Seven Favorite Devyn Memories

It's not over yet ya'll!  I still have more friends who wanted to write for 7w/D!  Yet another debut by a repeat commenter, new author!  

Let's welcome Agent Z(or Natalia...) with the first of many posts she plans to write for 7w/D!  This is another friend of mine who knows way too much and I was weary of just how many of my deep dark secrets she would write about...luckily njust the one about the braces. 

Miss Agent  Z ma'am, Thankyouverymuchyourcheckisinthemail.

***Full disclosure, the profanity in #7 came from my mouth via my texting fingers.  I'm no angel, but I'm still sorry to my parents and grandparents...yes they read this blog.  - D

Seven Favorite Devyn Memories

In honor of Devyn week and in keeping with the theme of this blog, I have chosen to write about my seven favorite Devyn memories.

1. Geometry class – where it all began…?  Devyn and I have trouble pinpointing the exact moment we met, but this was definitely close to the beginning, if not THE beginning, of our friendship.  We made kaleidoscopes.  We built stuff with legos.  She dazzled me with her genius mathematical skills.  I dazzled (or disgusted?) her with my ability to be completely obsessed with a new boy every week.  And the rest, as they say, is history.
2. Elbowing her in the face.  Not what you would call a fond memory, but Devyn has a penchant for repeating the tale, so it might as well be my version that gets out into cyberspace first.  So.  High school.  Sophomore year.  Spanish class.  I had my head down on the desk and Devyn decided to sneak up reeeeal close and say something that caused me to fling my arms out and whip my head up.  I realized too late the proximity of her mouth to my elbow, and she spent the rest of class attempting to liberate her lip from her braces.  Devyn, I’m SORRY!!!
3. The surprise 18th birthday party she threw me (and Lilian J!).  Have you even been blindfolded and thrown in a car against your will, wondering if you’ll ever see your family again?  I haven’t, but I have been blindfolded and daintily placed in a car full of friends and driven to a surprise 18th birthday bash organized by one Miss Devyn R.  This is just another example of Devyn flexing her “I’m an awesome friend and you are damn lucky to have me” muscle.  She successfully united all the different groups Lilian J and I hung out with, and we all enjoyed a wonderful April evening in the park.
4. The cakes.  I was the envy of the school on my birthday, because I got a homemade Devyn cake.  She would tote it all the way to school (bombing down Aviation), present it to me with a flourish in the morning, and I would be fighting off well-wishers brandishing forks for the rest of the day.  Cherry chip with cherry frosting and M&Ms, some kind of brownie concoction with mint filling and fudgy icing…it’s enough to make me wish I was back in high school.  But she really outdid herself with my UA graduation cake.  It was a beast of a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting so good I wouldn’t mind taking a bath in it.  But the most awesome part was the perfect Arizona “A” lovingly cut out of fondant that adorned one side.  The other most awesome part was the exact replica of the Gap logo that was plastered on the other side.  Seriously people, I’m talking PERFECT replicas.
5. Off-roading.  Devyn has no fear when it comes to operating heavy machinery.  I learned this as I was strapped in to a mule and taken on a high-speed, multi-circuit tour of her aunt and uncle’s backyard nature trail.  It was super fun, especially because no one died! 
6. Beatles Rock Band Night.  This was epic, you guys.  Devyn, her brothers, KM and I successfully completed every single song in Beatles Rock Band in one sitting.  Even the songs we didn’t know.  I’m not sure how things progressed from “Let’s do this for a bit.” to “LET’S DO THIS FOREVER!” but I’m glad they did.  Maybe it was the Macayo’s.  We ended laying flat on the floor doing more mumbling than singing, but that still counts. 
7. Constant Texting.  This is an ongoing memory as opposed to one moment, but cut me some slack here.  As you probably gathered from the disproportionate amount of Devyn memories that took place in high school, I don’t get to hang out with this lovely lady very often.  After high school I stayed in Tucson for college while she set out building her career as a pastry chef.  Now I’m working in San Francisco, so the distance has only increased as we’ve grown more and more awesome at life.  Texting is what’s held us together all this time and across all those miles.  Mostly because I’m an a-hole and never answer my phone, but also because it’s the easiest way to reach out across time differences and crazy working hours to say “Hi, shithead.”

