Birthday for Jodee!

Hey all! It was Braden's wife-Jodee's birthday this past week, so as is the usual for the Christensen Clan we all congregated at Mom & Dad's place. It's always so chaotic & so NOISY! But, I got some very cute pics of Brighton, and some of Katie, Dylan & Jake (We all went for a walk w/ Sarah to get the wiggles out of the 3 & 5 yr old!)

Bras

OK LADIES...

Listen up. I know we all hate bra shopping...the trying on, the adjusting, the taking off and putting on, trying to get them nicely back on the hangers...it's frustrating!

I have found a bra that I "absolutely adore" & am willing to share with all of you! It's called the Barely There Comfortable Curves...in either satin hidden underwire (style 4636) or the heather hidden underwire (style 4364). They are unbelievably comfortable! They are "seamless, soft, lightweight, & provide incredibly smooth support." They offer a line-free look, flexible foam cups, and they are tag free! And the straps stay up for those of you who have problems with that! Seriously, I got one of these like 5 years ago and have worn nothing else since! I was using just the heather ones...which are more of a cottony fabric, but recently I tried the satin...and I LOVE IT!! Probably a little better than the heather! I forget I have them on! They are slightly padded in the cups so no "nippage" when you get cold...if you know what I mean Try one today! I love love love them!

PS They are pretty cheap on Amazon.com by the Rockinsox co. (Free shipping!) Let me know if you find them cheaper somewhere else!

New Year's/Mexican Train '09

I got out my camera today and found all these pics that I forgot I had on there...so,


New Year's Eve, Soni, Michele, Lani W, and myself met at our friend Carol's for a Mexican Train/New Year's Eve Celebration! Braden & Jodee got me a double 18 domino set that we decided to break in. Usually you play from the double 18 down to double blank, we decided we were going to play down and then back up! Let the FUN BEGIN! We were making progress until we had to take a break while Soni went to chaperone the youth dance. I can't even tell you what went on while we were waiting...a movie, some munchies, and then everyone got the giggles SO BAD...I can't even tell you what we were laughing about. Laughing fits describes them perfectly!!

Anyway, about 7 AM we had just gotten to the double blank Soni & Carol were dead in their chairs & Lani was mostly out of it...like always (HA! HA!). Michele & I were the only ones wide awake & thirsty for more! We were out voted. :( We called it a night...I don't even remember who won! But it was a good time! I love our Mexican Train Parties!

Won't you marry me, Bill?

Can I just tell you all how much I LOVE my hairdresser?! He is SUPER nice! Calls you beautiful, is super complimentary and laid back. I have been seeing him since before my mission. ( I admit I have strayed & tried others, but I'm back to him now.) He always does a fantastic job and has given me hair tips and new styles when I ask his advice. He SERIOUSLY gives the BEST massage when he's washing your hair...I think I would pay just for that massage some days!...it's soooo relaxing! He's washing and massaging and just when you start to think "this is nice, but laying here so long is making my neck hurt" BAM! He lifts your head and starts in on a neck massage! MMmmm!! So FABULOUS! You know you are jealous right now!

California Drivers

Has anyone gotten frustrated with the drivers out there? I swear, either I'm getting more & more like my Dad, or people in general just suck at driving now-a-days! Her are my major beefs:
1. No BLINKERS! Almost nobody uses their indicators anymore, they just swerve across 10 lanes willy-nilly, like Carmen Diaz in My Best Friends Wedding..."Oh! MY exit!"
2. People totally cut you off and change lanes in an INTERSECTION...which is against the LAW!(while not using their blinkers)...Someone totally started speeding up next to me & I knew they were going to try to cut in front of me, unfortunately we were right at a light...so they just swerved over in the middle of the intersection...why can't people wait anymore and get in behind you?
3. Does any one REALLY know how to drive the roundabout AKA Traffic Circle? This has happened to me twice now...I'm driving around like normal and some idiot to my left wants to get off and goes right in front of me!...I end up getting off where they're getting off just so I don't slam into their car!! WTH?!! And there's never any cops around!!
4. I absolutely HATE when people stare at me while I'm sitting in my car! I will purposefully turn and stare back at them while picking my nose, scratching my boob, etc! They fully make it obvious that they're totally staring you down too! Annoying!
That's all I can think of right now. I'm serioulsy so on edge when I drive now though...I'm almost immediately in a bad mood when I get behind the wheel because I'm expecting the worst!
What's your driver pet peeves?!

Other noise around the E 14th Block!

Ok, seriously. for those of you who think I was exaggerating with how noisy the neighbourhood is around here....I drove up to my apartment to see some guy (I thought he was some homeless crazy and almost didn't get out of my car) dancing in the street like he was The King of Pop, Michael Jackson himself. I ran upstairs to my window so I could get this:



Sorry it's fuzzy and sideways!!!, I shot this through the screen. But, you know his music had to be loud if my phone could pick it up that well!

Volkswagen Commercial-"Cornering"

MY ABSOLUTE MOST FAVORITE COMMERCIAL EVER!!
(I had to re-post, because I messed it up! DUH! I'm still trying to figure out this whole blogger thingy...it's very FRUSTRATING sometimes!)

Noisy Neighbours!! The BIG OAF!

I'm eventually going to get a picture of this guy so you can have the JOY of seeing the perp...but for now, you'll have to take my word for it!


Soni and I have lived together in an apartment complex with some of our other siblings for going on 5 years...I think? Anywho, we have been through 2 tenants to our left, and 3 tenants beneath us...and I have 1 question...DOES NOBODY KNOW HOW TO BE A GOOD NEIGHBOUR ANYMORE?! A new tenant moved in beneath us... and can I say "Praise Allah" that his roommate moved out, she was worse than him...slamming cupboards, screaming baby that wasn't hers in her room from 12-2AM,. ETC! But, onto the other guy. Seriously, this guy, well he's more of a TOTAL OAF, works odd hours, which means he leaves while we are at work, and comes home very close to midnight. If you or I got home at midnight, I'm sure we would be closing doors very quietly, walking quietly, etc...right? Not this guy! We think he's deaf in one ear which explains a lot, but he lets his screen door slam in addition to slamming his front door and then proceeds to watch TV at deaf old man volume and...and this is the good part...he thinks he's being CONSCIOUS of his noise level!! Seriously? Seriously??! He said those exact words when my sister went down and politely (which is why I had her do it) asked him to turn his TV down! Here's another awesome thing...he moved his tv to right by his window...so now in addition to bugging us, he bugs the whole neighbourhood. The neighbours in the duplex next to us try to drown out his tv with theirs! SWEET! Now, I think he is starting to hate us. We came home Sunday night from dinner at the Andrews (YUM) to find him watching TV SUPER LOUD, door open, window open, and volume all the way up...Soni knocked and asked him to turn it down, and told me he couldn't quite mask his face all the way before she read the annoyance there! Good! I hope he realizes that we aren't interested in watching TV with him! I really can't wait to move to another house/apartment/ANYWHERE...as long as it's quiet, with no BIG, NOISY, OAFS! And don't even get me started on the people that live below Braden and Jodee (my bro & his wife)! Let's just say three things: 1. He has a band 2. He totally sings off key & 3. He has a lot of friends over all the time. Ok, 1 more... 4. He likes to drink and smoke pot! GOOD TIMES!! Someone please help us!
Oh...PS! I forgot to tell you that this OAF of a neighbour also has the deepest voice/laugh...when he laughs at his shows you can feel the rumble!- and loudest sneeze ever! He sneezed one time and a neighbour yelled, BLESS YOU! Heaven help us all over here on 14th St!!

I DID IT!!

Ok, I posted all my old stuff on here hours ago!!!!- I've been fiddling with this website for the hours since trying to figure out how to get the stupid music player to show up on my blog!!! It only took me 2 hours, 3 help websites...that obviously weren't that helpful, and a LOT of patience!!! Usually if I can't figure something out I get frustrated and just quit, but I stuck with it, and it payed off! Enjoy the music!

DAD's 18th Birthday!!

The 29th of this month was Dad's Birthday! (His 18th!!) Mr. Leap Year Baby was treated to a family party on sunday the 24 along with the other February birthday's in the family. (Bonnie, Debi, and Janice). It was a noisy but fun time!

On Dad's actual birthday, Mom, Marly & Aaron took Dad out to The Fish Co. where the rest of us were waiting to surprise him! He was very surprised! He received gag gifts that normally a TRUE 18 yr. old. would receive. College apps, mission papers, cigarettes, "tatoos", Bonnie even got him some BLING...with the "BLING-BLING" necklace! It was really a lot of fun! I think the people who were seated around us didn't think so, with all 22 of us making soooo much noise, but after waiting 2 1/2 hours to be seated...that place was ours!! (See Album...Dad's 18th birthday)

Disneyland Trips!

Disneyland Pickles! YUM!

March 08

Soni & I try to head to Disneyland at least once a month. (We've become quite spoiled since we bought our passes last October!) For the first time ever we got stuck on a ride last time we were there (Jan 23). We were on Indiana Jones when it totally stopped...Sallah's recorded voice kept telling us there was something wrong with our car...DUH! We were in the dark for a little while (literally) until they turned the lights on. Then we just sat there waiting...& waiting. When we saw a worker Soni yelled, "Indy, we're over here!" But, to no avail! Finally, like 30 minutes later they came around with a ladder to help us all out of the car and we all walked to the exit! It was kinda fun...unless, like the people next to us, it's your first time, and you live in PA.! They'll have to wait another 20 years to see how the ride ends! (See Disneyland album) PS...I'll try to post our other D-land photos in that album...we have some cool Christmas pics!

El Dorado Nature Center

April 12

Hey all...
Sorry it took me so long to get another entry in here! Soni, Darrel & I have been heading to the Nature Center Sunday's after church to enjoy some leisure walking & enjoy God's creations. I'm amazed at how friendly some of the squirrels are! A couple times I've been afraid they would climb up a pant leg, or go crazy because we don't have any food to give them! (One got really close to Soni and me a couple times!) We usually start out on the 2 mile trail and then do the 1 mile trail and then head out. It takes us awhile because I keep taking so many pictures!! I can't resist. Everytime you go you see something new! Right now it's mating time for the turtles...they have some interesting rituals to attract their mates! Last time I saw a Rabbit which I've never seen! Usually just turtles, ducks, birds, and squirrels. Last time 4-6-08...Darrel and I were looking at this lone flower in a clearing...Darrel walked away and I was still standing there...out of a hole in the ground popped this little face! I almost screamed! (Ok I did a little and asked "What the heck was that???!!" Darrel came back and I pointed it out...It was a gopher! I've never seen that either! I hope one of these days to get them to the Japanese Gardens at CSULB...we'll see. That can be next time!

April 08 Birthdays (4-20)

Katie doing "fishy face"

May 23

OK...A friend (Jocelyn) told me I need to update...and I agree. Between work, my girl's camp calling, and more work the time just keeps slipping by. The family did have a Mother's Day celebration/Birthday party for Darrel in May but I neglected to bring my camera to that event. It's ok...I took enough pics at the April Birthday parties to last you until Father's Day or whatever... I should tell you, Soni & I went to Disneyland yesterday, but I forgot the camera for that trip too. We decided to be crazy & went on a couple rides we haven't ridden in a long time ie Jungle Cruise...& yes. The jokes are still the same and stale as always! We both went on California Screamin' for the 1st time and I'm proud to say that although I did get a little dizzy...( I always do) Soni was sick after the first drop..."ok" she said, "maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all!" We both looked constipated and sick for the picture, so we passed on making that a permanent memory for either of us! They were also filming a movie while we were there. (We think) Goofy was running down Main Street with a bunch of little boys in Baseball uniforms while someone filmed them. I guess we'll see if we ended up in the shot. We were the ones stuffing our faces with ice-cream sitting on the curb. It was a fun & tiring day.

