My Reminder...

We all need one on occasion.

Some people say, Life SUCKS and then you DIE. Those people are FALSE!

Life sucks, and then your dog dies, your kitchen starts on fire, your basement floods, your car is stolen or broken into, a close friend moves away, you lose your job, you break your arm, you get traffic tickets, crash cars, you fight with your parents, your children get sick, your car breaks down, your identity is stolen, you get cancer, your spouse leaves you, you get divorced, you lose your home, you lose a parent, you lose a child, you have a stroke, your stocks and investments take a nose dive, you get laid off, the government takes your retirement, you grow old alone or with a spouse that doesn't remember you, AND THEN YOU DIE...

We are all untouchable until fate and karma crash the party. I've learned that first hand. We can watch our backs, and secure our fences, but good or bad, life happens! We could focus on the negative and that makes life seem really sad. Or you could stop to recognize the simple blessings that life brings. I am so blessed to be reminded of this when it seems I am feeling at my lowest. Thank goodness for tender mercies. Like the birth of a new born baby girl, watching my brother make his dreams come true despite the 'hazards', taking an hour out of a crazy schedule to enjoy the beauty around me, learning lessons of strength from tiny children. I could spend the rest of my life focusing on all the storms in my life, because they're will always be rain on the horizon. Or I can try and find the sweet silver lining.

It's rough, it sucks, it makes me cry, it hurts, it gives me anxiety, it's complicated, it's lonely, it's amazing, it makes you laugh, it gives you chills, it makes you smile, it's an answer to a prayer, and though just coping might be harder than you can begin to imagine... IT'S YOUR CHOICE.

I choose life, because I am occasionally reminded that its so worth it, no matter how much I fall.

Sorry, for my melodramatic post... I needed a journal moment.

LONG Time NO Blog...

Not that any of you are losing sleep over my absence...

But check it out... HERE I AM!

So here's my synopsis for April and a little May:

My friend Camie got some "FREEEEEE" tickets to the Britney/Pussycat Dolls concert, one day I wanna be HOT like a Pussycat Doll!

My friend Melissa had empty seats in front of her and Britt, so we sat for the last half with them! Thanks friends!!!

Aden invited me to come watch him play soccer and after the game we went to Fat Cats for pizza and bowling. And YES, your reading the score right... My 4 year old boyfriend killed me, and he was so humble about it! I love you A!!!

I got to go to PCMC to visit another love in my life! Jack had surgery on his cute little feet, and after his surgery he was his typical cheery self, can you blame me for loving him sooo much?!

My awesome girl friends went on a little weekend getaway to St.George and we had soooo much fun, despite the fact that I still had my downer moments. I couldn't ask for better friends. The best part is they let me go to not only 1 but 2 Sephora's... That's love!

THE BROTHER GRADUATED!!!! YAY! GO UTE!!!

A Crazy Busy Exciting Time...

The last few weeks have been super!!!

A couple Sundays ago I took Gator (the dog) up American Fork Canyon, it was a beautiful day, He loved every second until he got slapped for pulling me into the freezing cold reservoir, but we're OK now. He apologized, we had a good talk and It won't happen again. The only pics I got were on my phone so I'm sorry for the crappy quality.

I got to visit Alta View's Emergency Room, what a lovely trip that was! I got acrylic in my eye, and it got really bad so I had to go have Dr. Creepy molest my eye with a cotton swab and then hose my face down with saline and I'll probably end up paying 70,000 dollars for the experience. But it was fairly quick and my eye is as good as new now!

It's my friend Melissa's birthday this month and she will be in Texas for the majority of it, so we celebrated a little before she left. We got pedicures, and went to the NEW NORDSTROM!!!! It was truly a religious experience... I was physically overwhelmed. I'm trying so hard to think of words to describe the emotion... NOTHIN, speechless! I think I would have quite literally DIED if and gone to Nord's Heaven if I had been in any place to purchase ANYTHING. But my wish list grew drastically, and the BISTRO there... SOOO YUMMY! Then we celebrated John (Melissa's brother) birthday with some Cheesecake Factory where we met BABE, ya that's her name! CUTE HUH? She was an extraordinary lady. She even sang Happy Birthday with us, and when I say sang, I mean SCREAMED completely off key! Then we hit The HOGLE ZOO, I love love love the zoo... But this week was a bad time to go. Not many animals out, not even the Elephants! And we missed the train, but the carousel was a good time.

