Yes, its Christmas time!

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. People are generally more giving and kind and there is that special ‘feel’ in the air you know? Not to mention that now I can sing songs at the top of my lungs, whenever I want, and the looks I get from people aren’t QUITE as strange :) And it is always a wonderful blessing to be reminded of what the true meaning of Christmas is all about. I’ve decided to discuss some of my favorite parts of Christmas, in no particular order, and I use the term ‘favorite’ very loosely. :)

1) How is a song that talks about a man trying to convince a woman to stay the night with him because ‘baby, it’s cold outside’ considered a Christmas song? I don’t get it. It’s kind of disturbing. Nothing about that song screams Christmas to me, except for the fact that its cold. Could that be an all-the time-song in, say, Alaska? I think it should be. Alas, disturbing as it is, it still remains one of my favorite songs. Every time I hear it, I can’t help but think of Elf and how much I love that movie. It may just be one of the most quotable movies of all time, right along with While You Were Sleeping. “Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?” “Wait, I forgot to give you a hug!” “You’re not Santa. You smell like beef and cheese. You sit on a throne of lies!” And the list could go on. Fantastic.

2) For some reason, between my sister and I, someone always knows what they are getting for Christmas before December even happens. And if not, they find out before Christmas morning. I know, I know, most of you may be thinking, well, say you get Mavs tickets for someone for a Christmas present and the game is before Christmas, you’d have to give it early. I’m not talking about giving them early. I’m talking about can’t keep it a secret any longer because we are so darn excited about it and it slips. Or, in my case a couple of nights ago, just convincing myself that she’d see it before hand anyway, so I just showed it to her haha. Sorry, Amy. You knew this about me when you agreed to be my roommate :) I’ve known what my sister was getting me since early November. Possibly late October. It’s how we roll. My favorite was the Mavs tickets episode of 2002 or whatever year that all went down. My sister made all of us PROMISE with every fiber of our beings (yes, I did just say that) that we wouldn’t say anything to Ben about the most excellent of excellent Christmas surprises. And then what happened? We’re all on the phone together and she is telling my brother about it, forgetting who is on the phone with us. LOVELY. So funny. At least that one was an accident. I usually just get so excited about what I’m getting for people that I can’t wait, so I give it to them early and then it’s up to them whether they open it or not. Haha. I’m so lame.

3) Whenever my Grammy comes to Texas, we make her special sugar cookies and then frost them. While this is a fantastic tradition, it’s not my favorite part. A couple of years ago, we got Grammy some new cookie cutters so we used them (yes, these were probably given to her early because we were excited about it. Refer to number 2). There was this one cutter that we couldn’t quite decide what it was at first, so we made it and decided that we’d figure it out after the cookies were made and we were frosting them. I decided that at first glance, it looked like an eyeball. We later discovered that it was a Christmas ornament, but an eyeball is just so much cooler. So, naturally, I frosted it like an eyeball and every year since then, whether Grammy has been here or not, there is always that obligatory eyeball sugar cookie set aside for yours truly. :)

4) Mind reels that there could be more, right? And by the end of this post, I’m sure you’ll all realize just how ghetto fabulous our family really is. We have another tradition of making a gingerbread house together with all the girls. The first few years we had strokes of genius and decided to make cool things for the house with the left over frosting but it always turned out really bad. Please see exhibit A: The melting snowman. I believe we had something that turned out to look like a large pile of tires with snow on them the next year, but I’ll be darned if I can’t remember what it was initially supposed to be. So, there’s usually something very out of place on our houses each year and it’s fantastic.

5) It’s a new tradition to take Sydney to see the Nutcracker every Christmas. We took her for the first time last year and during intermission my sister was taking her to the bathroom and she asked if she was enjoying it so far. In a loud voice she exclaimed, “Mom, I just love it. But, why are none of the guys wearing any pants?” hahaha too classic and now a long standing joke in our family.

6) We all know the weird thing about my sister and I loving those Gerber baby meat sticks, yeah? (sorry, Meredith…this is turning out to be a ‘why my sister and I are ridiculously awesome during Christmas time’ post haha). Well, every year, Santa brings us some in our stocking (thanks to some tip offs from my dad :)) and then we eat them together and it is fantastical. I get excited about it every year, but I think it grosses everyone else out. It’s funny that for our picture every year, everyone has cleared out while we’re eating them except for the picture taker. The pour soul. They just don’t know how good they really are :)

7) At some point during the Christmas holidays, we have a Rock Band jam session. There's nothing better than watching my dad get down to some good ole Creedence Clearwater. Dang, I love my family!

8) Last, but definitely not least, if you aren’t bored yet, one of my other favorites of Christmas time is that, with all the family in town we play an endless set of board games. We are definitely a board game family and two of our favorites just so happen to be Cranium and Dominoes. There’s nothing like catching Grandmama cheating and have her act like she’s so surprised :) Love, love, love it. Now you know where I get it from *teethy grin*. We always play boys against girls at Cranium and we USUALLY win. At least when Meredith and I are both playing. We have that cool mind reading ability so the guys say that that is unfair, but I submit that they are just jealous. Two examples just to show how crazy it is. Earlier this year, Meredith was trying to get me to guess who the person was and she could talk like the person but couldn’t say names or places. It went a little like this:
Meredith: I am on a TV show.
Me: Lucille Ball?
Meredith: YES!
All the guys faces: *astonished*
hahah love it. We also had to make a list of something once and you have to get two out of the three to match or something like that. Not only did we get all three the same, but they were even in the same order. You can’t beat that. I’ll never forget the one year when the guys’ winning question was “Who was the founder of the LDS church?” Really? And they say we cheat.

There you have it. My Christmas in a nutshell. Of course there are thousands of other things that I love about Christmas, but my fingers kind of hurt so I’m calling it a day :) I hope you each have fun Christmas traditions that you’ll be able to be a part of this year and to always remember what the most important part of Christmas is: Celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the Plan of Salvation and that Heavenly Father was willing to send his only Begotten Son to earth to atone for our sins. I’m grateful for this opportunity to celebrate that most wonderful blessing and to be able to share it with so many people. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Oh, and PS, its like 70 degrees outside. So fantastic. :)

Decisions, Decisions

So, I need to just write my thoughts out, not necessarily for advice or for your gee-whiz factor, but it usually seems to help to 'talk' it out sometimes...

