Just keeps getting better and better

Remember this blog post? Well good news everyone (or maybe it's just good news to me)...a new Kia commercial just came out and I've already watched it too many times tonight and died laughing as Michelle so patiently waits for it to be over and does the courtesy laugh to be a nice sister/friend. Call me crazy but these videos make a tough week all mostly better, check it out at least :)

College is Worthless. Don't Do It.

I intentionally slept through the first hour of church since it's at 9am and the first hour is Relief Society, which I absolutely can't stand. I have not a doubt in my mind that the Gospel is true and perfect, my friends, but oh my my the people (including myself) certainly are not. And some of those women drive me crazy. Anyway, I didn't reset my alarm because I didn't think I needed to. Apparently I did need to, because I slept in way too late. Which sucks because as much as I publicly exaggerate my complaints about the few extreme crazy girls and guys in my church, that doesn't mean I don't need me some good worship time every Sunday. Because I really really do. Now more than ever, I think.

I'm sick and tired of applying to jobs every single week, and only getting rejection emails every single week. I even had an employer get ahold of my resume and personally request that I officially apply to the job. This job had nothing to do with what I studied, and would have required a move to Wisconsin which I was totally ok with. But it was a job that was not in the food industry, and something that would be worth my while on a resume. So I officially sent in the exact same resume that prompted the recruitment in the first place, and a week later I received a rejection email. Really, it's not the fact that I didn't get this particular job that was so upsetting for me. It's the fact that it was the SAME resume that prompted them to contact me in the first place. So ummm WHAT????

So. I'm done. I'm not applying to jobs anymore for some time. I emotionally can't handle the let-down anymore. For the past couple of years I sort of hardened up and became incapable of crying over anything (kind of like Cameron Diaz in that really stupid waste of 2 hours of your time movie "The Holiday). But lately, I'm overwhelmingly emotional and the littlest things make me cry. When a guy is a douchebag to Mary, it makes me cry. She didn't cry. I did. What the heck?? I really think it's the emotional rollarcoaster that job-searching has put me through. In December, it'll have been a year since I graduated college. Which was apparently worthless, a waste of time, and put me debt that I'm scared I'll never be able to crawl out of. It's not even that much, especially compared to other students from other colleges. But with a job that earns as little as do, it's all I can to do to survive.

The only thing my college degree was apparently good for was new friends,amazing memories, and a bit of awesome traveling.

But let's face it. I didn't need a college degree to acquire such experiences. That stupid piece of paper is worthless. Absolutely worthless. I'm so angry. I want to let out a blood-curdling scream every single time I put on my stupid work uniform that makes me look like an ugly little man.

I was really optimistic for a long time. But it's too hard to stay positive when it's inevitable that this isn't going to change.

Foods and haircuts and hikes...oh my!

(We really struggled with this title, can you tell?)

So we just decided we need to dump a bunch random happenings as of late onto this blog post so enjoy the whirlwind of thoughts :)

1) About a month ago we went to an Italian restaurant here in Salt Lake called Buca di Beppo  and loved it. We were impressed by our tour of the restaurant before being sat and the delicious food, each dish designed to serve 3-6 people. Of course we got a dish and a dessert and took care of business no problem. Happy as can be:

Until...we walked out of the restaurant. IMMEDIATELY after stepping out the doors, smiling and talking about how much we loved that place, my stomach rolled quite forcefully and I bent over begging Michelle to start the car and get me home ASAP. Her instructions were to treat me like a pregnant lady going into labor to encourage quick arrival into our apt complex. I had several more painful moments on the drive home but like the good sister she is, she took my plea seriously as she swerved in and out of cars trying to get me home. By the time we were somewhat close to the apt complex I had my apt key out and ready to unlock the door. When she pulled into the complex I figured that was close enough and opened the car door (yes, as it was still moving) and stumbled out making a run for it. I can only imagine how crazy I must have looked to onlookers but I could have cared less at that moment. 

Long story short we spent the rest of the evening inside taking care of sick Mary. Michelle deserved an award that week since the night before we stayed home from a concert due to one of the worst migraines I have ever had. By Saturday though, she begged me to eat carefully and get plenty of rest because we WERE going to go out that night, haha. (In that restaurant's defense, it happened so fast it's likely I ate something else to give me food poisoning but still, my stomach tightens up a bit everytime we drive by it :) )

2) As most of you probably already know, I decided to chop my hair a couple weeks ago after like 7 years of it being quite long. Michelle said people cut their hair when they start working full time or when they become mommys so I figured I was allowed to as I fell into one of those categories. I'm not sure how many inches I lost but enough to shock a person, I'm thinking it was close to 10 inches. No I didn't donate it, I'm a bad person. I actually tried but it wouldn't work the way we were cutting it so no what do ya do? Here's the before and after:

The comb which is 7 inches gives an idea of how much hair I cut

No longer twins 

Previous matching haircuts that caused us to get confused for twins

Michelle got hers cut too and I had mine highlighted so we spent quite a bit of time in there and decided taking goofy pics while there was a must, enjoy:

3) At the risk of talking too much about food, we went to another new place to us up here that was amazing called Cafe Trang. It has Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai styles of food and the quality and presentation is impressive not to mention you may be as lucky as we were to have the server named Kong who will take such good care of you. Especially if you're sitting with his new crush, Michelle. (He asked for her name tag, which we're assuming means her name...it was cute). Anyways, check it out if you're up here and craving this type of food! Here's pictures of our yummy food:

Sweet and Sour Pork

Some Eggplant and Pork dish

4) One thing Michelle and I have really gotten into up here is the hiking during the summers. We want to start biking and have worked at renting the equipment so we can go already but it's just been difficult so we'll keep working on it. On Fourth of July weekend we went to Donut Falls up in Big Cottonwood Canyon and LOVED the scenery and peacefulness of the drive and hike. Too bad we never made it to the falls since didn't cross over the river and were told you can't see them anymore. (I later went with someone else and actually saw them and realized how close we were and how amazing it looked...whoops, better luck next time Michelle.)

Apparently I was scared before I even started for some reason

Raging water from our high water level this year

hahahaha

We bought matching hiking shoes, naturally

I also went hiking with my friends Janae and Laura over Pioneer Day weekend and saw another amazing waterfall. I learned that I am indeed a Curtis after seeing how easily I sweat but luckily I had a sweat friend who would not be ashamed to walk next to me as she has the same blessed body. The hike was intense but so worth it. Enjoy the pics and be jealous:)

Beginning of the hike...Utah is BEAUTIFUL

Yep, eww sick is the correct reaction to have but at least I didn't make salt like I did last summer at Six Flags, see below:

Be impressed

Gorgeous waterfall, favorite landmark ever

I was tired after the hike so Janae was nice enough to pull up close  to my apt to reduce walking distance

5) I feel like I am of average intelligence but when it comes to fixing things or opening things, setting things up etc I get quite frustrated and need help. Poor Michelle has to deal with me and my lack of common sense and help me at times like this, when I couldn't get the shower curtain set up without getting worked up. The best part was that she climbed into my shower behind the other curtain to do so as I got ready for bed. She was back there talking with me as she fixed it up so this is what I saw through the mirror and for some reason it cracked me up, simple things in life that make me smile/laugh:

followed by this (after laughing at her)

Christmas in August

We have become really good at making to do lists throughout the week and then, following our routine of swimming laps and laying out, running ourselves ragged on Saturdays, stopping by each location to check the items off our list...just as any young single adult does on a Saturday evening/night. Yeah I know, we're not normal. Needless to say, this activity makes me a little nervous about being a mom one day...how do y'all get it all done???

Anyways, the one problem is that there are certain dangerous locations for us that cause us to walk away from the store with more than what was on our list. Exhibit A: Bed Bath and Beyond was on our list yesterday...we needed to get a special cheese grater for Michelle and curtains for me. We ended up in Target (yes you read that right, Target...not important) and walked out of there with this pile:

Doesn't this picture resemble those pictures you take of your gifts that you got for Christmas that year?

Now the majority of these things we needed at some point in time and most being things I've been searching for for years so I don't feel too terrible. It was just so funny to us as we were wabbling out of Target carrying this load of items in our hands, up to our chins, bearly able to see each other in our peripheral vision (because of course we neglected to grab a cart knowing we were only getting a cheese grater and curtains... neither of which as you'll notice happen to be included in our purchases that day.)

This isn't the first time this has happened to us either...a couple weeks ago at Target we went for a shoe caddy and a lamp and walked out with shower curtains, sponges, a living room clock, exercise clothes, etc...at least that time we also walked out with the items that originally brought us into that store. And last night we went for hair products at the JCPenny Salon and I walked out with socks in addition to the hair products, as well as donating to some after school program. (That makes it all better right?)

You may think we're irresponsible but look like I said, we needed all most of those things and we got great deals, thanks to nice sales and Michelle's recent obsession with joining the rest of our awesome family in couponing! I've been so impressed with her dedication but sometimes it gets scary as it tends to make a little mess, overwhelm her and cause her to twist her body weird and make funny faces, note the evidence:

Favorite part of my Saturday adventures though is when Michelle tells me on the way home (5 hours later) how much she laughs when she's with me, to where her mouth hurts...you guys are really missing out I'm telling you, spend a Saturday adventure with us and you'll be concerned wishing you could be one of the 'Curtis Girls'. ANYWAYS...yes one day we'll be better and more responsible but you have to admit we're on our way so cut us some slack. :) Maybe next week we'll do better at sticking to the list...miracles do still happen right?

Rule #1. Or Actually #56,748

I like my men tall, and I like them lean. On the verge of skinny. 

I have very strange taste in guys, I'm aware. And that's only the beginning.

However, the tall part is not so much strange.

It is, however, kind of the reason I think I'll die alone...because it seems to be a requirement that all Mormon guys not grow an inch taller than like 4 feet. 

Ok, exaggeration. 

By the way, did you know that "exaggeration" is a really hard word to spell? I didn't - until just now. Two g's?? Seriously??

And there's no hope for the future generations of Mormon guys, because they'll eventually find a Mormon girl who isn't all that tall either, and who doesn't care that she'll never get to wear heals ever again cause all she wants is to get married and have babies and obsess over these "eat only organic food or die" and "don't trust any medical professionals, trust only what you read on the internet" trend. Don't even get me started on that. I think I'll leave that post to Mary, our M.S., R.D., C.D. over here. Anyway, doesn't matter if this girl and her midget boyfriend are a terrible match, because he's got the sperm. Sperm that will only create more midgets. 

And so the cycle continues. I almost hope I don't have girls (assuming I find someone with whom to procreate), so I don't have to sit them down and be like,

"Look, you're going to be taller than every LDS man you meet. Even though you're only 5'5" (my for realsies height, fyi...and yet somehow I still have issues with finding guys taller than me). So unless you're ok with picking him up for your kisses, you're going to die alone." 

On the other had, all I have to say to my sons: 

"Serve a mission, and you're golden. Even if you're an absolute scumbag. And even though you're short. Many LDS girls are really not so selective in finding their mate, and all you have to do is complete a mission, even if you're actually counter-productive out there. Come back, pretend to be a worthy priesthood holder, and quote a scripture here and there....and those chicks will just fall right into your lap, homeboy." 

That's how it seems sometimes. Often times. Most times. 

Disclaimer, I think pretty much most of my LDS lady friends haven't made that mistake. But that's because I don't stay friends with stupid people. I'm just speaking generally of what I'm pretty sure at the very least all of my fellow non-stupid BYU friends have observed.

Another disclaimer: Marrying a short guy doesn't necessarily mean desperation. I suppose it could be love. I'm just generalizing a lot here in the post. Actually always. I hope that's obvious.

Yet Another Disclaimer: These seemingly non-existent Mormon fellas who, in fact, ARE taller than me actually do indeed exist! But they're already hitched. Or they are already aware that they are one of the last few living members of an endangered species, and they act like it. As in, they are so arrogant that their physical attraction cancels out with their snottiness and we are back to square one.

Anyway, short guys breed and make more short guy babies that turn into short guy men. Vicious circle.

I'm not even asking that the guy be a giant. Just taller than me, enough so I can wear my heels and feel pretty. Because I always feel prettiest when wearing my heels. 

I'm also not asking for bulging biceps. In fact, that's a deal breaker. If you're one of those guys who is always trying gain muscle mass...forget it. It's ugly, first of all. And second, it's just going to turn into fat a few years down the road when you stop working out anyway. So just stay fit, keep your heart healthy with regular exercise, but don't be a muscle man. 

And don't be my height or shorter than me. 

Is that just so much to ask???

Gold's Gym Saga: Part II

It turns out I mayyyy have over-reacted. 

Michelle??? 

Noooooo but that's so unlike her..... ;-)

So another reason why I was so upset about this whole dealy-o is that my old contract didn't even run out until August 25, and the guy who helped me resign didn't say:

 "Oh hey, you have a month left on your old contract. How about either you come back in a month and do this so that you don't get jipped (sp?) a month, or I just write down on your new contract that it also doesn't start until August 25, so that your new contract doesn't end till then come 2 years, as opposed to ending on August 1 in 2 years." I knew it ended in August, I just thought it was like the first week of August or something, which is why I was in such a rush to renew. WRONG. 

Following me? Just read that last confusing paragraph over and over again until it makes sense to you. 

So. On Tuesday I went to both body pump and kickboxing. I usually only choose one of the two classes, but I felt compelled to do both to prevent turning into a complete fat lard, instead of the part fat lard that I already am on my way to becoming if I don't stop eating eggos. 

(Warning: Tangent) 

Oh that's right, I bought a box of 24 eggos on Saturday. It's Wednesday. Guess how many are left? SEVEN. Maybe even six. I can't remember. Either way. 

THAT'S TOO MANY EGGOS AND SYRUP HANGIN OUT IN MY TUMMY. 

Remember how I'm not allowed to eat honey roasted peanuts anymore? Or peanut butter eggs, the kind that come out around Easter? Well I'm thinkin I may have to add Eggos to this list... :-(

I also just want to say that I chose to do both classes on Tuesday because if you will also recall from my previous post, I didn't get to participate in my favorite boot camp class, because oh that's right it was up and canceled out of nowhere. Forever. After I had already made that miserable drive. So I had to make up for calories that I over-consumed thinking I would hopefully perhaps burn some off. Even then, I work out for an hour and a half on Mondays, and one hour on Tuesdays, that's two and a half hours. I only got two hours on Tuesday, so I was still short half an hour. Uh. Not that doubling up on one day is the same as spreading it out...but still.

Back to the story...

So on Tuesday after my classes were over, I went up to the front desk. I told them my dilemma of wanting to cancel my current contract, since it had been less than 3 days since I signed (the legal amount of time to cancel without penalty) but still honor my old contract since that technically didn't expire till August 25.

I expected the worst. I expected to have their top salesman ushered over to try to convince me with his UGLY bulging muscles (<-- I just got inspiration for my next blog post) that Gold's is the place I need to be! And that even though I was legally able to cancel my contract, somehow there would be a $500,00 fee I'd have to pay...that I wouldn't be able to use my old contract...etc...

Instead, the front desk lady just gave me the card to call the corporate office down in Orem, and said I had till Wednesday to cancel my current contract, no fee, and that my old contract would certainly be honored.

Confused. I was so confused. I was prepared to yell and punch people and everything. A little disappointed actually. (joking...mostly).

I called corporate this morning, also a pleasant interaction. I just mailed my contract down, and since the postmarked date is within the legal time-frame, it'll be canceled!

This isn't to say that I won't still renew my contract come August 25. Yes, I know. Even after all this drama. The fact of the matter is, I need a gym. I'm going to get a free 7-day pass from 24-hr Fitness next week to try them out, and see how their classes compare. I also have a boot camp and abs groupon for this place called Snap Fitness. And me and Mary are going to cash in on our groupons the week after the 24-hr trial is over. We'll see how that turns out. If I like it, a 12-month membership is $20/month, prepaid. $25/month, if not prepaid. But I would prepay. It's not a big gym, so if there's not a pool, I'm pretty sure I won't want it. Also, classes might not actually be included in the membership of that place. Which obviously is a problem for me.

