In Just a Few Short Hours...

Off [I] go into the wild blue yonder,
[I'll be] climbing high into the sun.

(sweet picture, isn't it?!)

I'm going to babysit my sister's extremely cute children this weekend.

She and her husband are going to participate in this triathlon on Saturday.

I get to stay at home with the little ones.

I'm so excited.

Additional "News":

What is it that causes this sign to be necessary?

It's this mass of humanity.

They're everywhere. While they're haunting the halls and running people over tomorrow, I'll be far, far away.

By Monday, they'll be gone.

(this is them lining up outside our two-stall bathroom. when the line got too long, they comandeered the men's restroom.)

Have you seen this man?

Have you seen him do this?

Ty Murray, "King of the Cowboys," is my favorite on Dancing With the Stars. I'm actually kind of surprised he's lasted as long as he has, because he's definitely not the best dancer on the show.

I like him because he seems really nice (soft-spoken, gentlemanly) and because he first time I saw him dance (I started watching a few weeks into the season) his partner slipped on her dress and he caught her, steadied her, and off they went. Didn't phase him at all. That really impressed me. (I'm always more easily impressed by the guys than the girls on this show because the guy needs to learn how to lead and the girl just needs to learn to follow. When I took a dance class, it seemed to me that following was easier than leading.) Of course, he's used to doing this:

so that slip probably seemed like a very trivial thing to him.

I'm especially glad that he's still on the show after Len told him that unless he came out flawless during the team tango, he thought it was time that Ty "hit the trail." Luckily, he did come out with a great tango.

I'm kind of anticipating his getting bumped next week but I really hope not!

A Few Random Items

This was emailed to me yesterday:

(sorry it's fuzzy - if you click on it, it gets clearer)

I think while I'm babysitting my nieces and nephews I'll call and have them sing for me. (:
(that's not exploitative, is it Bess?)

NEXT

I found the following while looking for different races in Utah using this website.

Don't you want to run around / near / through something that looks this pretty?

I'm going to. In August. With these people -

It's called the Rim Run. It's only five miles. I love that when I read "five miles" my first thought was - "that's it!?" I've come a long way (literally) in the past three years...

For information about it, go here.

Another Great Scene:

On Sunday I was finally able to satisfy a long-time desire to watch Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

I love that movie.

From "The Making Of" I learned that Benjamin is not a dancer (although he is the most handsome of the brothers in my opinion). He's an actor. He never really dances in the movie except for a little bit during the barn dance. Gideon isn't a dancer either, he's an acrobat / tumbler, so with his background, he was able to participate in the dance numbers. It was kind of fun to watch that too.

When I was done, I watched my favorite song / dance numbers. Which was almost the whole movie again, I just skipped over the speaking parts. (I would sometimes pick a different character to follow throughout the scene. It kind of changes things up a little bit.)

Good times.

Now, enjoy the next 6 and a half minutes of your life by watching the following:



Seven Brides for Seven Brothers-Barn Dance
Vezi mai multe video din Muzica »

And Here We Go!

A week ago my sister issued a challenge on the family blog. It's supposed to help you form good habits. Here's the list of things I agreed to do for the next 12 weeks:

1. 7 hours of sleep (not necessarily consecutive--naps count too)
2. 30 minutes of exercise (not necessarily consecutive)
3. No sweets/unhealthy snacks
4. 64 oz. of water
5. 3 servings of veggies, 2 servings of fruit
6. No soda
7. No eating after 8:00 PM
8. 15 minutes of scripture reading (family reading counts)
9. One journal entry in the journal type of your choice (personal, blog, etc.)
10. Choose your own habit (flossing, prayer, service, etc.)

Here's my breakdown of the situation:

1. 7 hours of sleep. - I can do this... I just have to make sure I do it. Especially if I'm going to start exercising in the morning (like I plan to), I need to make sure that I'm in bed, lights out, by 10. Possible? Yes.
2. 30 minutes of exercise. - Living at home where my parents have a nice exercise area set up (complete with TV and DVD player) will make this easier to do daily. I need to start running again (my knee is definitely getting better, but I'm not sure if it's ready for running yet), but until then, the bike and elliptical are good substitutes.
3. No sweets / unhealthy snacks. - I actually started this on my own last week. Not as difficult as I thought. With Sundays as "free" days, I can use that as my mildly indulgent day.
4. 64 oz. water. - No problem. I do this anyway. More often it's closer to 128 oz.
5. 3 servings veggies / 2 servings fruit. - Again, easy.
6. No soda. - I don't drink it anyway.
7. No eating after 8:00 pm. - No problem, I just need to remember.
8. 15 minutes of scripture reading. - Unfortunately, not as good a habit as it used to be, so this'll be good for me.
9. One journal entry. - Hmm... I may be blogging daily now... If I don't, don't worry, I'm not necessarily losing points, I do have a written journal too.
10. A habit of my choice. - Before the end of today, I'll have one picked out! (:

Moral of the story - I can do this. I should do this. I'm actually excited. Turns out that the 12-weeks end just a couple of days before our family reunion. Nice timing.

I Have No Words... I Am Without Speech...

I walked up to the counter and put this down:


The following conversation ensued:

Cashier: How are you today?

Me: Doing all right, how 'bout you?

(she looks at what I'm buying)

C: Are you lying to me?

M: Probably.

My New Favorite Place

I've been there once.

Had a few different types that my mom brought home in the past.

I loved the store.

Right now I'm enjoying tomato and herb.

Today's Diet

Wow

A Language Lesson

Did you know "mbava" means "thief" in Shona and Chichewa?

Here's my story:

Yesterday after work I ran down to the bookstore to get a couple of moving boxes and a roll of tape. I was on the phone with my sister while I grabbed what I needed and went to the register. I put it all on the counter. The girl ringing me up was also on the phone. She gave me my total, I paid, then happily walked away with my purchases, still talking to Faith.

It wasn't until I was in the car and off the phone that the total clicked in. She had said 9 dollars and some odd cents. The boxes were 3 a piece and I was sure the tape was more than a penny.

I pulled out the receipt:

I did what any self-respecting, honest person would do. I called my sister back immediately and told her that I had stolen tape and it was her fault.

I was already home so I emailed myself to remind me of my criminal act when I got to work today:
Here's a picture of my loot:


And here's proof of ownership:

Notice the 20% off (everything in the store) sale that was going on today that wasn't going on yesterday. That's what you get for stealing and then repenting. 20% off the cost.

I've learned my lesson.

Really.

I have.

Apparently crime does pay.

I Have Three Words For You: Un Be Lievable!

I'm the green car.






As I was skidding toward the stopped car I had the brake down to the floor. I didn't want to release then reapply because I didn't want to take the chance of accelerating. I covered my hand with my mouth when I was stopped and realized how close I was to the car (within inches, literally). I couldn't believe I never heard or felt the impact of cars crunching (I hate that sound).

The girl (one of the smiling faces - though I doubt she was smiling at the time) ran over as I rolled down my window. We quickly decided that I had, in fact, not hit the car and I drove away.

I was shaking for a while after and so relieved that I hadn't hit the car.

Close call.

Way too close.

I really wanted to pull out my camera and document how close the cars were to each other but decided it probably wasn't appropriate so you'll have to make do with my diagrams.

A Story

Does this tire look flat to you?

It looked kind of flat to me. Enough so, that I called family reinforcements to come and help me. My dad turned around when he was close to work, and my brother-in-law came from home. I told them that I wasn't sure it was flat and I'd feel really bad (and stupid) if they came to help and it wasn't flat.

Turns out: it wasn't flat. I had hit a pothole kind of hard and heard an unpleasant *thunk* so when the car started kind of dragging on the freeway I got a little nervous. I should have accounted more for the rain.

When I called my co-worker telling her that I was going to be late because of a "potential" flat tire I told her that one of two things would come of this:

1 - I really would have a flat tire and would be given props for being smart and pulling over.
or
2 - I wouldn't have a flat tire and my family would be given leave to tease me about this for years to come.

So, I ask you again:

Does this tire look flat to you?

Family: I give you leave. Proceed as you see fit.

A Little Belated

Because I didn't start the birthday-sibling-highlight thing until March, I missed doing it for Graydon in February.

Here goes:

Nice of Dwight to help promote my brother, isn't it?

All joking aside, Graydon really is all of those things and more. He's considerate, funny, helpful, and an overall great person. He's interesting to talk to and really cares about doing the right thing.

I'm glad he's my brother.

Happy (late, late) Birthday Graydon!