I've been thinking a lot about going back to school lately. Funny since my mom just graduated and we all laughed about none of us ever doing the school thing again. It's always been on the back of mind since I got accepted into the Dance/Movement Therapy masters program in Colorado. For those who don't know, I ended up rejecting that offer to move home since I felt like that's where the Lord needed/wanted me. It wasn't TOO heartbreaking though...while I was at the interview in the school, I just didn't feel right and I realized that that wasn't what the Lord wanted me to do, so it's not like it was a hard decision, but still a desire of mine to get a masters degree.

I've always thought that I would, growing up...not sure why, exactly, but I always have. The problem is, is I don't really know what I would get it in. There isn't a dance/movement therapy program here and I still feel like this is where I need to be for various reasons, so whatever program I do should probably be local. I've thought of doing online classes, however, my learning style is definitely not reading and absorbing...its more visual and auditory, for sure, so being in a classroom is important to me. But that runs in to fitting it in while still working full time and maintaining some what of a social life. I can't work less because I need to pay for it, for sure, and I need to be active in church for my sanity and because well...it's not an option not to be :)

So the next question is, what would I major in? It's so weird to feel like I need to go back to school but have no idea what to go in to. I thought for a long time that I would like to go in to Conflict Resolution and Mediation. SMU has a good program that I could try to get in to. There is a fast track certificate program to where I could do that and still be a certified mediator in the court system, but no degree...kind of a bummer if you ask me. I think it's a 2 year program. To get my degree would be 3 or 4. I cant remember. Either way, I'm still not really crazy about going that direction. I was at one point, but that's kind of gone now and I'm not sure what else to consider at this point.

Where is all of this coming from, you ask? I've been talking about it with Amy for months now. I had kind of given up on it for a while, thinking, I have a job that I enjoy, so I'm good to go. But the more I think about it, the more I feel like I can amount to so much more than what I have amounted to. And I expect myself to reach my full potential, educationally...I just don't know which route to take. I was asked to give a talk on the importance of education on Sunday which was kind of funnily ironic and Adam asked me how my masters education pursuance (haha I don't feel like that's the right word..) was coming along, yesterday...it's coming at me from all angles! :)

Anyway, lots and lots to think about. I don't really want to go into the counseling field, but I THINK i would really enjoy working with Psych patients. Amy told me at one point that they were maybe looking for an activities director for the psych unit there which would be fun. But who knows...

There you have it. This is where my brain has been for the past few months...and dreaming about the GRE...ew lol :) XOXO

Let the Good Times Roll

Guess who is the newest college graduate in our family?!?!? BOOYAH! Congrats Mom! I'm so excited for you. You've worked really hard and put a lot of hard work, sweat and tears into getting your degree. I can speak for all of us by saying that we are SO proud of you and SO happy that you are done :) The party was definitely good times! Look how fancy she is at our makeshift graduation ceremony...I just love my crazy family :) Unfortunately, this picture was taken about 20 times to try to get one without someone's eyes being close, but its the best you're going to get. Love, love, love you guys!

This weekend, my mom, sister, Amy and I went to Time Out For Women. Its like the mini equivalent of the Women's Conference that BYU puts on every summer. It was so fun to be there! Lots of fantastic messages and performing artists. There is a famous LDS pianist/songwriter, Michael McLean and he sings this song about adoption and its so fantasticly amazing. I know a few of my close friends who have walked the road of adoption and I cant imagine having to give up my baby. I guess it's a little easier knowing that you are giving them up for the opportunity to be in an environment with better opportunities and such. Still, I know it wasn't easy for any of them. At any rate, this is such a tender song and I love it :) He wrote it for a girl that was pregnant and decided adoption was the road she was going to take and she asked him to write a song to convey her feelings and emotions about the situation.


Fantastic, yeah? My favorite speaker was Brad Wilcox (all the others were fantastic, but he was either my Stake President or one of my professors at BYU...I can't remember) so, I have soft spot for him :). He talked about the scripture in 2 Nephi 25:23 that says, "For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." He focused on the '...after all we can do' portion. He broke it down one word at a time and really focused on what this phrase means. At the end, he focused on the WE part of that phrase. He didn't use 'we' as all of us, God's children, but 'we' as me and Jesus Christ. That through the Atonement, He has made up all of the difference between each of us and our Heavenly Father so that we can return to live in His presence again. That, if we go through life, hand in hand, with Jesus Christ, and do what is required of us, each of us can make it back to Heavenly Father. I wont get more in to it because it got pretty deep/intense in an awesome way, but it was fantastic, nonetheless. Loved it! I'm definitely thankful for all of the knowledge that I have and the testimony that I have been able to develop throughout my life. I couldn't make it through much without the help of my Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and Holy Ghost. I love them :) And I love y'all! For now, I'm out. I hope y'all have a fantastical rest of your weekend and all that jazz :)

Holy Long Time!

So, I realized that I haven't blogged in MONTHS...my bad! So much has happened since then, but to spare you from my usual game of 'catch up' I'll just tell you about my amazing trip to Nauvoo a couple weekends ago. But before I do that, I have a little something to say...

I absolutely LOVE that I get to go have lunch at my sister's almost every day. Seriously, its my favorite part of my week. I love the random phone calls I get from Malla about how I should just come over now. Today was especially hilarious! She went potty all by herself and my sister and I are telling her how proud of her we are and she runs up and gives me a big squeeze and says, "AUNTIE...I JUST WENT POTTY! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!" hahaha apparently, that's just what you say when someone does something good! LOVE LOVE LOVE. Seriously.

Okay, so here's the Nauvoo breakdown...this was SUCH a beautiful place. I think my favorite part was that I didn't get reception hardly anywhere in the town except for inside Joseph Smith's first homestead. Talk about hilarious. I had my phone in my pocket (not sure why) and we're walking around in his house and it starts to vibrate...I admit, I was very confused all of a sudden. I exchanged a confused look to Amy, checked my phone and was followed by a, "really?" hahaha too good. Why not have reception in a home that was built in the 1700s! Isn't it beautiful though?



Around the corner is the Mansion House which was really cool as well. It's weird to think that this was the last place that Joseph was before he was taken to Carthage Jail. I cant imagine what Emma and their children felt like as they watched him ride away, not knowing if he'd ever come back....


One of my favorite places we got to see was the Cultural Hall. This was where they used to have all of their theatrical performances and then upstairs was a dance hall that had an indoor balcony for the band to play. Naturally, if I were alive back then, that would have probably been the place where I spent most of my time :) I couldn't help but think of what it would have been like to be there with close friends, all dressed up in old timey dresses and dancing the night away to live band. I can't even imagine! Sounds like good times to me.


