Just a quickie...well sort of

It never really did feel like Christmas this year. At least not until I got home to Arizona and was around the family. And not even until that morning when the little girls were opening presents and shouting exclamations of "Sweetness!" and "Nice, nice." Seeing them excited made me excited. My favorite present was a pair of Hoven sunglasses I got from Jamas. They're freaking rad and I love them. Plus they won't break after two wears. It's been kind of funny updating all the older siblings on the social/love life (well more of lack thereof). Next time we're all together I'm just going to sit down all the older sisters and tell them my stories all at once so I won't be repeating it 4 times.

We left the day after Christmas for Hurricane and then the next day to the SUU lodge up in Cedar City. We spent 3 1/2 days up there playing in the snow and just lounging around (lots of time spent reading new books from Santa). Monday night we went skiing. It was my second time ever going and I had tons of fun. My body is definitely not use to it (or any form of exercise aside from walking) so I've been a bit tender all over. We had everyone at the cabin except Jamas, Erin, Auden, Marek and Brett who's serving his mission in Japan. I was happy to finally have Colton back and I managed to get away without being thrown in the snow. Saturday night him, Rachie, Tyson and I drove down to Cedar City and saw Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler. It was super funny and I totally want to go see it again. We laughed a lot and maybe out loud too much, but I didn't care too much and the other audience members never said anything. We only had one accident at the cabin this year: Maren was going down a steep run on the sled, fell off and all of her weight landed on her arm. She didn't completely snap it in two, it was just fractured and bent. Don't worry I have pictures :) (but they'll have to come later). Don't stress though, we have really only ever had two accidents in the 7 years we've been going (this one and my Aunt Jilyn broke her tailbone one year. That's why we don't do trains on the tubes anymore).

We're now back at Grandma's in Hurricane being bums. Fed the cows last night, got IN 'N OUT for lunch and have a Wii tennis tournament planned to bring in the New Year with. No New Year's Eve kisses this year :( But at least I won't be in bed when '09 hits like I was last year. That's something to be grateful for. I'll upload pictures tomorrow, we've got a slow internet connection here so it takes much too long than I'm willing to wait for to upload photos.

School starts back up on Monday and I'm pretty excited to get back up to Provo although I'm going to miss AZ's warmer weather. At least I won't be sleeping on a couch anymore. I've got 2 new roommates and a nannying job to look forward to. Last thing I swear: In the months of August-December I traveled roughly 7,360 miles. Most of that was in between home and school, but dang! That's a lot of miles!!!

Accidents at the dinner table #2

A lap full of orange juice wasn't enough, so a few days later I got a lap full of milk. But that was my own fault, I knocked over my cousin's glass of milk into my lap and all over the floor.

Accidents at the dinner table

I ended up with a lap full of orange juice this morning after Jamas knocked his cup over handing the syrup to Fern during breakfast. What can I say? It was cold and sticky and really funny. I'm just glad it wasn't the syrup that got spilled. At least OJ washes out.

P.S. It's Christmas Eve!!!!!!!!!!

Banging my head against a wall

I hate evolution, I hate microevolution, I hate macroevolution, I hate biodiversity, I hate speciation, I hate mutations, and I especially despise BIOLOGY!!! My brain just can't take it anymore! It doesn't matter how many times I mutter the definitions to myself it just never clicks. I've been sitting in this same chair at the bottom of the library (makes it sound ominous if I say bottom, kind of like I'm in a dark, bottomless pit...) since noon trying to understand how mutations are beneficial and what speciation is... It's unbelievably frustrating especially since I have a headache. That's a funny story:

I have 3 book shelves mounted on the wall above my bed. Last night I thought it would be delightsome to jump into my bed. I ended up slamming my forehead into the corner of the bottom shelf, giving myself a dent about the length of the tip of my pinky finger. It's all swollen now, but it's giving me a headache the size of Massachusettes. Lesson learned: move shelves higher up on wall.

P.S. this bio final is my last final. But I have to take it in the Joseph Smith Building auditorium which means no leg room, no elbow room, no room for anything and awkward stumblings over people who sit at the end of the row. HOORAY!!!

Goodbye Waves

There is one song that makes me cry no matter where I am, who I am with, or what is happening in my life:

"Goodbye Waves and Driveways" by The Rocket Summer

It's a pretty chill song until the "climax." Yes, the singer does get a little overly vocal and screams, but not for long and not like crazy punk rock music. It's a really passionate part of the song and I think it's kind of cute. Anyway, yes I cry during this song, listen to it and maybe you'll understand where I'm coming from. Just think of a sad break up when you listen to it.

Go to this link and on the right hand side in the black box you can listen to the track.

Lemons and the Atonement

You know the saying, when life hands you lemons make lemonade? And we should, we should make the best of what the Fates throw at us. But I think most of us get so use to carrying the lemons in our pockets waiting for them to magically turn into lemonade on their own. I've been carrying quite a few lemons for a couple of years now and my coat is getting heavy from the weight. It's a pathetic analogy, but at least you can do something with the lemons handed to you rather than the rocks on your back. Each time we are handed a lemon we stick it in our pockets and when the time comes where we decide to get rid of the weight we can do something magical with this piece of sunny fruit. We can turn it into something beautiful, something that we can drink that will make us feel fresh and new on the inside, something that will help our countenance glow.

I've been studying the Atonement a lot lately whether I have been planning to or whether it's been thrown in my face a lot due to the Visiting Teaching message and my Doctrine & Covenants final. I even mentioned it in one of my English final's prompts. I recently reread Elder Steuer's devotional that he gave this semester and I was kind of smacked in the head by the way he talked about how we need to personalize the Atonement, which is something I have always had a hard time doing, but know that I need to do. Of course I know that Christ suffered just for me as He did you, but knowing that He also suffered for my illnesses, and my heartaches was not something I ever really took to heart. I knew it, but I never really understood it, and I never understood it because I never really sought His help with those lemons I was carrying. I am not one to drudge up past relationships, but I want to show you an example. Earlier this year in March I had just broken up with a guy and was feeling pretty blue. I did not really know where to seek solace from but for some reason I just had a feeling to call one of my sisters and later my mom. Both of them spoke of the best remedy for a broken heart: service. As I contemplated their words then and even more so now, I have begun to understand why serving is the best remedy. In doing service we forget about the lemons in our pockets and we help another person with their lemons. In doing service we allow Christ to help us make our own lemonade. It is in those moments that we forget ourselves and that pain, it is in those moments that Christ takes away the heartache and other sorrows.

Another thing I have never truly understood about the Atonement is how I can become a new person after repentance. It is funny that I don't really understand because I spent most of Sunday sharing a thought from James Faulconer about the Atonement (James Faulconer was formerly the Dean of General Education and Honors at BYU). In a talk he once gave titled "Remembrance," Faulconer stated this:

"I’ve thought quite a bit about what it means that the Father remembers our sins no more and I think we often do not take it seriously enough. We think that the scriptures must be speaking metaphorically when it says that. . . .

You will recall that I do not equate memory and recollection. To remember something is for it to be a locus from which one has a certain attitude toward the world. Thus, I would argue that the Father may well recollect our sins after we repent – just as we can. However, one’s relation to them and to the world is very different after one has confessed appropriately and repented. The sins are no longer what they were. (This requires the counter-intuitive belief that the past can change, but that counter-intuitive belief seems to me to be at the heart of Christian doctrine.)

