Archives of Our Lives

{a narrow and broad look into the lives of people I love}

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

My Tragic Flaw (One of the Many)

Let the record show (to anyone who read my previous post) that when Kyle and I started discussing ex-girlfriends, it was totally and completely my own doing. I brought it up, and when Kyle tried changing the subject (as any smart husband-to-be would do), it was I who re-directed the conversation back to his ex-girlfriends. My fault. I admit it.

This photo perfectly captures the look Kyle gets when I do silly things like ask, "Did you ever take long walks with any of your other girlfriends at such-and-such-same-place-we-used-
to-go?"

I don't know why I do things like that. It's sick, the way I live my life. The "green monster of jealousy" is something I never thought I would have need to fear. And yet here I am, becoming the kind of girl who morbidly likes to ask about ex-girlfriends, only to sulk around all night in feelings bordering on insecurity. It's ridiculous, plain and simple. I know in the end, I'll have the last laugh because I got the guy... I know I should feel confidant that, if I ever meet any of these ex-girlfriends, Kyle would be proud to introduce me as his wife... And I know I should fight this petty woman I sometimes see in myself...

But as far as I can see, I am a long way off from being perfect.

[And if I ever do chance to meet one of Kyle's ex-girlfriends, I doubt I will walk away with fond memories. But it will make a good post for my blog!]

Monday, July 30, 2007

Hogar Dulce Hogar

One time when I was a little girl, my mom returned from Homemaking Evening bearing a sign made of three wooden hearts tied together with raffia. Each pink heart had one word written on it--"Hogar Dulce Hogar"--which is Spanish for "Home Sweet Home". Every time I come home from a vacation I get that foreign phrase stuck in my head; I guess that was my mom's way of teaching me Spanish without my knowledge. Sneaky.

I am home as home can be, and it is nice to be back where it is hot, with no strings attached. It was humid there in the Gulf of Mexico, and I had no idea how to deal with that little "glitch" in my image of the beach. For those desert rats of AZ (like myself) who don't know about humidity, read up on it here. I wish I had taken a moment to educate myself before I left. Silly me. At any rate, I am glad to be where it is only hot, instead of hot-and-sickly-sticky. I spent a great deal of my time in Texas watching Season Two of "24" with the entire extended family (grandparents included), which was an absolute blast. I also took the opportunity to get sunburned while reading Harry Potter #7. Fabulous. Bonded a lot with my far-away cousins from Texas who I don't get to see very often. And I ate a lot of seafood, which always floats my boat.

I have posted some of my favourite photos of the trip...

This is Adell with Clint at the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi. I like this photo because it captures the "Pregnancy Glow" in my big sister. [Even though she is totally slacking and hasn't started a blog, scrapbook, or even a journal of her pregnancy, I will try to update the world of her progress via my blog.] Doesn't she look great, for being four months pregnant (and sick all the time)? Clint, of course, looks like a dork, because that's what he is. Good guy, Clint.

Kyle and I drove all the way from Corpus Christi, TX to Mesa, AZ today. It was about 16 hours in the Jetta, and I am proud to say it hardly phased us. (That is, it definitely didn't phase Kyle, who is a professional, and it only phased me a little bit at the end when we started talking about ex-girlfriends [which, for me, is always a little phasing {and the worst possible subject of discussion on a road trip with a member of the opposite sex.}]) Thank goodness for satellite radio to get us through the rough spots...
(And yes, I actually am proud of the fact that my stud-of-a-fiance can fit 50% of his daily calorie intake into one mouthful of Double-Stuff Oreo Cookies.)


This is the docent at the Alamo (that's right, the Alamo,) in San Antonio, Texas. He is by far the most interesting-looking person I have ever seen. I didn't catch his name but I like to imagine it is something equally interesting, like Edgar or Igor. Or Bart.

Wow. Sorry this post has been so long. I suppose mine is one of the most boring blogs in cyberspace to date... If you have stuck with me to the end of this, you must truly love me.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Nebraska Rhymes With Alaska


I have been positively itching to post on my blog since this road trip started over a week ago. For those of you who don't know, last Thursday I started out on a eight-state road trip with my fiance, Kyle. We departed from Alberta, Canada, and went through North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, and ended in southern Texas, on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico (for a week-long family reunion). It has been fabulous, to say the very least, and I have lots of great stories to tell. Unfortunately, I do not have tons of time with the internet here, so I will just post one picture and leave you with this little gem: Kyle and I decided--during the many hours of miles we've been together--that Nebraska does, in fact, rhyme with Alaska. And here is a photo to prove it. (Just kidding, the photo doesn't really prove anything, but we were in Nebraska when we took it...)

Monday, July 16, 2007

Sonoran ("suh-NORE-uhn") Living

A person has to have lived in the Great State of AZ to fully understand what I am about to say...

I propound that there is a scent unique to Arizona. I have been a lot of places in my day (I like to consider myself a traveler), and I have never smelled anything quite like it. In Southern AZ (that is, neither in the mountains nor the Grand Canyon), the smell is most easily described as dirt-y. I am not talking about filth and squalor--I mean genuine, true, kicking-around-in-the-Sonoran-desert earth.



Now, I know that South-Western Arizona doesn't lay claim to the only desert in the world, but trust me: it's the only one that smells like this! Our dirt, combined with the scent of Palo Verde trees and cactus fumes, is the only thing that really smells like home to me. I especially feel at peace when it rains--summer rain is the most fragrant (and warm). Some people may get sad or depressed when the sky is cloudy, but I, being the desert rat that I am, take rainy-day schedule as an opportunity to be thankful for the reprieve--no matter how short-lived--from the scorching sun and sweat.