The last big place that we stopped was Carthage Jail
where Joseph and Hyrum were both martyred. This place was fantastic. The spirit was so strong the moment you walked into the room where they were held. I can only imagine what was going on through their minds when the mob was about to attack. This is a picture of the window that Joseph tried to escape out of during the shooting.


Now, I must show you three of the most beautiful sites of Nauvoo, only because I love looking at the pictures :)

3) This was the entry way into the Pioneer grave site. So pretty. Not to mention that the weather couldn't have been more perfect, which added to the awesomeness. Because not all of the graves are marked, it's hard to path out how to walk...I definitely felt some of the ground moving out from under my feet and I've heard of ppl falling in before if they walk over just the right places so I'm pretty sure I split outta there after a good 10 minutes haha. Still, so beautiful though.

2) This was where the Trail of Hope meets the Mississippi river. And at sunset, you can see why it made the list! The trail of hope went down Parley street where it is lined with journal entries from saints who had to walk down that street in order to cross the river when they started their trek west. It amazes me how much faith they had to have to be able to leave everything behind, in the dead of winter, to go to a place that they had no idea about. And for most, this wasn't the first time they had to flee from oppression. I don't think I could do it that easily. They were definitely strong willed people. Nauvoo would have been very hard to leave behind.

1) HOLY FANTASTIC! I LOVE this temple. Everything is absolutely gorgeous inside and out. Not that the other temples aren't, but holy cow. This made up for the fact that everything closed down at 6pm and we had to go into Iowa for dinner...or eat PB&J sandwiches, but I think we were kind of spent on those since that what we had for lunch every day. Still...so fantastic. We were able to do baptisms and endowments twice. SO GREAT. I loved every minute of it. One of the best parts of Nauvoo is that no matter where you go, for the most part, you can see the temple in plain view and you'd pass it all the time. It's such a great reminder of what things are important in life, rather than letting wordly things get too prominent in our minds. Seriously...favorite part of the trip, easily.

In all, it was a fantastic trip. One that I'd easily take again. Next stop, Palmyra! :) Actually, next stop Utah but Palmyra is my next destination of choice haha. I would also LOVE to hit up the Jerusalem Center someday. If it was this fantastic to walk where Joseph Smith walked, can you imagine how wonderful it would be to walk where the Savior walked? Dude...I really hope I get that chance someday. Until then, its back to real life for now. Make it a great day or not, the choice is yours. Love you long time! XOXO

Short and Sweet

Okay, so I know I haven't blogged in MONTHS...that's my bad. Things have been CrAzY around here lately and unfortunately, (or maybe fortunately for some haha), blogging has taken a seat on the back burner for a while. I did put two of my new favorite songs on here tho. (Love love love!) And that's gotta count for something!

Today's post will be short and sweet:

Short
I was at the store the other day and I saw something that immediately grabbed my attention and I thought to myself, 'self...that's retarded. Really?' What was it that I saw, exactly? Well I'll tell you. This girl had on a pair of cut off jean shorts. And by cut off, I mean cut off! The insides of her pockets were LONGER THAN HER SHORTS! I'm sorry...but there's a problem with that. If your pockets go further down your leg than your actual shorts do, you have a problem. And frankly, its a problem that I don't want to know about. Ew ew ew! Who thought that would be a good idea? I'm not sure. Why don't you just wear your underwear around outside...its basically the same deal. Yuck.

Sweet
So, we all know that I LOVE my nieces...my sister wrote a funny post about the things we aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. do for our nieces/grandkids while we're playing. She posted a bunch of pictures and it was fun to go back and look through all of them. Sadly, this wasn't even like half of the stupid things I've done in efforts to satisfy their imaginations. Here's the newest picture though...Malla and Syd and I end up dancing to 'Auntie's song' (aka Party in the USA) while I'm over there for lunch. One day, the girls decided that we had to have dress up gloves, but alas, we had none. So, what did they run and get? Socks...yes socks. And yes, I gave in to the peer pressure and joined in on the fun! Not exactly sure what I was doing in this picture, but when am I ever? :) Her post was funny to read tho...take a gander if you so choose. Anyway, friends, family and whoever else...I'm signing out for the night. Its definitely long passed my bedtime and I'm ready for some sweet dreams about Chuck and Ireland *hopes for something good tonight* XOXO

Jen, Moose & Provo!

So, I got to go to Utah again and I absolutely LOVED every minute of it! I think it turned out so well because my flight was on time, non-turbulent AND (mind reels there could be more right?)I didn't get stranded anywhere....I don't think that has ever happened...maybe once, but that's pushing it haha. Naw, its usually not THAT bad, but I have been given the reputation of the cursed flyer as something unfortunate usually happens. I've just grown to expect it tho. Seriously tho...one of the best flights I've ever been on! Anyway...here's my trip in a nutshell (remember, this is basically my journal, so I wont be offended if you stop reading out of boredom haha):

Day one: Kami and Chipin came to get me from the airport which was awesome to see them. We went to Dee's for breakfast/dinner (still not as good as IHOP...sorry Chips)and then hung out and such. Lovely :) I hadn't realized how much I missed the mountains...and not to mention that it gets darn cold in Utah at night...I definitely forgot that. Its a good night here if I dont wake up sweating haha. This was also the day of the 'hooker story.' Should any of you be interested in hearing that one, you know how to get a hold of me :)

Day two: Kami and I went shopping because I needed pants. Good thing too because the only pair that I brought with me got a huge hole in an unfortunate spot on Saturday. While we were there, I felt like being sporadic and suggested that we hit up those little photo booths for a good time. The first one totally gypped us...it chose our background so it turned out to be these really gay "sugar and spice" thing. Weird. Needless to say, we tried it again at a different one...as luck would have it, the camera wouldn't move so we looked like floating heads, but all the better for good memories right? Classic. Definitely some great Kami time...Just me and my bestie! :) Later on, I went to Jen's grandparent's house to hang with her for a bit before her big day. It was so fun to have all three of us together again! (Me, Jen and Emmy Pants)...LOVE you girls SO bad! I always LOVE spending time with these girls...never a dull moment and always so therapeutic. Don't you love when you can be apart for so long and when you come back together, its like no time has gone by? So good! XOXO

