Show Me The Money

I REALLY enjoy MONEY.

Let me rephrase that. I really enjoy budgeting MY money.

It is so much fun. I can't tell you how many hours I have spent this week looking at where all my money goes and how I can save the most. As I see the balance in my savings account go up and up I get excited. As I told a friend before, the more money I make the more I want to keep. But really, I have decided the more I make the more I want to save for big ticket items. I think I have been so used to living very paycheck to paycheck as a student and now I don't have to. There are so many major purchases I would like to make this year and I just am trying to figure out the best way to do it.  Among other things the biggest price tag items would be these

A black Subaru Forester with of course a red U of U vanity plate. I don't know that this big of a car is really necessary for me or that I want to spend money on that much gas so my second option is this 

I absolutely HATED Subaru's when I moved here. And, apparently the white Subaru Outback or the old white Subaru Legacys are the unofficial, official car of Utah. If I had a dollar for every one of those I have seen, well I would have enough to buy my own Subaru. But...after living here a while and experiencing firsthand the dire need to have a four wheel drive car I have decided a Suby driver I must be. However, I really want a black one. (even though I always swore I would only buy white cars from here on out.) 

And why would I waste money on gas when I could save to buy one of these beauties?

  OK obviously THIS particular house would be out of my budget but you get the idea.  Honestly what I reeeeeeally want to do is buy a fixer-upper and fix it up the way I want! I figure I am going to want to redo whatever I buy ANYWAY, so why not redo it the way I want it? Both of these purchases will be a while.... but .... I am excited! Especially for the house! I can't wait for the day when I can have a garden of my very own, walls I don't have to worry about poking holes in, and something to show for the money I waste away on rent every month.

Oh, the joys of being a grown up and working more than 20 hours a week!

P.S the website is being weird and I can't see ANY of the custom buttons on this post. Things such as colors, adding pictures, and changing the alignment of my text have all been done right the first time. I know exactly where the buttons SHOULD be and when I press that area it works! Too funny.... think I  have spent enough time on blogger?

You Can't Run Forever

I am feeling quite frustrated right now.

I really want to spill the beans but I am afraid of word vomit. 

Saying too much.

But the lack of saying anything is just annoying to you readers I suppose.

I need to write though. Need to hear the clickity clack of the keys and the soft sound the enter button makes.

clicky clack. clickity clack. (backspace backspace)

enter. (ping) 

(ping ping)

Somehow it heals my soul. I am an Everday August Rush the way the noises are music to my ears, a symphony in my room.

Somehow I feel better...for now.

Hammer Time!

MC Hammer is coming into Salt Lake this weekend! Perhaps he would like these cookies. (appease me! I made them in a hurry when I got home from work at 6pm!! I wasn't planning on making them until the NEXT day) They are hammers. Instead of brown and black all I could get was an olive green and a grey. I tried...I swear! 

Anyway, too bad for MC Hammer. These were a gift for the one and only owner of Hammer's Inc. Photography. I have no clue if you read my blog or not but if you do....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY G! 

The Ramon Sisters

I spend a lot of my weekends with these two cute sisters.

And I just adore them. They live together. Rita always wants me to spend the night and she reminds me of my 8 year old niece always asking my sister Marie for sleepovers. I only cave every once in a while. They are seriously such great girls and I am so incredibly blessed to have them in my life!

My life is awesome.

Ms. Garza

 Mr. & Mrs. Julius Carrio Circa 1933?

Ms. Garza. 

                                                                  It is not uncommon for my father to refer to me by this name.

It is not uncommon for 

my father's mother to refer to me by this name.

Confused? 

My father's mother's maiden name is Garza. 

Ms. Garza is my grandmother. (Well really she is MRS. Carrio but we all know that maiden name is who we are forever)

Ms. Garza is ALSO me.

I am very blessed because I feel both my grandmothers and my mother are amazing women and I am blessed to be anything like them.

But I love Ms. Garza. 

She is blunt. 

She doesn't take crap from ANYONE.

She is fiesty and a firecracker.

She makes herself laugh more than anyone

 else makes her laugh.

She has an attitude like no one would believe.

I think these are all reasons why they call me Ms. Garza. But, though those may seem like negative quality traits they seem positive to me. In addition, my grandmother is one of the most beautiful people I have ever met in person. 

She is so incredibly loving and caring. My dad being the youngest of eight she was significantly older than all the other grandma's. She never took me out to Chuck E. Cheese's or on trips to the mall. It is hard for me to remember a time when she didn't use a walker or wheelchair to get around. 

