Finally!

Anyone who really knows me knows that I'm obsessed with LOST. It's pretty much the most addicting TV show I have ever watched. I absolutely love it. It's one of those shows that I think about and talk about the entire week after a new episode, because there is so much to look for and so much to pay attention to. I've watched the first four seasons twice now (and will watch season five again once the package arrives), and I still miss things. It is just that intricate. And the final season, season six, starts on February 2nd. Only 33 days away, after over 8 months of waiting. What happened after Juliet detonated the bomb? Will they still be on the island? Will they reset everything that happened after the crash? Will someone finally learn sense and shoot Ben in the face? What the crap is up with the four-toed statue? What exactly do 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 have to do with the island? Where is Claire? And why is Christian Shephard all buddy buddy with Jacob when he's supposed to be dead? So many questions! And only 33 more days until they start getting answered. Finally. I can't wait.

Mikey Says Hey

Thanks for keeping me company at work, Mikey. And for giving me something to write about for my 100th post this year.

You Know You're an Adult When...

...you get a hand mixer, a cupcake cookbook, a cupcake pan (complete with cover), an electric blanket, and a tool set (including a 15-in-1, which my old boss [who also happens to be my mom's cousin] brought me) for Christmas and you're incredibly excited about them all. Ten years ago I would have thought those were the most boring gifts imaginable, but when I opened them yesterday, I was pretty ecstatic. Especially about that 15-in-1; it's the coolest tool ever. I'm also pretty excited to try out some of the cupcake recipes. I've never been much of a baker, but my co-workers have gotten me interested in baking. Now I just have to start avoiding Williams Sonoma.

But to temper all of the rather adult gifts I got, I did get a Mikey (from Sherwood) bobblehead that will soon be adorning my work desk and Super Mario Brothers for the Wii. It's too bad I didn't bring my Wii home for the weekend, or I'd be playing right now. Oh well...I'll just have to try it out when I get home tomorrow.

All in all, it was a good haul, thanks to my awesome parents. Oh, and Santa. ;) Merry Christmas, everyone!

Just a Little Update

Merry Christmas Eve's Eve! I'm at 97 posts for this year, and I want to make it an even 100 before the year's out. 100 just seems like a good number, you know? That means that I have three more posts to write in the next week (for all of my fellow arts majors who can't do math).

I thought I would write a bit of an update post. Not the most exciting of posts, but hey, a post is a post, right?

First of all, I finally got a full-time job! I got offered a full-time position at my current company, KLAS Enterprises, and I'm so happy about it. Not only will I be working more hours (therefore making more money), but that also means that I get paid vacation time and paid holidays! Woo hoo! This is the first time in my life that I've had a real, full-time job with benefits. It's pretty exciting. Though I must admit, I never thought I would get excited about working more. Ah, the joys of adult life.

I also got a new nephew last week. His name is Aiden Benjamin, and he's adorable. He's so tiny! I always forget how itty bitty newborns are. Especially when I'm used to my smallest niece or nephew being 17 months old. This is nephew number four, totaling seven nieces and nephews with two more on the way.

Now I'm just spending one more night in Provo, all by my lonesome, and then heading out for Magna tomorrow morning. I'm getting excited for Christmas. I just love this time of year.

Music Break

So I saw Anna do this on her blog forever ago, and I thought it was a fun idea, so I'm doing it too. This is a list of some of my very favorite songs. These are in no particular order; I'm just typing them as I think of them. This list is not inclusive by any means. I'm sure later on I'll think of other songs I should have put on the list instead.

Since we all know that I'm in love with Sherwood, my first three will be from them. I'm going to force myself to narrow it down to one song from each of their albums, but you should know that I love, love, LOVE each one of these albums so by mentioning them at all, I'm telling you to go check them out.

"The Town That You Live In" by Sherwood, Sing, But Keep Going. I seriously love this song.

"Song In My Head" by Sherwood, A Different Light. This was the song that got me into Sherwood in the first place. Listen at your own risk. You might just end up like me.

"Worn" by Sherwood with Molly Jenson, QU. Awesome song. I can play it on the guitar—now I just need to find a guy to sing it with.

"Let It Be" by The Beatles, Past Masters. I could fill this whole list with Beatles songs, but I won't.

"The Lion and the Teacup" by Bishop Allen, Grrr... This song was stuck in my head for about a month straight, I swear.

"The Jitterbug" by Harry Connick, Jr., Songs I Heard

"Does He Love You?" by Rilo Kiley, More Adventurous

"Whatever It Takes" by Lifehouse, Who We Are

"Two Points For Honesty" by Guster, Lost and Gone Forever. This is one of the many albums that my sister introduced me to when I was about 12, and I still absolutely love it.

"As Lovers Go" by Dashboard Confessional, A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar

"Lovers in a Dangerous Time" by Barenaked Ladies, Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits. "Gotta kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight" is probably my favorite song lyric of all time.

"Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood, Some Hearts. Every girl needs a favorite angry-girl song. This one happens to be mine.

"Superman" by Five For Fighting, America Town

"The Luckiest" by Ben Folds, Rockin' the Suburbs

"Fever" by Peggy Lee,  The Best of Miss Peggy Lee

"Do You Realize" by The Reign of Kindo,  The Reign of Kindo EP

"Under Pressure" by David Bowie and Queen, Classic Queen

"Cold, Cold Heart" by Norah Jones, Come Away With Me

"Stoppin' the Love" by KT Tunstall, Eye to the Telescope


And because it's Christmas, here are five of my favorite Christmas songs:

"The Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole, The Christmas Song. It's a classic.

"Hanukkah Blessings" by Barenaked Ladies, Barenaked for the Holidays. I know it's not a Christmas song, but since the guys in Barenaked Ladies are Jewish, they wrote a song about why they celebrate Hanukkah. It's an amazing song.

"I Pray On Christmas" by Harry Connick, Jr., When My Heart Finds Christmas. Harry has some amazing Christmas albums.

"Stille Nacht" by Mannheim Steamroller, Christmas. I love this version. It immediately puts me in the Christmas spirit.

"Christmas Time Is Here" by Vince Guaraldi Trio, A Charlie Brown Christmas. This whole album is amazing. If you haven't heard it, you're completely missing out.

Idiot Moment of the Day

To begin this rather awesome moment of idiocy (and to defend myself just a bit), I must say that every time I get out of my car, I lock it. I never leave it unlocked, anywhere I go. Even if I'm just running into the store for five minutes, I lock my car. I don't have keyless entry, so I have to put the key in the driver's door and turn it, which locks all of the doors. The thing is, I can never remember which way locks the doors and which way unlocks the doors. I usually end up turning the key twice until I hear the locks engage.

Well, this morning I headed out to my car and went to unlock the doors so I could start the car and let it warm up while I scraped. My doors were all frosty from the night's cold, and my windows were completely frosted over. I stuck my key in the lock and turned until I heard the locks engage. But when I pulled the handle, the door wouldn't open. I was pretty sure it was frozen shut, so I pulled harder, but that didn't work.

The maintenance man at my apartment complex walked past as I was trying to get my door to open and asked me if it was frozen shut, and I said yes. He was very nice and tried to help me open it. I went around to the passenger's side door to see if that one would open so I could push the driver's side door open from the inside, but the other door was frozen shut too. The maintenance man grabbed a water bottle from his truck and tried melting the ice away with it, but the door still wouldn't open.

At this point, the maintenance man looked at me and said, "Are you sure it's unlocked?"

"Yeah, I know I unlocked it," I replied, but I pulled out my keys just to show him that it was already unlocked. Some of the water he had used had melted enough of the frost on the window so I could see the lock inside the car, and sure enough, the stupid car was locked.

I felt like the biggest idiot in the entire world. My doors weren't frozen shut. They were locked. I couldn't believe it, because that meant I didn't lock my car the night before, so when I turned the key, it locked it instead of unlocked it. I mumbled an inaudible thanks to the maintenance man and got into my car as quickly as I could. Thanks to my idiocy, I was fifteen minutes late to work.

Man, I am awesome. Except...not.

