Everything I need to know in life I learned from watching Doctor Who...

It is a truth  universally acknowledged that a man in possession of  a blue box must be in want of a companion...

Everything I Need to Know in Life, I Learned from Watching Doctor Who:

- It's never too late to start over.

-If you're on your way to a gay, gypsy bat mitzvah for the disabled and you suddenly get a random thought? Follow through on it. The Third Reich really is rubbish and killing Hitler is a brilliant idea.

-When in doubt, put on your brainy specs. They'll help.

-The smallest, most insignificant moment can change the fate of the universe.

-Turn left.

-Always be yourself.

-Bananas are good, pears are nasty, and apples are rubbish.

-Waiting is worth it in the end.

-Don't trust mannequins, anything dressed as Father Christmas, or any type of Christmas decoration.

-Bowties are cool.

-Sometimes? Everybody lives.

-The Doctor lies.

-It's often the most ordinary looking people who make the biggest difference.

-Time is NOT the boss of you.

-Don't blink. Don't even think about it.

-Shakespeare was a flirt.

-Spending Christmas in London is a surefire way to meet the Doctor.

-A mop and a fez complete any outfit.

-Be excited about your fingers.

-Feel like everyone is staring at your back? Yeah, there's probably a time vortex there.

-Extermination is never the answer.

-Love is always more powerful than hate.

-Dying and turning into a Roman is VERY distracting.

-Good men don't need rules.

-Nothing can last forever.

-Spoilers are everywhere. Just look for them.

-Things are rarely what they seem.

-We don't understand babies because we're just not listening the right way.

-The universe is big. And vast and complicated and ridiculous. And sometimes, very rarely, impossible things can happen and we call them miracles.

-You have control over who you will be.

-Keeping a journal will come in handy.

-Memory is more powerful than we know.

-When you disagree with the manual, throw it into a supernova.

-The universe is made of tiny stories.

-Time is not a straight line, it's a ball of wibbley wobbley timey wimey.

-There's loads of boring stuff. Like Sundays and Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons. But now and then there are Saturdays. Big temporal tipping points when anything's possible.

-Don't trust anyone who brings you coffee just to be nice. 

-They might shoot you, but you still have the moral high ground.

-If you wake up with a bunch of tick marks on your arm, and you can't remember what just happened? RUN. It means the Silence is near.

-Books are the greatest weapons in the world.

-Even when you try your hardest, sometimes you fail. You just have to dust off your trainers, straighten your bowtie and move on.

-Speaking of trainers, they go nicely with a pinstripe suit.

-Don't be afraid to try something ridiculous such as fish fingers and custard. It might be exactly what you're looking for.

-If you're going to die, do it looking like a Peruvian folk band.

-The Rotmeister isn't the greatest nickname.

-When in doubt, make up a word.

-Patience is for wimps.

-Being normal is overrated.

-Be sure your wedding dress has pockets. And that you always carry your cell phone.

-If you look hard enough, there are more wonders in the world than you could have ever dreamed of.

Quotables...

I've been horrible at keeping up on quotes of the week. I know. I've been horrible at blogging in general. I wasn't going to bring that up for the second post in the row, but it was just hanging out there in the ether begging to be said. So, as I am wont to do, I said it. Anyway. Today I am stuck at work for an extraordinarily long period of time so to entertain myself, I started looking through all the completely fantastical stuff I posted on Pinterest. I should become a professional Pinner. They should pay me. (Something to look into...that and getting paid to read). Without further ado, here are this week's (erm, more like month's) quotes:

"There isn't anyone that you couldn't love once you've heard their story."

-- Mary Lou Kownacki

"Life has many ways of testing a person's will. Either by having nothing happen, or by everything happening all at once."

-- Paulo Coelho

"There is nothing interesting about looking perfect."

--Emma Watson

"When you stop doing things for fun you might as well be dead."

--Ernest Hemingway

"My experience has been that this is, surprisingly, always hope."

--The Doctor

"Courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. It's knowing you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do."

--To Kill a Mockingbird 

Quotes of the Week...

How do you feel about the new and improved blog layout? I think I'm in love so if you hate it, don't tell me. I wouldn't listen to you anyway, if I'm going to be perfectly honest. Anyway, along with the new layout I've decided to do my quotes of the week as their own post. I know. I'm a genius. Also, I wanted to say how much I loved all of your comments on my last post. I'm totally going to gush and say that I clearly have the most awesome friends in the 'Verse.

Without further ado, the quotes of the week:

"A guy and a girl can be just friends, but at one point or another, they will fall for each other. Maybe temporarily, maybe at the wrong time, maybe too late, or maybe forever."

