the sun on your cheek,
the wind in your hair,
the speed beneath your feet.
summer in your lungs,
a sparkle in your eye,
a dare in your heart.

-unknown

• We just got back from Las Vegas (a recap on that later) where DeafNation World Expo was. It was indeed great seeing old friends & meeting new people!
• Seriously where has the time gone? I can’t believe it’s going to be August next week. I feel like I’m constantly changing my monthly calendar at work every week or so.
• It’s been a sickly month for me. The doctor told me I had chest congestion but I’m still not sure since I’m still coughing my lungs out and it’s week 3. Last week the joints in my hands & wrists started hurting so bad! It’s actually painful in the mornings and took me forever to get ready. I don’t know if I have carpal tunnel or if it’s something else. It doesn’t hurt as much today and I’m hoping it doesn’t continue in the mornings. I need my hands to sign with my deaf friends!
• I need to get back into going to the gym…seriously! I have no excuses. Our grocery budget is out of control and because of this I’m determined to change that and cut our budget into half. It’s hard though since we buy our household items & personal care stuff with groceries too. I need to work on my habit of saving receipts and not losing them or throwing them away. This is a goal for August!
• Another mini goal is to tackle Google Reader. I’m definitely behind and need to catch up on commenting! Amazing how one day can really get you behind….I guess depending on how many blogs you’re subscribed to. <3

First came Lolla then Zella and now let me introduce you to Carmella!

I never thought we would come to the point of owning a new car until we were in our 30s. We didn’t have much of a choice anyways when Zella (2002 Hyundai Elantra) gave up on me last week. Tyler had to borrow my mom’s car and come to my rescue!

Apparently the transmission was messed up and would not let me go faster than 40 mph while it’s at 4 rpm. Tyler managed to get it to go faster while in 3rd gear and so I followed him to drop it off at the car place where we usually get it fixed. The next day we found out it was going to cost a lot of money to fix it. I was financially exhausted of putting more money into Zella so I decided it was time to get rid of her.

Saturday we decided to go car shopping. Unfortunately Tyler had to work so he couldn’t come with me. My parents took me to a few places starting with Ford which we didn’t even stay long enough to test drive since I don’t really care for Ford. Next stop was Dodge/Jeep. I saw the Jeep Patroit and I didn’t really like how the windows were small and it wasn’t worth the price it was at. Looking around again, I saw a Dodge Journey and we took it out for a test drive. Really smooth ride!! We were hesitant though since our family doesn’t have good experience with Dodge & the reviews online were not good at all. We got an offer on it then left and went over to Kia.

The Kia Soul is so cute but too small and not what I want for a long time. Of course I wanted the Kia Sportage so we got an offer on it and it was ridiculously high and not what I had hoped for. The number I was hoping for was way too low that they would have been offended. Luckily for us we had an awesome salesman, Paul, helping us. He was funny & talked with us while waiting for them to do the credit check, get an offer, etc. After going back and forth…we showed them the offer we had from Dodge and at that point all eyes were on me when they had made another offer. I told them I needed more time and went outside to talk with mom for a while. After mom talked some sense into me & gave me some advice… we came back in. Paul asked me what my magic number was so I told him and he came back with an offer of $11 over my magic number. I couldn’t believe it and took the offer!

I texted Tyler and said, “We just bought a car!!” I wanted to see what his reaction was. I think he knew what kind of car we got since he knew I wanted a Kia Sportage anyways.

His replied, “Sunroof? Color?” Supposedly he was too busy at work and only cared about if it had a sunroof & the color of it.

“No sunroof and it’s volcanic red”, I replied being short with him as I was distracted at the dealership.

“Does your dad like it? He hates red. & tinted windows?”… now he was asking more questions and obviously cares about what my dad likes?! I read my text out loud to my parents & we all had a good laugh. Seriously who cares if my dad hates red? He’s not married to him & it’s not his car. It’s ours!

