The Cougars Are Out!!

In case you didn't know, I am a BYU football fanatic. Ever since the 2006 season, I've been a crazy person when it comes to BYU football. I have only missed one home game in the last three years, and I'm planning on keeping that tradition alive this year, thanks to the graduation gift I got from my dad.

Last night marked the opening game of the 2009 season. #20 BYU played #3 Oklahoma. I thought we were doomed to lose. I was convinced. Instead, I was pleasantly blown away. BYU defeated the widely favored Oklahoma 14–13.

The game was BRILLIANT!! Seriously. Absolutely brilliant. Even with all of the mistakes that BYU made (there were multiple penalties and four turnovers), BYU managed to not only hang in with Oklahoma, but completely outplay them. And I don't care what everybody's going to say about the fact that Sam Bradford was injured and that's why BYU won. We held the Heisman Trophy winner's offense to 10 points in the first half. This was a team that averaged over 50 points a game last year, and we held them to 10 points in the first half. Before Bradford went out. If that's not proof that BYU completely outplayed the Sooners, I don't know what is.

What a way to start the season! I was so excited about this season, but I definitely did not expect this start. I know it's only the first game and that we have 11 more games to play (including three more ranked opponents), but I can't help but start dreaming about a perfect season to bust the BCS. I know, we still have a long way to go, but what a start! Go Cougs! I can't wait until next week's game.

The New Place

I am no longer homeless! Yay! I now live in Carriage Cove, with three other pretty cool girls. I've only been here for a week, so I'm still trying to get used to things, but I'd like to think I'll like this place once I become accustomed to it.

Here's the new room:

This is definitely one of my favorite parts of the room—I just got this bookshelf last week because I had too many books for my little three-shelf bookshelf. I didn't think I would fill this big one up. I was wrong. Obviously.

But this is by far the best part of the room. Why, you ask? Well, the answer is fairly simple. You see that bed? Why, yes, of course you do, it's the main thing in the picture. That bed is the only bed in the room. That's right—for the first time, I have my own room in Provo. And it's marvelous. I'm still working on decorating, but it will get there.

Now I just have to make myself go out and meet people so I don't feel quite so lame and lonely. At least my roommates are cool; that's a definite plus. I just have to keep telling myself to take it one day at a time, and before I know it, this place will be home.

Pursuing Skinny

Don't judge me too harshly on this, all right? I'm actually a little embarrassed about it, but if it will give me motivation, then it's worth it. I think.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, I went and saw Julie & Julia with my grandma and her friend Arlene (two septogenarians...yes, it was pretty entertaining). I loved the movie. It was wonderful. But it got me thinking about having a goal, like Julie Powell has in the movie, and blogging about it.

Well, I thought of something, and now I'm blogging about it. Hopefully I won't neglect this blog as well (I'm not planning on it), but for all who are interested, I've started a documentation of my personal progress (not the Young Women kind) toward my own personal ideal. You can check it out at pursuitofskinniness.blogspot.com, if you're so inclined. If not, no worries.

Again, no judging. I'm still working on the layout, the voice, how exactly it's all going to go down...so it's a work in progress. Be patient with me. Hopefully it will get better.

401K

Sherwood is bloody brilliant. And here's the video they filmed in Salt Lake City. You probably can't see me, but I'm totally in that crowd jumping like crazy and yelling "401K." Pretty freaking sweet.

Homeless

It is official. I am homeless.

On Friday, I moved out of Bountiful Court, where I've spent the last two years of my life. It was a good place to live. A good place for me to live, to be more specific. But it's time to move on. So I bought a contract at Carriage Cove. Unfortunately, I can't move into Carriage Cove until August 24, a full ten days after I had to be out of Bountiful Court. (Don't ask me why Provo housing is so lame like that, because I have no idea.)

So in the interim, during which I am homeless, I moved all of my crap into my grandma's garage in Lehi. So for a week, I get to keep Grandma company. I keep telling myself that this is good because Grandma is often lonely, and she loves just knowing that someone is there to talk to, but it's also hard because I am bored. So bored. I forgot how just having roommates around helps dispel boredom when I've got nothing to do.

I will just keep thinking about the pluses about this arrangement:

1. Grandma feeds me, which means free food for a week.
2. There are no distractions, which means I get to bed at a decent hour every night.
3. I have plenty of time to read, write in my journal, and play the piano, which is nice. I've already finished one book and am halfway through a second (The Book Thief—which is absolutely brilliant, by the way; expect a review of this one).
4. I'm halfway between Provo and Salt Lake, so if I want to escape, I have better options than usual. (However, this also means that I have to drive half an hour to get somplace where I know people—I guess this one kind of goes both ways.)

The bottom line is, I should take advantage of the pluses while I've got them, because those things will most likely go away come next Monday. Unfortunately, I seriously can't wait for next Monday.

Tag, you're it!

What is your current obsession? I often have a couple obsessions running around in my head . . . My current big ones are Sherwood (see post below) and Johnny Depp (see Public Enemies). Sherwood's just plain awesome, and I am completely in love with Johnny Depp right now. Give me a little time and it'll die a bit, but he'll always have a place in my heart.

What do you hate the most that everybody else seems to love? I heard a whole lot of good things about Mamma Mia! but never had any interest in it. Then I was forced to watch it, and all my misgivings proved right. I hate, hate that movie. Ugh.

