Monday, August 18, 2008

Weekend of Melly

Heya! So, its been a crazy last few days, so we'll start from the beginning...

Friday: Since I had to be completely checked out of #9 by Saturday morning, I had to start cleaning as soon as I got home from work. Luckily, Mellissa offered to come over to help me move things over and to clean. I didn't realize how much stuff I had until it was all piled in my room and in the front room of my new apartment. Crazy...who'da thunk that after living in a place for 4 years, you'd accumulate so much stuff. When I came out here, everything fit in my moms 4-runner with my dad and I seated, comfortably. I don't want to know how many it would take now...anyway, Melly was great. She came over and hefted boxes and cleaned with me. She even brought over some food to make for dinner. Its a good thing too...I dunno if I woulda had time to make something. That's when good ol' Little Caesar's comes in handy :) I'll take Chinese food any day for sure! :) Anyway, we ended up getting done around 12:15 or so that morning...in all fairness, we did stop and get ice cream around 9, but still...I don't want to know how much longer I woulda been up if she didn't come over and help. Thanks girl! I owe you big time! :)

Saturday: I woke up and finished some last minute packing and moving the rest of my essentials over into 7 and then waited around for the people to come and check me out. After that happened, I switched out my keys and as I was walking in to my new apartment, I noticed that there were people in there! My new roommates moved in early! They seem really nice and I'm getting really excited for this year. We've gotten along really well so far. One of my favorite things was that, as I was pulling out my Nintendo 64 and Super Nintendo, one of my roommates, Brittany, says...'no way!' and busts out an original Nintendo with the duck hunt gun! haha. It was a tender moment. lol. They're really awesome girls for sure though. Anyway, after a lot of moving in and stuff, Melly and I went to a couple of wedding receptions. The first one was supposed to go from 3-8. I didn't think that it would actually last that long, but we took a shot. However, when we got there, the bride and groom had already left. haha. Not that I can blame them, but still....lol. Anyway, so Melly and I had to stop at Albertson's and get a card for the other reception we were going to and we spotted the donut section on our way in...it was hard to resist, so we didn't...We gave right in! :) After that, we decided we should have real food, so we hit up Wendy's and then drove off to Camille's reception. It was so much fun to see her. She looked so happy! Good times, good times. I also ran into a couple of friends from Freshman year there too because they were in her ward last year, so that was fun! After that was over, we went home and I decided to call Adam to see how Jake and Becca's (friends from our ward here in Provo) reception was. We talked for a while, and I dunno why...but apparently, I thought it necessary to try climbing up to the top bunk while I was talking on the phone. Not smart, I know. I got up there just fine, but when I decided I'd had enough fun being up high, I tried getting off without the use of one of my hands. Yeah, I definitely couldn't find the ladder with my feet, so I just kept sliding...and sliding. hahaha. It was kinda funny. Quite terrifying until I finally just found the floor, but still. This should be a funny year. I've never slept on a bunk bed without falling off before. I don't move around nearly as much as I used to when I sleep though, so maybe I'll be okay. We'll see how it goes when I stop freaking out about it and actually sleep normally. haha.

Sunday: We had church earlier because we were combined with a different ward and then I high tailed it off to West Jordan to see the Breinholt's. Kami's birthday was last week, so I wanted to see her and they were so nice to let me keep some extra stuff that I couldn't fit in my apartment at their house. The best part was, that one of those things was my super huge TV and Kami and I decided to try and carry it downstairs to put in the storage room...lets just say we shoulda video taped it. Her parents just kept listening to us and laughing their heads off because it was so funny, apparently. Then we went up to SLC for their monthly family FHE, so that was fun. The day ended with the traditional Disney Night, so in all, it was an awesome weekend. Tiring, but awesome. I hope everyone else had just as good a time as I did! XOXO

Friday, August 15, 2008

Celebrate good times, come on!

Okay, this is going to be incredibly short, but I just had to celebrate somehow and they don't like it when I shout at work :) My boss asked me, late Tuesday afternoon, if I would transcribe this manual for this prominent Dr. in Psychology. It was one of those things that he's wanted to do for a while but never gets around to it because, lets face it, when you're a prominent author in the Psychology world, you don't have much time for lame projects. :) Anyway, Paul (my boss) met him at this conference they went to in DC a couple of weeks ago and randomly volunteered me for the job. lol. So yeah, it was kinda cool though because I got to talk to Dr. Merrell on the phone. *laughs* I'm so lame. I was pretty excited though. Next step...a phone conversation with Zachary Levi! Hey, it can happen. hahaha. Anyway, so I started it on Wednesday morning and I just finished it. Almost 21 hours of typing. My fingers hurt but I can't really feel them since I'm so happy that I'm done! WAHOOO. *jumps for joy* Here's the final count: 62 pages in word and a 30, 803 word count. Wooo. Yeah. That was a beast. I told my boss that I would be able to have it done by Friday and he didn't believe me. He came up to me today and was like, so do you REALLY think you'll be able to get it done today? And I looked at him and smiled and turned the page and what do you know...all I had left were the references! It was sucha sweet moment. hahaha. Booyah! Typing 92ish words per minute pays off, suckers! :) Anyway, I'm gonna turn on my latest music crushes and sing for a while...they don't mind when I do that! :) *dances off into the horizon*

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Crying for Potato Salad

I remember thinking yesterday, as I was leaving work, that I would have a lot to write about on my blog today, however, I can't remember anything that I was so excited to let the world know...hmmm. Must not have been that exciting. :)

On to less exciting things: we had a potluck lunch yesterday since Isaac, Julie and Mike are all leaving and, like everyone else, they requested that I bring my potato salad. 5 times in two months...that's gotta be a record. Anyway, I knew it would be a cooking experience like none other for one reason: onions make me cry....a lot. Now, I'm usually used to that, so why was it different than usual, you ask? Well, I always cut up the green onions first, as a kind of preparation exercise to get ready for the big onion. I can handle green onions...they're weak sauce compared to the real thing. So, I pull them out and as I'm cutting them, I notice my eyes starting to burn. I shook it off...thinking I was just psyching myself out for what was to come. Nope...I cried like a baby. Naturally, I was nervous about continuing forward. If green onions were effecting me this way today, what was the regular onion going to do to me? I kept hoping that maybe, just maybe, they would've switched potency's for one day. All I have to say to that is....HA! Right...like I would ever be that lucky. haha. So, I bust out the onion, and I kid you not, I had to stop every 15 seconds (if not less than that) to walk away and wipe off my face. It was drenched. I don't think I've ever cried that much from an onion before. It was bad. I was glad no one walked in to see me. I can only imagine what would be going through their minds. Using the, "I was cutting an onion" bit is classic 'me.' I don't like people to know when I'm crying so I try to use excuses like that to deter those who catch me in the act. Sadly, my friends have grown to expect me to do something like pulling out an onion to make my story plausible. Unfortunately, most of them know that I'm usually full of crap and just don't want to admit that I'd been crying. However, this time was legit. haha. I was scratching under my nose today (almost 3 days later) and they still smell like onions. Those bad boys were potent! My friend, Steve, told me yesterday that if you put them in the fridge, they don't make you cry as much when you cut them. That woulda been nice to know before hand, buddy. hahaha jk.

The days are winding down to when I move into my new apartment! WAHOO! I'm getting really excited. I moved a BUNCH of stuff over yesterday so I don't have as much to do on Saturday morning and there was a little note on the fridge from our new roommates. They have been moving stuff over also and they seem really nice. They aren't the same girls that Carrol (our manager) said that they would be, so no Buddhist roommates this year...kinda bummed cuz it woulda been awesome, but they seem really sweet and fun from their note, so it should be a good year.

Highlight of yesterday: I talked to Meredith on the phone yesterday and about 5 minutes after we hung up, my phone rings. This time it's Sydney and she proceeded to tell me all about her new "big girl shower" that she got and how excited she was about it. It was the cutest thing ever. I love it when that girl calls...whenever its her, she usually has a mouthful to say. I'll never forget that one day before the recital...she seriously kept calling me over and over again. I was trying to find something for my mom at the store and so trying to carry on a conversation with a 3 year old and a store clerk was very interesting. I kept saying, 'okay Syd, I have to go really quick, but I promise, I'll call you back as soon as I can okay?' Then she would say okay and we'd hang up and like 20 seconds later she'd be calling again to talk. haha. So cute and SO funny. Finally Meredith called, giggling to herself and saying, 'sorry...but it was just so funny!' hahaha. good times. Gotta love the nieces. I dunno what I'd do without either of them. Syd and I have so much fun together...she's my little shadow (or appendage...whichever you prefer) and it couldn't be more fun! And Malla and I have the cool 'you look so much like me, its starting to scare me' thing going on. It's great. There's nothing that can beat that little smile of hers! My family is just too awesome! Love y'all bad!