But, I know that I used to dial her number several times a day as a child to talk to her. I would climb up on the counter to get to the phone attached to the wall. The touch of an orange button connected me to her. She would listen and appease me. She would remember my birthday and call me and send me cards. She never forgot, even with an insane amount of grandchildren. 

As I got older I started to get to know her better though. I never really felt like she had a lot of grandchildren. Just me. Sure, pictures of cousins I had met a few times adored her mirrors and walls but they were decades older than me and lived across the country. I was her only grandchild...and maybe sometimes I would allow my siblings privileges too. And as time grew on our bond grew. I think she saw that fierce rebellion in my eye. Calling me Ms. Garza only drew me closer to her. She was so happy when I got engaged but I think she was happier when I called it off. It solidified the fact I was hers. I had come from her, I was independent and I " had iron pants" as she once told me!!!

I have heard her complain about different things throughout my lifetime but she tries to keep a positive attitude. (sounds vaguely familiar...hmmm) Even though she is physically unable to care for herself she is still so smart and with it. She makes me laugh.  When I think about her it is always with a smile on my face. The last few times I have been home I have taken at least one day to go and sit with her by myself for a few hours. I love talking to her. She has the best stories and the best secrets. I love to ask her about the early years with my grandfather and I can NEVER get enough of her telling me how he came into Woolworths one day which is how they met and grin from ear to ear as she begins to tell me, "What a scoundral Mr. Carrio was" as she laughs and chuckles to herself. Ms. Garza also keeps the best secrets. She may not have been the traditional grandmother but I know how much she loves me and I could cry thinking about how much I love her. 

She turned 94 yesterday. I wish I could have been there to wish her a Happy Birthday in Person.

I love you Granny!

5 Things

10 Years Ago...

1. I was  head over heels for Russell Anthony Herrera but would never tell him if my life depended on it.

2. My best friend was Amy Rios

3. I was on the Yearbook Staff at school and was obsessed with taking pictures

4. I ran the 400m for track at school

5. I barely weighed 100 pounds

5 Things On My To-Do List

1. LAUNDRY

2. Gas Up

3. Write Jade a letter

4. Start/Finish G's birthday present

5. Sleep

5 Snacks I Enjoy

1. Sour Patch Kids

2. Hot Tamales

3. Chips and Salsa

4. Spinich & Artichoke dip

5. Oatmeal

5 Favorite Things

1.TULIPS

2. Nieces and Nephews and just family in general

3. Sunshine

4. Pretty Pictures

5. Nature. Trees that look like they touch the sky, majestic mountains, fresh air, turning in circles and dancing in the snow/rain, playing in the ocean......

5 Places I have lived

1. Houston, TX

2. League City, TX

3. Texas City, TX

4. The University of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT

5.  Millcreek Township of Salt Lake City, UT

5 Things Most People Don't Know About Me

1. Please refer to my 25 things about me post

5 People I Tag

1. No one. Feel free to fill this out on your own.

Mandi Does Oregon

Well, this post could go two ways.

1) It is really long where I tell you every single detail of the past four days or

2) I show you a few pictures and tell you how great my weekend was.

Option 2 it is.

Quick recap: I had the opportunity to fly to Oregon for a few days so I took it.

Welcome to Oregon '09!

When I first got into Oregon I got to roam around Portland my first day. I got to walk along the river front, see downtown

go to the rose garden, Japanese garden
and just enjoy the day! It was VERY cold and even though it was "warmer" than Salt Lake the humidity made my bones hurt after just a few short minutes! Friday night after I was done exploring I went back to my friend's house and made Valentines Day cookies. I do it every year and I didn't want being out of town to keep me from it.
They definitely weren't the prettiest cookies I have ever made but they tasted great! Saturday afternoon I met a coworker in Portland who is origionally from Kansas. She was having a Kansas vs. Kansas state viewing party and I took my cookies. They were a hit. Later on that day Zac and I went to see Multnomah Falls and we hiked up to the top. The view was gorgeous. The road we had to take to get there was breathtaking. Tall trees everywhere and the most scenic winding roads. I was falling in love with the west coast with

 each mile that passed.
Sunday I slept in. When I woke up w

e

 ate breakfast, got in the car, and headed for the coast. First, Zac had a surprise. I have a goal to make it to all 50 states and since we were so close to Washington we crossed a bridge and took a short detour to North Head Lighthouse in Washington! I was in love. As we were heading there I caught my very first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean! And of course we took a picture at the bottom of the bridge that welcomed us to Washington. Yes, that is us eating Washington Apples in Washington!

