"Why are you so masochistic?"

As many of you already know, today is THE day. That's right, you guessed it, tonight is the midnight release of NEW MOON!! It will be a night full of fun and adventure. A sneak preview into the evening... enrichment, painted car, decked out t-shirts, and lots of friends! I can't wait to show all of you the pictures and discuss the movie!! I know it's going to be absolutely DIVINE!!

I've been blogged about.

So ... I went to this luncheon last week for a group of Business, Media and Public Relations people called BMPR (pronounced "Bumper"). It's basically just a social network for media and PR professionals in San Antonio who obsess over social media sites - especially Twitter. Check out more of their stuff here.

So that was cool. I was a speaker for this luncheon ... I followed former Kansas City Chiefs runningback Priest Holmes (who's not as big as I thought he'd be ... I'm pretty sure I could take him) and former San Antonio Spur Bruce Bowen (who was massively tall). Tough act to follow - two well-loved pro athletes....

Anyway, so I was supposed to talk about things I've learned as the operator of the official Twitter feed and official Facebook page of the San Antonio Missions Baseball Club (if you have Twitter, follow us here ... if you're a Facebooker, become a fan here ... shameless plug). Just prior to my speaking, I invented a "rule" to be followed while using social media. See, since social media sites (including this blog) are all about the "me" or the "I", I decided to create the "Three I's of Social Media".

Wouldn't you know it? This room filled with more than 150 media professionals in the seventh-largest city in the country bought it. And then one of them - a news writer for the San Antonio Express News - blogged about it. I thought that was pretty sweet. Chickety check it out.

Anyway. Since social media is all about "I" and "look at me" (or, rather, read about me...) I thought I'd share so I can solicit some attention.

And I wanted to have a "permanent" online record of the link to refer to for when I go out and apply for jobs - this is like a sweet merit badge I can perhaps flash to employers and say, "Hey! I know what I'm doing!!"

I just hope they don't read about it on this blog....

Oh, and Lauryn is doing AMAZING with her new job. I can't wait for her to post more about it on here to tell y'all. PEACE!!!

New Beginnings... Again!

The Lord is definitely looking out for me. I was blessed to get a fantastic job offer from my Internship at Cabinetry Designs. Of course I couldn't resist! So, I am no longer at Designs of the Interior (DOTI). Cabinetry Designs, Inc. is a high-end custom Kitchen and Bath design firm. We are a dealer of WoodMode cabinetry. My first week has been fantastic. I am doing a crash course of 20/20 (a computer program similar to AutoCAD that is specifically designed for Kitchen and Bath design) trying to learn as much as I can before the other designer leaves. I love my new co-workers and the work that I am doing. I am learning SO much and loving every minute of it. Check out our website for more information about the company!!

DIRTY CHOPS!!!!!!!!!

OK. So ... here's the deal.

At work, because of the way the July schedule fell (LOTS of weekend homestands while the team is on the road during the week, when we're in the office anyway) we've had a streak of 26 straight days without a day off. At all.

Today is Day 22.

In honor of this little streak, a lot of us stopped shaving. I had a beard for about a week or two....

But today we're shaving. It's supposed to be down to the 'stache, but I just can't seem to part from this AWESOME set of chops I've got....

And I wanted to share.

Personally, I freakin LOVE them. For now, anyway. Definitely moves me from the ranks of the Bert Blylevens of baseball to the caliber of guys like Goose Gossage or Al Hrabosky, the Angry Hungarian.

I mean, even Jason Giambi couldn't pull off a facial 'do like THIS.

It's moments like this I love working in baseball....

INTERNSHIP!!

Ok, you're probably thinking I'm crazy at this point. Why would I get an un-paid internship while I am working? Because I am crazy! I took an internship with Cabinetry Designs of San Antonio this week. I start tomorrow. I need to get my 160 hrs. in by the end of the year (which will be tricky since I will only go in on Mondays) in order to receive my certification for Kitchen and Bath Design. This means I get to put a cool acronym after my name on my business cards and such, AKBD. So cool. Anyway, I know I will be crazy tired and busy, but I'm hoping it's worth it. Kitchen and Bath design is where my heart is. It's what I really want to be doing. This internship will put me a step in the right direction- towards a job in Kitchen and Bath. Who knows when I will see the fruits of my labors, but I'm sure it will pay off someday! I'm really excited about all that I will learn! The company has 2 showroom locations here in San Antonio and they do AWESOME work! They owner and everyone are really nice. I'm excited to work with them and learn from them! I'm going to be a little sponge soaking up information!!! On the down side, if you can't ever get ahold of me it's probably bc I have crashed as soon as I walked in the door. My mondays off were a saving grace... somehow I'm going to have to make it with just Sunday to relax. I don't know when I'm going to get important things done around the house and such, but I'm sure Josh and I will figure it out! Anyway, I feel very blessed to have this opportunity. Yes I kind of begged for it and basically asked them to just let me come hang out for 8 hours on mondays with no pay, but you gotta do what you gotta do! And who knows, maybe something good (like a job) will come from it!?!?!? Oh, and there is 1 month left of the baseball season. We might actually make it through the summer!!!!

PBR

Josh and Brian- such studs!
Me and Ardy!

Josh and I!!! Doesn't Josh look excited??
PBR: Not to be confused with PBS or PBJ

Professional Bull Riding. This is serious stuff. These are some hardcore (and totally crazy) cowboys. It was really interesting and exciting watching them prep the bulls in the pen and then bust out and be bucked and swirled all over the place. Since Josh grew up sort of a hick, he was teaching me all kinds of things about Bull Riding. Here's what I learned:

- The Bulls are also athletes and travel around the country just like the cowboys.
- Prep: The cowboys tie a rope around the bulls' "privates" and basically pull it tight. They also kick and prod the bull with their spurs trying to piss off the bull as much as possible before they are released from the pen.
- The scoring is done by two judges: one that scores the bull and one that scores the cowboy. The scoring is out of 100.
- Rodeo clowns are crazy. They put themselves between the bull and the cowboy in order to protect the cowboy.

We went to the PBR event with our friends Ardy and Brian from the ward. There is this sweet dancehall/rodeo arena in San Antonio called Cowboys. They hold PBR and other bull riding events there, plus it's a country dance hall/bar. They have a REALLY good house band that plays cover songs. They are awesome! We originally went for the dancing but couldn't pass up the PBR. We did a little of both although Josh and I do NOT know how to country dance. We had a lot of fun though. We plan on taking lessons so that we can show off on the dance floor!!!

Official BYU-I Alum.

SO... we finally did it. We graduated College!!

It seems very surreal right now. I still feel like my job is an internship and I'll be back in Rexburg re-united with friends soon enough. How long does this feeling last? Josh is enjoying work but I've been hearing talk of grad school and a doctorate degree... I think he's nuts!!

Me and my beautiful Mom. She's the best I could ask for!!!

Josh and his dad... they're both such characters...

Us with my parents. Of course Josh is making a funny face! And apparently there was something more interesting off to the side... perhaps it was McKae?

Me and Mckae. She's probably the reason I never dropped out of Interior Design... thanks for all the memories!!!