I got to go to DISNEY ON ICE!!!! YAY! I know, I know, I am like a 10 year old trapped in a 25 year old body! BUT I don't want to grow up... EVER!


Also, as many of you know, I am getting ready to start rejoining the single world and learning how to date as an adult! (YEP, its real intense!) So the other night while watching the very sophisticated and intellectually inspirational VH1 I came across a new show called TOUGH LOVE, it's hilarious! I am literally every person on the show in some way or another, and so are a lot of you... So don't judge! But seriously, these women can't figure out why they are still single and none of them think THEY are the problem, it's fascinating! My favorite might be the girl who fishes for compliments and then cant graciously accept one! I'm so serious right now, its disgustingly awesome!

I also went to the SCRAPBOOK EXPO last weekend!!! And made lots more pages without pictures... WOW am I grateful for that! It was a blast, thanks CAM I loved hanging out. (pics to come)

And TODAY is my friend HEATHERS birthday so we celebrated with a girls night out! Erin and I were not drinking, we just look a little tipsy!

Well, that's about it! The only other excitement in my life is that March Madness is in full swing and I am counting down to a PHONE UPGRADE!!!

The Last Few Weeks...

I haven't been a very good blogger lately, but great things are happening...

Last week it was Kristen's birthday and we went to Rascal Flatts! It was so much fun. Probably their best concert yet! Jessica Simpson opened and I don't care what the mean gossip magazines say... SHE IS HOT! I want to have her awesome legs. We had a blast, I love ya Kri, thanks for hanging out with me.

Then this last Wednesday I went to the Jazz-Rockets game with my friends, the Prince/Beeson clan. Elliot Yamin sang the national anthem, and Elder Uchtdorf was there. Thanks friends so much for taking me... I gad a blast cheering for the Rockets even though they lost. AND, the Pie was delicious!

Mostly there's just little things happening in my life... Seeing movies, spring cleaning, hanging out with friends, trying to NOT be a SOCIAL REJECT, and missing Erin since she moved away from me (I'm super excited for you though, and you can't get rid of me that easy)

I have also started my Bucket List, so stay tuned for that, I am gonna start bustin out some amazing events in my life, be prepared to be impressed ;)

Another FLASHBACK Friday!!!

Me and My favorite person... I love my BROTHER!

Flashback FRIDAY!

I have always loved seeing other peoples "Flashback Friday" pictures and thought... I'll do that one day, maybe I'll find a great classic pic from long long ago... WELL, PICTURE FOUND!!! Here's to the start of Flashback Friday Nicole edition...

Me and Kris in the 'braces' period of our life.

(Thanks Richardsons for the find!)

I love to see the TEMPLE...

After watching and waiting and watching and waiting...
THE TEMPLE IS DONE!!!!

Last week I went to the Draper Temple Open House,
It was so beautiful, I can't wait to go again.

Me, Kris, and Chels in the bus... SUPER EXCITED!!!

Me and Kri after the tour. (My face looks fatter in self portraits)

I am so grateful to have another beautiful temple
so close to my house.

What an amazing blessing.

The Mail Isn't A Month Behind... IT'S ME

Happy Late Christmas!

For those of you who received a Christmas card from me IN December, you are among a rare few. Apparently when I printed labels my computer made the decision who got printed and who got deleted. So I kept meaning to finish the rest of them, because I HAD TO, I had already put the stamps on them! So, by the time I FINALLY got around to finishing them I had forgotten most of the list I had sent them to, SO, If you got one in December... YAY! if you Just got yours, don't worry your mail carrier isn't a moron, so YAY! If you just happened to be one of the few who probably got 2, SUPER YAY! AND, if you didn't get one... Better luck next year.
I'M SORRY.

Thanks for your understanding,

and I am totally fine if you want to make fun of me about it for a year.

Dear People...