Sometimes I Really Wish I Was a Dancer

And maybe I'm also a little bit in love with these:

... even if I do occasionally find them slightly difficult to open.

I'm in Love

Maybe I can drink a whole one of these way too quickly.

Maybe.

Mmm...

Currently snacking on:

If you came by, I'm sure I'd share with you.

If you asked nicely.

Amen.

I haven't dyed eggs in years, but I saw friends doing it yesterday and thought it'd be fun to do with my family today.

Turns out - I was right.

(add a white crayon to your dyeing process - it opens up a whole new world)

(don't strain your eyes - the one on the right says, "We {heart} Aunt Eden" followed by the first letter of all my nieces and nephews names. No, this wasn't a shameless self-promotion. Caitlin made that one and the pretty one next to it.)


Dingo enjoying the "hunt."

Have You Seen This?

Apparently I'm going to die on my brother's 94th birthday.

Bummer.

Go here to find your own date...

Memories With My Brother

(not a picture of us, but I'm working on locating one of my favorites. i'll change it if/when i find it.)

Happy Birthday my big brother Dominic!

In honor of your birthday, here are things I remember from growing up with you (in no particular order):

I remember us trying to reenact part of the barn-raising dance scene from 7 Brides for 7 Brothers.


I remember you chasing me around the house and then when you backed me into a corner I said, "Stop! Please, I'm really scared." -

You always stopped.

I remember my continual threats of "When I'm older than you...!" (I'm still waiting for that time...)

I remember you giving me a blessing when I was scared and overwhelmed with going back to school after coming back from my mission.

I remember you making sure I got roses on Valentine's Day when I came up to babysit Iris.

I remember you making sure I got a flower on Valentine's Day in high school.

I remember watching your football games in high school and being so proud that you were my brother and that you were awesome.

I also remember you patiently explaining football rules to me as we watched games.

I remember seeing how even more protective and loving you became as a father.

I remember often thinking - "If I marry a guy like my brother, I'll be so lucky."

I still think that.

I hope you're having a great day.

I love you!

When you play this play list at random,



...it's possible that you'll hear:

song ending: "I think you should write your uncle a note and tell him to come home."

followed by:

song beginning: "Dearest, darlingest Momsie and Popsicle."

I heard it.

In that order.

I laughed.

It's bad news when your charger cord looks like this:

And you have to contort it like this:

to get it to charge.

Much better:

I hate these containers, by the way.

And just because I think it's pretty:

ps: this is the third charger I've done this too. what is going on?!

Flashback: Two Years Ago

Wow.

I was blonde.

Happiness is...

... library fines being forgiven.

I was late returning this book - oops.

For no reason that I could see, the guy waived the fine. A 6-dollar fine. Gone. Just like that.

This has been a good day.

The Perfect Weekend

I got to listen to 8 hours of instruction/inspiration/peace from my church leaders (yes I stayed awake for the whole time).

And I got to hold this little guy:

A LOT.

And I loved it.

I Love Nature

Today outside of the library.
(I couldn't get the bug to focus.)

(have you ever been bitten by a ladybug?)

about 2 & 1/2 years ago at Niagara Falls

(they ate out of my hand a few times)

Self-Diagnosing

(no those aren't my legs)

I'm sure doctors love it when a patient comes in with an answer to the problem.

For the last week or so my knee has been hurting. A lot. And getting worse each day. It happened while I was still "resting" and trying to get my foot to recover from a run.

I hadn't been running for two weeks when it started hurting. At first I ignored it thinking it would just go away since I wasn't really doing anything active anyway.

It didn't.

I went in to the doctor last week and talked to him about it. He told me to rest it.

Rest it.

Rest.

I had been resting for two weeks.

Hmm...

That's when I decided to follow through with my self-diagnosis (that I hadn't mentioned to him).

I think it might be tendinitis. I've had experience with tendinitis in my wrists for 9 years now.

When my wrist(s) start hurting, I put on a brace, let it rest, then take it off when it feels better.(not my hand either)

I'm trying that on my knee.

Already it's been feeling a little better.

I understand the rest thing, but sometimes it just needs some support too.

And sometimes it's just nice to have a name for the problem.

Right?

The beginning of my day:
(I'm slightly obsessed w/ clouds and mountains)


The later middle-ish part of my day:
(first mission president and his wife - President Keith Edwards)

The end of my day:
(my brother's team won)


It was a good day.

Good night.