- (500) Days of Summer

"There are far, far better things ahead than any we  leave behind."

-C.S. Lewis

"I don't love studying. I hate studying. I like learning. Learning is beautiful."

-Natalie Portman

"Everything can be taken from a man or woman but one thing: the last of the human freedoms to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

-Viktor Frankel 

"Do your little bit of good where you are; it is those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world."

-Desmond Tutu

"I am by nature a dealer of words, and words are the most powerful drug known to humanity."

-Rudyard Kipling

Why I Majored in History...

"History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it." -Winston Churchill

I've started this post about three times. And every single time I go through and erase everything that I've written and stare at the Churchill quote again. I won't lie to you, I tried to find one from Doctor Who, but I couldn't find one that I liked well enough. And Churchill? He's my hero. And only partly because he's famous for saying wonderfully snarky things.

This is the thing about being a humanities major: you know from the get go that you're never going to make any money at it. At least if you're smart, you know you're never going to make any money. That's not why you do it. This isn't business school. If you're a true blue history major, you've had more than one person try to take you aside and tell you how worthless your life goals are. Try to talk you into doing something more sensible, like getting your MBA because you're good at analyzing or becoming an elementary school teacher because you're great with kids. While I firmly believe that I would be good at both of those things (both of which are worthwhile goals to pursue), I'm not passionate about product distribution or dividing fractions.

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is more people who have come alive." -Howard Thurman

What these well meaning people don't seem to understand is that just because you're talented in a particular area, doesn't mean that's what makes you come alive. And what, may I ask, is the point of spending your entire life doing something that you don't really love?  There isn't one. It's a silly and narrow minded way to view the world. I majored in history because every single time I sat down in one of my classes, I was thrilled at the idea of reading, learning, and absorbing everything that the professor had to offer. I always tell my students at the tutoring center that history is really about people. People just like them. Sure, you have to remember their names and a whole list of dates on which they did all kinds of random things, but if you really look at history for what it is, you see a story. It's someone who lived their life in such a way that you are forever changed by their choices, good or bad.

"It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped.  Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope." -Bobby Kennedy

I majored in history because someone needs to remember them. Who are 'they', you ask? They are anyone. They are infantry soldiers who slogged through the jungles of Vietnam, unnamed women who marched in the streets of New York City demanding the right to vote, immigrants who lived in the poorest conditions you could imagine, mothers who raised their children alone after their husbands were killed defending their country, ordinary people who went about their quiet lives. These people deserve all of the respect that history has to offer them, yet their stories are so often discounted as being 'boring' or 'useless' in the 'real' world. 

"History is our guide to navigation in these perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are." - David McCullough

Last year I was lucky enough to be part of a seminar focused on the Holocaust taught by my favorite professor at the U, Ronald Smelser. If you ever have the chance to take a German history or World War II focused class from this man, run, don't walk. He's amazing. During the course of the class, we discussed the idea that as the termination of the Jewish race grew more prevalent in Hitler's Germany, that very few people stepped in to help or stop the Nazis. It wasn't the focus of the class, but it became my focus as I wrote my final paper. The last paper I would ever write as an undergraduate history major. The more I thought about those people and what they sacrificed, the more I realized that they are why I spent so many years pouring over dusty old books and memorizing dates. It's because these people, whoever they may be, deserve to have someone willing to search for them and their stories. Many of these good men and women suffered and died along with the very people they were trying to help. Their efforts mean so much more than their numbers, because they have permanently and vividly colored the pages of the story of human kind with something redeeming. And all at once it came to me, the real reason that I picked a major that seems completely useless and absolutely senseless to so many people: I studied history because it taught me who I was and where I came from. I studied history because I love learning about people. I studied history because without it you have no math, no engineering, no science. I studied history because the past is prologue. The past teaches us what to repeat and what to stay far away from. I studied history because the world needs all kinds of people to help it run. I studied history because it made me come alive. 

 I studied history because I believe that everyone deserves to be remembered. 

Tuesday Treat...

Oh hi! Happy Tuesday! Did you make it through Monday unscathed? I did, though my wallet did not. Blast that Ikea picture frame section. And blast my mother for buying me so many awesome pictures that need framing. (I know, I'm spoiled. I'll admit it freely. My mom is awesome.) Anyway, since I don't have any of my own wonderful words of wisdom for you on this lovely Tuesday (is it lovely where you are? It's lovely here, though pretty darn windy. But SO very warm. And how's a girl to complain about that? She's not. Especially when her feets are properly warm for the first time in months. Months, I tell you!), I thought I should leave you with some other wonderful words of wisdom via that completely addicting site called Pinterest. Oh? You wanna follow me? I suppose I can help you out with that. Follow away, dear readers.