Day 3: Jen & Moose's BIG day!!! (Yes, we call Brent, Moose...but that's a story for another day!) It definitely didn't start off well...there was a HUGE wreck on I-15 and it ended up taking us 2 1/2 hours to get to the temple when it should've taken like...40 minutes MAX. So lame....I was sad that I had to miss the sealing, but no sense in getting upset for something outside of our control right? They got married and that's what counts! I'm sure I'll get to go back to the Salt Lake temple some day and it'll be awesome! We had the luncheon which was fun and then the reception later on at night. It was SOOOO great to see Erin, LP and Alex at the reception. It was seriously, just what I needed...Emmy and Jen the night before...Emmy all day and then add in LP and Erin and its like YEAH BABY! We just talked about life and caught up with stuff...seriously, Erin...thanks so much for talking to me for so long. It was definitely an answer to prayers! We ended the night by cleaning off the car as the ppl decorating it thought that they were taking Jen's car (the one we were using) instead of Brent's...yeah. Good times. I vaguely remember falling asleep on Emmy's bed while they were talking, but who is surprised? haha. Either way, Emmy, Laura, Matty and I had a great time!

Day 4: Marisa came to get me from Emmy's house to take me down to Provo. It was so great to be on the old stomping grounds again! I went on many trips to the bookstore (haha sorry about that, by the way) and saw my old coworkers which was FANTASTICAL. They are going to publish an article about the study I was on when I left a year ago so they're going to involve me a little and keep me posted with that so I can add to my article library (all of one journal, but still...). I saw quite a few ppl on campus too, so that was great! Marisa and I went to Tucanos for lunch...its all you can eat meat, basically. I was definitely ready for a nap afterward, but I would have none of that! Later that night, I went out with Adam Arnett...we went to Los Hermanos for dinner, to Sammy's for Pie Shakes (yummy), stayed around for the outdoor concert and then went to our designated Star Gazing spot and chatted it up for a while...mostly because there were definitely no stars this time *sad*. The night ended with getting down poured with rain...talk about good times! haha.

Day 5: started out awesomely with a trip to the Provo temple with Adam Borgia and Marcus...thanks for the invite, Adam! It was definitely good to be back in there...so many great memories in that temple. We hit up Panda Express afterward and then I met up with Joyce! YAHOO! She was so nice to take me to see my friend, Meth (aka Michael), in the hospital. He had a motorcycle accident almost 2 or 3 months ago. He's still not doing all that great, but he's awake now...just not very responsive. I guess the damage was all done on his brain stem which complicates things quite a bit. It was really hard to see him like that...it definitely puts things into new perspective. At any rate, I'm SO glad that I got to go visit him. Afterward, Joyce and I met up with Klark at the park and we hung out for a while. MISSED YALL SO BAD! Then, I went on a date with LP and Alex and their friend, Michael...haha that's two sets of names of friends that are the same...I really should make friends with different names. Its definitely easier this way tho. haha. We had a great time tho. We hit up a pizza place and played phase 10. Mike was cracking me up tho...he LOVES Texas even though he's only 'lived' there for 3 days. lol. Loved it! So great...it felt like back in the day when I used to double with them a couple of years ago. LOVE LOVE LOVE you guys! XOOX

Day 6: I ended up recruiting some old timers into going to our old ward with me. It was so fun to be back and see our old bishopric! Definitely different, for sure tho. Brother Clay took us for a ride in his new "bumble bee" car which was FANTASTICAL. :) It was definitely good to chat it up with them tho. I definitely miss those men! They helped me do so much and helped me get thru so much during the last couple years of my BYU experience. LOVE YALL! After church, we partied it up at my place for a bit. Melly came over which was such a fun surprise. You always make me smile, Banjo Pants! :) Please come visit me soon! I didn't get nearly enough time with you! :) Then...it was time to go... Adam A came and got me and brought me to the airport and I had to say farewell to Utah.

The plane ride was definitely not as good as the first one, but it went by a lot faster (and yes, it was delayed haha). Time flies when you have a lot of things to reflect about and a Relief Society lesson to prepare :) In all, it was a fantastic trip and I loved, absolutely every minute of it. Thanks for all of the wonderful times, friends and for making time to spend with me while I was there for such a short time!

Its Update Time! :)

Okay, so I realize that I haven't blogged since Dinosaurs roamed the earth, however, I've decided to repent of my sins and write so as to not disappoint. I distinctly remember telling Adam that I would write every Thursday so he had something to do during class...so Adam, if you haven't given up on me yet...this one's for you! And my apologies for not delivering the last, oh....15 blog entries. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

Seeing as how I have neglected to write in the last two months, almost, I'm going to do a very short update from all the cool things that have happened since I last wrote. If you would like the full account of these activities, you may read my sister's blog as pretty much everything I do, is with her and she blogs much more than I do :)

Dancing the night away...

It felt so good once the dance recital was over :) So much stress had been building up with teaching and making the costumes and yada yada, but you know I loved every minute of it. Now that I'm done, all this free time has been kinda weird, but I'm soaking it all up. I'm sure I'll start teaching again once all this junk with my foot is over. Either way, the girls did great. There were a few bumps in the road, but I think it went pretty well. I really miss getting to teach those girls! They're so fun. I think one of my favorite moments from teaching was when one of my hip hop girls said, "Miss Tara...you're hip hop moves are just SOOOOO HIP!" hahaha so funny. You probably had to be there and know the girl, but it was just so funny because she's one of the shyest girls I've ever met and I got to see her come out of her shell so it was fun.

Arizona

I had so much fun with Emily! We did a lot of reading, relaxing, napping...yeah good times! :) It was fun to just relax and not worry about anything for a few days, although the airport on the way home was definitely not fun, but its all good. I made it home and that's what matters :) I think my favorite thing that Emily and I did was going to Borders to sit and read for a while...I seriously haven't sat down and read in a long time and I've missed that. But the top of my list is getting to go visit Beth, Sister Borgia and little Elsie Rae. I was sad that we didn't get to spend more time together, but I was definitely glad that I got to see y'all a little bit. Thanksgiving, Beth? Yeah? good....hahaha Love you guys! And Emmy, I had a BLAST with you, as I always do. I cant wait til May when we'll be in Utah for Jen's wedding! :) XOXO