They only had 3 cars left before bringing in the 2011 models. Two of them were blue and the other one was red and the interior is beige. I’ve always loved dark interior but the beige color is starting to grow on me now. It just makes me want to drive barefoot so I don’t get the inside dirty at all. It’s like getting new shoes and not wanting them to get dirty at all.

The offer included the trade of my old car. It’s a huge relief getting rid of Zella since I don’t need any more financial emergencies with her.

Last year we purchased a house last year in July and now it’s July and we just purchased a car. What’s next year? Another car, pool, or babies? Or all of the above! Now having experienced purchasing a house and car… I definitely have to say buying a car was more fun only because I got it the same day I purchased it! That’s huge for me since I always want things the minute I lay my eyes on them. I’m guilty of that! Don’t tell me I’m the only one…

Now isn’t Carmella pretty?!

We went & had lunch then came back to the house. We ended up doing her hair & make up. This was not something I did often when she was a little girl. She hated people brushing her hair so it was impossible to play with her hair and have her be my doll… and now I had a chance to do this!

Shampooed her hair in the kitchen sink….and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her allow a picture be taken when she does not have make up on!

Blow-dried her hair then teased her hair on top.

Then it was time to give her the beach curly look that she wanted.  We had a few close calls with burning each other!

Ta-da!!

I helped her do her make up then we also did our nails and I swear I only had 1 Diet Pepsi that day.
Got to love $2 nail polish from ULTA!

As soon as Tyler and I dropped her off at home… it was time to go back being 25 years old.
Not sure if I know how 25 year olds are supposed to act anyways.

The rest of the weekend was spent sleeping, coughing,
being nursed by my darling husband, doing laundry & watching movies.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend.

]]> http://luxechandelier.com/2010/07/my-doll/feed/ 27 http://luxechandelier.com/2010/07/thank-god-they-were-only-bad-dreams/ http://luxechandelier.com/2010/07/thank-god-they-were-only-bad-dreams/#comments Wed, 07 Jul 2010 07:39:28 +0000 steph anne http://luxechandelier.com/?p=2545

I hate those days when I wake up feeling like the dream was real and then I can’t seem to shake it off for the rest of the day!

Last night I had a dream where a bunch of friends and I were in a house hanging out. A friend and I were in another room checking out pictures on the computer. After a while, we both saw the door open slowly and we couldn’t see who it was since it was pitch dark. We started laughing because we thought a friend was playing around and was getting ready to scare us. Two guys we didn’t know busted in and started shooting at us then left the room. I started bawling and didn’t know what to do and when I looked over at my friend, he was dead. I ran out of the room and saw that all 10+ friends were shot and laying all over the place. None of them were moving. I saw Tyler, my husband, faced down on the floor. I was hysterically crying while trying to call 911. It was horrible!

I hate it when I have bad dreams like this because it feels so real like I went through that horrible ordeal but I’m really grateful that it was just a dream.

This is normal anyways…. supposedly I have a history of waking up in the middle of the night screaming bloody murder and almost giving Tyler a heart attack. One time I thought the house was on fire for real and I was this close to jumping out the window until Tyler confirmed me the house was not on fire.  Also there has been countless of times where I’ve woken up thinking there was a boogeyman in the room ready to murder us and poor Tyler would have to get up and check the entire house just for me so I would feel safe and go back to bed.

Maybe I need to buy a dreamcatcher but I’m not a kid anymore so it might not work. By the way, remember those things?!

I’m jealous of those people who can easily dream of puppies, kittens, cupcakes & rainbows!

Anyone else going through the same thing with bad dreams?

My 86 year old grandma who is smoking hot went to a garage sale with my aunt the other day. While browsing around at the garage sale, she noticed the owner’s motorcycle (it wasn’t for sale). She’s known to be the one that always strike up a conversation with everyone she sees and everyone just loves talking to her.

She told the owner that he had a really nice bike and she proceeded to tell him that she has always wanted to ride one before. He insisted on taking her out for a ride. She hesitated only because she was not sure if she trusted him or not… it wasn’t because she was afraid. The owner and his wife told her that they would be home the next day if she changed her mind.

