The last few months in photos and in way too many words!

What did you expect from a busy girl? Okay, so I am very aware that it is February. And that my last post was in October. To be honest, I don't even know if anyone looks at my blog. However, I figured if even just my mom and dad were checking my updates, it was worth it to do a LENGTHY recap. Nobody has ever accused me of never having much to say. Each month will be a separate post...Here goes:

Just January

The month of January played host to a lot of different activities. I have no pictures to prove that it was any fun...sorry...but you better believe it was an awesome month.

I know this is only fun for me, but I got to clean four of my friends' teeth at Ashby Dental. There is just a different dynamic when it comes to seeing your friends where you work. And the fact that I could barely stop laughing when Barbie came in. Oh the simple joys of being a hygienist.

One of my friends is having surgery in February so she decieded that we had to have fun almost every night for like three weeks straight. I saw absolutely no problem with that. Some of the best activities we did were:

• Trivia at the DTC Tavern. Not only was the food incredible and the ambiance amazing, but where else can you go to eat and play trivia and feel like a complete idiot even though you thought you had brains? Seriously...the trivia here was no joke. We already have plans to come back armed with only genius friends. :)
• Dueling piano bar. This of course is a place where everyone drinks so much that they don't care what songs the piano duo play. The Mormons cared! We, the only non-drinkers in the audience, downed pitchers of diet Coke and ate pizzas that were way too expensive for the size. Ironically, by the end of the night, two in our group won the group party with free alcohol. Awesome. We sure will put good use to that.
• Our awesome friend Jon Prawitt left Colorado for more mountainous pastures...Utah. We had a going away party for John at an all your can eat Italian place. Can you say yum? Pizza. Pasta. Gelato. Fried zucchinis. Cannoli. Rolaids. Awesome.
• Lacrosse! I got to attend my first ever lacrosse game. Contrary to popular belief - or just my own, lacrosse isn't only played on the East Coast by Ivy Leaguers and prep schools! I just grew up in a pretty ghetto high school that where sports like this were just way too uppity. Watching lacrosse was pretty cool...although it sure takes focus to watch where that tiny ball is going. :)
• COLD. Then WARM. This month was just freaking cold. Then the next day it was 65 degrees. What I will say is that this is the sunniest place I have ever lived, and those rays of golden sun are exactly what I was missing in Utah. Colorado rocks. The end.

December wasn't too shabby.

Who doesn't like December? Of course there were parties and lots of hot chocolate, and quite a few get together's at my place. Let me just say that I picked the BEST place to live...meaning my location in Parker. I am central for most friends who live south and north of me, making my apartment the ideal hang out. I love having friends over. And I had friends over quite a bit this month.

Dana let me borrow one of her three (?)

Christmas trees, making my house feel happy and cozy and warm-fuzzy for the hol

iday. One significant even revolving around my

Christmas tree had to do with a baby doll arm. Yes...that baby doll arm appeared one day on my tree. Here is the background. That doll arm was part of a friend's Halloween costume and had been left on the floor of her car. One Sunday we headed to see our great friends Kevin Penn and Chris Beeman. I decided to leave the arm as a gift for Kevin. Under his pillow in his bedroom. He never alluded to any knowledge of ever finding that arm. This was back in very late Oct/very early Nov. It came as quite a shock to me one Monday morning in mid December to find a creepy new ornament on my tree as I was getting ready for work. Kevin had been over a couple nights prior, and having fashioned the arm into an ornament, left it for me to find. It completely creeped me out. Like Chucky doll style. Oh Kevin...you got me good. :)

As the ward music chair, I have the lovely task of putting together the Christmas program. I really don't have that much musical know how, so this seemed a pretty daunting task. With the help of my awesome ward choir director and one of our incredible Bishopric counselors we pulled it off. We had a unique, uplifting Christmas program and I couldn't have been happier. Well...I guess I was happier that it was over. :) It was pretty eventful for my month.

I was deemed a formidable force in the ward. Any time the word formidable had been said, it conjured up thoughts of fortresses and dragons and moats. At a talent show an attractive boy in the ward sang a song incorporating people from the ward and little anecdotes about them. Then came the line "Erin Bailey, she's so out of my league." I am happy it was dark because I blushed so much I felt like my face was on fire. The bishopric gave me a pretty hard time, and deemed me the "formidable girl" of the ward. It made me laugh, but I was flattered at the same time. I AM quite the force to be reckoned with. Awesome. Nothing like a little boost of confidence. PS...The boy who sang was only 22 years old. Can we say 'cougar'? ;)

Christmas in Utah! I spent another week with my parents and relatives in Utah for the holiday. This time I was the only Bailey kid around, so I spent a lot of time reading, relaxing, hanging with the cousins. I went on a successful blind date and spent time with my old friend Jonathan Brimhall as well. The last night there was probably the most fun. Mom, dad and I worked on a puzzle while we watched biographies on old comedians. My dad educated me on the incredible man that was Victor Borge. If you don't know who he was, look him up on youtube. He was pretty amazing. :)

November was pretty awesome too...

