Biltmore!!!

It's not that I didn't think about writing but hey I've been busy as you will soon see. This post is dedicated JUST to Biltmore Estate with Colie!!!

I went over to my good friend from high school; Colie's house the night before so that we could leave early in the morning. We watched the traditional episode of the office and then hit the sack...we were tired. We woke up about 7:30 (sleeping in on a Tuesday..nice!) and decided if we were going on a trip every meal must be bought "on the road". So where did we go for at least ONE meal?? Chic-fil-a! : ) Breakfast there is very good...I could have eaten lunch there too. We got on the road and jammed to a cd that we made the night before. We called it Teenybopper because it was FILLED with *Nsync , BSB, Brittney, Christina, Dream, and more...ahh it was AWESOME! We belted our hearts out....and then went through her random cds and found some other good things to listen to. Too bad I can't find my HSM2 soundtrack, that would have been fun. We got there by 10:30 and dove right in.

We got a good pic of us jamming:

We took the conventional shot in front of the house and then got some of just the grounds.

We took the we-want-pictures-together-so-we'll-stick-our-arm-out-way-far-to-get-us-both-in shots....

Then we toured the house. I can't imagine actually living in this place! I mean it's huge...I wish there wasn't places roped off so I could explore and see all the different ways to get places but we had to follow the crowd. What I love about Colie is that she wasn't all "oh the history...blah blah.." we both weren't that interested in how it was built, preserved, or what it stood for....we just wanted to see how huge it really was and to see the details of each room. Every ceiling was different! They have 43 bathrooms and back then people usually still had an outhouse! Colie and I both decided that the basement was our favorite part. BOWLING...SWIMMING (that pool looked amazing..I could run in from the other room and jump into a room filled with water!). So Colie and I decided we'd work in the kitchen to have easier access to the basement facilities. : ) We were done with the tour and went to explore the grounds and take some funny pictures as well....

We went to the green houses and then to the lake. I'm not a nature-ish person but there was something very peaceful about just walking around the lake and seeing all of the green. Colie and I had some good discussions while there too.

We saw a sign for a waterfall and followed it but it turn out of be a dam that had water flowing off of it...we thought it was a natural waterfall. It was okay...we soaked our feet in the creek and rested. Then we had to walk all the way back up the grounds and we were BEEEAT! I mean it was hot and uphill. We got back to the house (Mansion!) and decided Icecream sounded AWESOME! We got cones: Colie with Mint Chocolate Chip (a favorite of both of ours) and Me with Moose Tracks (I never had it in a cone before thus making the experience so much more enjoyable). They were pretty big (I guess when your house is that big...you try to make everything match it..) so we decided to skip lunch and count that as nourishment enough. We caught the bus back to the parking lot...yes we were that tired. Then we drove to see Colie's school UNCA! It was so tiny...and Colie and I swapped college stories! I love talking about college..I also like that Colie and I are still great friends even after high school. We went and ate some Thai food which was so delicious...mmm...I want to go back to Ashville just for it! The drive home was just as fun just not AS enthused because we were dog tired! We came back to my house and chilled for a little bit but then Colie left and I just fell asleep.

It was a good day and I'm glad I can say that I went on my Biltmore trip...it helped that I had a great friend to go with! : )

Self Interview

I did this survey/interview thing and I wanted to answer some the questions more fully...so here it is....

What is your favorite song of all time?
There are just too many that I could "melt" too...of all time? I'd have to think about that for a while! A list of possibilities is in the works...

Who do you admire most?
My Mom

What size shoe do you wear?
7 1/2 or 8 depending on the style...I can wear a 7 in some shoes too.

Water or 100% Juice?
Water...I just feel better when I drink more of it...I should do that more often!

T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Cingular/AT&T, or Sprint/Nextel?
Sprint...best network out there besides maybe Verizon....

Favorite Places to Eat?
Outback Steakhouse

Right now I'm addicted to cheeseburgers and Outback has a new Bloomin' burger (pictured left) that is to DIE for...actually not to die for because then you couldn't enjoy the awesomeness that is this burger. (And btw their bread is awesome too...it's crucial!)

