Celebrity Corner

-"Yo Adriane, where have you been lately?!"

-"Ha! I've been busy, that's where I been!"

Yeah, it's about time for me to blog again. And guess what? I've got a special treat for you folks. That's right it's time for another CELEBRITY CORNER.

So grab a snack, sit back, and enjoy tonight's edition of your favorite program...

I've got a cousin. Actually, I've got 33 cousins. BUT I've only got 2 cousins who look like the country pop starlet Taylor Swift. The first one is Lindsey (who was my first CC victim), and the second is Lynnae. So, yeah I've got this cousin and she looks a whole lot like Taylor Swift. Actualy, she even sings and plays the guitar like Taylor Swift. Only she isn't rich and she hasn't stooped to dating members of the Jonas brothers, Spiderman, and a steroid-studded werewolf. Oh no, her sense of taste is far above that. She's dated (and as of yesterday, married) one fine dude who looks a whole lot like another fine, musically talented, LDS dude named Brandon Flowers.

Taylor Swift

+

Brandon Flowers

=


The Bitters

Look they have even performed together...


(photo kindly pirated from Michelle Guerra Photography)

So yep, these two very good looking and talented people got married yesterday in the Mesa Arizona Temple. And they let me and Justin come and celebrate with them. It was a beautiful day, a beautiful couple, and a most beautiful event. I can't believe my little cousin is all grown up and a married woman now. I'm so very happy for her.

--A

P.S. The wedding was a most fabulous mini-family reunion. As such, It would be terrible for me to not show more pictures. So, cross my heart, I will post more photos. But, if you want to see some really awesome, professional photos of the big day, check out the blog for Michelle Guerra Photography sometime soon as I'm sure my equally beautiful and talented cousin, Michelle, will post pictures of her sister's big day...although she may have to charge you for viewing time as her pictures are THAT fabulous.

And the AWARD goes to...

Okay Lindsey, I was going to blog about smoked oysters, thrift store clothes, and other essential Yo-Adriane topics today, but since you've honored me (and 6 other stylin bloggers) with the "Stylish Blog Award," I'll fulfill the obligations of the award.






#1 - Thank the person you gave you the award.



Thank you Lindsey! Thanks for thinking I am stylish , and for giving me the opportunity to talk EVEN more about myself. You know I love the attention.



#2 - Share 7 facts about yourself.

• My favorite color is turquoise. And chocolate brown. And jade green. And copper. And red. And....and...and...I love all the colors. Except bubble gum pink.


• My true decorative style is Spartan. Although I may say that I like Tuscan or Art Nouveau, I really like VERY FEW things in my house. Perhaps this is because I can't decide what I truly like? Or, because, sadly, my decorative home skills are severely challenged. Either way, I like to see nothingness because it make me feel calm.


• I can't keep a house plant alive to save my life.


• When I was 16, I let the bakery boys at the local Middle Eastern bakery ("The Jerusalem Cafe") think I was Palestinian so I could get free pita bread (best pita bread BTW). Shameless, huh? I think it was their olive skin, green eyes, and dangerously international accent that won me over. Don't worry though, I've since repented and told the YW in my ward to NEVER accept free stuff from guys who think you cute and who are MUCH older than them and who are probably after just one thing...okay so I didn't exactly say that last part, but you get the picture.


• So on a more somber note, here's a fact I don't readily admit to, but I think it is warranted because I'm trying to reveal some completely "truthful" facts about myself. - I think I've had chronic depression at least twice in my life. The first bout was when I was around 15. Home life back then was defined by a lot of responsibility in regards to taking of mom and the boys and a lot of poverty. However, I could never really say we were poor because I knew my parents loved me and they were doing the absolute best they could to provide for me and the boys. The bottom line though was those were tough times in my life. And yet they were probably the most defining moments in my life. I'd never replace them. The other bout was when I first moved to Camp Verde. I had been married for about two and a half years (i.e., the honeymoon stage had most definitely worn off), I had left all my friends and family in the eastern AZ and knew no one (or at least I thought), I was finishing graduate school, and I was living on a VERY fixed income while trying to pay off various debts. Looking back on those times, some of my behavior was almost laughable. I remember one time I didn't leave my house for two whole days. Yep, I didn't even step out of my front door. I stayed inside. Worked on school work. Cooked meals. Watched YouTube. And read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and the Complete Works of Jane Austen (although not all in two days). Pathetic, huh?


