Life.. or something like it.......

Now that Spring has sprung... (ish). I was fortunate enough to have a visit from one of my bestest friends VANESSA! She came to Ut for a wedding but she knows she cannot come to my neck of the woods and not visit or else I will revoke her "Samiees' Best Friend" card indefinitely. (That's a big deal there are like only 4 of those cards available!)




So Ness and I took advantage of a BEAUTIFUL April day and went to Thanksgiving Point to check out the Tulip Festival. TP did not disappoint! It was sooo beautiful! We spent most of the afternoon perusing the flowers and plotting the theft of a un-inhabited golf cart so that we didn't have to walk our lazy bums back to the car. Too bad all the carts belonged to elderly people otherwise... we sooo would have taken one.


May was an interesting month... Interesting INDEED!! I came down with a righteous case of bronchitis the first weekend in May. It took over 3 weeks to go away. (By go away I mean "stopped coughing up nasty-ness every 2-5 minutes and I could walk 3 feet without wheezing.)






I spent 12 glorious days with my sisters (4) offspring while she and her hubby where lounging on a cruise ship bound for Alaska and living the high life is Seattle.


My sister asked me to do her this favor... oh over a YEAR ago!!!! and apparently I was delusional at the time so I said yes. Ya... me?! the one that HATES when people touch my stuff and needs at LEAST 2 hours ALONE to decompress from my day is going to spend 12 days with 4 kids...

As the trip approached I realized what I signed myself up for. 4-children plus 3 horses, a dog, a goat, a bird, chickens and ducks. YA... I must have been insane to accept this task. But none the less I accepted my fate and took on these little brats (Not brats I love them like they where my own). Things went pretty well I think. I shocked them with my ability to cook (I cooked 2 out of 12 nights)as well as my insisting they do their chores. Ya what a drag I am huh? But we all survived and my sister and brother in law returned rested and ready to resume their roles.
I gained a HUGE appreciation for parents out there. Especially the single ones. It isn't easy man. Thank goodness my nieces and nephew are totally awesome and well behaved or someone may have been duck taped and locked in a closet.

So after my adventure in babysitting. I treated myself to a matinee movie. I went to the movies all by myself (GASP)! I have never done that before. I know people that do it all the time but this was a first for me. So after getting the car cleaned I went and saw SATC2. While waiting for the movie to start and praying I didn't see anyone I knew in fear they would ask me who I was there with and I would have to admit to being there alone followed by me feeling like a loser, I watched the previews. There was 1 movie that caught my eye. A movie starring Julia Roberts. I have always liked Julia's' movies and based on the preview alone I decided that after my movie was over I was going to buy the book the movie was based on. I am sooo glad I did! Eat, Pray, Love is an amazing book! Really inspiring! The title alone had turned me off to reading it sooner. I thought it was one of those new age, self help, crap books. But no! This lady is as real as they come! She is funny insightful and most of all REAL! So I suggest you pick it up!!!



I have been really busy with clients the last few weeks. There is only 1 word to describe my clients. AWESOME! I seriously do not know how I got sooo lucky to be blessed with these awesome people! They really are more like friends than clients! Friends that pay me to wax and glitter them! Who could ask for more? So if I haven't said it before I will say it again. THANK YOU FOR BEING AWESOME!

 Last summer my amazing friend Midge started teaching yoga in Saratoga Springs. Me being the good friend I am started attending her classes! I have done yoga in the past and enjoyed it but for some reason or another I never really stuck with it. Midge has totally changed that! For the last year (off and on thanks to illness and injuries) I have been learning and training with Midge and I love it! I am so calm, relaxed and focused after each session. In the last year I have bought several books on yoga and even made a little space at my house to practice (thanks Mom and Dad for letting me occupy yet another space.) If you live in the area please, please check out the yoga classes at the Avondale academy in Saratoga Springs. Midge teaches on Thursdays and there is another equally awesome instructor on Tuesdays!



Ok this was a REALLY, REALLY long tangent... hope you enjoyed... if not.. to damn bad.

Spring is officially here (has been for awhile now despite the snow) and a lot has been going on. I went to St. George with the always adorable Nikki and Cami and we had an AMAZING time!! There is no better way to re-charge then by spending time with good friends in the sunshine.



On what I think was the ONLY nice saturday in April my awesome photographer friend Amber Shaw took some family pictures for me! My fam is not exactly great at getting together for pictures. The last time we did pictures was in 2003! Before that it was 1984! I have made it a goal to try to get us together more often even if I have to threaten dismemberment!!



Poor Miss Maye had gained A LOT of weight this last winter. We started walking a lot then I noticed she was limping a lot. After a few days the limping didn't stop we went to the dreaded vet. Dayzie was not happy she paced the floor whined and hid behind me when anyone entered the room. The diagnosis was obesiety! (Not a surprise) My baby weighed in at a whopping 53lbs!! So we are once again on a diet and my girl and I walk twice a day!




This last weekend we where lucky enough to have Master Jeff Kim come out to Utah to see how much the Utah AKF rocks!

This time my craziness is not my own fault!

So it is not completely out of the realm of possibilities that I would be in a sassy, pissy, ornery mood from time to time. These moods are usually fleeting and do not last longer that a day or so and generally can be eased with a Pepsi and a Peanut Butter cookie.

Anyway, back in 2006 my Dr. told me my thyroid was sluggish and I needed to take thyroid medication ( this is NOT a big deal. A lot of people have low functioning thyroids and take medication to manage it).

A few months ago I was notified that the type of thyroid medication the Dr. had prescribed was no longer available. Again, not a big deal so the pharmacy gives me 2 pills. Synthroid and Cytomel.

Me being the wacko that I am I went and googled cytomel. It is apparently a T3 replacement. Ok cool no biggie.

So the first few months are great! I felt good! Well about 3 weeks ago I did not feel so good. I was having a hard time breathing when I exercised. Now I work out regularly.. yoga, judo, jiu jitsu etc. So I thought my chronic pleurisy was back (MAJOR bummer).

Soon to follow, heart palpitations, extreme sweating, and inability to withstand heat. There for a bit I though I was going through menopause!! I ended up in the ER last week b/c of the chest pain and racing heart. The Dr. could not explain these feelings other than pleurisy. CRAP!!

To top it all off I had gained a few pounds, 10 to be exact... so that did not make this girl ANY happier.

We were leaving for a competition in 4 short days and this meant I would not be competing. I was super bummed. During our trip I was sooo emotional! I actually CRIED at a tournament!! I do not do things like that. I was also like super pissy towards well almost everyone (p.s. I am totally sorry friends for being a biotch). I got home on Sunday night and told my mom about how emotional I had gotten.. she took that as a Que to quickly leave the room in case the grumpy Samiee came out to play.

Yesterday I went to see my amazing Primary care Dr. I was there for a scheduled follow up to the gazillion medications I take. I told him how I was feeling and he said he was almost positive the reason for my erratic behavior was an excess of T3. WHEW!! what a relief.. oh wait what?? too much? So I leave his office run home and google "symptoms of too much T3" This is courtesy of Web MD

"Tell your doctor immediately if any of these unlikely but serious signs of too much thyroid hormone occur: headache, irritability, trouble sleeping, nervousness, increased sweating, heat intolerance, diarrhea, menstrual changes. Seek immediate medical attention if any of these rare but very serious side effects occur: chest pain, trouble breathing with exercise, fast/irregular/pounding heartbeat, swelling of the arms/legs, extreme weakness"

FREAKING fantastic!! and the treatment for this?? lower your dosage. Well that is easy I can do that.... but my poor friends and family have had to endure this wrath! Man.. they must love me to tolerate this. Because wow... I was a MESS!

Things people say.....

So apparently people think I have an accent. I do not know why they say this. I talk and sound just like everyone else.

It is becoming a pet peeve of mine when people mock the way I say things... or when I use a colloquialism they haven't heard before!! Below are some examples of things I say/have said that people mock (bastards)

1) "Squoze"- this is the past tense of the word SQUEEZE. I do not care that the modern day English people say that the correct conjugation of this word is "squeezed". That just sounds STUPID! "I SQUOSE it and nothing came out."

2) "creek"- When I say this word it sounds like "Crick" CREAK is what the floor does when you walk across it. A CREEK (Cr-Ick) is what I played in when I was child. I went through elementary, Jr. High, High school AND college and NO one corrected me. So... suck it.