Monday, August 11, 2008

Almost There

Howdy, howdy, howdy! So, this weekend was kinda crazy...Friday night, I went over to Mellissa's for a little dinner thing she put on for Isaac since he's moving this week. We had Chinese food and watched the Olympics as I repeatedly kept banging my elbow and head on her walls and ceilings. She lives on the top floor of her house and so the ceilings are all sloped to match the roof and well...I forgot most of the time. haha. good times. I anxiously spent most of my Saturday 'packing' and moving things over into my new apartment. My idea of packing is throwing things out that I could bear to part with and carrying everything else over into number 7. I left only the necessities. I don't like staying in number 9 any longer than necessary though because it doesn't feel like home anymore. Not to mention that it is crazy messy in there still and I'm so excited to make the move into 7 where it'll be clean all the time. Well, until my new roommates move in in a couple of weeks. Still though...spotless clean apartment for a couple weeks...its like heaven! :) Clutter and mess makes me anxious. I dunno how I did it when I was a kid. haha. Other than that, I had to take my car into the dealership to get it checked up, I had a bridal shower on Saturday morning/afternoon. Can't beat Provo life, right? :)

Other than finishing up moving and doing final cleaning checks this week, I have three wedding receptions on Saturday so we'll see if I make it to all of them. They are kind of all over the place though so I'm not sure how well it'll work. My check book has taken some serious hits this last week, so I dunno if I'll be able to afford going to all three. Hopefully though!

Its definitely been fun to watch the Olympics, for sure! I was totally bummed about the USA gymnastics team yesterday though. Those girls could not stay in bounds on the floor. I think everything is just smaller in China. :) Did you see those girls? They're supposed to be at least 16 and they all looked about 10. Crazy, crazy, crazy! I felt kinda bad cuz the TV was on in the clubhouse during choir practice so I was really just watching it while I was singing and not really paying attention to what I should've been doing. Occasionally, if something really good or really bad happened, I would shout in the middle of the song. haha. oops! I miss the good ol gymnastics days with Keri Strug, Shannon Miller and the Dominiques! Wow...that seems like forever ago. Good times for sure though.

I'm kinda bummed because three people that I work with are leaving this week. Numero uno: Isaac is going to Richmond to start Grad School on Wednesday. This bums me out because he's the one that I play all of those games with and chat with on gmail all day. I dunno what I'm gonna do when he's gone. I just might die of boredom. Numero dos: Julie is leaving because she got a job as a professor at BYU. Julie usually comes and sits with me in the secretary corner at least three times a week for about an hour, give or take. We talk about life and all of it's twists and turns. It'll be sad when she's gone. Numero tres: Mike, who also got a job at BYU. With him gone, that means his wife wont call anymore. I may get 3 calls a day now. If that. No more games. He also always tries to set me up with members of his extended family. I don't necessarily like it, but it always makes for some kind of sweet story. His family is crazy. haha. Not to mention that he likes the poems that J Tal and I used to write with the magnets they gave us one Christmas. He was always so excited when we wrote a new one...it made me feel famous or something. Here's a little taste of one....*remember, these are not supposed to make sense*

Cool Poem #3 (The one beneath the bear)

Pray after heart treatment
Laugh hard then accept surrender
Ask your body to feel better
Dream happy or never remember
Beneath a bear it is dark
Make believe he will grow
Endure joy between courage cycles
Which gratitude time wishes did flow

So there you have it...our poetic stylings. I remember working with Jenn two summers ago. We had nothing to do like I do now, but having nothing to do with someone else is always much more fun! :) As you can tell, we found ways to stay entertained. haha. Anyway, I heard that Karate Kid is now on Hulu.com so I'm gonna go get back to my childhood roots and re experience the brilliance of early 90's movies. I hope y'all have a great week! XOXO

