news is like idaho weather, if you don't like it wait a few minutes

i have good news and i have bad news. which would you like to hear first? well, i cant hear you, but since neither piece of news really affects you, i suppose your answer is moot anyway.

the bad news is my bracket is shot. i didn't even get a single team into the final four. this is the point in the tournament where i throw things around the room and yell at the television. at least, i would if could watch the games on television, but i only get pbs in my apartment.

the good news is i went to the midnight premier of hunger games on thursday/friday and loved every moment of it, including the hours spent saving seats and waiting for the movie to start. i even got myself a new boyfriend:

his name is henry and he would be perfect if he had legs.

march madness

madness is an understatement really. i'm pretty serious about my brackets. yes, i meant to put that 's' there. i filled out 5. yep. 5 brackets. 5 different brackets. and i used 5 different strategies.

the first one i filled out fairly quickly. i basically just picked the teams that i like/have historically done well.

then i filled out another one where i revisited the match ups that made me nervous the first time and i chose the other team.

then i thought, "this is pretty arbitrary. i should do some research or something and make some educated decisions here." so i did. i looked up each of the teams and made my decisions based on some hardcore information, in the finding of which i had invested a significant amount of time. i picked the team with the most attractive players. i don't know if you knew this, but the best players are always the most attractive ones.

at this point, my coworkers (who were, of course, privy to this entire process) are looking at me like i'm crazy. to which i respond "they don't call it march madness for nothing!" and continue with my fourth bracket. again, based on some serious research. mascots. i got the kids involved on this one. we looked up the mascots and considered a situation in which the mascots-the actual animals/creatures/beings as opposed to the college kid wearing a giant foam head-were engaged in a cage match. the winner of this hypothetical cage match goes down as the winner of the game. "do cage matches work? of course they work. if they didn't, everyone would still be in the cage." bonus points if you can tell me who said that

the fifth and final bracket was the one i ended up using in the office pool. i use the word office loosely. very loosely. i don't work in an office. nothing about my workplace even vaguely resembles an office. i don't even have an office chair. anyhoo, the tournament is in full swing and thus far, the most accurate bracket is the third one. i tried to tell you, there is a direct correlation between attractiveness and ability to play basketball. at least there is in march.

excuse me, mr. west, i think you've made a mistake

"single ladies" is the "greatest music video of all time! OF ALL TIME!" really, kanye? i guess you've never watched this one:



i've said it before and i'll say it again, ok go are the master's of the music video. even stevie wonder can see that.

things you didn't know about me

this is by no means an exhaustive list as that would be impossible to compile, but here is a sampling of things you didn't know about me...until now.

1. when i don't feel well, i crave chili cheese fries.
2. actually, pretty much all of my food cravings involve potatoes. must be proof that i am an idaho girl
3. i read food blogs obsessively, but rarely cook anything food therein
4. i would rather clean the bathroom than wash dishes
5. i have a crazy toe on my right foot. we call it the claw toe.
6. i sneeze when i pluck my eyebrows. it's uncomfortable and probably a little dangerous, but it's also involuntary and uncontrollable.
7. i would really love for someone to write a song for me. or about me. or about someone else, but containing my name.
8. i love postcards. especially when they are mailed to me. if you would like to mail me one, i will give you my address.
9. i almost always like the sidekick/best friend character better than the protagonist(s)
10. i prefer colored pencils to crayons, and crayons to markers, but paints are my favorite.
11. i am a jelly bean racist. i only like the white ones.

things my grandma taught me

i began this post in january as celebration of my grandmother's 94th birthday and was originally titled "reasons my grandma is cooler than yours." i put off publishing it as i looked for the perfect image to add. i never found it. time got away from me and the post remained a draft. well, yesterday, i found out that my grandmother passed away and, while i still think she was pretty cool, it now seems i waited too long. in tribute to her amazing legacy i have restructured, retitled and rewritten this post to (i hope) reflect what an amazing woman she was.

