Sometimes Bad Guys Make The Best Good Guys

LEVERAGE!! It is only in it's second season (which is almost over) and it is not as popular as I would hope, possibly due to it only being on TNT, at least when I ask if people have seen it the answer is usually no, but I absolutely LOVE this TV show!!! It's about a group of thieves who get together and use their skills to help people, while, of course, stealing and conning the bad guys. A bit like Robin Hood. It is really fun!

In the picture, it is Eliot, Sophie, Nate, Parker, Hardison.

The characters are all absolutely fabulous! There is Nate, who is the Mastermind. He finds the cons and makes all the plans. Sophie is a Grifter, or in other words, a thief who uses aliases to gain the trust of people. She also really wants to be an actress but is absolutely terrible at it, which is funny since she pretty much acts for a living as a grifter. Eliot is the Hitter, he pretty much beats people up. He is really cool! Hardison is the Hacker. He runs all of the technology sort of things and he's really fun! And last, but certainly not least, is my favorite! Her name is Parker. Parker is actually her last name, no one knows her first name. She is a Theif. She is very talented. She once stole the Hope diamond and then put it back because she was bored. She loves stealing (and occasionally does so without meaning to). She loves money but doesn't spend it, she just loves having it. She is terrible with men and even when she has to try to do a bit of grifting, like Sophie, it often ends with her stabbing the guy. It's so great! She is super funny and kind of spacy and crazy. I LOVE her!! I think I might name one of my daughters after her!!

So, Leverage is a fabulous show and I highly suggest watching it! It is my favorite show, only second to The Office, and just barely! It's great!! It's fun to see how the cons work out and most of the episodes have a bit of surprise ending. It's really cool!


Here are some of my favorite quotes, most, if not all, will be from or about Parker.

Nathan: "Parker.. you have Parker?" Dubenich: "Is there someone better?" Nathan: "No.. but Parker is insane?!"
Parker: I put all that money in a Swiss bank account.
Eliot: Millions of dollars, you didn't buy anything?
Parker: I don't like stuff, I like money.

Parker: 42 seconds - Hardison: What? Parker: - to rob this bank. One security guard who never fired his gun before, two closed circuit camera's outside, one inside, and an glenn-reader safe built in the 1950's whose default combination is the birthday of the manager's wife. Get in and get out - 42 seconds. Hardison: Seriously?

Parker (to Sophie): Wait, you did the lift? Why wasn’t I involved?
Hardison: Because somebody decided to jeopardize the mission when a certain somebody shish kabobbed a certain mark.
Parker (smiles): Yeah, that was me.

Cindy: You don’t think it makes me look fat?
Sophie (shakes head no): Uh uh.
Parker: Oh, definitely. I mean, why do you think I had to let out the waist, to make you look less skinny?
Parker: (after making Cindy cry:) What do you weigh anyway? A buck 50?

Parker pretending to be a flight attendant:
"In the event of a water landing, your seat cushion can be used as a flotation device. But let’s face it, if this thing goes down in the water, more than likely the impact will kill you. Please take a moment to locate the nearest emergency exits; if this plane’s on fire, you’re gonna want to get out quick. Jet fuel burns at over 1,000 degrees — that’s hot, folks.”

Sophie: We're going to do a little role play. We're going to start with persuasion techniques. So Eliot has an apple Parker has an orange.
Eliot: I love apples. Apples are my favorite fruit.
Parker: Good for you Sparky.
Eliot: (looks to Sophie) I don't have to sit here and take this, do I?
Sophie: Just do it for me.
Eliot: You have an orange, now convince me that I want the orange not the apple. I'm going to take a bite.
Parker: I PUT A RAZOR BLADE IN THAT APPLE!
Eliot: Are you serious?
Parker: Maybe. But do you know what doesn't have a razor blade in it? This orange! Don't you want it?
Sophie: You fell for that?

21 Years!!

My birthday was last Saturday and it was absolutely amazing!!! One of the very best!!! Matt and Kim came down to visit us and it was so wonderful to spend some time with them before they get married!! On my birthday Jon made me breakfast and then he had to go to work. Later we got together and went to see District 9!! It was pretty good, really different from most movies that are out now. It was cool!!