So, can you tell? It's July, and that means monsoon season here in the Valley of the Sun! My second favourite time of year here! (Coming in at number one is Glorious Autumn, but that will have to wait a few more months...)

Things of Real Importance


Another love of my life is my dear friend Chelsie Akers, or rather, Sister Akers. She is currently serving a mission in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and I miss her more than I miss Diet Dr. Pepper on a road trip through Utah. My friendship with her started later in life, and we weren't officially kindred spirits until we became stand partners in Band our Junior year.

Chelsie is officially my very favourite travel partner, based on countless road trips to Disneyland, plus an intensely memorable week-long excursion to NYC, and many more quests. (Also thanks to the fact that, when she worked at US Airways, she picked my name out of a hat, thus choosing me to be the sole person who could fly free with her, any time, anywhere. That's love!)

If you think we look excessively happy in the above photo, it's because we had just seen the musical Rent live on Broadway, and we were still reaping the benefits of that emotional high. Another thing Chelsie loves, just like me, is to cross things off of a lifetime goal list. In New York, we split the fare of a ridiculously over-priced horse-drawn carriage ride through Times Square just so we could cross it off our respective lists. Monumental. Here's the photo to prove it:


So it is clear that my love for Chelsie runs deep and wide. She is the one in my life who helps me set and accomplish noteworthy goals, and inspires me to keep my dreams big and possible. August of 2008 cannot come soon enough, as far as I am concerned!

A tribute to Chelsie and our shared love of DDP: Two fanatics. One week in the Big Apple. Minuscule budget. Let's keep our priorities straight...

Saturday, July 14, 2007

CL Kicks

My friend Lindsey Burnham is another person I love dearly. We met in Junior High in Seventh Grade but didn't become close friends until the next year when we were partners in Mr. Finn's Algebra I class. Bonding over pumpkin seeds and You've Got Mail, it didn't take long for me to realise that Lindsey was a kindred spirit (as Anne of Green Gables would say). The above photo is of Lindsey and me right before I moved to Canada in September of 2005. See how it looks like we were crying? We were.
Over the years I have had a lot of nicknames for Lindsey, from "The Burn" to "My Snow-Pea Sister." We have even had joint nicknames--this year at Girls' Camp Lindsey and I became "CL." All of the campers who attended our music class learned to call us CL and we had fun trying to set a good example of clean fun.
Here is CL captured in the process of a "CL Kick," a reward for the girls who sang especially loud during music classes. I don't know why, but for some reason our campers found this amusing. I am thinking we should take our show on the road--I hear Barnum and Bailley are hiring.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Walk Beside Me

"Lead me, guide me, walk beside me..." It's a well-known hymn and primary song, but it perfectly sums up my parents' role in my life. Growing up, I didn't have the Gilmore Girls kind of best-friend-banter relationship with my parents, but I never once doubted their love for me. I feel so selfish sometimes when I look back on all that my mom and dad chose to sacrifice so that Adell and I could have a better quality of life... I love them so much and I hope they fall into riches someday so they can buy a summer home in Raymond! This photo was taken the very first time my parents came to visit me in Canada. My mom has always loved it, and I have to admit it is starting to grow on me, too.
Here we are at "Aida" in celebration of my Mom's birthday last year. I should do a post about Broadway musicals--another thing my parents introduced me to at a young age, which has, by now, grown into almost an obsession.

Right Next Door


My big sister, Adell, is another person I love dearly. She is not quite two years older than me, and we fought like lion cubs until we both got into Junior High; something about sharing clothes (and having double the wardrobe) brought us closer together, and we've been best friends ever since. When she got married in 2004 it affected me much more than I ever expected, but I am glad to say I have since overcome my fear of losing her to Clint. They moved only five houses away from me, and I have loved being able to share (secondhand, of course) the little excitements that come with having a sister get married. I am proud to say that nothing on Adell's wall gets nailed in or hung up without my express approval first! And being one of the first people to find out about her first pregnancy is my second claim to fame. Her little baby is going to be so lucky to have an aunt like me...

My "To-Whom-I-Go" Guy


Since I am just starting my blog, I feel like I need to post many different things to keep it interesting. I will probably be posting a lot in the next few days. Now, there are only so many pictures of myself I put up before people get sick of me, so I have decided to start sharing tidbits about people I love. Who better to start with than Kyle? Kyle Fairbanks is my very first (and last) fiance, and the man who has been a blessing in my life since the day I met him. I call him my "go-to guy" (only that's improper English, according to my big sister), for more than one reason. I can't count the times I have been in despair, needing instructions on how to plunge a toilet, or work a George Foreman Grill, and he never fails to make time for me. Once when I was looking for a certain address here in Phoenix, I called Kyle (in Canada) and he gave me directions. What a hero!


Anyway, I love him.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

The Archives of Our Lives



Well this is all very exciting! I have been reading Blogspot blogs for some time now and I kept thinking, "I wish I was cool enough to have a blog..." I guess I thought that a person had to be invited onto Blogspot or something. Imagine my joy when I discovered I could, in fact, have a blog of my very own! Now my only problem is: Can I rise to the challenge of finding enough interesting things to write on here? Most people with blogs use them to post adorable pictures of their children, but me? Well I have no children, just an electronic Chia pet named Channing who, at the moment, is completely bald. Not very promising. All I have to say for now is stay tuned!