3) "Snarly"- This is what happens when you have long hair. Some people all it tangled whatever I was taught the proper phrase was, "My hair is snarly." This is what I still say. Also, when your hair has knots in it.... those are SNARLY bugs. Yes I know they are not REAL bugs.

4) " Get your Goat." This is a fave old saying of mine. I remember the day Shawn asked me why I say this... he thought I said it because I actually have a goat and I would be bothered if someone took it. Here is the history of this phrase http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/10/messages/1015.html

5) "Lean on your own breakfast" My parents say this to us when we lean on them. I said it at the studio and everyone looked at me like I was speaking Greek! I looked it up and according to the Dictionary of American Regional English, "Lean on your own breakfast" means: To sit up without leaning on another; to rely on ones self, don't lean on me. Apparently this is a really old fashioned saying but ya it has meaning. So there!

6) "Pants"- Several people have said I say this funny. They say I pronounce it like(PAY-ANTS). I think I sound just like everyone else.

7) Milk- Ok I KNOW I say ME-lk. I dunno why I do this I just do.

There are just a few examples of things I say that people do not understand. It is not MY problem they are so stupid :0)

Shameless plug......

Well So I am sure people might not care about this.... but when I find a product line I am THIS excited about I had to share..... Now as an Esthetician I sort of feel like it is my professional duty to only promote "professional" products. Since I started Esthetic school in 2004 I have used nothing but professional products. Some I liked some I didn't.

After the salon closed in summer 2009, I no longer had access to ordering my favorite products from Dermalogica because unfortunately you have to have an account with such companies and well in these economic times I do not have 2k to spend on opening an account and it is sold in other salon/spas but I would have to pay retail... GULP GULP and I just couldn't bring myself to do it..... ok finished with this tangent....

ANYWAYS... on a trip to Sally Beauty I decided to try the Beyond Belief skin care. I thought hey this is in-expensive and it will get me through for now. At the time I bought the product I was experiencing a lot of clogged pores and my skin was just BLAH!! I had read some reviews online about the products but I am a BIG believer in testing things for myself. This product claims to be developed by professionals, but a LOT of product lines claim that and well they suck.

So I bought the Vit. C foaming cleanser (pictured above left) and I FELL IN LOVE!! on the front of the bottle it says that is removes all traces of dirt and make-up... I can verify that it DOES!! Best of all?? It does this with-OUT stripping my skin! After like using it for a week I no longer had the clogged pores! Amazing.... I will of course not guarantee that for all who use it but I can tell you it made a difference in my skin! It was soft and supple. I actually did not HAVE to put moisturizer on right away!

I have SUPER SUPER oily skin so I also got the oil-free moisturizer... WOW! I noticed a decrease in the oily, heavy-ness of my skin in the first use!! My forehead is still quite oily but no where near what it was before! Also it goes on GREAT under make-up. I usually have to wait a few minutes before applying my makeup after I moisturize... not with this!



As I am quickly approaching my 30's I have been very diligent in using an under-eye, wrinkle reducing, make me young and beautiful forever, erase the bad nights sleep under eye cremes. Since I had loved the cleanser I thought I would try the Vit C nourishing eye treatment. For several years I had this millia, clogged pore thing under my right eye... really close to my lash line. As an esthetician I know that these things happen in the eye area and really the only way to get rid of it is to see a dermatologist. Mine was small... no larger than the head of a pin so I didn't bother me much. After using this eye cream for 1 week I noticed that this thing looked kinda like an ingrown hair.. So I kinda picked at it and it came off!! Just off! It didn't hurt but it just sloughed off..Looking back I think it was an ingrown eyelash. But wow this eye cream sloughed it off without irritating my skin!



As I mentioned before my skin is SUPER oily. I saw this serum that claims to refine your skins texture and even skin tone with Alpha Beta Hydroxy acids. Now most OTC products have some ABH but in a concentration that usually just irritates the skin. Not this product!! At first I was using it everyday and I noticed my skin was getting a little sensitive so I have cut back to every-other day. LOVE IT! I did use it last night and then decided to wax my eyebrows... not a brilliant idea since these acids tend to thin your skin and make it prone to ripping. Well this is true.. I do not apply this on my eyebrows but still.


