Day 29: A photo of you as a child

One more day left in the "30 Days of Randomocity" and it has been good.  I haven't always known what to write, but I wrote it. :)  Today I am supposed to leave you all with photos of me as a child.

I always feel that seeing the "baby pictures" you can really see who a  person once was.  I say "once was" because life begins to happen and something just changes a person.  The innocence of a child is miraculous and I love it.  I am following two blogs of soon-to-be fathers (shout out to Ryan and Paul) and I am very excited to read their blogs after the big event.  They will have some marvelous insights into the world through the eyes of a child!

Anyway - here are the few photos I have that were already on my computer.  I don't have a scanner hooked up currently (I should do that soon!). I have some other photos which are much better into the young life of Shelby - however, these will suffice :) Enjoy!

Rock and Roll!

Uncle Tim and I - LOVE the 80's couch and covered lamp shade. Awesome!

Aunt Twila and myself. I have stayed close with her over the years...LOVE my Aunt.  Also, I just noticed I'm eating a slice of cheese. I love it.

Gramps and I before the high school homecoming game. I was in Kindergarten here and was picked for the homecoming court (to carry the flowers that would be presented to the "queen" and "princesses". 

Playing with my best friends! I miss smiling like that :) 

Jasper says...

Good night everyone...!

Music - It makes me smile :)

Day 28: Your favorite musician and why


I have always loved music.  I used to be "cool" and like the stuff no one else had ever even heard of.  I tend to lean more toward "regular" stuff now.  It is really hard to come up with my favorite musician however.  I go through phases for one - and for two - there are a TON of very talented and amazing musicians in our world.  Not only are they talented in their music but also are very compassionate folks in general which is something I'm drawn to. 


Lately I have been on a very folky music kick.  Some of my favorite artists to listen to lately have been the following:

• Ingrid Michaelson
  
• Michael Buble
  
• Jack Johnson
  
• Ben Folds
  
• Bright Eyes
  

Really I could keep going on too...but I must get back to work.  I just have been frustrated that I haven't "finished" my 30 Days of Randomocity that I started so long ago...it will finish soon!

Decaf Coffee

Decaf coffee is yucky...but I want to be able to sleep after my study session...

What I am hoping for currently is that my brain will be temporarily tricked into thinking I'm drinking real coffee....and it will stay awake and alert through some lectures and practice problems. Hoping this works ;-)

Rain in Phoenix...

Jasper wasn't sure what to think about the rain we had this past weekend! I know I disliked it :-( I can't wait for our "normal" winter to just stay!
Today = 70s.....more rain coming Saturday and Sunday. Boo!

Fundraising slacker...

I am doing this heart walk this coming Saturday and haven't even TRIED to receive donations.  So, I thought I'd at least put a widget up on my blog.

I am walking this year in honor of my Gramps who had open heart surgery in 2008.  He is still going strong and I am so proud of him!  This walk signifies his recovery, but is also a reminder to myself and others how important it is to stay healthy and take care of our hearts.  Cardiovascular disease claims the lives of nearly 500,000 American women each year.  Heart disease is the number one killer of women (more than all forms of cancer combined)! By exercising for as little as 30 minutes a day a person can reduce their risk.

The funds I raise for this heart walk will not only bring awareness and great reminders...they go toward projects like:

• Putting up-to-the-minute research into doctor's hands so they can better prevent and treat heart disease among patients.
• Groundbreaking pediatric heart and stroke research.  About 36,000 babies are born with heart defects each year - research is the key to savings babies' lives.
• Getting life-saving information to those who need it most - information that can save a life, like how to eat better, how to recognize the warning signs of heart attack, and how to talk to a doctor bout critical health choices.

So - with all that said, here is your chance to help me reach my fundraising goal for the upcoming walk:

An award - and not for last place like the last award I received!!!

Hey everyone,

I am taking a break from studying tonight to fill out the questions for my "award" I received from an old college acquaintance over at Little Silk Dress - AND pass it on. Don't hate me if I pass it to you and you don't like doing them. No one will ever check...I think. ;-)

Ok Ok...before I begin. This picture is a little too "girlie" for me. So I propose an alternate picture. You can choose one going forward. (I just made up this rule). I did a google search and found another one I liked...hopefully it isn't copyrighted or anything. Hehe.