Formerly, my sins were a memorial of my waywardness, wickedness, and rebellion. After proper repentance, they become a memorial of God’s grace and the sacrifice of His Son. In other words, they are no longer sins and, so, cannot be remembered as sins by the Father or by myself. What was an occasion for sorrow and despair has become something new by becoming part of an occasion for joy."

I guess this doesn't really go with understanding how we become a new person but I love how Faulconer explains the remembrance of our sins. Here is where we see our sins as lemons and not rocks. They become that sunny, yellow fruit, bitter for a second but sweet after it becomes lemonade. Of course we won't ever completely forget our sins, but once we change our attitudes about those past mistakes we can remember them as moments in our lives where we took advantage of the Atonement. I hope that as I continue to study the Atonement and take advantage of it in my own life that I will be able to understand the great change that can take place in my life when I do make mistakes. I'm not planning on having a lot more heart breaks, but if there are anymore in store for me I hope that I remember first hand that the best antidote for that pain is service and confiding in my Savior. I know that Christ suffered for all of us. I know both our Heavenly Father and our Savior love us so much, and I will admit that I am one of the first to forget that during those lemon days. But I know it is true, it is just one of those things you "get" and can't really explain why.

"The book Romeo would have given Juliet; Charlie Brown would have given Snoopy; Tonto would have given the Lone Ranger..."

Almost a year ago my friend received this birthday present from a significant other:

"I Like You" by Sandol Stoddard Warburg

Basically the cutest book ever! My favorite part in the book is this:
"I like you because if I am mad at you
Then you are mad at me too
It’s awful when the other person isn’t
Phooey
They are so nice and hoo-hoo you could just about
Punch them in the nose"

Well, this part is cute too:
"We fool around the same way all the time
Sometimes we don’t say a word
We snurkle under fences
We spy secret places
If I am a goofus on the roofus
Hollering my head off
You are one too"

It's a really cute book because it's not just about couples or two people in love/like, but it's also about best friends, roommates, sisters, brothers, and even the relationship between owner and pet. If you're ever browsing in a bookstore stop by the Children's section and just take a quick peek.

Let it snow!

It finally snowed today! But, of course, nothing stuck to the ground. This white Christmas better kick in soon, I haven't been able to wear my boots yet. Ok lame desire for wanting it to snow, but really, I miss it!

I'm ok

Finals are coming, finals are coming. I'm spazzing out just a little bit. So as of tomorrow I have 4 days of classes left and 2 weeks of this semester left to endure. WOO HOO!!! My list of things to do is actually quite small, but each things takes up probably an entire day to finish. Such as study for Biology final...3 days at least! Study for English and finish the 13 prompts that are also due for our final...I can't even calculate the time I am going to need to suffer through that.

It's been an eventful semester thus far, I won't lie. Lots of drama, lots of learning, lots of growing up (hoping on my part), broken hearts (mine and a few guys :)), broken wrists (not mine thankfully), Thanksgiving, lots of road trips, too many CDs made for road trips, not enough sticky notes used, new clothes, new friends (a lot of new friends), new job, new grandbaby, more goals, lots of sick days (yeah remember that one time I got a sinus infection and then tonsilitis [oh yeah i got tonsilitis quite hilarious moment in my life, nope those babies are still in my throat]), and way too many other things to list. It was fun. Although I could have been better about exercising and eating healthy...New Year's resolutions!

There is one thing I learned in these past four months that I really want to share. As I have come to learn more about who I am and what I really want in life I have realized that as long as I am doing the things I need to be doing and choosing the right, then I can do anything. Yeah I know it seems cheesy to say but it's so true! Not only can I do anything but I can receive great blessings. I have always been told to read my scriptures and say my prayers, attend church, etc. but it never really hit home until I started doing those things with the right attitude. I wasn't just doing them to do them, rather I was doing them because I wanted to. After that attitude adjustment I really figured all of this out. I also learned that when I am doing the right things, that's when I am most happy. That's when I am happy. After that, everything else falls into place. We don't need to worry about anything else, just get done what we need to, say your prayers, read the scriptures, attend church, write in your journal, serve others, have patience, and everything else will work itself out.

I will admit that I forget this sometimes, especially in the heat of the moment. But when I remember it's like a weight has been lifted off my chest again, and all the petty arguments and the boy drama and the overwhelming school work, all of that seems so miniscule in the grand scheme of things. I'm ok, and once I'm happy and ok, then everything just feels right in the world. I'm striving to be ok, I'm not there yet but I know that once I get there...well we'll just see what happens :)

Yeah I'm cool...er

Remember how once upon a time I said I was gonna get a new phone? (post here) I did!!! Right before Thanksgiving I got a new LG Shine and I switched over to At&t, more bars in more places. Holla!!! But really I'm just glad I don't have a lame flip phone anymore, and it's not tacky blue, but sleek black. I like it a lot a lot a lot. The end.

Coldplay

One of my goals in life: Go to a Coldplay concert...

ACCOMPLISHED!!!

The Source got tickets to the Coldplay concert Wednesday night while I was home for the holidays. It was out at the new Jobing.com Center, so my mom, my three sisters Rachel, Hannah and Addie, and I drove out to Glendale for one of the best concert ever! Yes my mom actually went with us and she even sang along to most of the songs too!!! It was so much fun being there with my sisters and also because it was Coldplay, one of my favorite bands. Everyone was ready to leave before the encore but I was not leaving that place until they had played Yellow (my favorite song in the world) and sure enough, they did! It was amazing needless to say. And we even got t-shirts to add to my ever growing collection.

Outside the Jobing.com Center before the concert

Viva la Vida baby!

Chris Martin up on the big screen, they had a really cool lighting system and all this other stuff going onAddie, Rachel, Hannah and Mom right before Coldplay came on

I got my scare fill for the year...

OH MY GOSH!!! So I just went to the International Cinema on campus with Emily and we saw The Orphanage. Um...it was so scary!!! The whole story was just messed up, but it was freaky all around. The only time I really laughed was when I would look around at all of these college students who were scrunched down in their seats clutching each other with looks of terror on their faces. It was actually pretty fun because we would all scream, gasp or groan at the same time, which would then make me laugh. But that was really the only thing that made me laugh. I definitely did not laugh when I had to walk home alone in the dark because Emily had class at 7pm (the movie started at 5:30pm). Anyway, it was scary and I'm not quite sure I'll be able to sleep tonight. PS remember I am THE BIGGEST scaredy cat ever. About a quarter of the way into the movie I told Emily I didn't think I could make it through the whole thing I was so scared. My body sort of hurts from being tense for so long. I was literally shaking when I got home because my muscles were sore. Yes, I am pathetic.

Disney Lab

Due to my addiction to the Disney Channel Spencer sent me this video about the making of Disney stars. I laughed so darn hard! Sorry it's just a link (I'm a bit challenged when it comes to uploading videos...amazing I know, I'm supposed to be all knowing with technology, or something like that).

Conference Weekend

I'm really behind on updating so I figured I better get a move on it.

Conference weekend I went and stayed up in Pleasant Grove with Hayley and Maddox. Earlier that week we all went out to the Bombay House for dinner because Chris and Becca were in town. So Saturday they came over and watched a little bit of Conference with us before we went up to Salt Lake with them to Becca's sister's house for birthday cake and just to visit.

