Oh Grandma, What A Lovely House You Have

My family struggles with what I believe to be a genetic hoarding problem. For those who are unfamiliar with this term hoarding is by definition "the excessive acquisition of and inability or unwillingness to discard large quantities of objects that would seemingly qualify as useless or without value". And holy shit it's a terrible terrible disorder. I'm sorry about the language but I am so done with all things hoarding at this point. A few posts ago I mentioned my grandmothers poor health, (she is doing much better now by the way, still doesn't remember me but everyone else she knows all about) due to recent events my parents have decided that she needs to live in a place with more hands on care than what is currently available to her. This decision means moving, which then creates the urge to slit your wrists. I am so certain that my mother is Jesus. You see, those hoarding shows which seem to be gaining popularity as of late are absolutely nothing compared to both of the prior homes she owned that we have cleaned out. Luckily this time around we had a one bedroom apartment. My mom spent hours cleaning every day and my sister and I would come help whenever we could and it is emotionally and physically tolling. (The picture above was taken over halfway through the clean up, which took an entire month mind you.)

It's so sad to see someone live in these conditions. At her last home I found a V8 which was about a decade past its due date and had turned black but my grandma continued to lecture me about how it was still good and she was planning on drinking it as I poured the black goop down the drain. At this apartment I was slightly more fortunate. I found some V8 fruit punch which was only 3 years old! Based on the flavor I guessed that it started as a light pink color. This icky brown really isn't too bad compared to the black stuff I had found prior. All I know is that I will never be able to drink any V8 product after what I've seen.

Another interesting tidbit that I had heard rumors of was that she had been going through the trash and taking other residents mail. I didn't believe this until I had to go through he magazines. Most of which weren't hers or even people I had ever heard her talk about. Chris who?? But alas I guess they were close enough that she felt fine taking his old magazines.

This is the 3rd house my family has worked on. We have at least one more and a storage unit before things are over. I love my grandma but I'm not sure how much more my family can take, especially my poor Mom.

It's Nakey Nakey Time

My lovely friend Hilary and I went to see our beautiful man friend, Stephen Cope aka Officer Jenny play at the Muse a few weeks ago. After all this time he was finally headlining a show! He deserves it. He is the most adorable man I have ever met. He is more like a cartoon really. Uber upbeat, always wears a scarf and a blazer, constantly dancing and his smile never fades and so genuine that he is impossible to hate and his music is even better. He sang a song about a haunted house that still get stuck in my head. But the favorite was definitely the nakey nakey song which is yes, exactly how it sounds. This boy is amazingly catchy. The second he releases his EP I will be a proud owner of his music. I hope he goes far and if you ever have the opportunity to see him play you should, there is nothing else like it in the world. This boy has all my love in the world and fills me with happiness! You'd probably have the same response so just look him up on facebook already!

Girls Night

Few weeks ago I met up with the beautiful Brittany. I love her. We used to be best of friends in junior high but then she transfered schools and ended up moving out of state so I haven't had much contact with her besides a few Facebook chats over the years and an occasional failed attempt at a get together but after all of these years we were able to rekindle our love! It was really interesting to see how much we've grown but still be able to hang out like we did. It was a beautiful thing. We had a girls night to a T. We went to Boondocks then ate pizza and watched Stick It while she painted my nails and this girl is insane at nails she can paint anything. Just point at a pinterest picture and it'll be on your hand in minutes! My word! She blows my mind. Actually our whole relationship does really. She is the most girly and I am, well, not that in touch with my genders standard procedures. But somehow things just work. We love each other unconditionally and would honest to god, do anything for one another. She is one of my few friends who is protective of me and would get in there and fight to the finish if someone screwed me. She'd win too. She's ballsy, that one. And honest as all else. You never have to worry about what's on her mind about you or anyone else, she'll be sure to let you know.

Anyways, back to story. The next morning she did my hair and make-up. I looked snazzy. Then we went dress and heel shopping which made me terribly nervous. I love how heels look but I'm a tard so the idea of actually buying some and having to wear them was scary. All in all I think it ended up going well other than the fact that I spent money which I really shouldn't have done due to my employment scenario. I'll make it work though. I'll wear what I bought to an interview and they'll love me just by how adorable I'll be or perhaps they'd hire me out of pity. They might think I have some disability by the way I was walking. Dang. Not sure how I'd feel about that one. Either way my new clothes are beautiful and my and Brittany's relationship is thriving. We've had quite a few play dates since our girls night and they all seem to be more eventful than the last. We even had a head injury on our last excursion. I guess we're just hardcore like that.

Welcome to the Rooftop

Last Friday was one of the Rooftop Concert nights. I went with Zack and Maren, wehad dinner and then met up with people from our ward. Usually I eat up the concert environment but I wasn't really feeling it... Brian and Robert, who swung by for the last few songs were awesome, but besides that, not one person talked to Zack, Maren and I and we were in a pretty large group. Sad times, no?? We were a total outside party. It was interesting to go to something and be excluded by those I attend church with after being so excepted by the people in AA so quickly. I guess another factor was that all of the songs that were played were Tom Petty's. I had never heard of him before and there was a reason for that. We do not see eye to eye in the music department. But it was cool. I still had fun with my little group of friends. They are the best.

AAmerica

To celebrate my country's independence I went with some AA members to the Spanish Fork Reservoir. In all my years of living so close to it I had no idea of its existence. It was absolutely stunning. I couldn't believe that I had never heard of this magnificent place. I love swimming in natural waters and although this wasn't all natural my needs were more than met. There was moss and it was deep, slimy and smelt of fish. Ahhh. I was in heaven. It was freezing cold but it felt so nice compared to the sun beating on my back. A few of us swam all the way across and back. I am a good swimmer but that took much more energy than I anticipated. I had so much fun though. We just splashed around in the water and hung out all afternoon.  Zack even caught himself a fish!

Later that night a group of us went to Rock Canyon Park and watched all the fireworks that were lit across the valley. It was a sight. I do love fireworks. There is just something about an explosion of color in the sky that I just can't resist. Between the fireworks, good company and the late night hang out, I really couldn't have asked for a better day!