YAY! I love Scrabble.  Ok...now on to the questions.

If you blog anonymously, are you happy doing this? If you aren't anonymous, do you wish you started out anonymously, so you could be anonymous now?

I wish I started out blogging anonymously.  I think there is a great mystery about blogs who have anonymous authors.  Also, I think I do sensor myself a little more than I would normally - just in case someone found me.  I have been tempted to go back and try to be more anonymous - but I haven't taken the time to do such a thing just yet.

Describe an incident that describes your inner stubborn side?

I waited 5 years before going to finally get my knee examined and have surgery. I knew it was not "great", but I kept postponing getting it checked out.  In those five years, I could have stayed in better shape and kept up with my volleyball, basketball, softball, etc skills. I would advise anyone NOT to do the same as I did.

What do you see when you really look at yourself in the mirror?

To be completely honest. I see someone who is lost.  I put on a front - showing the world that I have things figured out...but I still don't believe I have found the one thing in life that makes me happy.  My one thing that I could devote my life and energy too.  I think it is out there - but my passion has not yet been found. Sure, I have little passions...however, I feel there is still something out there that will strike at any moment. Look out world - one day I won't look in the mirror and see "lost little me" :P

What is your favorite summer cold drink?

I would say it is the same as my winter cold drink, and any other season that you other folks outside of Arizona have. Patron Margarita. I love me a good tequila margarita! On the rocks - no salt please.

When you take time for yourself, what do you do?

Board games if there are folks willing to play with me.  When I was in college - time to myself would mean finding other friends to hang out with. I know that seems backwards haha.  If I HAVE to be by myself - watch a tv series that I own (this is going to cause others to make fun of me but here goes: Felicity, Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, The L Word, Queer as Folk, Pushing Daisies - are the ones I own. There are others I wouldn't mind owning...).  I also love a good time to myself to sit and read a good book. I don't have time to do that anymore except when on an airplane.

Is there something that you still want to accomplish in your life?

Tons. One of course, would be finding my pure and true passion (see above).  Others - complete the good ol' bucket list. Travel as much as possible. Make others happy in some way. I still want to get married and have kids and raise them to hopefully be good loving people who will accomplish things in their lives as well. 

Is it easier to share your true self in your blog or are you more comfortable writing posts about other people and events?

It is easier for me to share my true self in my blog.  It is harder for me to write about others or try to decipher events.  I could do it - but my blog is more of a way for me to vent and spend time to myself (while still sharing with others). 

If you had a chance to sit down and read a book or talk on the phone, which would you do and why?

Definitely read a book. I hate talking on the phone for some reason.  I would much rather email or send letters or texts. I don't think I'm a "recluse" but when you say "let's talk on the phone" ...I'd rather not.

Ok - now I am supposed to pass this award along to five people - THEN you five will fill it out and pass it along to the next 25 folks.  Just do it :-) (and sorry if you've had this award before...I am passing this to those who read...and if you already have it...well you already have done the requirement ;) I suppose you COULD repost haha)

1. thormoo - I love reading about your life and struggles and accomplishments. You are brave to share with the world! Keep up the good work.

2. Bruce - I KNOW you've already received this award...but I wanted you to know that I love your blog. And I love your pup!

3. Ryan - You probably have had this award too...but here you go again.

4. The Restaurant Manager - I am a new follower of yours and I love the blog (so I wanted to give a shout out so others can find you).  The recent music challenge is awesome! I'll have to jump on board with that one day.

5. Bz - Love your blog :-) That's it...thought others should read it too! (Sorry I don't comment much...soon I won't be so busy)

Ok that's all for tonight. Back to studying. I worked a total of 71.5 hours Monday - today and I didn't get much more than 1 chapter studied. My exam is NEXT Sunday. I need to learn to commit better. 

Day 27: Picture of your family

So yes - I have been studying tonight and between each page I have been trying to catch up on some of YOUR blogs. I have missed you all :*)

Anyway, Day 27 seems easy enough so here goes:

@ Thanksgiving 2010 in Texas (I grew up in Kansas but my parents moved to Texas when I was in college) - we all took the "awkward" family photos. I enjoyed it though - this is my mom and dad and 2 little sisters :) 

My "family" out here in Arizona. The boyfriend and the pup. This was taken in November on Day 3 of the "Breast Cancer 3 Day" 60 mile walk. The two of them came out to a "cheering station" to cheer me on and I got to give Jasper his 3 day t-shirt (he hates it haha...I don't blame him...naked is always best!)

Anyway, I have worked 60 hours so far this week and am going in tomorrow as well for at least 6 hours. :S I have not studied sufficiently for the section of the CPA exam I take NEXT SUNDAY so that sucks...but I will try to make up for it by last minute cramming (what I did and perfected in college). We will see...i'm not feeling very optimistic about it but I also can't push it back. Another 200ish down the drain *sigh*

Anyway, I try to read your posts throughout the day - I just don't comment on them all. Just wanted you all to know.  Little Silk Dress - I know you gave me an award. I will try to get to that ASAP. Thank you for passing it along...just a busy time for me right now :)

I'm sorry :-(

I just wanted to make an announcement that I will be MIA from my blog for at least the rest of this week if not the whole month. Work/life balance as an auditor during "busy season" (which goes through April) is hard to come by and I miss each of you dearly.

With that said - please leave me comments about your life and anything "happy" to keep my spirits up as I sit in a dark/damp audit room while the amazing weather of Arizona passes me by outside.

Side note: Yes - I am sad about KU losing to K-State last night...but the last time that happened, we won the championship. Just saying ;) Rock Chalk!

Ok. I'm out. :-(

I know I'm just making a big deal out of it...

But in a short half hour or so (give or take), I will officially be in my "late 20's" and I don't know how I feel about that.  I feel I'm starting to lose that spark.  I felt so in tune during my teenage years.  Then I hit 20's and started making decisions that were not so much in line with who i THOUGHT I was.  I walked different "lines" and while they didn't make me happy all of the time - they sure didn't make me too crazy I suppose.

In my early 20's, I changed a lot. Into a person I hardly knew. I tested my beliefs.  I tested my relationships.  I tested my status (in a way). I 'grew up' more in those five years than I did the whole first two decades of my life!  Who I grew up to be was no where near the person I had planned to be.  Did that happen to others?

What does the "late" 20's have in store for me?

I think all in all - I turned out to be a fairly decent person :-) I thank my family and friends and all of my "blog friends" for being here for me. You all make me who I am today.  I may not be the most interesting person - but I do feel loved and incomprehensibly blessed by all that I have in my life! I could not ask for more.

Today I was supposed to write about how I think others view me. (Day 26: How do you think others view you?)   Well, I don't know if that is at ALL possible to write about.  Better just stick with what I know. How I HOPE others view me.

• I hope others view me as:
• Caring
• Loving
• Open
• Selfless
• Smart

I hope others see that I try. I try to live and do as much as I can for everyone around me - it sometimes doesn't work out - but I try.  

I hope others feel that I am here for them.  It doesn't matter what time day or not - I will work it out so I can listen to them.  I hope they realize I don't have all of the answers (in fact I hardly have any answers), but I wish will all of my body and soul that I did so I could help them.

I suppose that's it. I know there is a lot more I hope people see in me, but I'll just leave it at this.  It is now OFFICIALLY my birthday in Arizona. Goodnight good friends.


OH YES - and I had to share this with you all. Rock Chalk!

Need another blog to follow?

My sister started a blog - and she is much more creative and way more articulate than myself. SO, if you are bored and looking for another blog to follow - check her out.  She doesn't post insane amounts so I'm sure you'll be fine!

Shelby's Awesome Sister's Blog

Day 25: Ten things you want to do before you die

So obviously I have been MIA for a few days.  Work is finally starting to get to me and I have no "me" time to speak of. Thank you all for bearing with me and no one for bringing it up.  Either you were being very understanding - or you could care less and didn't even realize I was gone. ;-)

I am a few days behind on my "30 straight days of randomocity" so obviously - I'm not doing too good on the "straight days" part of things.  Who wants to be straight anyway ;) 

Oh no - not I. I don't want to be straight if straight means I don't get this...

