I Think I Can Dance

So here's a peek at what I'll be seeing tonight:

Monday Morning Smile

Sad news. "Someone" forgot to grab her i-pod out of her rental car at DCA the other day. With so many other worries in the world today, I've decided that although it stinks, I can't worry about it and be upset. It just stinks. This morning, this picture was in my email inbox from my sister. Happy Monday!

Only two more weeks until I get to see my 5 babies! If you live in Utah, I will be there the weekend of October 11th and in celebration of Riley being baptized and Daniel being blessed, my family is having a hoopla during the day. Please email me if you'd like more information. stephzundel at gmail dot com.

PS - if you are related to me, I'd better get an email from you.

Preparing for October!

On Friday night, Kirsten and I decided that it would be fun to throw September to the wind and start celebrating the month of October. You may have made Christmas gingerbread houses before, but we made Haunted Houses out of graham crackers with orange and black frosting, and all the Halloween candy we could get our hands on.

My idea of a haunted house would involve anything with snakes - so mine includes a giant snake pit on the roof and a circus lion guarding the house.

Christian's idea of a haunted house obviously included McDonald's Happy Meals.

Or maybe a McDonald's Evil Meal...

Kirsten's house may have been black and foreboding, but there was glitter galore. And you can't miss her political statement there on the left. Those are animals doused in oil, in case you can't tell.Here we are all posing with our houses.

Aren't they cute??

Now if only I could figure out a way to get all this candy out of my house without eating it! Yikes!

Last Night in Virginia

Well, I'm back from my East Coast "tour." I squeezed every second that I could into my 5 days there and last night I went out with a bang. I met up with 4 of my dear friends who live in Virginia and I have to say that 2 hours with them just wasn't enough. They are all just so wondreful - I probably see them more consistently than a lot of friends that I have, but I still wish I could see them more. I was introduced to a wonderful restaurant called Carlyle and seriously - do yourself a favor and go if you haven't already. It really was amazing.

So - I finally got home this evening to find some lovely bills waiting for me and on top of that, I left my ipod in my rental car. I didn't really blog about my rental car craziness this week, but let's just hope that I get it back after all the Budget Rental Car Drama. Eek! The good news is that I'm finally a Medallion flyer on Delta...(yay!)....and that I'm off to party with my San Francisco friends momentarily. Welcome home to me!

In Which You See My Hair Transform AND Hear About My Friend

One of the best things for me about traveling is that I am able to see my friends who live around the country. With the trip that I've been on this week, I've really been able to take advantage of my location. Rumor has it at my office that I have a guy in every city, but the truth of the matter is that my friends just keep moving to cool locations and I can't help but hang out with them when I have the chance. Brent is one of those people that I see everywhere.

Though we met almost 10 years ago when he lived in Charlotte for the summer, we became friends at Duck Beach back in 2006. Wow - check out my hair!

That November we hung out in Las Vegas for a few days while I was there for work - we even saw Blue Man Group together. Ah, good times.

We've seen each other at Duck for the past few years now, but a few weeks ago, we cruised the Bay together during the Mid-Singles conference in San Francisco.

And last night we dined on the opposite coast in Baltimore. Brent is finishing up his residency in Baltimore and though I make it out to the east coast fairly regularly, we've never met up on his turf. Right now I'm only about an hour away from Baltimore, so we decided to get together for dinner at the Inner Harbor - PLUS, why have I never been to Baltimore?

I love being with good friends and having good times. Bring on tonight! I tell you what - the fun doesn't stop around here very often, does it?

crush

call me a 15 year old if you want, but I am in love with this song.

My New Boyfriend

This weekend I flew into DC then proceeded to rent a car and spend $100 in tolls to get to New York. Well, maybe $100 is exaggerating. $50 would be closer to the truth. I will never complain about the $6 Golden Gate Bridge toll ever again. I'm so glad I went though. Upon my arrival, my friend Scott plotted out an 8 mile run for me that went here:

And then went back across here:

All in all, I ran 9.5 miles. Oops. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I got a little lost around Canal Street in Manhattan, but I bought a few fake purses and some live chickens and then ran home. Ok - not really, but I did run down Canal and it was very annoying. Just because I did it doesn't mean that you should try it at home. My 24 hours in Brooklyn was really nice - very chill and it was great to spend time with Scott.