Sunday morning I drove back up to Salt Lake with my two roommates Emily and Lisa and our FHE brothers Kelly and Trent. Kelly had gotten tickets to the Sunday morning session of Conference and had invited us to go. I've never been to Conference at the Conference Center, so it was a really cool to go experience that. I have always heard people talk about how amazing it is to be in the same room as the prophet, but I never really knew how amazing until that morning. I was sitting there, in between Emily and Trent playing solitaire with Trent on his iPhone, when the entire room went silent and everyone stood up. It caught me unawares and I stumbled onto my feet. As I stood there squinting my eyes down to the center of the pulpit straining my eyes to see President Monson enter the room I felt the most...interesting feeling ever. I don't really know how to explain it, it wasn't the chills or some burning in my bosom, I just felt like a giant cloak had enveloped me. I didn't feel warmer or anything I just extremely comfortable and at peace, like I had taken a great sigh of contentment. That feeling was just a confirmation to me that all those men in suits have been called by our Father in Heaven and that President Monson is a prophet and seer for our time. It always feels like such a blessing to have those feelings reconfirmed. I managed to stay awake the entire time, which I was extremely grateful for, I was so afraid I was going to fall asleep sometime during the session while I was sitting in the same room with the apostles and prophets! But I didn't.

After Conference I drug everyone around Temple Square trying to find Dan Magstadt, a really good friend from our freshman year who was serving his mission in Salt Lake. And guess what? We found him!

Tagged by Emily

3 Names you go by
1) Mia
2) Millie
3) Amel

3 Restaurants I love
1) Yoko's
2) Costa Vida
3) Bombay House

3 Trips to plan on this year
1) Gilbert, Arizona
2) Yellowstone
3) Hurricane, UT

3 Things you want badly
1) Good health
2) Faith that everything will work out in the end
3) Reassurance that this really is the best thing

3 Pets you have/had
1) Spartacus (Beta fish)
2) Mickey (cat - the most loved of the cats we had)
3) Socks, Greywolf, Ginger, Rosemary, & Whisper (all the other darn cats we had that ran away)

3 Things you did yesterday
1) Drove from Gilbert to Provo
2) Said goodbye to many loved ones
3) Planned my life out for next semester

3 Things you ate today
1) Beef jerky
2) Mints
3) A roll

3 Fears
1) That I'll never be good enough
2) Snakes
3) Unstable ground (i.e. roller coasters, trampolines, diving boards, grates in the sidewalk, the ocean floor, anything you stand on the moves voluntarily)

3 Things you plan on doing today
1) Finally sleeping
2) Homework
3) Start training for that marathon

3 Things you plan on doing tomorrow
1) Going to classes
2) Work
3) Making a budget

3 Favorite Holidays
1) Christmas
2) Thanksgiving
3) Halloween

3 Favorite beverages
1) Milk
2) Gatorade
3) Strawberry Daquiri

3 people I tag
1) Jenny
2) Callie
3) Tara

Worse, better, worse, better, never perfect

I'm supposed to be getting better not more sick! But that's not how this weekend turned out. The sinus pressure and the headaches are gone, but I'm still a bit congested (and now there's lots of drainage) and guess what?! I now have a sore throat that makes it almost impossible to swallow. In fact, it hurts so much that I have avoided swallowing at all and just spit any time I need to. It has been such a fabulous time. I've been sick for almost two months and it is unbelievably frustrating. I've been really good about getting to bed early (except this weekend) and...ok that's about it. Food isn't always the greatest when you're cooking dinner for one (too lazy to do it for one) and I've been really shoddy with exercising. So basically I need a major lifestyle change or else I'm just going to keep being sick, more sick, sort of sick, sick, more sick, and so forth.

Gosh this stinks.

I declare INDEPENDENCE!!!

Do we ever take human connection for granted? The ability to communicate feelings, emotions, fears, desires? Do we never appreciate touch? Smell? What type of people would we be if we could not feel? Never love? What would our lives be like if we could not believe or understand?

I have a terrible habit of dreaming of tomorrow. But in dreaming of it, I lose today. Nothing gets done. Life drags on slowly, plotting my course across a map of empty yesterdays looking much like the patches of earth from an airplane window. Where do we pick the pieces up? When is our breaking point? Who finally pulls us out of the ditch and pushes us forward? When do we realize we are wasting away? Do we ever? We always talk of goals and fixing things, changing habits but we never do. Nothing ever gets done. No initiative is taken. We set goals too high, we aspire to impossible dreams. Do our lives look like the sideways wanderers of roads and rivers? Why do we find it hard to walk straight down one path?

I have wandered carelessly, but most times purposefully, pushing against the fences that box me in. I wish to make decisions on my own, to have my own life, and yet I do. I have built my own walls. I've erected them around my mind, my heart, my soul. I set my own limits, not allowing myself to grow and change. Do I fear change? Do I fear risking everything I have now to become something I could be? Is it cheesy to declare my own independence? To declare freedom from myself? In declaring ourselves free from all that holds us back I believe we need to set all we have at the foot of our Savior and finally admit to the fact that, hey, we really cannot change on our own. We need His help, His hand to pull us up out of that ditch we have found ourselves in. Yes, everything starts with a desire, but to go from desire to action we need a little shove, a little kick in the pants by someone who knows us better than any other person. He knows our limits, He knows what we can handle and trusting in Him will enable us to let go of the past mistakes and move forward with more than just hope. He can helps us escape sometimes our worst enemy: ourselves. Well, I am going to declare freedom from myself, even if it is laughable; I want to risk everything. I want to find my real limits, actually go out and find my true boundaries. All that I could possibly lose is someone I am not too proud of. I don't want my future to regret my past. I don't want to regret myself. I'm pretty lame as it is, what's the worse that could happen? So all these goals I set for myself this past year - they're gonna happen. I'm throwing all my old habits away and reconstructing myself. Reconstructing me (I want to write a song, remind me to add that to my list).

Why am I doing this? Because I'm sick of the old me. It's time to grow up and grow out of old habits. I want to become someone who is easily loved. Someone that can capture a room, but never be superficial. I want to blow people away when they meet me. I also just want to be in such a state of happiness that each morning is brought with a ray of sunshine and ends with a smile. I want to walk out my door and see only the beauty of the earth and never once doubt my worth as a daughter of God. It gives me the shivers to think about the great big obstacles ahead but I such faith that if I trust in my Father in Heaven then I can become a better person and realize my full eternal potential.

30 pills later

I took my last dose of antibiotics today! Now I just have the Sudafed to deal with, and as long as I'm not dizzy or have a pounding headache then I am pill free!!! Unfortunately that hasn't happened quite yet, I sort of forgot that just because I'm feeling better that doesn't mean I can stop drinking abnormal amounts of water...(doctor said when you have a cold you need to up your water intake to 1-2 liters! I haven't done that but I'm still in the bathroom every ten minutes).

PS I love my new background :)

Kisses & Snores

Book of the Day:
"Never Let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You"

I have no idea what it was about, but I thought the title was funny. As I was shelving today I stumbled upon two, not just one, but two different guys sprawled out under the cubby desks in different corners of my floor. One of which was totally snoring. Where's a camera when you need one? I tried so hard to be quiet as I shelved books around them, neither woke up so I believe I succeeded.