Showmars

The Gyro is soo good...and I pretty much get that everytime...with a side of onion rings which I dip in extra "pita" sauce. :)

Montery

The chicken fijitas...mmmmm soo good! My mom and I split these when we go, we're a good team like that.

Elliots

BBQ is great...but great Carolina BBQ is even better...and they have some of the best...in the Charlotte area anyways. :)

Opera, Musical, Concert, Play, or Other?
Opera: I've always wanted to go to one and most likely will some day...I want the box seats so I can use the binoculars and I want to dress up too!!! :)

Musical: LOOOVE musicals and will go to them any time, I like to listen to the music before I go and try to figure out the story before I see it. WICKED was awesome, I don't know if another play can compare with that...mind you I haven't seen many musicals on stage; I've also see The Music Man and loved it as well.

Concert: It's been so long since I've been to a real concert (Guitars Unplugged doesn't count) but I wish I could go to more...I'm just not willing to spend so much to hear something I could hear on the cd...I would only spend the money on people I really really liked. Here are some: Colbie Caillat, Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, Josh Groban, Quiet Drive, or Relient K. But then again I also like hearing NEW music so if I was going to a cheap concert but got to hear cool new bands I'd be in.

Play: I like plays...I wish I would have been IN plays in high school but I wasn't in the drama crowd and don't have the same persona that they do. Now in my later years I think I'd be more confident on stage. I admire people who act and act well.

Your favorite Disney Films?
Humor: The Emperor's New Groove (KUZCOtopia...oh yeah!!)
Disney Pixar: The Incredibles
Classic Disney:Beauty and the Beast

Firefox, Internet Explorer, Netscape, or other?
Safari, it comes with a Mac and I really have grown to like it.

Juice and crackers or milk and cookies?
MILK AND COOKIES!! Milk trumps everything every time...needless to say I love Milk, I don't even need the cookies!

Favorite fruit?
Purple (Red) Grapes and Apples

Which is worse? A bad laugh or a bad cough?
A bad laugh...man that gets annoying faaast. I can sympathize with someone who is sick.

Would you rather be blind or deaf?
Blind...I couldn't live with out music. I also feel like being deaf would be more isolating and while I couldn't see I could still have good relationships with many people because I could talk to them easier.

What is your favorite TV show?
The Office.

(oh and I'm in love with Jim Halpert...next list to come: Men Arica Page Loves!)

Kill the spider or let it out?
KILL KILL!

Where do you want to travel next?
(on vacation...) Boston, MA (Home of the Redsox!)

What is your favorite food?
I say Chicken Parmesan because they combine my two favorite things...but I really just like Chicken anything and anything that's covered in marinara sauce!

Do you read harry potter books?
Heck YES!!! I'm proud of it...seriously you should read them too. I say if you at least give them a try then I can respect you but you don't knock them with out picking up a book!

If you could have one super human power what would you choose?
Mind reading with certain condtions being:

1. I could only hear what the person is thinking at that particular time that they think it.

2. I have limited times I could use it a week (so that I don't have too much information...a person's mind is sacred!)

3. I could only talk to the person who had the thought ABOUT their thought...I can't talk to others about it.

There...now I will not abuse my power and no body will get hurt.

I like surveys....I think it asks questions that we don't think about asking sometimes...we get to know more about ourselves as well as the friends who fill them out too! :)

Words...

These are my favorite words...some because of how they are said and some because of their meaning:

Agility-the power of moving quickly and easily
(This came about because of my friend Spencer...he used it all the time and I just grew to love it as well...you have to say it like him though)

Apathy-absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement.
(When they use this word in songs I always say I like this word...I don't know why...)

Fickle-likely to change, esp. due to caprice, irresolution, or instability; casually changeable
(This was a vocab word from Mrs. Scheffle's 9th grade english class...it stuck with me...fickle pickle...because a pickle has been changed from a cucumber!)