Thanks Day Thirty

Well, here it is, the last day of the month, which means it's the last of my thankful posts. And today I'm thankful for my religion. I am so incredibly thankful that I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and that I have the truth of the Gospel in my life. Ignorant people can bash me and my religion all they like, but it will never change the fact that I know that this church is Christ's church on earth today. Jesus Christ is my Savior. He died so that I might turn to Him in all my ailments and afflictions, and so that I might have a way to return to Him. He loves me. I am a daughter of a Heavenly Father, which means that I am divine and that I can be like Him one day. Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God, and it is God's word. Joseph Smith was a prophet just as Thomas S. Monson is a living prophet today who gives us guidance and counsel specific to our time. I love this church, and I'm so thankful that I have been raised to understand the importance of the Gospel. I am a much better person now than I would be if I didn't have the truthfulness of the Gospel. I will never denounce my faith, and I will not hide it. I am who I am because of my faith. It is the most important part of me.

Thanks Day Twenty-Nine

Today I'm thankful for my siblings. I have pretty dang awesome siblings, all of whom have married some pretty awesome people, which has doubled my awesome sibling count. And then they've all had kids (and they each have one on the way), so I have a bunch of awesome nieces and nephews, too. I've never really been in major arguments with my siblings, and there was never any rivalry between my sister and me, since she was five years older. For the most part, we all get along, and we have a good time with each other. I'm really thankful that I have a good relationship with my siblings.

(Sorry, I don't have any good pictures of my siblings, which is really too bad.)

Thanks Day Twenty-Eight

Today I'm thankful for BYU football. Yes, they beat the Utes today, 26 to 13. It was a dang good game. Both teams played their hearts out, but BYU managed the win. I'm so thankful that I've been able to go to all the home football games for the past four years—the four straight years of double-digit wins, which has never been done before. As an extension, I'm also incredibly thankful that I was able to attend BYU, which is what gave me the opportunity to start going to the games in the first place. Here's to bleeding blue through and through, and another year of bragging rights!

Thanks Day Twenty-Seven

Today I'm thankful for the Christmas season. I know it's still November, but it's the day after Thanksgiving, which means that Christmas is now fair game. I'm a traditionalist, so I don't listen to Christmas music or put up any Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving, but that's only because there's something about only have about a month of Christmas that makes it more powerful for me. My very favorite part of Christmas is the feeling that comes with it. I love that December is the only time of year when just about everybody acknowledges that Christ is our Savior who came to this world to save each of us. I wish that the feeling of Christmas could persist all year long, but for right now, I'm thankful that it's just starting.

Thanks Day Twenty-Six

Today I'm thankful for my mom. I have the best mom in the whole world—seriously. She's spent the whole day today cooking and cleaning for all the family that will be over at her house in a couple of hours. She was up at eight putting the turkey in the oven, cooking the ham, making gravy, and moving furniture around to fit the tables in the family room. My mom does so much for me that I can't even start listing thems. Thanks, Mom! I love you.

Thanks Day Twenty-Five

Today I'm thankful that I have a car, and that I can afford a car. I drove home to Magna for Thanksgiving today, and I was thinking about how inconvenient my life would be if I didn't have my own transportation. I wouldn't be able to do most of the cool things I've done lately, like go Salt Lake for various activities and visit Kate in Cedar. Getting to work would be a huge hassle, and I would see my family even less than I do now. Even running minor errands would be a pain. I love my car.

Thanks Day Twenty-Four

Today I'm thankful for honesty. I was really brave today and told someone exactly what I thought (which was really hard because I thought he was thinking the exact opposite), and it turned out wonderfully, instead of the disaster that I expected. It just reinforced my belief that honesty truly is the best policy. Sometimes it's incredibly difficult to be honest, but it is usually the best choice.

Thanks Day Twenty-Three

This is kind of a random one, but sometimes, I am thankful for TV. I've had a mega uber stressful week(ish), and being able to just plop down in front of the TV and forget about things for a little while is so great. Sometimes I just need to be distracted from life, and TV is a great resource for that, as long as I don't watch too much of it.

Thanks Day Twenty-Two

Today I'm thankful for my singing voice. I love to sing, and I'm so thankful that I can do it well. Christmas is coming up, which is when I'm especially thankful for my singing abilitiies because Christmas music is amazing. I'm also thankful that I have the opportunity to share my abilities with others. There's nothing quite like knowing that you have helped touch someone's heart through your talents.

