Weekly Blog Spotlight[s]

I'll be honest, I'm getting kind of tired of these spotlights. They aren't very popular for comments anyway, so I don't know if anyone else appreciates them. BUT I still have a lot of important people in my life that deserve spotlights.

So, I'm going spotlight three girls right now in a condensed version. All three of these girls are non-St. Louisans and therefore I don't have many digital pictures of them. But again, if I had the time to dig through my college scrapbooks they'd be in BIG trouble:)

1. Miss Allison, my Maryland/PT/mommy-to-a-beautiful-little-girl[part one] friend. We met our freshman year at SLU and she was the queen of hilarious falls. We stood by each other through multiple challenges during school and she is an amazingly genuine friend. I wish I could convince her to move back to the Midwest but she is an East Coast girl at heart. Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Al:

Dancing with a random black man at my bachelorette party.

Me and my longest distance bridesmaid getting ready for the wedding. I'm glad the wedding was a good excuse for a trip to Missouri!

And here she is breaking it down on the dance floor. This is a typical Allison face, and I miss it! I miss you, Al!

2. Then there is Keri, my Kansas /PT/curly headed/cell phone queen friend. Keri and I didn't become friends until later in college but we certainly made up for lost time. She is definitely the most photographed friend in my college scrapbooks, as we prided ourselves on being camera divas. Keri is the best at keeping in touch by phone since she has about 8 million minutes each month and sometimes still goes over her limit. My favorite memory with Keri has to be our Mexican dance off--where she beat me because of her bigger boobs. Yes, it's true, she was sort of known for her perfect chest in college and I.....was certainly NOT:)

Here she is dancing exhibit #1: Glaring at the camera and still trying to look cute.Exhibit #2: One of my favorite pictures from our whole reception. I love Matt's dagger hands in the background while Keri struts her stuff.
And here we are at my B.party. I am smothering Keri with my larger than life hand. Seriously, look how big my hand is compared to Keri's shoulder. Sick! Miss you Ker!


3. And finally, Sarah/Milldogg/high school friend/mommy-to-a-beautiful-little-girl [part two]. Whenever you have a nickname like "The Dogg" you know this girl is one of a kind:) Dogg and I played high school b.ball and v.ball together and really became close during my summers home from college. We were lifeguards at the local Country Club and we have some ridiculous memories from that time period in our lives. Sarah is probably the strongest person I know and manages to have the best sense of humor no matter what life brings. She is the life of the party, which explains why all of my St. Louis friends beg for her to visit more often. Everyone deserves a Milldogg in their life, but I'm lucky enough to have the original:)

Here is Sarah with her adorable daughter, Ariana. I'm not sure why Dogg is staring off to the corner of this picture, but she still manages to look cute.I was SO happy to have Milldogg standing next to me at the altar. And of course, she loves to toast to a special occasion:)

Who's that bridesmaid in the front, turning purple from holding her breath? She's always full of hilarious poses for pictures, and ALWAYS lives up to our expectations. Miss you, Dogg, hope to see you at Christmas.
So there they are, three more special girls in my life. I think I'm done with spotlights for awhile now, hope you enjoyed!

Weekly Blog Spotlight!

The fourth edition of my spotlight features....

LINDSEY [a.k.a. Lobo] !!! Her name is spelled with an E so don't try it with an A. Big time repercussions will ensue.
That would be our girl on the left. I dare you to make that face. It's impossible unless you are Lobo.

How did you meet this person?
The full story is not appropriate for this blog. I could potentially lose a lot of readers and my respect if I go into detail. But let's just leave it at this: we were 18 years old and I thought I was a complete badass. I tried to teach Lindsey how to be like me and she failed. Miserably. Overall it was quite unpleasant for everyone involved but somehow we became friends anyway. Confused yet? Well let's make it more confusing. Here is a picture of Lindsey on Halloween, dressed up as one of our male friends. You'd only understand if you knew the guy but this is classic:
What is your favorite memory/story about this person?
I'm laughing out loud as I type these stories. While studying abroad in Madrid, Spain a group of us girls traveled to Rome for part of our spring break. Two timeless Lindsey stories arise from this trip.

#1 During a noisy, stinky Italian bus ride towards the Vatican, a local woman starts screaming at Lindsey and making hand gestures for "pick-pocketing." Lindsey immediately assumes the lady is accusing Linds of pick-pocketing someone on our bus. Either that, or the lady knows that we didn't pay for our bus ride. We all get off the bus and the lady continues to yell in Italian while we become increasingly confused. Lindsey almost starts to cry because she's afraid she'll be thrown in an Italian jail forever for a crime she did not commit. Then an Italian officer comes up to our chaos and we figure this is the end of our fun little trip abroad. He'll discover that we snuck onto the bus without paying and we'll all go to jail. But alas, he spoke English and informed us that the lady saw a man trying to pickpocket Lindsey. NOT the other way around. It certainly wasn't fun at the time but remembering the frantic look on Lindsey's face as she prepared for her imprisonment makes me laugh.

#2 Same trip, about a week earlier we were in the Canary Islands. It was a cloudy day so Lindsey figured she could lay out for 8 hours. She forgot that we were on the Equator. That evening Lindsey formed "scales" on her chest, which were basically blisters. I believe she lathered them up with Vaseline to assist in their healing. It didn't work, and by the time we got to Rome she was shedding scaly flakes everywhere she went. The funny part comes in when one of the guys in Rome wanted to make out with Lindsey. He knew the story of her scales but had not seen them in all of their glory. So what was his really romantic pick up line? "Show me your scales." SICK! He wanted to see her flaky chest....which she chose to conceal all week with every available turtleneck in our suitcases. Best. pickup line. Ever.

What is this person's best quality?
Lindsey is incredibly genuine, sensitive, and down to earth. She is the opposite of superficial and probably the lowest maintenance of us girls. Sure, we give her trouble for being boring and predictable....but it's quite refreshing to know that Lindsey won't ever change. I'd say that in some ways, Lindsey and I are the most alike. We have a tendency towards being a bit dramatic at times, and I know we over-think things all the time. Hey, we're girls, right? :)

Do you have any funny pictures of this person?
Yep, but again...I wish I had the time and energy to dig through my older pictures.

She LOVES to open her mouth for pictures. See?

The guy in those pictures is her boyfriend, John. His facial expressions are just as dramatic as Lindsey's. The last picture is her famous "Lobo dance" during my bachelorette party. Love it.


Here we are with our adorable mothers. I think we all kind of look alike:
Here is Lindsey being announced at our wedding. The announcer totally called her by the wrong name, and here is her reaction:
This picture is WAY more embarrassing for me than Lindsey. Look at my hideous smile! Again, this was my bachelorette party. Ah, if this website wasn't G-rated.....

And another one of our classic poses. Somehow at each event in the past year, Lindsey and I have managed to take this picture together. Seriously. It's a sickness.

Does this person read your blog?
Yes, and she leaves really funny comments that make me laugh. I miss you, Linds!

Weekly Blog Spotlight

Third edition of the weekly spotlight, featuring Hannah !!! Sit back and enjoy, folks. She is one of a kind!How did you meet this person?

I met Hannah on a bus ride to SLU when we were mere seniors in high school [read: scrawny little pip squeeks]. We attended rival high schools as I was from the [better] Capital of the Whole State, called Jefferson City and she was from the Crazy College Town of Columbia. We uttered about 3 words to each other on that bus ride to our future university, but we just seemed to click. Before our return back to mid-MO we decided to be roommates since neither of us knew anyone else attending SLU. Hannah seemed to exude "coolness" in all that she did. I was in awe of her laid back attitude---she seemed so mature and I definitely wanted to be her friend [awwww].

Favorite memory/story about this person?
Oh, so many to choose from. Hannah has an extensive history of memorable falls and you all know how I love those, right? She also suffers from one of the worst cases of "paralytic hangovers" known to mankind. Back in her day she could drink any guy under the table and then pay for it BIG time. I vividly remember one time when she didn't move a muscle for 24 hours straight, as she laid on her dorm room floor in a sleeping bag unable to utter a sound. I wanted to check her pulse to assure she was still alive, but then she opened one eye and said, "I think I had some bad wine last night." This was during our "boxed wine era" and boy did that end quickly. It's still a debate about whether the wine was actually bad, or if Hannah's body simply quit processing the massive amounts of alcohol. Her famous quote she uses to get through waves of nausea is "This too shall pass." You may hear her mumbling that from time to time, which is completely normal, right?