After a night of thinking about it…she was determined to go for a ride so the next day my aunt & grandma went back. The owner’s wife had a leather jacket and helmet for her to wear.

According to Grandma’s email…she said, “The helmet smashed my hair down but I fixed it after. I enjoyed  the ride so much. He was so nice, we talked all the way! We drove all over Edmonds, went up Sunset Ave to see the water then down my street and he showed me the church they go to. Half hour later it was all over. I thanked him and hugged him goodbye”

I’m so proud of her for doing something fun and wild for herself!

This has been kind of a wake up call for me. The other day Tyler jokingly asked me how old I was… probably because I was being silly at the moment. I told him I was 24. He looked at me like I lost my mind. I almost had a heart attack because seriously I forgot that I’m 25…. and it doesn’t help at all that I’m losing my mind too. Even worse I’m going to be 26. Don’t get me wrong… there is nothing wrong with being older. It’s just the fact that I’m getting older and I feel like I haven’t accomplished enough thus far to cross off a lot of things on my bucket list.

I need to stop being too comfortable and step out of my comfort zone sometimes. Like the quote says,

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone,” by Neale Donald Walsch

Really… I need to get over myself and my mini-life crisis and start living every day to the fullest. I can thank my Grandma for inspiring me to be like her when I’m 86 years old. I need great stories to tell my grandchildren some day and feed them old cookies!

My dad is a wonderful man! I’m so lucky to have him as a father. I have my grandfather & grandmother to thank for raising him and shaping him into an incredible man! There is truly nothing bad I can say about him. Of course we’ve butted heads before only because in those situations we both were stubborn but it never lasted more than an hour or so. Other than that we pick on each other and always bet on who’s right. I can proudly say I’m almost always right! Haha…I’m sure he’s going to disagree on this.

The day I left for college was truly the first time I’ve ever seen him cry other than at his father’s funeral. I remember not wanting to leave… at that moment I was willing to work at the grocery store just so I could stay home and be with my parents and be daddy’s girl. I’m glad we now live so close by that we see them every other day or so.

My paternal grandfather was such a caring man and was liked by so many people. Now my dad reminds me a lot like him. My dad is liked by everyone. At his 2nd job, he’s a school bus driver. All the kids who ride his bus think he’s the best driver ever. I’ve heard stories where some kids cried and were upset when he wasn’t their bus driver anymore. He receives so many thanks and gift cards from parents. Even the other day when I was driving in the neighborhood with him, he honked at a woman he knew riding her bike. He told me she rides her bike everyday to work and he sees her on his way to work every morning.

My paternal grandmother was telling me how she is very proud of her son. When my dad went to visit her in Seattle a few months ago, he fixed everything for her and went to church with her. At church, my grandmother was showing her son off to all her friends and was glowing when everyone told her how handsome he was. I feel the same way, I’m always proud to introduce my dad to my friends too!

Dad, thank you for everything you have taught me so far. I cannot wait to create many more memories with you! My kids will be very lucky to have a wonderful grandpa someday. Thank you for being there for me every time I needed you to be…even those times when I didn’t ask. As you always say, I love you from here to the moon!!!

We got off to a late start on Saturday morning. We originally wanted to leave at 4AM to get on the road and avoid the Holiday traffic. Of course we both slept through the alarm so we were finally on the road at 7AM and began our 14 hour drive to Boise, Idaho.

We passed the Hoover Dam. It was a gorgeous day! Luckily for us there was no traffic going into Nevada but there was bad traffic for those going to Arizona. As much as we wanted to pull over and take pictures like everyone else, we kept going and took some pictures from the car.

My in-laws told us where to stop for gas since we were pretty much driving in the middle of nowhere for hours. There was nothing to look at except for the “fake water” at the end of the road that we all can’t seem to reach to. I’m sure Tyler also enjoyed all my “what if” questions about life. Other than that Tyler had music playing in the SUV while I turned my hearing aid off and listened to music with my cochlear implant and iPhone. It worked out just perfect since I like listening to the same song over and over until I get sick of it then move on to another song. I think Tyler would have jumped out of the car willingly if he had to listen to the same song over and over for 14 hours!

