2010 in a nutshell!

Wow. I literally seems like yesterday that I was writing my blog about "2009 in a nutshell". I know I probably say this every year but WOW. This year went by really fast. So many BIG things happened in my life that i'm wondering if I even payed attention to the little things in life...It's sad to admit but although a lot of wonderful things happened this year, I don't think I lived up to my full potential in life. I think this is the first year(and probably not the last) that I wish I could kind of turn back the clock and re-do some things.

But I want to be a positive blog so I am going to tell you the Top 5 things that happened to the Ortiz' in 2010!


1. Of course, we bought a house! This was a BIG step for us! But it was probably one of the best things we could have done! I love it!





2. I graduated with my bachelors degree at the University of Utah! Woot!

3. We went on our wonderful trip to Seattle to meet George's Grandma and Grandpa!

4. A big this that happened early in 2010 was that my dad was told he most likely had Liver Cancer. All year we were preparing ourselves for the worst news...because it took them about 6 months to find out. Well, in the beginning of November, I got the best news that my dad did NOT have cancer but just a banine sist on his liver. So, my dad can continue to be the wonderful dad he is!! Praise God.

5. In early June I started my new job trainer at my work! This was a big thing since I was graduating...I didn't really know what I would do, when suddenly this opportunity came at the perfect time... Praise God again.

Here are some other things that happened as well...

• We celebrated our first anniversary
• we went to see Lion King live
• George's business really took off
• we went to Lava Hot Springs
• George spoke at Lakeside for the first time
• I am getting WAAY better at guitar...someday going to be able to lead worship by myself!
• I learned how to make ceramic pots
• I got addicted to McDonalds Sweet Tea
• We gave blood for the first time
• I got to really see my cousins Lindsey and Kim for the first time since I was a little girl
• George went to the Zoo for the first time
• I bought an ipad
• We went to the Rodeo for the first time
• We layed down tile in our house
• We made so many new friends! Some new friends were really old friends that became good friends again!
• We made Candy Apples for the first time ever!
• My cousin GraciAnna got married!
• My sister moved to Virgina!

That's all I can think of that happened....but i'm sure a million other things happened too...

Anyways, I'm glad 2010 is over....and I am SOOO excited for 2011!

The 4th!

George and I woke up to an epiphany today! This is our 4th Thanksgiving together! I know that doesn't seem like anything spectacular...but WOW! We have been together for over 4 years now.

This is an extra special Thanksgiving because its our first thanksgiving being home owners!

After a miserable two weeks of being unsure when we are getting our home(which has caused me such stress, i have a rib that popped out of place from my spine! yikes!), we FINALLY got our keys yesterday. Once we got them, we went there and the first thing we did is.... Change all the light and outlet covers! I know weird.

But we are home owners!

Here are a few pictures of our lovely home!

This is our little tint kitchen!

This is our front room. I LOVE the little loft on the top floor...

This is the one we choose!

I needs some fixin' it is great!

I'm not that uninteresting....PART II(tangent)

So I left off with me finally making it to George's house late at night. Before I can continue this story I think I need to explain how George and I met...Because I have never blogged about it so I think this is a good time for a little curve ball in this story.

June 2006:

I had just got my first real job outside of high school. It was the Layton Barnes and Noble. Back then, I knew nothing about books...so don't ask me why I even applied at Barnes and Noble, but there I was. By the end of the summer, I had been promoted to the cash lead and I felt on top of the world. One day I was working at the info desk and come to find out I am working with my arch nemesis that day. George. The pretentious, mysterious weirdo. George and I had never really talked before but I knew for some reason I didn't like him. Or maybe it was that I got the vibe from him that he didn't like me...I don't know. Either way, we didn't like each other. We were sitting at the info desk and for the first time EVER he spoke to me. This is what he said:

George: "You know, sometimes when I am here at work, I pretend everyone here are Star Wars characters"

Ha. Ok. So not only is he pretentious and mysterious but a COMPLETE nerd. I just laughed and looked at him weird. (To this day I make fun of him about this)

From that moment on, this George person intrigued me. He was so... interesting. After working with him a little longer, I learned he was engaged to a girl I grew up with(which was kind of weird). We had very few interactions because I still got the vibe that he didn't like me. I remember specifically during Christmastime, I was singing at this church in Ogden for the Weber State Choir and I saw George there. The first thing that came out of my mouth was, "What are YOU doing here?" He replied "Brooke wanted to come". For a moment, I remember feeling a little disappointed because I thought maybe...he came to see me. But then I remembered he didn't like me and he was engaged so that couldn't have possibly been the case.

After Christmas, I moved to Salt Lake so George and I no longer worked together. But because all of my good friends still worked at the Barnes and Noble in Layton, I would still get together with them regularly. Well, one night around the beginning of February, all of us were going to go to Denny's. When I got to Denny's... George was there. And again, the first thing that came to my mind was... you guessed it... "What are YOU doing here?" George never hung out with the Barnes crowd because he was always with Brooke. He didn't really explain what happened but I got the impression that they broke up. And for the first time, I really felt for the kid. That night, our co-worker Dan, invited us all to go to his church the following day. I had never really been to a christian church so I thought, what the heck. And went.