That evening we got together with Kevin and Rochele (along with Matt and Kim) and went to the state fair!! It was really fun! After that we got together with pretty much everyone that was still here for the summer and went out to Chevy's for dinner. Yum!! Jon got me lots of fantastic presents! I also got Pixar shorts from Matt and Kim, a shirt from my Dad, a necklace from Jessica, the game Partini from the Fillmore's and cards from our parents and my grandparents. Jon made me a cake that said 'Ferrari Rocks' on it!! He bought me the most awesome red heels and the color is Ferrari Red, so I guess that's my new nickname! Hehe! We spent the evening playing Scum with everyone! It was so wonderful!! Seriously the best birthday ever!!

On Monday Matt and Kim had to head home and so did Kevin and Rochele! It was really sad!! We'll obviously see Matt and Kim again soon (thank goodness!) but I'm not sure about the Fillmore's. They are up in Rexburg and we hardly ever go there. I had so much fun with Rochele for the last month or so and it makes me sad that we didn't realize how good of friends we could be until the end of the summer. I love you Rochele and miss you tons already!! At least I know we'll keep in touch!

On Wednesday pretty much everyone else with wives left, as well as some of the single guys. So now, as for wives, it's just me and Lindsey! Which is fine, I love Lindsey and her precious little girl, but it sure is sad that we are the only ones left. I started my new job on Monday. I'm the new secretary for this office for the extended program. So far it is going really well and I'm actually enjoying it. I hope it lasts! Haha!

Double Dates, Kickball and a New Job

So Rochele and I have been spending almost all day everyday together for the past week or so and it has been fabulous! It's so wonderful to have such a great connection with another girl!! I love Rochele so much!! She is such an amazing friend!! She's really the best and I am SO sad that I am losing her next week when she heads home to Rexburg. I'll miss her so much!

We were watching Racheal Ray one day and she had this fabulous looking recipe so we decided to do a double date with our husbands and make them dinner! We made lemon glazed chicken and tangerine scallion pasta!! It was delicious!! We also had sparkling cider, non-alcoholic wine, bread, and, of course, dessert!! We had apple crisp and vanilla ice cream! Yum!! We also made it all romantic with candles and low lights. It was so fun and really really tasty! It was great and our husband's loved it! After dinner we played games and had limeade!!! It was a great Saturday night!

On Sunday we had one of our last barbeques with everyone and then we went and played kickball together!! It was an absolute blast!! I haven't played a game like that for so long and I am so sore! It was SO great! Almost everyone was there! The score ended at 13 to 10 (or something like that). We were on the losing team and we had more people, it was pretty funny, but we had such a great time!!! I'm really going to miss everyone. Almost everyone is leaving by next week... Sad day...

So, I'm not really sure how this happened, it started out as a joke and then just happened so fast, but I HAVE A JOB!! No more job searching! YAY!! I am actually going to be the secretary for the Pinnacle office in Sacramento for the guys who are extending. I am pretty excited, though a little nervous. But Amy, the secretary now, is SO wonderful and amazing and she has spent a lot of time training me and making me feel comfortable about it. I'm so glad that I get to do this so she can go home! Wish me luck!!

Our Cruise To Cabo

Jon and I just got back from our cruise!! We decided to take a cruise because when we first started the summer we thought that we would be going to medical school by the beginning of August, instead we decided to put it off and work for Pinnacle for another summer which means that we didn't really have to go straight to work the day after Jon graduated. So we decided that we would take a cruise in August as a mid summer vacation., for us anyway, everyone else is leaving in a few weeks and we are just halfway through now.

The cruise was great! Neither of us have ever been on one before and didn't really know what to expect. It was awesome to be able to eat whenever we wanted and we didn't have to clean up and there was always amazing food at dinner. Every night we were assigned to sit with the same people at the same table and we had a really good time with them! They were a lot of fun!

Being on the ship made me sick and I was glad I had motion sickness medication for that or else it would have been a terrible vacation. It was cool though to be out on the ocean and not see any land for so long, though we weren't actually too far away from land, just far enough that we couldn't see it.

We went to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It was really hot and humid!! Why do we always decide to take vacations to hot and humid places in the hottest month of the year? Last year was Florida and it was awful! What were we thinking? Surprising though, Cabo was not as bad as Florida was. I got really nervous with all the Mexicans trying to sell us stuff and I don't speak Spanish, I'm not so comfortable when I can't understand what they want! But while we were in Cabo we got to hold a baby tiger!! We saw it and just couldn't pass up the chance!! Tigers have been our thing since we started dating!! It was so neat but I did feel bad for the poor tiger, she was so hot and tired.