Guffaw-a loud, unrestrained burst of laughter
(Also, a Mrs. Scheffle word...whenever I say it...it just made me well..guffaw!)

hiLarious-extremely funny

(yes the L is capitalized because I like to say it like that hiL-arious)

Vex-to irritate; annoy; provoke
(This is a vocab word from 7th grade...while I knew it's meaning many years before seeing Pride and Prejudice....I started liking it MORE after seeing it...)

There are more to come I'm sure....but these are the ones that make the list so far....

My Guilty Pleasures....

It'S cOnFeSsIoN tImE!!!!

*HiGh ScHoOl MuSiCaL



I recently just bought the second dvd...even with out having the first...but I like both. I plan to see the third one in theaters, and I always say "maybe the dollar theater" but I don't think I really mean it. I'm pretty sure once the trailers are out I'll get excited for it. Yes, I think they're cheesey and have pretty bad singing and acting (I mean there's nothing like the classic musicals...Gene Kelly's probably turning in his grave about these movies...I lOvE Gene Kelly...he's the best entertainer to ever live!)...I guess in my thirst for musicals today I found something that I just enjoy about the cheesiness! I think the dancing is pretty cool and some of the songs are catchy. pLuS while I'm watching it anyways...I make fun of it the whole time. It's GREAT! (It helps that Zac Efron is a triple threat)


*TeXtInG
I've always said I hate to talk on the phone...but this is not true...especially since I've been in college. I actually rather enjoy a nice chat with my friends and family! What I hAtE about the phone is if I don't have anything else to talk to that person about. With some people it's making plans and hanging up...and some people are so busy they just are never in a good situation to talk. So I got sucked into the world of texting mainly by my friend Brielle! I have finally got a plan where I have unlimited texting and I definitely take advantage of that. When you're bored, have a simple question that doesn't require an entire conversation, or want to let someone know you're thinking about them it's very helpful. Now there are don'ts of texting...dO nOt ask someone on a date or break up through texting, tell your friend you're engaged, or happy birthday. (I admit to doing the latter a couple times but it is very rare...and frankly I'm probably not such good friends with that person.) It tells the person you're not important enough for a phone call...you can tell when there's a mass text going out. But I do love texting. <3


*VaCuUmInG
Maybe it's therapeutic or something but I absolutely love to vacuum. My family knows this about me...some days I'll be sitting around...look at the floor and decide that it needs a good vacuuming. They still ask me "why are you vacuuming? did someone ask you too?" I just say, "no...it just needs to be done." (plus it's fun...teehee) I have a real problem too because I feel like if I don't do the vacuuming...then it's not done right and so I try to take over if someone else IS doing it. My favorite part of it all is using the hose to get in the corners between the wall and the floor!!! Also, the sound the vacuum makes when it gets some crumbs....it makes me feel like I'm getting something!

*FaCeBoOk
Okay okay...so I'm an aDdIcT....ish. I can go a couple days with out replying to people but I definitely check facebook more than once a day. I have easy access with my phone and so I can just glace to see if anything good was posted and decide to write people back later. (It's time consuming to write people back on my phone...it's a funky set up) I definitely do like facebook a lot. It's helpful for me to keep in touch with my Idaho peeps around the world...and my friends and family around here when I'm in Idaho! :) I find it fascinating that it went...snail mail to email...and now email is old and social units are in...ie. myspace, facebook, blogging. I guess people need a picture and status to keep in touch with each other.


*CuTiClEs
This one is just down right weird (this is why it's called a guilty pleasure usually people don't want to own up to them)...but I hate seeing people who have their cuticles growing so far up their nails...it's just gRoSs. I usually take my brother or sisters hand and push them down for them (with some minor protesting) and they look ten times better. I'm sure I push mine own down far too often but it's better than having them growing out of control. It's not just that it looks better or that it's a pet peeve of mine...I just like doing it! Hence the reason it's a guilty pleasure...I find it amusing.


