Oh heeey...

You wanna know something I'm best at? 

Forgetting to blog.

And now Eli, who is totally blog famous despite his complete and total inability to properly learn to use simple technology (like the camera on his cell phone), has mentioned me on his blog. You should probably read the post. (But after you've finished reading this one. I need the attention.) If only because I'm mentioned and that means that my list of life goals are now half as long. I can safely cross: "Find a way to get yourself mentioned on Eli's blog so you can feel special" off. Which means that I now have to write something fantastic just in case someone makes their way over here expecting to be entertained.

In all reality, it feels to good to have accomplished something worthwhile despite the fact that the last two weeks of life have pretty much been a complete wash when it comes to productivity. Turns out? Getting your tonsils yanked? It makes one extremely tired. And sore. And grouchy. And sick of watching TV. Who knew? I found something very important out about myself in these last two weeks: I am far too achievement oriented to be a good sick person. I drove everyone around me batty. I'm lucky that my family loves me. Particularly my madre and my sisters. One day, while fairly high on some sort of lovely drug that was 100% prescribed to me by a licensed medical professional, I tried to do laundry. I'm sure that it was extremely entertaining to watch a girl who couldn't walk in a straight line if her life depended on it stumble back and forth from the laundry basket to her closet. Hey, I'm nothing if not entertaining. Now, dear readers, I'm mostly healed and back at my lovely place of work. It feels absolutely fantastic to be DOING something again.

Update me on what's going on in your worlds. I need comments. The doctor said it would help my throat heal faster.

A collection of completely non-related things that I find completely interesting...

-On 10 May 1940 Winston Churchill became PM of Britain. Cool, no?

-The Avengers made over $200 million on their opening weekend. That just proves that my complete admiration is not misplaced. But just to double check, I'll be going to see it again with Alex on Saturday afternoon, with Liz (for historical research purposes) next week and again with Squeeg on my birthday (because who doesn't want to spend the day with both Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth as well as Jeremy Renner? A crazy person, that's who.)

-There are 17 days until my birthday. There are 52 days until Charisse gives up her ex-pat ways and finally comes back to the US of A for a good long while. This means that the First Annual David Tennant Appreciation Night can happen.

-Speaking of the fantastic Mr. Tennant, I've had two discs of Doctor Who sitting on my DVD player for almost two weeks. I can't bring myself to actually let it end.

-I'm completely head over heels for Benedict Cumberbatch after this week's episode of Sherlock. Let's be  honest: I loved him before, but this week we've moved into full blown obsession mode.

-One of my friends jumped about 10,000 points on my ridiculously awesome scale when he told me that he has Keeping Up Appearances on DVD. Eli McCann,  you are now definitely in the running for my favorite person.

-We're getting new art put in our office this week and I'm pretty much in love. I also think that everyone should come visit and see it. It's worth the drive.

- After chatting with some friends, I'm seriously considering opening my own Etsy store to sell my cards as well as offer my handwriting services. I feel that this could be a way to finance a trip to Europe. Thoughts?

Sometimes...(yup, it's back)

...I see other bloggers do "Sometimes" posts and I wonder if they got the idea from me. (What? I'm self-centered.)

...I don't write on my blog because I can't think of anything wildly entertaining to say. If you had friends who wrote blogs like this you'd be worried about this as well.

...I spend entirely too much time watching Doctor Who. Platt always gives me a hard time for it.

...I realize that Wal-Mart smells like a mix between dirty laundry, fried foods and too much cologne. These moments of clarity lead me to shop at Target.

...I stay up entirely too late looking at artwork on Etsy that is absolutely overpriced.

...my little bloggy gets neglected in favor of Rose and the Doctor. And Shawn and Gus. And murder mystery novels.

...it's not too bad that it didn't snow much this winter. No slipping on ice? Check. No worrying about whehter or not I got frostbite on my toes? Double check. How is this a bad thing?

...my sweet brother posts totally awesome versions of The Beatles "Blackbird" on my Facebook wall. (Did you know that it's my very favorite Beatles song? This is knowledge that is part of the quiz in the application to be my friend. I just gave you a free answer. You're welcome.)

...the urge to make cupcakes is too overwhelming to ignore. These are the days that I wish I had a roommate to help me eat them.

...the nerd in me comes out in uncontrollable spurts.

...the book piles around my bed get so high that I can't differentiate between the stacks of books that are 'to read', 'have already read but can't bear to have put in the book room in the basement', 'lend to friends' and 'catalog in LibraryThing'. It's a hard knock life.

...I judge other people based on their grammar.

Something wonderful...

