Top 10 things to do before I die

So recently I was stumbling around on one of my favorite past times "stumble upon" and I ran across someones list of the top 10 things to do before they die... which got me thinking, what are MY top 10 things to do before I kick the can?? I have now been sitting here thinking about this list for about two days and I think I have landed on a pretty good one! So here it goes...

1. Be a mom. I love my mom, as crazy as she makes me, I actually adore her. I want a little girl or boy to look up to me and to love me that much (it sounds less selfish in my head). Also, my favorite thing to day dream on at church is my handsome husband holding our little baby during sacrament and his arms wrapped around us both.

2. Spend AT LEAST two weeks in Italy. Its so beautiful there I want to be able to see as much as I can. Even with two weeks I would be stressed about time, but I am attempting to be somewhat realistic. I have dreamt about seeing Italy for as long as I can remember. One of my favorite gifts ever was at Christmas this year when my parents gave us a calendar of Italy with a note that said "When you wish upon a star your dreams will come true" I cried. Luckily for me, Ive got Jason on board with the whole Europe excursion and were hoping and praying to make it there for our one year.

3. Skydive. I love adrenaline. Ever since I was a kid I loved roller coasters and anything else that went high off the ground and fast. Granted I also fall a lot and have broken 12 bones.. none the less I love it. I went Bungy jumping in New Zealand a few years ago and ever since I have wanted to skydive. My plan was to go for my 23rd birthday but Jason begged me not to. Someday though... I will do it.

4. See ancient Ruins all over the world. Im a history major... I love history. Its so interesting and filled with mysteries that we still have to answer. I would love to be able to travel everywhere from Thailand to Jerusalem and see all the ruins left behind from people living thousands of years ago.

5. Pay back my parents. This will no doubt prove to be impossible... but its worth a shot. I don't mean with money. I mean with genuine love and care. I want to someday people to take care of them the way they have for me for the past 23 years and going... they still send me home with boxes of food every time I go home. They are the most loving, giving, and caring people on the earth and I would love to be able to give them back everything they have given me.

6. Serve a Mission with Jason. Doesn't two years serving the Lord with your better half sound amazing?!?! I can't think of anything that would be more peaceful and pleasant. I imagine us getting called to some remote area with nothing to do but work at the temple visitors center or something. It sounds like a dream.

7. See the Northern Lights. Im sure a lot of people want to do this... its pretty legit. I want to go to Alaska anyways just because its awesome but this would be a pretty cool bonus!

8. Fly a Plane. Another weird one of mine I think... I have this really big dream of being able to just hop in a little plane and fly it somewhere. I think it sounds so cool!

9. Do Genealogy. My grandma looves to do genealogy. She knows a lot about many of my ancestors. My plan is to get every name I can and take their names to the temple. Thats the goal. Its happening.

10. AHH Last one! I bet your all dying to know!!! I decided to leave the last one blank. Let the future build it for me. Right now I am pretty content with my life and my dreams but I know after I have kids, a home, a real job... some of these will change and grow so this one I am leaving to the future so Ill let you know when I figure it out!

Love always,
Cambri Barnett.

Settling in

Well, as most of you know Jason and I finally tied the knot on March 3, 2012! That means we have one whole month under our belts! It may not seem long to those of you who are going 10, 20, 30+ years but you have to admit its a start! Anyways lets cut to the chase.. getting married is a huge change in your life. Suddenly you go from (in my case) living with mom and dad in Huntington Beach in a big 4 bedroom house, bills paid, food provided, private room... to Anaheim (I'm not a snob, Anaheim is great but it ain't no HB!), in a tiny apartment, bills stacking up in a nice pile, grocery shopping... Who knew you would need things like foil, plastic bags, and batteries??? and the biggest change of all.. living with with a boy! Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE my husband more than anything on this earth... but living with a guy is kind of a different world and there are some definite things were still adjusting to.
Differences:
1. He doesn't understand my need to buy certain things..mainly name brand items. He thinks generic is fine, but I prefer name brand... we try to split it 50/50 most of the time. I get that they are often close to the original and cheaper but I can't say I love generic frosted flakes as much as Tony the Tigers...
2. Dinner options: I think: "We'll have chicken, maybe some pasta or rice, veggies, a salad, and a nice dessert..." He thinks: "Macaroni and cheese, Hamburgers, or combine the two and make mac and cheese WITH hamburger... followed by dessert." Which i know isn't just him, boys just love to eat!
3. And lastly, my biggest frustration... morning routine... Jason hears the alarm and that means its time to get up, not to just wake up, but to get up and get going. This is a good quality, however, its not one I possess... I take a loooonnngggg time to get up and get going in the morning. So while I am begging him to go back to sleep, he is bugging me to get up and go, and when I don't get up he reminds me of all the things I have to do! I know I need to get up... and I also know that because he makes me get up I get more done, but sometimes I just want to lounge around!

