I'm Excited About . . .

I have a few things going on these next few days that I'm excited about.

- I'll be going on a date a little later this week. Dinner and shoot some pool, I believe . . .

- I have an interview at Targhee on Sunday. (Eeeh! SO excited about that. I have a strong desire to be a total ski bum this winter. It may be my last real opportunity to do so before I hit school hard.)

- I'm going water skiing today. So stoked.

Life is good, people.

Date with my best man!

Today I went on a date. With Levi. :) We went to Idaho Falls and had sushi, and went folfing, and shopping . . . and to Hastings. Just the two of us. No one else. :) It was a pretty epic day! There was even a kiss involved . . . and I have proof!

I love him. <3

Is This A Joke??

Lately I've been selling a lot of stuff on Craigslist, KSL . . . the works . . . so I wasn't surprised when my phone rang with a 208 number I didn't recognize. But I was surprised by the conversation that took place. Now you all know I live for this exact kind of opportunity, but . . . can't lie . . . it caught me off guard.

Me: "Hello?"
Female Caller: "Who dis?"
Me: " . . . Hello?"
Female Caller: "I said, who dis?"
Me: "Umm . . . this is Cortney. Who's this?"
Female Caller: "Girl you know who I is. And I know you been calling my man! A ton, gurrrl! Your number is all up over is phone. A LOT!:
Me:" . . . Is this a joke? Because, if so . . . bravo. You've totally just owned me."
Female Caller: "Hell no this ain't no joke, gurrrl. Why you callin' my man? Huh? Why?"
Me: "I-- . . . sorry?"
Female Caller: "He in love wit me, Boo. You need ta back off."
Me: "Ummm . . . "
(She hangs up.)

Later, the same number calls back. I of course answer. :)

Me: "Hello?"
(Recording of a man): "Baby, don't say a word, just listen. I'm in trouble, Boo. I got arrested. I need you to bring some cash down to the jailhouse and post my bail. I know I ain't treated you right, but girl, believe me when I tell you I love you. And I know I caused you lots of trouble and pain, but I need you to come through for me right now, baby girl . . ."

I tried to say something, but the guy didn't stop talking, which is why I assume it was a recording. Maybe she was playing an actually recording for me - her boyfriend's "other lover" - to make me jealous . . . ?? (Would that really work on a real "other lover"??) Or maybe this was all some elaborate joke by someone I know. If so . . . well played.

Well. Played.

Heart Broken.

My heart is so broken right now. The past couple of days have been pretty rough. Yesterday I officially lost someone important in my life (not via death, thank goodness - but he's gone for good) and today I lost two of my babies. I had to "rehome" them. I SWORE to myself and to them that I'd have them until they died so that they'd never have to go through the trauma of being rehomed, but I simply couldn't keep that promise. It was easy when I had a hubby to take on half the responsibility and cost, but as a single girl, it was too much. So I had to give my girls to a better home.

I had to do it for so many reasons.

A) It was expensive to do vaccinations/teeth cleaning/annual checkups for 3 dogs each year.
B) It was a lot of work caring for all three - making sure they were fed and exercised enough as well as given enough attention.
C) It was almost impossible to go anywhere, and pet daycare is expensive.
D) (And this is the biggest reason) It was too expensive to find an apartment with all three dogs. And that's IF I could even find one that allows three pets. (Most allow 2 at most.)

Omg, though. I'm in so much pain right now. It wasn't too hard letting Remi go. She's very social and loves people, so I knew she would adjust just fine. Letting Harley go, though, was brutal. She fought so hard when the lady took her away. She was thrashing around and looking at me with the most panicked look in her eyes. I can't even think about it. It crushes me. And I get this overwhelming feeling that I just made the biggest mistake.

I pray that she will adjust soon. It was especially hard because she was my favorite of all my babies. I know you aren't supposed to have favorites, but she was just so sweet. And she made it very obvious that she loved me. I don't think my other dogs loved me as much as she did.