things my grandma taught me:
and why my grandma is cooler than yours

1. age is just a number. my grandma was active her entire life, and i do mean her ENTIRE life. she loved the outdoors and especially loved skiing. she taught her children how to ski, and then she taught her grandchildren to ski and then she taught her great-grandchildren to ski. well, some of them anyway. the years under your belt only mean you are getting more awesome, not less.
2. food=love. whether it comes from a box, a bag, a can, or completely from scratch, if it is made, shared and eaten with love it will be delicious. and it was. grandma had some pretty fantastic recipes.
3. family matters. grandma was proud of her heritage and relished the opportunity to talk about it. she was an active genealogist and displayed her family tree proudly. she also loved her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. i haven't the energy to count them all right now, but there are a lot of us. she kept in touch with everyone, was interested to know what was going on in our lives and to share in our triumphs.
4. never stop learning. some of the most intellectual conversations i've ever had in my life i had with my grandmother. she knew lots of stuff about lots of stuff. she also loved learning new stuff. even at the age of 92 when she got a cell phone for the first time and was learning how to operate it.
5. if there's something you want to do, do it. she actually told me that. twice. she also did lots of wonderful things in her life and she didn't wait around for permission from someone else. she was just awesome like that.
6. a clean home is a happy home. i don't know how she did it with all of us running around, but grandma's house was always clean. always. she was a big believer in cleaning up right away instead of waiting for later and that doing the little things along the way save you from having to big big things later. things were always in their place and easy to find. even the toys. it was nothing less than miraculous with a house full of grandkids.
7.  some things are better left unsaid. maybe i just didn't hear it, but i don't remember ever hearing grandma say anything unkind about anyone. that's pretty impressive if you ask me. being the opinionated, strong-willed woman that she was, i'm sure she thought it, but she didn't say it. not to me anyway.
8.  circumstances do not determine destiny. grandma grew up on a potato farm in rexburg, idaho. her home did not have electricity until she was in high school. they didn't have a telephone right away either, and when they did get one, the line was shared with some of the neighbors. it is hard for me to picture since we always had both electricity and a telephone, but that's the truth of the matter. she didn't let that stop her though. she served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, became a member of the faculty at ricks college, lived in different parts of the country, helped her husband through medical school, raised 6 children, traveled and any number of other impressive things.
9.  greet each day as a new opportunity. i don't think grandma ever slept in a day in her life. i'm pretty sure she thought i was nuts for sleeping in as often as possible. i used to think she just didn't get it. sleeping in is glorious! but now, i think maybe i'm the one who didn't really get it. grandma was more productive before i got out of bed than i sometimes am in an entire day. i'm not gonna stop sleeping in any time soon, but there is nothing wrong with productivity and there is certainly nothing wrong with greeting each new day bright eyed and bushy tailed.
10. the church is true. no doubt about it. not as far as grandma was concerned. she loved the gospel and lived it everyday. it was not unusual to find her studying her scriptures, reading conference talks, listening to hymns or discussing any of these things. she was a wonderful example of faith and steadfastness and for that i am forever grateful.

the murtaugh list

from time to time i do something really stupid. something that i don't realize is stupid until after i've done it. something i'm probably too old to do. and after i've done it, i think to myself "i'm to old for this stuff." and i am. so when i (re)watched an episode of how i met your mother in which ted has compiled  a list of things the gang is too old to do and titles it "the murtaugh list." i decided to make my own murtaugh list, because i'm too old for this stuff.



since i'm sure you're all interested to know what i'm too old to do, and as such, i intend to post them for you right here on my little old blog. starting with this one:

pretending to be a rollie-polie with a bunch of kindergartners. super fun for the 2 minutes it lasted, but now my back REALLY hurts and i might be moving at the speed of a sloth for about a week. i'm too old for this stuff!

rock the vote

sometimes i feel like our presidential candidates have hired this kid as their campaign adviser:

it's about time

i finally took down my Christmas tree, and it only took me 3.9 weeks. i think i'll celebrate my prompt change of decor with a big mug of hot chocolate and some cookies. feel free to stop by if you want to join me

dear friend...

dear chessie,
i do like to cook. a lot. not as much as i like to eat, but that's neither here nor there. the thing is, i don't like to be told what to cook. or what eat, but, again, that's not really applicable. i also don't like being told how to cook. i don't even follow the recipes in my many cookbooks (i just look at the pictures). so i'm not sure culinary school would be the best choice for me. i do appreciate the input though. i seriously considered your suggestion before i realized i would likely flunk out.

sincerely,
your unteachable friend

p.s. i'm on pins and needles waiting to hear about your own school decision.

i know, they're called doctors...

well, i almost made it the first time around (6 years, but who's counting?) and now i've decided to go back.why? because i miss it. is that weird? probably, but i don't care. i am grateful for the education i have, but the degree that came with it isn't all that useful (as evidenced by the fact that i have had it for nearly 5 years and have yet to be employed in a job that requires any degree, let alone the one i have), so it is time to consider obtaining a second one. i though about graduate school, but, at this point, i think it might be better to go back and get a second baccalaureate. new major? i'll have to get back to you on that. i'm not good at anything useful which severely limits my prospects, but i'd love to hear you input on this. so, what should i study?