June Already!!

I was looking over some friend's and family's blogs today and was suprised when I flipped back to my own that it's been nearly a month since I posted anything new! Man am I boring! May was a very busy month for me, but also a very good month. I finished up spring semester at UNLV with final projects and tests galore and was able to breathe a sigh of relief once my final grades came in. I GOT THE BEST GPA OF MY ENTIRE LIFE!! Drumroll please... I got 4 A's, and one A-, which equals out to a 3.94! I guess leaving all of my distractions (like my guitar, sewing machine, crochet/knitting stuff, scrapbook things, etc.) at home in Colorado really paid off! Yes, I missed them, but opted to leave them there again when I visited home last weekend in hopes I can keep up the good work in school this fall.

I got to take a trip out to Los Angeles on the 16th to see my brother Diego's graduation from Southwestern Law School, and I really enjoyed the time with my parents, brother and his wife Mariela. We wandered up and down Venice Beach, ate at a wonderful authentic Argentine restaurant (it was just like the food from my mission in Uruguay - and I even found my favorite brand of Alfajores!), and just relaxed! There always seems to be new and fun things to see and do out there... like visit the store that sells hundreds of brands of sodapop, including ones they don't bottle anymore! I broke my self-imposed "no soda" rule for the weekend and had... well, let's say several! I was also pleased to finish off the weekend by dying my hair dark brown, getting a henna tatoo (it's already gone), and giving myself a nice sunburn. What a good trip!

I flew back home on the 19th, and the next day was the date I had chosen to give myself an early birthday present and went to see Cher's show at Caesar's Palace.

I budgeted my money well in preparation for this special event, and was able to get a VERY good seat, and still not feel guilty about spending so much money on the show. I loved it! What better day to see Cher's show than on her birthday?? I have now seen her in concert/show 5 times, and hope to see her again, but probably not for a while. I even found an awesome store next to the theatre inside the casino that sells a plethora of Cher merchandise, and plan to revisit it a few more times this year. Yay for t-shirts!

I once again packed up my bags and headed out of town on Saturday the 24th to go to Colorado. I realized sometime during the 11 hour drive that I had entered the MTC exactly 2 years ago! I couldn't believe it! While in Colorado I got to spend a lot of time with my sister Stephanie and her family; I took care of her three girls while she was still in the hospital after having her baby BOY! We were all so excited to have him come home - he's a cutie!

Yesterday (May 31st) all of the Elders that started the mission with me were scheduled to arrive home. It's kind of a sad but happy day all at the same time! Sad because the numbers of missionaries that I still know out in the field are dwindling, but happy because I know they all served a great mission and finished what they were sent out to do.

Cher-riffic!

So, as all of you know by now, I am a HUGE Cher fan. In fact, you can say I'm a fanatic! I have spent many a Halloween, party, or opportune moment dressing up as her - doing such things as dying my own hair, and constantly looking for clothes that would match her style at Savers and Goodwill. Because this became such a common thing for me to do, I decided to spare the wear and tear on my own hair and finally bought a few black wigs- one cheap straight-haired Halloween wig, and a nice one with curly hair that has locks which fall down to my waist. One of my better purchases.

How did this craze start you ask? When I was a sophomore in highschool I took a dance class. It was during this class that Cher's most current album Believe was making a huge mark on the music scene, and another girl in my class and I selected it to use in our final show for the class. Having enjoyed the song so much, I decided to look in to more music Cher had sung - I mean, I had heard a little about her while growing up, so why not? I started looking anywhere I could (my favorite search location was as Goodwill in the vinyl records section), and was loving everything I found. And now, 10 years, 4 concerts (with a 5th coming up on May 20th) and 20 something albums later, I am still hooked!

Can you tell??

I was tagged...

A: Attached or Single: Singe - For now.
B: Best Friend: I've got lots: My Brother Diego, My Sister Stephanie, Carleen, and Katie.
C: Cake or Pie: Cake. Jello Cake, the way I make it!
D: Day of Choice: Getting up early on a day off in the summer and spending all daylight hours in the pool or other outdoor settings.
E: Essential Item: My planner!
F: Favorite Color: Purple. But not to wear.
G: Greatest Accomplishment: Completing my mission - it was so hard - so glad I went, though! (Ditto to Stephanie's answer)
H: Hometown: Littleton, CO
I: Indulgences: Dulce de leche Haagen Daas icecream
J: January or July: Depends on the continent :) July here, January in S.A. Both are summer!
K: What happened to K?? It wasn't in here...
L: Life is Incomplete Without: My family (again ditto), and time to lay on the floor everyday.
M: Marriage Date: To Be Determined.
N: Number of Siblings: 2 sisters, 2 brothers
O: Oranges or Apples: Has to be apples, I recently discovered an allergy to oranges... :(
P: Phobias or Fears: Being caught in a burning building, suffocating, and yes, spiders to some extent.
Q: Quotes: "Cheese-ball pick-me-ups, accompanied by miniature franks, and for dessert, marshmallow kebobs!" Cher in Mermaids
R: Reason to Smile: I won't be in college forever.
S: Season: Summer!
T: Tag Four Friends: I don't have 4 friends on here...
U: Unknown Fact About Me: I love to dance, and I'm pretty good at it, especially if the guy knows how to lead.
V: Very Favorite store: Hmmm...Twist and Shout Underground in Denver, CO.
W: Worst Habit: Procrastination - with homework especially.
X: X-ray or Ultrasound: Ultrasounds I guess... x-rays mean you've been hurt.
Y: Your Favorite Food: Japanese Curry, Avocados, Pomegranite.
Z: Zodiac: Gemini and Cancer... the magazines and newspapers all tell me something different. I guess you can say I have 3 personalities: two with Gemini (the twins), and one with Cancer! No wonder I have issues! :)

...duck...duck...DUCKS!!!

While I was living in South America I was accustomed to seeing animals that were a little unusual for one reason or another; like the dog who was paralyzed from the waist down yet still managed to hop up a set of stairs. It was a typical thing down there - seeing animals with patches of fur missing caused by a disease they were carrying, fleas (or something else) re-settling in the fur of the kitten that you were just handed by one of the local kids, and more often than you would think, a dead something in the street:

I'll spare you the rest.

Anyhow, I was quite happy to come back to the more predictable animal life of the United States, but was shocked once again! This time it was ducks. Yes, ducks. Over spring break I volunteered to help a friend of mine take care of her friend's ducklings. But these weren't any normal ducklings...they were ducks of a different color!!

We let them play in the bathtub for a while, then towel dried them a bit before resorting to using the blowdrier. What a great way to celebrate the spring!