3/21-3/27

sunday: danny's rope climb attempt
monday: the testaments
tuesday: erick ASKED to do smart!
wednesday: sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy like i should be...
thursday: listening to lollipop with logan
friday: soft sheets
saturday: festival of colors!!!!!

vampires suck

a quick disclaimer (for all my vampire loving friends): i am not a vampire fan.  this does not mean i am not a fan of people who happen to be vampire fans.


okay, i don’t get it. what, exactly, is the appeal of vampires and such? i find myself surrounded by twilight obsessed super-fans on a regular basis (being as i live in provo, utah the apparent epicenter of the hysteria) and i really, really don’t understand what all the hype is about. i seem to be the only female in the english speaking world (and parts of the spanish, french and japanese speaking portions as well) who has neither read the books, nor seen the movies. before you jump on the “don’t knock it ‘til you try it” soapbox, let me just say that i gave this series what i consider a fair chance. i am willing to read the first chapter of almost any book. if that first chapter does not compel me to read the second i will close the book and walk away. i gave twilight the same consideration. sort-of. i tried to read the first chapter but after about 4 pages i said to myself “self, this book is not for you. get out now before you lose another moment of your life.” and that is exactly what i did. sorry, i just don’t find the teen angst meets ancient mythical being storyline appealing. to make matters worse, the insanity is spreading. the other day i had some friends over for dinner and was ambushed. i was inextricably sucked into a conversation wherein the 3 man-boys i had eaten with began to discuss vampire movies beginning with the twilight saga. seriously? i expect this from tweeners at work, and even from the young adult women with whom i regularly associate, but not so much from guys. i need new friends.

3/14-3/20

sunday: "what's with the denim tuxedo?"
monday: dan brought me chicken soup from zupas, and it made me feel better :)
tuesday: cough syrup
wednesday: toilet paper dodgeball
thursday: late night talk with logan
friday: how to talk to girls by alec greven
saturday: jojo loves his auntie lindsay!!!

daylight savings

normally, i have no problem with ben franklin. i actually kinda like him, with the exception of one week every spring. i HATE daylight savings.  benny came up with the plan as a way to save candles. i'm sure it was a great idea at the time, but it seems totally useless and rather irrelevant now, especially since we don't actually use candles as a light source unless there is a blackout. so, why do we still use it? anyone? anyone? bueller? bueller? see! no one knows! it's ridiculous!  okay, the government thinks they know.  daylight savings is supposedly part of an energy conservation thing.  the idea is, in the fall, if we go to bed an hour earlier we turn off our energy sucking lights and electronics an hour earlier too, thus saving scant amounts of electricity. we also get off the roads earlier, saving gasoline and oil. conversely, in the spring, if we get up an hour earlier as the days lengthen, we’ll be able to enjoy more daylight hours and won’t need as much electricity then, either, because we’ll, ideally, be outside working or playing as long as the sun lights the sky. this, my friends, is a load of crap.  off the roads earlier, sure, but also on the roads earlier.  sorry, but the time change does not make my commute any shorter, thus, i use the same amount of gas and oil.  also, it doesn't lengthen the day. we enjoy the same number of daylight hours just at a slightly different time.  for reals, i already struggle to feel rested and now i lose an hour of sleep, plus it takes at least a week (sometimes more) for my body to adjust. i can only imagine what it must be like for those of you with children. i vote we get rid of it. FOREVER!!! who's with me?

happy thoughts 3/7-3/13

sunday: actually took a nap after church
monday: getting lost on the way to bishop's house
tuesday: double-dutch
wednesday: nice enough to play outside
thursday: minestrone soup (even if i did burn the garlic bread)
friday: junk food central
saturday: danny is back!!!

seriously?

mariah carey has more number one hits than any recording artist in the world save the beattles only. i find this extremely depressing. don't get me wrong, i have nothing against mrs. nick cannon (except, of course that she married nick cannon. oh, and her boobs are out of control). she has a great voice with an amazing range and that is not to be overlooked, but i cannot believe she is second only to the beatles. call me crazy but i would never, ever, put mariah on the same level as the beatles. i mean, i totally would have thought that michael jackson (at least) would jump in between the two. maybe elvis or madonna. turns out, the beatles have 26; mariah carey has 15; elvis has 14; michael jackson has 14 as a solo artist, 17 if you include the 3 number ones he had with the jackson five; and madonna has 11. i would hold out hope that mariah we be dethroned sometime in the near future, but the 2 artists with the numbers to make that possible are dead, making this an unrealistic goal for the time being. to make matters worse, ms. carey also holds the record for longest run at number one for "one sweet day" (with boyz II men, whatever happened to them anyway?). the only thing that could be more depressing would be lady gaga somehow worming her way into the mix.