Ginza

I tried sushi for the first time ever this summer. The first week I got back up to Provo I went up to Salt Lake with Fern, Josh, Hayley, Addie, and Maddox to meet my dad at Ginza, one of his favorite sushi places. I finally plucked up the courage to try the stuff and I actually liked it. Shh! Don't tell. :) It was fun trying all the different kinds that everyone got and feeding Maddox edamame and soy sauce.


Hayley and I got a kick when we passed by the abandoned building with the address 217 1/2. I'm determined to have an address like that one day.

Phobia #1

Snakes...I don't know what it is but they just give me the heebie jeebies. Seriously, my toes curl under whenever I get near one. Last year when my FHE group went to the Bean Musuem we happened upon the reptile show they have every Monday night. Needless to say, I almost cried. But I steered clear of them and survived the night unscathed. I like to think that this fear comes because of all the evil representations snakes are in literature, but someone shot that down when they said that the serpent is also the symbol of Christ (thank you Moses). I've never touched one, I have no desire to and I could live quite happily if I never had to ever interact with one. But...that's not possible. And that would be because of Esau and Spencer. Spencer's sister Katie has a snake named Esau and he is determined to teach me to love him. I'm not ready. I'm quite scared actually, but if there is any fear I am willing to get over it would be snakes. I can't say how long it will take me to do so, probably centuries, but I'm still willing, only if being forced. Which I am being forced. Just like I'm being forced to understand politics. Although I really do hate politics, snakes are just something that give me the goosebumps and make me shiver.

My body can't make up its mind

I've been sick for 4+ weeks. I know because I've been counting. Well not exactly but I woke with a sore throat the morning before I came back up to oober land (aka Utah) for school and have continued to harbor those germs for the last month or so. It's been quite fun! Not. There were mornings where I could barely talk and others where I would skip about giggling. And then Sunday night hit, well more so, Sunday hit. Church at 9am, was promptly home taught afterwards, which took a couple hours since they made us lunch, I then attempted a much desired nap, failed in that area, ran off to visit teach, jumped off to sing at the nursing home, flew off to visit teach, and finally slid into home to prepare for our traditional pancake night. I over exerted my body and it finally shut down on me around nine that night. My glands were so swollen I could have played catch with them, which of course caused any movement of the neck to send searing pain all over. My ribs were sore, my neck was sore, my head was throbbing, and even my legs were sore. But of course I continued to stick it out, socializing with the several miscreants who were milling about our apartment. By ten I was near tears and I had my dear home teachers come over and give me a much needed blessing. I then collapsed into my bed sobbing on the phone with Spencer who of course was the much needed comfort I had been looking for all day.

Anyway, I went to the doctors' this morning. I hate the doctors. I always feel like I am either going to go in and find that it is something way serious or nothing at all, this morning was the latter. Kind of a kick in the butt, no I didn't have strep which everyone thought it was on Sunday (never had it before so I had no idea) and thankfully I didn't have mono either. It's a sinus infection, a nasty one at that. But the doctor prescribed Amoxicillin and I am now doped up on antibiotics and oober amounts of sleep. Personally, I'm done being sick and I would love for my body just to make up its mind about whether or not to be sick.

PS I've been in the same pajamas for two days now...mmm, yummy :)

Phone = Car

My phone is kind of like a car, at least when it comes to the battery. Whenever it says "low battery" I really know that I've still got at least...12 more hours before it really is going to die on me. Kind of like how in some cars, your gas gauge will say empty when really you can make it home without sweating about stopping at the gas station. Empty tank? No problem! I can actually squeeze another 100 miles out of this sucker. Low battery? No I don't need to hang up and plug my phone in, I can probably talk to you for another four hours and not need to worry :)

Yeah, my phone is a brick, it will endure anything: I've dropped it a billion times (comes with having butter fingers), chucked it across the room on numerous occasions, spilled water on it, sat on it, slept on it (that was awkward, and uncomfortable), and I think I even got toothpaste all over it one time. I do know it rolled through a mess of chocolate chip cookie, though, that wasn't too much fun cleaning up. Anyway, I can't wait to get a new phone because even though my phone can endure through anything, it's ancient and obnoxious, even the vibrate is loud - it has woken Emily up in the night. Well maybe not completely woken up but she does move in her sleep. So coming in November...Amelia will, hopefully, have a new phone and, hopefully, a new provider (T-Mobile stinks). The end.

Concert #1

We're concert goers, what can I say? I had never been to a concert (aside from Kingston trio my freshman year of high school, but I was the youngest fan there...) until I came up to college. Since then I have been to 11 concerts, in 2 years. So, Saturday night Chris Merritt, a local-ish band that we have seen before, played at Velour, a small venue in Provo. Callie, Emily and I had been planning to go since we found out about it long before school started, but things came up and Cal was unable to come with us. So Em and I invited our roommate Lisa and our friend Steve and they both actually wanted to come! I was surprised because they had never heard of Chris, but they were both eager to tag along. So we busted a move on over to Velour around 8pm, (P.S. if you ever go see a show at Velour go early, pay and get your hand stamped and then you get free food! They always barbecue out front before a show and it's worth the seven bucks to go early and get dinner and a show!!!) There were two other bands that opened before Chris, Parker and Invasion. Invasion was a bit harder rock than I prefer but I did enjoy some of their stuff. However, Parker opened and I was almost in tears during his first song. It was AMAZING!!! and he has a great voice. Check him out at myspace.com/parkersmusic. Listen to "Porch Swing," that was the one he opened with and had me crying.

Chris was amazing as usual. And since this was the second concert we had been to we knew more of his stuff and could really jam. Emily and I were oober stoked when he played "Tower of Sand" and "Dance Karate." We really got rocking to those (I"m trying to use cool terms to describe how much fun we had but I think I just sound retarded).

Lisa took a picture of Em and me up front dancing, but you can't really tell who we are, but it's still a fun picture!

Me, Steve, Em and Lisa (notice the sunburn from the football game...)

BYU vs. UCLA

We creamed them needless to say...but! It was the second BYU game I've ever been to, and it was decent. Emily and I have decided that sports aren't all that fun unless you kind of like someone who you go with...which is hard for me since I left that someone back home (but I did keep him updated on the score!) We only stayed for the first half because it was a bit toasty, especially when you're in jeans and a navy blue t-shirt, and the game was boring. Yes, it was boring. We were up by six touchdowns by halftime, trust me, I know football, there's no recovery from that. So Em and I kicked it, I will admit I was quite grateful she was ready to leave as early as I was because 1. Walking home alone was going to stink and 2. If we stayed any longer my face would have been much more pink than it ended up being. I should have known to put darn sunscreen on, who'da thunk?

Em and me before the game

Me, Em and our roommate Lisa at the game...we had pretty tight seats I will admit...

Shelving

I started working in the Harold B. Lee Library this semester and I have had quite the laughs since being there. It is really interesting to see the books that people actually check out. My favorite are the wedding books that look like they were printed in the 1800s...people still read these? I flipped through one today titled "How to Get Married Now That You Have Been Asked" (published in 1969, and it was checked out about two days ago). It had interesting chapter titles, but it was mainly just a guidebook for what to wear on the honeymoon (what to pack, not in the bedroom :)), where to go, what to do on the honeymoon, when to start having kids...really random stuff.

I got the biggest kick today when I shelved the book "Women, Fire, and Other Dangerous Things" (I'm pretty sure that's the title...). Yeah the title was a kick in itself but what really made me laugh was the typo on the spine of the book. It read: "Woemn, Fire and Other Dangerous Things." I was tempted to take it downstairs, but we can't really do anything about it so it gets left as it is.