Shit. I can't talk about it at all. This sucks.

I hope I made the right choice. I guess I'll know soon enough. In the meantime, it's just me and my baby boy now.

Levi

I have to take just a moment and brag about how adorable my little dog is. Isn't he so cute?!

I <3 that little boy. :)

Nailed it.

I had a date yesterday, and it was a lot of fun! The boy drove 6 hrs on Tuesday night just to see me (is that cute, or what?) and got here around 10 p.m. and stayed the night. We cuddled up on the couch and watched a movie. He even played with my hair the whole time. :) No makeout, though. It was a first date. ;) Pretty sure I fell asleep about 50 different times while he massaged my head. Haha. Then we headed into IF Wednesday for some sushi and a movie. We also got some frozen yogurt and chased some birds.

I'd say it was a win. :)

You know what else is a win? These shoes.

If I had had ANYTHING that went with those, I probably would have purchased them. They were about $60. But I seriously think they are wicked cute. They make my calf bulge a little bit, but . . . meh.

. . . Speaking of bulging calves. I took the most disgusting photo of my own leg (completely by accident) and now I'm going to share it with you.

I accidentally took this picture while I was pushing myself up with my leg to get off the couch. Upon seeing this photo, I decided I need to ease up on the running and strength training and maybe stick with just walking for a little bit. Yikes. That's a little TOO muscular. (In my defense, my muscle is flexed really tight right here. It doesn't just bulge like this all the time.)

Oh! But check out the cute mani/pedi I gave myself! It's a little girly for my personality - Okay . . . a lot girly -, but for some reason I'm still diggin' it.

They match. :) I don't know why I've been so girly the past few months, but I think it's just a phase. I hope it's just a phase, actually.

Oh! And I finally took a legit duck-face photo of myself, and I'm pretty darn excited about it. It was brought to my attention that I failed to take it while in a bathroom. And I realized a little too late that I'm actually supposed to be lifting my shirt to just below bra level . . . but I think the messy bed in the background sort of makes up for all of that . . . right??

. . . Nailed it.

Lagoon!

Lagoon was awesome. (Of course!) My date fell through, but I still had an excellent time. We arrived at about 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, rode rides aaaalllll day until they closed at 11 p.m. and then bounced back the next day for about 6 more hours.

I was super proud of myself for two reasons. But before I explain that, you have to understand something. When I was about 14, my family and I were all traveling to Florida when our plane hit an air pocket and dropped for about 4 seconds. That doesn't sound like a long time, but in the moment it really was. And it did some damage. Before that, I LOVED rides. ALL rides. But after that experience I could no longer handle rides that dropped at a very steep angle, so I never tried anymore roller coasters that were very extreme and I avoided the Rocket like the plague.

I hadn't been on any rides in about 7 years, so this weekend I decided that I was going to forget all about my past experiences and just go for the "scary" rides. When we first got to the park, we started off easy with rides like the "Tilt-O-Whirl" and the "Scrambler" and then slowly worked our way up to the more extreme rides. We tried the new "Air Race" ride.

As you can see in the picture, it's just a ride that takes you around in circles while spinning you upside down at the same time. It was, of course, AWESOME! So then we started skipping the "kiddy" rides and going straight for the big guns. We pretty much spent most of our time on rides like The Samurai, The Mouse, The Spider, Colossus, and . . .

Wicked. :)

Yep. Straight up and straight down.

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.

But here is my one crazy story from the whole weekend.

We all decided to go on Colossus. (By "all" I mean, me, my mom and dad, Aubrey, Wyatt, Sophie, Janelle and Milo.) There was no line, so we got on right away and we got on right at the very front. Sophie and I actually had the front seats.