Thanks Day Twenty-One

Today I'm thankful for my dad. My dad is honestly the best man on the planet. He put me through school and paid for my car every time it broke down. He changes my car's oil and checks it to make sure it's running fine (because I'm such a girl and forget about all of those things). He still buys me dinner occasionally when he comes down for BYU football games. And he's an excellent example to me of service in the Church. I love you, Dad! You're amazing. (And thanks, Mom, for finding him and sticking with him in the first place.)

Thanks Day Twenty

Today I'm grateful for good friends who can calm me down when I'm freaking out. Tonight I had a bit of a meltdown, and I'm so glad I could email Faith, text Maren, and talk to Austi. I've got some crazy (well, crazy for me) things going on in my life that are scaring the tar out of me, and I'm so thankful that I have understanding friends who don't think I'm a nut job. Thanks guys!

Thanks Day Nineteen

Today I'm thankful for sleep. I woke up with a slight migraine this morning and was pretty miserable all day at work. I came home, collapsed on my bed, and slept for two hours. Thank heavens that after that, the migraine was gone. I remember hating going to sleep when I was little, and now I can't fathom that. There's nothing like getting a good night's sleep.

Thanks Day Eighteen

Today I'm thankful for the Atonement. It is amazing to me that my Heavenly Father would give His Son to die for each and every one of us. I don't even want to fathom what would happen to me if my Savior had not atoned for my sins. I'm so thankful that I never have to be alone, that there is always, always someone there for me who understands exactly what I am going through. The love of my Savior astounds me, and I can only pray that I can learn to receive it and to apply the Atonement to my life each and every day.

Thanks Day Seventeen

Today I'm thankful for ibuprofen. Why? Because I have a headache, and I'm about to go take some because I know it will make the headache go away. I'm also thankful for modern-day healthcare because there is so much that we can now heal that used to be life threatening. It's amazing the things that modern medicine can do for us. And right now, I'm especially thankful for those little pills that are going to make my pain go away.

Thanks Day Sixteen

Today I'm thankful for rear windshield defrost. Seems random, right? It's really not. I am currently driving my third car, and neither my first nor my second cars had rear windshield defrost. I got my current car in April, so I never really needed to use the defrost. Well, with the weather getting colder and my car geting frosted over in the mornings, I have used my defrost quite a bit, and it is the most amazing thing ever. I don't even have to scrape! I think that is what I like most about my car.

Thanks Day Fifteen

Today I'm thankful for my family. I was thinking about it because tonight my aunt and uncle invited me and my cousin Cora to dinner, which was really nice of them. I've lived in Provo for four years now, and this was only the second time I'd gone to see Paul and Kathy. It made me think about how I sometimes take my excellent family for granted. Sure, family can be a pain sometimes, but I have no idea what I would do without them. My family's the best family in the world!

All my nieces and nephews!

This picture's five years old, but it was the last family photo we took. 

Just imagine three more little kids in there.

Thanks Day Fourteen

Today I'm incredibly thankful for the opportunities I have had to do some really cool things that make for amazing memories. I've traveled all over the country (though not ouside of it, yet . . . that's still to come), seen some awesome theatrical productions (like Wicked and Shakespeare Abridged), and I just got back from seeing my favorite band for the fourth time in 13 months (which is pretty impressive, if I do say so myself). The show was AMAZING! It was definitely the best concert I have ever been to (including the 'NSYNC one I went to when I was 12). I had so much fun. I got QU signed, and I talked to the band members more than I did at any of the other shows I went to. They are such incredibly nice guys! They're really awesome. I'm so thankful that I can go see my favorite band, that they aren't crazy psycho people, and that they're still small enough that I can talk to them. It's awesome.

 

Thanks Day Thirteen

Today I'm thankful for my sense of humor. Because, really, life would be incredibly boring (not to mention horribly depressing) if I couldn't laugh at it. The best thing in the world is having friends who make me laugh. I think I'm very drawn to people who can really make me laugh. I'm so thankful that my parents raised me in such a way that I knew how to laugh. My dad always said that God has to have a sense of humor because He made my family. I truly think that laughing is the best medicine. It just makes me feel awesome.