You would think that shelving books would be a pretty darn easy job, but it really isn't. The whole process takes sometime to get used to, and to understand. I won't bore you with a description of it, just know that the job is taken very seriously (especially since President Samuelson came in one day and couldn't find a book he was looking for. They've really raised the bar since then). I have gotten some pretty wicked scratches and bruises up my right forearm from carrying the books. My floor, 5th North, is the floor where all the cute guys come to study, as I have been told about a billion times by all the girls. I admit I've looked, but none have held a candle to, well, yeah :) I will soon be able to listen to my iPod as I work, which will be a blessing since I've put tons of books onto it. That and I will just be glad to not be in silence for four hours.

We did just get t-shirts today (one more to add to my collection of school t-shirts, I have...way too many). I'll send a picture soon! I've wanted to take a picture of my battered arm too, but I don't want anyone worrying that I cut myself...that'd be bad...

P.S. you know how Firefox underlines everything misspelled? Well apparently some contractions aren't words...only some though, the rest don't get underlined. Someone please explain!

In remembrance...

At about 12:30 last night, I turned to my friend Callie who was squished onto my twin bed with me and said, "It's September 11th." We laid there quiet for a moment and then I added how crazy it was that the attack on the Twin Towers was seven years ago. I couldn't decide if it felt like it had happened yesterday or thousands of years ago, so much has changed since then. I do know that I felt old... :)

Seven years ago, as an 8th grader, I was sleeping peacefully in my bedroom (in the most comfortable bed in the world) awaiting my alarm to go off. It never did, instead my father, mother, and my older sisters were suddenly sitting on my bed telling me that the two World Trade Center towers had been hit with airplanes. World Trade Center? I didn't even know what that was, let alone know where it was. Our TV was kept on most of the morning as we all got ready for school, and we watched as the other planes crashed in Pennsylvania and into the Pentagon. It was scary but most of the time I just didn't understand what was going on, if it was real, and what it all meant.

The rest of the day was a blur. Lessons in each of my classes were abandoned and every TV and radio was tuned into the destruction that was happening thousands of miles away and yet so close to home. I wish I could voice my thoughts on how frustrated I am that it takes mass destruction to bring our nation together and turn people to each other, but my friend Elise has done a much better job than I could so here's her post on her blog.

I've come a long way in the last seven years from that naive little girl I was. I still don't understand a lick about politics and I get lazy and frustrated when it comes to current events. But I have suddenly found myself in throes with a dear friend who won't let me get away with it anymore. He's actually quite frustrated at my attitude towards what is happening with the world and has taken it upon himself to educate me. Only problem is he's hundreds of miles away, so he's finding it hard to keep me on top of the news. Deep down, though I really do want to be better because what is going on out there has great impact on my life, my family, and me. So I better go read today's headlines before I get reprimanded again...

Gone deaf

We had a fire drill at work today. I greatly enjoyed the shouts of exclamation that came from the students as they quickly packed up their books and laptops. If any of you have ever been in the Harold B. Lee Library when there has been an alarm than you will know how deafening those alarms are. As my coworker and I were traipsing down the fire exit stairs I turned to her and said, "I've decided that if I were a monster my signature would be to scream like a fire alarm." Think about it, if you could make a noise like that you could floor your enemies and take over in a blink. Kind of like the girl from X-Men. Anyway, my coworker looked at me like I was nuts and said that she would never have thought of something like that. I told her I have moments like that often...

What Brown is doing for me...

A UPS truck almost ran me over today as I was walking home from work. I jumped a little bit as he turned toward me thinking that I really was about to be flattened. I made eye contact with the driver and all he did was look at me with this blank stare as if I was blending in with the background. Thankfully he had just made a wide turn and knew what he was doing, at least I was hoping so.

Locked Out

What do you do when you're locked out of your apartment:

1. When you realize you don't have your key(s) bang on the door, ring the bell and pray your roommate isn't in the shower (that has happened before, trust me, I know).
   
2. Try carding your door. It's exactly what it sounds like, get an ID, credit card, etc. Something that you don't use too much, a Blockbuster card is a little too flimsy but at least you won't kill your debit card or the such. Jiggle it into the space where your door handle goes into the door post, if you do it right you should be able to slip your card in between the two allowing you to push the door in. I've tried many times to accomplish this, each one ending in failure. If you personally can't get it, call a guy, they seem to be better at this then girls. I honestly would like to know why... If, however, your apartment was just re-keyed that week then it will be impossible to card yourself in. The space will be much too small and everything will be too tight to move, even after several of you try.
   
3. Laugh as you double check every inch of your bag, making sure that you really don't have your key(s).
4. Call all your roommates to see when they get home. You will now discover that you only have two out of three of your roommates' phone numbers, but that's ok, no one is going to pick up anyway because 1) they are all in class or 2) they are working. No worries!
   
5. Stick your headphones back in and plop yourself onto the floor in front of your door, or the porch or some comfy, concrete area. Pull out something to entertain yourself with.
6. Become bitter that you didn't pack your laptop that morning, or a book, or anything else you needed for your classes, except a notebook and a pen and of course chapstick (you can think of chapstick every morning but somehow missed your keys?!?! Nice work!).
   
7. After the bitter stage has set in, stare dejectedly at the blank pages of the notebook and try to recall where in the world your key(s) could be.
8. Start panicking. You have now realized that you had taken your house key off of your chain because on your date last night you didn't want to be carrying a massive key chain with more chains than keys. But then remember that you decided against that and put the key back on and just took the dang junk with you and just left them in the car. Pause in your moment of panic and wonder if you really did reattach the key. If you decide yes then wonder horribly about whether or not it somehow, miraculously, possibly came off during this said date and is now on the floor of your date's car. It's ok though because he only lives in Bountiful (one hour away) and will be leaving any day now to return back to school in Rexburg.
9. Start panicking all over again.
10. Talk yourself out of a heart attack and brush it off. Start writing random things down in the notebook, maybe work on a story you are writing or even try to catch up on your journal. Be glad you packed a light jacket because it gets breezy in the stairwell.
    
11. Now that you have officially gone through all of these steps decide that you can be more productive with a computer and trudge all the way back to campus. Make sure your side bag is situated just perfectly so that it digs preciously into your shoulder and neck and rubs nicely against your hip. Make sure to walk crookedly, even after you have taken your bag off.
12. Collapse into a chair in the LRC, suddenly discover you have to kick it and leave for class. Walk out frustrated and enter class in a very fragile state.
13. Last but not least (oh, 13!) make sure to record your experience somewhere where the whole world can read it and desperately hope they all laugh about it so you don't feel too ridiculous.
    

Peach Days

I spent this weekend in Harricun, as you all already know. I drove down with Joe Furse, his sister Mary, and a couple other boys. What was supposed to be a 5 hour trip from Provo with a detour through Ephraim to get Mary turned into a 7 hour drive. Poor Joe, Kyle and McKay though, they had to suffer through 2 hours of SLC traffic and then some more after Provo. Plus the line at Wendy's in Nephi took us almost a half hour to bust through. The food, unfortunately, was worth it and I think I ate more than the boys... (remember I'd been living off of Mac & Cheese and Cream of Wheat for two days already).