Anyway . . . The ride starts climbing and just as it gets to the very top of the roller coaster, right before it starts down it's first drop . . . it stops. Stops. We're all like "uhhhh . . . .". We sit there for about 5 minutes before someone finally climbs her butt to the top to tell us there are "maintenance issues" and we should be finishing our ride at any moment. By now we are all a little freaked out. But we all REALLY start freaking out when we see a car from Wicked start to climb that big hump . . . make it half-way up . . . and then shoot back down into the tunnel. It's NOT supposed to do that. For some reason, witnessing that was like the last straw for our party. We were telling the lady that we would be just as happy to get off the ride as to finish it out. She responded with, "Well, we may have to evacuate you, but it'll have to be one at a time for safety reasons, starting at the back."

Hooray! That means I go last. My whole party goes last. Haha.

Then the lady tells us that what happened over on Wicked is actually really common . . . ??? Ummm . . . yikes.

Finally Colussus started moving again and we rode the ride.
We were all shaken up pretty good after all that went down, so we rode a few more kiddy rides until we could get up the nerve to hit up some more roller coasters. Haha.

So, remember how I said I don't like rides that drop you straight down? Well, here is the part where I tell you why I'm proud of myself: I rode the Rocket. Multiple times. And the experience was amplified by the fact that my first time was well after dark. In fact, it was really incredible and I LOVED it. It's by far my favorite of all the rides. (Followed by Wicked and then The Spider.)

Here are a few random pictures we took this weekend.

First Dates.

I redesigned my blog! (Just in case you didn't notice. Haha.)

Anywaaaaay . . . .

I have had some pretty interesting first dates in my life. In fact, the majority of my first dates have been really unique in some way.

Like the time a boy took me to a picnic that he had set up under a portable cabana on a mountainside. The view was incredible. (And I don't just mean the one overlooking the valley. ;) The super sweet thing was, he knew I prefer to go vegan during the summer, so he brought only fresh fruits and veggies - even for him - to eat. But it gets even cuter, because I had also recently had some trauma to my jaw and couldn't open it very wide, so he cut it up into super tiny pieces - and I mean super tiny - so that I could fit them in my mouth. It eventually turned into a game of trying to throw the tiny pieces into each other's mouths. At one point, a piece of fruit stuck to his lip and that was how he asked for (and got) his first kiss. (We had known each other for a few months. I'm not "easy". Haha.)

Or the time a boy took me to the greenbelt to feed the ducks (even though I'm pretty sure it was already illegal by then). We made "happy trails" with the bread. Well -- mostly he did. He laid on the ground, put tiny chunks of bread in a line starting about 3 feet away from his feet and ending with a piece placed gingerly on his lips. The plan was to get the duck to walk up onto his chest and take the piece from his mouth. He freaked out when the duck got to his crotch. Haha. He also took me to play laser tag, mini golf and then to his family's place for dinner. It was actually really cute that he had me meet his family on our first official date.

Or the time a boy showed up for our first date (and first time meeting) with matching shirts for us that read: "We're on our first date. And it's magical." On the back they said: "I'm with him/her" with an arrow. I was actually into it. Haha. We wore them while walking around in public places, talking. Occasionally he'd ask a stranger to take our picture, just because he liked the questions they'd usually ask us after reading our shirts. I have to admit that it was pretty funny. It may not sound like anything exciting, but the boy was very witty and a great conversationalist. The date was far more "magical" than I could possibly describe here. ;)

Or the time a boy took me on a 200 mile road trip on our first date. (Always assume I knew these boys for a little bit when something crazy like this happened on our first date.)

Or the time a boy and I spent over two weeks together, straight, for our first date and no one murdered anyone. Haha. That was even our first time seeing each other in person. Two weeks, people. Crazy. But it was a great time.

I have plenty more stories, but I'm tired of typing, and it's possible you are tired of reading.

But, for the record . . . This weekend my first date with a boy is going to be at Lagoon. How cool is that? I think it's going to be pretty epic. And in a few weeks I have a first date planned that involves sushi and fake mustaches, sombreros, and ponchos. I'm actually pretty excited for that one, too! That guy is hilarious.