Disney On Ice

LONG story short...Syd woke up with a fever and flu the day we were supposed to go to Disney on Ice. She had been so excited about it for MONTHS and she just laid on their couch and cried since she didn't think she was going to get to go. But...luckily, prayer and faith work! My sister and Syd (as I'm sure along with the rest of us) prayed all day that Syd would feel well enough to go. I would've hated to have to have my sister tell her she couldn't go because she was so sick. We decided to take her and she did just fine through the whole thing and LOVED every minute of it. It was more fun watching her than the ice skating! so great. Needless to say, we brought along the trusty barf bucket just in case :)

Malla's Birthday

I can't believe this girl is TWO! Man how time flies...One thing I learned...Malla LOVES Dora! haha Well, technically, I knew this already, but seriously...every present she opened, I'd see this excited look on her face and then hear her exclaim, "DORA!" hahah love, love, love it! She's so cute! I'm so lucky to have such awesome nieces! :)

Kami & Chipin

Kami and Chapan came to visit for a week and Malla kept calling him Chipin, so naturally, that's his new name :) It was so fun to see them! I needed a good Kami fix :) And as always, when someone visits, we got to go to BABES. YES....the best country fried steak, biscuits and mashed potatoes with cream corn. Dude, its good! We got to do our traditional facials and our playing with hair/back scratch trade offs....love that. Not to mention having all around good times, all the time. Our Cranium game was quite awesome! Loved it! That has got to be one of my favorite games to play. I was sad that I had to work while they were here, but we still had a good time! I miss you already, lovely head! Oh May...will you please come now?!

Temple Time

While Kami and Chipin (hehe) were here, we had the fantastic opportunity to all go to the temple together. We did an endowment session and then took my family names that I've been compiling to do sealings, afterward. It was such a tender and special experience. My brother and sister and Ben were there, Kami and Chipin, Ron Dude and Jeremy and JaeLyn. I was sad that all of our family couldn't be there to be a part of it, but I was glad that we were able to have so many of us there. It was so cool...for both of the families that we sealed together, all of the siblings that were there (either Breinholts or Andersons) were all sitting in so it made it even more personal and meaningful. The sealer was hilarious...he kept trying to figure out how all of us Andersons, Breinholts and Konkrights were related. I think he finally figured it out toward the end of the session, but lets face it...there aren't many compilations of family like us haha. It was so wonderful though. I wish we could do that every weekend! Lots of tears of joy for getting to do temple work for our family. Very special...I cant wait until we get to do it again :)

Women's Shelter-ness

Last night, I got to volunteer at the Presbyterian Night Shelter for women. It was such an amazing experience. For those of you, long time readers, you remember me telling you that if I could work anywhere and do anything, that that's what I want to do. I LOVED it and absolutely ate it up. There's just something about seeing the kids smile and get so excited to have someone new to play with that just brightens any bad day. This one little girl came running up to me and gave me this huge hug and said HEY! DO YOU WANT TO PLAY WITH ME?!?! With this huge smile on her face. How can you say no to that? By the end of the night, I had made good friends with around 4 or 5 of the kids there and it was just so much fun. My favorite was this little shy girl, Manya. She hardly spoke to me, but would just sit on my lap and play games with me. Towards the end of the night, I couldn't get her to stop talking! She was on a role and such a cutie! I hope I get to go back soon so I can play with them again :)

So there you have it...I tried to keep it short, but alas, it ended up long anyway! I'll try not to let the next two months slip by me before I write again :) Chao!

It's the small things in life...

I’ve been thinking recently about some of my favorite moments in movie history. There are plenty…but the more I’ve thought about it, there are three moments that particularly stand out to me. One is more of a “wow…that really bites.” Like, more than your normal suckage factor. Another encompasses the feeling of “dang…that’s so absurd that its hilarious” and lastly, “How hardcore…I wish I thought of that.” So...here we go! We'll do the bad news first and work our way to the good :)

Movie Bite-age
Phantom of the Opera

One of the best musicals in my opinion, but the worst thing, ever, happens at the end. He’s crazy and in love with Christine and the whole, “I’ll kill Roul if you don’t stay with me” deal goes down. She decides to stay with him to save Roul’s life and because of her kindness, he lets them go, right? Great…that’s fantastic. Everyone is happy except for the crazy man. That’s not the bad part tho. One of the worst things happens after this point. As they are leaving, (I’m sure he’s heartbroken, by the way…no love, no friends, he just killed a bunch of people and he’s all alone in the dungeon thing again) and what does he hear? The two of them, singing about their love for each other. It’s like, lets pour some lemon juice on that insanely large gash in your soul, shall we? Hahaha Maybe because I’ve experienced something similar, it really gets me…although my experience was not quite the same though. I mean…there was no murder, no dungeons, but some crazy guys and some not so thrilling love moments. So, in a nutshell, pretty dull compared to a murdering, singing phantom, but I'll take what I can get. Haha Either way, Phantom…my heart reaches out to you and your lame situation :)

Movie Absurd-ness
Sleeping Beauty

This part just cracks me up…Aurora is in the meadow singing with the animals as per the usual, and Prince hottie comes along. They sing their song, all is well, right? The absolute funniest line is this… “Who are you? What’s your name?” And what are they doing when he says this? Snuggling by a tree... something doesn’t quite add up. Don’t get me wrong…snuggling by a tree is nice, and I have been called a ‘cuddle slut’ many a time in my life, but I don’t think I’ve ever snuggled with a guy who I didn’t know his name…not to mention snuggling with a guy that I met like 2 minutes before…and not really met but he found me while I was cavorting around in a forest. Kinda stalkerish and creepy if you ask me. Although, he’s hot, so if it happened to me, I’d most definitely let it slide. Please don’t think I’m blaming Aurora, because I’m not. I applaud her actually, and frankly, I'm a little jealous…but really…who does that?


Move Awesome-ness
Star Wars Episode 5

You all know the part that I’m talking about…they are about to lower Han Solo into the Carbonate chamber to freeze him. Leia says “I love you” as he is lowered…not knowing if she’ll ever see her true love again. And how does he reply? Like a pimp, he goes… “I know.” HA! Love it. Fantastic. None of this heart to heart mushy stuff from someone as hardcore and manly as Han Solo (one of my childhood heartthrobs by the way…and by childhood, I mean now) haha. The best is in episode 6, he tells Leia that he loves her and she comes back with an “I know.” BAM. Love it. I was watching a Star Wars documentary on HBO one time (yes…I’m a nerd. I know) and they did a little interview with him about that part, and I think I remember him saying that that was not what was in his script, which makes it even better. That was pure Harrison Ford awesomeness. You can’t beat that. Why wasn’t I born with Jedi powers? Princess Leia is so lucky…minus the part where she kisses her brother. Sick.