What is this person's best quality?
This is extremely difficult for me to specify. I lived with the girl for eight whole years, during times of major character growth, life experiences, and self discovery. Neither of us have sisters but Hannah is the closest thing I have to one. She is undoubtedly very honest and caring--she is my friend who won't sugar coat things, and will tell me the truth no matter how hard it is for me. Plus, the initial quality that drew me to Hannah was her laid back attitude--which is something that is appreciated in a friend. She has the ability to calm people down when we are a bit worked up over nothing. She'll put things into perspective without added drama. Now that's not to say she doesn't have her share of elaborate stories or classic girlie freak outs. But Hannah is one of the most down to earth friends of mine, and I miss her dearly. Even though living together for eight years of our life was difficult at times, I'll treasure our memories forever. Nate certainly had big shoes to fill as my new roomie :)

Do you have any funny pictures of this person?
Ah yes, I certainly do. If I was feeling especially mean or reminiscent I would go find my college photo albums and do some scanning of old pictures. But I suppose recent pics will do for now. [Although I'm secretly bummed I didn't own a digital camera during our Spain experience. Now THOSE would be some beauties for this blog!]


1. Here is Hannah getting extremely flustered with my bustle. You can't see it here, but she has her characteristic scowl on her face here. She may even have broken a sweat at this point.

2. While getting ready, she is thinking, "How in the HELL am I supposed to open this thing?" As if she's never opened a bottle of the bubbly before.


3. I'm sorry for this one. I have so many beautiful shots of your Maid of Honor speech, and yet...I chose to post this instead. Oops:)
4. Do you see Hannah and her then fiance breaking it down? I'm not sure which is funnier, Hannah or Michael and his jitterbug moves.
5. Ah yes, Hannah's bachelorette party. I believe this was a cooling face mask of some sorts and shortly there after she put it to good use.

6. Here she is getting ready for HER wedding. Ingredients for a great wedding picture: A bride, some faux hair, and a sarcastic look on her face.
7. The beautiful bride en route to her wedding. It's a shame I don't have more pictures of her wedding, but this one about sums it up: airing out the pits on a hot August day!
8. At my rehearsal, Hannah is absolutely enthralled with my bouquet. Either that or she's counting down the minutes until we can eat.

Does this person read your blog?
I don't know. I assume she checks in from time to time, but she once mentioned that she can't leave comments because she "forgets" her password. Maybe she can find it this one time, in the moment of her glory:)

Love you Hannie! Hope all is well and can't wait to see you soon [I hope!]

Weekly Blog Spotlight!

Spotlight for this week=Kim (Hon Won and Hubby)!!!!

Okay folks. Here's my second spotlight for you. Kim has her own blog which you should definitely check out HERE

I have a picture of her and her biological father, hope you don't mind me sharing, Kim!


Her story is one of a kind and since she's been an active commenter on my blog, she gets the spotlight for this week. That, and the fact that I miss her dearly :(

How did you meet this person?

I met Kim through Hannah at SLU. We never really talked in depth until we lived together our senior year. That's when our friendship became solidified--as we stayed up late night and chatted, made half cooked pizzas together (gross!), and started hanging out as couples with our new boyfriends (who are now our husbands).

Favorite memory or story about this person?

There are so many for our little Kimmie. Funny things happen to her all of the time. I suppose her most famous story stems from her 21st birthday. You see, Kim is the tiniest thing ever. Her doctor once told her to drink a Budweiser each evening with her dinner to promote weight GAIN. Yes, she's that petite. Don't hate her for it, though---she really can't help it.

So her 21st birthday comes around, and she was one of the last of us to participate in the stereotypical celebratory night out. Of course most of us attempted to take 21 shots on our big nights but none of us really came close. Kim, on the other hand, tiny little Kim somehow managed to take each and every one of those shots like a champ. And we aren't talking about little wussy shots, either. It goes down in history as one of the most improbable happenings that came to be. Never mind whether or not she got sick later that night.

What is this person's best quality?

Kim is no doubt the most genuine friend a girl could have. I'm very blessed to have ALL of my girls in my life, and Kim is one in particular who has always been there for me. She puts the needs of others first and truly cares about everyone's lives. Kim is my friend who listens to me vent and offers a helpful point of view to my dilemmas. She is just a great person in general and I wish we were still in the same city!

We were in each other's weddings and she's been married for a little over a year now. Wasn't she a stunning bride?

Do you have any funny pictures of this person?
Duh!!!

1. Her bachelorette party. Dancing, I think. I have SO many great pictures of her from this night but none of them are G-rated. And I promised to keep it clean [darn it!].

2. Here's our bride-to-be. Not feeling so great, but look at her ring shine!!! Notice how Hannah is trying to console Kim, but I don't think it worked.

3. And speaking of shiny, look at those bling-tastic diamond earrings!

4. Oh, Kim and her hubby Mark have matching watches. They are pretty bling-tastic, too. You'd think they were high rollers or something.

5. Halloween 2006: Kim was N.Korean leader "Kim Jong Il" and Mark was a giant missle. I think this is the best costume of all times. 6. Here is Kimmie at Hannah's bachelorette party. Isn't she a peaceful sleeper?
7. This was us floating down the river, before Kim fell asleep. This was also right before she fell off the raft and slammed into the rocks on the bottom of the river. I was a very bad friend and laughed instead of helping her back onto the raft. It was too funny!

8. Kim and Mark at our wedding, in the Studio B photobooth. I don't know if you can tell by her face but something very embarrassing happened right before this shot was taken. She was mortified!

Does this person read your blog?
Why yes, she does! She is a loyal commenter as well.

Love you Kimmie! Hope all is well!

Weekly Blog Spotlight!

Okay, folks. I had a great idea on the drive home from work today. Each week I'm going to spotlight a certain person in my life who I've been thinking about, or who just deserves to be in the spotlight. That way this blog isn't ONLY about me:) And it will be interesting since some of you will know these people and others probably won't. It will hit similar points each week, like a form to fill out, with certain questions I'll answer. You'll see.

I'm going to try and do this once a week and if you think you need to be spotlighted, I suggest you continue (or start to!) post comments. Very nice comments will work :)

Spotlight for this week.....My Hubby, Nate! (awwwwwww)

How did you meet this person?
I met Nate in April 2002 at Tacky Prom. I sort of knew who he was from seeing him on campus and it turns out he knew of me as well. Apparently he thought I was cute, and would see me frequently in the SLU cafeteria after I worked out and was all sweaty. Gross! One of his friends gave him trouble for having a crush on me, saying that only Nate was vain enough to fall for a girl who looks just like him. What? I don't think Nate and I look alike, do you?

Favorite memory or story about this person?
Where do I begin? I guess the stories that make me smile the most would be when we first started talking. I remember a voice mail he left on my dorm room phone--something about how I needed to go to Weight Watchers (TOTAL joke, if you knew his famous first line to me, you'd get it). I mean, the voice mail was dumb, but I listened to it about a hundred times because I was so excited that he called me. We'd stay up until about 4 a.m. talking on the phone and I'm pretty sure we racked up a few of our parents' phone bills in the process (sorry dad!)

What is this person's best quality?
At the risk of this becoming VERY cheesy, I will just say that Nate is the most genuine person I know. He is absolutely my best friend, the one who keeps me grounded, and gives me a few reality checks per week. And his smile is absolutely unbeatable, don't you think?
I guess I'm a little biased:) Nate is also a wonderful husband and I realize how lucky I am to be his wife. I know everyone says that, but if you are in doubt....here is a small sampling of his vows to me on our wedding day. He wrote them in about 10 minutes and mine took me about 10 months:)

I am here to give you my word, to promise you that I will be the best man that I know how to be. I promise to be faithful. You are the one for me, and as a team we will push on and meet the obstacles as they arise. Our strength together far exceeds our strength as individuals. I promise to protect you, to keep you safe and to provide you with the best life possible. We may not always have everything, but as long as we can find happiness within ourselves we will live a rich life.

That last line really hits home at a time in our lives when we DON'T have a lot of superficial things. But honestly, I feel completely content just being "us" right now:)

Do you have any funny pictures of this person?
Why of course!!
1. This is Nate chowing down on our honeymoon. I really just wanted a picture of the cute table setting, but Nate took advantage of the photo. He is a big eater:)

2. This is one I found from a random night out. Nice, huh?
3. Halloween, 2006. Double Dare! And yes, I cropped myself out of this picture.
4. Nate skiing in Colorado. He is such a nerd sometimes!5. At Nate's bachelor party, he found a very nice woman outside of the bar...who just so happened to be homeless. I think she was more afraid of Nate and the boys than they were of her. Not sure why they had to get a picture together, though.
Does this person read your blog? No. Not unless I shove the computer under his nose to look at something for me. He doesn't really understand my blogging, or most of my surfing on the internet. But he only makes fun of me every now and then:)

So that's it, folks. My tribute to my husband. I hope it wasn't too mushy. And I was very kind with his "funny" pictures. Some of you out there have quite the collection for me to pick from, so watch out! Just kidding, I'll keep this as G-rated as possible.