I Promised Pictures

Yesterday I said I'd post pictures of the game so without further ado, here they are. Note: they are in reverse order because that's how they uploaded. Deal.


Me with Brian Karya who is one of my new favorite players (new meaning this year).


This is the four of us with Jacobson. He's kind of a big deal. And I love those tiny hats. And I love that we played in throwback royal blue jerseys.

The scoreboard doesn't lie and according to the scoreboard BYU wins! It was an amazing game that went into overtime.

Caroline, Sarah, and I when we rushed the field. There was a lot of touching going on. Please notice my awesome war paint.

The beginning of the game was sunny and Sarah and I are fierce.

Enjoy. P.S. I'm now going to decorate my house for Christmas. Hooray!

Proud to be a Cougar

I think my blog posts possibly resolve quite a bit around sports. I don't care because I love sports. So, as I mentioned in my last post, today was the BYU vs. Utah, Holy War, football game. It was absolutely amazing. I'll stay away from the nitty gritty details of who was up and who was down when. We went into overtime. Utah scored their fieldgoal and we scored a touchdown on a pass from Max Hall (15) to Andrew George (88). It was phenomenal and we stormed the field and had a big fat good time. Here's a lovely picture of George.

Oh, and by the way we played in royal blue tonight as a throw back to the 1984 team that won the national championship. It was quite lovely.

Now, a slightly serious matter. After the game, Max Hall made some comments that he shouldn't have and opened his mouth when he should have shut it. The article is pretty thorough about what he said. Hall should have thought before he made those comments, but it's no surprise that the Cougars hate the Utes. Not to mention the fact that if someone dumped beer on my family (he mentions this in the article) I would have said way worse things about the other team and their degree of class.

My real issue comes with a friend of mine (a BYU fan) who posted a status on facebook that said "Max Hall is trash" and then in a comment afterwards said maybe next year he would become a Utah fan. To him I say good riddance. We don't need any untrue and unblue fans hanging around taking up space. I've always been a fan of stand by your man and can honestly say that I've been a fan of Max Hall and supported him and the team through and through.

Watch tomorrow for a post with my pictures from the game (and not much else).

Dear Poser Girl...

Dear Poser Girl,

Why are you loud at the basketball game when you nothing about what's going on? Simply repeating what other people are yelling (but much louder) does not make people think that you understand the game. I think it's great if you want to come to the game and learn to understand it, but until you do ask someone what's happening and shut your mouth.

Dear Obnoxious Guy Who Brought Poser Girl,

Cut back on the personal attacks, will you? I will admit I think the occasional remark to the other team is hilarious, but no need for that on every play. Have a little class.

Dear Girl Playing a Racing Game on iPhone at the Game,

Why did you even come? If you have no interest in the game then there's no reason to show up and take up space someone else could be using.

Dear People Wearing Red to the Game Last Night,

What the heck are you thinking? It's the Holy War* today and we have to support our team. Red in any form is simply not acceptable this week, especially the night before the game! When you show up to a game, wear the team colors (except under extenuating circumstances like a car accident immediately before so you couldn't go home and change)!

*To those of you that have no idea what I'm talking about, there is a huge rivalry between BYU and the University of Utah known as the Holy War. Today we, BYU, play our annual football game against them. BYU is blue, and Utah is red. That is why red is completely unacceptable.

Something Disturbing

This morning I woke up at 4:30am to a text message that had been sent twenty minutes before. I was startled to see it was from my dad's phone. I quickly read the message that said, "Thanksgiving 2 on sunday at moms. I would like you all to be there. Ginger of course you'll be there in spirit. thanks dad." I went back to sleep and figured I'd talk to my mom at a more reasonable hour and ask why she had texted from dad's phone. (Sidenote: Usually if you text my dad he asks someone else to find out why there is a weird icon on his phone's screen. When he finally gets the message checked he calls you and says, "why did you send me that d*** thing, you know i don't know how in the h*** to respond.) To my surprise when I talked to my mom, I found out my dad had sent the message himself. His phone was just replaced by one with a full keyboard because his broke.

I really just don't know what's more disturbing: the fact that the message was sent at that early hour or that my dad sent a text. What is this world coming to?

I made this cake for my friend Ashley's birthday on Sunday.

I Love BYU Sports But...

Last weekend was the men's basketball season (home) opener. I went to dinner with Ashley and Tresa and we headed up to the Marriot Center for the game. We quickly found some pretty decent seats, but soon noticed these weird laminated fliers on the benches. Some marked the two outside seats on every other row for the "Spirit Squad." (Spirit Squad tangent: I think that's dumb. It's the combination of the co-ed cheer squad, the all girls cheer squad, and the cougarettes (the dance team). I hate the cougarettes already on principle, but why do we need an all female cheer squad? I only think this is acceptable if they are recieving athletic scholarships that allow us to have more male athletes because of title IX. Also, why do all of these things need to be combined together? Moving on.) Then some other fliers were floating around all over with people reading them and then passing on. I stole one and took a picture of it. This is what it looks like (if it is too small to read, just click).



At first glance, no big deal. I figured it was not a terrible idea to let people know the schedule of the pre (and even post) game events, though it was a little unneccessary. What really bothers me is the assigned actions for cheering during the introductions and game. I didn't grow up near BYU or watching BYU sports. When I came here as a freshman I had no idea what to expect or what to do at sporting events. But now, after having attended many I know what to do when the band plays the imperial march at football games. I know when to chant 'you got swatted' at basketball games and to keep at it everytime that player has the ball at least for the half. I know that when we kick off in a football we get louder as our player runs towards the ball and then get a little quieter with our yell as the ball falls. I know these things because I've attended events and I've learned. I wasn't given any special tutorial or magical handbook (or laminated flier) to tell me what to do. I learned the old fashioned way, by being around other real fans that know what to do. This takes the magic out of the crowd and fans and being there all together united in one cause - your team's cause.

A Memory That Goes Way Back

A few nights ago I was driving home from a friends house. It wasn't really very late, but it was already quite dark. There was a crisp fall chill in the air when I first left the bright warmth of her doorstep and by the time I got to my vehicle the goosebumps were already raising on my arms. I backed out of the driveway and pulled off into the night, quickly adjusting my radio station to a song I recognized. Before I even hit the end of her street I got an idea. I rolled down my windows and turned up the floor heat all the way then smashed the buttons on the radio to find a country station. The music was up, the cool night air was hitting me in the face while the floor heater kept me from being too chilled. In that moment I remembered times from my childhood - exactly the same and vastly different.

My dad's commute to work was a long one and it wasn't rare for him to bring along one of us girls to work with him or to drop off at Mammaw's for the day. I was a daddy's girl through and through so often I was the one he made the trip with. He left early in the morning, well before the sun, when the air was still cold even in the springtime. Many times we made the trip in a mid-level warmth that allowed me to sleep wrapped tightly in his jean jacket, face pressed against the window while he wore his t-shirt with the sleeves cut off and the collar cut out - the tie dye was his favorite. Those were good mornings, but they weren't the magical mornings. The magical mornings came when we rolled down both windows in the little green truck and turned on the floor heat. I still nestled into the jean jacket, but there was no chance I was going to miss one of these mornings to an uncomfortable window pillow. Dad turned up the radio, usually playing classic rock and occasionally country and we sang. He made up words where he'd forgotten and beat the rhythm out on the steering wheel, dashboard, and seats. These were the mornings when we made magic as we sped through towns with the windows open.

I'm no longer a child and my dad has a new job - he has to wear a shirt and tie. The little green truck was sold and I live far from home now. That enormous jean jacket wouldn't seem so big anymore if it even had the chance of making it this many years. Those magical sunless mornings are no more. But sometimes, and only sometimes, when I roll down the window, turn up the heat, and blast the music, I remember those times and think how proud my dad would be.

A Few More Likes and Dislikes

Like: President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's fireside from tonight which was uplifting, enlightening, and funny.

Dislike: When people have conversations with me only when they want to watch something I've tivo'd or get a ride. I have no problem giving rides or tivo-ing things for people, but if that's the only time you talk to me, we have a problem.

Like: Ward prayer and the open house/ mix and mingle/snack and mac/ mac and mingle/ grab a cookie take a lookie that follows. It's just such a good time when you get to interact with a lot of people you don't always talk to and those you've missed all week. It's just fabulous. Especially today when we bobbed for apples.

Dislike: How hot it was in the balcony seats during stake conference at the Provo Tabernacle today.

Like: As much as I hate to say it, Sarah got me to watch Vampire Diaries (a CW show). I am reluctant to admit that I am hooked. We watched 7 episodes this weekend. Here is just one of the good reasons to watch the show.

I think I'll stop on a like, nothing like ending a Sunday on a happy note.

Some Things

First, one thing I love: braids. I love having my hair braided. My favorite is two french braids, but just one braid down my back is fantastic. I don't know why I love this, maybe it takes me back to being a child? My hair was braided for my Halloween costume which is the main character from this book.

Second, one thing I do not like: IMing. I don't have a problem with it really, my issue is there is not polite way to end a conversation. Say you get online and your friend starts talking to you. You have a good chat and the conversation starts to die down, but you are planning on staying online for awhile and/or are having a good chat with someone else. You have very few options. You can a) let the conversation just die b) continue to make awkward forced conversation c) say you have something to do or somewhere to go and go invisible or d) stop talking to everyone all at once. This is frustrating to me. Maybe I should just get a life.

P.S. My sister got married today. Oh dear.

The Quiet World

I was linked to this poem while reading the BYU 100 hour board today. I decided I love this poem and I already know I love the 100 hour board.

The Quiet World

In an effort to get people to look into each other's eyes more, and also to appease the mutes, the government has decided to allot each person exactly one hundred and sixty-seven words, per day. When the phone rings, I put it to my ear without saying hello. In the restaurant I point at chicken noodle soup. I am adjusting well to the new way. Late at night, I call my long distance lover, proudly say I only used fifty-nine today. I saved the rest for you. When she doesn't respond, I know she's used up all her words, so I slowly whisper I love you thirty-two and a third times. After that, we just sit on the line and listen to each other breathe. Jeffrey McDaniel

School Started

I'm only going to pause briefly to apologize for my hiatus from blogging. Life has been busy.

Anyway, school is kicking my butt right now. My classes are pretty fun and this is the Arts semester for the elementary education program. That means I get to take things like art, drama, dance, and music. These classes, however, come with a lot of projects that take hours and hours. So I spend my time coloring with crayons and choreographing dances and singing "My Country 'Tis of Thee" into a tape recorder. Epic.

The new ward is pretty good. I was so scared and sad for everybody to leave, but we got some legit new people. We had a solid week of activities for the first week so everyone got to know each other at least a little bit and it got the ward started on a good foot.

I am going to try to blog more regularly. I swear. In the meantime, enjoy the view I woke up to a little less than a week ago

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Confession Time

I'm feeling a bit dramatic, so I'd like to make a few confessions.

1) I've realized in the last few months that when I spend the night anywhere that's not my apartment (besides home) I still get homesick for home and my momma.  This is me and my momma during Christmas break 2007.  Neither of us look particularly good in this picture, but I love our matching pajamas.

2) I've now been to Arizona.  I still don't really like it.

3) When my friends make racist remarks, it makes me sick to my stomach and wonder if I really want to be friends with a person like that, even my friends who I love the most.  And then when I think that maybe I wouldn't want to be their friend, I feel like a bad person.  Racist remarks just make me so frustrated.

4) I missed Sarah this summer, a lot.  But, I think I was forced into finding and making other friends which was good for me.

5) I'm so ready for the "boys" to get back from their missions.  At the same time, it freaks me out because I know that it isn't very likely that things will be the same between us.  However, they'll be grown up men so hopefully we can be a new kind of friends.  

I feel like five is probably plenty of confessions and a little too much drama for one night, don't you think?  I know that I thought of a six, but I can't remember it for the life of me.  Enjoy.

Married

Well, Jaimie's married now.  It's a little weird.  Everything about the reception was absolutely lovely and Jaimie looked stunning.  Sarah and I were there early because Marci had to take pictures so we helped set up a little.  Then we got roped into serving gelato for the rest of the night, but avoided the lady at all costs so that we could enjoy the wedding. 

I stole this picture from Sarah as my camera is MIA.

At Least We Didn't Get Eaten By Coyotes

Yesterday morning I got up at 6:30 am to get ready to leave for Arizona (to go to Jaimie's wedding).  I picked up Marci and Jenna and we were on the road by 7:30.  A little bit into the trip (hour and a half? two hours?) I started seeing white smoke coming from the back of my car so I texted my mom to see how big of an issue it was.  She said it was probably just because I had gotten my oil changed days before (wrong answer).  Awhile later (two and a half hours into the trip) the smoke increased and we stopped accelerating - in the middle of nowhere, Utah.  I freaked out a little, but pulled over to the side of the road and stopped.  I was leaking a lot of some sort of fluid so I checked the oil.  There was plenty.  So, I pulled out my phone to call my mom - no service.  The other girls woke up and we started doing a service hunt.  As soon as we stepped away from the car, we heard the pleasant sound of coyotes. Awesome.  Several people stopped and we waved them on. Finally we got enough service so that I could call my mom, my mechanic uncle (in Virginia) and we got ahold of AAA. 

Meanwhile, a lovely old couple stopped.  They had been planning to leave early for the temple that morning, but ended up not going.  The lady said we looked just like good Mormon girls (which we are) so she had to help us.  We were at that time fighting with AAA because Marci's parents were the cardholders, not her, so they didn't want to give us a free tow.  The couple (the Collettes) gave us their AAA card and promised to double check that we were getting a tow truck once they were in a better service area (because service was so spotty and we weren't sure the call had gone all the way through).  Once they left, a few more people stopped (including pretty much Marci's whole family) and we waited.  We finally decided someone needed to get to an area with better service so we could check on the tow truck.  The plan was not to go with a man, and to send two people.  Luckily, this lady and her sister and their vehicle full of kids stopped, refused to leave only one of us there alone, and drove Jenna to a service area.  On the way, they spotted the tow truck and came back.  That's when Rick came along.  

Rick was the tow truck driver and mechanic.  He said that he had towed many vehicles like mine that summer and they all ended up in the junkyard because they needed a new transmission and that's too expensive.  Not to mention that I was leaking transmission fluid.  This is what I drive (a picture from the internet, not my actual one).  

Mine is  the same except it's all blue, no white. I figured my car was dead for always and started freaking out minorly.  I got calls in to my parents to let them know we were no longer stranded on the side of the road.  We were taken to Beaver, Utah to Rick's shop to wait.  We sat in the DQ attached to the gas station attached to the shop and waited.  And we waited and waited.  And I freaked out a lot, and we waited.  We started trying to figure out plans for what we would do.  The general consensus involved staying in Beaver for the night and getting a ride to Arizona the next day with a friend of Marci's (though we didn't know how to get back to Provo afterwards).  Finally we heard from Rick.  My car would run, but it will never go fast again and likely not long distances.  We took it back to Provo.  

The plan then became to get Jenna's car (which would involve getting her oil changed, checking tire pressure, unloading her stuff because she's moving, and transferring all of our travel neccesities) and then drive to Arizona either through the night or stopping at Marci's grandparents on the way.  To our surprise and delight, Jenna's boyfriend had done all the things to get the car ready before we even got there and she just had to get gas.  Twelve hours after we had originally left, with no net gain, we were on the road again.

The rest of the trip was relatively uneventful.  We drove it in three shifts, no one got pulled over, Jenna saw a couple deer, there was construction, and Marci got stuck in the rain.  Finally, we got to Marci's house, I showered, and I went to sleep.  The day was certainly exhausted, but we made it.  We got here and we're ready(ish) for the wedding and we owe a lot of people for their time and kindness.

This is a Beaver.  I just found out they do have beavers in Utah.  Go figure.

Letters (of the Alphabet)

I have a genetic disorder that will not let my brain shut up when I want to go to sleep, especially when I really need to sleep (like last night when I was doing stuff until 3:30am).  So, I started thinking about letters, starting with J.  I won't try to follow my string of consciousness back to why I started with J, but that's what happened.

Then, because I'm nuts, I started figuring out how to spell out each letter (for example: jay, kay, and el).  Then I got frustrated.  How would you spell out H?  I figured all of them out except for stupid H, so I turn it over to you. 

Hair

To set up this story, I need to give you two pieces of background information.  One: on Friday, the whole family has movie night.  The kids usually get to pick the movie and they get to have candy and eat dinner while they eat the movie.  It's their prize for being good during the week.  Two: Destiny likes to do what she wants.  One time she didn't like the pants her mom had dressed her in for daycare so she wet herself on purpose so she could wear the extra pair she had there.  

Awhile ago, Mom and I took Destiny and got her hair cut without Heather's permission.  It looked like this.

She loved that she could brush it.  Having long, tangled, curly, half-black hair is frustrating for a little girl.  Lately (actually, for a few months) she's been begging her mom to get it cut again.  Heather was not having it.  She likes Destiny with long hair.  So, last night, Destiny started cutting it short herself. My younger sister (that has a cosmetology liscense) finished it up for her and now she has short hair again.  I was talking to Destiny on the phone today and she told me her punishment was that she could not have Friday movie night.  I asked her if she thought it was worth it and she told me to hold on.  I could hear her yelling, "What's worth it mean?"  Someone in the background explained and she came back to the phone and told me, with zero hesitation, "It was worth it."  If this girl doesn't have gumption, I don't know who does.

Musicals

I've been going to a lot of theater lately, but this, is genius. 

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Destiny

(note: Caroline, before this post is over, I swear I'll tell you about Swimmy.)

This is my niece, Destiny.

She's really cute, no doubt about that. She's five now, going on thirty. I swear, this girl is too smart for her own good. When my sister and the kids moved in, she was very upset and said that this wasn't her own house or her own walls. she was mad. Additionally, when my sister broke off her engagement she was mad because it meant she wouldn't have a new daddy-figure in her life. Naturally, she made up a song that said "I'm daddy-less, but I'm fabulous." The poor kid. While I was home, she asked me what my job was. I told her I didn't have one and she literally yelled at me, "Ginger! You are twenty! Get a job!" What kind of five-year-old does that? Her latest escapade has to do with the sad loss of one of my sister's babies. Ferb was just too little and he couldn't make it. Naturally, you can't just tell a kid that it's future little brother/sister has died. Destiny has a pretty good grasp on Heaven, so they told her that Ferb decided he wasn't ready to be born and went back to live with Jesus. She accepted that answer for about a week before she asked her mother where Ferb was. Heather told her that Ferb was in Heaven with Jesus. She said, and I quote, "No mom. His spirit is in Heaven. Where is his tiny, baby, body?" Heather didn't want to answer the question, so she sent Destiny to my mom. My mom tried to explain as best as possible that his body was just absorbed back into his mommy's body (which is a lie, but you can't tell a kid that a dead baby is just still in there). She was mad when she went back to my sister. "Mom! Is what Gamma said true? Why didn't you just tell me that." Something is seriously wrong with a kid who thinks that way. I love her. I'll try to post more things she says within posts on other topics.

As for Swimmy. The reason the book is so controversial and sometimes banned is because of the fear of the communist hoard (because the fish are red). What in the world? Yeah, it's crap. Congrats to Sean who guessed mostly correct (even though his guess didn't have much to do with the actual things said in the book, but the release date). So, what treat would you like Sean?

Drugged

On Monday morning the sixth of July (I know it was that day because Heather was supposed to go to the doctor on the seventh and I was going to take her, but then she went that day and I didn't. Anyway, back to the point.) I was drugged.

I had been sick when I went to bed the night before and woke up even more sick. My throat felt swollen enough to cut off my air (yeah, I'm also dramatic when I'm sick), I could barely breathe through my nose, and I thought I might throw up (lovely). My mom had called me from work to check on me and I told her that I felt like garbage. She sent my twelve year old brother in with some meds for me. I didn't take them immediately because of how bad my throat hurt; I just left them on the shelf beside my bed for when I woke up. When I finally did get up at ten I took the pills he'd left for me and ate some cereal. I had been awake for almost and hour when I decided I was just too exhausted and went to get back in the bed. I fell asleep quickly and didn't wake back up until almost five o'clock. When mom got home from work I decided to ask her what she'd sent the boy in with (thinking it was some sort of allergy meds that had knocked me out) and she didn't know. He kindly told me that it was a couple of "motrin sickness" pills. We searched the medicine basket until we found the bottle he'd used. They weren't "motrin sickness" but "motion sickness" and I'd had a double dose. No wonder I'd gotten so much sleep. Yes, I was drugged by my own brother. At least he had good intentions.

Phineas and Ferb

Phineas and Ferb is a cartoon show. I've seen part of an episode and I'm not even sure what network it's on. I do know that the title characters are two pretty smart brothers that annoy their sister. This is a picture of them.

Kind of ugly little fellows, yes? Well, as any of you that are friends with me on facebook may have seen, my sister is pregnant. She's having twins and is only ten weeks along. Therefore, we have no idea the gender of the babies yet and can't name them. She's tossing some name ideas around including Noah and Noel (my Mom wants to call them NoNo), Sarah and Cody (no joke), Isaiah and Isabella (I like this one), and Maya and Kaya (I'm so not for the cute rhyming thing). Until we know what they are, though, we can't get too serious about names. The whole point of my rant is that we are now calling them Phineas and Ferb. Gabe kisses Heather's tummy and talks to them and calls them Phineas and Ferb. It's kind of hilarious. Here's what the babies really look like right now.

I think the one on the left is Phineas (aka Baby A, aka the bigger one) and the one on the right is Ferb (aka Baby B, aka the smaller one). Phineas is apparently trying to suck the life out of Ferb. He will have to stop. They are about the size of gummi bears right now and have little nubbins like gummi bears to boot. Don't look up close-up or better pictures of what babies look like at this age. It's gross. They look like aliens.

Babies

Let's talk about babies. Being here at BYU, tons of people have babies and that's fine, honestly. Today I was sitting in my health class (School Health for Elementary School Teachers). A girl who had already done some work in the classrooms and is further along in the program than I am told a story of a boy that had to sleep in the garage (not a nice fancy finished one, like a normal garage as far as I know) because there were 13 kids in his family and there was no room in his house. WHAT THE HECK?! I personally think that I'll wait to have kids until I have enough health insurance to pay for the having the baby and enough money to provide. I don't need to be rich, but I need to have enough. I understand that not everyone thinks that way and thinks you should not delay having children for any reason and that's fine. But, this situation is ridiculous. If you have too many kids and you aren't able to give them the basic needs like a warm place to sleep, then STOP HAVING KIDS. Now I'm just upset.

Swimmy

I think most anyone that reads this blog knows that I'm taking a children's lit class.  Today, we talked about book censorship.  I expected to see Harry Potter and wasn't too surprised by Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (which is illustrated with the police officers as pigs).  However on book totally surprised me.  It's called Swimmy.

 

This is the cover of the offending title, a Caledecott Honor Book.  Not to spoil it, but this is how the story goes.  You see those little red fish around the bottom left of the picture?  Those are the rest of the fish in Swimmy's school.  Swimmy is the little black fish.  He knows he's a little different than the others, but that's ok.  One day the fish are all out swimming (as fish do) and a big fish (I think it's a tuna) comes and eats all of them, except for Swimmy.  Well, poor little Swimmy is sad so he goes out looking for friends.  He asks a jelly fish and a lobster and a variety of other sea creatures to no avail.  Finally, he finds a school of little red fish exactly like his!  He joins them and teaches them to make a formation like the one pictured below (which isn't from the actual book)

By doing this, the little fish can scare away the big fish and not get eaten.  Isn't that a good story?  Yeah, I thought it was alright.  Then what is this book doing on banned and controversial book lists in many parts of the country?

If anyone (in this area) can guess correctly WITHOUT looking it up or asking someone else, I'll bake them the delicious treat of their choice.

You have two days.  The answer will be posted by thursday. 

Strange Observation

Ok, how many of you out there remember your first kiss?  I'll be honest, I only remember mine very vaguely.  What about when you were new to kissing?  Ok, got that image/idea in your head?  Follow me a little bit here.  

So, before you ever have kissed anyone (at least girls, from what I've heard) you have one idea in your mind what kissing someone is like.  You get that idea from watching movies with the perfect moment and from fairy tales (I don't know where guys get their ideas about kissing).  Then you actually kiss someone and it's so not what you expected.  It's not that it's bad (ok, first kisses suck, but besides that).  Kissing is just different than what you thought it was like before you actually did it.  

Today I decided that that's like a lot of things in life.  You come into a situation with certain expectations, and almost always you're wrong.  It doesn't mean that things are going to turn out badly just because you didn't quite understand before you were thrust into something new.  Yep, I just used a kissing metaphor.  What of it?

And, to celebrate the topic, a kissing scene from the movie Becoming Jane.

Glee

I know Sarah has already posted about this, but we don't have that large of an overlap in readership.  Glee is a new tv show that will be released in the fall. 

Before we talk about the plot and premise, let's just explore the genius of this marketing.  The creators have made a show that can definitely pick up some of that High School Musical crowd, but appeals to a much larger audience.  And they've released the pilot months before the show begins on tv (in the fall).  It is already hugely popular.  They've let the internet and word of mouth do their advertising and it's working.  I heard about this from dozens of people before I watched it and now I'm telling everyone I know to watch it.  I'm just a part of the chain here.  Also, the song from the end of the pilot episode is currently the number three download on itunes (I definitely bought it, it's a fabulous cover of a Journey song).  According to press releases each episode will include four musical numbers.  That's more built in money for the network.  People who watch the show will buy the songs adding to the revenue.  Now, on to the basic premise of the show.

 

The glee club in a high school got cancelled so a teacher who really cares volunteers to pay the fee and keep the club going.  He holds tryouts and gets together quite the motley crew.  He has a controlling wife who is a delightfully hateable character.  There are fabulous stereotypes of the traditional high school characters and adoringly quirky characters.  The kids in the club have fabulous voices and can really belt it out.  I don't want to reveal too much, but I definitely recommend checking out this show.  It's worth it. 

The Weekend in Review

This extended weekend was absolutely fabulous.  I got a lot of chill time and a lot of play time.  Here's how it went.

Friday and Saturday I did a lot of relaxing and reading.  I read the rest of the required chapter books for children's lit (a biography of Lincoln, Tiger Tiger, Corner of the Universe, The Devil's Arithmetic, and finished Heir apparent).  I went to the library and checked out all 34 picture books I needed for my project in children's lit and read those.  I watched "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" on Saturday night and all around had a good amount of chill time. 

Sunday I of course went to church and between church and home I wrote six missionary letters (Brady, Cody, Sean Ryan Layton, Brock, Tyler, and the Schlerf).  I tried a new recipe that turned out delicious and had dinner with Sean and Jaimie (mile high enchilada pie).  After ward prayer I played games with the 77 boys and Randi and Alex for awhile then went to play hearts with Travis and his friends Seth and Abe (who are fairly hysterical).  I actually finished Tiger, Tiger late that night and then slept in a bit the next morning.

Memorial Day is a great thing, right?  I went to Abe and Seth's ward picnic and hung out with a girl from my class and a girl from my ward.  We played ultimate frisbee in the pool that's over there and had an all around great time.  My skin got a lot of color which may be my favorite part of the weekend.  I took a quick nap when I got home then pulled myself together for the ward party.  We went to the Bishop's and had some great food, played Bocci ball, chatted, and played Wii.  Also majorly successful.  As soon as I got home I went to Ashley's and hung out with Ashley, Tresa, and Randi.  We watched Jon and Kate plus 8 so that we could see the major drama (I won't take the time to explain it here, just pick up a tabloid next time you're at the grocery counter).  

I know my life might sound a little too boring, but I am absolutely loving it right now.  

Right before I left for school (actually the last weekend before) I dragged the whole family (with metaphorical kicking and literal screaming) for family pictures.  It was painful and challenging, but we got some that turned out alright.  Back row is my oldest sister Heather, me, my other older sister Laurel, and my younger sister Donna.  My dad is holding my nephew Gabe (now age 4) and Mom is holding my niece Destiny (now age 5) and my baby brother Glenn.  Most of the family looks a lot different now.

New Year's Resolutions - Another Update

I am the worst blogger ever.  The worst part about this is that I feel like I have interesting things to say, but I'm just not saying them right now.  In all fairness, life has slowed down significantly for the summer.  Things are still moving, but there are less classes, less homework, and less social life.  I know, I really need to work on that social life part.  I decided, though, that it was time to give you all a little update on my New Year's Resolutions again.  For the purpose of, you know, keeping me honest.

1. Stop spelling out swears when I want to say them
gone. at least for now, this doesn't happen anymore (though sometimes when I'm talking about the neighbor's cat, I get upset and I'm tempted
2. Stop saying piss
also hasn't happened for quite awhile.  I slipped up once about a month or so ago, but I can't expect perfection. 
3. Stop saying douche bag and douche canoe
Done and done.  I rarely feel tempted unless I'm talking to my friends about guys acting like idiots, jerks, or both
4. Stop judging people
I'm making major progress here.  I'm talking about a whole heck of a lot of progress.  This isn't something like the others, though, where I can just eliminate something from my vocabulary and then I'm out of the habit.  Oh no, it's much more difficult than that and I work at it every single day. 
5. Write in my journal at least once a week, preferably more (in a word document)
I wrote in my journal today.  The last entry before then was March 10th.  Failure much?
6. Read more for fun

Does it count if the novels I'm reading for class are fun so I'm reading them way ahead of time?  Also I read The Hunger Games which was absolutely fabulous.  Summer is giving me a lot of time for reading (but that is damaging my social life a bit)

Well, folks, there it is all plain and simple.  I'm making progress on my resolutions which is saying something cosidering I have never made any before.  I'm pretty proud of myself.  I don't think I'll leave you with a picture today.  I apologize. 

What I Saw and What I Learned

This morning I had a nice slow morning.  I woke up and laid in my bed reading for awhile (homework reading, but it was a good book).  I then moved to my desk and did some other homework, still in my pajamas, with the window open and the lovely spring breeze blowing in my face.  A little later I decided it was time to make my bed and left my desk.  I heard yelling and profanities outside my window.  I decided to look through the blinds because I really wanted to know what was going on (call me nosey if you like).

What I saw: 

A man that worked for a plumbing company was out  by his truck screaming.  He had parallel parked on the wrong side of the street (so he was facing the wrong direction).  He was screaming and yelling at the University Parking Enforcement guy that had just finished attaching the ticket to his windshield.  The plumber yelled that he had only been there for 10 *freaking* minutes and didn't give a *dang* if it was his job to enforce parking.  The conversation went on and resulted in the plumber crumpling up the ticket, throwing it on the ground, and then picking it up and speeding away while the parking guy got his license plate number.  As I have already stated, the yelling wasn't very friendly.  It was the profanity that first startled me enough to look out my window.

What I learned:

I thought about this incident for the rest of the morning and early afternoon.  And then I though about my own life.  How often have I knowingly done something wrong only to be dissatisfied and even angry with the results of my actions.  A lot.  Sometimes, it's been simple things like speeding or hitting a sibling.  Other times, it's been more serious.  I've been through a lot of periods in my life where I haven't read the scriptures every day.  I know that it's a commandment that we do it.  I have been personally blessed by reading the scriptures daily.  Still, when I'm at a point in my life when I'm choosing not to read, I'm frustrated with how messy my life is, how much of a shambles.  From now on, I'm going to try not to be like the plumber, angry at others (and even God) for the mistakes I knowingly make.  I will of course try to do the right things.  If that doesn't always happen (and let's be real, it won't always happen), I hope I can remember to take responsibility. 

Just thought I'd share a little wisdom, or at least thoughtfulness.

This is what I read this morning.  Not a great read, but not bad.  TERRIBLE cover art. 

My Mother

It's mother's day, so I'm gonna go ahead and blog about my Mom.  Don't pretend you weren't expecting it.  

1.  My mom and I are really good friends.  

2. I tell her everything (and I mean everything).

3. We generally get irritated by the other members of my family at the same time. 

4. During Christmas break my freshman year at BYU we watched the whole VH1 ANTM marathon.  For about 7 days straight.

5. We really like to watch reality TV together including almost anything on Bravo, HGTV, and Food Network.  Our favorite by far is survivor.

6. We go grocery shopping together.  This is usually an all day event. 

7. Sometimes we play with the boys (my dad and Glenn).

8. She talks to me on the phone several times a day.

9. Sometimes when I'm rambling she just full on stops paying attention.  It is annoying.

10. We're a good match for driving.  I hate riding and she hates driving.  She doesn't care if I listen to music or books on tape so long as she can sleep.

11. We are great nappers.

12. She lets me sit in her nest even though I'm a grown up adult.

13. Sometimes she lets me be pathetic and just cry when I'm being a girl.

14. She'll let me tell her my secrets and she doesn't tell dad.

15. My mom's always cold and I'm always warm so she'll put her cold hands on my neck etc which is beneficial to both of us.

16. We get crazy redecorating ideas together that don't happen because Dad finds out.

My mom is pretty fantastic.  And Happy Mother's Day to all the other Mom's out there.

This picture is when I dropped Mom off at the airport after our roadtrip to Provo the summer before sophomore year. 

I Think About You in the Summertime

It is summer.  The weather makes me think spring, but it's warm enough that I can lay out in the sun.  I am already a closer to the normal color I should be.  Laurel would be happy.  I am the worst blogger ever, but you already know that.  Ok, back to the point.  Summertime.  I'm kind of loving it.  I have some classes.  Bowling (love it), children's literature (love it), foundations of education (tolerate it), and school health for elementary teachers (don't like the idea of it, but love the class discussion).  Here's the main problem with summer.  Sarah and me hung out a lot during fall and winter, plus some other friends that have since left.  And now I get out of class and do a lot of nothing.  This whole weekend, I've done nothing (but to be fair, I was sick).  So, I mostly hope Sarah comes back soon so I can get the heck out of my house.  I'm sorry, this post is the second most boring post in the history of posts.  

Oh, one more thing.  Sarah has gotten me all excited about football season.  Thing is, at this point it looks like it may be just me and Sarah for the games again.  We'll see.  Here's hoping for a better season for this guy. 

(com'on guys, it's Max Hall!)

P.S.  Got a letter from Cody yesterday. HOORAY!

P.P.S. Who knows what song lyrics the title of this post comes from?  No cheating.

The End of Winter Semester

I know I have a lot of blogging to do to catch you all up on things, but there's a few important things I need to just say quickly. 

Mostly, I got good enough grades and get to keep my scholarship!!!! Many of you probably know I was worrying.

Sarah has gone home for the summer which weirds me out.

My baby brother got braces which forces me to realize things are going on at home without me there.

My roommate Meghan graduated (congratulations!).

McKenzie and Melissa moved out...weird and sad.

Steve left to go home for the summer and then to med school. Sad.

Anyways, life is good right now, spring classes are going great and I got a minor sunburn yesterday which means I will get nice and brown this summer.  

Here's a picture of the baby boy (I know, I know. He's no baby) with his braces.

On Global Warming

Note: This particular post is likely going to be filled with blatant bias and ignoring of general facts. The end.

So, today in geology class (my final one for the record) I started thinking about global warming. We were talking about how we are currently in one of the six coldest times in all of Earth's history (which is 4.5 ish million years according to most geologists). So the earth has to warm up anyways. It's a natural cycle the earth goes through. I don't particularly care if humans are causing it to warm up faster or not, but I do think I've figured out the reason why people seem to care so much. They pretend it's about the environment and saving the earth and all of that mess, but it's natural for the world to warm up! That basically shoots a big fat hole in that argument. The real concern is that the ice caps and glaciers will melt which will cause sea level to rise and will pretty much drown the coast. Most of the cities that contribute the most to pollution and supposed global warming are close enough to the coast that they'd be under water or at least severely inhibited. These people say it's about nature, but really it's about themselves. That's my two cents. The end.

A fun picture I found because I like pictures.

Also, if you're not already (and like Seriously So Blessed and the like at all) you should read this blog: Normal Mormon Husbands. It's hilarious. And the latest post about women's infatuation with Edward Cullen is spot on.

On Making Out

We had the chastity lesson in church today. You know the one I mean. The bishop came in to relief society and told us how important virtue is which lead to a talk about pornography which lead to what is and is not ok when getting physical with the opposite sex. Well, here is my decision (based on a little bit of paying attention and a lot of thinking and pondering). I'm done. I'm done with this whole wanting to make out thing. Maybe if you're reading this blog you are shocked that I said right there and outright that I have been wanting to make out, but there it is and hopefully you won't judge me. And I know a few of my close friends are going to think this is ridiculous and that I'm just having a crazy moment, but I'm done. I'm not hunting for a NCMO (not that I necessarily was) and I'm just done in general. There is nothing romantic about making out, really. I really like the idea of romance. Do you know how much more attractive it is (to me) to hold hand rather than make out. This physical mess is ridiculous, and I'm done. So, even if I start dating someone, I'm hoping I can stay with this. Physicality (is that a word? if it is, there is no way it is spelled right) is not a healthy basis or focus for a relationship so I'm deciding to be done with it. We'll see how it goes.




Also, Happy Easter.

An Attempt at Coherency

I'm exhausted, so I'm going to try to get everything out accurately and sensibly. Friday morning I got up and got into a bowling class I wanted before I went to school (score one for ginger). When I went to the WILK to wait for marci and sarah. Brother Wright was there too and it was pretty sweet. Then when Sarah came we went and stood in line and I got my planner autographed by Kirby Heyborne and we took a picture with him (score two). We decided to go to the volleyball game and Steve said he'd come along. Noah Hartsock was sitting two rows in front of us. At one point I was irritated at the fan's for the other team and yelled "Suck it!" Noah seemed to think that was funny and quoted it to his friend (score three). Saturday was a blast at conference with a bunch of Meghan's friends and general partiness. Rearranged, stayed up too late and then got up and went to the morning session of conference today. It was amazing (a big thanks goes to Sarah's mom for hooking us up with the sweet tickets). That is my weekend. Sorry this blog post is the most boring one ever.

April Fool's Day

So, it's April Fool's Day. When I was a kid or in high school or anything we never really did anything for celebrating. I don't know if it's because we have so many people that are strange and goofy at BYU, but it seems that a LOT of people get super into it. So, I'm watching and waiting...

Jaimie and Sean like to be tricky on a normal day, so I'm really expecting something crazy. Or, rather, I'm watching out carefully. You never know with those two...

If I was clever like google or something, I would try to play a trick. But I'm not, so enjoy the cartoons and have a fun April Fool's Day.

P.S. Worst joke? The fact that it is snowing today. Seriously.

Waiting: What Does That Say About Our Men?

The MGs. Missionary Girls. The ones who are waiting for two years until the man they fell in love with does his full time service to the Lord. Yeah, those girls. You know the ones I mean. Most of them don't make it. Those are just the facts. Like them, hate them, whatever, everyone (including me) has an an opinion about the whole waiting situation. That is not the point of this post, I'm just introducing the topic here.

Now, on to the main point. These girls do exist. These MGs we'll say for the sake of saving space and because I want to and this is my blog. There are girls waiting for missionaries. What does this say about our men? In most cases I'll assume that the guy knows that he has a girl at home (if not, then there's a whole other situation and problem going on). So, whether she makes it or not, how positive is this about our men? I'm serious. I was considering this and these people have to meet and fall in love. They decide that they at least think they want to spend their lives together and get married. And then...he still leaves! For two years! To serve the Lord! That's amazing to me. Really. I know in some cases it's societal, cultural, or familial pressure that leads these guys to serve, but I'd like to think that most of the time it's because they are righteous men and are willing to do whatever is necessary and make the painful sacrifices in order to do what is required. That's amazing.

Two disclaimers: I know that there are other situations and that these opinions don't always apply to every situation and that not everyone is righteous or whatever. Also, I have no idea who this guy is. I'm notorious for just google searching to find a fun picture for my blog.

Righteous Missionaries

I know a lot of people on missions. I love them. Espeicially Brady and Cody. I know a lot of RMs too. I love them as well. I think it's an awesome and righteous thing to do, the thing to do (if you're a guy of course, and an excellent idea for some girls). Anyway, that's not the point of this post. I know a lot of people who have been called, are in, or have been to places all over the world, and you know what? None of them are better than any other one because of where they went. I was talking to a friend today who said he wouldn't have been as happy had he been called to, say, North Dakota (that was his specific example). Really?! Are you serious? Is wherever the Lord calls you not good enough? This complex (that a lot of people seem to have) is extremely frustrating. A guy in my ward served a faithful mission to Salt Lake City. Seriously. There are both elder and sister missionaries on BYU campus. I have a friend in California and one in Arizona. A kid from my ward last year went to Wyoming and another of my friends happened to serve in DC South (the mission with my home ward in it). All these guys are righteousi -- just as righteous as the friend I have who went to Thailand, the one who went to Japan, and the ones who got their mission calls to Taiwan and the Phillipines. Let the complex drop. They're all good guys (and girls). The important thing isn't where they serve[d] their missions, it's how diligent and humble they are.

And a special shoutout to my roommate who served an ASL mission in New York City.

On a sidenote, I like to have pictures on my blog so I did a google image search. Do you know what you get when you search 'Mormon Missionaries'? Pictures from that Mormon Exposed: Men on a Mission calendar....Not sure how I feel about that.
Also, where is this guy's companion?

Engagement -- For Real This Time

Well, to put it as Chris did, the first one bites the dust. In all reality, I'm thrilled. I went to Sean's intramural game with Jaimie yesterday and then they came over later that night. I was wondering why they were there and asked. Jaimie said it had been to long since she'd seen me. It took me a good minute (or at least thirty seconds) to realize she had a GORGEOUS ring on her finger. Cue massive freaking out and hugging jaimie and screaming a lot. I'm so excited! Soon there will be a wedding that I will attend and I will know the people in it! Woo!

Other news, last night I laughed hysterically for a good five minutes when I realized that the last boy Heather kissed and the last boy I kissed are the same boy. I don't know why it is so funny to me, but it is.

Also, today I accidentally used the phrase 'butt ice.' Don't even ask, but it was hilarious.

Thought the final: I met Cody's dad and two sisters today. Nice family. It was nice to be around a real family and just chill.

Here's a picture I took at the game last night of the happy couple (pre-engagement):

Give Sean a break for his red sweatiness. He had just played an awesome game of basketball and basically run circles around everyone the whole time.

Death

I think about dying a lot. Like, more than most people, a lot. If that freaks you out, you probably shouldn't be reading my blog. The idea of death doesn't bother me (my own). I don't want anyone else to die, but the thought of dying is ok by me. In some ways, I think I'd prefer it. A note here: I would never commit suicide, so don't worry about that. I'm not tryin to be insensitive here, I'm serious. I was watching Grey's Anatomy with Sarah the other day and one of the characters has a problem that will kill her in a maximum of four months. I immediately started thinking of what I would do if I had four months to live. Not things like go sky diving or anything like that, more like tell people what I think (the good things that might not be socially acceptable) etc. This is probably not a good thing to think about. I just think dying would be easier.

There is an overpass on the main highway at home (interestate 95 for anyone interested). People seem to use this overpass a lot to jump off when their life gets too hard. A lot of the time they make a big scene and shut down traffic for a long time and still jump (not that I'm saying it isn't worth it to shut down the highway to try and talk someone down). On March 16th, a man quietly pulled his black SUV over to the side of the road, got out, and jumped off the bridge. This man's name was Paul Mitchell. He was a friend of my father's. His wife has been wheel chair bound and severely ill for about twelve years. Apparently his life got too hard. All weekend my dad thought he should call Paul because he hadn't talked to him for awhile. Monday it was too late. Please watch out for the people you know. You never know what can happen.

This is the bridge people jump from. As you can tell the river is not deep enough to give anyone a chance.

Three Random Thoughts

These are just some things I have discovered. They are silly and inconsequential. Enjoy.

1. The first day I was sick a couple weeks ago, I woke up and brushed my teeth as usual (I hadn't decided yet that I wasn't going to class). Then I got out my contact case and went to put in my right contact. Unfortunately, I still had a little bit of toothpaste foam on my right finger which then got onto my contact and into my eye. Cue the pain. That solidified my decision not to go to class.

2. Another contact story. A couple mornings ago I got up and opened my contact case....and proceeded to dump both of my contacts right down the sink. I was tired and somehow confused the morning put in the contacts routine with the night dump out the old solution and take out the contacts routine. Good thing it was about time for a new pair anyways.

3. You know that one spot that is impossibly hard to scratch on your own back? The one kind of between your shoulder blades but down a little bit? Try putting a band-aid there. It is completely and utterly impossible.

I put this picture here because I think that blog posts with pictures are more accesible (I'm not sure that's the right word). It's a random picture I found, don't think I'm emo and went hunting for it or anything.

New Year's Resolutions: The March Update Edition

Ok, here's the list of resolutions that I have:

1. Stop spelling out swears when I want to say them

2. Stop saying piss

3. Stop saying douche bag and douche canoe

4. Stop judging people

5. Write in my journal at least once a week, preferably more (in a word document)

6. Read more for fun

1- I have been doing SO good at this. Seriously, I barely even do this ever and I can't think of the last time I did.

2- This one has been really hard. I've generally been catching myself before I say it, but the other day it slipped out. I blame Sarah :)

3- I think of this one sometimes, but I have been able to catch myself. I'm proud.

4- I was doing pretty good at this one for a week or two, but then I slipped back into the habit without even realizing. I'm really trying and I've realized that I've slipped so I'm really working on it.

5- This hasn't been perfect. I have five entries, but some of them are close together and some are far apart, but the fact that I've written anything at all is impressive for me.

6- I don't read that much, but I've been reading at least a chapter a night of Pride and Prejudice. It's pretty awesome (I've read it before) and it's a great way to wind down before I go to sleep.

P.S. Haven't been having nightmares for a few weeks now. Score!

Weekends are Amazing

Can we please talk about the awesomeness that was my weekend for a minute?

Friday -

1. Met Jonathan Tavernari's fiancee during a group meeting

2. Got a Jamba juice from Sarah (and planned a girl/movie night)

3. Picked Sarah up, bought snacks, watched the Mormon version of Pride and Prejudice

4. Played Pirates of the Caribbean Life with Marci and Paul Shade

5. Did homework

6. Went to bed.

I know it doesn't sound that fun, but I really enjoyed it. I found it relaxing and productive.

Saturday -

1. Slept in until I was done sleeping.

2. Took my time getting ready and experimented with my hair

3. Made a lunch like 4-year-olds have for Jaimie, Sarah, and me (grilled cheese, applesauce, cookies, and we drank out of small cups).

4. Did a group project with the two of them and did our grammar midterm

5. Went to Wal-Mart (bought new razor blades [hooray] and fourteen pounds of chocolate pudding)

6. Went to the basketball game super early and played War with Sarah (and Sarah played gameboy for a little)

7. Watched the Cougars beat Airforce and clinch the [tied] number one spot in the MWC

8. Stayed for the presentation at the end with the confetti in the air and the cutting of the net

9. Went to the ringing of the victory bell.

10. As the players went back inside I touched all of the following (I am extremely starstruck at this point): Gavin McGregor, Jimmer Fredette, Chris Miles, Jonathan Tavernari, Jackson Emery, and James Anderson (I hope I didn't forget anyone). This was probably the highlight of my week.

11. Went to Spoon Me with Sean, Jaimie, and Sarah. Paid too much for a mediocre dessert. I was informed that the spoons were biodegradable and edible so I ate one. Video will appear on facebook.

12. Ate chicken barbecue at my house with Sean, Jaimie, and Sarah.

13. Played games (first with Sean and Jaimie, then with Ben and McKenzie).

14. Had roommate bonding with Meghan and McKenzie.

I don't think I can express how excited I was to have touched those players, just to have been so close to them. It was amazing. Those guys are awesome and just...ah. It's amazing.

That's Lee Cummard. Number 30 who played his final game (he's a senior) in the Marriot Center tonight. He was amazing and BYU will miss him. Plus, how awesome is this picture?

To Catch Up

I'm just gonna go ahead a write the things that I think are important in a hopefully short format (list style) and catch you guys up.

1. I am now 20. This is magical. I never have to be a teenager again.
2. I had an amazing birthday party, thanks in no small part to Marci for helping me out, but also all my friends made it amazing.
3. Ben (Bright) gave me a picture of a polar bear he drew and I really like it so I hung it above my mantle.
4. My friends (Marci and Sarah) made me amazing birthday dinner and cake on my actual birthday and it was so much fun.
5. We're having potato burritos for dinner on Sunday. Yum.
6. My room mate turned 22.
7. I got sick the day after my birthday party. I was sick in bed for a few days. Boo for the flu.
8. I have tons of new (to me) music courtesy of Sarah and Jaimie.
9. I decided that I'm going to do spring term and then go home for a few weeks so I don't completely not have family all summer because I would cry.
10. I'm considering going to Arizona with Marci, Mitchell, Jaimie, and Sean in May.
11. I'm considering going to the Mae concert with Marci and whoever in May.
12. There were BYUSA elections this week. Let's talk about a waste of my life. I voted to get a free t-shirt.

I think that's a good general catch up. Did I forget anything?

Why I Haven't Been Posting

Ok, so you may have noticed my lack of posting. It's kind of a problem and has been nagging me, but here is why. I got the flu and was sick for a few days and kind of slept it off and didn't want to have to think enough to write a coherent blog post. Then I got over being sick and had a lot of homework to catch up on. Not to mention a lot of pressure to blog about all the good stuff like my birthday party and my birthday and all the amazingness that happened and about being sick and about the Utah game and about how I didn't get to go and on and on and on. So I have all that pressure and it makes me not want to blog at all. I don't deal well with pressure like that, I just avoid doing anything about it at all. So I'm hoping that breaking the week long silence with this post will allow me to come back and post in a sensical way because I like blogging. I really do.

Engagement...Wait, What?

So, I get a text message from Sean today that asked if I could help him out with something at five. I said sure thing and asked what was going on. Sean said he was doing something to surprise Jaimie and he needed my help. I agreed and he picked me up at five. We made a little small talk when I got into the car and then down to business. I asked what sort of surprise he was planning. First he made me promise about a thousand times that I wouldn't think he was crazy. After I had promised as many times he told me. "We're going ring shopping." Wait, what!? I had a spaz attack, but tried to calm down. I told Sean I did like him and etc. etc. and then tried to return to small talk (which is impossible to focus on when one of your best friends is supposedly getting engaged and you're going ring shopping). The whole thing just kept coming up and I was kind of freaking out. We eventually pull into apparently the only strip mall in the Provo/Orem area without a jewelry store. I told Sean I thought we were in the wrong place and so we parked and he said he'd call his dad. He dials and says "Hey, where are you?" Then I hear a voice behind me say, "In the back seat." Once again, wait, what?! I turn around and there's Jaimie buried under a blanket and boxes etc.! Turns out they had to trick me so they could take me to dinner (for my birthday). Then we all went to dinner at Applebee's (even before I sufficiently calmed down to be in a public place). It was delicous and a nice treat. Don't I have great friends (that I'm going to kill)?

A Progression of Swearing

I hope this doesn't get too personal and freak you guys out. Just a disclaimer there to start. When I was growing up, swearing was not ok. You would get your mouth washed out with soap if you even said crap. That became ok and metriculated (is that how you spell that?) into my daily usage sometime around fourth or fifth grade and my parents as well as we grew up and my little brother was too little (we thought) to understand. Hearing my dad swear was a huge surprise and we knew we were in trouble and my mom swore even less often, meaning basically never.

When I got into fifth grade, I developed a bad swearing habit. I basically sounded like a sailor whenever I talked and didn't hesitate to call my classmates the 'b' word or anything else (though I never said the 'f' word). I think at this point I've realized some of the reasons why this came about, but that's a different story. This habit continued in sixth and seventh grade. Then I started growing up. I started caring about the church and the commandments and all of that important stuff. I started realizing how significant everything was and I stopped swearing. I abhorred even the thought of swearing (though I still struggled to remove those words from the vocabulary of my mind as I thought).

Right about this time, my father's swearing in general became more frequent and more prevalent and has since continued to my mother (though she's not near as bad). Now it seems like my dad can barely go one sentence without using a swear word. Throughout high school I continued to refuse to swear, not even saying things like 'piss.'

Then I came to college. Last year I was pretty good and it shocked me when my room mates swore singing along to a song! Somehow, somewhere, I lost all of that. The summertime brought 'piss' into my vocabulary and fall brought 'douche bag'. You know from my New Year's resolutions post that I'm trying to get rid of those two, but there is a whole different problem I'm facing. I seriously am asking for help here. I have become generally satisfied and not shocked by swearing. In songs (and I sometimes sing along but only to hell), and when my friends and family say it. Last night I said hell in a context I didn't really like to refer to a character in a show's surprise. I'm working on it, but is there any way to restore this sensitivity? I miss it now that it's gone.

I hope I haven't offended anyone by the content or context of this post. It was in no way intended to. I'm also not trying to come off as self-righteous.

A Media Break

I was going to post tonight and I do have something to talk about, but I got distracted with failblog. I found this video and I am probably a nerd, but I think it is hysterical. With that, I leave you with a media break.

Things About Virginia I Will Miss This Summer

This is (as the title implies) a list of things I will miss when I am not at home in Virginia this summer.
1) My mother. I love my mom. We fight sometimes (rarely), but I can say with all honesty that she probably is [one of] my best friends. I don't really care much how cliche and ridiculous that sounds to you, it's the truth.
2) Seeing my father. My father is hard to live with (though I love him). It will still be hard to go a whole year without seeing him.
3) Carl's Ice Cream. A little ice cream stand in down town Fredericksburg that usually has an hour long line (especially on a friday night), but it's the best soft serve around.
4) Motorcycle rides with my dad. My dad got a new motorcycle (it's really pretty) and I'm not a huge fan of them, but in the summer there is something wonderful about being in that open air on a long ride on shaded back roads.
5) My grandmother's too cold air conditioning. Mammaw's house is always colder than any other house around. She's addicted to air conditioning and there's nothing like coming out of the heat into her house.
6) Destiny. My 5 year old niece and one of my best friends. She's absolutely beautiful and I love an miss her.
7) Gabriel. My 3 (almost 4) year old nephew and a stud. This kid has so much energy and never quits. I love him.
8) Playing in the baby pool with the kids. There is something so fun about surprising a child and sitting down in their pool with all your clothes on. I know this seems simple, but it's important to me.
9) Impromptu dinner parties with the neighbors. On summer nights (especially Sunday's) it seems like the whole street starts grilling at one time and some magic happens and we all end up sharing and eating together.
10) Laurel's house. I loved visiting Laurel randomly this summer and going over to hyperion and just chilling for hours doing nothing with her and Dave.
11) Crickets. Do they have crickets here? I don't even know. I just love to hear the sound of the crickets at night. Even through closed windows. Ditto lightening bugs. (Seriously, if somone familiar with Utah could let me know about this, that'd be great).
12) Wading in streams/rivers. A pivotal part of my childhood. I didn't do much of it this past summer, but now I'm going to miss it a lot.
13) Fishing with Dad and Glenn. They've got a lot more stamina when it comes to this than I do, but it's still so much fun. Especially when the kids come along and you watch their faces.
14) Sudden thunderstorms. You can be having a sunny beautiful day and then BAM all of a sudden the clouds roll in and it's pouring down rain. That's when you go out and dance barefoot in the street with all your clothes on. The smell and feel of the air just before is amazing.
15) Heat lightning. I'm guessing the drier air doesn't have enough friction or something to have this out here, but I will miss it.
16) Thunder that wakes you up/keeps you up at night. I love that thunder that literally shakes the whole house because it's so loud. It's absolutely beautiful.
17) Tornado warnings. They don't usually do much damage in my area (last year they did wreak a little havoc), but there is something exciting about the anticipation.
18) Nights when the power goes out because of a storm. I don't know why this is exciting. I love hunting for the candles and eating all the ice cream with spoons from the container so that it doesn't go to waste. I love when everyone gets too hot in their beds so they move to sleep on the cool tile until the air conditioning works again.
19) Hot wind. As much as I hate the humidity, there is something so amazing about the hot wind that will blow through every once in awhile.
20) Intense wind. Along with the thunderstorms comes the crazy wind that makes the trees look like they are going to fall right down. Also, microbursts (until they cause too much damage).
21) My other siblings. Swinging on the swing in the backyard together or laying in the hammock, or just chatting. I do love all of them.
22) Beth. One of my best friends from high school that's still in Virginia. I miss that girl.
23) Family ward. I love that we have to sit in the back of the cultural hall extension to the chapel because the kids are too noisy and that all the little ones play with cars and eating lunch with the Kalamas etc.
24) Beach trips. Even if just for a weekend I love that 5-7 hour drive with the family and lounging in the sand and seeing the ocean and smelling the pier and the crusty motel one street back and everything about the beach.

Ok, I know a lot of these are weather related and some you probably think are really silly. The reality is, these are important things to me. Things I will miss all summer long. It's going to be hard for me to be here in Provo, but I'm going to try to make the best of it. Any suggestions for the must-have experiences of a summer in Provo?

Of People

As part of my new not judging thing, I've been thinking a lot about people. People both as individuals and as the collective whole. These are a few thoughts that have arisen.
A lot of the time I say that I hate people. I think this is probably fairly common (at least it is among those that I encounter most often). I really, though, don't know why that is. Why is it that I say I hate people? Is it the compulsory conversation filler, such as the traditional, "I'm sooo tired"? Who knows. The question is, do I really hate people?

I'm inclined to say no. I probably really like people. I have some evidence. When groups are chatting and laughing loudly in the terrace by the cougareat, I love it. It makes me happy. This is possibly why I study the best there (also, the dull roar of noise). Also, and probably most convincingly, I love to hear stories. I want people to tell me about growing up and their favorite memory and their saddest memory and their pets and why they picked their major and what is their major and how they like their room mates and about their worst break up and favorite Christmas and on and on to infinity. I really enjoy this no matter the circumstances, but I'm often hesitant to ask any (much less all of these questions) because I'm afraid people will think I'm nosey. Maybe I am, but I love to hear about people's lives.

There are times, though, that people drive me absolutely nuts. I'm still working on the judging thing, so I'll try not to go much into that (like how I hate when people don't keep the dress and grooming standards (especially leggings under short dresses) and other terribly judgmental things). I hate when people purposely hurt other people. I can't stand lying. And downright meanness drives me crazy. I'm probably not one to talk about any of these things (except the tights ;)), but that's just how I think.

I may have bored you to death with this post, but that doesn't matter too much. I wasn't trying to and I really wanted to blog about people, so I get to :). Have a beautiful day and tell me your stories!

The Rise of Evil

Moving on, the rise of evil. Maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but I have a feeling that that's not actually the case and this is more of a problem than many of us would like to admit (not a personal problem, a world problem, just read the rest before you get all indignant). So, I was reading an interview Ben Crowder did about his magazine Mormon Artist. The interview was good. The interview did metion, however, a website for some other LDS art called Images of the Restoration. I thought this would be right up my alley! The restoration is one of my favorite topics (before I continue, let me note that in the interview, Ben did say that he did not appreciate the art there because it was not uplifting, but I thought maybe this was more of a preference based thing). So, I go to the website and start looking at the art (which seemed a little strange) and began reading the story about the first piece. I was enraged (and trying desperately to contain the literal growl that was threatening to escape)! The stuff was parading as LDS art of some sort, but that was some anti work if I've ever seen it. I always thought that if I came across anti-Mormon literature (or in this case, artwork) I would recognize it immediately and not even be tempted to look. Not the case in this situation.

What did I learn? Two things. One: Ben has good judgment so if he says the art isn't uplifting then I probably should have listened in the first place. Two: I feel like we keep getting more and more entrenched in this battle between good and evil and evil is parading (successfully) as good. We (I) have to be so careful, or we'll get stuck. This scares me. A lot.

Next post (so I can remember, because I come up with ideas frequently and then forget them): people.