We got in around midnight, whereupon my cousin Colton, Joe and I headed down to Bench Lake (it's not really a lake) so they could practice their music for the Peach Day's fair (it had been more than two years since they had played together and they were missing a member of their band, Brad, who is serving a mission at the moment). Saturday morning we got up bright and early and went down to the parade. I rode in the float with Hayley, Maddox, Aunt Jilyn and Aunt Cathie and the rest of the younger cousins (Grandpa Barber planted the first peach tree in Hurricane).



The Parade! -ish


After the parade we went off to the fair where they had food vendors, competitions for food and art. My cousin Tyson won first place with his cookies and ginormous watermelon that we busted later that night. It was amazing. Colton and Joe played twice that day and were received by a very warm crowd. The girls couldn't keep their hands off of them :) One guy was determined to get them on America's Got Talent or something else crazy like that. We're pretty sure he was drunk, although they have had a run in with him before and apparently he's loaded...with money...and with booze :)



After the fair and what not several of us went back to Grandma and Grandpa's and took naps. Later that night I went to the rodeo with Colton, Tyson and Joe and watched these tiny little kids ride horses in barrel racing and do some mutton bustin' (that's when they ride sheep). It was pretty hysterical, especially when there was about 30 kids running around trying to catch chickens. After that we had a shindig at Colton's and busted a watermelon and built a hot tub in a water trough over a fire. It was amazing and felt so good and was totally awesome!!!

Sunday night Joe, Colton and I went out South of Town and to Bench Lake, where we did the traditional walk down the dirt road. If it hadn't of been so stinking dark I would have gotten a picture. I had to go to the bathroom this entire time, which was the only reason why the boys didn't try to scare me. I've already got horrific memories of the last time they did. Joe and Colton just laugh about that one... Out South of Town was where Colton first told me skin walker stories so I wasn't too keen on going out there. I spent the entire time with my back against his just so that nothing could attack me from behind. Oh! We had an amaz-z-zing stake lunch with potatoes on Sunday. I love meat. We left Monday after lunch, this time the trip was fairly quick and painless. Getting back into Provo wasn't exactly a treat, except I finally got to see Emily who had abandoned me for 4 months for the Brits. Overall it was a kicking weekend and loads of fun!

Oh yes, Maddox was amazing at waving to everyone while on the float. He even had both hands going:

Gotta love college

My diet for the past 4 days, until I go grocery shopping...

P.S. I caught two guys picking their nose in my D&C class today...it was hard to not burst out laughing. Actually I was a bit more disgusted than humored, seriously they're like grown men!

H-town

I'm in Harricun (Hurricane) this weekend for Peach Days. At the moment we are waiting out a nasty wind storm and hoping/not hoping for rain. It's been a really fun day actually, but I really want to blog once I get all of my photos uploaded. So you'll have to wait, but just know that I will have oober amounts of things to blog about after this week.

P.S. I found that I say "needless to say" a whole bunch now, so if I ever use it excessively in a conversation please tell me so I can stop. I think it's turning into a very odd verbal habit...

Why The Source could never be a cop...

While driving down Recker Road one day with my mother we passed a car who was slowly accelerating past us. Ok more of moderately accelerating because I could foresee him, moments later, cruising down the street at a dangerous speed for J-walkers. Anyway, Mom turns to me and says, "If I was a cop I would pull him over right now!" I was a little confused because at the moment he wasn't even speeding, he was just passing us! So I asked why and she said, "He just looks like he's going to speed."

???

Needless to say, I am grateful The Source is not a cop, or else we would all be pulled over because she would think, just by looking at us, that we were going to speed.

Boo

What's the best way to spend your last day at home before moving back to college?

With a sore throat!!!

This stinks...

Thin blood

la frileuse: female susceptible to the cold

May I introduce...me! I'm cold alllll the time! Everyone else will be sitting in a room fanning themselves and saying it's hot while I think the temperature is perfect. And then when everyone else feels great I'll be freezing, searching for a pair of socks or a jacket. When the fan is on I'll get up to get a blanket and my sisters will just tell me to turn the fan off, but I still need that cold air on me, even if it is turning my toes purple. Same goes in the car, the air conditioning will be on full blast but I'll just turn the vents away from me, not off. But I think all of this just comes with being in Arizona - if you turn the vents off you start sweating. I blame my thin blood, which I got from living in Arizona. That's why Utah winters aren't always the most fun for me, as if I wasn't already cold enough!

Gone Going

So Wednesday morning I'm flying to Sacramento where I will be picked up be my sister Hayley. We will then immediately begin the 12+ hour drive back home to good ol' Gilbert. Hayley is moving up to Pleasant Grove, Utah to live with my other sister Fern while Hayley's own husband is deployed for the second time to Iraq. I'm along for the ride because there's no way anyone in their right mind would take that drive alone with an 11 month old baby. I'm actually pretty excited to go because road trips are fun and I honestly love to drive...gives me control :)

My pops and I were going over "the plan" last night, because we just ain't gonna do the whole trip in one day, all three of us would be exhausted an quite cranky. So Wednesday night we are gonna get a hotel room in San Bernardino and then make the rest of the trip on Thursday. For some reason staying in a hotel always screams out adventure to me. Like when my friend Tara's mom came to visit us in Provo last semester, she stayed in a hotel and let us come sleep over one night. It was just fun bouncing on the beds pretending we were five and then snuggling up to each other under the nasty sheets while watching a movie.

Anyway, after we get home Thursday I have two and a half days to pack up my life (actually just my clothes and shoes, don't really have much else down here) and get ready for the long drive back up to Utah. Which...we're also doing in...2 days! Hayley, baby Maddox and I are leaving for Utah on Sunday right after church, stop in Hurricane for the night and then drive to Pleasant Grove Monday. I'm just excited to get to Hurricane to see my cousin Colton who just returned home from serving a mission in the Czech Republic.

Overall, I'm gonna be in a car for about 24 hours, not to mention a plane ride thrown in the mix there. I should just stand up for the next two days to make up for the loss of feeling I shall receive in my behind. I am taking suggestions for any good music to listen to in the car; my most recent playlist is already getting old. I'd ask for suggestions of a good book, but I have yet to finish my summer book list, which I am totally kicking myself for.

So I think I've talked enough now...

Addie's defense...

After placing her small handful of lettuce leaves on the table next to her plate, Addie was quickly accosted by all of us. We couldn't figure out why in the world she had put her salad on the table rather than on her plate. Her retort was, "I have to have an organized dinner and it's really hard because there's not enough room on my plate." And I thought I was OCD...

Why not hitch hike?

I was just on Google Maps trying to figure out how long it would take to drive from Vacaville California back home to Gilbert (reasons to come in later post). As I was perusing the page I came upon a button that lets you choose your transportation 1) by car or 2) walking. For kicks and giggles I switched from "by car" to walking and almost fell over laughing. If I were to walk from Vacaville California, a drive that lasts about 12 hours, it would take me 12 days and 16 hours to get home. They even had a warning saying that we should use caution – "This route may be missing sidewalks or pedestrian paths." Didn't surprise me, half of it was through national parks and preserves.

Going to the chapel...

