things that would horrify your mom (if she knew)

these things crack me up. i love coming across these lists in magazines. thought id share this one.

1. the new guy you are dating is the same age...as her.

2. that you do not bother "hovering" when using a public toilet: yes, your skin actually makes contact with the seat.

3. you carry condoms in your make-up bag...and sometimes even use them.

4. you have a tatoo.

5. that you may never get married...ever.

6. you lied when you told heryour louis vuitton bag was a "knock-off"...it is how you used last months rent.

7. that you own a vibrator...in fact, several.

8. that the "virus" you had was actually the world's worst three-day hangover.

9. it is not running that helped you drop 2 dress sizes...who knew pole dancing was such great excercise.

there are soooo many more funny ones that i read, but a few were a bit inappropriate for this blog. i hope the few i listed will make you laugh. it did me...haha.

just thinking about dad...

so its almost my birthday...8 days to be exact. im going to be 25. i know that dad would love to celebrate with me. sooo, since he cant physically come to me to celebrate, i want to go to him. i think i will continue my tradition of letting a balloon go in his honor. on my birthday, i plan to go to his site, and let a balloon go. i think hed love that.

its been 9 months since that day. im not exactly sure what that means...its still so fresh, so sad. still something im pretty sure im in denial about. i will only call it "that day." i still cant say anything more grave than that. when i find myself having a bit of a down moment, i find that just picturing his face makes me smile. just thinking about his passion for life, work and family make me proud. i am one lucky daughter. (sister, too...huh, drew!! hahaha). i want my dad to know how he made our lives sparkle and shine. he made me believe...in life, in myself, in others. i am tring to rise above the hole in my heart to prove to him that i can do it. he is always with me...cheerleading in my ear. he is laughing with me, crying with me, and cracking jokes. so, i cant wait to send him another balloon. i hope he got a kick out of it for his birthday!!!

thanks dad. for everything.

voting

so yesterday morning, first thing, i voted. i was on a voting high all day...it was the most fun thing ever! i felt the same way the first time i voted 4 years ago. i just find it to be so damn liberating. cue to today, congratulations obama! WOO!! im a little sleepy at work today cause i went to bed so late, but it was totally worth it.

while at work yesterday one of our security guys came and to chat. they always seem to do this...i swear they just need an ear every once in a while. so after like 30 minutes of BS chatting, he goes into why he has decided not to vote. he claims to hate both candidates so his answer was to boycott it all together. now normally id debate him and come back at that comment and explain why that is quite franly the most ignorant and uneducated decision he could make, but at this point i didnt care. all i said was that he then forfeits the right to bitch and moan about our political world. BAM! haha, just kidding.

but honestly, no candidate is perfect. duh. no one guy is going to revolutionize the world tomororw. so relax buddy and vote for who you trust to be our face for a few years. and have confidence that you are part of the bigger picture. and ifyou really hate all candidates go and vote yourself as a write-in. but not voting? no excuse. and not impressive.

sunday randomness

happy november!! crazy isnt it?! that only means one thing...good ol bday is only 13 days away!



happy belated halloween. here is a picture of ken and i showing off our moves at this dance party. there was a strobe light that you cant tell from the picture, but it definitely provided yours truly with the idea that she could dance. amazing how that happens. haha! i was a cat (um, after a ten hour work day and only 20 minutes you just put it together...haha, and ken was a member of the US swim team. pretty much, he just wanted a reason to be shirtless and in a speedo...hehe). it was a blast...minus having to get up and go to work the next day. EWW!

so this morning at church they mentioned everyones name that had died this past year. john kelley was one of them, and we now have flowers at work in his memory. i love you dad! i think about my dad everday, and all the greatness that he embodied. everything we went through was truly tragic, but i am proud of how much i have grown up. how i have learned to be more patient, resilient and strong. how i can now appreciate even the smallest of virtues and understand that good people are hard to come by, and i know how lucky i am so have so many. i learned to find the humor in life...whether it be the many times i was trimming my dads eyebrows and nose hairs, or when i dropped a soda in my house and it literally exploded everywhere, working 12 hour days weeks in a row, spilling oodles of pink paint in my hair, or more serious things. my dad taught me all these things. even if he didnt know it. throughout his life he was my rock. during his illness he forced to (unknowingly) to figure it all out...and be his rock. i had the unique opportunity to be his lifeline. i think he is, was and always will be proud of me. i know i will always think of him as my hero. i hope i continue to make him laugh up there in heaven everyday. im forever keeping him young...all the while giving him gray hair! i love you daddio!!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!

ok, back to work. hope everyone is having a fabulous sunday!!! (is it time to read the comics yet?!)

welcome to azura!

sooo, it has finally come!! my mom and i are officially managing azura, which is officially open and running. pieces are still coming together, but we have survived the first 60 hour work week. dear lord?! im struggling this AM as i was out late last night for halloween, but its been great. to the left is a cheeky picture of us just having fun. cant wait to show more pictures as we go!!

cjd memorial walk

thanks to nikki, dad will now be memorialized along the cjd walk. he will have his name and date added. i am blogging really quick at work so i will include info about all of this later and what its all about, but i was just so excited about this that i wanted to write something real speedy. i am so floored to have met these amazing people through the blog world. i hope everyone is having a happy halloween!! cant wait to hear about peoples costumes. and pictures!!

kelley girls back in action!

sleep?! whats that!? mom and i have had a very full few weeks...putting in some 60+ hour weeks. for the first few days of painting we went home with pink paint in our hair and all over our clothes and shoes. haha!! it has been hysterical painting the walls (um, they are 14 foot walls...so um, yea try and picture that!!!!), acid-washing the floor (um, hello acid is crazy and our floor was steaming!!) and the insane job of organizing thousands of products. good lord! but, i am so happy to be back working with my sidekick. (aaaaand, there are adorable boys everywhere...from the property manager, to the facilites manager), so we are having a great time. its been tough though, and we are working 7 days a week.

