25th Birthday Party

2013 brings my 25th birthday. Eh. When did I get old? I'm going to read that sentence in 10 years and want to kick myself, but it just sounds bad. I usually take a trip to AZ for my birthday every year, but this year I took a trip and a party. I figured 25 is a big deal, so I needed to do something different. In the end, the party was fun but getting ready for it with a couple of good friends was the best part. Love these girls! We tied the theme in with St. Patty's since it was the next day, and decorated with lots of green. Good friends came along with some random acquaintances. We set up a photo booth and had tasty food. I consider it a success but it was way too much work to do again anytime soon!

Hailey, Chels, me, Steph, Jenni, and Renae

My favorite Kamas girl!

The planners/decorators.

Roommates

Steph and Renae's backsides. Bless them and their mesh panties.

We'll end on that lovely shot.

Moab

Moab is one of my favorite places on earth. Going to AZ for a weekend was not quite enough warm to get me out of my winter slump, so I planned a Moab trip with some of my best Utah Valley friends. We left worried about cold temperatures and threats of bad roads. After a short delay of almost going to CO (whoops) and a pit stop in the ever classy Price, we finally made it. The front desk guy at the hotel may have been a little bit in love with us and gave us free treats and talked us into a room upgrade. I'm so glad he did because 5 girls need lots of space! After a heart-burn and gallbladder attack inducing dinner at the Blue Pig, we spent the evening with music, strobe lights (that would be my roommate for ya), and mini eyebrow makeovers by Steph. The next morning we slept in and then ventured out into the ominous skies to hike. I remember being completely mesmerized by the Delicate Arch from my last trip. It is so beautiful and a fun hike. With a little rain, flecks of snow, and many clothing layers, we made it to the top. Oh my. Beautiful. The sketch weather had scared away a lot of hikers and we practically had the arch to ourselves. Well, us and a friendly New Yorker who entertained us with yoga poses below the arch. I loved the cold air and I think it made the hike way easier. We stayed and took tons of pictures including a slew of jumping pics by yours truly until we were completely froze. The trip down was fast and easy. We drove around the park for awhile and only ventured out into the cold air for a couple of pics. 3 out of 5 girls in the car were nurses and a 4th is Renae....leading to lots and lots of inappropriate comments about rock formations. It was an entertaining tour for sure! The short hike had left us hungry and we chose Pasta Jay's for an early dinner. It was by far the best food the whole trip. We followed it up with an amazing late afternoon nap and walk around cute little Moab. The next morning we checked out and somehow made it to Dead Horse Point (the gas light was on...scary!) The skies had cleared making way for a beautiful day. We wandered about and of course, I took about 50 jumping pics. I just love them! A few of us ventured out onto a cliff to snap a few pics. I almost left my heart there because it was quite literally jumping out of my chest. A few gas stops later, and we were back to Happy Valley. Now enjoy a few...or a lot of pics.

Co-pilot who enjoys wearing shades on cloudy days. 

Back seat ladies. Chelsie, Renae, and Kasie. 

Moab is for spooners.

Ready to hike! 

Hiking partners. Love this girl!

Renae displaying one of our favorite rock formations.

My favorite picture from the whole trip! Look at those cute frog legs! hahaha

I do love jumping.

The group under the arch. Renae and Steph butt bonding.

Um. Renae?

Eyebrow-ing.

After severely stubbing my toe post jump. 

24.98 years of my life flashing through my mind.

The End.

Arizona 2013

Every year, I make my annual migration to visit my good friends who now call AZ home. After an insane amount of flight delays, I finally made it to the land of cacti and sun. It was such a fun weekend, but way too short. I always stay with Liz, one of my good friends from nursing school. Five years ago, we bonded over crazy teachers, foley catheter insertion skill induced stress, and long hours of studying. I only get to see her once a year, but we always pick up right where we left off. Thank you Devin and Liz for having me!

For something different this year, we went to the Olive Mill in Queen Creek. It was fun to see the small town version of AZ. We took a fun little tour, taste tested different kinds of olive oil, ate a yummy lunch, and met up with a good friend from the ship this summer. It was such a fun day and I'm now a semi-expert in all things olive oil.

Liz and I with our fancy olive oil purchase.

Cute phone case. Cute friend.

Liz and her hubby Devin have a sweet hook-up with a player on the Oakland A's and he got us free tickets for a spring training game. It was the most beautiful day that I can remember. I love love love baseball games. Hot dogs. People watching. My kind of a good day. 

Second best moment of the game was this guy. 

Best moment of the game. I'll let you decide what shape this pizza is. So funny!

I love this pic of Devin. He was dying!

Other blog worthy pics:

Dinner at Olive and Ivy.

Devin and Liz's child Louie. He grew on me a bit this trip and sure loved my lap! 

Love this girl!

On Monday, I spent the day with my old coworkers Ellen and Mariel. Ellen took me for a drive by of the new temple. It is beautiful! 

3rd floor friends + baby Sophie.

Until next year Arizona.

This Week

1. Celebrated Mom's birthday with pedicures. Included in the price? Memorable Park City people watching. Man, there are some weirdos that call PC home....or their 5th home. 

2. I got sick again! I wanted to cry when the symptoms started rearing their ugly heads. I finished up my antibiotics on Monday from my Valentines illness, got a two day break, and the cycle started. Throbbing ears, cutting throat pain, and body aches. Back to the doctor I went.  I walked away with 10 more days of a different antibiotic, gauze and coban on my arm from a blood draw, and hopes that I wouldn't have to return for a good long while. For all my nursing friends: cross your fingers that 2 rounds of ABX in 2 weeks doesn't give me CDiff. 