Alright. I still stink as a blogger. But I'm going to make it up to you by having you read this. If you've read this blog for very long, you know that I adore Meg. She's fantatic and wonderful and amazing and I simply love her.  (I was so lucky as to get to have lunch with her last summer when she was living in Utah. Be jealous.) Anyway, because I'm a horrible blogger, I give you the words of an incredible one to make up for it. Forgive me?

M

A disclaimer and an epiphany...

I'm going to start with a disclaimer. I know. It's un-ladylike, but I'm only ladylike when wearing a skirt and sometimes not even then, (as was clearly demonstrate the amazing climbing routine I performed at work yesterday while wearing a pencil skirt. I was organizing the stock room. Turns out? Getting myself on and off the chair was a little difficult. That'll teach me to wear a skirt to work), and right now I'm in a pair of ratty sweatpants and a t-shirt. (This has become my after-work uniform since I started at the business school. I think that means that I've officially reached the ripe old age of "adult"). Anyway, enough about my wardrobe and back to my disclaimer: I know. I haven't written in over a week. I know. I started a new job and haven't even said word one about it, except for the above mentioned acrobatics. I know. I'm letting you all down. I know that you've been waiting with baited breath to hear about my adventures into the land of the grown-up. But that's not the purpose of this post, I'm sorry to say. I will tell you this: I simply LOVE my job. It's not perfect, but it's perfect for me. I feel productive and happy, though I miss Amanda like crazy. No one at my new job talks about celebrity gossip with me or makes lists of reasons why Bono must be a vampire. I haven't even heard anyone say "totes". It depresses me a little tiny bit. Luckily, I became a big fat hypocrit and got Twitter (Let_sbehonest) so I can keep track of her life. I know. I know. Judge away. I deserve it. I'm judging myself. But we must press onward, dear readers. Onward to the point of this post.

When I was a freshman in college, I went on a truly awful spring break trip to Northern California. I don't blame the great state of California for this horrific vacation. No, I blame the "friends" with whom I went on this so-called "fun" road trip. I'll sum it up by telling you this: there are very few moments in my life where I literally wished that I could evaporate from the planet, leaving no trace of my former self and every single one of them happened on this trip. It was brutal. I remember chatting with a family friend about how absolutely painful this experience had been and she told me something that completely stuck with me: "You can never really know that you're ready to be attached to someone else forever until you're comfortable spending a Friday night or two alone." At the ripe old age of 18, that sounded completely ludicrous to me. Spend Friday night alone? Friday night was for parties with my friends. Late movies. Spontaneous sleepovers. Ice cream runs. Friday night meant no school in the morning which meant doing all sorts of crazy things until insane hours. I persisted in thinking this way until I was about 23. Don't ask my why, but this is when it all finally clicked: yes, I liked my friends. Yes, I enjoyed spending time with them, but in reality? If I wasn't able to spend an evening completely alone with myself how in heaven's name could I expect anyone else to? So I decided then and there that I was going to do it. I was going to hang out with myself more often. But this also presented it's own set of problems. Because, see, balance? Not always my strongest suit. (If you just started singing Aida to yourself, go ahead and add 10,000 cool points to your score card.) Ask anyone who's watched me trip over my own feet. The problem was this: I'm so awesome that I liked spending time with myself more than I liked spending time with most of humanity. (There are exceptions to this. You know exactly who you are. And if I've spent more than 15 minutes talking to you, you're one of the exceptions.) And  now, you see, I'm so comfortable on my own that I don't really feel the need to go out and do a ton of socializing. It takes me all day to gear myself up for it. Believe it or not, it takes work to be the charming, bubbly and sassy self that y'all love so much. What this all really comes down to is that I'm admitting here and now that I'm a fake. A total fraud. I pretend to be this super outgoing person, but in reality? I'd rather be at home with a book and a wine glass full of Diet Coke. Yes. I drink Diet Coke out of a wine glass. It makes me feel fancy. In any case, I'm putting all this up here because I'm really trying to be more social-like. I swear on my books that I am. Yup, I really went there. That's how you know that I'm 110% serious.

Excuses, excuses...

(Taps on imaginary microphone) Testing 1, 2, 3... Is anyone still there? I wouldn't blame you if you weren't. I've been quite the blogging slacker, now haven't I? There's been good reason, I assure you. Would you like to hear the reasons or are you sick to death of excuses? To be perfectly honest, I don't care if you're sick to death of excuses. I'm going to tell you anyway. Now won't that be fun? (clears throat) Here we go.

Where I have been instead of writing on my blog:

*Driving to Cedar City for the Shakespeare Festival. This means that I spent three blissful days watching 6 plays only one of which I really hated. (Blech, Romeo and Juliet is not my thing. I blame it on being in jr. high when the Leo DiCaprio/Clare Danes/Baz Lurhmann version came out and every hormonal girl on the planet was completely enraptured with it. Okay, let's be honest, they were enraptured with Leo DiCaprio. Who has a tendency to die at the end of his movies. Which means that I found it to be silly and slightly ridiculous because my mom thought it was silly and slightly ridiculous.)

*Hanging out with the Stahelis. This means that I get teased more than normal (as I live alone and don't usually tease myself). It also means that I laugh more than normal. Which I love.

*Watching Harry Potter 7.2 and subsequently bawling my eyes out. DON'T JUDGE. I'm slightly attached to Harry. And Ron. And Hermione. And the Weasleys. (Oh Fred!) Sara and I ended up in each other's laps a couple of times. And it was delightful. I now have to go and re-read all of the books. Yes. Have to.

*Playing with Charisse. Why yes, she did visit me from London. And why yes, I loved it. Also, she brought me some awesome London-esque things. Like a "Mind the Gap" magnet for my fridge and a London Olympics key chain which I proudly use, as well as a dog. Yes. She brought me a dog all the way from London. He's meant to be a doorstop, but in actuality, he sits in the green chair in my room. (He's stuffed. And is made of out Union Jack fabric, which matches my "Keep Calm" poster.)

*Watching lots and lots of movies. Thor. Jane Eyre. The good parts version of the Toby Stephens Jane Eyre. Castle. Penelope. Gilmore Girls. Friday Night Lights.

*Reading. I re-read A Wrinkle in Time while I was in Cedar. I bought it from King's English right before I left and can I please just tell you what a treat that book is? I'd forgotten how much I adored it. I also read part of Quatrain, which is a series of short stores by Sharon Shinn who wrote one of my favorite books, Summers at Castle Aubrun. Read it. You will love it. Well, you will if you have any sense.

*Making thank you cards. I finally got all of my card making stuff from my padres' garage and that means making cards again. Which I have sorely missed.

Anyway, readers. This is a faithful accounting of all of my dealings for the past 10 days. I promise to try and be around more often.

M

I believe...

in PINK.
I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner.
I believe in kissing. Kissing a lot.
I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong.
I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls.
I believe that tomorrow is another day and
I believe in miracles.
--Audrey Hepburn

Don't you just love Audrey? I mean, come on. How can you hate someone who starts a quote with "I believe in pink?" I submit that it's entirely impossible. And ridiculous. Since this is my blog, I get to be right. That's the best part about a blog. If people don't like/agree with all of the genius that I'm spewing out into the interwebs, they don't have to read it any longer. Also, I get to be a big deal on my blog. This is particularly helpful when I don't feel like I big deal in other places. In short, (bah! the puns I could concoct with that phrase) a blog is a fantastic self esteem booster because a) I get to be right which is one of my all time favorite things and secondly) I get to be a constant big deal. If you haven't caught on already, today I'm in a slightly scattered mood. I really couldn't tell you why. It could be because I stayed up entirely too late watching Friday Night Lights for most of the weekend. What is entirely too late you ask? I'll tell you: 5 am on Friday (or is that Saturday?) and 2:30 this morning. Put your judging eyes away. Have YOU watched it? Then you can't judge. It's kind of awesome. Anyway, it could be that or the decided lack of air conditioning in my house. It's possible that what few brain cells my university education left me are now fried to a crisp.Can I please remind you all how much I loathe hot weather? Blech. I hate feeling like I need to shower three times a day. I change my clothes even more than normal in the summer because I always feel disgusting. I like the early mornings and the late evenings when it's cool out and it smells like Russian Olive trees and honeysuckle. But all that nastiness in the middle? I wish I could sleep through it all in a frigid room. Wrapped in a sweatshirt. Oh the delight. To combat this insanity I plan on going to the Shakespeare festival in Cedar City, which isn't any cooler than Salt Lake, but copious amounts of the Bard combined with a visit from Charisse has a tendency to make me feel slightly less...upset about the heat. In preparation for delightful journey, I'm watching the Shakespeare ReTold version of Macbeth. James McAvoy and Richard Armitage in the same movie? Yes. Yes, please. I don't mind if I do. I'm just hoping that this viewing doesn't lead to insane dreams about attractive Scottish men killing one another. Which wouldn't be pleasant. Well, the attractive men would be pleasant, but the whole killing thing wouldn't be so much a party. My subconscious has a tendency to take things and run with them at a breakneck speed. Once after watching too many episodes of Bones before bed, I dreamed that I was performing an autopsy on my little brother Cole. I woke up in tears. I might have to hang out with the Gilmores before bed to stave off the awful dreams.

(I told you. My brain is jumping all over the place. Don't judge.)

Don't judge...

So.
I came home from my LDS mission 3.5 years ago.
I didn't serve in some far off land (unlike some of my friends who ended up in places like Russia and Guatemala), unless you count Los Angeles as a foreign country. Some people would. I was lucky enough to serve Spanish speaking and was introduced to some of the most amazing food ever created.
Flautas?
Papusas?
Horchata?
Gifts from heaven.
My mother, genius cook that she is, learned how to recreate most of these delights pretty soon after I got home. She loves me, what can I say? As wonderful as it was to eat flautas without any roaches crawling across my plate (you think I'm kidding, don't you?) there's just something about eating authentic Latino food made by someone who genuinely doesn't speak any English that makes it more...special.
Friday night I went downtown with Platt (Oh! I haven't told you about Platt yet? Here's a quick run down: Mallory Platt and I are the same person. No, really. People in our ward even call us The Mallory(ie)s. I call her Platt because, let's be honest, it's really odd to call someone by your first name) and we went to an art thing that one of her designs from school was nominated to be part of. (She's an architect.) Afterward we went wandering about. She was aghast to discover that I'd never in all my born days eaten at The Red Iguana. Apparently this is some sort of sin. Off we went. Can I please just tell you all that I nearly cried when we walked into the restaurant? I was immediately homesick for my mission. It smelled like every single dinner appointment that I walked into for nearly 18 months. I actually did cry when they gave us our salsa, and not just because it was hot (apparently my tongue forgot that I used to eat very large jalapeno peppers whole on a regular basis). Platt laughed at me when they gave me my food because I was more than slightly verklempt.

See that there? Real crema. Not sour cream. Honest to goodness refried beans. It was heaven on a plate. I will be returning soon. Don't you little worry. 

Tag! I'm it...

Only because I love Miss Amanda Platt. A lot. I'm going to do this. Happy, Manda?

1. Upload a photo that you're using right now. (This makes absolutely no sense. That's right. I said it.) This is exactly what I'm doing right now. Why yes, that's Legally Blonde on my TV.

t

Let me 'splain. Jourdan and I made the...mistake? of watching Legally Blondes. It was so completely terrible that we made up a drinking game (put your judging eyes away. We were drinking Diet Coke) in order to maintain our brain cells.

2. When was the last time you ate chicken? Really? Why is this important? Anyway, I ate chicken Tuesday night. It was delicious because I'm a genius cook.

3. The song/songs you've listened to lately: Now we're talking. I'll just give you the list from the current soundtrack of my life:
Astonishing- Little Women the Musical (sung by Sutton Foster)
Ordinary Day- Vanessa Carlton
Young Blood- The Naked and Famous
Get Your Way- Jamie Cullum
Melt My Heart to Stone- Adele
Let the Rain- Sara Bareilles
I'm the Man Who Murdered Love- XTC
Nothing Left to Lose- Mat Kearney
All I Want- Toad the Wet Sprocket
Strip Me- Natasha Bedingfield
Red- Sara Bareilles
Hey Beautiful- The Solids
Stars- Switchfoot
Why Do You Let Me Stay Here- She & Him
Gray or Blue- Jaymay
So Here We Are- Bloc Party
Oh, How I Loved You- Goldrich and Heisler
Brand New Day- Joshua Radin
Fader- The Temper Trap
For Good- Glee Cast
Light Up the World- Glee Cast
I Just Can't Stop Myself- Sophie Madeleine
(Yeah, it's a lot. Deal with it.)

I'm supposed to tag people, but I'm never very good at that. Plus, Manda said I didn't have to, so I'm not going to. :) Love you, Manda!!

Call me vain if you must.

 But I simply LOVE these pictures that the brilliant, talented and simply delightful Emily Mangum took for my graduation. I know, I know, I stuck them up all over Facebook, but this girl can't get enough exposure and let's be honest: I'm self centered and egotistical and I like them. 

The Daily Ten...

I'm the luckiest. No, really, I am. There are many reasons, but one of them is that I'm related to this darling girl  because my cousin was brilliant enough to marry her (scroll down to see pictures of her. She's seriously one of the cutest people ever). A while back she started doing this fun thing called The Daily Ten where she picked ten things every day that she was grateful for/happy about. Seeings at this is my last semester in school (5 weeks, baby!) and I feel like I'm literally dragging my feet through the days, I decided that it was time for a little Daily Ten in my life. Especially with this being the week after spring break and coming back to school has just about killed me, so ya'll get to hear 10 things that I'm grateful for. Be prepared for it to get silly pretty fast because that's just how I roll.

1) My sister-in-law to be. Jordan has to be one of the most amazing people that I know. She's kind and gracious to everyone. She always makes me feel like I'm important when I'm around her and I'd trade my brother for her in a heartbeat. I'm over the moon that she's going to be an honest to goodness sealed in part of our family in 3 weeks.

2) A new phone. That's right. I've finally joined the ranks of the cool. No, I'm not cool enough to have an iPhone (who wants to pay for the data plan?!) but I did get a new HTC Freestyle which is like an iPhone, but without the extra charge. Now if I could just learn how to use it, I'd be in business.

3) Bath and Body Works Wallflowers. I just got new scents and my whole house smells amazing. Smelling good is one of my all time favorite things. Hence I have about 13 kinds of perfume on my bathroom counter.

4) General Conference Weekend. 2 days. 8 hours. All sorts of awesomeness? Yes, please.

5) Theatre Tickets. I have tickets to see A Tale of Two Cities two more times before it closes. Right now I'm not focusing on the fact that my new favorite show is closing soon, but on the fact that I get to see it TWO more times. It'll bring my grand total up to coughninecough, but who's counting?

6) Amazon Prime.  Just this very morning, this miraculous invention allowed me to purchase three of my favorite books from my childhood: Rain Makes Applesauce, Tikki Tikki Tembo, and Caps for Sale. And the best part? Shipping is free and they'll be here Wednesday. I love my life.

7) Bright Red Nail Polish. I love love love to paint my nails and red is typically my color of choice because it's sassy and fun. Right now I'm having a hard time watching the computer screen instead of my awesome nails as I type.

8) New friends. I've met a lot of  amazing and incredible people lately, which has been lovely especially because I'm a little shy so meeting new people isn't always easy for me.

9) Massive shopping trips. I know I know. I shouldn't shop as much as I do, but I simply LOVE it! And my closet is SO happy when I'm done, even if my bank account isn't. Gap outlet just about broke me on Saturday.

10) Adele. I'm madly in love with her new CD. So much so that I actually bought the disc so that I could have it in my car, on my iPod and on my computer at home. Obsessed much? I think so.

Wherein I realize that I'm the sidekick...

Sometimes I have epic realizations. I know, right? You never would expect that coming from me. I do it just to keep you on your toes. When you think I'm going to zig, I'll zag and the next time I'll zig, just to mess you up for the time after that when I zag. I'm pretty great like that. Anyway, back to my epic realization. I came to the conclusion that I'm the sidekick in the classic and storied tradition of characters such as Morgan Grimes, Robin, Tinkerbell, Smee (who I actually danced in our jazz company's production of Peter Pan), Barney Rubble, Dr. Watson, Samwise Gamgee and Chewbacca.  Now don't try to argue with me. It's the truth. I am a truly fantastical sidekick because as you all know from years of watching cartoons, the sidekick is typically plays the court jester role. Trips over her own feet, says ridiculously silly things when she's trying desperately to be serious, has memorable catch phrases and shakes up the mood when the tension gets to be too much, like when the heroine is diffusing a bomb or hitting on a cute guy or something equally as life changing and world saving. These are all of the things that I'm best at. Ask my friends. I'll even give you examples for your reading pleasure (and to strengthen my case.)

Exhibit A:
 On New Year's Eve my friends and I went to Hale Centre Theatre to see Born Yesterday. Aside from the show itself being delightful, there was a particularly dashing young gentleman playing one of the main characters. Now before I finish this story, you all MUST understand something essential. This particular guy is insanely attractive, like make your legs turn to jelly good looking. Which is exactly what happened to me when I met him. I was wearing 3 inch heels and I ended up having to take them off because I had completely lost my ability to balance after he hugged me and then put his arm around me while we were talking. I was ready to liquefy. It provided endless entertainment for my friends; partly because I turned scarlet when anyone brought it up again and partly because my hands were shaking so badly that I couldn't hold my car keys.

Example Dos:
At what is quite possibly the most intense part of Star Wars Episode II (when Anakin and Padme are confessing their undying love for one another) I looked at the screen and said, "Don't worry, you'll make babies." This is one of my more tame examples of my mouth acquiring a mind of its own when I'm not actively paying attention. The rest...don't really need to be shared in a public forum.

Exhibit C-Eleventy:
Really? I need to give you an exhibit C? Fine.
Memorable catch phrases:
"Weeeeeelllll...."
"Don't judge."
"This is my insert emotion here face."
"I'm awesome."
"Look at you!"

The heroine usually has some task that she hates to do, so the responsibility to complete said task falls to the sidekick, i.e. Sara doesn't love to drive, and I do. Also, the sidekick is usually mini. I'm travel sized for your convenience.

The sidekick tends to talk a lot...I'm excellent at talking.

The sidekick is usually younger than the heroine; most of my friends (except KMJ) are older than me.

I rest my case.

The Day of the Presidents' Birth...

Can I please just share with all of you that I adore Monday holidays more than other types of holidays? I love that I get to sleep in. I love that I don't have class. Mostly, it just all around rocks. Today was particularly fantastic because I got to see my darling Alissa. We decided to have an Italy in Salt Lake day. We went here:

And I had this:

Alissa had this:

Oh and I'll give you a picture of Alissa because she's darling:

Sorry, it's a little dark, but isn't she cute?

Here's a little more fun:

Um, just so you know, that focaccia bread changed my life. 

Then there was some of this:

"Snow suit up!"

 "It's gonna be ledgend-wait for it and I hope you're not lactose intolerant because the second half of that word is DAIRY!!"

"Dang it, Past Ted!"

"Tell me that I'm your best friend!"

"'Booger!' 'Yes, hello Barney.'"

"It tasted like freedom. No, it tasted like pennies."

Are you jealous? Be jealous. I am awesome. I was also lucky enough to get a little time with this chicky:

We mocked people's blogs. We talked about how she was going to come see me when I get my tonsils yanked. Mostly, I love her and seeing her made my day even more fantastical.

Dear Presidents, 

  I really appreciate you being born. I'm sure grateful for the day off work and the extra time to become addicted to TV shows that are hilarious and amazing and see my incredible friends. 

Love and rockets, 

 Mals

Did you know...

Did you know that it is physically impossible for me to walk down a set of stairs? I bounce. Which is why I've twisted both of my ankles so many times that the muscles are like rubber bands.

Did you know that in one week I went to the ballet, the theatre and the symphony? It's true and I loved every single second of each one. Huzzah for the arts!

Did you know that The Sleeping Beauty was the last full ballet that I danced in? I was the jester since I was a much better character dancer than anything else. The hat that I wore as part of my costume came all the way from Russia. The company director saw it in the airport and told me that it practically screamed my name. Too bad I didn't get to keep it. I would have worn it all over the place. It kinda  looked like this: 

 

I jingled when I walked. It was fab.

Did you know that this is quite possibly the single most incredible show that I've seen in my life? It almost beats Macbeth. It's tragic that it only ran on Broadway from September 2008 until November 2008. 

Did you know the February 19th is the anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Iwo Jima? It lasted from 19 February until 26 March 1945. It was kind of a big deal, you might have heard of it or something.

Did you know  that it is possible to talk entirely in lines for plays and movies? It is. Ask Sara. We do it regularly. 

Did you know that Stephanie J. Block played Elphaba in the national tour of Wicked? I saw her perform tonight at Abravanel Hall and I can now die a happy girl. She was spectacular.

Did you know that I'm one of only 8 people who's never seen Wicked on stage? Julia Murney informed me of that tonight.

Did you know that President Monson goes to the symphony? I definitely saw him there tonight. He's adorable.

Did you know that in 7th grade we sang My Heart Will Go On in choir and a bunch of the girls burst into tears? I wouldn't kid about something as ridiculous as that. I still can't hear that song without wanting to pull a Vincent Van Gogh. Naturally it would only be the one ear, I need the other hear to hear the music from Tale of Two Cities over and over again.

Did you know that John Kander and Fred Ebb wrote "Ring Them Bells" as a stand alone song for Liza Minnelli?

Did you know that "Don't Rain on My Parade" is my theme song?

Did you know that I collect headbands? And things that are polka dot? And argyle? And shoes? Oh my!

Did you know that I have the plague again? That's probably why this post is so stinking random. Pray March 17th gets here quick and they take these offending tonsils out of me so I can keep my voice for longer than a few weeks at a time?

Does this count as a hobby? (day 21)

Does going to see every single show at Hale Centre Theatre multiple times count as a hobby? 

I happen to have the most awesome Theatre Fairy ever.

Be jealous.

Changed... (day 16)

Cue the tears. 

I can never get through this song without crying. 

If there weren't so many incredible people in my life, then I suppose it wouldn't have that affect on me, but alas, I'm so blessed that I can't help but tear up when I think of all of the amazing friends I that have come into my life, at just the right time, having just the right skills. 

Thank you to each and everyone of you who has come into my life, because of you, I have been changed for the better.

Just because I love Mindy Sue... (day 1)

and because it means I won't have to come up with anything new to post on my blog for almost a month.
 Behold. The All About Me game. Each day the blogger must post each of these items for the viewing pleasure of her readers.

Day 1 – a recent photo of you

Day 2 – your favorite song

Day 3 – your favorite movie

Day 4 – a photo of you as a child

Day 5 – your favorite television program

Day 6 – your favorite book

Day 7 – a picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest

Day 8 – your favorite quote

Day 9 – your dream house (description or photo!)

Day 10 – a photo that makes you happy

Day 11 – a photo that makes you angry/sad

Day 12 – something you are OCD about

Day 13 – a description of what's currently in your handbag/purse/diaper bag!

Day 14 – a photo of a person you’d love to trade places with for a day

Day 15 – a photo of yourself and a new friend you met this year

Day 16 – a song that makes you cry

Day 17 – your favorite website

Day 18 – a photo of your favorite memory

Day 19 – a picture of somewhere you’d like to travel

Day 20 – a talent of yours

Day 21 – a hobby of yours

Day 22 – a photo of your wedding/future wedding plans

Day 23 – a photo of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

Day 24 – a recipe

Day 25 – your worst habit

Day 26 – a photo of where you live

Day 27 – a photo of someone you could never imagine your life without

Day 28 – your hopes, dreams, plans for the next 365 days

Day 29 – a picture of something you want to do before you die

Now for today's post:

Quit your judging. I know I look like a sheep dog. I haven't had time for a hair cut in about a month and I don't want anyone but Linds to touch my hair. This was taken New Years' Eve before Squeeg and I embarked on an adventure of awesomeness at Hale Centre Theatre. 

(I'm pretty sure that I'm supposed to tag a few people to do this. Don't hate me. It's the rules. So, Amy, Aubie, Nevitt and KMJ, join me in the fun, won't you?)

Remember that one time when I almost didn't come home from Texas?

Yeah, I do. It was this afternoon. I almost hopped off the plane and ran across the tarmac, back towards Jalaynie and begged her to take me back home with her. There are many factors which contributed to this insane and dangerous impulse. 

One of them is that I hate that Lucas moved Jalaynie to a completely different state that takes 3 hours by plane to visit. 

Another is that Texas, I discovered, is the LAND OF TARGET! Honestly! There were as many Target stores there as there are LDS chapels in Utah.

 It's fan-freaking-tastic. 

Yet another reason that I almost endangered my life is that the Quarry Market has the honest to goodness biggest Gap that I've ever seen. It's like my version of heaven. (I mean it's Texas...so I shouldn't be surprised that they have the biggest Gap ever. Everything's bigger in Texas, right? Yeah, it's not a joke.)

Reason #12905: Everyone is so freaking nice! I've never been complimented more in my life. For example: I was buying some nerd glasses at Forever 21 and the cashier (who I'd never met before, mind you) told me how darling I was and how I just had a good spirit about me. Who says things like that? Texans, that's who.

Reason #C: Even though the humidity did crappy things to the skin on my face, I barely had to use lotion the whole time I was there.

Reason # awesome: Two words: Panera Bread. Right?!

I will now attach some freaking incredible pictures for empirical evidence:

Yeah, that's right. The Alamo. At night. Being it's awesome self.

Two of my favorite people. Lucas doesn't like getting his picture taken. Jalaynie loves it.

Be jealous. That's Woody's Roundup from Toy Story. They were at the International Accordion Festival in San Antonio. And we went. Because that's how we roll.

A very tired, but totally red headed me in my completely legit UT shirt. I know. You thought I couldn't get any cooler and I just did. 

Basically, my fall break rocked. It was a much needed change from the humdrum life that has been mine as of late. I read, watched way too many movies, slept in every day (until 9 am!!), spent lots of money at the rockin' San Marcos outlet malls and mostly, I got to see my best friend and her awesome husband. Pretty much, I'm the luckiest kid ever.  (And a big shout out to Lauren who worked the whole break so I could go.  You're a rock star.)

Just sayin'. 

Serendipity...

 No. I don't mean the Kate Beckinsale movie. Okay fine. I'll explain it better:

-noun: an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident. 

Good fortune; luck.  

Sunday, I had one of those serendipitous days where all sorts of things just seemed to come together. It wasn't one thing in particular, but a series of excellent conversations, lovely moments and little realizations that made me understand something incredibly important.
But first there's a few things you need to understand:

1) I'm a busy person.
 I have this...disorder, I guess you could call it. I have an insane desire to fill every single ounce of my day with stuff to do and taking a chill pill usually isn't on the list. Lately, things have been slightly more hectic because...
b) I live with and take care of my 80 year old grandmother. 
She's fantastic, wonderful and amazing, but it can be a lot of work sometimes. Especially because she doesn't drive and has been having memory problems.
 It's a go with the flow kind of thing, but I'm not really a go with the flow kind of girl. 
3) Most weeks, I end up working 7 days.
 I do this because I adore mentoring. My aunt teased me because I once said that it was my guilty pleasure. She says that the nerdiest thing she's ever heard, which can't be true because her husband plays World of Warcraft.
Anyway, I could totally get by money wise without it, but that's not why I even work with the students that I do. 
d) My ward (congregation where I attend church), while pretty awesome, is tiny. And is mostly girls. Which means no dates.
Okay, so now that you know all of that, let me tell you about my Sunday. Lately, I've been feeling kind of stuck. And completely ineffective. Which makes me crabby. There's nothing in this world that I hate more then feeling out of control. Call me a controlist if you must. It's true. But Sunday, as I sat and waited for my grandma to be ready for church I was reading this fantastic book by an amazing woman. In one letter, written during the twilight years of World War II to her husband who was living in another state, working for a railroad company, she says, 
"Guess your more essential in my life than I would have guessed. I just done seem to be able to get along without you." 
I, of course, don't have a husband to say that to, but I started thinking of all the people that I just don't seem to be able to do without. It's a LONG list. Here are a few people that I thought of:


My madre,
who that very morning, while we were on the phone made me laugh so hard I cried.
My daddy, 
who has endless quantities of advice, welcome or unwelcome and is always willing to put aside important things to help me.
KMJ, 
who goes to dinner with me just about every Saturday night and even though shopping isn't her thing, is willing to do some retail therapy with me because she knows I love it. 
Sara, the theatre fairy,
who not only keeps me in theatre tickets, but will spend hours searching for good pictures to add to my hot boys screen saver.
Lisa,
who I swear has a sixth sense because whenever I'm having a bad day she shows up and makes it all better.
My tutoring/mentoring students,
who fight over who gets to study with me and tell each other that I'm "hella cool" when they don't think I can hear them.
Megan, the DVD pusher,
who is always up for a Slurpee and never mocks my insane TV obsession.
Beth, my boss at the tutoring center, 
because she always makes me feel like I'm doing my job well and reminds me why I was chosen to participate in a program that is reserved for grad students only.
Lindsay, the darling and fantastic girl who cuts my hair 
because we always have the best time chatting and laughing. She never makes me feel unwelcome when I stop in to visit her at work.




Basically, the list could go on and on. Throughout the rest of the day I was reminded, in very subtle but unmistakable ways, that I am in the right place. I am exactly where I need to be, doing the things that I need to do so I can become the best version of myself. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how truly serendipitous my life is. 

If you didn't believe that I was crazy before, here's proof...

I absolutely love to clean. I know. I have a disorder. My mom is a special ed teacher. She diagnosed me ages ago. I've been called everything from crazy to OCD. But it's part of my charm. I wouldn't be me if I didn't obsessively clean everything. And organize. And color coordinate my closet. And my shoes. (Do you get the idea?) But I've come to learn that all chores are not created equal. Only a true clean freak knows this. Most people dislike vacuuming as much as they dislike cleaning the toilet. 

Remember how I think dusting is a waste of time? Because it is. 

As much as I love to clean, by far and away, my most favorite chore to do is laundry. There's something soothing about sorting, folding and putting my clothes away. I usually put on a movie (today I did a John Hughes marathon. I needed a little Some Kind of Wonderful and Pretty in Pink in my life) and fold to my heart's content. I usually save my laundry for when I've had a bad day because it puts me in an excellent mood. Today, I was already having a fantastic day. Indulge me while I tell you about it:

-I was early to work

-Rain anyone?

-Actual work to do in the office

-Football season is upon us!
-Finally getting to talk to my friend Jourdan who has been in Europe all summer, who is also coming home in less than a week!

-Lunch with my darlingly pregnant Whitney (who honestly is one of the cutest pregnant girls that I've ever seen. And I'm not biased.)

-A little more rain

-Laundry

-John Hughes

-Dinner with Liz at CKP

-Diet Coke with Lime

-Book shopping with Liz and Barnes and Noble (I bought Macbeth and Tale of Two Cities)

-2 days until Shakespeare Festival and the delight that is Macbeth

See what I mean? How could anyone have a bad day after all that? And laundry just made it that much better. 

Life is good.