happy thoughts

i recently watched finding neverland (fantabulous movie!) and was reminded that peter pan and his cohorts used an unexpected method of flight. happy thoughts. 

once upon a time i had a roommate (or maybe a neighbor, the boundaries were pretty fuzzy over there at pine ghetto) who had this thing with happy thoughts. she used to ask us what would be the one thing that day that would allow us to fly if necessary. the point was to be more aware of the little things that are good in life and be grateful for them rather than focusing on the unfortunate events of the day or waiting for some big ta-da kind of thing.  i was pretty good about recording my happy thoughts for a while there, but lately i have been lax. i think it is time that i got back in the habit. since i have this wonderful forum for voicing my thoughts, opinions insights and lists (and lists, and lists, and lists) i figure this is the perfect place to share these thoughts too. here's the deal; i will record one happy thought per day (most likely on a post-it note since i am kind of addicted to them), then chronicle my fairy-dust free flight inducing moments in a weekly blog post. here are my happy thoughts from the week of february 28-march 6

sunday: no marriage talks!!!
*february was the month of marriage talks in my ward. come to think of it january kind of was too. i guess that's what i get for being in a byu ward. lame. i'm so tired of hearing the same (ineffective) "encouragements" over and over and over again. today we finally made through 3 whole hours without a word about marriage or dating. that's like a record
monday: storytelling over a fake fire at home evening
*i told the couch story
tuesday: double dutch
*i teach a little jump rope class at work and we did double dutch today. i suck at it, but it's still fun
wednesday: cornbread
*i just really like it especially with honey on it. mmmm
thursday: no van
*thursday is the only day of the week that i don't have to go to work early to drive the van and pick the kids up from school. that changes next week, but for now i enjoy the day off from that duty
friday: sammy's infectious giggle
*sammy is this girl at work who has the most hilarious and infectious giggle i've ever heard, and once she gets started, she might laugh for days :) today she was on one, i think she was giggling every time i saw and/or talked to her. so great!
saturday: bubble bath
*no explanation needed

spring has sprung! well, sort of

okay, so it's not exactly balmy out there (especially in utah where the weather changes every 30 seconds) but it is march and march equals spring right? in honor of the season that i am really hoping is descending upon us i have compiled a list (big surprise) of all the things that make spring more springy! i encourage all of you to take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy the season a little more.  the list contains 45 items in no particular order and some of them can totally be done in conjunction with others. since the season itself is approximately 90 days long i feel like this is a reasonable to-do list.

1. enjoy the smell of fresh cut grass
2. listen to rain falling on the roof
3. go puddle jumping
4. wear pastels head to toe for one full day
5. plant a garden
6. buy some fresh cut flowers  
7. go to a tulip festival. wear clogs 
8. walk past a lilac bush and take a deep breath
9. celebrate daffodil day (traditionally the first official day of spring) 
10. have a spring break 
11. open the windows and air out the house. enjoy the breeze 
12. wear galoshes 
13. pick daisies 
14. put your hair in pigtails 
15. feed some birds 
16. visit the zoo 
17. watch a hummingbird feed 
18. make pasta primavera, after all primavera means spring 
19. wear bright nail polish. pink red, or yellow. 
20. get a pedicure to get ready for sandal season 
21. wear sandals 
22. go longboarding 
23. sit under a tree and listen to the birds chirp 
24. visit an orchard and enjoy the fruit blossoms 
25. blow bubbles in the park 
26. roll down your windows on your commute 
27. spring cleaning 
28. enjoy the feeling of packing up your winter clothes 
29. file your taxes 
30. dye easter eggs 
31. have an easter egg hunt. carry a basket 
32. take a drive to the country, pick wildflowers 
33. eat green eggs and ham 
34. celebrate may day by leaving flowers on your neighbor’s doorsteps 
35. carry an umbrella, just in case 
36. kiss an Irishman on st. patrick’s day 
37. call your mom on mother’s day.  send a card too because she is worth it 
38. have a picnic 
39. gorge yourself on easter candy and don’t regret the empty calories 
40. make fried chicken.  oven fried doesn’t count 
41. walk in the grass barefoot 
42. eat fruit salad 
43. make an entire meal on the grill 
44. make potato salad.  eat it 
45. ride a bicycle around your neighborhood