the other night (perfectly freezing and pouring rain) a work friend and one of my good guy friends went to see quarantine. nothing ends a long day at work better than a rabid-infested zombie movie!! haha. anyone seen it?! it was fun cause my guy friend is a baby when it comes to scary movies (me too a little, as i think everyone is) and was hysterically funny on the way home. he was freaking out cause there was so much fog, and my explanation of it being 1am, wet, rainy and cold wasnt helping him.

hmm, just wanted to say hi to Nikki and Lacy! HI GIRLS!!!!

ok, back to work!!! haha

meet lacy

mom told me about this blog that was in the newest CJD newsletter. i had not read it yet, but she was eager to share this with me. her name is lacy and she lost her dad to sporadic CJD in october of 2007. you can read all about her on her blog: http://www.runlacyrunforcjd.blogspot.com. she has the same ideas we all do for wanting to spread the word and raise money. after reading her blog i felt so connected to her, i emailed her. i am looking forward to learning more about her and her story, as i hope you all enjoy her blog as well.

nothing like a little baby pink mascara...

officially started work at azura today. it was a crazy labor-intensive day. mom and i tag-teamed and painted 4 walls. baby pink!!! we had to go buy the paint, and the guy at sherwin williams was hilarious (and im pretty sure...no, scratch that, definitely sure, in love with my mom). he was flirting, it was adorable. anyway, there is so much to do at the store...we spent hours with lights, shelves, walls, etc. its getting really exciting.

i looove crafts, but have never been good at keeping clean. i got pink paint all over my eyelashes (um, yea, how you ask. NO IDEA!!!!). mom thought it was hysterical. we got it all over our clothes, hair, shoes, face, hands. good time, tiring, but ultimately funny.

i cant wait to share pictures as we get things together. its sooooo excititing!!! :)

wearing shorts for you dad!!

so i just got home from seeing nights in rodanthe. not what i had expected at all. WOW! i wont say too much in case any of you are going to go see it, but it definitely fueled my day of "daddy thinking". i have thought about dad all day. its funny, all these little things are bringing back memories of him. like this morning. i was brushing my teeth and my head flooded with the smell of listerine mouth wash that i used to smell after my dad kissed me in the morning before leaving for work. or earlier when i was eating peanut butter. i loved how my dad spread his english muffins every morning with either it or jelly. he was so simple. i am so much like him. god damn, where is he. and why is he not back yet. this business trip is lasting a tad too long.

you know i learned a lot about myself and life while he was sick. i learned how to take care of someone else so selflessly, and not care what it takes to make someone smile. i learned how to love trimming my dads nose hairs, his eyebrows, his hair, and feed him. i learned that no matter how bad he looked, smelled or confused he got, he was always the most perfect father and man i will ever know. i learned to love imperfections, and find the best in every situation. i learned to be more patient. i became a better person. i think to learn all that i have at 24 is a blessing. i want to thank everyone that is on team kelley. i celebrate john kelley everyday and am so sad, lost and scared that he is gone. i will never be the same. at this moment i am crying just thinking about all that we have lost and will never again have back. i am sorry for the world.

but, in his memory, even in this 40 degree weather, i am wearing shorts. in his honor. I LOVE YOU DAD!!!!!!!

bring on the cane and arthritis meds

omg so i am officially inside the month countdown until i turn 25?! JESUS! how in gods name did that happen?! id like to go back to campdowhatyouwant at john gardners tennis ranch, being 16 and learning how to drive, turning 21 and realizing i really can drink that much and survive (sorta, right mom!!!! hahaha), or when i was a teeny little tot with my blonde girls and grumpy 'tude. but 25?!!? NO!

haha, ok in all seriousness i really am happy to be getting older. i love knowing what i like, what i dont, and not being shy about saying what i think. whether it be clothes, politics, entertainment, jobs, friends, boys or life in general, i love having an opinion and knowing that even if its not the same as everyone else's, its mine, and its enough. i like being able to assert myself and feel like i have something to say no matter the situation. i love being educated and smart about the world. i like being financially independent to make decisions, regardless how frivilous. i love knowing who my true friends are, who loves me and who i love. while getting older is so strange, its great.

but honestly 25?! how the hell did i turn 25?!?!? that number looks and sounds so strange. wow.

the best parts of debate #3...

moments like the one to the right!!
the debates this election have been pretty uneventful, aside from all the fun the media is having mocking sarah palin. i, for one, LOVE debates and economic talk, but even as a girl who has studied economic policy for years, they are boring me!!!!!!! last night proved that mccain is a big baby. he needs to learn how to control his emotions. actually, you know what, i take that back. the guy just needs to stop trying to be president. he is 72...pleeeeasse, j. mac go enjoy your houses and cars and relax! you dont need to be president. leave that up to people that have the energy to do it, and have people backing them that are NEVER going to utter the phrase "gosh darn" in public. we are the united states, and we need to show the world why. this picture is the period at the end of the sentence stating why you, mccain, need to wave your white flag to obama.

book for dad

i recently pitched my book idea around to a few publishing companies and one made an offer. sounds great right?! now, im as much a lawyer as reese witherspoon in legally blonde, but i know when something is off. i read and re-read the contract that i was presented and decided it was a bad deal. that said, im still pitching it, focusing my energy in getting it typed up and completed, and tickled that i am getting it out there. buuuut, i am thrilled that the door has been opened. it is possible!! HAHA!!! sooo daddio, ill get there. may take a little time, but dammit, im getting a book published. :)