The best part of the drive was having the sunroof open! I adjusted my seat so the sun was directed at my face and tried getting some more color. I didn’t care if I was in the most uncomfortable position just to get some lovin’ from the sun!

On Sunday, we only had 7 hours left of driving from Boise to Portland. We finally arrived our neighbor’s house to return their BMW SUV…even though we didn’t want to! I would have definitely loved to keep it! Now ever since driving that SUV, I see it everywhere now. It’s like a sign that I need to get one…. only if I won the lottery ticket.

We headed up to Seattle on Monday morning.

I wasn’t sure if I remembered how to get around but I managed to remember how to get to my old house that I grew up in.

The basketball hoop that my parents got me for Christmas one year is still there. The yard is definitely in bad shape! They have a huge garage and backyard to use…and they decide to store their toys and hammock in the front by the door!? I really wanted to go inside or at least peek through some windows but Tyler would have not let me do that even if I tried! Good memories…I often find myself having dreams of the old house.

We headed over to my aunt & uncle’s house. They moved to a new house a few years ago and it was the first time I saw their house. We got a tour of the house and their huge backyard. I absolutely love their house and my aunt did a fabulous job at decorating it! My grandma stayed overnight so she could spend time with us too. My cousins, from another aunt, came over for dinner too (and my cousin’s husband too). We had so much fun catching up and had yummy ribs for dinner. My uncle kept feeding Tyler and my cousin more ribs!!

Trying to set up self-timer on my camera….and FAIL!

Now there’s the family!
(Me, Tyler, cousin Shane, cousin Dana, Matt, Uncle Don, Aunt Lee, & Grandma)

Good times even trying to drink M&M’s out of a wine glass… maybe my uncle was already drunk on M&M’s!

Tuesday morning before heading over to my other Grandma’s condo… we visited my Grandpa’s grave. I remembered where it was but not exactly. We spent a good 20 minutes trying to find it until we called Grandma and finally found it. The world stopped for a second then it became really windy. Tears rolled down my face as I remembered him and hoped that it was him trying to say hello through the wind. I can’t believe it’s been 14 years since he passed away of cancer. He was such a great man and will never be forgotten!

My grandma is gorgeous!! Can you believe she’s 86 years old?! I asked her if she was seeing anyone. She blushed as she told me that there are a few guys from church and the pancake house who flirts with her. I love her attitude and outlook on life. She’s so happy and content. She showed us some old pictures of the old days. There was a beautiful picture of her dressed up in a yellow dress walking off the cruise with my Grandpa…almost looking like Audrey Hepburn. I hope I can look as good as her when I’m 86 years old!

(First picture: with Tyler’s mom. Second picture: with Tyler’s grandma)

The rest of the week was spent with Tyler’s family in Vancouver near Portland. We played a lot of board games with the family. Being surrounded by family constantly makes me want to have a big family some day. Tyler has 3 brothers and it was fun to always be hanging out with one or all of them. I wish we lived closer to them. We need to convince them all to move to Arizona!

It was a wonderful vacation even though it rained 90% of the time we were there. We came home Sunday night when it was 109 degrees and our house was like a sauna at 95 degrees. We have been busy trying to get back to our lives with work, my side business, projects around the house, and read blogs! My Google Reader count is out of control!! I’m going to tackle that this week…oh yes!

We’re going on vacation!!! Tomorrow morning we’ll be driving our neighbor’s car to Portland in Oregon. They have a vacation home here and wants their car back in Portland so they offered to pay us to drive their car. I’m afraid we’re going to not get out of the car at all when we get there. How am I supposed to return to my crappy car after driving a nice BMW SUV?!

My dream is to drive up the Pacific Coast Highway but it’s not the fastest way to Washington so we’ll be going up through Salt Lake City & Boise. A family friend of ours who babysat me when I was a baby and means a lot to our family happens to live in Boise. We’ll be stopping there overnight Saturday after driving 14 hours. We’ll visit for a little bit Sunday morning before hitting the road to Portland.

Monday through Wednesday we’ll rent a car and drive up to Seattle. My family on my mom’s side is getting together for a picnic because we’re in town. I’m so anxious since I haven’t seen my aunt and uncle’s new house and most of them since our wedding. We’ll be staying with them then go to my paternal grandma’s condo by the beach and stay with her. Wednesday is devoted to seeing old friends before going back to Vancouver near Portland where my in-laws live and stay with them for the rest of the week.

I’m anxious and overwhelmed with all the people we’ll be seeing all in 1 week with limited time. I’ll be tweeting and will try to blog. Thanks to the WordPress plug-in on my iPhone! I can’t even imagine how out of control my Google Reader is going to get this upcoming week…it makes me nervous!

P.S. I’ve never had a guest post on my blog before so I’ve asked a good friend of mine, Haley, to do one. She’s an awesome writer so look out for that soon!

{image}

Have you ever been disappointed that your life is not like you see on a television show?

I’m jealous that there’s a family that wakes up at an ungodly hour and manage to look beautiful and eat breakfast together before dashing out the door. My life has never been like this! Growing up, I’d painfully get up and get ready then eat breakfast quietly before going to school. Nothing special happened in the mornings. Now that Tyler and I are married… it’s just the two of us and he’s usually gone in the mornings before I get up for work. I don’t even make breakfast or read the newspapers outside on the patio. I can’t even get through a morning without feeling rushed anyways!

We’re all aware that even locations aren’t entirely real. They may use a house in a small town then show a neighborhood somewhere else. I’ve watched shows where I’d love to live… like The OC for example. Gorgeous… a house right by the beach, sure!

Have you noticed that in all of the 90′s television shows there is an annoying neighbor that barges in the house without knocking. There is always something going on with the family. There is also a cute boy that lives close by or even next door who will climb up the window to the girl’s bedroom.

I know the purpose of television shows and movies are to entertain us but the location and actions definitely do influence us.. or just me. Growing up my neighbors were older and I’ve never had kids my age live right next door that I could wave to out my bedroom window or sneak over like they do on the shows.

Some days I just wish I could live in the television world. Or make up my own location & house. Don’t tell me there’s Sims 3 for that. I have spent too much time with that game that, it’s depressing.

Believe me, I love the way my life is. I have just wanted some of those things to be real when I was younger and a teenager. I can only dream….that I can see the beach from my backyard & many more things that I know are too good to be true.

{image – anna inghardt}

This is me after taking a shower & drying my hair and… with NO MAKE-UP ON!

I was recently inspired to do this from some bloggers. For those who know me very well, I never leave the house without make-up on. Except for some Summer days when I’m lazy… I have to at least put mascara on. I have to admit though that I never wear concealer or foundation. The only make-up I use is eyeshadow, eyeliner and mascara. In fact I think I have more hair products than I do with make-up. I don’t even have extra time in the mornings for all the other make-up. I can’t even get smokey eyes without getting too stressed out and messing up.

When my sorority had dances, I would always go and get my make-up done at the mall and buy the cheapest product they used after putting make-up on me…which normally was the eyeliner or mascara. I have always liked what they did except for that one time in 2006. I went to the mall and a young woman said she would do my make-up. She didn’t even let me watch in front of a mirror or let me take a peek in the mirror every once a while. I had absolutely no idea what she was doing until she was done and let’s just say I then understood why a lot of people were walking by and looking at me. Imagine this is what I looked like after wiping off a lot of make-up (less green!)…

Fortunately some women look amazing with bold colors but not me… or it’s just that I’m not used to that much make-up. I have accepted that it’s just not me to know how to do these amazing things with my eyes. Just putting on eyeshadow, eyeliner and mascara will do! I’m happy with the way I look and would like to thank my parents for the lovely genes.

Now will you join us and show your beautiful self without make-up on? You know you’re beautiful no matter what!