In conclusion I would just like to recommend these products to my friends and family if you are looking for some new, inexpensive skin care. I still use some professional products, there are just some that cannot be duplicated. But I will let people know that the Beyond Belief Skin care is a personal favorite of mine and they offer a wide variety of products.

Today might suck but the future sure is looking BRIGHT!!!

This is me being MAD at January 2010

So the month of January pretty much sucked. Ya, no other word for it. It sucked. I was sick pretty much the ENTIRE month! At Christmas I got the croup.. THEN got an infected tonsil. 2 weeks later I got a NASTY sinus infection. Here comes round 2 of antibiotics (which I JUST finished). Also, there was a lot going on the family front... A lot. I attended 2 very, very, very sad funerals in less than 1 month.

We lost a dear friend, Charlie. Charlie took his own life soon after the New Year. This is a great loss to all those that knew him and he is going to be greatly missed.

The second service I attended was for my Cousin Jessis' baby. Jessi was due in early March but suffered some complications and the baby did not survive. This was the first funeral for a baby I have ever been too. I truly hope it was my last! This little angel is going to be greatly missed but loved even more. Going to this service to support my amazing cousin I took the time to reminisce about our wild youth. Jessi and I used to, in her mom's words, "Raise hell." Haha and well that wasn't too far from the truth. Jessi and I liked to have a good time and one could be had no matter where we went.

This is me being happy about February 2010

February started off pretty great. The family stuff is 90 times better.... I am not sick... and I have some AWESOME things coming up.... wanna know what they are? Well here goes.

This is Cami, Lor and Nikki 2007

In April I am going to sunny ST. GEORGE with 3 of my favorite people! Nikki, Cami and Lor Lor! This will be a MUCH MUCH needed girls trip. We are going to hang out, eat crap, shop and um be crazy girls! Soo excited... I just wish ALL of my favorite girls could come... oh man that would BE AMAZING and we would need a really really big house, a fire extinguisher, a slip and slide.. and well basically it would be like the playboy mansion without being skanky and gross! HAHA. What can I say? All my friends are beautiful!!!!!

These are some of my beautiful friends!

After St. George I (WE) are going on our annual Billings, Montana trip. This trip is always so so so so much fun. 9 hours in the car on snowy highways isn't so fun but man the people that go make dying in the wilderness worthwhile :0) I hope I didn't just jinx us... hmm... scratch that last bit about dying in the wilderness......

Kathy, Mark, Danny and Me 2009

A few weeks ago I took HarLee and Jade to the mall. Ya.. what was I thinking!? It actually was pretty fun. I think Jade was more traumatized. He had to go in a lot of girl-y stores and well we went to Ulta and Jade saw his first um..... homosexual wearing make-up. Needless to say it was an experience he won't soon forget.... and neither will I!!

Aariel and Har
while at the mall Har and I got some matching "glasses" they are not prescription but boy oh boy we look cute in them! Aariel could not be left out of this.......... Har ditched us to go to a stake dance.... but to make it up to me she let me do her make-up. I think I did an awesome job...

Me and Har in our glasses

A Grange Family Christmas

This year Christmas was a little bit different but it was still good. We didn't get to spend Christmas Eve with My sister and her family but they came over on Saturday and spent the whole afternoon! We made treats, played games and DANCED!! That is right casa de Grange is a dancing HOT SPOT! haha our favorite tune these days? Party in the USA... ya I know it is Miley (yuck) but you can't help but dance when you hear it... Check out Miss Shay and Aariel shakin their money makers!!!

Aariel shakin it!!

Shay likes to dance like me :0)

My daddo made some AWESOME gifts for each of us! I got a custom belt rack for my Martial Arts belts. Jade got a tool box, HarLee, Shay and Atta got jewelry boxes!!

Jade is not a fan of the Samiee style paparazzi

Surprise Surprise I was SICK over Christmas.... actually the big surprise is that of all things I had the CROUP... I use to get the croup all the time as a kid but you are suppose to out grow it.. Apparently my respritory system like the rest of me refuses to admit we are 27!!

HarLee, Atta and Shay playing with the AWESOME sticker books my Mom got them.



Aariel got her own laptop... so she will stop pushing the buttons on mine :0)

c'mon Samiee I don't wanna pose before I open my presents!!!