And this concludes my Devyn-riffic post.

Happy birthday, Devyn!  Here’s to many more memories.

The Dirt! 12 Things Dev Doesn't Want You To Know About Her

Happy Birthday to ME!

Herc seems to have been up to some shenanigans, he emailed me this...just like this.  I don't even want to ask him where he found all of this sensitive information!

Enjoy and since it made me laugh out loud,  I hope it makes you do the same!!!

The Dirt! 150 12 Things Dev Doesn’t Want You To Know About Her

After an expensive extensive exhausting half-arse investigation brief Google search, Herc’s International Exports and House of Global Espionage has prepared quite a thick dossier on our Miss Devyn.  Here’s the dirt, the lowdown, the poop and the scuttlebutt.  Use it as you see fit.

• Devyn is preternaturally afraid of Muppets, 1111111, yellow wooden pencils with pink erasers, 1111111111111111111 and British accents.  Not people with British accents mind you but the actual accents themselves.  This applies to all British, Irish, 1111111111111 and Scottish accents and Australian and some Canadian accents as well.

• Blessed with amazing athletic ability, Devyn fancies herself rather a good golfer but has consistently failed to make it past both the clown’s mouth and the haunted windmill on every course she has ever played.  She prefers to play with an orange ball and club with at least a 3 degree angle while out on the links.

• Practically a fluent speaker in her native language, Devyn cannot wink, blink or operate a ventriloquist figure (“dummy”) without moving her lips.  Or her nose.

• Because she possesses beauty beyond the range of perceptible human eyesight, astute mirrors have been known to look at Devyn before she looks at them.  And the Sun follows her wherever she goes.  Until it gets tired.  And then the Moon takes over.

• Devyn knows the difference between right and wrong but sometimes confuses right and left.  And her password is “1234password” but don’t tell anyone

• It was Devyn’s suggestion that the Girl Scouts Of America slice up their slow-selling Mint Loafs and market them as Thin Mints.  She was awarded the Bright Idea badge and got a personal visit from the National Leader of GSA, who then asked Dev for her autograph.  On a non-disclosure agreement.

• As an avid celebrant of holidays, Devyn refuses to acknowledge the existence of or even decorate for International Hug A Tree Day and Universal Pig Latin Day which are usually more than 7 months apart.

• While playing the position of goalkeeper in AYSO soccer games, Devyn held opponents to fewer than 20 goals.  Every. Single. Game.

• On the rare occasions Devyn deigns to have her car washed by trained professionals, she often chooses to have either Caribbean Breeze or Monkey Farts as the interior scent.  But never both at the same time.

• She’s been known to hock up a small hairball on more than one occasion through no fault of her own.

• The Lord may move in mysterious ways but Devyn uses a 27’ U-Haul truck.  And 37 of her closest family and friends.

• As a child, Devyn’s nose was “stolen” more than a dozen times by close relatives with the long-term effects yet to be determined.  While her nose was always recovered, the guilty culprits have never been brought to justice.

Seven Randoms About Devyn

T'was the night before the big day, when all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a mouse.

The bags were packed and ready by the door, anxious to go in hopes that go-time would soon be there.

The special girl was nestled all snug in her bed while visions of yet another birthday danced in her head.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, she sprung from my bed to see what was the matter.  Right to the window she flew like a flash, she tore open the shutters and threw up the sash!

When what to her wondering eyes did appear, than a pimped out pink Cadillac with spinner wheels and KM bedazzled on many surfaces!

A stiletto-ed leg was the first to exit the chariot, and KM pelted a paper airplane that hit the special girl square between her eyes and this is what it said...

"PUT THIS ON YOUR BLOG $&@%$!!!"