Tonight before I drove back to DC, we went on a nice walk through Prospect Park. At the risk of putting up a horrible picture of myself on the internet (as if I haven't done it before...) I give you Stephanie and Scott:

Here's an action shot of Scott. I call it "What is she doing now...''

And without further nonsense, I'd like to introduce you all to the new love of my life. I know that we just met yesterday, but his name is Winston. And I am in love. I realize that he looks like he's shy in this picture, but really, he's just playing coy. He adores me.

I just checked into my hotel in Maryland, so I am signing off and wishing you all a wonderful week.

zundel out

Friday Ramblings

Last night I came home from work and realized that I had some major laundry folding to do. Ever since I moved to my new place at Dolores Park, I've had to bite the bullet and do my own laundry. I guess this has saved me some money, but really, I liked it a lot more when I paid the Chinese guy down the street to wash & fold it for me. And I digress. I folded laundry for almost an hour while watching Annie Hall. I rented it a few weeks ago and although I fell asleep the first two times I attempted viewing, I made it through last night.

I didn't love the movie - I think mostly because I find Woody Allen to be kinda creepy, but I loved the last line of the movie. It goes like this:

Alvy Singer: It was great seeing Annie again and I realized what a terrific person she was and how much fun it was just knowing her and I thought of that old joke, you know, the, this, this guy goes to a psychiatrist and says, 'Doc, uh, my brother's crazy, he thinks he's a chicken,' and uh, the doctor says, 'well why don't you turn him in?' And the guy says, 'I would, but I need the eggs.' Well, I guess that's pretty much now how I feel about relationships. You know, they're totally irrational and crazy and absurd and, but uh, I guess we keep going through it...because...most of us need the eggs.

Amen!

I was planning on going running to break in my new shoes at 8, but "someone" fell asleep on the couch until 9:30pm. Oops. No worries - I paid for it at 6am this morning with a 3 mile jog at Kezar and so far, my shoes are OK. Breaking in new shoes - not the most enjoyable thing in the world, but they'll have to do.

On my way home, I was shuffling through my ipod for a good playlist to listen to and I came across one that I made a few months back. For some reason I made a playlist of songs that remind me of things and people - most specifically, ex-boyfriends, but there's a little Islands in the Stream in there too, OK? Sometimes, I don't know why I do things like that to myself. I get all nostalgic until something hits me and WHAM! What in the heck do I think I'm missing? I sat on MY huge red couch last night watching a movie about how loving someone sometimes means that things don't work out (amen) in my house in SAN FRANCISCO of all places. And...guess what? I didn't eat dinner last night - I wasn't hungry. I didn't have to make dinner for anyone either. I think I'm just grateful today for the way things are and that this is the way things SHOULD be. For me, at least.

And on that note, Happy Friday. I'll be traveling until next Thursday, but as usual, you might hear from me. Have a great weekend!

PS - read this.

When All My Wishes Came True

Last night I was able to check a bunch of things off my "to-do" list before going out of town for the weekend. Here are some exciting things for you in no specific order:

For my birthday, my parents sent me some money to buy new running shoes. No, they don't have the word "Sizzle" embroidered on the tongue, but I think they're pretty cool. I can't wait to break them in - tonight hopefully!

While at the Sports Basement, I bought a case of Gu. It's up to you, Chocolate Outrage, to bring me up when I'm feeling down.

To celebrate the new teaching position that Andrea got at the Academy of Art University, we went to Mitchells to get milkshakes. I realize that all of my pictures of Andrea are more flattering than most of you can handle, but you'll have to deal with it, OK? Seriously, Andrea told me on Monday that it was her dream job to teach at the Academy of Art and that she was thinking to apply - and by Wednesday she has a job teaching there? "Wham! Your dreams come true!"

Then tonight I had a hair appointment. Here's one last look at my hair pre-appointment.