Anyway, its been a while since I've blogged and this was the best I could come up with in the short amount of time that I had. Our dance recital is tomorrow night, so stay tuned for cute videos and pictures of little girls in tutus, skirts and hip hop splendor! Until then, be on the look out for some of your favorite movie moments...

Overheard @ BYU

Okay, I know I just posted like an hour ago...but this was too good to not share with everyone.

There is a facebook group called Overheard @ BYU. If you are on facebook, please give it a gander. Basically, people post things that they hear people say while they're walking around on campus or in class.

Example:
*In a religon class*
Teacher: Why are you obedient?
Student: Because I like pissing Satan off.
HA! Brilliant and probably only something you'd hear at BYU...although, most everything on this list is.

Here's another of my favorites:
*Guy saying to a girl*
"You have great birthing hips!"....sadly this doesn't surprise me.

"She's the weirdest girl I've ever met. I'm going to marry her...yup, I have to."

And one more personal favorite:
Professor, His 202- You all look dead. Wait- you all had this paper due last night, and this is a school where you don't drink coffee.
Anonymous student- Mid-terms.
Teacher- You all stayed up all night, didn't you?
*students nod*
Teacher- Without caffeine?
*students nod*
Class dismissed!

hahaha now you all know why I miss BYU so much. Never a dull moment :) Although, if you want to hear about another not so dull moment in my life, Heather blogged about my recent dating experience the other week...feel free to take a gander. Its pretty funny.

My New Abode

I've had requests for pictures of my new house that I'm renting with Amy...so, as promised, here it goes! :)



Here's my bedroom! May I just say, thank you, Grandmama for picking great mattresses. :) I love this bed.


The little entry way when you walk in to the house...home sweet home!


This is where I spend my time watching Chuck and reading and all that jazz :) I'm grateful for slip covers as they turned my mom's old couches into something cute. Nothin like goin green :)

Here was my big project...this is the before picture.

And here is the after! :)
Through all of this, I have learned 3 things:
1. I have entirely too much stuff. It would surprise you how amazingly little I had to actually purchase in the decoration of this house
2. I still hate moving. Especially when its icy cold outside. Good timing huh? Pretty sure it was like 70 degrees the week we moved in and then Friday morning it dropped down to the 40s or something. BRRRRR
3. I'm still as OCD as I was before...I didn't sleep much knowing there were still boxes to be unpacked and/or dishes in the sink, etc. That may be something that I never grow out of.

I didn't take pictures of EVERYTHING...mostly because the computer room still isn't done yet :) But that's not going to be too exciting anyway. Its definitely not much, but its home...:)

It's Amazing What's Out There...

Pardon the extreme blogging-ness all of a sudden. These things just keep happening/me thinking of them and I think to myself…hmmm, self…we should blog about that. So, here’s the next one:

Websites, websites, websites….what’s out there amazes me. Recently, I have stumbled across a really awesome website and another not so really awesome website, although, because of the horribleness of its nature, I find it very funny, albeit, sickening. So, let’s get the bad news out of the way first and end on a good note, shall we?

I saw a commercial the other day for a website called WhoCanISue.com. That’s right, Who Can I Sue .com….really? Are we that desperate for money that we’d hire a lawyer to tell our stories to and have them figure out who I could legally sue so I can get some money out of the situation? I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not spend the money, and more importantly, the time for something like this. It’s sad that people are going to these extremes. Is it just me? Or are people getting more nasty? More selfish? More just, downright inconsiderate? Don’t get me wrong…I am a firm believer that there are opposites in all things, so with the nasty come the more sincere, kind and all around amazing people who are even stronger than in times past. Either way…it’s sad that a website like this exists. Although, there are worse things out there, for sure.

Now, onto the hilarious website. There is a website that, probably most people are familiar with called “Stuff White People Like.” It’s pretty popular, especially with…you guessed it…white people. There are quite a few things listed, so it takes forever to read thru them all, but I’ve read some of them and I admit…I laugh, or sometimes chuckle, to myself. However, this is not the website I’m talking about. ‘Stuff BYU People Like” was inspired by the said website and is much shorter. I believe there are only 10 or 15 things, but it goes into great detail as to why we like these things. I seriously cried from laughing so hard. If you didn’t attend BYU, you may not get some of them, but either way, it’s a great look into what my life was like for 5 years. May I add one more to the list though? BYU People like putting their car in neutral and coasting down 900 East to see how far they can get. At first, I thought it was just my friend and I that did it. We’d hit the spot at the top of the hill, marked by the MTC (missionary training center), we’d shove our cars in neutral and see if we could get through all of the lights, all the way down to the bottom of the hill (about 2ish miles down), and into a parking spot in our apartment complex, right off of 9th without putting our cars back in drive. We would have these competitions to see who could do it the most in one week. The funny thing is, is while I was in the car with other people, they would do it to. Of course, we’d never draw attention to our gas saving scheme, but I noticed…mostly because I was looking. It’s fantastic and we all do it. Well, maybe not ALL…but a good chunk of us did it. Good times. I tip my hat to you, BYU…thanks for the good times and all the fantastic, ghetto memories! I miss thee… :)

What did she say?!?

In 1995, when we moved to Texas, we were given a little something that others thought might help us to make the proper adjustments to living in the Lone Star State. We already knew it was hot and we’d need new wardrobes that consisted of t-shirts, shorts and sandals (which were hardly ever used in Washington…maybe for that one week in the summertime when it got above 80 degrees and it didn’t rain :)), but we never anticipated all of the new words we’d need to be familiar with in our day to day conversations with people. This is where the Texan Dictionary came in handy. Yes, there is an entire dictionary dedicated to helping outsiders understand the way we talk. Words like ‘fixin to’ and ‘ustacould’ are common phrases that we have come to learn and love (and yes, I have been known to use both in my every day vernacular from time to time). So, with that on my mind, I’ve decided to start y’all off on a little Dictionary to help you understand the words I use. So many times, I’ve used these words and people look at me like…wha? And to me, it’s common knowledge. So, now, if you ever hear me use these words (which are all non-Texan by the way), you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. If, by chance, I say something that does not appear on the following list, and it sounds Texan in nature (you can tell by the simple fact that it could be the combination of 2,3 or 4 – sometimes 5 – words put together merely because we’re too lazy to say the whole thing), then you can pick up your own Texan Dictionary at your friendly neighborhood Wal*mart. I guess you could always just ask too, but I promise, the dictionary is a great read.