We then crossed the beach and proceeded to head to Tillamook. Because we were quickly losing daylight we sidetracked to Cannon Beach and spent the rest of our time enjoying the Pacific Ocean and watching the sun set. It was such an awesome thing to do. I mean, normally you think you would do that thing sitting next to someone you really love, but it was fun none the less. I enjoyed it and it was a great time to just sit in front of the ocean and meditate.


There was a lot more to the trip but those were the highlights. I think the most important thing I learned on this trip was that I love nature, this country is beautiful, and I have been bitten by the travel bug. I am pretty sure I could learn to live almost anywhere.

25 Random Things

Apparently this has been all over the news. I don't see the big deal.... Anyway. I posted this on my blog about three years ago and on this blogspot blog over a year ago. About half are the same, I rewrote the other half. Anyway, this 25 random things has been circulating on facebook and I was tagged about a jillion times to do it so I gave in. I am reposting it here. 25 random things about me.

1. My first crush was Trey, a boy in my montessori class when I was three, who could DRESS HIMSELF. (my exact words to my mom) 

2. I love when a guy I am crushing on wraps their arms around me and I can smell their deodorent. I know I am wierd but I love it, sometimes more than Cologne.

3. I love when guys call me by a nickname/pet name they have given me. I must have a million. It makes me so ridiculously happy and feel special.

4. I can't stand the smell of movie popcorn.

5. I fell head over heels for Matthias Beier when I was 15. He moved shortly after and we kept in touch. He became the best friend I had. I am still looking for a guy that I fall head over heels with that then becomes my best friend.

I love him! Me and Matthias in November of 05

6. My mom and I didn't talk until I was 19 and now  is one of my best friends. Shes one of the coolest people I know.

Me and my Mommy

7. I can't stand when people use more than one paper towel at a time.

8.I don't think I will ever get married- trust issue

9. I have every report card I was ever given. Starting from my Montessori school when I was four

10. My sixteenth birthday present was a two and a half week trip to Italy

11. I love going to the beach, but I hate getting in the water.

12. I was the Maid of Honor at a wedding when I was only 15! 

13.I am such a social butterfly but I would rather sit at home by myself watching a movie or catching up on google reader

14. I love the feeling of being at a baseball game, eating pizza, drinking Dr.Pepper and screaming and chanting SOO ridiculously loud for the Astros!!!

15. even though i worked hard for my education, the only thing i want to do when i grow up is raise my kids and be there for my husband.

16. i haven't felt loved in a really long time

17. i actually DO love my job

18. I HATE to be woken up while sleeping. I am ALWAYS grouchy if I was not planning on waking up.

19. Going out for sushi is one of my most favorite things

My playboy and her ROCK STAR

20. Photography has been a passion of mine since as long as I can remember.

21.One of the top things I want to do before I die is fly a plane.

22. I have spent more time AWAY from the people I call my best friends than I have ever spent WITH them. Proof they are my best friends when our relationship can survive and thrive at long distances.

23.I often feel like life is passing me by at a million miles an hour while I stand still.

24. I can most often be found wearing a skirt and heels. It is my favorite.

25. I LOVE asparagus.

adding

26. I could look at the stars forever. It makes me feel loved, like there is a creator, I was made with a purpose, and I am not alone.

Can You Feel The Love Tonight?

I am such a blessed little lady. In two and a half years I have met some of the most amazing people of my life. I have such great friends and there have been more families than I can count that have warmly opened me into their homes. 

Coming from out of state, those living in Utah will quickly learn, as I have, that Utah is a different state.  Overall I have gotten the sense that families are important here and even those who aren't religious feel the same way. It is something that helps me love my own family even more, but also something that can be hard. In a state where families are important and you don't have yours nearby I am increasingly grateful for all the families that have allowed me to crash Sunday dinner, family outings, activities, or.... you know... FAMILY anything. Growing up I hated when my brother would bring a girlfriend or a friend to a FAMILY activity. I mean, GOSH, didn't he know the meaning of family? As in, blood. Related. Legally bound.... and as I have crashed these family activities here in Utah and been receipted with open arms I am overwhelmed with gratitude for these people who understand that sometimes the definition of family can be stretched. Everyone needs to feel loved.

I don't know what I did to deserve such love from such amazing people but I am incredibly grateful.

New Toys

Fresh out of the shower doesn't look too bad when you have fun tools on the camera.