2011 and such

Wow. Am I awful at this blog or what? ... Welp, as they say: If at first you don't succeed... try, try again (...and again... and again... and again... well, you get the idea!)
2011 has been an eventful year thus far. Let me give you a bit of a run down, since I haven't updated for a bit of a while... :)...

---March: At the end of March, I had my gallbladder removed. Long story short: After 3 years of constant pain, the doctor's finally found my gallbladder wasn't functioning (well, it was, but only at 7%... so, not by much. :).) I decided to have it removed so I didn't end up having more problems later (ex: gallstones - quite common to happen, especially with a not-so-great-gallbladder. Also, if you are pregnant it raises the likely-hood of developing stones that much higher... which leads to possible emergency surgery, ...while pregnant. Call me crazy, but who wants that?!) AND they told me my pain would go away. So heck yes, sign me up for the removal-age! Surgery went well... as for the pain being "gone"? Well, unfortunately, not so much. I talked to the surgeon about it a week after my surgery, and he said it was normal to feel these "phantom pains" for a month or two, but should be done after that. 5 months later I'm seeing no signs of it. Boo. It was live-able at first, but the past 2 months I've started to feel the flare up's again, and the pain. Good news is: the attacks don't last as long! Fist pump! ... But annoying still? Why yes, yes it is! Oh well. I will get it checked out again sometime. But for now, just taking it a day at a time. Pain in the side won't stop me! :). ... I had a before and after picture of me with the surgery - but for now cannot get the picture to save (boo!) so will post later. :)

--April: I went to an SLS (Speech Level Singing) teaching conference in April that was in Salt Lake City. I roomed with my good friend from England, Kate, (We sure missed Jen though!) and also my good friend Becca - who is from Las Vegas like muh-self. It was soo fun. I learned SO much; it re-ignited my passion for the voice and for learning and for teaching; and I had great fun re-uniting with friends of mine from all over the world. Again, will post those pictures once I figure out how they hay to save them to this computer. (They are all on FB - just have to find a way to save a few so I can transfer them here.). Anywhoo...

--June: It was eventful! Went to see the play "The Little Mermaid" at Tuachan - let's just say it was faz-man-tastic. Seriously. Went with my mom, her friend Jan, and my cute Aunt Wendy. We had a great time and all wanted to watch it again! It was my 24th birthday too. Say what? 24? What happened to 18? I'm almost a quarter of a century years old... totally weird to think. I already have old-lady bones, haha, so hopefully that will improve soon!
... Also in June... me, my hunky hubby (Bret), mi madre (Tonya), and my sister (Stephanie) all went to Hawaii. The island of Kauai to be exact. Ooooh it was wonderful! Oh so beautiful. Green and lucious and downright breathtaking. Need more proof? See below.

Hello beautiful tree swaying in the breeze

Green much? 

We had such a great time. We did miss our two other brothers, and Steph's hubs though. I love Hawaii. Bret and I went to Maui last year in February and we loved it there too. I love both islands for different reasons, but I think I prefer Kauai just a bit more... it is SO beautiful. We all loved Hawaii because of the nice people, the beautiful scenery, and the UH-MAZING food... not to forget the great people I got to go with. I seriously couldn't get enough of it all. Bret probably had fish almost everywhere we went. He was obsessed. And me and Stephanie? Well we probably had 1 shaved ice a day. Okay, we ALMOST met that goal (and yes, it was a goal) but there was a day we missed out - boo! And mark my words, shaved ice is tooootally different from snow cones... just sayin'! While in Hawaii... we went to a Luau, lots of beaches, took a boat right along the Napoli Coast, went snorkeling, watched the sunset, ate - lots, rested, walked, sun bathed, and just had a grand ol' time. We definitely would love to go again... some day! :). Here are few+ more pictures to enjoy...

Wee - we're in Hawaii!

Going for our morning walk - just being totally normal

Me and my purrdy sista!

My beautimous mom... before she fell... :)

Oops! *Slippery when Wet!* lol. I was laughing, running (to help, of course!), and taking this picture at the same time.