I have many emotions in my life right now, one of those I would like to discuss is FRUSTRATION. I am very easily frustrated at this intersection in my world. I also am very very abstracted and find that I want to know how my friends and family are doing, so I read your blog. I know, I am not a very good friend, sister, daughter, neighbor, nail person, cousin, niece, etc. right now. TDB, I've got nothing to give for the time being, if you saw my house you would completely understand that it's not just you that's being neglected... I apologize!!!! Really I DO! It just is what it is... I promise it will be better soon, I have LOTS of HOPE for "BeTtEr". This divorce nonsense is enough to put anyone over the edge. (If any one has suggestions, tips, tricks, a free cleaning service, an overflowing and generous bank account, time to chat between 2-5am, the desire to sit and watch my DVR'd shows with me, or a hot rebound date... LET ME KNOW! ALL of the above would be great... NOW I'M DIFFUSING! Sorry, back to my original point. I can only know how your lives are going through your blogs... SO FIRST, update them! SECOND, I changed my email and you privaters need to INVITE me!!! HURRY, do it now! (colep83@gmail.com) ThIrD, If you are not on my blog lists and you read my blog I think it's only fair that I get to read yours! Leave a comment so we can be dysfunctional blog friends since that's what I am capable of right now. Agreed?!

Thanks for letting me vent and broadcast my my life and tactless thoughts. Thanks for still loving me while I'm in survival mode... Peace out!

In Honor of the NEW Bachelor

Jason is amazing, he's sweet, cute, funny, hot, and HOT!!! But some of the past Bachelors have been pretty fantastic too...

Who's your favorite PAST Bachelor????

YEP, I'M STILL RELISHING!!!

Check out this article... Not by a Utah journalist, but on ESPN! Freakin AWESOME!!!

Some gifts people give are pointless: Styling mousse to Dick Vitale. An all-you-can-eat card to Kate Moss. The BCS Championship given to Oklahoma or Florida.
It means nothing because the BCS has no credibility. Florida? Oklahoma? Who cares? Utah is the national champion.

The End. Roll credits.

Argue with this, please. I beg you. Find me anybody else that went undefeated. Thirteen-and-zero. Beat four ranked teams. Went to the Deep South and seal-clubbed Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. The same Alabama that was ranked No. 1 for five weeks. The same Alabama that went undefeated in the regular season. The same Alabama that Florida beat in order to get INTO the BCS Championship game in the first place.

Yeah, that's how it is now in the shameful, money-grubbing world of college football. If you're Florida and you beat Alabama, you get a seat in the title game. If you're Utah, you get a seat on your sofa.

Hey, remind me: What do they give out for one of those BCS things anyway? It's been so long since I cared. Something from Sears? This is the sixth year in the past 10 that the title has been in dispute under this cash-grab, fan-dis, monopoly that the BCS has created. Which is why the title game just doesn't matter anymore. It's like being named Miss Ogallala. Or Best Amish Electrician.

Just take a look at the teams that think they're worthy of being called national champs:
USC? Great year. Wonderful. Let's all go to SkyBar and celebrate. But it lost to Oregon State, a team Utah beat.

Texas? You think beating Ohio State by a nubby three points gets you the title? The Big Ten was 1-6 in bowl games! That's like pinning David Spade!

Florida and Oklahoma? They lost. Utah never did.

So that's it. Utah is the national champion. The Utes should probably have two now, actually. They went undefeated in 2004, too, and their coach still thinks they were the best team in the land. Smart fella named Urban Meyer. Coaches Florida now.

By the way, we're calling our title the "national" championship because it actually includes the whole nation­—all 119 Division I schools—unlike the BCS, which includes 66. Yeah, the BCS somehow eliminated the middleman—the NCAA. The conferences these schools play in take their dump trucks full of cash straight from the TV networks and fairness can go suck a lemon.

Do me a favor. Call Ohio State president Gordon Gee and ask him why he won't support a playoff. He's one of the most powerful presidents in the NCAA. He could get it done. If he says anything other than, "We don't want to share the loot" then you know he's lying his bow tie off.
"This is not how we normally do things in America," says Utah president Michael Young. "In America, quality usually wins, not conspiracy. And there's a reason people usually enter into a conspiracy. It's money. You make money doing it. And those that are in on the conspiracy want to stay in and keep everybody else out."