However, its not all different. Luckily, me and jason actually have a lot of the same qualities and understanding of how life should go...

1. Were both extremely clean. We love to come home to clean house. We always make the bed, dishes are constantly being done, vacuum is constantly going, and bathroom is always being cleaned. This little quality was one of the first things I loved about him (honestly haha) He took care of his stuff, he likes to clean up after himself, and he likes things to look nice... its not something I ever thought I would cherish so much, but having a nice clean home completely changes your day!
2. Television: Besides his love for all things on ESPN... we can usually find something we both enjoy whether its friends, STORAGE WARS (our new favorite show), or some weird documentary or reality show... we can usually settle down for T.V. time pretty easily.
3. Last thing...This is the most important... we love each other. So at the end of the day any little things he does to bug me or the MILLIONS of things I could do to bug him, the major thing we have in common always makes us realize that no matter how new and different married life is, were together and in love and building up our little home.

I Love being married, every second of it. For those of you who are "waiting"to get married... get over it and get on with eternity! Its great! Well thats all the jabber I'll give you for today... until next time!

-Cambri Barnett

Holy Hannah!!!

Well Ladies and Gentlemen, the time has officially come! This weekend (as in the day after tomorrow) I am getting married to my best friend!!!! The time has flown by and I can't believe this is my last full day and night at home! Crazy! Anyways, I thought I would give everyone a quick run down of the day on saturday mainly because many have asked and because I am supposed to be doing homework and this is stalling... haha anyways lets begin shall we?

1. First things first Saturday at around 6 am me and all my bridesmaids (Darian, Eva, Anne, Kendra, Sheryl, Johnnie and Debbie) will be waking up in our gorgeous hotel and getting our makeup and hair done by the beautiful Richelle Divis. Then at about 10 Ill be leaving to head to the Newport Beach Temple to be sealed to J-bizz forever. 

 2. After we are married We will come out and see all of our family and friends and get some amazing photos with the one and only Kamee June!!! I am most excited for this I think because finally I can snag all the people I love the most in one photo! Plus the photos she takes of me and Jason will be passed down to our children, hanging on our walls, and all over Facebook forever (LOL)!!!

3. After that were heading to The Green Parrot Villa for our ring ceremony. Because only members of the LDS church can enter the temple, I want all those who can't join us in there to be able to be apart of the ceremony by watching me walk down the aisle with my pop, exchange rings, and have our first kiss as husband and wife!

(Obviously not me lol, just gives you an idea)

4. After that is where the real fun begins!!! Dinner, music, dancing, candy bar!!! all sorts of fun stuff and just a general party with all the best people in the world! My one goal is to convince my nephews to dance with me haha. But we'll also do the traditions bouquet toss, daddy daughter dance, first dance, garter toss, and smash the delicious cake (made by the wonderful Kaitlin Finger) in each others faces!

5. After the partying is done and everyone is kicking off their heels we'll be getting ready to head out for the honeymoon! We'll walk under a tunnel of sparklers, probably get set on fire, and get in our car and go! Forever begins <3

Although I have complained quite a bit about being a hectic bride, I am going to miss all the planning, all the parties, and all the general love and support that people give you doing this time. We have some dang amazing people in our lives who have helped us in so many ways and I can't express how thankful I am for you! You know who you are! I am so excited for this next chapter in my life to start and can not wait to be sealed to my hot, funny, sweet, loving, sensitive, wonderful man in less than 2 days now!! wow! Until next time!

- Cambri Barnett

I can hear the wedding bells!