Then WHAM! All my wishes came true of being a blonde! You didn't think I'd really do it, did you? I'll have to post some pictures with better lighting so that you can see just how blonde it is. My hairdresser even told me that he wants me to go lighter since he loved it so much. Maybe in a month or two, I will.

And last but certainly not least, I came across this blog somehow last week and I can't get enough of it. TAMN's detailed instructions on how to get married are hysterical. If you see me with 10 coats of mascara on today, you know why, OK? Good thing I already text in church, have a darling mom, and put out....I mean,...

In Case You Were Wondering

I went on an early morning run today at Kezar and I can feel myself getting stronger. I still hate running, but I only have 32 days left to prepare and I can do this! This time around I don't have shin splints and I'm feeling good about the upcoming 13.1 miles that I have to conquer. This weekend I will be spending time in Brooklyn with a good friend - luckily, he is a bit of a runner and knows that as soon as I arrive on Saturday afternoon, we have to jog out 8 miles through his neighborhood.

I'm feeling much better than I was a few days ago and I've been spending time with friends, which has been good for me. Hanging with one of my BFFs in Brooklyn this weekend and eating chick-fil-a for breakfast every day next week won't hurt at all either.

I have to say that almost all of my good girlfriends in San Francisco have some amazing things happening to them right now. Here's a shout out to all of you. Really, I'm so happy for you - you deserve it.

Birthday Recap

I finally took a bunch of pictures off my camera this morning from my birthday, which was almost two weeks ago. This one definitely is a favorite of the evening. I blew out my birthday candle with a laugh. Very fitting, don't you think? Also, please notice my hair color in this picture. Seriously, it is going blonde on its own. Strange, no?

And here are my neighborhood pals Jane and Kristine. Well, Kristine isn't so much in the neighborhood anymore, but we can pretend for this post, OK?

And maybe tomorrow I will have more pictures for you from this past weekend. I'm feeling better today than I was yesterday. Thanks a million to everyone who helped a sister out when she needed it. mwah.

Maxxed Out

Ever have one of those friends who makes you so mad that you actually cry, but then when they go back home, you cry again because even though they make you cry, you really do love them? This is an example of the kind of weekend I had; really high highs and really low lows.

{pic found via Cake Wrecks}
I think I need to go spend a day with my Grandma. A bunch of little things have been building up and I hit my limit. If anyone has a hug to offer, I could use one today.

To prove that I'm not curled up in the fetal position, here's something that made me laugh and I hope it will do the same for you:

Mellow Music for your Friday

Here's some music that I'm loving right now. Enjoy your weekend! Fall has set in here in San Francisco - hence my music is getting more and more mellow.

Adulthood, here I come.

This weekend I'm going my first ever singles conference. I'm not really sure how I feel about it as this marks my official entry into being a "Mid-Single" in Mormon terms. Oh goody. The upsides are that I have several friends coming in from around the country to share in the fun here in San Francisco for the weekend; when all is said and done, I'm sure I'll have had a good time. Also, I'm in charge of registration. While I might not be as confident trying to mingle in a room full of people that I don't know, I am confident behind a registration counter. Heck - I'm even confident flirting from behind a registration counter! (Can you blame me? I help register thousands of Ophthalmologists for a meeting every year - some of them are kinda cute!)

Work has been crazy busy lately and the days are going faster and faster. Training for my half marathon has been going well and I'm hoping to go running tonight. I've had some interesting experiences lately trying to raise the necessary funds for my race. Some of my friends who are in no way financially able to donate are more than happy to give to such a worthy cause while others who have plenty of money are much more selfish. It baffles the mind, really.

Over the past few months, I've come up with some goals for my 27th year. Some, I will share with you:

• Be generous - it isn't all about me, after all.
• I'm done traveling so much to see friends who don't make an effort to come see me. I want to sleep in more on Saturday mornings and enjoy San Francisco.
• Spend more time with family.
• Have more friends on facebook than Seth Wheeler. His current count is 991. I'm at 772. It's a tricky predicament though since I will only add people that I know.

