the one about my cousin Brooke

I suck at blogging. I am so sorry that I just can't get my blogging life together. It seems to be the last thing I can find time to do. Blogger drives me crazy because it is so slow at loading pictures and I hate fighting with it for hours! I have no patience! Excuses, excuses. I know.

A couple months ago, I went to SLC to see my cousin Brooke and her new baby. While there, she told me that she was going to stop reading my blog because I never update it. I promised her that I would blog the pictures from that weekend. Well, of course, time got away from me and here it is, mid-May and I am barely getting to it. So sorry Brooke! She told me that the last time I posted a picture of her, it was very unflattering (SO NOT TRUE!) and she wanted me to post a new one that looked better. Go to this post, scroll down a bit and see that it was a good picture of her and her hubby!! She is adorable!!! Anyway, with this post, I am hoping to redeem myself to my FAVORITE cousin, and hopefully win her back as a blog reader. Besides, I am excited to show off her cute baby!

I come from a small family. My Dad only had one sibling, a brother, who he married later in life and he and his wife never had children. My Mom only had one brother and he and his ex-wife only had one child. That means I only have one cousin. Yes, just one. Brooke. My grandparents only had three grandchildren, therefore, we all got lots of attention. Growing up, we were all very close. We lived near each other and did everything together. I always thought Brooke was so cool. I wanted to be with her all the time and I thought she was the greatest thing ever. I was crazy jealous of her. She was a few years older than me, and I know I had to be totally annoying to her, but she was always sweet to me. I got to go on a few trips with my aunt, uncle and Brooke and they were all so good to me. They still are! Brooke has accomplished a lot in her life and I am so proud of her! She has a great job as a paramedic and is married to a math teacher! She never seemed to want to have children, but finally got to a place in her life where she needed to be a mommy. Her sweet baby Moses must be the luckiest kid ever because Brooke is the BEST MOM! It has been so much fun to see her transform from "super strong independent career woman Brooke," to "gentle kind nurturing motherly Brooke." They are just the cutest little family and Moses is the most beautiful, perfect baby I have ever seen. (Well, maybe the 2nd most beautiful and perfect baby I have ever seen!) ;) I LOVE my one and only cousin and I am so proud of her! And I am really mad that she lives 2 1/2 hours away so I can't love on that baby more often.

Here are the pictures of our trip to meet baby Moses. My uncle is a collector of all things weird. He has this creepy puppet, "Jerry Mahoney." I think it is hilarious, but Brooke is totally creeped out by it! She was throwing a total fit when we took this picture. "Get that away from my baby!"
"Grandpa" Kim and Moses
Four Generations

tho one about my trip to NYC

Don't get to excited. It was a long time ago. Nearly 15 years ago to be exact, but yesterday in my post about my Uncle Kim, I mentioned my trip and my good friend Vanessa left a comment that sparked my memory. So I decided to tell you a little bit about it.

Remember how I told you uesterday that my cool Uncle Kim was a High School teacher? Well he was also involved with the Drama stuff. For a couple of years, he and the Drama teacher, Mr. Dickson took drama students to NYC. I can't really remember how it all happened, but they ended up with a odd number of people and I got to be the extra. It was very last minute and a huge surprise when he told me he was taking me. I was So excited. I was also thrilled to go with my cousin Brooke, who I idolized.

So we flew to NYC and stayed in a hotel and went to tons of Broadway Shows. We went to Macy's, Bloomingdales, the Statue of Liberty and tons of other places. I even saw Matthew Broderick!!!!! We were there the weekdend of the Tony Awards and we were the annoying people that stood out side and shouted at the stars as they got out of the limos. Since it was broadway, I didn't really know too many stars except for Matthew Broderick. We also saw him in the show he was staring in.

So the whole thing that triggered this blog is a comment from my frined Vanessa yesterday. Let me copy and paste.

"HA! I remember when you went to NYC. Didn't people on the subway scream at you because you were wearing those green foam Statue of Liberty crowns?"

You were close, Vanessa. I was actually teased on the ferry about the statue of liberty crown.


Now the subway teasing came from the shirt I bought at the musical CATS. It was all black and had two green cat eyes on the back and said CATS on the front. We walked all over the city that day, and every perv on the street said, "Here, Kitty Kitty!" It was awful and I wnated to cry!! I was so offended. I don't have a good picture of the shirt, but this is me wearing it. I was wearing white shorts and the T-Shirt. (Look how cute and skinny I was.) :( That was taken in Central Park feeding squirrels.