We also got to go snorkeling!! We took a boat over to 2 different places and the boat ride was super fun!! I love speedy boats! We also saw a couple of manta rays while we were on the boat! It was really neat!! Snorkeling was great! The water was not even remotely cold, it was more like bath water! There were so many fish. I never thought it would be like that so close to the shore, it was amazing! Our guide caught a puffer fish and showed it to us. It was funny because apparently when puffer fish puff up they get really slow so it couldn't really get away and we just passed it back and forth between us. It felt so weird, it was prickly but not in a painful kind of way and it had a really ugly face. It was funny.

We also got to swim with Leopard sharks!! I've pet Leopard sharks at the aquarium so I thought it was going to be no big deal, they were pretty little there. And Leopard sharks aren't dangerous. So, we went snorkeling with them. No tanks, no cages, nothing special, just our snorkeling gear. I wasn't nervous at all and then I looked under the water and saw at least 5 of these big sharks!! They were not the little ones I was expecting and I screamed and got really scared but Jon held my hand and eventually it was really cool! There were so many, and again, right off of the shore, it was crazy!!

One the second day we got to go horseback riding on the beach. I am always pretty disappointed when we go horseback riding though. I love horses and I love riding them. But I don't really like sitting on a boring trail horse that I don't have the need to do anything with in the hot sun. It was sad, but it was pretty cool to walk along the beach with them.

So all in all, our vacation was great! We had fun on the ship and on the shore and it was nice and relaxing! Now it's time to get back to work! I get to start looking for a job and Jon gets to continue selling! We have another cruise to look forward to in October as a big incentive for the Pinnacle guys, so it'll be fun to be there with people that we know and love!

Things are going really great for us and I love our life together!!

Goodbye to Friends

The summer is coming to a close and that means that the people out here for the summer are getting ready to head home. There have been quite a few people that have left early and it's always hard to say goodbye, but the worst so far is when our dear friends Ethan and Misty left.

It was really sudden, each time we talked to them during the week they told us that they were leaving earlier and earlier then the original plan until it was suddenly time to go. I came out to say goodbye and I was okay until they brought out Zariah. It felt like my heart broke when I saw her and from that point on there was no going back. I lasted a while but finally started to cry, which of course made Misty cry.

It was a lot different than when Jon and I left Utah in the spring. We were excited about that and we were the ones that were leaving. But this was so sudden and we weren't the ones who were leaving and we got to see them every single day that we were out here and suddenly they are gone.

I just want them to know how much we love and miss them and we can't wait to come and see them in November when we come up to Utah for Thanksgiving. Thanks for being such amazing friends! We love you!

New Toys!!

Jon and I have decided that we really want to be more active and to find fun ways to do that, so we recently bought roller blades and have been having a great time skating around the area! It's amazing how much it works your body in so little time and is still fun, and it doesn't even take that much effort! It's like the ultimate workout package! I highly recommend it!


When Jon hit 100 sales he earned a camera by doing so!! So yesterday we went out and bought a fantastic camera! It is a digital SLR Canon Rebel T1i and it is AMAZING!! I am having so much fun with it! One of the girls out here during the summer is actually getting her degree in photography so I have been able to ask her all sorts of questions, she is fabulous and it is so wonderful to be able to have an actual person to ask who knows that they are doing! The camera is really going to last us for a long time, which is great! And it has HD video so we don't have to take our camcorder to Italy this winter, which will be fantastic!! I am SO EXCITED about it!

This afternoon I got together with Misty and Rochele and we took newborn pictures of Zariah! Now, I'm definitely not the best photographer but it was so much fun and I think we got some really good shots! It was great and it really makes me want to learn more and get better! Luckily, Jon's uncle in Michigan also is really good at photography, so hopefully I'll be able to get some advice from him as well! Fun stuff!!

If anyone else has tips or advice on taking good pictures, let me know! ;)

Here are some of the pictures that we took today! You can click on them to make them bigger. It's hard to capture the quality on the computer, but you'll get the idea.

SUCCESS!!!

A lot of great things have been happening in the last few days! It has been fantastic!

