Did I pull a Britney?

Getting my hair cut/trimmed is one of my favorite things to do. What better way is there to spend an evening than chatting with a girlfriend (in my case, my hair lady is Tiffany who I met Sophomore year of college), getting your hair washed by someone else and walking out of the salon looking fabulous? Sounds pretty nice to me.

Last night I had the works done: cut, dye and eyebrow wax (I was looking like an amazon woman). As Tiffany is doing my weave, she gasps and says, 'Um, Natalie... what is this?" I say, "What is what?" She then points to the top of my head at a small chuck of hair that is only 1 inch long. WTF??? Where did my hair go? I scream and grab my hair. There is a small 1 inch square of hair that is completely gone. Tiffany didn't do it. She didn't have scissors in her hand. When did it happen, I haven't the slightest clue?? I have no idea if I burned it off with the now, not so trusting, CHI straightener or if some mean joke was played on me while I slept. Whatever happened, this is serious and I am deeply concerned for my well-being.

For the purposes of blogging, Tiffany and her husband graciously offered their services and took a picture:


Somewhere in the universe, is a big chuck of my hair. Personally, I would like it back. But until then, I now have my own sort of "rooster tail" thing going. Call me "Rooster" now - it might be the only thing I respond to.

I Hate These...

As much as I really do hate these things, I feel obligated because Alisa tagged me. Freak woman! You know all these things about me!

Four Jobs I've Had:
1. Ice Cream Scooper at Baskin Robbins
2. Office Runner
3. Mrs. Fields marketing
4. Ad agency

Four Movies I Can Always Watch:
1. How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days
2. Return to Me
3. Chocolat
4. The Count of Monte Cristo

Four Places I've Lived:
1. Holladay, UT
2. Washington, DC
3. Sugarhouse, UT
4. That's all... kind of sad

Four TV Shows I Enjoy:
1. The Office
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. 30-Minute Meals
4. What About Brian

Four Favorite Foods:
1. Chips and Salsa
2. Pasta
3. Cheese
4. Chocolate chip cookies

Four Websites I Visit:
1. www.perezhilton.com
2. www.google.com
3. www.msn.com
4. www.weather.com

Four Places I'd Rather Be Right Now:
1. My bed
2. A day spa
3. On the beach
4. Boating on the lake

Four Blogger Buddies I'm Tagging:
I am not subjecting anyone to this ;)

Tighten Your Life Jacket, Natalie!

To add one more weekend trip into my already crazy summer, a small group of my friends headed up to Jackson Hole Friday night to raft the Snake River on Saturday morning. This was a pretty last minute trip, so Mackenzi and I were the only girls in a group of nine. No complaints here.

Riding family style with Adam and Justin:
(According to my friend Brooke, Justin looks like my boyfriend in this picture and Adam looks like the third wheel).


Mackenzi and Ratha crammed in the small back seat:


We hit the annoying construction that has been going on right outside Evanston and Justin and Adam had to be the alpha males and figure out what was going on:


I have no idea where we camped, so don't ask me. But we laid out our sleeping bags (and our blow up queen size mattress - Mackenzi and I sleep in style) and slept in the 40 degree crisp night air.
We woke up and headed for the river a few miles away. We geared up, took a few pictures....

Me and Mackenzi:


Ratha and Adam (Or after Brooke saw this picture - Dumb and Dumber):


From left to right -
Mackenzi, Adam, Justin, Me, Adam, Sammy, Brady, Ratha, and Brav in the front.


Mackenzi, Me and Adam:


Rafting the river was a blast! Some of the guys were on kayaks and the rest of us were on an inflatable dingy that Justin names, The Taco - because that is what it was. It would bend in half at the slightest rapid.

I almost drowned, along with pulling Justin under with me at one point. After rafting the biggest rapid of the day, we decided to float down in it. I didn't really think it through and thought this was a brilliant idea. No, i didn't realize that my life jacket wasn't tighten and that my helmet was too big for me. I just thought it sounded fun. Fun stopped the second I couldn't see the rapid because my life jacket was drowning me.

We were floating (more like drowning) down the rapid all linked together. Justin was in front of me. In my sheer panic, I grabbed on to him as tight as I could. I swallowed about 1 gallon of water but made it through without crying or having a panic attack.

All in all, it was a blast! I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I Might Run You Over Too!

I was called a b*tch by a stranger in the Wild Oats parking lot downtown today during lunch. Apparently I almost ran him over. So when I got out of my car he yells at me, "Did you mean to run me over?" I looked at him and said, "no" and kept walking. He then says, "well you don't have to be such a b*tch about it." I turned to him and said, "Are you serious?"

I then walked into Noodles and Company to meet my sister and brother. The mean guy and his friend were right behind me. As I am about to step up and pay, mean guy comes up to me and gets in my face and goes, "I should have kicked your car. You were 2 inches away from my foot." I looked at him and said, "ok" and stepped up to pay. He then goes, "OK? OK?"

It was awesome.

Welcome Home Elder Harris!

Wahoo! Austin is home! I can't believe that two years has gone by so incredibly fast! Austin served in Veracruz, Mexico and was an outstanding missionary! He still has a strong Mexican accent when he speaks English. It is freaking hilarious! I am so glad to have my entire family back together again. Two years is a long time!

Here are a few pictures from the airport last night:

I found a super cheesy balloon that I just had to get for the occasion. Alex said, "that is embarrassing, Natalie". I then said to him, "you are embarrassing." :)


The four siblings finally together again!

Austin has always been "my buddy". It might be because of the brunette hair and the fact that the red heads stick together. But I told him last night, "thank goodness my buddy is back!"

The whole fam:

Austin totally went to school today. I wonder how he is doing. I am sure he looks like a deer in the headlights!

Welcome home buddy!

Snugglefest 2007

Every once and a while, a good old fashion GNO is in order. After a FREEZING morning at the lake (annual ward ski trip activity), my friends and I decided to not get ready for the evening, spend all of our time chatting, eating fatty foods and watching fabulously good chick flicks. This idea came to us as we huddled underneath the pavilion in sweatshirts and blankets at the lake Saturday morning. So, in between our teeth chattering and lips turning purple, we decided that that night would not be spent with our guy friends at the Poison concert, but snuggled up in blankets watching chick flicks and drinking Diet Coke (or regular coke for me).

And by "snuggled" we didn't mean with each other. We just wanted to be snuggled in blankets and pillows. This explanation did not fly with the some of the boys in the ward. The male psyche has a warped perception of what a typical girls night out (or in) consists of. No, it does not consist of 5 girls, running around in our underwear, giggling while hitting each other softly with big feather pillows. It consists of 5 ginormous cokes (diet and regular), pizza and the ever so dependable Ben and Jerry.

We titled the evening: Snugglefest 2007 - just because we can.

SNUGGLEFEST 2007

A ginormous coke was definitely our first stop:


Followed by Ben and Jerry:


And just to be funny, my friend Racie took this picture and text it to some choice male friends who we knew would appreciate it.


A night in with the girls sometimes just can't be beat!

Since It's Just Me...

As I have gotten older, wiser and more independent, I have come to love to pamper myself with all things girly. I have regular hair cuts every 6 weeks, dye jobs whenever I feel I need them (that's the beauty of brown hair - you can't see my roots), massages, but more than anything, I am a big fan of the pedi. I would have to say, the pedicure is the one thing that I just can't see myself ever giving up. I fear the day when I have 3 children to run around, a home to take care, a husband to clean up after and no time for myself. Yes, this is indeed a fear I have. I have become too used to only caring about myself. I know that when that day comes, I will be happy to put others first, but for now, I fear it.

With that said, last night Brooke, Kenzi and I went and got mani/pedi's at the local nail salon. I have become a fan of the french tip pedicure. Looks so cute!




Now, for all of you that love to have a little "me" time and regularly visit the nail salon, you will find this clip hilarious. Must. Stop. Laughing.

Bally's is Not My Friend

In another sad attempt by me, I have conformed to society and the ever mounting pressure of joining the gym. For the past 5 years or so, I have actually belonged to one gym or another. However, instead of attending the gym, I make my monthly donation and call it good. Maybe going once every 3 months when I am having a fat day.


I joined Bally's almost 2 years ago with my old roommates Katelyn and Lori. It was a sort of family plan that we were under that was month to month. I liked this very much because I knew deep down, when I got sick of making my monthly donations I could cancel at any time. Well, my name was under Katelyn's and so when she moved to DC and cancelled her membership, mine was cancelled as well. I believed that gym gods were telling me that I no longer needed to pay them $20 every month and that I could go on my merry way.

Well, the gym gods and my metabolism gods decided to get together. My metabolism gods (MG) thought that it was about time to slow down. They had worked miraculously well for me for 25 years and decided that it was enough. No longer were they going to let me eat Wendy's at 10 pm or binge on pasta, breads and everything carbohydrates. They have taken strike, thus forcing me to join the gym and actually work off those extra carbs, calories and fat grams I consume. Damn you MG!

Last night I attended a Pilates class. My first that I had ever been to. I find that if I go to classes, I will push myself much harder than I would doing my own thing. But the brilliant machine that Bally's is, decided to implement a new rule starting this week. You must pay extra for Pilates and Yoga classes. WTF??? I already pay you a monthly fee, and now you are going to make me pay more to attend a class? Outrageous I tell you!

Anyway, wish me luck in my desperation to gain control back over my MG. I know I can, I just have to force myself to do it.

If I Must...

In my attempt to protect myself as well as those around me, I try not to blog about anything too personal that will hurt any ones feelings. I don't know who reads this blog and therefore don't know who could potentially be offended. I try to keep this blog rated G.

However, with that said, I feel the need to blog about my recent set up experiences. I will not name names or give any sort of inclination as to who my dates were. But, I will vent about my frustrations and feelings on set up dates.

I have, from now on, taken my friend Rob's advise and will from now on, limit set up dates to lunch or weeknight dinners only. This not only protects me, but my date as well. Because sometimes, after one hour spent with someone, you know is it just not going to work out.

I came to this realization after my last two set up dates. I actually have now titled them, "marathon dates". That is, they last as long or longer than it would take me to run a marathon. And, if you know me, it would probably take me about 8 hours...

Also, just because I am single and someone else is single, doesn't mean that we should go out. If that were the case, I should have gone out with the entire elders quorum in my singles ward by now.

I have come to wonder why I get set up on bad blind dates. I have narrowed it down to two options. 1) Whoever is setting me up thinks I am super cool, cute, outgoing, lovable and just all around a great catch. And, they know someone that isn't all those things and thinks that my super cool, cute, outgoing, lovable status will permeate onto my date. or 2) I am not all the above mentioned things and therefore deserve someone just like me. I would like to say it is the former. But I never know.

Now, with this all said, I actually still like being set up. If anything, I get to meet someone new. And, if it goes bad, I have a great story to tell. If you would like details on any of these dates, feel free to ask me in person. These dates have been quite comical (after the fact) and I laugh each time I tell them.

Out with the Old, In with the New!

When I was 18, I bought my first car. A Nissan Sentra. It was a stick shift. I couldn't drive stick and therefore couldn't drive it off the lot. I had to have my mom do it. Since then, many things have happened (i.e, went to college, graduated from college, moved out of my parents house, got a job, etc.). Now that I have hit my mid-twenies and am a single working woman with no one to worry about but myself, I decided to treat myself by buying myself a new car. I am only young and single once, right?

Luckly, my parents needed to buy a car for my brother Alex (who's poor car passed away) and so they bought my Sentra from me.

The ceremonial passing of the keys:


Me and my new ride. I don't want to get any comments on how "black is too hot", "it gets so dirty, it's impossible to keep clean", or "you're crazy for getting black exterior with black interior". Everyone has an opinion on black cars. Mine is that they are fabulous and so I got one. So unless you agree with me, keep your comments to yourself. It's my blog for goodness sake! With that said. I am very happy with my car and plan on having it for many many years to come.