So what I did this morning when I decided to play catch up was go through my pictures and my journal to see what happened that was of note. Turns out the colder it got, the less than happened. Not surprised. :) November was still pretty cool though.

For the past few months I had been able to work at Twiss Dental as a fill in for a hygienist on maternity leave. It was every Tuesday and I was so grateful for the experience at another office. I feel that working at different offices has really helped me grow as a hygienist. I was actually pretty sad when my temporary work with Dr. Twiss ended. He has a great staff and it was wonderful to work there. :)

SARA BAREILLES! Mid November Kim Johnson, Dana Moats, Gina Ashby and I went and saw

Sara in concert at the Ogden Theatre. It was awesome. Despite the fact that such a petite, incredible singer loved using a less than intelligent vocabulary, we couldn't have asked for a better show. Thankfully to Gina, who had recently had achilles tendon surgery, we had the best 'seats' in the house. :)

I got an iPhone. For free. That's just cool enough to mention.

Thanksgiving break!!! I decided to take an extra long vacation from work in order to spend as much time as possible in Utah for the holiday. Chris, Erin and the boys were flying out for almost two weeks and I wanted to be there for as long as possible. Laura and her soon to be fiancee Joe were also coming. I can't even remember the last time we were all together. It was so much fun. Highlights of the trip:

Spending time with the best, cutest nephews on the planet.

Finally meeting Joe Belurgi, Laura's boyfriend and overhearing my dad give him a ring for Laura that's been in family for years.

Going with Erin and the kids to Cabellas and watching her dominate on Elk Hunt.

Cooking with Karen, Erin, Laura, Emily and Mom on Thanksgiving Eve. :)

Watching Joe and Dad bond over pool in Karen and Gordon's basement.

Having Thanksgiving dinner with a bajillion family members.

Getting Gordon Kerr's awesome hugs.

Not Luke falling backwards whilst playing light sabre's with his mom and requiring stitches, but seeing his face when he got back because the staples were cool and he got a Harry Potter chocolate frog. :)

Kyle 'helping' by napping during dinner preparations. I love my cousins.

Attempting to take a family picture. I even added one of the MANY where Chris sabotaged. :)

I love my family.

Picture highlights:

October!

I took a mid October visit to Utah so that I could go canyoneering. This is
one of the things I miss about Utah. There aren't exactly many slot canyons around these Denver parts. Two of my awesome
buddies Nick Prince and Brent Evans who now live in Illinois and Missouri also flew out to join in the fun. We did Birch to Orderville to Narrows. It was incredible. It took the entire day and we ended up hiking out of the Narrows after dark. What an adventure. I bonded with my buddies and made new friends. Totally worth the trip out. :)

Kim and I ordered massive gummy bears that my sister Laura had directed me to. I love gummy anything. EDIBLE gummy anything. Let's not get gross. Check out the pictures...heaven. Need I say more?

Eyes Lips Eyes, a band my close friend Aaron Hatch is in, came to Colorado and played in Boulder. It was an awesome show...as evidenced by the sweaty band members. I was so happy to see Aaron. :) He was one of my first awesome buddies that I really connected with when I moved to Utah in 2003.

Girls mini road trip!! So the best part of living in Colorado is the friends I have made. Barbie put together an overnight for some good girl friends of hers, taking us on a trip in one of those way old school vans with the tv and vcr and curtains and everything. Classic. We headed to Manitou Springs and stayed in an adobe looking motel. We were a bit creeped out at first, but it turned out to be awesome. What better way to spend a weekend than crammed into a car, eating at Cracker Barrel, visiting 'Bishops Castle' and crashing a Colorado Springs YSA dance...which was AWFUL. Needless to say, Barbie bore her testimony the next day about how grateful she was for her ward. Or at least grateful that we were far enough away from Co Springs that they aren't in our region. Haha.

The biggest part of October for me I guess was turning 30. I am nowhere near where I thought I'd be in life. If you would have told me when I was 20 that I would be unmarried and living in my own place in Colorado I would have laughed. I remember thinking my 24 year old roommate was so so sad, and I would die if I was ever so old and single like her. It comes back to bite you...careful what you say! Anywho...that said, I am in such a happy place in my life at 30 that I

cannot say that I lack much. I am in a wonderful place, with wonderful friends and have an incredible job. I bask in compliments such as "You look so young to be 30. I thought you were 22!" "You are MUCH too pretty to never have been engaged." That makes it all worth it. ;) My friends and I had dinner out, I was surprised by Dana and Gina with a decorated house and mini lava cakes back at my place. And who doesn't want a pineapple topped with a red bow for their birthday. (Psych fans will get this one!)