    When Jason and I picked our date in August everyone was like "thats too long! you guys are crazy!" but is anyone aware November is over?? People are still telling us it seems so far away but to us its like tomorrow! Considering how busy we both are right now we could not have planned our wedding on any shorter time scale. We have exactly 106 days until D-Day! We have two weddings in the next two weekends after thanksgiving, family christmas party the weekend after that, Christmas just around the corner, New Years, trip with my besties, Bridal shower, bachelorette party, and then families arrive! We have exactly 6 weekends until the wedding date where we do not have other things to do. crazy right?? I'll admit if we werent so busy all the time we would have a looong time to go but when you think about it like that the time flys by! and half of those upcoming weekends we wont even be together!

For the past few months it has kind of seemed like wedding plans were just basics... and it didnt really make the wedding real to me but this week was like POW! your getting married! I finally found and ordered my dream dress that I am 100% in love with and I cannot wait to wear on March 3rd, I swear when I get it I may just wear it around the house for a few days. I have all my little wedding day accessories picked out and on their way and Jasons suit is 99% complete. All of my bridesmaids have their dresses (or their coming) and most of the boys have their stuff ready. Center peices are stacked up in our living room, dads are ordering their Navy blue suits, and my mom is searching for a new dress. Everything is coming together!

Last but not least, the BEST part is complete. We had our photo shoot with the one and only Kamee June yesterday... we are in heaven. She made us laugh, made us feel like we were models for GQ and Vogue, and most of all got amazing shots! Jason and I have been chatting all day about how we cant wait to work with her again on March 3rd!!! I vow right here and now... all family photos, baby photos, and future childrens photos will be taken by Kamee... everyone else is a waste! haha just kidding..kinda. There are many talented photographers out there but we are in Love with this one! Besides my decision to marry the J-man the choice we made to have her do our photos is the best one yet!



                                                         

               I ADORE Jasons face here. I adore it all the time but seriously... how handsome is my guy?!?!


                                                         

                I cant get over these photos... warning: I will go on about these for a LOOONNGG time!



To sum up this random but spirited blog... I cant wait for this day to come! March 3rd is going to be the happiest and craziest day of my life and paraphrasing from my bestie Kendra "I woke up the next day so incredibly happy I was married to (Jason) and nothing else mattered." obviously her statement said Scott but you get the point. I cant wait to be married to Jason and for our life to officially start together in a place with both our names on the mailbox. Until next time... thanks for reading!!!





Too busy to Blog??

Again, I have failed to blog. With the constant piles of homework (I seriously wrote four 10 page minimum papers last week alone), wedding planning (I still haven't made a guest list even), and work 4 days a week (which may not sound like a lot but it is...) I am swamped!!! I barely have time to sit and relax without someone saying "you NEED to call this person, you NEED to make that appointment..." I get that these things should be done but please just one minute to breathe! *sigh of relief for a mini rant* anyways the only thing keeping me sane through all this is my wonderful, compassionate, loving, fiancé. He is the only person who ever just lets me sit and breathe... I guess that's why Im marrying him! haha. But anyways my point of the blog today is not to rant, but to catch everyone (my 6 followers) up on our lives right now!

Jason is still working at his job with the trucking company and they give him regular hours so thats good, he's looking for a second job tho right now too so we can save up for the married life! With me being a full time student money is gonna be tight for a while after March 3rd so we gotta save up while we can. So please let us know of any possible job opportunities! He also is moving out of his apartment in just a few weeks. This is a good thing because he's moving a little but closer to me, and he can save up some money by living with a family friend. He's awesome with all the wedding stuff our photographer always raves about how great it is and how lucky I am to have a guy who actually cares about the details and does whatever I ask (Trust me, I KNOW how lucky I am!!!) Other than that he's been trying to decide what he wants to go back to school for and has been trying to plan out our future! Cant believe I get to marry this hot man in just 4 months! ahhh!

We had a mini photo shoot with one of my best friends and bridesmaid, Debbie Westermeyer, last week. She is a photo major and she does a FANTASTIC job! She is so darn talented!

Wedding plans are going well, we have place booked, caterer booked (italian food! yum!), dress... somewhat picked, suit picked and purchased, decorations being gathered, and party favors getting put together. All the major stuff is done now we just have to worry about the minor stuff. All in all tho everything is going great! From this point on its gonna be a mad dash with finals, thanksgiving, Christmas, new years, bridal shower, bachelorette party, trip with my girls... and then before we know it family is here and were setting up for the big day!!! Its crazy how one year ago today I barely even knew Jason, and had NO idea I would be getting married just one year later but look at how much can change in a year!!! So excited for the future and I hope I can keep you all updated!!! Thanks for reading!

