expertise

i liked tiburon's post about the benefits of being able to list a few things that are GOOD about you.

but i found it a little easier to mimic tiffany's post about things i am expert in.



so, without further ado, i give you mindi's list of things i am expert in:

(fyi: prepare to be astonished.)




going to las vegas
room service
remembering song titles/artists
throwing a party
ordering cafe rio
wiping my kitchen counters
directing the social calendar of my friends/family
popping blackheads
shopping at target the day after a major holiday ( 50% off!)



rocking out at a concert
making people feel comfortable when we've just met
typing
wrapping a present
instant gratification
arranging 'seasonals'
speaking in front of a crowd
showering with water verging on scalding temperature



making people feel good about themselves
traveling
fixating on one thing
going to a spa
weeding my yard
being generous with those i love
keeping my cool in a tense situation (98 % of the time)
"ironing" my laundry with a spray bottle of water
riding on the back of rbc's motorcycle
making an ipod playlist for above motorcycle ride
loving southern utah
researching used cars on the internet



purchasing anything with an initial on it
sleeping with my mouth open
deflection and manipulation
misplacing things
using a clorox wipe
lying in my own filth (translation: taking a long bath)





i thought it only fair that i give equal time to the other side, so i present things i am NOT an expert in:



accepting a compliment
cleaning my car
attending all 3 church meetings.
wearing pantyhose
painting my finger/toenails
math



controlling my potty-mouth
dancing or learning a dance routine
keeping things organized or clean behind cupboard doors
dealing with self-righteous people
whistling
cracking my knuckles (ewww. why would one?)
being on time
camping. (again, why would one?)
running


saving my money
cleaning up my make-up counter
mowing my lawn (never did it.)
starting my bbq (again, never did it.)
plucking my eyebrows
accepting/submitting to authority figures
computers & technical things



doing my hair
not caring about what people think of me
saying no to my catties
washing my hands (don't judge!)
typing with capitals
answering the phone or returning emails in a timely manner
avoiding cheetos and peanut m&m's

"we have the situation under control, ma'am."

last week there was a small fire that started in a garage on our neighboring street.

we drove by and i was tickled to find that two of the boys from our street had already arrived at the scene, roped off the corner with their own cones, (really!) and had their fire extinguishers AND copies of their "fire department equipment license" out and ready for inspection:

(the photos are from my phone, so they are a bit fuzzy)


since it's all girls, all the time at our house, i thoroughly enjoyed this display of male youth imagination. priceless!

thankful thursday

things i am thankful for this week:



**the fact that i get to go to lady gaga with hers & hers.

yes, i am fully aware that she is a freak. on a leash. but that is why i like her.....

her songs just make me want to get up and shake a tail feather--i can't help it. and i figure if i'm gonna go to hell for seeing this concert, i might as well be driving the bus.

who wants to ride shotgun? :)


i loved these pics from le love paying tribute to one of my fav songs from her:








**two words: DR. DREW.

sober house is pure entertainment. and don't worry--you can still get on board this train as vh1 will be showing the season premiere only about five thousand more times.




**the fact that i dropped mia off to preschool yesterday, but when i returned i picked up a leprechaun instead.

it was magic! {magically delicious, that is.....}







**married to the sea.

they slay me on a weekly basis.



**the fact that melissa turned me on to nate bloch. seriously funny stuff. ( warning: language on the doctor/patient skit)

and for the fact that the video above is TOTALLY my two brothers. classic!

top 9 things we loved about scottsdale* 2010

ahhhhhh, scottsdale--how we love thee...

such good times we had. such great memories we made. (such big $ we spent. YIKES.)

so, without further ado, i give you the TOP NINE THINGS WE LOVED ABOUT SCOTTSDALE SPRING BREAK 2010: (because top ten is so two weeks ago...)




since our grandma and grandpa are short-timers (costa rica is calling--and it says, "hola?") we were more than thrilled that they came along with us for the ride.

we took advantage:







