Boot Scootin' Boogie

So I have this friend. Her name is Amber Rae Pritchard. She's the best. And three years ago on my 18th birthday she gave me the cutest little cowboy hat you ever did see and a coupon for a night of line dancing...one of our shared dreams. However, this dream never happened. Totally not my fault (okay...so this is Amber, as we are writing this blog together and the fact that this is not her fault is a complete and utter lie. Kinsey is just sooo busy all of the time she would deny me every time I even asked). Amber is also a liar. Nuff said. So anyways...for my 21st birthday I didn't get anything from Amber. I know, right? What kind of a friend is that? Well I would say it's a pretty darn good one because she told me that the next Thursday was reserved all for her, and I agreed. A night with Amber is present enough. :) So I didn't plan anything for Thursday night and at precisely 4:50 Amber came to my house with a plastic bag and a mischievous grin. She made me wait downstairs while she went through my room and came back downstairs with the bag filled with clothes. Whatev. I could tell right away this was going to be a great night. So Amber led me on a scavenger hunt down memory lane. We started at my house, the place of our first meeting. Presh. And then we went to Safeway (inside joke?), our junior high, high school, Baskin Robbins (we worked there together), and then to Wendy's (our favorite place to eat). Some explanation is needed here. So at Baskin Robbins the clue was with the workers and I had to ask them for it. So I assumed it would be the same at Wendy's, right? No. No, that wasn't it. I found that out by asking our good buddy, Leroy, for a clue. He just looked at me for a second and then said, "I uh...I don't have one." "Oh ok. Dang it." I said. Then I turn around to see Amber practically rolling on the ground laughing. I couldn't really figure out why though. But I'm still trying to figure out where the blasted clue is. Between giggles, Amber manages to point to the only table in the restaurant that has people at it and says that maybe I should ask them. So I walk over to the table of 5 teenage guys that obviously think they're pretty great and ask if I could possibly look under their table for a clue. Awkward? Yes. PS Amber is still behind me laughing. So they all look under the table and thanks to their great teamwork, we found the clue. Thanks, guys. You rock.

The last clue had directions to a place both Amber and I have never been. This made me a little nervous. Amber doesn't even know where we're going? Freakin' heck. So a fun 40 minute drive later, we end up in good ol' Roy, Washington. Land of....nothing. The population is 27 hicks. It's great. We park next to "The General Store Steakhouse and Saloon" and upon entering, got a warm greeting from our waitress, Carol. Love her. We got some pretty amazing nachos and apple crisp a la mode for dessert. We were going for the low calorie thing. No worries. Then! At 7:30 the excitement started...as if there could be more. I know. We were introduced to our pal, Billy Jo. Let me tell you about him. He's a line dance instructor, and a mighty fine one at that. Amber and I, along with 6 others, learned 2 line dances in 30 minutes flat. And these weren't just your normal macarena or cha cha slide line dances. These were good, solid, complicated, and slightly intimidating line dances. But make no mistake, Billy Jo doesn't slow down for anyone....even poor Amber and I who had never line danced in our lives before. But we were going to learn these dances, and nobody was going to stop us. And we did. I must say...Amber and I are naturals at this whole line dance thing. We put those old hicks to shame.

So the moral of the story is that sometimes it's ok to wait 3 years to follow through with birthday presents. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have appreciated Leroy, Carol, and Billy Jo in Roy if I was 3 years younger. And let's be honest...those 5 guys at the table in Wendy's probably wouldn't have been there 3 years ago. That's one awkward moment that I would have missed out on. So thank you, Amber. Thanks for knowing that waiting till I was 21 was all-around a better idea. You rock. And line dance. And now, so do I. What more could a girl want?

Coyotes

I love my ward. It's a great ward. Well...technically it's a branch. A single's branch for that matter, but it's great. I like the people in my little branch and I like that everyone is so friendly. This could be because of the overall aura of desperation for dates and friends in the branch but you know what? People are just nice too. It's great. So I noticed something today about my great little branch. They can't sing. Not a note. Today I had the opportunity to play the piano while the normal pianist was out of town. So I got to listen to other people, instead of singing with them. Not gonna lie... it made me want to cry a little bit. Then! In Relief Society they decided to sing a capella. Not a good idea, I can assure you. I can tell they try so hard to harmonize and make beautiful music, but they sounded a little bit like...well like a bunch of coyotes in trash cans. Ok so it's not that bad... but it's bad. However, I applaud them for trying...and for singing like nobody's listening. Kudos to my tone deaf fellow branch members. Keep on singin'....or not. Ya know, either one.

Coughing Attack

As of late, I've been recovering from a slight case of swine flu...not a big deal. I'm to that point where my body just wants to get rid of all the crap that's in my system now, thus resulting in a whole lot of coughing. Today, in the middle of church, my poor little disease-stricken body decided it really really wanted to get rid of that stuff, resulting in a full on coughing ATTACK. In the middle of church! This was one of those coughing attacks that keeps going for like 5 minutes in the middle of a relief society lesson. The kind that makes strange not-cough noises come out of your mouth...ones you have never heard before. The kind that makes the whole room turn around and look at you with sincere concern. The kind that makes the 7 people sitting around you ask if you're ok and you can't answer them so they get really freaked out. The kind that makes tears fall down your face. One of THOSE coughing attacks. Not a big deal though...i'm totally over it.

Ziti

Today was the birthday of a dear friend of mine. Her name is Ziti. She is not only a friend, but a co-worker of mine. Yes, she is another bless-ed soul who has the pleasure of working at the Honey House. Today we had a party for Ziti and let me tell you something. It was magical. When we lit those 2 birthday candles on her venison and sweet potato cupcake, we had to grab hold of her leash so she wouldn't get too excited and eat the fire! We sang the 4 birthday songs that we always do for birthdays at the Honey House, and I think I saw a tear of gratitude and joy trickle over her fur and down a whisker. It was touching. You see, Ziti isn't what we would call "social." In fact, you could say she's outright terrified of humans. I'm pretty sure her previous owners weren't as kind to her as we Honey House workers are. But today as we placed that birthday crown on her head and serenaded her and took pictures of her in front of her cupcake, I could just tell that she knew that we knew that we love her. Dog is a man's best friend, right?

Florida, here I come!

I have a secret. In exactly 10 days I will be in the beautiful tropical paradise of Florida. And not only that! I will be in this beautiful tropical paradise with my dear friend Emmilie. I like her a lot. And I'm excited. Really. Excited.