Sure, BCS blowhards will hand you schlock about how the college football season is like a playoff, how it's an elimination tournament every week. Really? Well, how come Florida and Oklahoma weren't eliminated with their losses? Utah ran the table, beat everybody set in front of them, including Ala-damn-bama in no less than the Sugar Bowl, and gets the bagel.

Oh, by the way? It was Utah's eighth straight bowl win, the nation's longest streak. Among the losers during that run? Let's see USC, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, and now the legendary Houndstooth Hats.

"What else do we have to prove?" asks Utah's magical quarterback, Brian Johnson. Good question. He and the Utes essentially whipped Alabama at home. Handed Nick Saban a garlic necklace to wear the entire off-season. Stepped on his team's neck 21-0 in the first three possessions and never looked back. Let's see. Who was it that was losing to Alabama until nearly six minutes into the fourth quarter? Oh, yeah. Florida.

What, you want the Utes to win a spelling bee? Make a prize-winning souffle? Knock up Angelina Jolie? What?

It just slays me. It really does.

Call Myles Brand, president of the asleep-at-the-wheel NCAA, and ask him if he and his greedy presidents are going to stand in defiance of president-elect Barack Obama, who wants a playoff and wants it yesterday.

Ask Brand what he's going to do if Obama starts asking the Justice Department to look into anti-trust hearings against the BCS. The Utah Attorney General has already launched an investigation into that very thing. Or ask him what he'll do if Obama asks the Department of Education to consider withholding federal funds from these schools that have entered into this secret club called the BCS. You don't think playing in the title game means millions in general-fund donations for a school? That's as unfair as anything Title IX fought against.

Until all these people do the right thing, I'll be celebrating with the true national champions—the undefeated, untied Utah Utes. (Our new slogan: Utahk about a team!)

Lemonades for everybody!

-Rick Reily

2009 FINALLY!!!

It's been a long week, but a good one.

Monday night I had dinner with my cute friends from the old hood. It was super. I sure miss Jess not living here. But luckily I get to see Kri a lot, and Kate everyday, Beth... Not as much. We should do that more.




Then I hung out with my NEW HOOD friends, who always come with LONG and GREAT chats! I'm a little too old to stay up til 4am chatting about life though. Monday was great! Friends are the BEST!!! Especially when they find you ACT II mini bags! Thanx Erin.

Then Wednesday the brother and I hit the road on a little adventure. We left from Lehi, UT at 9:30am and finally pulled into Buttonwillow, CA at about 9pm. We rang in the NEW YEAR a couple hours early at the Homeland Inn (TRASH INN) we watched Robby Madison's New Years jump, witch was awesome. (watch the video)

Thursday morn, we were up EARLY and headed to Taft, CA to see the DAD at camp. Which was so awesome. Both Dustin and I had our expectations, and we were pleasantly surprised to find we had nothing to worry about. Dad is doing good, working hard, and is grateful for all of your thoughts, prayers, letters, and support. We had a great 7 hour visit that day. Then "Judy" lead is to the local mall! Brother is so good to me, he let me spend over an hour in the Sephora! That's love!!! Or maybe he knows I'm in a bad place and really needed it. Either way, I'm appreciative. Then we met up with coach and stayed at a much better hotel in Bakersfield, ahhh!

Friday we went back to the camp and spent a couple more hours with the dad. And then HAULED to George to watch the game, making it just in time for kick off!
THE GAME, I can't right now find words to blog about that game while still giving it the honor and respect it deserves. Let's just say... WOW, I'm so freaking proud to be a UTE! Not as proud as the guy that raised 1800 bucks to get to the SUGAR BOWL probably is, but close. HERE'S MY GAME HIGHLIGHT SLIDE SHOW...

Now, Saturday... I'm riding in the car while we log over 1400 miles in 3 and a half days. I've had lots of fun this week, but I'm really looking forward to going back to routine. I'm also looking forward to the party Tuesday for the Brother. He's moving to George Wednesday... If you wanna come to the party Tuesday email me.

Happy New Year!!! I hope 2009 is better than 2008 for everyone. Especially me, I know I'm selfish!!!

LOVES

PS- Here's the LAME PHOTOS of our Road Trip...