Tanner and Carli are getting married in...an hour and ten minutes!!! YAY! It was kind of weird this morning being on the other end of the whole wedding scene. Meaning that it was a boy in the house getting married and not a girl and there wasn't eight million girls trying to get ready in one bathroom. I don't care how spacious my parents bathroom is, there is not enough room in there with seven other girls. As we kneeled down to family prayers last night, Carli dropped in and most of us started singing the song from My Fair Lady - "I'm Gettin' Married in the Morning." It's been a lot of fun spending time with them as they have made the journey towards this eternal covenant. Carli expressed this morning when she came to get Tanner that she was so excited. It made me giddy to see the two of them drive off knowing that they are both so happy. We will all miss Tanner terribly, it has been so much fun, especially for the younger girls, to have him live with us. He's an amazing guy and Carli is so lucky to have snatched him, and the same goes for Carli. I'm excited to have her be a part of our surrogate family. Congratulations guys!

PS I would have inserted a photo but blogger is telling me it's "corrupted." I think something else is corrupt!

Exspecially

I gave a talk on Sunday, but I will talk more about that later. I just wanted to say that I had to say "especially" over the pulpit and I said it in correct English - no 'x' and I didn't even have to think about saying it right, it just came out. So Erin you can pat me on the back for finally saying it right!

Intoxicated

All summer The Source and I have been buying Oriental Lilies and placing them on the side table next to the front door. I've read enough home decor magazines and Martha Stewart to know that fresh flowers are always a plus in the home, but for some reason I think that is only possible when one has a ginormous garden. Then it is much easier to go out each day and pick a fresh bouquet. But the small bunch of lilies we get at our Fresh & Easy is inexpensive and worth the cost. It's not just the beautiful flower itself that I love but the wonderful fragrance it has. Most mornings I forget we even have them until I brush past the door and am immediately hit with a fresh waft of that scent. It's so yummy your mouth waters and you can't help but feel delicious all over.

So I've decided that when I am independently wealthy I am going to go live in a small country cottage and plant unhealthy amounts of Oriental Lilies. Of course, I'll have such a large acreage that I will have separate gardens for a hundred flowers, but the Lilies will definitely be next to my front door. Then anyone who visits me will be overpowered with their smell and all who enter my cottage will be delightful and happy because they won't be able to help it. Something smells good, so why be grouchy?

Houston we have lift off!

I had the meanest joke played on me today. However, the person who played it had no idea that was what they were doing, they just made a slight error that had me on a little emotional roller coaster for a short while.

Anyway, I applied to a shelving job at the library up on BYU campus, thanks to Elise who had given me the tip off. I sent in my resume via email and received one in return saying I could either go in for an interview or call during a certain time. So I set up a phone interview for yesterday morning, had a great conversation with the manager, and felt really good about it. He informed me that about 40 people had applied for the 13-14 open positions and that they would send out an email sometime this afternoon to let us know if it was a yea or nay. I got my email around three this afternoon stating that they were unable to offer me a job at this time, yadda yadda. I'll admit, I got a little teary eyed and extremely disheartened. After spending three plus weeks of applying to more jobs than I can count on my two hands I was a little frustrated, and kind of devastated. Not that I was dying to get this job, I just didn't want to have to start the process all over again (kind of like dating in an odd, cruel way). I immediately got back onto BYU's student employment page, however, and started looking at more options.

About a half hour later I saw out of the corner of my eye that I had a new message in my inbox. I clicked over to find a second email from the manager. A bit confused, but desperately hoping, I opened it to find this:

"Amelia: Please forgive me. I sent the wrong notice to you. Please read the following:


With this email we are offering you a job as Library Shelver beginning fall semester Yadda Yadda We’re excited to have you join our team."

There were a few exclamations of excitement added by more tears. Rachel thought someone had died or was pregnant and when she came to investigate she peered down at me and asked in that you-are-so-weird way, "Are you crying?" Yeah I'm crying! I have a job!!! Hooray! I won't be poor! I can feed myself! I can meet cute guys in the library! I mean...well you know :)

Word of the day

I giggled pretty hard when I read that Dictionary.com's word of the day is:

Spoony: foolishly or sentimentally in love.

So here's to my favorite and what I consider the most spoony relationship in history (well, fictional history at least) - Romeo and Juliet.

Old School Stalking

Has anyone ever wondered how the six brothers (Adam's already married to Millie at this point) find the houses of all the six brides when they go to kidnap them?

Feeling slightly flattered

Aimee and I went to visit my mother while she was at Open House for the high school. While there a couple high school boys asked me for my number. Well, they almost did. Aims and I were standing in Hawk Hall and I had the misfortune of making eye contact with this little punk kid (k, he wasn't little as in young/short,just in maturity level) and he turned to his little friend and said to him, "Go get her number," and then turned back and smiled at me. Right after Aims and I headed back to my mom's classroom and we passed by them and young 'un #2 turned to young 'un #1 and told him once again to "go get her number." We beelined it out of there cuz I knew the only response I could possibly have to a high school aged boy asking for my number was one that would shatter his ego. Or just give him a cool story about how he almost got some college girl's number.

So maybe this story would have been cooler if they had really asked for my number and some of you may doubt that the young 'uns were even talking about me. So this is really a you-had-to-be-there story, because if you had been then you wouldn't doubt it and you would find it pretty funny yourself. The end.

Job update

I'm doomed. No really, I have the worst luck. The job I had the phone interview with found someone else. At least I got some good interview experience, though. Still bites...majorly.

Nostrils

We compared nostrils tonight. Only because Rachel turned to me after birthday "mousse pie" (for Tanner) and said that Tanner has one nostril smaller than the other. Mind you it took her a half hour to get it out because she was giggling hysterically and trying so hard to not draw attention to herself. She failed miserably so I ended up telling Tanner. His explanation for the deformity was that he picked that nostril harder when he was younger and it just built up a lot of scar tissue. I just think it's an odd mutation, although the picking the nose thing seems a bit more feasible. The girlies all got paranoid after that and I had to inspect all their noses and assure them that they were fine. They weren't so kind hearted to me because after checking mine, Addie burst out laughing saying that I have square nostrils...photos will ensue later...

Baby Knowledge

Fern, Erin, and Becca are all in town this week with their babies (baby and a half for Erin). We've all been having a blast and they have had more than enough hands and arms to hold their babies. So many that they are all going to go into withdrawals when they go home. Last night as we were gathering around for prayers (no boys were home) we started talking about how babies are born and where and how they grow. In the end we pulled out our two trusty anatomy books and had a quick lesson. The three little girls had quite the faces on when we tried to explain everything. I will admit there were a couple moments when I was in mental pain trying to imagine the whole birthing process. I can't really say we had a blast talking about it but it was pretty stinking hilarious explaining everything while half of us were laughing and the other half had grotesque looks on our faces.

Interview shminterview

We have success! At least I feel like the interview went well. There were, however, lots of um's and pauses but maybe they just thought I am intelligent and think before I talk. Which I totally do...most of the time. Anyway, I find out on Monday if it's a no go or yes go (?). I personally think this is the hard part: waiting in complete agony wondering if you biffed it or not. Overall, I feel really confident in how the interview went, and very confident in myself.

Needing a little boost

Wish me luck on my phone interview tomorrow! I'm a bit nervous and a little ego boost never killed anyone.

Pizzeria Bianco

I went out on a date with a bunch of friends to Pizzeria Bianco's last night. It's only the number one place to get pizza in the nation. Martha Stewart had Bianco on her show on June 6 of this year making lemon focaccia bread. Bianco's also made it to Food & Wine's Go List for 2008. And last but not least Oprah's dear friend Gayle went out in search of the best places to eat pizza in America and guess what? Bianco's made it!
Gayle's reaction:
"One of the things that makes this pizza so special is owner Chris Bianco's passion for his pie. He personally hand makes every pizza—sometimes more than 250 a night! Chris says serving the freshest pie possible is key to his success—so no take out or delivery! Which means, the wait for his "slice of heaven" can be lengthy—but that doesn't stop people from getting in line! "He pours his heart and soul into every pie," says one diner. "You taste his passion for the food."