Can I get an amen?

Loves!

M

By way of an update....

I am currently ignoring a huge pile of laundry. Clean laundry, mind you. I love clean laundry. It's sitting in a massive pile next to me on my recently vacuumed floor while I half pay attention to the first season of Castle (which I'm watching for the millionth time) while I casually eat Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia FroYo. And yes, I am picking out the chocolate fudge flakes. What is that look for? If you know me at all, you know that I always pick the chocolate chunks out of any ice cream (fine fine fine, froyo) that I eat. Where am I going with this? To be perfectly honest, no where. As I sit in my mostly clean bedroom, surrounded by lovely clean clothes, I have come to the realization that I'm pretty darn content with my life. When it comes down to it, who am I to complain? Sure, I could give you a long list of the things that aren't great in my life (please reference the opening lines of "Holding Out for a Hero" and take a gander at these pictures for two things that are pretty darn close to the top of the list). But why, may I ask, should I waste time being unhappy about things I have no control over? Remember the Roald Dahl book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"? Sidebar: Before you say anything, yes, I am totally pulling this from this talk, but whether you're Mormon or not, the concept completely applies to you, so don't stop reading. Remember how Willy Wonka, the crazy, slightly unhinged candy maker, hides five golden tickets in some of his candy bars and then announces to the world that whomever finds these special tickets wins not only a private tour of his factory, but a lifetime supply of chocolate? Written on each ticket is an identical message: "Greetings to you, the lucky finder of this Golden Ticket! Tremendous things are in store for you! Many wonderful surprises will delight, astonish and perplex you." In the book, (in the off chance that you haven't read it [shame on you] or seen either of the movies) people all over the world become obsessed with finding the Golden Tickets, buying up all the Wonka chocolate they can find, placing their future happiness on a game of chance. When the ticket is not to be found in their particular candy bar, the joy of the treat (and trust me, there is definitely joy in chocolate) is completely lost. The candy bar itself becomes a complete disappointment without the addition of the Golden Ticket. I think that so often we get fixated on our own "golden tickets" and forget the simple joy of the chocolate. Well, at least I do. There are so many things that I want to accomplish in my life. So many plans and goals. More often than I would like to admit, I get bogged down in how far out of my control some of my plans are that I forget to enjoy the "chocolate"; my friends, my job, my family, the incredible opportunities that I'm given on a regular basis. What, my dear readers, is the point of all this particular ramble? Simple: every now and then stop and enjoy the chocolate. You'll never be sorry that you did.

A quote...

Remember how I haven't had the plague in months? Remember how I was SO incredibly excited to realize this? Remember how Sara the Theatre Fairy and I were just commenting on how great it was that I hadn't been sick? And who comes down with the plague about 2:30 yesterday afternoon? You've got it right. This girl. This means that my energy is at an all time low so all I have for you, dear readers, is this brilliant quote:

Isn't that just a lovely thought? It also makes me want to burst out into "Do You Believe in Magic" by the Lovin' Spoonful, but I'll save your ears. Anyway, I'm off to create more Excel spreadsheets. Can I just say, I love getting paid to organize someone else's life? It's fab. 

Loves!

Advice from The Bird Woman...

(Have you ever read A Girl of the Limberlost? NO?! Oh the tragedy! Run, don't walk, to the library and find a copy. It's pure charm and wonderfulness. No, really. I swear to you. I'll forever be grateful that Shayla let me borrow her copy when I was about 13. This quote comes from one of my favorite characters, the Bird Woman. You'll just have to indulge in a little of the wonderfulness of the book to really discover who she is. I must add a special shout out to Amazon for reuniting me with this long lost love. Reunited and it feels so good. Yup, I went there.)

"What you are lies with you. If you are lazy, an accept your lot, you may live it. If you are willing to work, you can write your name anywhere you choose, among the only ones who live beyond the grave in this world, the people who write books that help, make exquisite music, carve statues, paint pictures and work for others. Never mind the calico dress, and the coarse shoes...before long you will hear yesterday's tormentors boasting that they were once classmates of yours."

Gene Stratton-Porter A Girl of the Limberlost  pg. 27

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.)

Love this...

"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern.                                                                                                                           Beautiful people do not just happen."

--Elizabeth Kubler Ros

"I hold on to worry, so tight. It's safe in here right next to my heart."