The only other person who ended up going was... you guessed it again. George. It's like I couldn't get rid of him! hehe. That day, for the first time, I got to know the real George. Not the Star Wars character dreamer George. Or the "I love Brooke" George. Or the "I didn't have time to dry my hair so I stuck my head out of my car window" George. But this kind, inspiring, and sadly heartbroken man. He told me about what happened between him and Brooke. She cheated on George with my ex-boyfriends best friend. So, I knew the guy...well. For some reason, this weird and unfortunate connection between us really brought us together. We found comfort in one another.

From that day on, we were inseparable. We spoke just about everyday, He came up to Salt Lake and visited me. We even went on an epic trip to Zion(For another blog). In 2 short months, he had become my dear friend. I never thought of George much more than a friend only because both of us were pre-occupied with our own love lives. I was chasing dreamily after a guy and George didn't know if he could ever love or trust anyone again from what he had been through. But we were there for each other, and I think above all, that was what we needed.

Until one day in early April, I hear that George was in the hospital. He broke both of his feet.

From then on, I didn't get to speak to him much. I didn't know why, but he wouldn't answer my calls or texts... It's like...he fell off the face of the Earth. Then I find out, he's moving home to Vegas. He needs surgery and he is going to live with his mom. I was truly heartbroken. I felt as though in a few short months, I had gained a best friend and lost one. One moment he was there, and the next, gone. Without even saying goodbye.

Eventually he began to write me emails from Vegas. We wrote back and forth to each other for a few months. Pouring our troubles and trials of life to each other. One day, we concluded that I was going to drive down to Vegas to visit him. I needed my dear friend George.

So, I decided to drive to Vegas....and brought a friend.

And that is the end of Part II(tangent)

Buying a home.

Ugh.

George and I are in the process of buying a home.

This is going to be my testimony right here right now that it is a pain in the TOOCHIE!!!

But we have 3 we love. All three homes we love some things about them and some things we don't love so much.

Home #1 : Clinton

Built in 2002. BEAUTIFUL neighborhood. Smallest house in the neighborhood. LOVE the outside. Beautiful good sized lawn and backyard. Weird layout of the house. Needs all new paint and carpet. Kind of cramped(Seriously considering knocking a wall out and putting a window). All one level. BUT it has....don don don! A walk in closet!! My dream! Large kitchen.

HOME #2: Clearfield

Built 1984. No Garage. Not so nice neighborhood(But not bad), Cute exterior. LARGE backyard. Completely remodeled inside...it's AMAZING! comes with BRAND-NEW stainless steel appliances. This is a ready to move in-er. We probably would have a hard time re-selling it because of the neighborhood though...

HOME #3: Layton

Built 1986. Pretty nice neighborhood. Ok exterior. New carpet, new paint. LOVE the layout of the house! Love the backyard! SMALL kitchen... comes with appliances(not stainless steel though). Needs new light fixtures.

Oh my goodness. I have no idea what to do. I would be happy with any of them.

How will I decide?!

I guess i'm not that un-interesting...PART 1

A little while ago, we began our monthly staff meeting having to tell something interesting about ourselves. I couldn't really think of anything. The first to go was my Co-worker Linda(you know who you are) who had a crazy story of her lying about her age to date someone 7 years older then her. It was pretty intense. Then Steve,my other co-worker went and told about how he was possibly abducted when he was little. Then others went on to tell about their adventures dating the guitarist from Incubus and getting to cook for George Bush...my life seemed so...LAME!

I had nothing. The coolest thing I had to show was that I can make a three-leaf clover out of my tongue.

Since than I have really been wondering why in my past 22 years of life, I haven't had anything crazy happen in my life. Have I lived my life in some odd bubble? Have I not been adventurous?

I came up with a conclusion. Maybe I haven't dated a rock star or gotten abducted. But my life has certainly been an adventure! The year of 2007 in particular stands out to me. And now that I look back, I don't know why I didn't share these stories...because these events shaped my life.

REWIND!

In the early summer of 2007, I was working at The Buckle in the Gateway. One day, a co-worker and I were eating lunch outside when this guy in his early 20's came up to us. The first thing I noticed was that he was dressed kind of strange...but as soon as he opened his mouth, I understood. He said, "Excuse me, I have 2 tickets to the Jazz playoff games tonight...and I was wondering if either of you would like to go with me" in an elequent British(or so I thought) voice. At this point, we just stared at him. We look at each other. My co-worker thinking this is a huge joke. Me on the other hand, found it intriguing! My co-worker says without too much hesitation; "Sorry, I can't, I have to work tonight." But being the naive 18 year old I was, I was determained to go with this guy.

Somehow I convinced my boss to let me go to the Jazz game with some complete stranger. To this day, I don't know who was more retarded. But I went. It was awesome! I had never been to a Jazz game before(Believe it or not) and I had never done anything so stupid and gutsy in my life. But Scott(who is Australian) was a very nice guy. He was 21 and was touring America following the NBA playoffs. We had a lot of fun getting to know each other. I mostly remember making fun of him and his accent when he said "Go Jahzz!". We had so much fun he asked if I would go to the next game with him. Of course I said yes! (How often do you get to go to Jazz Playoffs for free!? And besides, I wasn't dating anyone at the time...so I didn't feel too bad). So we went to the following Jazz game.

It doesn't end there.

After the game, I was supposed to go to a party at my friends house. So I asked Scott if he would like to go and meet some of my friends. He came with me and we spent the night laughing about ridiculous things both Americans and Australians say! Sometime during that night he was telling us his next stop was Vegas and that he was going to fly there in the next few days.

This is one of those moments when you look back and think... "Could I have possibly been any stupider?!"

I said to Scott, "Hey! I am actually driving down to Vegas this weekend to visit my friend(George)! Why don't you just come with me and save some money!"

Scott was a little reluctant but thought "Hey, she looks pretty harmless" and took the offer. While the rest of my friends had their mouth open thinking I have completely lost my marbles.

So that weekend, I picked Scott up from his hotel and we headed down to Vegas. Because I knew my mom would NOT have been ok with this, I decided not to tell her and she thought I was driving by myself(Which was still not her ideal situation. But in my mind it was better for her to think I was driving alone than with a complete stranger from half way around the world.)

But of course my friends were pretty worried about me and told me to text them every hour to make sure he didn't rape or kill me. So I did.......Until....I accidently left my phone at a gas station in Cedar City. Thats when all hell broke loose.

My mom was frantic, my friends thought I was dead on the side of the road. I had no way of getting a hold of anyone(including George because I didn't know where he was in Vegas) THAN as if nothing else could have gone wrong, I ran into one of those orange cones and knocked off my side view mirror on my car.

By this time, I think Scott was thinking it would have been easier to just fly. But we had some fun going down. We stopped in Zion so he could see the beautiful park! And he also went the most famous thing in America.... Wal-Mart!! haha!

Finally somehow we made it to Vegas. I got Scott to his room in the Balagio where I somehow contacted George I think through MySpace and found out where he lived. I said good-bye to my friend Scott who I got to know pretty well in a week. And we decided this was an awesome story that shouldn't end somehow! But that was about all we decided! Than I left.

That night around 1 I finally found George's house and...George. : )

And that is the end of Part 1! Hehe!

OK, this is like the worst picture of me...I was wearing a 2XL shirt... ew.

A Kuna Matata!

Oh man I haven't blogged much lately because not a whole lot has happened(Seriously)! I did just celebrate my birthday! Which was fun!

George and I went to see Lion King then stayed in the Swiss Family Robinson room at the Anniversary Inn. It was one AMAZING night!

Tee Hee! We signed our nicknames underneath the bed. (we are so bad!) hehe So if you ever go into the Swiss Family Robinson room on 500 S. look for our sigs!!

George being a nerdy-mc-nerdyton!

Our awesome room!! Which we quickly made messy some how!

Both of us look slightly miserable...but for just cause! I was upset because George had a migraine and was miserable and I was mad he was not going to enjoy our awesome night we had planned! I also locked my keys in my car(AGAIN) which was kind of upsetting. Luckily I have the best Step-Dad ever who drove all the way down to Salt Lake to bring my spare key to me! But other than that, our evening out was awesome! I would HIGHLY recommend seeing Lion King if you can spare the dough! (We obviously did not buy the tickets...)

Other than that, it's been about the same old for George and Becky Jo. We might be buying a home soon!! But other than that, we are kind of going through the motions!

I guess the only thing really different in my life now is the lack of school. After 16 full years of school, I am finally done. This is the first fall I have not gone back to school since I was 6. I never thought i'd say this but I really miss it. Especially with this being the first day of school, I feel weird not signing up for classes and walking around campus and buying books(I know...weird). I'm just at a new stage of life...I need to embrace it!! I guess.

These mashed potatoes are so creamy!

Today George and I watched one of the best movies ever!

A few months ago, I went into my bosses office and set something down on his desk and left. I heard him laugh and he said "TOAD"(which is what he called me) and I came marching back to his office with a face of "You called me?" and he just laughed. He always said I reminded him of someone and at that moment, he remembered who it was. He thinks I am just like Sandra Bullock in this movie. And that moment I had with my boss was just like the moment Sandra Bollock had with her boss when she set her wedding invitation on his desk.

Now that I have watched it again, I couldn't help but laugh! I am also kind of offended he thinks so. She's almost socially awkward in this movie!

Me? Socially awkward? Never.....