ANYWAY - now that you all are freaked out. 

We all have bucket lists. I haven't much thought of things I absolutely-must-do-or-my-life-wasn't-worth-it list, but there are obvious things that I want to do and see and have and be. Narrow it down to TEN? Hmmm - I will try.  Just read the disclaimer first though: This list is not all inclusive and is in no way in any sort of order by importance. I want to do them all PLUS much more.

Here we go.

1. Sky dive
2. Pay for someone else's college education - just because.
3. Pay off ALL debt and live completely debt free from then on.
4. Swim with dolphins (they are cute little fellas!)
5. Pass the CPA exam
6. Go to Cedar Point and ride all of the roller coasters
7. See a Broadway show
8. Visit Australia and New Zealand
9. Drink beer at the REAL Oktoberfest
10. Visit all of the seven NEW wonders of the world

Ok - that seems to be a decent list :) Have you all heard of 43things.com? I kinda like the site.  www.43things.com/person/fallingfaceup

Anyway - goodnight. I'll catch up more tomorrow hopefully.

Day 24: Talk about the last "random act of kindness" you encountered

Well now - the last "random act of kindness" I saw happened at the dog park the other night.  I was standing there enjoying my pup at play when I looked over and saw some guy randomly picking up the poo that other owners didn't bother to pick up.

Ok - you can't truly appreciate this unless you are a dog owner who goes to the dog park a lot - but if you are in this "club" ...you know what I'm talking about! What a great guy.

Take freely.

The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.  -- Mother Teresa

Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence. --Eric Fromm

My one wish for my life is that those around me feel loved and cared for - if I don't accomplish this, I will feel as though I have failed my brothers and sisters who walk next to me in this life. Sure - I get a bit testy on certain days (I am human)...but I hope that never changes the way people feel I think about them. I truly do think us humans should live to love each other and exist together peacefully - working towards a Zion on Earth :-) What an amazing concept.


Anyway - just had that thought and wanted to share.

Day 23: The last thing that made you cry

I have to admit, I can be emotional sometimes.  I don't feel like I get very emotional in public...but in private it's on.  I believe the last time I cried was a couple days ago while reading the news.  I was reading about Juliani Cardenas - the 4 year old boy who was abducted by his father (the mother's ex-boyfriend), who then drove the car into the canal where the boy drowned. I know we read these stories all of the time in the news - however, the photo that went along with this particular news story just got to me. It was little Juliani standing in a gaming shirt - smiling :-)   He looked so happy and so bright. This kid could have grown up to be someone amazing and I could tell just from his eyes. Now no one will ever know.  I feel for his family and friends.

http://www.examiner.com/spirituality-in-san-francisco/juliani-cardenas-nancy-2-1-11-part-5-video

Anyway - I get emotional reading the news still. It will be a sad day if I become hardened to it all :(

Oh Jasper :-)

Day 22: Talk about the cuteness of your pet
I have come to figure out that there is one thing that is guaranteed each day. I will smile at least once.  That was not always the case.  Before I had Jasper, I'm sure there were days when the smile just wouldn't be seen on my face.  Jasper makes me smile - just because he is cute. No one - human or animal - has ever been able to do that for me until him!

I got Jasper a few weeks after my apartment was robbed at gunpoint.  Yes. I KNOW that a puggle about 8 weeks old was not going to protect me, but it still made me feel better to have something else that was living in my apartment.

Here is a video Sherwey took of Jasper on the first day we had him.  I wish we had taken more videos.  At least now I know that when I have a kid I have to be non-stop taking photos and video so I can look back on our early times! :-) (Take note Ryan - pictures and videos...nonstop when the little one gets here!)

Gosh, I love my little man.  This is a picture of him on the way home after I picked him up!

He does some of the strangest things that equate to him being EVEN cuter :) I have posted this before - but I'm going to post it again. Here is a video of a game he likes to play - I call it "Hungry Hungry Hippo":

He makes me a proud mama too because he is so smart! Here he is after graduating puppy training class.

So - to sum it all up. Jasper is my best friend and he takes good care of his mama. He never fails to make me feel loved when I wake up in the morning and when I come home from work. Even when I just have to study and he has to entertain himself.  :-) 

I told Jasp that I was writing about him in my blog - so he wanted to say "HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY" to all of my blog friends, since he probably won't be getting on to say it later on in the month! 

Woo hoo - scars!

Today I am supposed to explain to you (my lovely blog friends) how I got my scars.  I will spare you the internal scars I have for now...and head straight to the external scars.  I have been waiting for this day for 21 days (since I started my 30 days of randomocity). I like telling people about scars.  They show you are adventurous - right?

I have a total of five areas on my body that have scars. I will start at the top and work my way down (that's what she said that's how I roll).

1. I have scar number 1 on top of my head - towards the front. Right in front of where a baby's soft spot is located.  I say this - because I got this scar when I was a crawler.  My mom had me when she was quite young - a junior in high school - and so I spent a lot of my early years with my grandparents.  One morning I was with my Meme (that's my grandma...my grandpa is "Gramps"), was getting ready to fix herself a pot of coffee and she had to get the Folgers coffee can out of the top cabinet.  Well, I was crawling around at her feet because I didn't want to be away from her for too long and it slipped out of her hands right onto my head.  She said that she thought she had killed me because my eyes rolled into the back of my head and I passed out.  They didn't have insurance on me at the time because we weren't the richest of families - so they just waited and hoped it would pass? lol  Now you all know why I am the way I am.

2.  Scar number two is on the left forearm - right under my elbow.  I had 17 stitches.  A week before I started my senior year in high school, my youth group was putting on a "water week" where we did various events that involved water.  Well, one of those events was being washed off after a massive food fight!
Our only rule was that if the food was in cans - you had to completely take the lid off of the can using the can opener.  Well, you know how sometimes when a person is in a hurry they just pull the lid off and it leaves a very sharp point on the top part of the can? That comes into play with this particular injury.  I was running - covered in ketchup, mustard, koolaid mix, nastiness - and this other guy was running towards me with an open can of creamed corn.  I put my left arm up to shield the corn from going into my face and we got too close and he cut me clear open across the elbow.  I couldn't even feel it - that is how deep the cut was.  I saw all the nastiness that you should never see of the inside of your arm.  They sprayed me off the best they could and I changed into my "afterwards" clothes and headed to the hospital.  That was a whole OTHER ordeal! I will have to blog about my hospital experience sometime. It was nutso.  Anyway, I was upset about this mishap because I wanted to play volleyball in college and I thought I wasn't going to be able to play because of the stitches...luckily, I was able to convince my coach that taping it up was just fine and I got to play the whole season :-)

3. Scar number 3 is right above the belly button.  It is from the piercing I used to have.  With my mother's permission, I got my naval pierced for my junior prom - where I wore a two piece.  It was nice while it lasted.  Damn you college and all the weight you gain!

4.  Most of my followers already know scar number 4's reasoning.  I have about 4 scars on my right knee from my ACL replacement, meniscus repair, and meniscus scoping last March. Three surgeries rolled into one - it was lapriscopic (spelling?) though which is nice...makes the scars far less crazy.

5. The last scar is also on my right leg - it is on the outside of my right calf.  It is actually 2 scars that look like little holes were drilled into my calf.  When I was younger (maybe 12ish? - I may have been younger) I was riding my bike down the street and was attacked by a black lab - WHILE riding my bike.  I suppose I was lucky that I was able to stay on my bike and I kept riding to my Grandma's house who was right down the street from where I lived.  She wasn't home but I was able to inspect my leg which was covered in blood.  I then ventured back onto my bike and took some back roads home in order to avoid the dog.  My dad was home and got me into the tub to help clean up the mess. The biggest thing I remember about this injury was having to put the medicine on a cu-tip and push it down into the holes where the teeth had sunk in :S I still get chills thinking about that one.  It's kind of crazy that I am not afraid of dogs and don't ever remember being afraid of them - even after that incident.  I'm glad too because I LOVE LOVE LOVE my little Jasper. :-)

There you have it - scars from the body of Shelby.