...and so she did...

image here

Seven Randoms About Devyn 

by KM

6 years I have known Devyn. I still remember making her a birthday card in culinary school when we first met. I have been lucky enough to celebrate the past six birthdays with her, whether we were in Tucson, Phoenix or Vegas. When she told me about her birthday week theme, and asked me if I wanted to do a post, I thought of course....but what to do...so many themes I could do. Finally I decided that I couldn't just pick one. So my post is just random Devyn. I am thankful for all she has brought into my life especially her family who has adopted me as their own and been one of the best things about being in Arizona. She has been such an amazing friend to me, that I hope these things make her smile a little bit. Happy birthday Squish!

1. Ask Devyn to wink. She is definitely getting better than when I first tried to teach her, but it still needs a little work. I am pretty sure I break out into laughter every time I see her wink. I tried to teach her by telling her to close both eyes and then just open one. She closed both eyes and then deer in headlights opened both...ask her to do it...I promise you will laugh.

2. Road trips. Devyn and I have gone on many road trips. Of course, she does all the driving which I am eternally thankful for. We have gone to Tucson more times than I can count. Disneyland for a weekend. Utah for the day, just because. Sedona, Flagstaff and other random places just because we were bored one day and wanted an adventure. Vegas multiple times. We saw the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile on the Hoover Dam people. Awesome music, awesome snacks and awesome conversations.

3. Devyn loves t-shirts. She has tons of them. My favorite that she owns is one that says "Teach me how to Domo". Makes me laugh every time I see it. She also loves Domo, if you didn't know that then you fail as her friend =]

4. She is one of the smartest, selfless people that I know. Her whole family is so smart it is ridiculous...and Dev usually says she is the dumb one of her family. She has been my nerd herd, my accountant, my financial planner, my roommate, my landlord, my driver, my therapist, my everything. She would drop anything to help those who really matter to her, I am thankful everyday that I am one of those people.

5. Ask her to say "Hefeweizen". Hi.lar.ious.

6. She has taught me so much. She has been with me through culinary school, a move to Vegas, a move back to Phoenix and multiple moves around Phoenix. We have moved 5 times together. Without her, I wouldn't have been as successful in school, in my first pastry job in Vegas or the job I have now.

7. She is the ying to my yang. If you break us down, we are total opposites. She likes romantic comedies, I like action. She dresses casual, I dress up. She likes electronics and fixing things, I like sports and beer. We balance each other out. We keep each other grounded and boost each other up. She is the sister I never knew I wanted, but so happy she came into my life.

A note from the editor to KM:  Your methods of blog entry delivery are questionable yet entirely effective.  Thank you so much for this entry!  Devyn appreciates the kind words and is only slightly embarrassed at the secrets you have unleashed on the poor readership.  As always, I truly enjoy your writing and look forward to many more birthdays and signature KM entires! 

Seven Ways to Cross The Country

Its still birthday week!  Today's post is brought to you by the fabulous Faye!  I've known Faye for 5 years? Wow!  Anyways, she is one of the craziest, kindest, most AMAZING people I know.  Truth be told, I have no idea where she lives these days, or if her activities there are within the limits of the law, but I still love her!  You will too...


What I like about this post is that its not all about me!  However, little known to Faye, I have been wanting to feature more posts on travel.  I love to travel and wish I could do it more.  Faye is always on her way someplace or back from somewhere else.  I envy her!  Thank you for reading my mind Faye!  Also for the shower of compliments here, you are far too kind!  


What do you people think of Faye? I think she is my new resident travel expert here at 7w/D...I love this post!!! - D


If you read Seven with Devyn on a regular basis you will notice that Devyn is great at capturing random moments of life. Like that conversation you have with a friend about the best sandwich you’ve ever had, and later you wonder why you’re even friends with a person who puts corn syrup on their peanut butter sandwich. No matter what the topic, the blog shows her passion for starting a conversation. She ignites responses you want to talk about, she makes 7 points that make you want to add your own 3...4...5, and she rocks at it all!

