sandwiches then packed some quaker cheddar cheese rice snacks (pick some up. They are delish!!), thin mint girl scout cookies, an apple, to be healthier, and some juice and plastic cups.
I started to read a little bit, but Brad kept complaining about how hot is was (80 degrees? Seriously Brad?) so I suggested we play a card game.
I pulled out Monopoly Deal, and unfortunately we weren't able to finish because the wind picked up.
Overall, we were only out there about an hour and 20 minutes, but i've got a nice red and painful sunburn.
Yes, I know, use sunscreen as Brad keeps telling me, but I purposely didn't put sunscreen on, so there!
I really just wanted a very light burn because light burns always turn into tans on me.
I figured since we were only out an hour, I probably wouldn't have gotten any kind of burn, but I guess the sun is hotter in New Mexico because obviously I have proof of it.

Eye of the Tiger

Today felt very productive!
At least in comparison to most days.
First thing in the morning, Brad and I headed into ABQ so I could meet up with a woman I contacted on Craiglist about a nannying job.
Over our emails, it seemed very likely I would get the job, until I met up with her and she has missed the part in my emails about how i'm only here for the summer.
Since she's looking for something long-term, it probably won't happen.
Jobs never seem to work out for me, do they?
Anyway, afterwards, we stopped at the bank to deposit some money since we are POOR, and then Brad dropped me off at Michaels so I could spend some money! Haha.
Really, I had a 50% off any one item coupon, so you just can't pass that up!
I ended up buying a bunch of cute 12x12 sheets of paper and some cute stickers and embellishments to start a "Wedding Day" scrapbook album finally.
While I was there, Brad headed over to a hotel I found online that was looking for a night auditor.
He got an application and will hopefully be turning it in tomorrow.
Since he was still gone, I walked over to Borders and just browsed for a bit until I broke down and bought a book i've been wanting to read now for a long time!
It's called The Hunger Games and it comes highly recommended from my very well read older sister.
Then I met up with Brad and we came home.
Then I washed our sheets, did a load in the dishwasher, and later headed out to Walmart to buy some junk food and a new card game.
I know it doesn't seem super productive, but that was actually quite a bit for my lazy husband over here.

I've been meaning to post about this for a few days, but hadn't gotten around to uploading the pictures until tonight.
Last saturday I went golfing for the first time with Brad and his dad.
Well, in all actuality, I didn't really golf, mostly just putted a bit while the guys were searching for their golf balls in the rough, but still.
It was super windy out and even sprinkled a little bit, so not the best day, but at least I didn't get sunburned!

A Night of Nostalgia

Maybe it's because i've always enjoyed re-living old memories that I love to read things i've written in the past.
Old Myspace messages.
Notes that were passed back and forth in middle school.
Tonight, my memoirs of choice happen to be my livejournal.
I switched from livejournal to blogger less than a year ago, and I really haven't gone back and looked through what I wrote in there since then.
It's both unfortunate and joyful how much my own journals can make me cry.
As I was reading through entry after entry, I came across a few that really stuck out to me.
First was a list I had complied of what I think constitutes "Kim."
Although there is much more I could add, I completely love how 99% of these are still true one year later.
For so many years, I changed who I was constantly, ever changing with the times.
It makes me feel so good inside to know that I seem to have finally realized just who it is that I am, and am sticking with it!


*I really love politics. Talking about it, following it in the news, debating it, learning about it, everything politics.
*I really enjoy playing video games. Not all video games, but I think the fact that I, an 18 year old girl, own a pink DS Lite should attest to the fact that I really do like video games.
*I love movies. And not just tear-jerking chick-flicks. Yeah, I love those, but I really enjoy something that scares the bajeebas outta me sometimes, or some good blood and guts gore.
*I sing. A LOT. In my room. At church. In class. In the shower. In my head. As I walk to class. Music is my life's narration.
*I LOOOOVE swimming. Mostly on my own. And swimming in thunderstorms is probably in my top 3 list of my favorite things to do ever.
*I really like to hike and camp and pee in the woods and eat bark and not shower for days.
*I love to do my hair and put on make-up and walk out of the apartment looking cute.
*My favorite color is pink.
*I love rice cakes and diet soda and fat-free foods.
*I love to pig out on ice cream and chips and eat a burger the size of my head.
*I like to wrestle and prove that I AM strong.
*I love to sit around late at night and gossip with my girlfriends about boys.
*I love to walk around in the middle of the night with a friend, talking and laughing and just enjoying ourselves.
*I love chocolate milkshakes.
*Shoes are a little bit of an obsession of mine.
*Fishing is actually really fun, even if the fish are slimy and creepy looking.
*I'm pretty good when it comes to computers or fixing things. I'm also pretty good at math, science, spelling, grammar, useless historical facts...
*I remember a whole lot. And when I say whole lot, I really do mean a LOT. You'd be surprised by the random things I remember about you or your mom or that bicycle you had when you were 6.
*I am generally honest and blunt and straight-forward.
*I have no problem wearing a pair of jeans 5 or 6 times before washing them again.
*I blog like crazy. Almost all of it is private and only my BFFE's have access to it, but my online journal is one of the most important things to me and has been the greatest stress reliever/therapist/advice giver/friend/everything to me.
*I LOVE the book "Oliver Twist" more than almost any other book out there.
*I express myself way too much at times and not enough most other times.
*I like to work out and have buff arms and legs and flex my muscles and show off.
*I will scream and run if I see a cricket, but i've got no problem holding a tarantula in my hand with a snake wrapped around my neck, while standing on a balcony VERY high up in the air with a clown standing next to me. Nothing really scares me except for crickets.
*I like to go shooting. Not at animals, but at random trash and bottles in the middle of the desert.
*I write my name all cutesy on everything.
*I am very sarcastic.
*I enjoy ditching classes and not even doing anything fun in place of it, like sitting at home watching "Smallville" instead of going to American Heritage.
*I have very strong opinions and beliefs when it comes to certain issues and I will argue with you until we're both out of breath and I still won't change my mind.
*I love kids and babies and the whole idea of having a family.
*I love getting sweet scars and showing them off to people, explaining how I got it, not leaving out any of the messy details.

The only thing that has changed is the working out bit.
Which, hasn't changed too much because I honestly do love to work out and build up muscles.
I just can't seem to find the motivation anymore.

The thing that really made me cry, though, was a particular entry I wrote on July 8th of last year.
It's about a dream that I had.
I had completely forgotten about this dream until I just read it again.

"I had this dream last night.
It felt more real than almost any other dream i've ever had.
Unfortunately, I only remember parts of it.
The most important parts, I guess.
Something happened to me and I was laying in this really big, comfy bed.
It was hard for me to move and I was on the verge of tears.
Suddenly, this guy comes in and gives me a glass of water.
He then lays down next to me on the bed.
He puts his arms around me and holds me till I fall asleep.
When I finally wake up, he's still there next to me.
He never fell asleep.
I still feel really sore, so he massages my arms and legs and feet for me.
In the dream, it felt like we were in love.
But also in the dream, I remember that when he first came in the room with a glass of water for me, I had never met him before.
Some total stranger came in and took care of me.
And I loved him.
I woke up with a smile on my face."

The man in the dream... it was Brad.
Though I knew Brad at the time I had the dream, and though the man in the dream was not physically Brad, it was him.
I read this little blurb about a dream I had almost a year ago and it hit me instantly that this dream was about who would become my husband.
Brad IS the stranger who just came into my life that I fell in love with.
Previously, the men in my life were boys I had grown up with.
Familiar males who I lived in the same town with, had the same classes with, and had friends in common with.
And yet here came this strong, sensitive, amazing man who I had never known before.
We grew up on opposite sides of the country, had no classes in common, no friends in common.
But we fell in love.
He is the one who brings me a glass of water when i'm in bed.
He is the one who will massage my muscles when i'm sore.
He is the one who hears me crying in the middle of the night and will give me a blessing.
This stranger is so amazing.

