My Firsts...

1.Who was your first love?
Jeff – no…not as in Jeff Gordon!

2. Who was your first roommate?
Pam…we lived together off and on for about 3 years.

3. What was your first alcoholic drink?
I think I was 12 or 13…camping with some people who shall remain nameless. They gave me some alcoholic beverage Apple-something. It was good!

4. What was your first job?
17 years old working at Cinedome 6 Theatre in Las Vegas. The place has been bulldozed since…

5. What was your first car?
1978 Toyota Corona Station Wagon. It was ugly as sin but I loved it!

6. Who was your first grade teacher?
I think it was Mrs. Fought. But all I really remember was being out of school for at least a week with the Chicken Pox.

7. Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane?
I was 9 and went from Reno, NV, to Boston, Mass.

8. When did you sneak out of your house for the first time?
I was probably 10 years old. I went out with a cousin that was about 5 years older than me. Not much fun for little Harpo!

9. Who was your first best friend and are you still friends with them?
My first best friend was Andrea Wallace and we met when we both started a new school on the same exact day. I haven’t talked with her in about 18 years.

10. Where was your first sleep over?
I have no idea…

11. Who is the first person you talk to in the morning?
I try not to talk to anyone unless it’s a matter of life or death.

12. Whose wedding were you in the first time?
My cousin Holly’s wedding when I was 4 or 5.

13. What is the first thing you do in the morning?
Hit the snooze on my alarm.

14. What was the first concert you ever went?
The first real concert that I went to was Duran Duran in 1990.

15. First tattoo or piercing?
Tat: May 2, 2007
Piercing: I was 8 when my ears were pierced...and, no, I haven't pierced anything else!

16. First celebrity crush?
Tom Cruise…I saw Top Gun more times than should be legally allowed.

17. First crush?
Shane…he was in my 5^th and 6^th grade classes.

18. First time you got into serious trouble?
Serious trouble? That would be the weekend I went to LA with my boyfriend. I had my mom’s permission but I lied to my boss to get the weekend off. My boss called my mom…’nuf said!

19. When was your first detention?
I never had detention!

20. First pets name?
Brandy, German Shepherd…she was the best!

21. First party?
I vaguely remember going to one when I was 18. I say ‘vaguely remember’ because it was my first experience with a large amount of alcohol!

22. Who was the first person to break your heart?
Ummmm, yeah, not willing to divulge that information!

23. Who will be the first to be tagged for their firsts?

April over at 10:15 on a Saturday Night

So what are your firsts? Post your answers here...

The things we do on vacation...

Okay, so you all already know that I was on vacation and went to Montana...if you didn't know that then you're just not keeping up on my blog often enough! I got home from Montana on May 1st. April and I were headed to Pismo Beach on May 4th. You know...Girl's Weekend! Basically it's eat, sleep, and eat, sleep with a little walking thrown in here and there! :) She and I had been over at Pismo back in early February and I had a very wild, hair-brained idea that I wanted to get a tattoo! Yes, Maya wanted a tattoo! Straight and narrow, tow the line, sweet and innocent Maya! *alright, the person that's out there laughing at that description of me, and you know who you are, can be quiet now!*

So, this was something that I've actually thought about for 5 years! Seriously...no joke! I had finally decided that I wasn't going to do it because 1) it's permanent, 2) I'm not much into pain, 3) hello, it's permanent, 4) didn't know what I wanted, and 5) did I mention that it's permanent. Well a few months back, we were having a party (Superbowl, I think) and we had some friends over. Well, color me shocked when Mrs. VderV bent over and I saw a tattoo sprawled across her back! :0 She was not someone that I expected to have a tattoo! That description that I gave of myself up above? That's how I saw Mrs. VderV! So after that, I started thinking about it again...do I really want to get a tattoo?

YES I DO!!!!! So then I started looking at some images online to try and figure out what I wanted. I knew that it had to be small...I'll be darned if I'm going to be on a table, in pain, for hours on end. I knew that it had to be girly....hello, have you met me?! Most of all, I knew that it had to be meaningful...hello, didn't I say that it was permanent?! After much thinking and deliberation, the light bulb went on over my head. I know someone that's a fantastic artist...Hale! So, for a small price, I commissioned him to draw my tattoo. He was very happy to do it (at least that's what he says) and did a fantastic job on it.

I had already decided that I wanted to get it done at Tiger Rose Tattoo in Pismo Beach the weekend that April and I were going to be there. I called them a week before we were supposed to go to try and set an appointment. No such luck...they don't do appointments on Saturday's, walk-in's only! That wasn't going to work because there was a NASCAR race on Saturday late-afternoon and there was no way April and I were going to miss it! So the guy said that if I could come over there any earlier than the weekend and talk with them, it would make Saturday go by much quicker. I talk to Hale about taking a quick, impromptu road trip to Pismo (he's usually down for things like that) and he said great, no problem. We decided to go the day after I got back from Montana...basically because that's the only choice we had.