If there is one thing I share with Devyn, it’s my ability to be random. I am very much about living in the moment. Two weeks ago I took a spontaneous road trip, in 48 hours I drove 16, slept 17, ate for 4, surfed the web and read city brochures for 2 and then ended up driving around in the rain for 9. Most people would say that it wasn’t worth it, especially with the rain…but I say it was time well spent. Travel is my passion; I have driven cross country 8 times, 12 times from North to South, and even more flights around the world.

Road tripping is an art form. First you plan a destination, a route to get there, the people to invite, the budget to spend…and then…while on the road you have the freedom to change it all! Magic! There are numerous ways to road trip, but here are 7 ways to the cross the country.

1. SOLO: My favorite way to travel is alone! I hop in the car and go, there is always enough room for my luggage and no fighting over the music. (oh and I can sing along with every song!!!) This is a terrific way to get to know a new destination too. Making a friend at the hotel you stay at or the near by coffee shop is a great way to find hidden jewels of the city you’re visiting. Sometimes you luck out and get a tour as well. I trust my judgment on which gas stations to stop at and rest areas to avoid, but I always think of the peace of mind that comes with not fighting over the remote control in the hotel room. Ahhhhh! When I was living in Las Vegas I recall taking a tourist around the strip and showing him what was worth paying to see and what was worth just walking by. I’m an avid lone-traveler, I recommend new tourists to make their first solo trip with in 3 hours of home. This way it’s not a bad drive home if you end up not liking your music choices and inner monologue.

2. FAMILY VACATION: Some of my best memories are on family vacations. I was 8 when we took our first cross country vacation. It took one month! Each of us were allowed to pack 1 small duffel back into our Jeep Wrangler. My dad had the maps, history books and AAA guides out on the table for weeks leading up to the trip. He drew a red line on the multi-fold road map for us to see our trip. He circled sites like Mt. Rushmore, the Hot Springs, the Petrified Forest, and the White Sand Dunes. Mixed into our travels was a daily fight between my sister and I scrunched in the back seat ‘she’s touching me’ echoed on the walls of the Rocky Mountains. We would stop and visit family along the entire trip. Some I never saw again, but was glad for the memory. My great uncle was an inventor. He built a 4-runner vehicle for riding on his property, a traditional wind mill to power all of his electrical needs, and the icing on the cake was that he built his house on a turn table to get the most sunlight inside at all hours of the day. Family vacations are all about being stuck in the car with people you love heading to towns where people love you.

3. FRIENDS BONDING: Many trips with a bunch of friends in the car lead to make-or-break situations. The friendship either gets stronger or falls apart on the 3rd verse of “If You Wanna Be” by the Spice Girls. I suggest having some mixed CD’s and include plenty of older classics. Songs that take everyone back to their child hood or college days…no one can get mad with Vanilla Ice singing “Ice Ice Baby.” Again, make sure to be flexible with what you eat and what you listen to, but make sure to have a hotel booked and everyone knowing how much they owe you for gas. Money is the last thing you want to have a fight over on a road trip. Start with a short drive and a destination, amusement park, concert or winery in mind.

4. NORTHERN ROUTE: Option one for the drive is to hop on the turnpike for a while and get a lot of ground covered. Drive through some beautiful scenery ranging from the changing leaves and forest in Pennsylvania, to the great lakes, through the St. Louis Arch way and finally hitting the Rocky Mountains. The most awesome part of this route is winding around the mountains in Colorado. It’s not ideal for those who get car sick, but it’s beautiful. The mountains on the left and the rushing rivers on the right, make a point to pull over to the side of the road and breathe in this air. Beware of how hard you ride your car through the mountains. Make sure not to use your cruise control and to give your car a rest as soon as you make it down the mountain. Or stop to hike along the river trails.

5. SOUTHERN ROUTE: I know this route by heart. My favorite option because it’s great on the eyes, the car and the pocketbook. The gas prices are usually low, it’s very flat and easy for on the car, and there are lots of interesting stops along the way. There is a mix of southern BBQ, Mexican and all American cuisine. And during the early spring or late fall you can find warm sunshine and bitter snow en route in a single day. Be aware of the ’No gas for 54 miles’ signs, it is not a fun walk if you run out of gas!