If I Was Emotional . . .

I am so bored today that it nearly has me in tears. For reals.  My tailbone is still just tender enough to hinder any real attempts at a serious workout, so that's ruled out. It's raining out, so going for a walk/run isn't sounding super fun. Usually I'd be down to watch a movie, but it's been so long since I've really done that that I'm having a hard time enjoying it. It's just not fun if there's no boy to cuddle up to while it's all going down, ya know?

Speaking of boys and boredom, I decided to read through some of my old blog posts and I came across this one. And this one If I was more of an emotional person, they very well may have made me cry.

But I'm not an emotional person. (At least, not now that my thyroid is fully back to normal. Haha.)

So I didn't cry. But they did make me miss those days a little bit. Can't lie -- it took me a couple of weeks to get over that boy once it was over. That just never happens to me. I'm still not sure if it was just because I was dealing with some thyroid crap or if it was cause I really cared about him. I mean -- I know I cared about him . . . I dont' know.

Annnyway . . .

I guess I'll go read. Or draw. Or maybe a little of both . . . ??

3 Things.

Yesterday three things happened to me that have not happened to me in either a very long time or ever before.

1 - I went for a bike ride. This falls under the "haven't done in a really long time" category. I know that's sad and pathetic, but it's 100% truth.

2 - I broke my phone. This has never happened to me before. I had this phone for 2 years without it gaining so much as a SCRATCH, and now the screen has two small cracks in it. Lame.

3 - I bruised my tailbone. I'm not sure which category this falls under. I would think the "never before" one, because I'm pretty sure I would remember this much pain if it had ever occurred EVER before in my past.

So, now . . . the story:

Aubs and I decided to go on a bike ride "around the block". I had other ideas in mind that involved going much further than just around the block. And Aubs was a trooper and went along with it. But, it came back to bite me in my @$$ because my phone eventually fell from my pocket.

And it exploded.

The case broke off. The battery popped out. The back popped off, and the phone, itself, flew into the brush at the side of the road. It took us a few seconds to find all the pieces. And much to my dismay, it was damaged.

So when did I bruise my tailbone, you ask?

Very good question.

You see . . . the pedals on the particular bike I chose to ride were a little too low to the ground for me to comfortably reach. So when I tried to remount the bike, I didn't quite make it all the way onto the seat and it rammed me (pretty hard) right in the tailbone. It. Sucked. But the pain didn't actually start until this morning. I was fine and able to still do my 40 minute workout before bed last night. When I tried to do my 20 minute workout this morning, though . . . it wasn't happening. Pretty sure I said some profane words in all my frustration. I hate missing workouts for any other reason than if I'm just being lazy that day. Haha.

So, now I get to hobble on into work and make "sammiches" with this ridiculously painful, bruised tailbone. Wish me luck!

When Bugs Attack!

Okay, lately I have not had the best luck with bugs. It started a couple of days ago, and it was something straight out of the movie Arachnophobia. Seriously - that shower scene you know? Only mine was slightly less sexy due to the fact that it was my foot - not the space between my breasts - that was assaulted by nasty spider flesh. (If I'm being honest - I don't find spider flesh on any part of the body "sexy". Only "nasty".) It was early in the morning, and I had just finished my workout and was getting ready to get in the shower. I started the water, then proceeded to get in once the water was the right temperature. I was wetting my hair when I felt something tickle my foot. I looked down and there was a freaking spider trying to take refuge from the rushing water right there where my foot ends and my toes begin! Gah!! And he was HUGE! (For the record: Anything visible is "huge".)

It literally took every ounce of my self control not to freak out and break something. I literally wanted to punch a face in this moment. But then I faced a dilemma, because I really, really hate to kill anything. Even bugs. Even nasty, huge, spider-bugs. So I had to decide whether I wanted to tough it out with the little guy on my foot long enough to scoop him up with a piece of paper or something and then proceed to take him outside, or whether I wanted to just stick my foot under the water and let him wash down the drain. It was awful. On one hand, I really didn't want to hang out with the little dude any longer, but at the same time, I didn't want to set a date with Karma. All I could worry about was, what if he decides to hang on using his fangs???!!