More motivation to dye my hair

Today I got the following picture from one of my college roommates:

It isn't abnormal for me to get photos like this. In fact, they are a regular occurrence. I'm not saying that I don't love it. In fact, I love that my friends keep me in the loop of their lives; it means a lot to me that they still think of me. Really, I just want my future potential kids to be friends with my friend's kids (AND my sister's!). At this rate, my friend's kids will be babysitting mine. I'm not at the stage where my friends are getting married anymore. Yes - I go to weddings often, but most of my really close friends are busy repopulating the earth.

I've heard recently that females who wear pink get asked out on more dates. And I'm no idiot - I know that blondes do too. You can try and fight me on this, but I live with two blondes. They do have more fun AND get asked on more dates. haha. Looks like I'm getting my hair done AND going on a shopping spree. Stay tuned for an update on that.

I was born a blonde.

Ok. Slap my hand. I've been a bad blogger.

I've been thinking about doing something different with my hair. Until I get my act together, what do you think of this? Very good or very bad?


PS. I'm a guest blogger over at Hola Isabel today. Go check it out!

Monday Monday

My home computer is going to have a facelift later tonight, so pictures from my birthday will have to wait for another day. My birthday was great and I received many well wishes from those I love. So thanks if you fall into that category! My coworkers surprised me with a birthday party which was great and although I know we do it for everyone else, I was totally not expecting it. Ice cream sandwiches and cupcakes! Woohoo!

Last night I hung out with Jane and watched a little Drop Dead Gorgeous. I'm just glad that Jane appreciated the humor as not everyone does.

At about 8pm, the fog started rolling in, which after a week of hot weather, is always welcome by me. Living in the tundra of San Francisco for 3 years (The Presidio) acclimatized me a little more than I thought. Moving to the Mission has done wonders for my lack of vitamin D, but sheesh! Cool it down a little, will ya?

I have a few goals for this year, but maybe I'll save those for a later post. Happy Monday!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to me!

Because today is all about me - as if it ever isn't here on my blog....I'm going to make a list of my favorite things from this week:

• Pajaro Dunes - all of these people were great. Everyone was super chill and fun to hang out with. And especially at a time when I need more friends in the Bay Area, it was perfect.
  

• 90210. I'm not sure if I loved it because I loved the original, but yeah -other than being kinda weird with Brenda and Kelly hanging out with Nat from the Peach Pit, good stuff.

• I bought these and they make me really happy. You can find out how I plan on using them by watching this video made by Emily. Watching it is making my laugh really hard.

• My training schedule for my race with Team in Training is going well. If you'd like to donate towards my running cause, click here.

• Andrea designed the party invitation for this weekend and I love it. So here you go:

Here's to another great year!

Loane

I've been busy getting things ready for my Bonvoyirthday Party this Saturday. Last night I was compiling a French music playlist and found this song. Enjoy!

Labor Day Love

The time has come to post about my annual Labor Day festivities. For past year information, you can click here or here.

My friend Dave and I decided to change the location of this year's party to somewhere a bit closer to the Bay Area, so we went to Pajaro Dunes, just south of Santa Cruz. Really great place for a weekend getaway. We had about 50 people there with us and I think that everyone had a blast. Here's a picture of me standing behind the bar on Friday night at our Welcome Mixer. I got all sneaky and stole pictures from facebook of everyone who was attending and with the help of some friends, put them up on the wall behind the bar. I think it was a hit and seriously - didn't take much time at all! I bought all sorts of fancy juices from Trader Joe's and then "watered" them down with sprite, put them in plastic margarita glasses with an umbrella and wa-la! Really, it turned out great, so thanks for those who gave me suggestions!

On Saturday we had a volleyball tournament and while I was just a spectator, it was fun to be out on the beach and the fog even lifted by mid-afternoon so that everyone could get some sun! I had such a nice time just relaxing and chatting with friends in the sand! Here I am with Liz, just chillin.

I was so well behaved during this trip. Even though it was the middle of the night and a few of us were still awake, we were just busy laughing and having a good old time. See? Here I am - just being innocent little me.

It was almost like I turned from Cinderella's carriage back into a pumpkin. It became 4am and I decided to show Steve what a hoover pig is.

I blame it on the late afternoon nap, personally. Or maybe it was the diet coke I had to drink at 11pm. You be the judge.