Chris's strict pie policies go towards toppings as well—you won't find any pepperoni here. Instead, Chris uses sopressata, a pork sausage that he says "cooks down better." Other toppings include caramelized onions, smoked mozzarella and fennel sausage. Gayle's rating? "[It was] unlike anything I've ever tasted. … It had me at hello."

So after getting off work around 7 last night Abby, Chris, Ryan, Rachel, Spencer, Davy, Lindsey, and I drove down to Phoenix to hit up Bianco's. The crew had all gone last year and loved it so this year they made reservations in advance (you can only make reservations with a group of 6 or more) and I got to tag along as Ryan's date. We had a wait of about a half hour (last year they waited for 2 hours!) during which we lounged on the porch of the drink house, which is right next to the actual restaurant. Ryan bought us all Bubble Ups (they are basically a sophisticated version of Sprite/7-Up in cute green bottles) while we waited and we all felt like real southerners as we watched the sun set over Heritage Square where the restaurant is located. We were finally seated and proceeded to order every single kind of pizza, except for one (not that we didn't like the sound of it). Bianco makes every single pizza pie but for that fact we didn't have to wait too long for our food to arrive. We, of course, all sampled one another's food but the one I ordered was definitely my favorite: the Rosa. My favorite part: the chopped pistachio nuts that came on top. Each pie had the most vibrant flavors and they were all so delicious! The wait was absolutely worth it and I definitely recommend Bianco's. If you go, for sure go with more than six so you can make reservations. As we left we passed by Bianco's small brick kitchen and waved goodbye and said thank you. Chris bragged that Bianco even gave him a peace sign :)

Rachel and I on the porch of the drink house

The whole crew at our table (Ryan and I had moved all of our leftovers onto one plate, but for the picture he slid my plate back to me and put a piece on it just so that it looked like we had been eating)

The crew in front of Pizzeria Bianco's

Ryan and me

Pattin' & Bouncin'

You know how when you're rocking a baby to sleep, or bouncing them in your arms? Well you know how we usually pat their backs over and over and over again and it miraculously helps them fall asleep? Well, does anyone else think that's weird?! I was thinking about it today as I was bouncing on the balls of my feet with Adeline in my arms, gently patting her back. Pattin' and bouncin', and it hit me that doing that is a bit odd. Just imagine if you were having a hard time sleeping and someone came in and started to pat your back...I would be quite annoyed with them. Why don't you scratch it or rub it?!?! Don't pat it! That's almost obnoxious. So I stopped patting her back and started to scratch it, nice and gentle. She wasn't too keen on that because after a few moments she started to fuss, so we went back to pattin' and bouncin'. Needless to say, she feel asleep.

Cruella Deville

My parents and I drove the missionaries out to Mesa Sales yesterday to find fabric for ties. Kind of random, but I think it's cool that they make their own ties. While there, my mother and I looked at fabric to put on our throw pillows in the front room. Whilst I was looking I found probably the coolest thing ever - it totally made my day:


P.S. This was a curtain... I am quite sure that this is the type of thing that Cruella Deville has hanging up in her spacious chateau.

Job searchin', job job searchin'

I applied for 6 jobs on BYU campus today. SIX!!! (Anything so that I don't have to go back to food services). I have heard back from one so far, and now I have a phone interview sometime next week. No pressure, right? Job interviews are bad enough, but over the phone?!?!?! However, I have found a solution to this stressful situation: I'm going to type up all the answers to any question ever asked in a job interview and then just refer to every time they ask me something. It's almost like cheating! Each time they ask something I'll just pause, act like I'm pondering earnestly, and comment on how good a question it is; all the while I'll be flipping fervently through trying to find the answer. It's fool proof!

But I am feeling a lot less frustrated than I was this morning when going through the process of refining my resume and searching for some light at the end of the tunnel. Thankfully, not too many people asked for a cover letter, that is always the hardest thing for me to do: Describe why you are interested in this job and why you would be the best suited for the position..."I'm desperate for money and I'd rather not have to wear a uniform of an apron and hat anymore. What other motivation do you need?" Can you imagine if we asked the people we dated to do the same thing? Why would you be the best match for me? "Um, I'm rad, you're rad...what more do you need?"

Snacks

I am working part time at a dry cleaners, which means I spend a four hour shift either watching TV, reading, or doing other aimless activities. Basically I babysit a building. Well, as I sit lazily in the rocking chair behind the counter I've begun a tradition of non-stop snacking. I think I do it out of boredom almost. But for the past few weeks or so I've found myself constantly eating while I rock back and forth trying to decipher Tolstoy and praying that no customer will walk in during an especially intriguing passage. At first I just took carrots with me to work, then I added dried apricots, after a while I needed something more so I was munching on popcorn. After about a week of things turning orange that shouldn't be orange I tried to lessen my intake of orange food. That just left me eating way too much popcorn and leaving work feeling much heavier than when I got there.

So I need help, I need some really good snacks that are, of course, healthy. Plus, taking snacks to my classes during school is always a bonus and maybe it will help eliminate the amount of candy/chocolate I inhale around finals. I did discover, however, that chewing gum does help (I think I just need to be chewing on something, kind of like how I have restless, leg syndrome - I swear I do - I can't keep still for too long. I guess I also have restless teeth syndrome), but gum gives me canker sores after a while.

Colgate

I have a crush on a guy in a toothpaste commercial

Wedding Bells

For those of you who did not know, we have had a young man living with my family for a good number of years now. He's actually about the 6th "boarder" to live with my family across the years. He's become a surrogate brother to all of us younger girls, and a part of the family. He's moving out this August to move to Illinois to attend law school, but only after he gets married to Carli Tanner. We've known the Tanners for a long time and everyone's excited for it.

Tonight we stuffed envelopes with the wedding announcement while watching Father of the Bride. About part way through Aimee, who is almost 11, commented that "getting married is the worst part of life." Later after the movie was done and as we were gathering together for family prayers, laughing about the movie, Aimee said, "Mia's never gonna get married"... (I'm Mia, in case you didn't know).

Out of context, it's quite depressing, but she meant that with all the stress that parents have to go through, she believed that my dad didn't want me getting married any time soon - which is slightly true (although I think we're both in that ballpark).

However, the laughs over my singleness didn't end there. Right before Hannah began to give the family prayer, my dad turned to her and said, "Pray that Amelia will get married some time." Apparently me being married is a joke in the family.

Tolstoy swamped

I'm reading Tolstoy's Anna Karenina right now, I should say I was suffering through it for the last few days, but now it's getting interesting (I'm about 1/20th of the way through it, because of how thick the book is, it's still hard to read the words near the fold of the binding. But I swear I've read a lot!) Tanner laughed when I told him where I was and he said that all the girls begin to like the book when Vronsky comes into the story - he's the handsome, dashing gentlemen. I only like it because the love triangle is slowly starting to unfold and there is a bit less talk of everyone's relationship with the rest of society. Although it is quite interesting to read about how ridiculous things were when there was much ado about who married whom in society and all the going-ons of social standings.