Fall Forward

As most of you know, today is officially the first day of Fall. Ugh. I am a summer girl born and raised in the heart of summer, Huntington Beach. I live for the OC fair, warm nights at disneyland, beach days with my besties, bbq's and mini vacations every weekend. Its the best time of the year! For some reason people are just way happier in the summer. But now its fall... which means winter is just around the corner. Tank tops and flips flops are going away and coats and boats are coming out. The days end around 5 pm and its freezing as soon as the sun goes down. Cold and Flu season is in full swing and I can't for the life of me get warm no matter how much I wear. I basically just try to survive this time of year. However, there are a few small things that I enjoy about the cold season, and that's what I am here to share today. My (small) Favorites of Fall/Winter.

1. San Francisco Trip

For the past two years me and my some of my best girls have made an annual trip to San Fran. We LOVE it!!! There is nothing more fun than touring this amazing center and trying all their amazing restaurants and trying all their cool stuff. We have to much darn fun and this year will be no exception! this year will just be better because were making it my bachalorette get away!!! All my main girls are being invited and I am sooo excited to have all my favorites in one spot! Its going to be AMAZING!!!

2. Starbucks Apple Cider

 If you haven't tried this....your ridiculous. Its fantastic! I love getting this before a movie or something and just sipping and relaxing. Its warm, its sweet, its perfect. To make it extra amazing get the carmel drizzle on top you will NOT regret it!

3. Holiday Parties

Yes this is a table of food. My most favorite part of any given holiday party. My family has one every year with my dads side of the family and thats always amazing and filled with the best food (mainly my nana hughes's beans and yordabachals (a Norwegian donut type thing that I spelled wrong). Also Me and my friends usually have one, and my most favorite one of all is on Christmas Eve. Chinese Dinner. It makes my year, every year. Followed by a holiday party at my aunt and uncles to finish off the evening. I love holiday parties because everyone just seems so cozy and happy.

4. Wendy's Chili

Ok so I know this one is laughable but I can't help it! I love Wendy's chili. Me and my bestie Darian truly love this stuff. Its perfect on a cold rainy day and It may not be the best chili ever but i think its pretty dang delicious. 

 So there you have it, my small list of things I actually enjoy about the winter. Odd how it all revolves around food? I think not food is what makes the world go round. haha. Anyways thanks for reading folks. 

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a little rant to calm the troubled heart

Ok so I know I posted yesterday but I've got sometime to make up for and this is something Ive been dying to write about for a while. Life in the Service Industry. For anyone who has ever worked in a restaurant you know what Im about to say... Its hard work! Have you ever noticed your server seems to be a little slow on a saturday night? ever wonder why? Most likely its because we have about 6 tables with at least 4 people at each one. Thats 24 drinks, salads, drink refills, side of dressings, "no onion add tomatoes", entree's, "mines cold", and again drink refills. So when you walk in slurp down two cokes in about 0.5 seconds, order a complicated order, and want everything from cheese to a side of cherries, give us a minute! My top pet peeves are as follows....
1. Say hello to us when we say hello to you. It is not polite for me to walk up introduce myself and say hello and you respond with "I'll have a diet coke." It makes us feel like you don't see us as a person...seriously.
2. If your unhappy with something, tell us. The second it happens let us know. We WILL take care of it. There is no reason to force yourself through a meal you hate then complain to our managers after. If you complain and we don't do something... 100% ask to see a manager.

3. Remember that 9 times out of 10 we clean and bus our own tables, or we have to pay someone to. Factor that into your tip as you mix your chocolate cake with ketchup when your bored.
4. If a coupon is expired, its expired. there is NOTHING I can do.
5. Lastly, just be nice. Honestly the nicer my tables are the more I try to help them out with free drinks, dessert on the house, an extra bread togo... I will always give better service to the people who are polite to me and will do everything in my power in ensure they have a nice night. If your rude, why would we want you back?

So there you have it. my rant for the day. Don't get me wrong 95% of my tables are great and I truly enjoy serving them, but those 5% make my world a nightmare when Im busy. Thank you for reading!