Number 1: Stinky Cheese – yes…I actually call parmesan cheese, stinky cheese. If I remember correctly, this is what my grandpa used to call it. Something about it smelling n such. I grew up calling it that, and I still call it that, to this day. I remember the first time I used this word around non family members. I was at a friend’s house for dinner and we were having spaghetti. I asked them to please pass the stinky cheese, thinking that’s what everyone called it and wow…I wish everyone could’ve seen the crazy looks I got from everyone at the table. Not to worry though, we’re still friends and now I can call it stinky cheese whenever I want! :)

Number 2: Druthers – ….is this such a weird word to everyone? No one understands it and we’ve been using it in our house for years. I believe it’s a combination of “would you rather,” but I’m really not sure. You’ll have to ask my mom since it’s her fault that I say it in the first place. Used correctly, it’ll go something like this: “Does anyone have any druthers for what we have for dinner tonight?” Simple as that. I said it during Disney night once…again, the looks astounded me. No one knew what in the world I was talking about, and it literally confused me. I really should stop assuming that everyone uses the same words that I do. Druthers is a real word you know…I just looked it up on dictionary.com, so you know its legit. :)

Number 3: Peachie – meaning folder. Like the school folder with the pockets and sometimes the brads in the middle. It’s a peachie. Always has been and always will be. I’m not really sure where this came from. Everyone called it that in Washington, where I grew up, although, my roommate that lived just a town over had never heard of the word before…maybe we were the elite town in the area and could make up our own words?? Or maybe we were just all off our rockers….

Number 4: Quee – a combination of ‘sweet and cool.’ I usually reserve this word for use only when I’m around those who understand its meaning and power. But, now that those who read this will know about it, I guess I can use it more :). The great thing about quee is that, as long as it has a positive connotation, it can be used for just about anything. Ex: ‘that skirt looks so quee on you.’ ‘I rocked that test. Quee (said with the ee’s elongated and accompanied with a power knod/head shake),’ etc. This wonderful word came to be, one night during the early morning hours while staying at J Tal’s apartment for about a week or so. We were really tired from moving all of my stuff over there and, of course, we were out partying that night, or something fun. I was really tired, and she said something to me that was really cool for her. Instead of saying cool or sweet, it came out quee. If I remember right, I kind of sounded high or something…probably looked it too since I was so tired. We laughed (a lot) about the word and started using it in the magnet poems that we’d write while bored at work. We also made up the words nessing and truthtion, by combining two magnet words together, however, I don’t use those enough to warrant them making the dictionary. The only places they appear are in our poetry, and they are so abstract and make so little sense that most people don’t really ask anyway…

So, those are my main four. I’ll have to start using quee more often, for sure. Maybe it will catch on. Number 53 on my bucket list is to invent a word that makes it into the dictionary…or at least one that the general population uses, whether its counted as real or not. *crosses her fingers*

Random aside: I realized two things about me recently that are quite strange. (I know there are a lot of things about me that are strange, but I JUST realized these ones…that’s why I’m announcing it). 1) Whenever I drive under a yellow light, I always look into my rear view mirror to see how many people followed me thru. It always intrigues me. 2) Whenever I hear the song ‘Baby Love,’ it always makes me think of that episode of Full House when Michelle is sick and Uncle Jesse gets worried about her and he has a flash back of all their good times together…the song is playing in the background. I’m not sure why I remember that. I haven’t watched the show since Syd was born…and who knows if I even saw that episode. Meh…it’s hard to tell, but either way, it’s a fun memory. :)

Wanna Spoon?

I am about to address something that has had me perplexed in the last little while. I’m sure no one else ever thinks about this, but it’s a constant problem that I’m running into lately, so what better way to vent than to turn to my trusty blog? Here it goes:

What’s with those spoons that are so deep that you have to literally dig your upper lip down into the spoon in order to get everything that’s on it? Why can’t all spoons be the same depth? I realize, you have your soup spoons and such that are meant to be deep. That’s fine. I can make my peace with the deep, soup spoons. Those, I’m prepared for, but I’ve used about 4 different types of regular, plastic spoons recently and some of them are great, like the normal, dinner spoon. Others, I feel like I’m in a constant struggle to get that last little bit of applesauce that is taunting me from the depths of the spoon. Having to dig my upper lip gets tiring…maybe I’m not making out enough. That might solve my problems. ... Anyway, back to the spoons…I guess, for normal people, they can just maneuver the spoon upwards a little bit to eliminate the digging situation. However, for people like me, with enormously large schnozes, that is not an option. The more upward I position my spoon, the more danger I put myself in of accidentally picking my nose in a very uncomfortable way. Rather that, or a nice little side swipe to the nasal area….I’d rather not come back from lunch, looking like I got in a fight. Imagine everyone’s shock and surprise to find out that I had lost in an epic battle with a plastic spoon. That doesn’t make me come across very well.

What are some solutions, you ask? I’ve tried many and none of them seem to be a sure fire way to solve my problem. I’ve tried to eat it from the side of the spoon…that works sometimes, but maybe because of user error, a mess always occurs. I feel like a 2 year old who is still trying to learn to use utensils. Again, I’ve tried lifting the spoon, but the nose presents a problem. Although, now that I’m sitting here, writing this, it has just occurred to me that I should try pulling up, but off to the side…hmm…I’m sad to admit that I’ve had this problem for a while and that never occurred to me until just now. See…the glories of talking out your problems. A solution, almost always presents itself. I’ll try that tomorrow and let everyone know how it all worked out. Cross your fingers for me!

Either way, triumph or loss, I still think that they should make spoons the same depth, preferably more shallow so that this problem wouldn’t happen. I have too much to think about without having to maneuver my spoon when I eat. Yes…I am THAT lazy. With that being said I'm going to call it a night. Just something to think about the next time you're enjoying some liquid matter requiring a spoon. Food for thought, for sure. Make it a great day or not, the choice is yours :)

Peace Out, 2009!

So, it’s been a while (as per the usual) and I figured I should send 2009 off properly. So, in honor of this past year, I have decided to give out meaningless awards called ‘Aunties.’ Kinda like the Grammys, but better because they are from me. :) So, 2009…this one’s for you!

Best music artist: Carrie Underwood. The runner up goes to David Archuleta, easily, but Carrie has recently outdone herself again with her new album. I spent many a cleaning check night cleaning away to her wonderful country sound. Sing it, Carrie.