There's another story about Brad that wholly confirms my love for him and my faith that marrying him was pre-destined.
Sometimes, I get de ja vu.
I'm not sure how de ja vu is for other people, but for me it's like i've always had some memory in my mind.
Some memory that never quite made sense and that I could never fully remember.
It generally feels like it's a memory that was put into my head without ever truly happening.
And then, one day, the memory comes true.
As a small example, when I was younger, I always had this memory of my oldest sister, laying on her stomach, resting her chin on her hands, and watching TV.
She was older in the memory, not like the age she was when I would have this memory.
Then one day, only a few years ago, there she was, laying in front of the TV.
It was de ja vu.
Like my memory finally came true.
I have this belief that before we all came to Earth, we saw our lives.
And for one reason or another, despite the pain and suffering we might have seen, we decided that coming to Earth was still worth it.
When I have de ja vu, I feel like it's memories of what I saw before I was born.
Little snippits of my life that I had already witnessed.
Now, on to the main point.
Every year for as long as I can remember, my family would take a trip to Knotts Berry Farm (if you haven't been there... GO! Buena Park, CA.)
And for as long as I can remember, I always had this memory of standing in line for a ride, with the love of my life behind me, arms around my waist, and knowing this was the man I would marry, this was the man I truly loved.
This past year, Brad went with my family to Knotts Berry Farm.
And at one point, in line for one ride, my memory came true.
And it was more vivid than ever.
My memory had always been of Brad.
I could see his face, his smile, his arms holding me close.
I know it sounds ridiculous, having a memory of Brad years before I ever met him, but at that instant, in the midst of roller coasters and tourists, I knew more than ever that Brad was the one.
So cheesy, I know.

I'm sorry this entry is so long, but I have one more thing to post.
The most substantial thing I ever jotted down in my livejournal account, though it seems so meaningless.

"Sometimes I wonder about the things I just let pass me by.
How many chances I never took.
Where certain things would have led me.
What if I had given Jon more of a chance?
Would Eric have still come into the picture?
Might we have dated all through high school?
Would I have gone to college with him instead of coming here?
What if I hadn't closed my heart up after what JP did to me?
Would I have realized that I was in love with Nate?
Would I have stayed in DHS for him?
I could come up with so many "what ifs," but each of them lead me to somewhere other than BYU Idaho.
I know I would have been happy making other choices and following the roads they might have taken me.
But I know that I needed to come here.
I'm not sure why yet.
Something in some class that I needed to learn?
Some friend I needed to help or to help me?
Some guy to meet that I could end up marrying?
I don't know.
There's some purpose here, and I suppose i'm just impatient to find out what it is.
Maybe that's why I want to leave so badly.
To take a step back and look at the whole picture.
Clearly see what's been right in front of me this entire time."

I feel like I was predicting my own future.
If I hadn't gone to BYU Idaho, I never would have discovered my love for politics.
If I hadn't gone to BYU Idaho, I never would have met Ana, who I know is going to be one of my best friends for the rest of my life.
If I hadn't gone to BYU Idaho, and this is the most important one, I would never have met Brad.
And it's funny how it wasn't until I left school, took a step back to look at the whole picture, that I truly discovered any of this.

I love my life so much and I am so grateful for all I have.
I look back at people and places in the past with nothing but absolute love.
For without the people I knew and the places I went, I would never be where I am now.
Close to my heavenly father, married to the most wonderful man, and just happy with who I am.

Tidbits

I've been in a bit of a blog slump lately.
I just can't seem to find anything to write about!
Sure, little things happen and I think "I want to blog and tell people about this!" but generally it would be a couple sentences and the story would be over, so i've just been saving it all up.

Funny thing!
Yesterday we had the missionaries over for dinner while Rachel was at her church.
After dinner, Gary loaded the dishwasher and ran it.
Well, when Rachel got home, she came in through the garage which opens into the kitchen, and none of us had been in the kitchen since the dishwasher was loaded, but as soon as she came in she asked "What happened to the dishwasher?!" Brad and I went into the kitchen and there was a pool of bubbles coming from the bottom of the dishwasher!
Apparently, Brad's dad had used dish soap rather than dishwasher soap, and it was so funny!

I've been applying to jobs like crazy and even filling out applications for Brad, but no one is responding.
Today I answered a few craigslist ads, so hopefully i'll get some kind of response.
I'm not even worried about making money anymore.
Now I'm just worried about dying of boredom!

Brad, Gary, and I went to the temple today to do some sealings, and of course I started to get faint again.
Something about kneeling on my knees for too long just drains all the blood from my head.
It's a super sucky feeling and it ruins my temple experience!
But, can't change my body I guess. :/

Gary and Rachel have a subscription to "Albuquerque Magazine" and I love looking through them!
They've got all the local events happening and places to eat.
it's so fun.
In fact, the June edition just came in the mail today and as I was looking through it, I found out that starting in a couple of weeks, they are going to be showing old movies in a park on Fridays for free!
The lineup so far is "War of the Worlds" the old one, "West Side Story," "The Outsiders," and "Grease."
I will definitely be dragging Brad to a few of these.

I also found this website listed in the back of the magazine, and i've been browsing it for half an hour now!
Ch-ch-ch-check it out!
The Spoon Sisters