*we saw this in 3-d. and we were amazed. (even though i may or may not have taken a teeny nap somewhere in there. allegedly. cause i'm geriatric.)






we had a butt-load of offspring. TWENTY to be exact.

we turned a few heads:


unfortunately for us, these teen-beauties turned a few heads as well:



(pray for us.)




who would have that that a little airbrush gun and some temporary body paint could bring so much joy?

a good amount of dinero was spent on this foolish waste of money. and, as you can see, it was worth every penny:



the best tattoo, however, was applied to mindi's leg.

and her only regret that was it wasn't permanent:



(someday.......)




this was the group before we took off for adventures in the sonoran desert-- (and we were missing a few.)


do you know what's better than a group shot?

a group shot with PSEUDO-SUBURBAN GANG SIGNS!!!



know what's even better than the group shot of pseudo-suburban gang signs?


our sweet little mia, throwing her own:



(i wuv her.)







can you see the joy they bring? i think it's pretty apparent.




camelback mountain hasn't bested us yet!

this was our second annual hike, & we were thrilled that our grandpa came along with--at 69 years young, he amazed us by getting all the way up.

and then all the way down. (a little low-blood sugar scare was for WIMPS only. he finished!)


since we didn't bring a camera, i was pretty happy with the decent photos my phone produced:




(hiking with this crew is never dull.)




there was only a SINGLE meal before eleven o'clock for mindi that didn't include this food of the gods--

we particularly enjoyed them from here. and here. AND here.




and, as usual, we were grateful to have jared along to provide us with entertainment. as well as supreme photos for his future coffee-table book:

zzzzzzzzzz.

this is what happens when you have a spontaneous sleepover in the basement and your mom brings her camera down for a secret, photo-ambush at 1:00 a.m. :





meanwhile, there was a scandalous coed (2 boys, 1 girl!!) sleepover going on upstairs:

34 random thoughts

1. only 7 more days until we go to scottsdale for spring break!
2. my kids are ready to float in the lazy river.
3. i was once traumatized in a lazy river, however.
4. it was in wet 'n wild in las vegas--as i was lounging in my tube, a tampon applicator floated by....
5. i've never recovered from it.
6. i love my feet and hands to be rubbed when getting a massage.
7. speaking of massages, one of the funniest massage-quotes i ever heard was "BEWARE: back-rubs in the front room lead to front-rubs in the back room."
8. i just giggled when typing that.
9. i think i might be the only person in america/the universe who did not watch the olympics.
10. i also think i might be un-american for doing so.
11. i would TOTALLY watch if the ice-skaters wore THESE OUTFITS:






12. when i was about 10, i used to read my dad's consumer reports magazine every single month.
13. i saw an article in there about what foreign objects they found in packaged hot dogs.
14. top items found: rat hair, metal pieces, feces.
15. i didn't eat a hot dog until i was 25 years old.
16. i think the polish dog/drink combo at costco is divine.
17. a business associate of the rbc's just gave us tickets to see u2 in slc on june 3rd. totally psyched.
18.but i want bono to turn down the political agenda & TURN UP THE MUSIC!
19. when i was in florida, i had my fingernails painted a color for the first time in 20 years.
20. the manicurist said i needed to get KRUNK.
21. thus, i've been into it--but i like it better when my sister paints my fingernails for me.
22. i think THIS has been helping my 'old lady cuticles'
23. i just bought THIS nail polish:


24. i didn't know it was so popular until my friend called me the other day.
25. she had seen it on my nails and asked me what color it was--she wanted a bottle.
26. she then proceeded to call SIX different beauty supply stores and was told each time, "we are OUT."
27. they said it was a very difficult color to get--it's in high demand right this moment.
28. i wish i would have known that, and i would have purchased every bottle they had.
29. i have a low tolerance for pain.
30. i would NOT have made a very good pioneer.
31. when i let my hair dry naturally, it forms a part down the middle.
32. with "soft curls" at each side.
33. i think it looks eerily like 70's porn-star hair.
34. which is certainly very unfortunate for me: