Katie sings Biggest Fan

My little sis, Kaitlyn Noelle sings Biggest Fan.



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Savannah's 11th birthday

Savannah's 11th birthday is tomorrow and we celebrated at home doing what she loves most...video games! The four sisters got together at the house(a rare occasion!) and played some Mario Brothers on the Wii for a while. Mom brought a delicious mint chocolate cake from Cold Stone, we punched a pinata hanging from the stairs (rain forced us to take it indoors) and had some dinner at her favorite restaurant, Macaroni Grill. Happy Birthday Vay!

Volunteer and get a free pass to Disneyland

In case you haven't heard, Disneyland is offering a free one-park admission to anyone that completes volunteer work in their community. They're calling it the "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" promotion and it will be running through 2010.

Of course, there are some official details you should know about: Must pre-register and sign up for eligible volunteer opportunity. Ticket quantities for this program are limited. Must be at least age 6 to participate. Other terms and conditions apply. For details, click here.

Great Travel Guides for Amergris Caye, Belize

For those of you thinking of traveling to Ambergris Caye, I highly recommend it. Home to one of the top scuba diving spots in the world, the Blue Hole is a scene not to miss. Not certified? No problem...take a boat to Shark Alley and snorkel with nurse sharks and giant sting rays. If you prefer to stay on dry land keep your eyes open for spotting some of the most exotic birds in the Carribean. There are plenty of hotels in San Pedro to make you feel right at home during your stay.

Katie sings for my birthday

My little sister, Kaitlyn, has an amazing voice...how I'm related to her I have no idea. Anyhow, she asked me what I wanted for my birthday this year and all I could think of was for her to sing my favorite Christmas song, Oh Holy Night. Here it is for all the world to enjoy. :)

Oh, and the creepy Santa thing is there because she had to be far from the microphone...sista's got some pipes!



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Red Light, Green Light!

Today my mom talked to the producer of Hoarders and had agreed to let her pitch our story to the network. There is no guarantee they will give our story the "green light" but just having the chance feels like a little light at the end of a long, dark, cluttered tunnel. I'm crossing my fingers and leaving it to the TV Gods to decide.

How to confront a Hoarder

Today I told my mom that she is a hoarder. About a week ago, I wrote to the A&E show "Hoarders" and they are now interested in telling our story. The trick is, however, that I have to get her on board. They don't confront or ambush anyone, so she has to agree to participate before they will come to our house. If you know my mom at all, you know that the chance of her first admitting she has a problem, then agreeing to address it on national TV seems less likely than a quick overhaul to the US Healthcare system. At this point, however, I'm willing to try anything.

I spent my day thinking about what I was going to say, how I was going to say it and researching intervention tactics. No sense in recreating the wheel, right?

The hour finally came and I met my mom at a local restaurant (neutral territory...excellent). We started with the usual chit-chat, ordered an appetizer and then BAM...I drop the bomb. "Mom", I begin "I have something to tell you and I need you to hear me with an open mind and try not to react until I've said what I need to say." She would later tell me that she thought she was about to hear an engagement or pregnancy announcement...not quite!

I continued to explain the situation, all the while remaining calm and trying not to put her on the defense. Based on past attempts at intervening, I fully expected my mom to shut down and refuse to talk about the house. To my complete shock, I couldn't have been more wrong. My mom listened while I relayed my experience of living in a house I did not feel comfortable inviting friends to along with my ever-increasing concern for my younger sisters that still live there. I could tell it wasn't easy for her to hear, her body language had slowly changed from sitting up straight to a subtle slouch of the shoulders and hunched back - nearing fetal position.

I knew it was very difficult for her to hear, but this was my only chance. I was on a mission - if I succeeded then my mom (and family) would have a chance to turn things around. If I failed, the house would be a lost cause in my eyes and the chance of my youngest sister being taken away would become a terrifying but likely possibility.

I can't describe the joy I felt when, at the end of my plea, my mom agreed to talk to a producer the next day. I had just achieved the impossible! My mom was going to talk to someone about getting help! I was completely aware of the fact that my mom had simply agreed to talk to a producer, not actually do the show, but you could have told me Johnny Depp was waiting to whisk me away to his private island where we'd live happily ever after - I was equally as excited.

We concluded our dinner, my mom feeling uneasy (she wanted to do some research about the show) but curious, and me feeling surprised and victorious!

Autumn colors in Salmon, Idaho

The two days I spent in Salmon, Idaho were well worth the trip. Flying and driving was exhausting, but the scenery was unlike anything I've ever seen before. I think between the two of us, Trevor and I took about 300 pictures. Thank goodness for digital cameras!




After picking Trevor up from Salt Lake, we made our way north to Salmon, Idaho. The drive was absolutely beautiful and I decided that Fall is my favorite time of year to visit. I also decided that karma can be a cruel, cruel thing when it wants to be. Remember the ticket that Maria and I avoided earlier in the trip? Well, no such luck for me the second time. I was nabbed for speeding in Challis, about 50 miles from our destination. Drat!

Salt Lake and Salmon

My last adventure during funemployment started with my first ever stand-by flight. Fortunately things went smoothly with no delays and I was on my way to Salt Lake City before I knew it. I was met by my cousin Maria and her 4 year old son, Hayden, who had been anticipating my arrival all day and managed to pass out from exhaustion minutes before my arrival. :) Maria and I were able to catch up on the drive out to her house in Lehi and I got my first taste of Autumn colors...so beautiful!

Nearly Stranded at Santa Ana Amtrak

The journey began at approximately 1:30pm when I arrived at the Santa Ana Amtrak Station, LA-bound. From there I was to take the Metrorail Gold Line to Pasadena and then head to Morro Bay for a weekend of camping adventures.

As I'm waiting on what I believed to be Track 1, I couldn't help but wonder why I was the only passenger venturing north while so many others were on Track 2. Quite peculiar since I didn't remember a southbound train coming soon. That should have been my first clue.

Booking Belize 24 hours in advance - Belize 2009

Today I arrived in San Pedro, Belize after what ended up being about a 7-hour series of flights from LAX. It's quite surreal being here considering I booked my ticket extremely last minute...just yesterday morning! My friend Angela and I had been talking about going for a few weeks now and she wisely booked her ticket right away. I, however, hesitated and missed the boat on good flight prices. Week after week, prices kept creeping upwards and I was beginning to lose hope. Fortunately though I checked tickets one last time yesterday and found an American Airlines flight that was pretty reasonable. I booked, went home and packed (my grandma's vintage luggage) and VOILA! A little over 24 hours later I am unpacking at Pedro's Inn in San Pedro, Belize.

My dream job!

I've been meaning to post this video for a while and just now got around to it. This is pretty much what I dream of doing in life...traveling the world and capturing moments for all to enjoy. This particular video resonated with me because it very subtly infers that no matter where we live or what language we speak, we all are fundamentally the same. People want to live the best life they can and enjoy as much of it as possible.

Something as simple as dancing in front of a camera turned into something silly but touching. I double dog dare you not to smile when you watch!

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Mud Run 2009 - Team Dirty Deeds

Mud Run 2009

Today I completed the Camp Pendleton Mud Run for the second time. In a nutshell, it's a 10km obstacle course set up on the marine base complete with walls to climb over, tubes to crawl through, a lake to traverse and hills to conquer...all while being soaked with furious fire hoses. As daunting as it sounds, it's actually quite fun. This morning when I woke up at 5:30am (on a saturday!), I was questioning my decision to do it again, but once I started running I remembered why I wanted to.

My team did very well, we finished in 1 hour and 21 minutes, beating our time from last year which was our goal. I was also very happy to discover a huge difference in my performance from last year versus this year. This year I got to mile three and felt like I had just started, whereas last year I was struggling almost the entire time. Working out with a trainer really makes a difference!

Yosemite 2009 - I love the wildlife!

Every summer my family spends some time camping in Yosemite. It's a tradition that started about 6 or 7 years ago and this year was my 4th or 5th time going. It's quite a drive from Southern California, but SO worth it!

I spent 3 days up at Housekeeping Camp and shared a tent with my mom, my sister Savannah and three of her friends. Yep, there were two adults and four ten year olds...a detail my mom conveniently forgot to leave out of the conversation before I left. :) It worked out fine though, they were all very well behaved and didn't get into too much trouble.

I spent my time there going for runs, reading and relaxing. I love to just sit down and listen to the sound of the wind in the trees. I didn't see any bears this year but we did hear a wolf howling not too far from camp one night! Half Dome wasn't on my agenda this year since we weren't there with any family friends. Normally we have a group make the trek but I don't think it would have been wise to attempt it on my own. Instead I visited Vernal Falls and Mirror Lake. Pictures can be viewed here.

A successful day at the Relay

I would like to send another huge THANK YOU to everyone that either donated or participated in this year's Relay for Life. We enjoyed a successful event this year, in total we raised over $127,000 that will go towards cancer research, and had a great time doing it! Each and every one of your donations (time or money) make a difference and I can't tell you how much your support means to me.

Together Team Fish Poop Soup raised over $5600, surpassing our goal of $5000. We walked, we played, we slept, we talked and most importantly, we remembered. Some of us have loved ones who lost their battle and some us have loved ones who continue to fight, but whatever the motivation, we all came together for 24 hours to honor them. Thanks again to my team and to my supporters, I look forward to next year!

View pictures here.