Well, neither of us could have been prepared for the fact that my flight home from Montana didn't get into Fresno until 11:45pm. So, very late night to bed with very little sleep. Hale had even less sleep because he had to be at work by 7am if he was going to get off at 4pm for him and I to drive to Pismo. He got off work at 4pm and we loaded up on caffeine and hit the road. We made it to Pismo safely and went straight to the tattoo parlor. We walked in and I said that I wanted to talk with someone because I wanted to come back on Saturday to get a tattoo done. He asked me if I wanted to do it tonight? Holy Shnikes Batman, TONIGHT?! Bring it on baby! :) Hale said that was fine even knowing that he was going to have another very late night and it was all my fault...again! The tattoo artist made a few small changes to the drawing that Hale did...made it smaller and little better suited for the area that I had it done. He got all set up and had me sit in the chair. I made Hale stand beside me so that I could hold his hand...I don't do needles, so that was a necessity!

An hour later, no tears were shed, I was still in one piece and I have the most beautiful, fantastic tattoo I could have possibly wanted!!! One of these days, I'll have someone take some pictures so that I can show you! It's gorgeous!!! The ride home was interesting...it was a little painful to have to sit down in a car for 2 1/2 hours. But Hale and I made a few stops along the way and I had my Advil, so I was good to go!

Have you ever wondered?

Have you ever wondered what you're really supposed to be doing with your life? Have you ever wondered if the life you lead and the things you do will not only make a difference to someone, but will actually be remembered after you're gone from this world? I have been thinking about that a lot lately. I have really been questioning what I'm doing with my life and what I'm supposed to be doing with my life.

I'm coming up on what I consider to be a significant birthday. I understand, of course, that a "significant" birthday to you may not be the same "significant" birthday to me. For whatever reason, this is a big one for me and not really something I'm looking forward to! I've come to realize that I'm no where close in my life to where I thought I would be at this age. Back when I was 20-something, I had my life fairly well planned out. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't on a timeline or anything silly like that. It's just that I thought that certain things would've happened by a certain point in my life and none of its happened. Now I have to wonder...will any of the things I want ever happen? I have to admit...I've kind of given up hope...

It's...Vacation Time!

So I got to spend this past weekend in Montana visiting with some very special family! I left last Friday at an hour that, seriously, people should not have to be awake! (thanks, Hale, for the ride to the airport!) Of course, when I get up to the counter to get my boarding pass from United, I was politely informed that I would not be able to get on my flight because they oversold it! Yep...that's right folks...I was not going to be able to get onto a flight that I had purchased 4 months prior! Considering that I had only had 3 hours of sleep the previous night and had only one shot of Starbucks at this point, that little girl is lucky I didn't leap over the counter! But, you want to know what the icing on the cake was? They already had my luggage on the plane and couldn't take it off because the plane was getting ready to leave. So, my luggage made the trip to Missoula, Montana, via Denver, Colorado, on United Airlines. I, on the other hand, made the trip to Missoula, Montana, via Seattle, Washington on Horizon Airlines! Thankfully, both of us made it and arrived at our final destination in one piece and at exactly the time we were supposed to!


The picture above and the picture here at the right are pictures of my cousins backyard! No...I'm not joking! They live on approximately 18 acres and have their own pond. During the winter, the pond freezes over and they can ice skate on it. During the summer, they can fish in it and also swim in it! To say that it is peaceful up there would be an understatement. For me, it's like heaven on Earth! I feel so at home and calm and at peace when I'm there and absolutely love it. The people up there are very friendly and this is a place where you can leave your front door unlocked and know that someone's not going to come in while you're gone and taken everything!


This is my godson Brennan! Isn't he adorable? He's 3 1/2 years old and is an absolute blast! As you can see, he's playing with NASCAR cars. He loves them! And, yes, it's all my fault and I'll take all of the credit for it! I had previously given him a Jeff Gordon car and a Dale Earnhardt Jr. car and he plays with them everyday. So, before I left home, I decided to take 2 more cars with me. I bought him Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch. He wouldn't let go of the Kyle Busch car and everytime he asked me to play cars with him, he would give me Jimmie Johnson. It wasn't until we were in church on Sunday that he even let me touch the Kyle Busch car!


After church on Sunday, we had a baby shower for my cousin Erica. She and her husband are expecting a baby on Father's Day, June 17. I, personally, am hoping that the baby will hold on until June 18th! Yes...that's my birthday! The baby shower was fantastic and a great time was had by all. After the shower, we loaded up all of the new baby stuff and headed back to the house. A nap was in order for all of us, so a nap it was. Later on, Erica, Brennan, and I worked on the baby room and put away all of the new baby clothes.

Come Tuesday, it was time for me to head back home. Not to be outdone on my flight there, United decided to one-up themselves! The flight from Missoula to Denver was 40 minutes late leaving. That was okay because I had a 3 hour layover in Denver...no problem. So I get to Denver and decide to trek the 1/2 mile (and, no, I'm not joking!) down the terminal to get some dinner. I ate and looked at the departures monitor to check on my flight. The monitor now says that my flight will be leaving 1 hour later than originally scheduled and will be leaving out of gate B82. I'm really not happy about this, becuase this means that I won't be getting back home until 11:15pm, instead of 10:15pm. So, I make the 1/2 mile trek back to gate B82 only to find that my gate has been changed to B56. Yep, I trekked back again! Within a 1/2 hour my departure time changed again...this time from departing at 9:55pm to departing at 10:20pm. Yeah, I was pretty upset...but, what can I do! So, I call the person that is supposed to pick me up at the airport to let them know that I will now be coming in at 11:45pm instead of 10:15pm! (thank you again, Hale!)

In the end, I got home safely and my luggage made it home safely! I guess that's all that really matters. But I think that United will be hard-pressed to get me on one of their flights any time soon!