One of our "silly shots" Sarah looks stoned! Dylan looks scary & emaciated!

Anyway, onto the April Birthdays. There's really not much to say about the day. I just got a lot of goofy pics with Dylan and Sarah. And Katie was acting silly for some camera shots. The boys were also pushing the kids around inside an ottoman. It was cute. They loved it!! (Sorry! I couldn't figure out how to get the videos in here!! They were cute though!) ..on email blogger I got it! :)

Michael Buble!!!

May 24, '08
On May 10th Soni & I went to a Michael Buble concert! Of course I forgot to take my camera-again!! It was a pretty awesome concert though. For those of you unfamiliar with Michael...HE is AWESOME! He's kind of a jazzy, modern Frank Sinatra type with a voice bordering on Frank and Mel Torme...for those of you who know who that is! He has some awesome albums out there! He's a throw back to the big band era also. He sings on stage with a band sitting behind him. The concert was really good! I was disappointed when he went down and took a picture with a 12 yr old named Desiree...I wanted it to be ME!!! MY biggest fantasy was that I would be called up on stage to sing a song with him...which would then lead him to be impressed with my voice and lead to recording a song or two with him on his next album! (Like I said...BIGGEST FANTASY!) Anyway...if you want to check him out here are some of my favorite Buble tunes & their albums:
1.Sway...Michael Buble
2. Kissing a Fool...Michael Buble*
3. How can you mend a broken heart...Michael Buble*
4. Cuando Cuando Cuando...It's Time-duet w/ Nelly Furtado**
5. Save the last dance for me...It's Time
6. You & I...It's Time
7. It Had Better Be Tonight...Call Me Irresponsible**
8. Lost...Call Me Irresponsible**
9. Wonderful Tonight...Call Me Irresponsible**
10. Everything...Call Me Irresponsible**
11. Always On My Mind...Call Me Irresponsible
* Biggest Favorites
**Could not live without this song!

**INTRODUCTION TO MICHAEL BUBLE**

Michael Bublé's introduction to the music of the swing era came to him through his grandfather, who filled his grandson's ears with the sounds of the Mills Brothers, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and others. As Bublé eagerly absorbed the recordings, he began to realize that he wanted to be a singer and that this style of music, virtually foreign to his own generation, was what he wanted to perform. With his grandfather's assistance, Bublé soon learned a whole catalog of tunes and gained experience and exposure by singing as a guest with several local bands. While still in his teen years, he won the Canadian Youth Talent Search, released several independent albums, and performed in a musical review titled Swing that traveled across the U.S. It wasn't long before Bublé was introduced to Grammy-winning producer David Foster and signed his first major recording contract with Reprise Records.
The two Canadians began work on a debut album that would incorporate Bublé's aptitude for pop standards into songs that spanned several decades. His self-titled debut disc was released in early 2003 and featured jazzy takes on old standards like "Fever" and "The Way You Look Tonight" as well as newer classics like Van Morrison's "Moondance" and the Bee Gees' "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart." Further exposure ensued with a world tour and appearances on several television programs like NBC's Today Show, in which he sang a duet with host Katie Couric. He finished off 2003 with an EP of holiday material, Let It Snow, and began 2004 with the live CD/DVD set Come Fly with Me. In 2005, It's Time was a number one hit in Canada, Japan, Italy, and Australia and made the top ten of both the U.K. and U.S. Later that year he released the live album Caught in the Act. The holiday-themed album Christmas followed in 2006 with the studio effort Call Me Irresponsible dropping in 2007.

I know some think he's not much to look at, but if this man was singing to you...you would NOT kick him out of bed...That voice is SEXY...and that is his APPEAL!! YOWZA!!

Blogger explanation!

Ok, I mainly opened a Blogger account so I could follow family and friends that have Blogs, but I don't want people opening up to an empty page, so I'll paste my old Blog here and then TRY (I stress TRY) to keep it updated with cool stuff that happens...since that happens so infrequently, don't get your hopes up!!