Thanks Day Twelve

I must admit that nothing really struck me today as something to be really thankful for. So, instead, I'm going to use something that is kind of a fallback: my job. It may not be the perfect job, but at least it's a job. And a good job, at that. I work with awesome people, and I work in my field. I'm a pretty lucky English major to be doing what I went to school for. There are so many people who don't have jobs right now, who don't have enough to feed their families, and I have plenty. I have enough to not only pay for the essentials, but also to go to concerts, see movies, buy books . . . I really can't complain. And that is definitely something to be thankful for.

Thanks Day Eleven

Today I'm thankful for hobbies; for the little things that occupy some of my time. I'm especially thankful for my ability to crochet. I just started a new project because I had been wanting to crochet something for a while. I haven't crocheted anything in a long time, and the last thing I made was really simple.

This blanket was my last project.

This time, I wanted to do something a little more difficult, so I found a pattern to make this:

You can kind of see the pattern here.

No, it is not a scarf. Eventually it will be a blanket.

 Crocheting is about the only homemaker type of thing that I do, and today I'm thankful for it. I can't wait until my blanket is finished because it should look pretty cool.

Thanks Day Ten

Today I'm grateful for clean things. I have cleaning checks tomorrow, so for the past two hours I have been dusting my bedroom and scouring the bath tub, and I love the way everything looks when it's clean. Though I must iterate that I am NOT thankful for the process of cleaning. I'm already exhausted and I still have half of the bathroom and the entire living room left. Oi. But I'm looking on the bright side and trying to focus on how nice everything is once it's been scrubbed and polished. Oh, to be clean!

Thanks Day Nine

Today I'm thankful for my health. I got a sore throat last night, and I think I'm trying to get sick (but I'm fighting valiantly, and it won't get any worse, if I can help it), which just made me thankful for how healthy I normally am. I don't have any chronic conditions (that I know of, I guess), and most days I'm healthy and energetic and capable of doing the things that I want to do. I am also mentally sound, which is an incredibly wonderful thing to me. I couldn't ask for much more than that.

Thanks Day Eight

Today, I'm thankful for awesome friends in general, and one awesome friend in particular. I got to hang out with Faith on Friday, and I at least saw her on Saturday when we drove from Magna back to Provo. I'm especially grateful for Faith because we really, honestly shouldn't be friends right now. Things have happened in the past (we've known each other for a long time now) that would have made any normal girls hate each other's guts. But we're apparently not normal girls, and I'm SO thankful for that. Because Faith is awesome. I think we actually hang out more now than we did when we lived together, which is funny, and I'm not about to let that stop.

Faith isn't usually that pale, I promise.

I might have posted this one already, but you get to see it again!

Awww, look at our cute high school selves!

Thanks Day Seven

Today I'm thankful for those weekends when I have stuff to do. Sometimes I hate it when I'm doing nothing on a Friday night, when I'm watching a movie by myself, reading a book, or writing in my journal (all of which I have done on Fridays in the past couple months). But this weekend was one of those weekends where I was all booked, and it was a great weekend. I saw a friend as his dream role in a play last night, and then had a date tonight. (Those busy weekends are usually better when at least part of it includes a date.) Thank heavens for social plans!

 Jake as Seymour in "Little Shop of Horrors"*

*Picture stolen from Jake's Facebook page

Thanks Day Six

Yesterday I was talking to my roommate and I was saying how I still needed to finish writing in my journal, even though I had already been writing for a couple of hours (not including what I started writing a few days before that and didn't finish). She seemed a little baffled when I told her that it usually takes me a few hours to finish writing in my journal because I write at least 10 pages each time I write. Sometimes I forget what an odd child I am. But I'm so grateful that I love writing in my journal. I've finished seven journals now (one being a two-inch three-ring binder), and I'm about 80 pages into my eighth. There's something about getting all of my thoughts and feelings out in ink that just makes me feel amazing. It's a type of catharsis for me. I often make discoveries about myself as I try to arrange my feelings on the page. I'm very thankful that I have a record of my life so I won't forget things, and so that hopefully my posterity can someday learn from my mistakes.

Thanks Day Five

Sometimes, like today, I'm grateful I'm a girl and can melt and sigh over stupid things like chick flicks. Megan and I were feeling girly, so we put on the best chick flick ever: While You Were Sleeping. Jack Callahan is pretty much the cutest romantic lead ever. I love him. And I love that I'm allowed to sit and imagine what it would be like to have my life turn out perfectly like it does in the movies (though it gets me into trouble sometimes). Having a girl brain can be really annoying, but I think I'd rather be a girl than a guy. This is kind of random, I know, but today I am truly grateful to be a girl.