3. Nice things happen to me when I get sick. Last time it was a home massage. This time a friend came to my house at 0700 after working all night with a witch remedy for my ears. I wanted to hurl at the smell of garlic, but my ears were signing her praises. Thanks Celeste! I stopped at Noodles and Company for the first time ever after my doctors visit in an effort to find food soft enough to swallow. I don't know if they felt bad for how horrifying I looked, but they handed me a rice crispy treat the size of my head that I had been eyeing on my way out the door. How nice is that? And last but not least, my roommate gave me gel nails last night while watching a movie. She's a pro...and she's not even Asian.

4. I'm going to Arizona today! Woot! Woot! This will be my 4th yearly migration south. Every year as March comes along, I can't turn down the sunny skies and the opportunity to see some great friends of mine. 

AZ 2012

Mom

Today is my Mom's birthday! I'm pretty sure she never reads my blog, but I'm going to do a shout out anyway. I realized how many pics I don't have of my mom, so the one below will have to do. She is sadly not near as photo-happy as me. It's a bad quality pic, but trust me, she's hot! 

Things that I love about my mom. The condensed version.

1. She is a domestic diva. It took me moving out of the house to realize all the things she does!

2. She is an amazing cook. Sadly this is not hereditary. I thought everyone had an amazing dinner on the table every night, but then I realized I'm one of the lucky few. 

3. She is crazy clean. Like OCD. This used to drive me crazy, but I love this about my parents (most of the time). I would literally eat off of any surface of my parents home.

4. She is hilarious. She pretends to be disgusted with our inappropriate family humor, but I know that she is loving it inside.

5. She is so supportive. She never misses a game, a recital, nothing. 

Love you Mom!

Lately

I've been a busy girl. Between thinking I was going to die last week and lots of birthdays, I haven't had time to blog. Here is what's been going on in the land of Aubrey:

I went to my first Jazz game of the season, and was pleased to find out that my borrowed jersey represented the hottest player on the team. Between a few run ins with Salt Lake's finest citizens and "woof" (inside joke) references, it was quite the night! 

Me, Steph, and Renae. Not Steph's finest moment.

My favorite Kansas native, Kasie turned a year older and we celebrated her birth with a Duck Dynasty party. It was crazy fun! Sadly, or maybe not sadly, my entire outfit was either from my parents house or my roommate's closet. I was super proud of my outfit but I had some serious beard envy. I don't plan to return the camo sweats to my brother and have worn them several times since. Oddly enough, they're slightly flattering considering they're sweats. The camo pattern does miracles for my massive legs. 

Is that Si? 

Last week I had the joy and honor of sporting what is referred to as a PAPR. This lovely white mask and Ghost Buster like backpack is worn to protect against diseases such as tuberculosis. It's not very fun to wear, but we made the best out of the situation and had a small Instagram modeling session. 13 hours of this outfit makes for a long day!

Jess and I off to save the day against acid fast bacteria.

There's been a lot of birthdays in my life the past few weeks. I'm grateful for these winter born friends and family members because their birthday celebrations give us something to do in the boring months of January and February. One of the many is pictured below. Happy Birthday Jenny!

On the subject of birthdays, I'd like to do a spotlight on birthdays this week:

Charlotte:

1. She makes the cutest children. Her little boy Dane is my favorite person under age 10.

2. I love having such a good friend at work. She always intently listens to my musings of a single life.

3. She makes damn good cake.

Garrett, my broski:

1. He is an amazing cook. Like really.

2. He is good at everything. Everything.

3. He is super supportive and constantly goes out of his way to help others.

Other events not captured on my iPhone include a girls night with steak and a Nicholas Spark movie (does it get any better?), dinner with a long, not so lost high school friend Matt, and car decorating for a friend's Valentine lover. Coming up is my yearly migration to Arizona and a girls trip to Moab to bask in the splendor of arch that is delicate. 

A Very Bad and a Very Good Valentines Day

This year I was so excited for the big V-day. I had fun plans with fun friends that included food and a much awaited chick flick. These plans came to a halt at 2 am the morning of lovers day. I woke up with the worst sore throat of my life and a terrible ear ache. I was miserable! I suffered through the morning thinking that I could make it to the movie, but I was only getting worse. Every time I swallow (this is still a problem) it feels like a knife is slicing the sides of my throat. Yummy. Because of this, I've dehydrated myself even though I know its wrong. About 10 calories were consumed yesterday. I also made the mistake of sitting down in my hour long shower and then found that I was too weak to even get up. Needless to say, my plans were canceled. A friend I haven't even known very long was informed of my illness, and he sent over a masseuse to my house!!!! I seriously wanted to cry! Half because I hurt so bad and half because I was so grateful! That hour was the only time in my day that I didn't want to die. That act was probably the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. Other acts of kindness were sent my way and I learned a different side of Valentines. A side that doesn't include eating your weight in chocolate, cheesy cards, or flowers. This side is about thoughtfulness and love for others. As an ending note, I somehow drove myself to the doctors today. He literally gasped when he looked in my mouth. Yep, I felt real gross. I'm now the proud owner of 10 days of Amoxicillin. My parents dropped by some Sonic ice for me and I've been able to swallow a few ramen noodles. I've lost 7 lbs (water weight) and my blood pressure was crazy low. Like 20 points both systolic and diastolic lower. No wonder I felt like I was going to die! So, that is my very good and very bad Valentines Day 2013.