Fortunately (or maybe not?) I didn't have to make the decision. The little (nasty) guy lost his grip on my foot and headed down the drain, anyway. :-? Gah!!! I have to admit that I was fully relieved that our time together had come to an untimely (for him) end. I wasn't even sad that I couldn't save him. (Please forgive me, Karma! Haha.)

I spent the remainder of my shower on full-ninja-alert. I was prepared for anything, man!

My second horrifying bug story involved a croissant. Anyone who knows me well knows that I can't (and usually don't) eat bread. Especially in the summer. (As it turns out, I'm allergic to something in it and it breaks my skin out something fierce.) Anyway, my family and I were all on our way to the rodeo. I was already in the truck. My little sister came out carrying a croissant which she had torn in half, and offered me one of the pieces. I respectfully declined, but she insisted she couldn't eat the whole thing by herself. I reluctantly took it and took a tiny (and I mean TINY - thank goodness -- you'll see why) nibble from the corner of it. I was rolling the piece of bread around in my mouth debating whether or not to swallow when I saw it. A tiny, very nasty, little bug crawled out of the bread. OUT of the bread. As in, it was INSIDE the bread before I bit it. If I had bitten off any bigger of a piece, that little guy would have been in my mouth!! EEEEEeeeeh! He was seriously gross, too. He basically looked like a little earwig, but without his little pinchers and about a BAZILLION little, long hairs sticking out from all over his body. I tried to get a picture, but by then we were moving, so I could only get this shot:

But here's what I actually saw:

Imagine that face in your face while you're just innocently trying to consume some disgusting bread! To think, something very similar to this very nearly happened:

. . . I'm so glad I dodged that bullet . . .

(Omg, that picture is freaking me out. I don't care if it is fake. That's nasty.)

Annnnyway . . .  I showed Aubrey my bread and my new little friend and we both chucked our croissant pieces out the window. Bug and all. Pretty sure that bug was actually an angel, because I am damn sure I'll never be tempted eat bread again!

:)

Portrait of Joanie and the happenings of my Saturday.

I had a blast yesterday! But before I get to that, I want to share some of the drawings I've done the past few days. The first two are not my favorites, but the third one I'm going to upload I actually really love. :)

Okay, this first one is just another drawing of a horse. But instead of doing it in my normal style, I did it a little less . . . detailed, I guess. I don't really like the way he turned out at all, but that's okay. He only took up about 15 minutes of my time and it was interesting to try something different. He was done in charcoal. I like to post "progression" pictures. So, here ya go:

 Add a little detail:

The finished product:

The second drawing was one I did in honor of the Fourth. And I really can't decide whether I like it or not. This one is also done in charcoal.

At first the plan was to leave it with just the eagle's head, but I decided that I really didn't like it like that, so I added the body:

But neither of those are as impressive as the drawing I'm going to post next. I actually LIKE this drawing, which doesn't happen too often. This one is a portrait (the very first and only portrait I've ever done) of Joanie (Z's dog). It was done in pencil and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. :) I wasn't going to publicly post this picture anywhere because I didn't want Z to see it before I got a chance to give it to him as a surprise gift, but apparently Z and I won't be seeing each other ever again, so . . . I can post it publicly now. ;)

That drawing actually took me a couple of hours to complete, unlike my typical drawings which usually only take me anywhere from 15 - 45 minutes. And, if I'm being honest, this picture looks far better in real life than in this photo.