 "I never want to worry again. It's exhausting and draining. It's counterproductive. It's poisonous and toxic. And I can't do it anymore. Obviously, there will always be stressful things, and you have to react to stressful situations, but you don't have to turn those scenarios over and over again in your head to the point where you truly believe any possible outcome will be the worst thing to ever happen in the history of the world. Obviously I'm exaggerating a little, but just a little." --Jasmine from An Experiment in Poverty

Can we be honest for just a minute? No judging eyes, deal? Okay, here goes: I worry. A lot. I've written about it before. I worry about all sorts of things from the ridiculous (falling down a set of stairs) to the rational (finding a full time job). Sometimes worry is a good thing. It can motivate me to get up out of my green chair and stop watching Spooks to clean my house or go grocery shopping or apply for jobs. Worry can motivate me to take my car into the shop when it makes that weird noise when I push on the gas pedal. Worry means that I don't eat cheeseburgers, ice cream or drink regular milk. It means that I keep all my doors locked at night and leave a light on when I leave the house at night. 

See. A particular kind of worry can be a good thing. 

The kind of worry that I've had going on lately hasn't exactly been the good kind. It's been the keep yourself-up-at-night-chewing-off-your-fingernails-give-yourself-a-massive-headache kind of worry. Unfortunately, that's my worry of choice. It's something that I've done since I was a little kid. I guess you could say that I'm wound a little...er, tight, I suppose (if that's a surprise to you, you don't know me at all). I won't lie to you. As exciting as college graduation was (and it was), it has me wound all sorts of tight. I'm now going to vent right here, right now the things (ridiculous to rational) that I'm worried about:

-Finding a job that I actually enjoy that's right for me.

-Paying off my student loans.

-Finding a place to live when I move out of my grandma's house.

-That I'm not doing all of the things that I should to be a good person.

- That I'll never find anything useful to do with my degree.

-I'll never get married because I'm too scared to talk to new people.

-I'm not a good enough example to my siblings.

-I'll never be able to make things right with my brother, no matter how hard I try.

(Now imagine me dusting off my hands)

Alright. That's over with now. I'm taking a deep breath and from here on out, I'm going to do my best not to worry. Just like Jasmine says, it's counterproductive. So this is me letting go of some of that ridiculous worry, blog world. When there's nothing that I can do to change a situation, there's no point in worrying. I am, here and now, making the conscious decision to worry less and enjoy life more. 

Join me, won't you?

Do ya'll remember this post? It's pretty entertaining, if I do say so myself. If you haven't read it, you should.  My want ad for a boyfriend? Wow, it sounds utterly pathetic when I write it that way. Don't judge me, please. I write about stuff like this because, let's be honest, it's great fodder for a blog and I get more comments when I do. I know. You now can see that I'm a shallow comment whore. I'm sure you'll get over this shock. Also, I'm a single, Mormon girl over the age of 16. It's bound to come up and I've accepted that. Most of the time. I still have my days, which I suppose is understandable. Anyway, the whole point of this post is that I found something else to add to my want ad: Someone who is willing to constantly build/put together bookshelves for the constant flow of new books that seem to find their way into my life. It's one addiction that I'm not willing to give up. 

Poor, obscure, plain and little...

I've been on a massive Jane Eyre kick lately. It can really be blamed on Sara, the Theatre Fairy, if you're up for playing the blame game. It's her all time favorite book and when the new adaptation finally came out in Utah (apparently a March 11th release date actually means April 1st in Utah. It must be the whole Mormon Standard Time thing interfering), Sara insisted that we squeeze in a viewing and, let's be honest, who was I to argue? I hadn't read the book since Mrs. Shelton's AP English class and I only distinctly remembered two parts: where Jane is locked in the Red Room (the room that, as a 10 year old, she's beyond positive is haunted by the ghost of her dead uncle) and the end, where she returns to find a blind and broken Mr. Rochester after which she says, "Reader, I married him". Did I just spoil it for you? Well, I don't even feel a little bit bad. The book has been around for over 150 years, so if you don't know the ending by now, that's your own dang fault. Anyway, I remember enjoying the book, but I've always been more of an Austen girl, so I hadn't re-read it since I was 17 or so. After two delightful Mr. Rochester filled hours, I was more intrigued and drawn to the story then I ever had been before. I was reminded of why I actually finished the book (as opposed to Wuthering Heights, which I'm only slightly ashamed to say was finished with the generous aid of Cliff's Notes. Don't judge. Even its delicious creepiness can't make up for the fact that there isn't a single likable character in the whole blasted book): I saw much more of myself in Jane that I had in any character in a book up to that point. That's not to say that our lives were similar in the least: I come from a fantastic family and had an incredible childhood. I was loved beyond all reason and rarely wanted for anything. On my more self deprecating days, I identify with the fact that Jane is plain. Now don't get your panties in a twist. I didn't say that I was ugly. And neither is Jane. She's simply one of those people whose beauty isn't visible to the random passer by. That's not to say that most people can be judged by their covers, but some of us have less remarkable and stunning packaging than others. And more often then not, I feel the same way. I mean, please. I'm called adorable. Cute. Sweet. Lovable. Darling. Sometimes I feel more like a puppy or a baby chick than a woman. In reality, none of this is of great consequence to Jane because what makes her such a strong and desirable heroine is the ability to persevere through even the most weighty and unpleasant of circumstances. That chick is a survivor if that I've seen..er, read one. She's intelligent and independent. She has to make her own way in the world and is willing work for what she gets. Though she may be (in Mr. Rochester's words), "poor, obscure, plain and little", she has a huge impact on the lives of those around her, which has always been my goal. It's her heart and her kindness that make her great. Her ability to see the good in others, but not to let even that sway her into doing something that she feels to be morally wrong. I love Jane because she's everything that I want to be when I finally decide to grow up.