Thanks Day Four

Today I'm thankful that I have good roommates. Having good roommates is one of the best things in the world. Having bad roommates can be the most miserable experience ever, so I'm definitely grateful that even though I didn't know any of my roommates before I moved in, they turned out to be great girls. Thanks for being awesome!

Thanks Day Three

I'm thankful that I'm passionate about things. I'm thankful that I really get into things, like bands and actors and TV shows. It means that I care about things (though admittedly sometimes too much), and without caring about things like that life would be boring. Caring about things drives me to action, so I do things that I love with people I love, which makes for great experiences and awesome memories.

Here are a few things I'm passionate about:

 

 

Thanks Day Two

Today I am grateful for music. I think music is the essence of life. I would not survive without music, and I think I mean that literally. Music expresses any emotion better than I can express it through words, and that's saying something, seeing as how I love words too. I'm thankful that music has always been a part of my life and that my parents encouraged us to listen to good music and develop musical talents. I'm thankful that I can use music to express happiness and dispel anger. Music is my therapy.

Giving Thanks: Day One

Megan gave me the awesome idea to post one thing I'm grateful for every day this month. Seeing as how I've been anything but thankful the last month, I thought this would be a good way to break myself out of my moodiness and remind me of all the good things in life.

Today I am grateful for answered prayers. I was fasting and praying today, and my answer came in the form of President Uchtdorf's CES fireside talk tonight. I am completely convinced that the talk was written just for me. I know that it can apply to just about every young single adult in the Church, but it was exactly what I needed to hear. I mean exactly. God is good, and He loves me. And thank heavens for that.

Ah, the Joys of Cyber Stalking

So, a couple weeks ago, I joined Twitter. Yes, Twitter. Why? So I could follow Sherwood. (What else would it be?) They post a lot of pictures and videos and just kind of let their fans know where they are and what's going on, which is kind of cool.

I planned on just checking their updates and all that jazz. Then I discovered that you can tweet at people. So tweeted at them to let them know that I absolutely loved their new album. No big deal. Then I looked at their page and realized that they actually tweeted back at people. Well, that's pretty exciting. So I tweeted at them again telling them that I'd be at their Utah shows. And they tweeted back! Oh my gosh! So I tweeted a few more times, in the hopes that they would tweet back. Then I discovered the band members' individual pages, and I obviously had to follow them.

And that's when I realized that Twitter made me feel like a stalker.

All Twitter is is a way for normal, everday people to feel like they have some connection to their favorite celebrities. Nobody cares about what their real-life friends are doing . . . that's what Facebook's for, after all. I always thought Twitter was stupid. And then I got caught up in its stupidity. Because, you know, I need to know that Nate Henry can't sleep on their tour bus. I need to know that the band is chilling in New Orleans. Even though I couldn't have cared less three weeks ago.

So I'm done tweeting for a little while. I don't like feeling like a crazy psycho stalker fan. Especially because my worst fear is that I'll talk to the band after their show and they'll say, "Hey, you're the girl who tweets at us all the time and follows all of us." That would be a little embarrassing.

Gasp! Dad's Playing a Video Game!

A couple of weeks ago, I went home for the weekend, and my sister and I were finally able to get my dad to play some Beatles Rock Band. We knew he'd enjoy it (it is the Beatles, after all), but Dad just doesn't play video games. Ever.

But we finally prevailed, and got him to play the drums! He plays drums in real life, so he wasn't sure what difficulty to start on. He played the first song on medium, and said that he didn't like it. It was hard because it was nothing like what the drums actually sounded like, so it messed him up. So we told him that the higher the difficulty, the more it sounded like the real drums. So on the next song, he bumped it up to expert. And got 92%. It was the second song he had ever played. Yeah, my dad's cool like that.

I even got Mom to take some pictures so we would have evidence that Dad played a video game.

Benny can bust out some awesome vocals.

 

Dad is all rock and roll. 

 

If only I could play the real guitar that well . . .

 

Pretty much . . . I love this game.