Okay, so . . . now back to my story of yesterday. It started with us heading to Palisades to go boating. Here are a few pictures from that:

I had a couple of videos I was going to upload, but it's taking too effing long, so I'm going to forget about those. ;)

After boating, we pretty much immediately headed to a rodeo. I can't lie -- rodeos aren't really my scene, but it's kinda fun to go to one every once in a while. :)

It rained on us. Our butts were SOAKED. Aubrey and I went and ordered hot chocolate just so we could hold the warm cups. Haha. But it left that pretty rainbow. :) Actually, at one point it was a full double rainbow. Pretty nifty.

And that was my day yesterday. Not too shabby. I have to prepare myself to go back to work on Tuesday. It's going to BLOW after having an entire week off. Blah.

Oh! I almost forgot! One of the boys that I talk to sent me this picture message this morning. It seriously made my entire day. I couldn't stop laughing. :)

Sharing Some Music . . .

Okay, so . . . maybe my Spotify playlist wasn't a success? For some it is and for others it isn't?? I really have no idea. If you couldn't hear the playlist, it's really a shame. There are some excellent songs on there. I'll post some links to some of my favorite songs from the playlist.

"Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons

"Hummingbird" by Alex Clare

"The Lion, the Beat, the Beast" by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

"Dirty Paws" by Of Monsters and Men

"Wait so Long" by Trampled by Turtles

"Wolf & I" by Oh Land

"Wagon Wheel" by Old Crow Medicine Show

"Stone in My Heart" by Grafitti6

"Follow Me Down" by Unkle (Explicit video)

"Stars" by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

"The General" by Dispatch


"Quesadilla" by Walk the Moon


"Hang Me Up To Dry" by Cold War Kids

Those are a few of the songs from my playlist that I really, really like. And then here are a few songs that I like (these aren't from my Montana playlist).

"On Top of the World" by Imagine Dragons (one of my very most favorite songs)

"Bullseye" by Aly and Aj

"Adelaide" by Meg Myers

"Remember My Name" by Yuna

"Lights" by Ellie Goulding

"Equestrian" by U.S. Royalty

There. That should give you plenty to look at. :) Enjoy!

"Roadtrip to Montana" Playlist.

Spotify is the bomb-diggy. If you don't have it, you need it. I'm going to try and share my "Roadtrip to Montana" playlist with you on here. It may or may not let me do it . . .

Success!!

The 4th's Festivities.

I had a truly enjoyable 4th this year. For me, it all started on the 30th and doesn't end until after this weekend. My sister and I explored all the happenings at Huntsman's Springs on Saturday the 30th and my entire family attended the spectacular fireworks display.

That is a video clip of the finale at the fireworks. The whole display was simply amazing.

Then, on the actual 4th of July, we attended the parade (my sister was in it on the Drill Team float), then we watched her perform at the park. (I was going to upload the video I took of that performance, but I can't get the camera to work, so I guess I won't. Haha.

After that we all headed over to Music in the Hole in Jackson, which was amazing.

That was my first time ever attending, but I'd gladly do it again. :)

Trampoline Adventure!

My little sisters and I are going to attempt to sleep on the trampoline tonight. We attempted last night, too . . . Well . . . I "attempted". My sisters actually succeeded. I had to come in around 2:30 because I was FREEZING! (Being a vegan doesn't do wonders for helping to heat the body. I'm nearly always cold.) My sisters both managed to stay plenty warm (probably thanks to the pork chops they ate for dinner, haha) and they stayed out there all night. I spent the night on the couch, still wearing my hooded sweatshirt and "toastie socks".

Have you guys seen the moon tonight, though? It's going to kind of suck. I can't really sleep with a night light, and this definitely counts!

Pretty, but BRIGHT!

My sister prank called my other sister tonight. It was pretty amusing. I'll share it. :)

Hopefully that works . . .

Young the Giant

I have a new favorite song. Seriously, it is awesome. In fact . . . every song by these guys rocks! It's possible you've heard this song. Or maybe their song "Cough Syrup". If you happened to NOT have heard of Young the Giant yet, google them. Spotify them. Whatever. Just check them out. <3

	Young The Giant - My Body .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

 

	Young The Giant - Cough Syrup .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine