Valerie's Wonderful Life

A New Post

2009-05-08T08:15:00.000-07:00

Yay! A new post! I'm just going to start from now. Today I leave for Las Vegas to see the Dave Matthews Band. Usually I stay in Arizona and go with Mattie, we have gone to the concert for at least 7 years but this year she is 8 months pregnant with Evan Daniel and of course could not go. So I said I'm going to Vegas and my friend Stephanie is going with me.

We got great tickets thanks to my Uncle's friend Chris who has been in the Warehouse (DMB fan club) much longer than I have so has far more seniority. Thanks Chris for getting the tickets!

Trip to Cali Day 1

2008-12-17T14:41:00.000-08:00

I'm only a month behind! It's fine :)

My friends Kim and Ben invited me to join them on a California adventure for Thanksgiving. Kim's parents own a beach house in Oceanside and Ben's brother was flying to the mainland for the first time! (they're from Hawaii). I flew out first thing in the morning on Wednesday and there was about 24 people on my flight....Here are the seats around me.

It was raining when I left Phoenix so I has to take a picture...

Here is a view from the beach house

Here is the house
Right when I got off the plane we went to Hollywood to the Mann's Chinese Theatre and then we had to go to Universal Studios because we had reservations for IFly which is indoor skydiving. This is not any of us, but you get the idea...

Kim, Lily and I waiting for IFly (lily's too young she didn't go)

We had lunch at the dip and the owner I guess is in the movie Borat, he's the one Borat wrestles with. He was there too, working.

Founders Dinner

2008-12-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

We had another Founders dinner at the end of November to celebrate Thanksgiving. Kerri hosted it at her house and Mattie told everyone that she is pregnant!! For updates on the Pregnancy you can check out the link to Mattie and Paul's blog and for more Founders info you can check out the link to The Founders blog...

Most importantly I finally got to meet Nora Elizabeth! Kerri's newest edition!

Nashville Day 4 GAME DAY!

2008-12-03T18:31:00.001-08:00

Day 4 was Sunday and Game day! The whole reason for the trip was to see the Packers play the undefeated Titans!

Billy Currington sang the national anthem...I love Nashville!

The American flag was cut into the nation and I thought it looked quite cool

A view from our seats on the fifty...

Kroger sponsors the Titans...Kroger owns Fry's you all know I love Fry's so once again I couldn't resist :)

Me with LP Stadium in the background!

Nashville Day 3 (night time edition)

2008-12-03T18:28:00.001-08:00

Saturday night we had tickets to the Grand Ole Opry where little Jimmy Dickins was celebrating 60 years as part of the Opry. To help him celebrate Trace Atkins and Brad Paisley were on hand...

I know it's blurry but Trace and Brad are in this picture...

There's the front of the Opry House

Nashville Day 3

2008-12-03T18:20:00.001-08:00

We didn't have anything planned for the day on Saturday so I saw an add for a Segway tour and my uncle agreed it sounded like a good idea...

This is Uncle Bill learning how to ride the Segway...he did a great job!

We got to run around wild at the bell tower in Nashville. There is a bell for every county in TN.

Here's me off-roading!

My Uncle and I survived the trip! and he really enjoyed it but I'm not supposed to tell anyone.

This is where Lindsay is moving to finish her PhD so I took a picture so she could hang it in her office :)

Nashville Day 2

2008-11-09T19:30:00.000-08:00

We did not have any plans for Halloween night in Nashville. But during the day we went to the Grand Ole Opry and Opryland and Opry Mills

Tootsies is a famous Honky Tonk on Broadway and we had to go, it's super small though...

The Grand Ole Opry in the daylight

My uncles company dodcoinc.com makes hangers and these are their hangers in the Gibson store!

Me outside the Grand Ole Opry

Inside Opryland a huge hotel with just under 4000 rooms...

Please don't even think I would go to another city and not go to the Big Bang!! It was fantastic!

This guy won the Halloween costume contest with Bob Ross and his girlfriend was a happy tree!!So cute!

The Geico caveman was the runner up!

Nashville Day 1

2008-11-09T19:27:00.000-08:00

Oopppps!! I left my camera in the hotel on day 1! But we went to a filming of CMT Giants celebrating Alan Jackson. It will air on CMT on Dec 6th! Be sure to tune in to see if you see me ;) Basically CMT Giants is when a bunch of other country stars get together t0 sing celebrated artists songs. It was fantastic! It was at the Ryman Auditorium and we were sitting about 30 feet away from Brad Paisley, George Straight, Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, LeeAnn Womack, Martina McBride and Alan Jackson of course! I cannot believe I forgot my camera...sorry folks.

Oregon @ ASU

2008-11-09T19:22:00.001-08:00

Oregon was in town to play our beloved Sun Devils and since Breanna's husband Eric is from Oregon as well as all of his friends that moved down here, it was a big ta do...

This is Billy and I at the bar after the loss...

Me, Rusty and Josh all playing nice :)

Chris found out that Breanna had an Oregon shirt on under her gold...He was not happy!

Me and Josh on the city bus!! My first time ever on the city bus! It was free :)

Getting ready to go on the city bus for my first time!!!!

Movie in the Park

2008-10-19T14:38:00.000-07:00

This year the Biltmore has decided to hold a movie in the park every Friday night in October. I had this past Friday off so my mom and I went to see Breakfast at Tiffany's. The directions said the movie was on the "Great Lawn" and I must say the lawn was not great at all, It was actually quite small. But we still had a great time.

The movie is right in front of Saks Fifth Ave

My momma and me

Midwestern Dinner

2008-10-19T14:33:00.000-07:00

Every year Midwestern holds a charity event, since this is my first year in the office this is the first year i got to go. Fry's purchases a table and then we get to have a nice night out. It's a black tie event so we had to get all dressed up....

Me and Stephanie

The table centerpieces
I tried to get an overall picture view, the dinner is held on the campus and they make it look absolutely stunning
On the ride home Steph and I were jamming out the the Jonas Brothers :)

Suns Game

2008-10-09T07:54:00.000-07:00

My wonderful roommate gave me his tickets to the Suns game last night so I invited Kate who has never been to a Suns game or any event in US Airways Arena. We had a great time!

Kate and I in our rockin Suns gear...

My color accent...
Fry's!! I work for Fry's!!
More Fry's, sorry I can't help it!

Journey Concert

2008-10-09T07:22:00.001-07:00

Oops it's been almost a month since I updated this blog. I hadn't taken any pictures in awhile. We went to the Journey concert on Saturday. Breanna and I got Mattie tickets for her birthday and we have been so looking forward to it. Coincidentally Ian, Chris, Corinne, Michelle and Allan had tickets too! It was a blast...

Here is everyone...but me cause I'm taking the picture

Mattie was a little sick but that doesn't stop me from taking pictures of her :)
JOURNEY!!!
Michelle, Me and Corinne
Breanna, Mattie and I

The President of Fry's Mr. Jon Flora

2008-09-10T20:12:00.000-07:00

Today we had our bi-annual meeting for Fry's. Since I am new to the position I have never attended one before. It was pretty neat, it was basically a pep really for the 2nd half of the year. Our President, Jon Flora, was there of course and being the nerd that I am I wanted a picture with him and since I never leave home without my camera it was picture time...

Jon Flora and I...

Katie Taylor, Jon and I
Paul (The Director of Pharmacy) and Jon
Katie and Jon
YAY FRY'S!!!

SUN DEVIL FOOTBALL!!!

2008-09-07T10:59:00.001-07:00

The ASU football season has officially begun! My friend Kevin and I have season tickets that we love! We did not attend last weeks game so here are the pics from our crushing of Stanford...

ASU band pregame...

Sparking crushing the Stanford bus!
Breanna and I in the sober section
Kevin and I with a view from our seats
GO DEVILS!

Mercury Game

2008-09-07T10:56:00.001-07:00

In the office they have raffles and I won tickets to the Mercury game, since I wasn't called into Banana my mom and I made it in time for the second half...

It's Ali from the biggest loser!

The Fry's logo is up, I couldn't resist...

New Position

2008-09-07T10:49:00.000-07:00

Recently I accepted a new position within Fry's Food and Drug. I am the Pharmacy Technician Recruiter for our stores. I have officially been on the job for 3 weeks now, 1 week by myself. I really enjoy the position! I love my office buddies and having the freedom in my schedule. Before I left the pharmacy that I have worked at for 8 years threw me a party...

I'm gonna miss Jenny!!

My fantastic cake that turned people's mouths pink

Sabrina! One of the beat asst. store managers
Christine was always so helpful at giving me a hard time :)
Pretend like you like your old boss...Nirmal!
Cutting my cake...mmmmm cake
Marianna made me Brownies!! So good!

DMB! w/ Mattie

2008-08-25T19:11:00.001-07:00

Every year I take my BFF Mattie to see the Dave Matthews Band. This year thanks to my Uncle Bill (who is absolutley awesome) and his friend Chris we were in the 7th row! It was amazing and we can never go back to the 200 level. Below are some pics of the amazing night...

The Band...

Dave!!!! He danced up a storm!

The new sax man was playing 2 saxophones!

R.I.P. LeRoi Moore 1961-2008

Megan's Here

2008-08-15T07:54:00.001-07:00

My friend from Wisconsin Megan moved here recently for a job. So as soon as I got back from Florida we had a night out so she could meet my friends. We went to CPK for dinner and then to one of my favorites, San Felipe...Thanks for everyone who came to welcome Megan!

Megan, Me, Corinne and Ian

Breanna: I'll be there in a little I just got done with dinner. Valerie: Ok it's 8pm see you soon. Breanna shows up at 1130pm :) I love Breanna!!

Megan and I chillin at the bar

Orlando Day 3 (Animal Kingdom)

2008-08-11T21:59:00.001-07:00

Day 3 was Animal Kingdom day. I had never been to Animal Kingdom so it was time to go. The park closed at 8 so this was our earliest day. Below is the entrance to Animal Kingdom

This herbivore tried to eat me!!

They also had a show Finding Nemo the Musical!! I love Finding Nemo!

On the African Safari we saw these Hippos and Elephants and Cheetahs and Lions and Crocodiles and so much more Disney really is amazing...
and Giraffes!
And the ever scary Valerie...ahhhh
That's the Tree of Life behind me
Before I left I had an interview for a job (which I did get) and my new boss told about this restaurant, Seasons 52. We went and it was amazing! I highly recommend if you are ever in Florida to go to this place. The wine glasses had a 52 on them which is the number of my Fry's store and since I had acquired my new job that day they seemed sort of sentimental. So I asked the waiter if they sold glasses and he said they did for about 6 dollars but before I could buy them he said I'll just leave these 2 right here...basically saying it was ok for me to just take them. Which I did and know I have beautiful sentimental wine glasses :)

Orlando Day 2 (Epcot Center)

2008-08-11T21:50:00.000-07:00

The second day after more laying by the pool we went to Epcot center. I picked parks that I haven't been to in the longest time because really the Magic Kingdom is just like Disneyland and that's just a state away. Epcot wasn't completely thrilling but we did get to make our own future on the first ride which was quite fun :)

Walking in...

Waiting in line for Soarin' the longest wait but such a good ride!
I'm in Canada eh?
My Aunt and her boyfriend Bill somewhere near France
It's the year of Million Dreams!!

Another ball shot

Me in front of the Epcot thing when leaving the park

Orlando Day 1

2008-08-11T21:41:00.001-07:00

My Aunt was attending an IRS convention in Orlando so I tagged along, as you will see the days were rough! :) I spent my mornings (afternoons) by the pool and the evenings were at random theme parks The first day we went to Universal Studios...

Like I said my days were rough...

The cliche picture in front of the Universal Globe
The entrance...
Orlando is know for it's awesome afternoon rainfalls. After we got off of Shrek 4D we came outside and it was pouring! My Aunt and I ran across the street and got completely drenched in the process. My Aunt is such a good sport!
The new Simpsons ride had just opened and of course the Kwik-E-Mart!
Krustyland!
Hollywood? I thought I was in Orlando???

NYC Waterfalls (Part 2)

2008-08-11T21:28:00.001-07:00

Since I was so close to the city I had an itch to GO TO the city :) My Aunt had mentioned that an artist had built some waterfalls on the rivers around NYC and you can take a ferry ride to go see them. We were having dinner with my Buddy Dave and his mother so we asked them if they wanted to come along and they did. After dinner in Jersey City at the Merchant, which is part of Restaurant Week, we took the subway into the city and were on the hunt for the cash cab. We did not get the cash cab unfortunately. But we did have a great time around the city.

My Aunt and I riding on the Subway, how tourist of me :)

Ther Merchant had a waterfall behind the bar! I think this is a good sign since we were going on a waterfall tour!

There were Tango lessons on the Pier where our boat was departing, no one would Tango with me...

This is Gary the captian of the Circle Line boat that showed us the waterfalls

My Buddy Dave and fantastic photographer as he take the pictures you see of me :)

Me and a Waterfall (there are 4 in all not including the one at the Merchant :) )

New York City Part One

2008-08-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

This is the view from my Aunt's office. I made her take me to a bookstore to get the new Breaking Dawn book and the mall is right near her office. So I took some pictures on the view. I love NYC!

Vacation

2008-08-11T21:18:00.001-07:00

So the easiest way to do this is by state then by day...I flew into New Jersey on the red eye on Friday night/Sat morning then later that day my Aunt Diane and I drove to Allentown, PA to watch the drum corps show because my cousin Jalissa was performing. While it was great to see my cousin and all the other great corps Academy was there the day before and I did not get to see their finished show. We stayed the night in PA and headed back to Jersey the next morning while stopping for breakfast with my Aunts Cousins... (my second cousins?) Sue and Clint. It was great to see them since I'm pretty sure I was one the last time I did. Below are pictures from the Allentown show

This is the stadium...

here is my cousin doing nothing :)
Ahh, she's moving! GET IT JALISSA!
And she joined us in the stands :)

John Mayer ('s body is a wonderland)

2008-08-01T17:43:00.000-07:00

I absolutely L-O-V-E John Mayer, while I do not love his body, I do love his lyrics and amazing music. For my birthday Breanna got me tickets to go see his amazingness and I love her for feeding my music passion. We arrived early to see Brett Dennon who was not all that enjoyable, Next was Colbie Caillet who we do love. We sat next to this incredibly cute couple from Ireland and we shared our Starbursts...

So excited to see John!

It's Hot in Arizona

John Mayer shaved his head...

I love Breanna and John Mayer, Thanks Breanna!

Founders Dinner

2008-08-01T17:36:00.000-07:00

I am part of a group of fascinating women, we call ourselves the Founders. We founded the Academy Winter Guard which started it's performance season in 2004 in "A" class and this coming season are moving to "World" class. (http://www.arizonaacademy.org/) and (http://www.wgi.org/) The girls that were there from the beginning are Mattie (my BFF), Becky Richardson, Kerri Sydell and last but certainly not least Liza Noriega. These girls are huge part of my like and even though we have all moved on from the Academy we try and meet once a month to talk and remember, it usually last well over 4 hours. This month we were gonna meet for breakfast at "The Farm" but unfortunately "the Farm" is closed till September, so we went to Mimi's Cafe. Unfortunately Kerri was unable to join us, but she has a wonderful excuse, she is 8 months pregnant with our new little founder, Nora Elizabeth!! We cannot wait for her arrival and to read more about the Founders we have our own blog site, entitled "The Founders" and can be found in my favorite blogs list.

Kim and Ben's AGAIN!

2008-08-01T17:29:00.000-07:00

OK so I have some catching up to do before I head off on vacation to Orlando/Allentown/Newark/Bayonne/Satellite Beach... Yeah I'll be home on the 9th :) Let's see, last Monday I believe I went over to Kim and Ben's AGAIN! I know they are probably getting sick of me but seriously I love them. After we had Chinese and talked about Tofu and Curry we played balloons with the kids and then after they went to bed we watched Monsters Inc, that's right after the KIDS went bed, the ADULTS watched Monsters Inc :) Here are a few pictures from our balloon time and Ethan riding the diaper train/car/boat!

All You Can Eat Crab Legs...

2008-07-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

At Fort McDowell Casino they have brought back the all you can eat crab legs... My mom's friends Patti and Jackie invited her to go, so I invited myself :) My mom and I got there early so we signed up for the Fort McDowell card and we got ten bucks to do so. So we went and spent it on the nickel slots, we lost. Then onto the buffet my mom and did not have crab legs but the desserts were delicious! Patti really enjoyed her crab legs...
After crab legs and dessert my mom and I went to play bingo, it was a lot more stressful than I remember! Well we didn't win but we might go back for bingo sometime again soon!

Th Big Bang

2008-07-27T09:44:00.000-07:00

My BFF Mattie and I get excited about a lot of things some of our favorites are food, Dave Matthews and THE BIG BANG! The Big Bang is a dueling piano bar located on Mill Ave in Tempe. The original one is in St. Louis and there is one in Nashville. We went to the Big Bang on Friday night and they announced that they are building another Big Bang in downtown Columbus, Ohio!! Mattie and I are thrilled, now her and Paul can move there :) We have been to the Big Bang for everything, birthdays, bachelorette parties, break-ups you name it we've done it there...Here are some pictures from Friday night...

Julie Martinez is on the piano, we L-O-V-E her!

No we are not really snorting coke, there was sugar on the table...and no we didn't snort that either...we just thought it was funny (drugs are NOT funny) :)

Mattie's sister in law, Brighid, was also there! We love her more than the Big Bang!

Banana Republic

2008-07-23T17:26:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know me, you know that I LOVE Banana Republic. Well I recently got a job there!! I work at the women's store in Scottsdale Fashion Square. I do not officially start until after I come back from Orlando around the 10th. I am very excited to be working with this team they all seem incredibly nice and helpful. And do not worry I still work at Fry's Pharmacy and am still pursuing the career as a pharmacist.

Olive Garden

2008-07-16T21:32:00.000-07:00

Tonight I finally got to meet Mick and can you believe I had my camera but my memory card was in my computer at home! Mick is Ali's boyfriend who is from London and is here for 3 months and then hopefully a lot longer...for those of you who don't know Ali, we met in a college Spanish class along with Julia and Scott (Scott did not attend the Olive Garden get together since he lives in California). We have since been friends but rarely get to see each other. Since I did not have a camera I will have to improvise on the pictures...

This is an Olive Garden, not the Olive Garden we went to though, I believe this one is in Colorado.

This is Ali and I at Salty Senorita some years ago...

This is Julia and I at San Felipe not all that long ago...

And I do not have any pictures with Mick or of Mick so I stole one from Ali's myspace...

Now picture all of us at a corner table in an Olive Garden not too far away and there you have it, friends reunited!! I promise to bring the camera next time... :)

Kim and Ben

2008-07-16T07:40:00.000-07:00

My Best Friend from Jr. High found me on Facebook and we had dinner! Her husband Ben and her two little ones were there as well as her parents and brother whom I have not seen in years. It was a lot of fun and I cannot wait to hang out with them again! We did not bust out the camera until after the grandparents had gone and the children had gone to bed. We all decided to play Wii Fit...I am very unbalanced...

Ben is very balanced and is excellent at the soccer game...

Kim is also very balanced...

I am very unbalanced and believe I am about to get hit with a shoe...

Even the cat was more balanced than me...

Yay Kim and me!!!

Thanks so much for having me over, hope I didn't keep you up too late :P

The Academy

2008-07-15T08:12:00.000-07:00

The Academy is drum corps that I marched in 2004 and taught in 2006. I still enjoy seeing a show every now and then. They are even better when they are free. So last Friday they had an opportunity to watch their revised show before heading off the tour to Indianapolis. Channel 12 news was there and while I wanted to walk behind the camera I restrained myself. Below is a picture of the Color Guard captains Ashley and my Best Friend Gabe being interviewed by channel 12. Gabe became my best friend in 2006 when Mattie decided Aaron the pit tech was going to be her best friend, so I picked Gabe and it stuck :) The interview was broadcast on Sunday night but I could not find the video online. I hope that Academy has a very fun and successful season.

Pharmacy Convention

2008-07-14T08:18:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night my friend Stephanie had decided to go dancing. She was at the Pharmacy convention in Phoenix at the Biltmore (which if I choose to get married in Arizona, this is the place!). She said just meet me here and we will go. Little did I know that a pharmacy convention could be so much fun. We met up with Kathleen and Mark who were celebrating their 27th wedding anniversary! Congratulations! Then of course there was a casino night and karaoke. In another room they had a hired a company called dancing heads. Basically you sit behind a green screen with a green cape so the computer screen can only see your head. Then you move your head around to the song you have chosen. We chose "Car Wash" and as soon as I learn how to upload videos I will get it up here, sorry Steph :) (she didn't want to do it and finds it completely embarrassing)

This is Stephanie, Me and Kathleen at the Biltmore

Culver's

2008-07-14T08:13:00.000-07:00

Culver's is a fast food hamburger company that is far better than the rest. They are based in Wisconsin and the stores are mainly located in the Midwest. Recently they have open 2 Culver's stores in Arizona, I know exciting! I did not however realize there was one so close in Mesa until my mom and I were driving by on Saturday. Of course we chose to eat lunch there. Mmmmm butterburgers and concrete mixers :)

My BFF and Her Husband...

2008-07-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

They are in Ohio right now and I miss them terribly. If you don't them, they are wonderful people and were married on September 8, 2007...

since they have been in Ohio they took in an Indians game, which is Paul;s favorite baseball team. Apparently he captured a foul ball that hit another girl. In his unselfishness he gave the ball to the girl it hit. It was even a Grady Sizemore ball so I can't believe Mattie let him :) but I did receive a phone photo from the game...

Come home soon guys! I miss you!

My Friend Rusty

2008-07-12T07:46:00.001-07:00

I would like to take a moment to talk about my friend Rusty. He is the lead singer of the band Husch and is quite amazing. I was a little worried when he said lead singer because I have always known him as a drummer. He has been a friend since high school and well here's the thing about Rusty...Every time we take a picture together he smells my hair. I don't think he is actually smelling my hair but it sure does look like it. See for yourself...

Halloween 2007

Breanna's Wedding March 2008

Cadillac Ranch June 2008

Birthday June 2008

So You Think You Can Dance

2008-07-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

I am completely addicted to this show with the help of my lovely lady friends. Well while I was out traveling the the country (Wisconsin) Billy had a birthday. Billy's birthday party was held at Myst...in Scottsdale. Matt was there from So You Think You Can Dance. He had just been booted off the previous week. Breanna wasn't so sure it was him so she asked him his name. and shoooo enough....

Sometimes traveling makes you miss some good stuff!! I LOVE YOU MATT!!!

I'm Blogging

2008-07-10T21:36:00.000-07:00

Ok so since all my friends are blogging about thier beautiful children and loving families I figured I would blog about my wonderful life and my new child... Clarence, who's photo is shown below.

Ok soooooo maybe I don't have a baby but if I did it would look nothing like this, He would be taller. However I will start blogging and put up real things about my life. Please enjoy my stories of me as much as I enjoy stories of your children.