Most listened to song: Crush by David Archuleta. I remember chatting with Erin about this all the time…before his album came out and it was just the single, that’s all we listened to over and over (and over) again. It made us kind of sad that itunes kept count of how many times it’s been played. (109 just for the record) It showed how truly pathetic (and awesome) we are. Sadly, the count isn’t even accurate as I’ve listened to it in my car and at work on youtube endlessly until the album came out. Oh David…how I love thee. (an appropriate amount, by the way…he is only 18 ya know :))

Best movie released in 2009: The Dark Knight. Hands down. So good. And the Joker: so appealing for whatever reason. Yes, sadly, I still love him in a creepy way since he, himself, is very creepy. It creeps me out that I am intrigued by him so much, but if you can’t fight it, embrace it!

Best new(er) TV show: Chuck. I was first exposed to Chuck in 2009 and I thank my brother, whole heartedly. So with that being said, brother…you get an Auntie too. Well done, well done :) A close runner up was Psych, but sorry…Chuck wins this one. Season three…please come now!

Biggest Waste of Time (and yet I still do it): Farmville on Facebook. That’s right, ladies and gentleman…I’m an avid farmviller. I haven’t farmed quite so much since I’ve started working, but those dreary days of unemployment were countered with a trip to my sister’s house and extensive plowing, seeding and harvesting each day. Although, I must admit that anytime a cat ‘wandered onto my farm’ and it asked me if I’d like to help the cat, I said no. Call me cruel and heartless, but hating cats is in my blood. I can’t even pretend to like them. Although, I take that back…I tolerated one cat and that was only because she had leukemia or something. I really don’t know what she had. I asked Jeffrey every time I was over there, but I couldn’t ever remember, so it was tradition to make up a different disease for her every time I went over there and leukemia is the one that stuck. I believe my tolerance was due to mere sympathy for the poor thing than anything else. Either way, it’s the only cat I’ve let lay in my lap and actually pet it. I hope my Grandpa didn’t accuse me of betraying the family creed from up in Heaven. I’m sorry Grandpa. It won’t happen again!

Best place traveled to: Ireland. No competition. It was so fantastical. I wish I was back there now. I’d totally live there. My apologies to Utah, Texas, California, Colorado and Arizona. I love you all, but you’re definitely not as exotic as the motherland. Where else can you find rainbow painted sheep and dancers whose legs flail about as if independent from their bodies? Fantastic.

Best video on Youtube: A Very Potter Musical. Closely tailed by this fantastic compilation of gymnastics bloopers. Pain can be funny sometimes. Especially when it’s not me.

Best thing I’ve done: Taking out my endowments. That was seriously the best thing I’ve done my whole life...not just 2009, so it gets two Aunties. I can’t express how grateful I am that the Lord prompted me to do that before I came back to Texas. On the more dark and dreary days, the only place I could find and feel peace was inside the temple walls. It has been a wonderful blessing in my life and I hope that I will always hold the temple as dear to me as I do now.

Coolest thing I got to see: My best friend, Kami, get married in the temple! I could relive that moment over and over again, even though I cried like a baby. :)

Greatest loss: Cumby the fish. His funeral was truly touching (and kind of smelly since we dowsed the Viking boat in hairspray before we set it on fire)…I will forever remember the good times we’ve had together. Oh Cummerbund, the lives you’ve touched… *sheds a small tear*

Best thing I got to cross off my bucket list: Seeing my first shooting star. (technically this one would be Ireland too, but I can’t use it for two. That’s against Auntie rules and regulations) I’ve been waiting to see one my whole life and every time people saw them, I was never looking at the sky for whatever reason…blah. But booyah, shooting stars. I totally caught you in the act!

Best Production seen: This is a hard one…it’s got to be between Wicked and Riverdance. I’ll probably go with Wicked since I’d first seen Riverdance in 2008. If there were Auntie awards back then, it totally would have won, easy peazy. Both were so fantastic though that it’s hard to chose and be completely happy with my decision. Maybe we’ll call it a tie? Let me check the rules…yup, that’s allowed. Cool…so they both get an Auntie. Congrats!

Best purchase: My GPS. Even though it led us astray in Montana (curse you Garmin), it provided us with some awesomely hilarious memories after it was all over and we met some really nice people and some people who were kinda retarded, but were fun to laugh at *remembers the car shop guys* Me: My tires are flat, and one is off the track, can you fix it? Tire shop guy: What? That’s a strange thing to request. Me: Uh, you’re a tire store right? That’s what you do? So, do it! :) Good times. Other than that little hiccup, it has saved my life quite a few times. I’m notorious for getting lost and reading maps while driving is never a good idea. So, GPS, I thank you for being my constant guide, even though you almost killed me once. A small thing that I will overlook just this one time. Loose gravel signs still give me the heebie geebies….and so do ditches.

Best discovery: Propel and Chex Mix. Another tie (please see above rules). My life wouldn’t be the same without them.

Best Roommate: Emmy Pants. She’s been there through it all with me and never failed to help me when I needed it, make me laugh everyday and just accepted me 100% for who I was, flaws and all. I couldn’t have asked for a better roommate, especially with everything that happened this year. I don’t know what I would have done without you. The Lord definitely knew I needed you when he put you in my life so many moons ago. I think life was a little grayer before you came along!

Best product of Facebook stalking: Bethers, Bethie-poo, the mighty Ogg (all of the above). I dunno what I would do without you. You complete me haha. I’m so glad we have a wonderful thing called Facebook so that we could be brought together :) Getting to meet you and then coming out to visit you this year was absolutely fantastical. You have been an answer to many heartfelt prayers and I’m so grateful that you’re always just a click away (or phone call if either of us ever get up the guts to do it), whenever I need you.

Most Patient Award: My family (I guess this is technically a 5 way tie, but its okay because I said so). They’ve stuck through me and tried to be understanding when I was moody and grouchy and my gloomy pants were not coming off. Thanks for sticking with me y’all. Not that you have a choice really, but you made my transition period, when I moved back home, a little more bearable than it would’ve been otherwise.

I could keep going, but I won’t because I’m sure I’ve blogged about each of these things at least once so you’re probably tired of hearing about them all. So, thanks for the good times, 2009. May 2010 be full of more facebook and less moving. :) HA…so just kidding. That wont even happen cuz Amy and I just got approved to rent the house we were wanting to rent. BOOYAH. We move in on Februrary 1st! More on that later. I have decorating to do...XOXO