So dish. Who's your hero?

Words words words... (day 8)

My mom always teases me about my obsession with words. I love 'em. Here is a favorite quote of mine:

"If love make me forsworn, how shall I swear to love?

Ah, never faith could hold, if not to beauty vowed!

Though to myself forsworn, to thee I'll faithful prove; 

Those thoughts to me were oaks, to thee like osiers bowed.

Study his bias leaves, and makes his book thine eyes, 

Where all those pleasures live that art would comprehend.

If knowledge be the mark, to know thee shall suffice; 

Well learned is that tongue that well can thee commend;

All ignorant that soul that sees thee without wonder; 

Which is to me some praise that I thy parts admire,

Thy eye Jove's lightening bears, thy voice his dreadful thunder.

Which, not to anger bent, is music and sweet fire, 

Celestial as thou art, O, pardon love this wrong, 

That singes heaven's praise with such an earthly tongue."

-Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost

Written by Berowne for Rosaline

Isn't it lovely? It just makes you want to be in love, doesn't it?

Overheard @ the Mecham Family Thanksgiving....

My family is hilarious. Don't believe me? Read on. 

Side note, as well as potentially useful information: we had a couple of kids who are from New York where my little brother served his LDS mission come to visit for the weekend, J.R. and Mike. They are prominently featured in this piece.

Mama Mecham: "I didn't make a Jello salad for dinner tomorrow. Do you think that's okay?"

Me: "Mom, just because we live in Utah does not mean you need to make a Jello."

Me: "Yeah, they called it Little Tijuana."

J.R.: "What is Tijuana?"

While watching the Texas/Texas A&M game on Thanksgiving.

Mama: "Stop. We only touch our own butts."

During a game of Phase 10 which got so intense that Mama Mecham came down from her cozy bed to moderate.

Mama Mecham: "It's okay, J.R. Some days you wake up in the morning and think, 'Today, I'm just not a winner.'"

Same intense game of Phase 10, but now Papa Mecham is playing...

J.R.: (Insert snarky comment to Mal here)

Papa Mecham lays down a skip card: I protect my young.

Cramin: It's okay, J.R. is a mentally abused shut in.

As we were making deviled eggs. Mama was clearing the eggs shells as we peeled them..

Squeegee: (Looking into her bowl, panicked) "Where did my egg shells go?!"

Mike: "Yeah, last week while he was waiting in line for a basketball game, he made me bring him a sweatshirt."

Cramin: "So basically you're not his roommate, you're his mom?"

J.R.: "I was freezing! And I met him half way!"

Mike: "Yeah, not really..."

While playing a game of electronic Life.

Karlie, reading from her Life card: "Choose another player to be in a band with you."

J.R.: "Ohhhh! Pick me!!"

Mike: "Why would you pick him! He doesn't even play an instrument!! I play the bag pipes!"

J.R.: "Yeah, like that's useful in a band!"

Was your Thanksgiving as entertaining as mine?

"Life brings some hard lessons. The sturdiest of plants are not grown under glass and strength of character is not derived from avoidance of problems."
       Ruth May Fox

Don't you just love this? I'm a fan! Thanks, Jourdan. 

Love this...

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive.And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

- Howard Thurman

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. 

The Brilliance of Winston...

(First and foremost: Thank you, dears, for your delightful input on my hair. You're all fantastic.)

"To every man there comes in his lifetime that special moment when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered a chance to do a very special thing, unique to him and fitted to his talents, what a tragedy if that moment finds him unprepared or unqualified for that which would be his finest hour." 

— Winston Churchill

Thank you, Mr. Churchill for my new life motto. I always knew that you were brilliant.