Anyway, it was a super fun trip and I was super excited to get to go. Thanks Kim!!!

Here are a few more pictures.

the one about my uncle kim

In honor of my Uncle Kim's Birthday, I would like to dedicate this blog to him. He actually sent me some pictures a few months ago and he wanted me to blog about him, but I just haven't yet. So I thought today was the perfect day.

Here are a few interesting facts about my FAVORITE UNCLE!!!!!
He loves to tease everyone!
He is a total prankster and he used to make me cry all the time when I was a litttle girl.
He is super smart and always has the latest and greatest toys and electronics.
He collects antiques and has come across some amazing things! (And some slightly offensive and very unusual things too!)
His real name is Dennis, but only his "new" friends call him that. He will always be Kim to me.
He is the father of my one and only cousin, Brooke.
He is my great-grandma Karren's favorite! (My mom added that part. Do you sense a little jealousy?)
He loves to travel, and when I was in 9th grade, I was lucky enough to go on a trip with him to NYC!
He taught at my old High School for several years, but he changed schools just as I entered.
He loves the theater and the arts.
He is a GREAT performer. He has been in several musicals and plays and I love to watch him.
He is so talented and creative.
He has a hot pink Christmas tree!
His favorite store is D.I. and if we get gifts from him, we know they came from there. Not because he is frugal, but because he loves to find the most unusual gifts and they are usually my favorites!
He is the best Yard Sale partner, ever!
His favorite book as a child was Zippy.
His favorite toy from his childhood was a stuffed cat with a plastic face.

He lives a few hours away now and I miss him all of the time. Even though he is "banned" from here, I sure wish he would come visit soon! He is so much fun and I love him to death! Thanks, Uncle Kim, for always bringing a smile to my face and drama to the family!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

the one about reality t.v.

Ohhhhhhh baby! I LOVE t.v. and especailly reality t.v. Since there has been this stupid writers strike, I have really depended on reality t.v. to give me my t.v. fix. I know what you are thinking.... LOSER!! But I just don't care, dangit. I love it and you can't judge me for that!!!

So I feel the need to tell you all about my very favorite Reality show in the whole wide world. It is kind of my guilty pleasure....

Big Brother! I seriously love this show so much. i am totally addicted and I look forward to it all of the time. I was so excited that they decided to have it in the winter this year so i didn't have to wait until summer to get wrapped up in it. Seriously, I am a little embarassed about it, but i don't care, i totally love it. Here is a photo of this season's cast. I even have Showtime so I can watch Big Brother After Dark. That is live feed from the ohouse every night from 10:00pm until 1:00am. No wonder I have trouble sleeping. This season, I am really cheering for James and Chelsia. I love them and would love to see them go far in the game. I also like Ryan, Josh and Adam. And Sheila a little bit. So there you go... my guilty pleasure show.

I have a few other favorites.... American Idol. I am really loving Brooke White and David Archuleta I am not a huge fan of the rocker chick, or the country girl. but I really like Jason Castro. He is a cutie and I really like his style. I could see myself buying David A., Brooke or Jason's CD, so I think they should win. And I should get to go to the final with 10 of my friends. I would take Brett, Quayd (one of the show's youngest fans), Kandice, Jamie, Janice, Stephanie (don't know if she is a fan, but I think she is fun to hang with), Uncle Kim, Holly, Emily A. and Elaine C. from school. Not becasue we are best friends or anything, but because she likes the show and I would like to see her have a good time. And she is cool! We could hang. And if I didn't mention your name and you are a big American Idol fan, I guess I would tell Jason, David and Brooke to let me invite you too. They won't mind. They are way cool like that!

I also love Biggest Loser. My favorite part of watching this show is the weekly competition I have with Brett to see who can eat more junk food before the weigh-in! This week, Girl Scout Cookies were our treat of choice!

Another guilty pleasure show that I love is the Bachelor. I know, I know, its so corny, but I can't help it. I get so wrapped up in it.

I also like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. It always makes me feel so good, like there are still a few good people out there in the world!

Anyway, this is another sad look into the life of me.

My name is Mandy, and I am addicted to reality T.V.