I'm going to stop there (yes there are more) because I'm sure you now know more than you would ever want to know about me....but I thought I'd come out in the open with some things...because if I'm gonna like something shouldn't I just like it and not care?? I wonder what are some guilty pleasures my friends enjoy...share if you want!!! :)

First of all....

As July approaches I am getting more and more excited because my roommate and very good friend Staci is coming to visit me!!! JULY 18th!!! :) I couldn't be more happy. To think that someone loves me enough to spend that much money to come see me for about three days makes me feel pretty dang special. (Which puts some pressure on me to figure out what we're going to do..) So now I want to give a shout out to all of my roomies...especially since I DID make a slide show of them on here it's only appropriate.

AmIe:

This girl has the bLuEsT eyes you'll ever see with an amazing smile to go along with it! She usually can be found with that smile on no matter what...she can FiNd ThE hUmOr in everything and I love that! She's into SpOrTs (go Seahawks!), singing at random times (often times we'll have the same song stuck in our head for days!), and QuOtInG mOvIeS and The Office. ("Let me tell you...no there is too much...let me sum up!!") We have a lot in common with those three things and I like that we could quote movie one liners all night. She's vErY oBsErVaNt and I love hearing what she notices about me and my personality. :) We also enjoy having hAiR pArTiEs together and talking about anything and everything. Love you Aimes!

LiNdLeY:

She may be soft spoken but she's definitely got a BiG personality. She's sUpEr HoNeSt and tells you like it is...which is a good person to have in a tight spot. :)

For example:

Roommate: "does my hair look stupid?"

Lin: "yeah...here let me try to fix it."

She is usually found with her BeLoVeD waterbottle in hand! She tries new styles with her hair color and it turns out to be super cute!! She likes to exercise, lay around and on people, and doesn't mind being open about AnYtHiNg. Lin has a hard time DeCiDiNg things sometimes but I like that about her because she's thorough and won't rush in to things with out discussing things with her girls first. She's currently the only one out of us in a relationship and we couldn't be HaPpIeR for her!!!! Love you Lin!!!

StAcI:

A pArTy WaItInG tO hApPeN!!! That's how you can describe Staci...she's very very quiet and will probably give you two word reponses for the first couple months you know her. Even after those initials months she'll give those reponses like "tHaT's CoOl" or "OkAy" and you'll say SOME REACTION PLEASE STAC!! Then she'll start laughing about it. After she opens up....watch out she's a wild woman; she likes to DaNcE, be spontaneous, and takes CaNdId PiCtUrEs all the time!! She gets us all laughing just by the sound of her own laugh and doesn't mind us cracking up at her funny questions!!!! She would walk 100 MiLeS for her friends and gives constantly!! I'm glad I've known her since the bEgInNiNg of freshman year and that we've become such better friends by living together!!! Love you Stac!!!!

VaLeRiE:

(this is my ROOM roommate!) She mArChEs to the BeAt of her own DrUm...but you can join in whenever you want!! She's such a different person than I've ever met before...definitely not a tradional girl and I lOvE that. I met her in my FHE group her first semester before we lived together and while she wasn't the center of attention...you could tell she was a good one...hence the reason I asked her to live with me! She always says..."I'm going to be one of the coolest Grandma's ever!!"...it's probably true. She enjoys having deep discussions, making fUnNy FaCeS and weird voices together, and CoOkInG! I don't know a time when Val didn't want to make dinner for someone...it's her way of service and she's way good at it. We all benefitted from having Valerie around this semester...it was like eating at home!!! When I'm in a weird or even crazy mood she'll humor me and play along...I'm glad I have a super fun girl to share a room with...and doesn't mind if I'm a little messy at times! ;) Love you Val!

I'm so blessed that I have found people that I'm compatible with but different enough to learn something new. I'm excited that we get to have this coming semester together because who knows how long our girl power will last....boys ruin everything!! :) I'm excited that I feel like I have a family to go back to in Idaho and can't wait to see what the year brings. Thanks y'all for being so amazing and for keeping in touch this summer...when it could have been easy to let go.

Fall 2008! Get ready for it!!!