If you could have any other name besides your own, what would it be? That's a hard one...something classy and British or old fashioned, like Penelope or Eloise.

What's for dinner? Probably something from a fast food place.

What would you eat for your last meal? I would definitely have some kalua pork, and Hawaiian mac salad. Then throw in some awesome seafood fetuccine alfredo and garlic bread and lasagna...basically it would be Hawaiian and Italian food. Weird mix, I know. Oh, and I'd definitely have to have some Red Vines.

What's the last thing you bought? Lunch at Noodles & Co. It was yummy.

What are you listening to right now? Matchbox Twenty "Leave." And next on shuffle is..."Gold" from the Once soundtrack.

What do you think of the person that tagged you? Well...Megan didn't technically tag me, I just stole it from her page. But I think she's pretty dang cool.

If you could have a house, fully paid for, and totally furnished anywhere in the world, where would it be? London, or close by London. No, I have never been to London so I don't know if I would actually like it, but a part of me thinks that I would fit very well in England. I would love to live there.

What is one of your hobbies? Just one? I have to name just one? Ummm....I would say the most dominant one recently has been watching movies. I love watching movies. All kinds of movies. I probably watch at least two a week, sometimes more. That adds up to a lot of movies.

What are your favorite smells? Good boy smell (i.e. good deodorant/cologne/aftershave/bodywash etc.), baking bread, new books, bookstores in general.

What is your favorite color? Orange. All kinds of orange. Bright orange, pumpkin orange, burnt orange...it's all good. But don't worry, I won't decorate my house in it.

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your wardrobe? That's a hard question. Right now it's probably the Sherwood hoodie I bought at their concert last month, simply because I'm dying to wear it, but it's too bloody hot.

What is your dream job? A book editing position for a major publishing house, or an editing position at a magazine. Those are both equally appealing.

Describe your personal style. Vintage. And classy. When I can, at least. I like looking nice, but nice clothes are expensive, so I don't have a lot. I wish I had more money to buy nicer clothes.

What are you going to do after this? Go pick up my cousin so we can go eat and then go to the Sherwood concert. Woot!

What inspires you? I'm going to steal Megan's response and say other people. Seeing what other people do and create inspires me more than anything else.

Who was the last person you kissed? My niece, Adeline Mae, I'm pretty sure. She's frigging adorable.

What are you currently reading? I've got a few things on this list...A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis, and The Undaunted by Gerald Lund. I'm totally going to finish The Undaunted first. I just started it yesterday, and I'm already completely sucked in. I love Gerald Lund.

What delighted you most today? Just thinking about seeing Sherwood live again tonight makes me happy.

By what criteria do you judge a person? Usually, I look at appearance first. I mean, it's kind of hard not to, right? And then it's usually in the tone of their voice and the expression on their face. Then it's by their personality as I get to know them better.

What is something you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t done yet? Traveled outside the country. I want to go everywhere. I really do. And one day I will.

I tag: Whoever wants to do it. I don't feel like typing anyone's name. If you read this, consider yourself tagged.

The rules:
1. Answer the questions on your blog.
2. Replace one question you dislike with a question of your invention.
3. Tag eight other people

The Awesomeness That Is Sherwood

Sherwood is my favorite band right now. Because they're pretty much amazing. I saw them in Provo last October, and I thought they were even better live, so when I found out that they were coming to Salt Lake on July 14, I knew that I had to be there. Luckily, I know a few people who also like Sherwood, like my friend Jillian.

Me and Jillian, enduring crappy opening bands . . .

After much waiting, Sherwood finally came on. It took forever, especially since I really didn't enjoy the opening acts. The second band sucked the worst. They really liked the F-word (not in their music, but when they were chatting up the audience), and I really don't like being called a mother effer.

But it was all worth it. As soon as Sherwood came on and started playing, I realized just how much I love this band. I think the best part was that the worst expletive we heard them say was "hell." A nice comparison to hearing the F-bomb 49 times.

Sherwood's finally on!

Dan

Nate and Mikey (Mikey's face is the best)

Nate . . . I really like him . . .

The concert was pretty freaking amazing. I loved it. Sherwood played a couple songs from their new album that were so awesome! I bought their new EP, and I love it. I can't wait for the new album to come out.

We actually got to talk to some of the band members. Not for very long, but for a bit, thanks to the fact that Dan knows my brother-in-law Ben and that my brother Matt is super social and likes to talk to people (especially cool people). The guys in the band are really cool, and they were way nice. Joe, the drummer, even gave Matt a drumstick after the show, which I thought was pretty cool. They all kind of just hang out after the show so they can give autographs and take pictures. There weren't even a lot of people vying for their attention, either, so we got to actually talk to them a bit.

With Mikey

With Dan

With Nate

I wanted to get my EP signed by the whole band, but when I was waiting for a bunch of people who were getting Nate's autograph, his pen ran out. So only Dan and Mikey signed my EP, which was really sad. But Nate told us that they are coming to Provo soon, so I'm taking my EP and my own dang pen! I'm not going to get stuck without autographs again.

My Sherwood loot

I found out today that Sherwood is indeed coming to Provo again . . . in two weeks. On August 3rd they will be playing at Velour, and I can't wait. I'm getting more pictures and autographs. And no, two concerts in a month is not even close to overkill. Stoked doesn't even begin to describe my excitement.

Pictures courtesy of Jillian (minus the last one).