• Okay, getting back to the fun stuff. I have swam in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Delaware in January. Several Christmas' ago, I spent the holidays with Bucky and Derek and we went to Ocean City for a night. Somehow I had gotten it into my head that I needed to swim in both the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean to be a true American. (Weird, huh?). Anyway, I had already swam on the west coast, so I figured this was my golden opportunity to swim on the east coast. And man oh man was it COLD! Yeah, I lasted about 5 minutes in the water before I called it quits. Funny thing is I couldn't feel certain (and I mean certain) parts of my body for well over an hour.


• I've always wanted to visit Greece. For as long as I can remember I've had this "thing" about Greece. When I was a teenager, I read every book about Greek mythology I could get my hands on. One year for my Seminary Halloween party, I dressed up in a turquoise Grecian dress (think the Statue of Liberty) with a tree branch in one hand and a sword in another so I could portray "the never-ending cycle of war and peace in the Book of Mormon." My fellow Seminary buds thought the concept was cool, but really the concept was a last-minute Adri-idea just so I could wear my Grecian dress. One day, I hope to visit that ancient land and eat a never ending supply of baklava, stand on a rocky cliff overlooking the Aegean Sea in a white dress and tan skin, dance to Yani-esque music in a hole-in-the-wall local eatery, and speak Greek with the zeal and passion (and dare I say sexiness?????) as the women in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."

#3 - Award 7 new bloggers the Award and LET THEM KNOW they have won by either comment/tweet/text/phone call/grocery store conversation/smoke signal or whatever technology you prefer. Here's my pick:

• Bucksta!


• Shannon


• Kyra


• Teddy


• Alicia S. (hey girl this is a check to see if you're reading my blog...or as I like to think "performing routine surveillance on the content of the YW Pres's blogs in the stake who are under your jurisdiction")


• Eagar 4th Ward Amie (miss you guys!!)


• Montezuma Ward Natalie

--A

Back to the salt mines!

Lately, I've had the hardest time motivating myself to do my chores. Dishes, laundry, scrub the unmentionable parts of our house. I really don't know what it is. Winter blues? Post-holiday depression?



My grandmother AhMu used an expression about housework which I find myself saying a lot these days - "Back to the salt mines!" Yeah, that sounds about right.



Saturdays are my one day to play catch-up on the domestic duties, and sooo often, I fall short of accomplishing EVERYTHING I intended to on this day. Today feels like it's going to be another one of those....



So, since I'm indulging myself in a late start to my work this Saturday, I figured I'd do at least one thing that made me feel accomplished and post a TOP 10 list. Today's topic?



TOP 10 Things I'm Daydreaming About on this Saturday Morning






10. A visit to societal London during the Roaring '20s (this has a lot to do with me just finishing watching the last season of Upstairs Downstairs...one of the best BBC series ever...the original version of course). I really want to wear chic dress and long pearl necklaces, bob my hair, and talk about silliness in a perfect, aristocratic British accent. "Oh really, darling, jazz is all the rage nowadays. It's just terribly en vouge!"



9. Hiking some of the more remote parts of Arizona in a pair of old levis, dusty boots, and an old cotton button-up shirt. For some reason, I've recently been entranced by the old, mining/cowbow/frontier history in Arizona, and I want to re-live (or really live) the western adventures that play out in my mind.



8. Eating brioche and croissants in a quaint, Parisian bakery while wearing a Coco Chanel-esque striped shirt and very bright red lipstick. Oh yes, all while being so skinny, that my cigarette pants do not bulge and there are no hints of cankles.



7. Swimming on the beach in Hawaii. What can I say? It's cold (even for Camp Verde) and I am so ready to toast my skin in the sun!



6. Growing a beautiful, hobbit-like garden. Nuff said.



5. Having happy, beautiful, hobbit-like (but perhaps not in height...or feet for that matter) children. Also, nuff said.



4. Flying over central Arizona's montains, valleys, streams, canyons, and paradise-like hidden places...with a broom, wand, and Griffindor-colored scarf.



3. Planning a most needed trip for my mum to visit me.



2. Decorating my house in such a way that perfectly combined all my decorative wanna-be styles: 1920s bungalow, Frank Lloyd Wright, 1960s' retro cool, Tuscan villa, Spanish mission with a courtyard, Zen, and thrift store chic. Will it ever happen? Doubtful.



1. Spending a Saturday in which time is suspended long enough to do everything I want and live out enough of my romaticized day dreams to get through the next week's shift of digging in the salt mines.

--A