So, I'm going to check out this other so-called boot camp class at the West Jordan Gold's this coming Monday, to see if it can replace the other one that was canceled (even though it's further away, grrr). If it turns out I think 24-hr is equally as good or worse than Gold's, I'll just stick with Gold's - not worth the hassle. But if it's even slightly more enjoyable, you better bet your bottom dollar I'm switching. Unless this Snap Fitness place trumps them all, which, for my needs, I kinda doubt will happen. 

So I have a few weeks to make a decision. I just need a week at 24, a weeks worth at Snap Fitness, and a week to pray about it <-- kidding, for those who think I'm that kind of Mormon that feels the need to tell everybody how awesome and spiritual I am, in hopes of converting some random struggling soul, but actually is so obnoxious it completely turns off that random "struggling" soul.

I'm sure you'll all be on the edge of your seats anticipating the outcome of my search for a worthy companion gym!

P.S. for the record, since I'm sure I offended you all with that Mormon comment. Nothing wrong with spiritual-type posts and comments. But I hope you all know what I'm talking about. The loud, in-your-face, "I'm doing this so I can be promoted to Relief Society President because I had a fake vision about it and also because I think that will help me find my husband because everyone will see how awesome I am and not realize how fake I actually am" kind of person. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then that's either because you're one of my friends is who is not a member of the LDS church....or for the rest of you that would be because I am indeed talking about you. And then you can go ahead and be offended. But that's ok, because if that is  you, then you've probably already offended me first.

Gold's Gym A-holes

Let me tell you a story about the corrupt company that goes by the name of Gold's Gym.

But first, let me give you some background as to why I joined this gym in the first place:

When I left for my trip to Jordan in 2009, I weighed somewhere between 125 and 128 lbs, and was in decent shape. Fast forward to the end of my trip....I'm in Israel, staying at the BYU Jerusalem Center, just after the Jerusalem Center students left because the semester was over. It was the end of my stay in Israel and I had just packed up. There was a scale outside my room that I used to weigh my luggage. I also used to it weigh myself one day, and when I saw the number 143 on there, I had a miniature heart attack. I actually thought it was wrong. I knew I had gained weight, but no way could I have gained around 15 lbs in 4 months.... Either way I knew I needed to whip myself back into shape as soon as I got back into the states. 

Before I move on, I feel the need to defend myself and my rapid weight gain. Exercise was not easy for me in the Middle East. I hate running, so that was out. And the local gyms had "girls time" (recall that I was living in a country where men and women are more or less segregated at times) and the "girls times" were always so inconvenient, so I opted not to get a gym pass. We did a lot of outdoorsy things, so I got some exercise through hiking and whatnot. But that period of time was the most inactive of my life. Also, we went to Egypt first, so that was my first exposure to Middle East food, and I haaaated it. I thought I was going to come back home skin and bones because I thought I was going to starve because the food was so gross. The very first of the food I consumed in Jordan after the infamous awful "Ferry Day" (I don't want to talk about it, it was that miserable), on the other hand, was DIVINE. After about 8-9 hours on this stupid ship that was not our original ship and was also supposed to be like a 4 hour trip (that would be because we sat on the ship for 4 hours and then learned that we HADN'T EVEN LEFT YET) we were treated to a lovely dinner, and I instantly knew that I instead of coming home skin and bones, I was going to have the opposite problem. I would post before and after pictures, but the difference is best seen in a before picture of me in a bathing suit and an after picture of me of pretty much any of my pictures in Israel. Not my most photogenic days.... Anyway, I feel uncomfortable putting myself on a before and after display like that, so if you're that curious, go Facebook stalk me. 

Well I got back to Provo around 2 or 3 AM, and got up early to check into my room in my apt. That day I headed straight to Gold's and signed a contract. Just to clarify, that would be less than 24 hours of being in the States. I was that desperate. Checked the scale, sure enough the scale in Jerusalem was correct. Eventually, I made my way back down to my normal weight and here we are, 2 years later. 

A little more background, but about what happened to the Gold's on 9th E. in Provo:

This didn't affect me, because I had already moved up to Salt Lake. But the gym on 9th had PHENOMENAL classes. For spin classes, we had Mike who had a rockin body (too much muscles for my preference, though) but was a total airhead. Either way, he played great music, and kicked our butts and made class time seem to go by in 2 seconds. Christi was this olderish lady, but not old old. She was another favorite, also awesome music, also great class. Thursday nights Nikki taught. She was pretty terrible because she didn't make us work very hard, and everything was on a slow beat, but I still liked the class because I just sped everything up and also Thursdays were always long days for me so I didn't really want a kick your butt kind of class anyway, just something to burn some calories. Annnnd then we had Janae. WHAT AN AWESOME TEACHER. She blogs here and has quite a crowd of followers. I think I'll hate every spin class for the rest of my life because she was just that good, no class will ever compare. I also really enjoyed the Mon/Wed night power pump classes. All in all, it was a jack pot for enjoyable weight loss and heart health classes. And guess what? Corporate turned it into a $10/month gym and canceled all classes out of the blue. Like maybe 2 weeks notice, if that. The teachers were called up and told they were all fired. Well, some had classes at other area gyms, but if not, too bad.

The company isn't suffering. It isn't hurting in this economy. Remember how Six Flags starting charging people to hold their bags at the rides? And frustrating that was (still is)? Well that company either went or almost went bankrupt so they were actually just trying to stay alive, financially. Gold's on the other hand....just wants to maximize profit at any cost. Pretty shady business, yeah? Well that's Gold's for ya. And this is only the tip of the iceberg. Head on over to their Wikipedia page, and you can read about how someone actually successfully sued the greedy a-holes at one one of the Provo gym locations. 

Ok well there are no good classes in the Salt Lake area. Every teacher plays terrible music. And don't tell me to go to Zumba, I suck at Zumba. I like Zumba. Zumba is fun. But I don't get a good work-out because I can't ever replicate what the teacher is doing and I end up staring at all the really good dancers like the creeper that I am. I've tried a million spin classes and they all start out with "ok so let's do a 30 min climb..." Me and Mary found 3 classes that we like, 2 of which are back-to-back at the same gym. Well actually Mary found 4, because she does happen to like Zumba. I actually fashioned my work schedule around my gym classes. Yes I did. I have to drive 25-30 min on Monday during rush evening rush hour, and a full 40-45 min on Tuesday during evening rush hour to get to these classes. So me and Mary were at our Monday night boot camp class at the Sandy south gym just 2 weeks ago. Last week a friend had a bday at a Thai food restaurant and you better believe I won't say no to that. So we show up tonight only to discover that ALL CLASSES AT THIS GYM HAVE BEEN CANCELED. 

WHAT. 

THE. 

EFF. 

No notice. Not within the last 2 weeks anyway. 

Ummm hello Gold's you send me junk email all the time, you definitely could have sent out a courtesy email: "oh by the way, just in case it concerns you, we're transforming the aerobics room in Sandy south gym into a cardio cinema because we're douchebags and could care less about customer satisfaction. So eff you and goodbye!" 

Best part? I just re-signed my 2 year contract yesterday.

..........................................................................................................................

After all this complaining, I should mention that it might just pan out to be ok. I still use the gym once/week right now for lap swimming, and plan on upping that starting this week to 2-3 times per week. I also love love love the power pump and kick box class at the West Jordan gym on Tuesday nights. And supposedly there's a bootcamp class at the West Jordan gym at 530 on Monday nights. It just sucks because that's the gym that's a forever long drive away. I'll just bring my gym clothes with me to work I guess and it won't seem as bad because I'll be half-way there. But that's assuming it'll be a good work-out. I haven't even tried it yet.

Gold's Gym is a corrupt, disgusting company. I've been willing to overlook that for the past 2 years because (a) I originally decided to sign there because that's where all my friends went, and we all know it's good motivation to have a gym buddy, and (b) the Utah Valley gym classes were so great I didn't care that they are blood-sucking crooks. Oh and it didn't hurt that I only pay like $21/month, which, for Gold's rates, from what I hear, is not bad, compared to other members anyway. 

I had a different blog post in mind. Something a little more cheery and upbeat. Something about how I enjoy licking all the alfredo off my plate before my nice waitress takes it away from me and how it's embarrassing when as she's taking it I instinctively and tactlessly reach forward with my bread to hurry and get one last lick of the heavy cream and cheese which pretty much negates the purpose of every single word of this blog post about exercise woes. 

But I suppose I'll save that for another day...