The beautiful view from our room (yes, that is sarcasm!) haha. 

Bret and Britni in the Tunnels!

Mom soaking the sun and the ocean beauty - contemplating moving. :)

The gals - we love each other! :)

We are precious children. Had to do our "pose". 

Bret loving the rainbow wave. 

Steph and me excited for the luau!

Stephy, Bret, and Britni - waiting to get the grub in our tums!

We fell in love with the baby goats, so had to take a stroll  to visit them.

You saw these roosters ev-ry-where. This one was escorting her babies through the parking lot

Britni and Bret at some waterfalls

Enjoying the colorful sunset.

VERY happy - we found a lighthouse on our drive! 

Yay... a light house! I love 'em for some reason. Srsly. Ignore the nasty construction. :)

--July: July was a month full of new things and new chapters. After 10 years (say what?!) at my job, I put in my notice and quit in mid-July. I did this so that I could pursue my dreams and goals of being a private voice teacher.  I LOVE to sing, and love the voice, and the method that has helped me to further develop and improve my talent... so what better thing to do than to study it, and share it with other's by teaching it as well? I needed to quit my job so that I could focus totally on my teaching... so, that is what I did. It was a bitter-sweet thing for me. Bitter because I love the people I worked with, and had an uh-mazing boss... but sweet because I finally took that scary leap of faith to do what my heart has always wanted to. So... Long story short, I took my certification test at the end of July and I passed it - which means I am now officially a Level 1 Certified Speech Level Singing (SLS) Instructor.  To learn more about the method and to find teacher's in your area (me! If you're in Henderson/Vegas :).) visit the website: www.speechlevelsinging.com . I worked hard to get where I am, and I plan to always work hard and to continuously learn all that I can - so that I can be the best that I can be, and share that knowledge with my students. I look forward to spreading my wings and taking flight with this new endeavor.

--August (thus far): We went to Lake Powell! Wee-hoo! We go to Lake Powell every year with Bret's family - his mom's side. His Grandpa and Grandma Owen have a time share on a houseboat and we all pitch in a bit and get to enjoy a full week of sun, fun, lake time, food, and family. I was sick for the first few days of it (boo!) but still had a blast! I practiced my new wake-surfing skills (one day I'll actually let go of the rope, I swear!) and did a little tubing and wake boarding too. I love me the LP. I'm grateful for the memories of fun that we get to create every year. I love Bret's siblings - they kill me with giggles and good times. Kamille about made me split my gut with laughter while "hiking" up a rock to cliff jump (long story, but silly!). Every year Grandma O harasses me and Callie to sing a song at the "talent" show, so this year it was Kamille's idea to sing G'ma O's "favorite" hymn "Love At Home" (the Women's version with 3 parts) and it was hil-arious. Quite honestly G'ma O actually doesn't care for that song, so we had fun with it! ;). Bret's cousin is probably one of the world's cuuuuutest children - Savanna. Oh my dear she is a doll. Longest lashes with the perfect curl, and a sass to go with it! As soon as another cousin, Melissa, left - Savanna was my new shadow. I had fun with all the cousins and had quite a few good laughs. As always, looking forward to another LP session next year. :). Some pics...

Bret surfing - Look Ma... no hands!

Bretni smiling at LP

Bret's cousin Troy - the surf champ - surfed with no rope for quite a while!

Britni surfing - concentrating oh-so-hard. Please ignore my ghetto-licious booty/junk in the trunk. K? Thanks! 

Bret figured out how to do a 180 with his surf board. Talented much? I think yes! 

The pretty Savanna. This was after a  full day of swimming  & tubing... and then a huge storm. 

During that storm it was my duty to entertain the girls... so this is what we did - silly pics!

Another "silly pic"... emotion we were trying to accomplish? HAPPY

So, that's it for now folks. I've updated you a bit on what has been going on. Now let us see if I can update this at LEAST monthly - instead of quarterly. :). Best of luck to me!
Hope your days and summer have been wonderful and memorable. Live happy!