Jon had been doing really well selling! He got 4 sales yesterday which he hasn't done for about 5 weeks, so that is awesome! Also, he just hit his 100 mark!!! Good job baby! I knew you could do it!! There is an incentive going out to all of the guys for a cruise later in the year! Each person was given an individual goal to hit and if they do it then they get to go on the cruise! Jon's is 150 and I really think we'll be able to go! 2 cruises in a few months time! Yay!!

Also, I just found out today that I PASSED MY TEST!!! I am WAY excited! I was really worried about it and actually had a hard time actually opening the email that told me because I was terrified that I failed again! But I didn't!! I passed with 93% and even got HONORS!!! I am just so happy that I don't have to take it again!! Thanks honey for being so supportive and encouraging!! I love you!

So things are going fabulously! We are having tons of fun with the people out here and the summer is quickly coming to a close. People usually go home around the end of August, and I am dreading it because we'll be here until November and I'm really going to miss my friends. How sad! But we still have a month so I'm totally going to make the most of it!

Also, Jon's friend Matt just got engaged to a sweet girl named Kim! I am absolutely thrilled them! They are getting married on November 21st, which is SWEET! Because Jon and I were married on November 20th and we already plan on being in town for Thanksgiving! So we won't miss it! We wouldn't miss it anyway, but this is easy now! Hurray! Congrats friends! We love you!!

HAIR CUT!!

I finally got my hair cut again today!! I've been wanting to do it for a while because it was at that nasty awkward length where it's not short enough or long enough so it just looks weird! So today I went and got it cut and colored! I really love it! I'm glad that I started to be daring enough to cut it short, because I think it's a good change!! The colors I got were blond highlights, dark brown lowlights, and bits of red!! It's SO cool!! I love it!! So much fun!!

I've also been working on changing my clothing style, which I mentioned a while ago, and it has been going really well! So far so good!!

Test Attempt #2

I just submitted my 2nd attempt at my test!! I think it went really well actually! Definitely better than the first time. I only had a few blanks and though there may be mistakes that I failed to see, I think that I should at least pass. I need 85% to pass at all, 95% and up would be best though. I think that I at least got somewhere in the 90s, so we'll see. I officially have to wait for 2 weeks (again). Waiting is tough!! But at least I don't have to worry too much, I just need to enjoy the break and try not to think about it!

***** Oh! Also, if you have heard about Career Step (careerstep.com) from me and have decided that you want to try it, I would REALLY appreciate it if you would add me as a referral! That would be FREAKING AWESOME!!! Thanks!! ******

I am leaving tomorrow morning to drive to Utah to pick up my sisters!!! I'll be there tomorrow (Wednesday) night and I'm driving back to California with them on Thursday morning! So lots of driving, but it will totally be worth it!!! I can't wait!! It's going to be great!!!

Also, Harry Potter movie #6 comes out in theaters tonight/tomorrow!!! I LOVE HARRY POTTER!! (For all of you who had no idea. ;) )

Good night!!

Welcome To The World Baby Girl!!

My friend Misty finally had her baby on Friday morning!! Zariah Kay was born at 1:11 a.m. She weighed 8 pounds 6 ounces and was 19 inches long!! The labor was pretty rough for both Mommy and baby and the baby got pretty bruised and scratched, but they are both happy and healthy! She is so precious, just beautiful!! It has been really fun to be so close to something so amazing! We got to see her later that morning and have been able to spend a lot of time with her and the parents since then. They are so sweet and so excited! I'm excited to be able to spend the next few months with them as well! So fun!!

However, it seems that Jon is not near as excited as I am. In fact he has been a little freaked out since she was born. We might end up waiting to start trying for kids. It is really important for us to both be ready for something as important as this, so we'll see how it goes!

The summer is still going well! Jon had a few slow weeks but he has been doing much better! It is Gladiator time for Pinnacle! A company wide competition! The first week is against people in your own office! Jon's team one for the week and Jon was the top experienced rep in this office so he gets to continue on this week!! This week is against the rest of the company, each office is a team. Our team is made up of Jon, one of the managers (Pat), and the best first year rep from last week (Pablo). I think they have a pretty good chance of winning if they really try their hardest!! The top 12 teams in the company get to continue on to the last week of competition!! It's pretty exciting!

We are having a blast out here and it's been fun to watch our relationship change and grow as well! It just keeps getting better!! ♥