6. FAR SOUTH ROUTE: This route is for truckers only. It’s too long and too hot, and too dry for me. The only excuse for this is if you’re already in Texas and near highway 20, or if you are going from Florida to New Mexico in a day. If this is your choice route, make sure never to get below a ¼ tank of gas, sometimes there are 50 mile stretches with no gas stations or rest stops. It’s important to give your car a break every couple hours as well. Every 2 hours stop and stretch and turn the car off for 10 minutes, especially in the summer heat.

7. ON A MISSION: I have moved cross country for school and for work. I have moved a friend from Alabama to California. I have driven to Nashville for the weekend, Florida for the week, Las Vegas for the day and California for 16 hours of fun. When you have a destination in mind, don’t get distracted or you’ll miss out on your time there. The standard tips for getting from point A to point B is to take turns driving and make sure to sleep when you’re not driving. Peppermint keeps your senses awake, so keep some in the car along with some chocolate covered espresso beans. Crack the window once in a while to keep the air from getting stale. Stop and eat your meals when you stop for gas and buy a pair of trashy sunglasses at the first Flying J you see!

Seven Things Made Better By Devyn

Welcome back to the greatest week of all time: my birthday week! (kidding, sorta)
Today I present a new contributor. She's been around in the comments and is making her debut today in a wonderful Devyn-centric post. Lilian has a lot of dirt on me...I hope she has lost all of those memories and replaced them with more important things like her little kiddo.  Anyways, here she is!

A quick note to Lilian J:  #1 How fancy are you as someone who just has a last initial?  Totally jealous.  Anyways, I find it funny that we can't find time to write eachother more than a couple times a year.  What I find to be quite humbling is that you took the time to write this for me.  Thank you so much, can you just go me one more favor?  Please ensure my large readership that I DID NOT pay you for these kind words! - D

Seven Things Made Better by Devyn:

I have known Devyn since high school, a time when many of us were riddled with teenage angst, pointless cattiness, awkward haircuts, and pining for any particular older (or younger!) boy that caught our attention. Now, several years later, I still feel blessed to have Devyn in my life, and in honor of her birthday week, here’s a list of seven things Devyn has improved in my life. So, cheers to you, Devyn, and Happy Birth-Week!

1. Accounting: This was supposed to be one of the dullest classes in all of the Tucson High elective options. However, due to Devyn’s good humor and wit, it became the highlight of my week. Of course, our natural inclination for all things nerdy didn’t hurt, but this early morning class went from being “schedule filler” to delightful.
2. Birthdays: I’ve recently heard from an acquaintance that she lost interest in birthdays past the age of 10. Sad, really, because I still enjoyed celebrating my birthday well into high school. This is largely in part due to Devyn’s knack for making all of her friends’ birthdays special (maybe a subliminal bribe to have us do the same for her? Notice an entire week of blogs dedicated to her birthday!). The cakes decorated in bright colors, cartoon characters, and various candies coupled with the little gifts Devyn would carefully pick out for each person gave us all a reason to come to school on our birthdays.
3. Sarcasm: Ah, the art of sarcasm. Devyn has perfected this biting humor with a large dose of funny mixed with a bit of put-in-your-place observation. A sarcastic comment from Devyn will leave everyone laughing and thankful to be on her good side.
4. First jobs: Devyn’s first job was at Target. She loved it. Almost too much. Devyn’s loyalty, determination, diligence, and zealousness for excellence put all of the other teenage employees to shame. If I had ever had a chance to see her store’s break room, I’m sure her face was plastered all over it with proclamations of Best Employee Ever. This approach to work is a clear example of Devyn’s high-quality character that we, as her friends, deeply appreciate.
5. Family time: When most young people are loosening the apron strings, Devyn was anxious to hang out with her family members. In high school, watching her love for her brothers and parents encouraged me to show my mom a little more affection and realize that life is too short to not spend some more evenings at home. I so appreciate her example, even today, of someone who knows that people are the most important aspect of any life, and there is always time to show our loved ones how special they are.
6. The name, Devyn: Seven by Devyn. Heavyn by Devyn. Never have I met someone with such a love for their name. In perhaps the ultimate compliment to her parents, Devyn is infatuated with her name. I’ve known other Devins (notice the lamer spelling), but Devyn’s appreciation for her name (especially the “y”) makes me feel like it really is the coolest name out there. And she owns it, so we better not copy her!
7. Friendship: Devyn showed me all about loyalty in friendships. She showed me that little things are not worth the heartache (note pointless cattiness, above) and that humor is always the best anecdote. As with her family, Devyn takes her time and connections with her friends very seriously. She and I don’t talk very often, but when I got married in 2008, who was more than willing to make the most beautiful, shiny, brightly-colored cupcakes ever? And who is faithful to comment on the pictures I post of my daughter? And who is always quick with a response to any message/text/etc. I may send? My precious Devyn.

Thank you, Devyn, for showing me the bright side of things and for allowing me to be your friend for this long. I’m sure the loyal readership will agree that you are too wonderful for a short list of Seven to define!

Seven Reasons I LOVE Devyn!!!

I'm getting older.  Yep.  My birthday is coming up.  I am so looking forward to finally being old enough to drive!  Just kidding.  A lady never shares her age though.  Lets just say its more than 5 and less than 40.  

In true to Devyn fashion, I begged everyone I know to write me a post for my birthday week that I could share with you all and hopefully earn myself a week off!  I love to see how others interpret the 7 theme and it has been a success as far as I'm concerned.   It needs to be said that I have not paid these people for their services or actually thanked them.  They have had no real incentive to do this, my jedi mind skills are just. that.  good.

Starting off  my birthday week, I have a post written by Steph, you remember her from here.  You can generally find her commenting relentlessly on damn near every single post I put up on here.  She has been a fan from day one and I am pleased to present to you her exact post, no edits, no censorship, straight up facts!  Enjoy!

A quick note to Steph:  Thank you for this.  Such kind words and memories- some that I don't even recall!  This was the best birthday present you have ever given me!  Merci.  - D



For Devyn’s Birthday I want to share SEVEN reasons why I absolutely love and adore her.

Steph's Seven Reasons I LOVE Devyn!!!

FUN TO CHATTER WITH – And we would get in trouble for it as well. We worked at the library together and we’d chatter away while in the back sorting the books. I don’t understand why we got in so much trouble - we still did twice as much work as everyone who wasn’t talking. But anyway, we could talk forever and it made life much more fun and interesting.

FREE DESSERT BUFFET – Devyn catered my wedding for FREE. Who does that? What a great friend. She made a marvelous spread for my dessert buffet at my reception. THANKS DEVYN! I am still mad that I didn’t getting any of the cheesecake…

INSPIRES LAUGHTER – This woman makes me laugh FOREVER! She is so witty. I just love it.

PARTNER IN CRIME – I am not one to do sneaky things, but once upon a time we had this supervisor who really needed to lighten up and also was incapable of remembering anything. We decided to help her with that little problem and proceeded to put post it notes chalk full of reminders ALL OVER HER DESK AND COMPUTER! It was AWESOME! She didn’t really appreciate it, but it was hilarious. I don’t think it helped her to lighten up, but we should get some Good Samaritan awards for trying…

STICKS AROUND – Devyn is a constant friend. She has stuck around me for the past 7 years, when we very easily could have parted ways. She shows interest in my life and lets me in on hers. Devyn is AWESOME.

INDEPENDENT LADY – I have always admired Devyn’s attitude. How would you describe it? She just is certain of who she is and she shows it. She goes after what she wants and she does well at whatever she wants to do. You inspire me to be more independent and to accomplish some amazing things.

FRIEND FOR LIFE – Devyn is a person who I want around for life. She is funny, witty, smart, caring, inspiring – just the type of friend that everyone should have.


Happy Birthday Devyn! I am so glad that we are friends. You are spectacular!