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Loving being a girl

So, lately, a lot of things have come up in my conversations with friends about the pros of being a girl. Its way nice for those to be brought up, as silly as most of them are. Especially during times when its just not so fun to have two X chromosomes. My friends and I started making a list of things we enjoy about being a girl. This list includes things like, getting to cuddle up real close to other girls for any occasion...a hard night, a sad movie, or in the case of my old roommate, spooning with me to wake me up on April Fools day. *laughs* Weird times...lol. But I cant help but love them. Anyway, we also talked about how we get to wear purple without being questioned AND we get to dress up and get all pretty for special occasions. As much as most of us claim that we would hate having to dress up all the time, every once in a while is definitely acceptable. And no matter how much I tell you I hate dressing up, I'm really lying. Inside, I'm loving every minute of it. :) The newest addition to my 'I love being a girl' list is that we get to have things like pedicures and facials. I've never had a facial until this morning and it was probably, just about the most relaxing thing I've ever done. My friend, Erin, and I went to go get our eyebrows waxed last weekend (I can't pluck them evenly to save my life) and they gave us this buy one, get one free buddy pass that we could use on anything, so we decided to go for facials. The best part was that, while the enzyme mask was drying on my face, she came up next to me and was like, 'okay, while we're waiting for it to dry, I'm going to massage your arms. Sound good?' I was so incredibly relaxed already, that it came out as an, 'okaaaaaaaay.' hahahaha it was great. Although, now my bottom half feels neglected. Maybe we should get pedicures soon. :) Anyway, now that it's all over, I keep touching my face and neck cuz they're so smooth. I don't know how I lived before I experienced this joy. I've decided that I hope, whoever I marry is awesome enough to randomly surprise me with gift certificates to a spa every once in a while. Just as an "I love you, so here" kinda thing. He would definitely get awesome husband points. Its one of those things that I know I don't need, so I don't think I would go and do for myself (unless I had a coupon *smiles*).

Anyway, so there you have it. I love being a girl. There are definitely negatives to the whole deal, but its days like these when I really appreciate the positives! :) I'm heading over to Erin's mom's house tonight for the So You Think You Can Dance finale. I really hope Twitch wins. He's definitely my favorite. We bought tickets to go to the concert in September and I can't wait. I think we're going to make t-shirts, like the nerds that we are and it will be awesome! :) I'm so glad I've had Erin to play with this summer. It has definitely been so much fun. Anyway, I brought some left over potato salad as part of my lunch today and its calling my name. I hope y'all all have a great rest of your week! XOXO

Monday, August 4, 2008

This and that...

I did it...I finished the last vampire book. :) I'm happy that it's all over, sorta. I'm sad there wont be more, but glad that I can get back to real life now! :) Not to mention that I have neglected cleaning for about the last week now, and it definitely shows. My room is a mess as is the downstairs and the bathroom. I'm very excited to go home and clean today. I know, I know...that makes me weird, but I don't care. *smiles* I also bought my all sports pass today. It made me REALLY excited about my last year as a college student and enjoying every single moment of football season. Its weird that after this, I wont really be in the whole college scene anymore. *shudders* Not sure how well I'll adjust to "normal" life after I graduate. Especially since, my whole life, I've defined 'normal' as school, but it will be great, I'm sure. I have a plan for after I graduate, although, I was talking to Emily a little bit ago and we started talking about how it seems to be that anything either of us plan for, never really happens because something else gets in the way. Not in a bad way or anything, it just never works out like we thought it would (which is normal enough). So, she told me I should stop planning to go home to Texas and then maybe I actually will...hahahaha. good times.

Speaking of old roommates, Jen came back to visit this weekend before she heads back to Chile. It was so good to see her. Erin came over and the three of us spent the night laughing and talking and, of course, watching the movie that is most dear to our hearts: That Thing You Do. :) I think we all, secretly, have a thing for Lenny. He's just too great, to not love! :)

I have a new favorite song. It'll probably last as long as my other favorite songs have...like 2 days, but I'm enjoying it for now. Its called 'Teardrops on my Guitar.' Its actually a really sad song, but for some reason, I love it! :) I think its more of the tune and such, but still...I can't stop listening to it. Hopefully, my roommates haven't gone crazy with it yet! :)

Friday, August 1, 2008

All Play and No Work

HOWDY! :) Happy August by the way! And you all know what that means....I get to go home and switch the page on my calendar! *does happy dance* So, I decided to write about a little game that my friend, Isaac, and I created while we have been kinda bored at work instead of my usual 'this is what I did today' routine. I actually, finally have stuff to do for about 3/4 of every day now at work, but our game makes it just a little more entertaining...sadly. :) To start off the story, there are three things you need to know:

1) My office has a gmail account on which I am signed on to all day, for obvious reasons. Isaac has his own gmail account that he is signed on to and there is a 'chat' feature where you can do like an instant message thing and chat with anyone else who is online that is in your address book. Naturally, we chat just about everyday whenever we get bored, or just randomly throughout the day. We always joke that we're really good friends, except for I don't know that we've actually sat and talked face to face in about a year since he moved into a new office. Walls ruin everything. haha. Anyway, a while back, I was entering these things called Praise Notes into a data sheet and we would analyse it and everything and I don't know if it was because they were older and had dust on them...or maybe it was the angle of the sun coming in through the window, or maybe a combo of both, but I sneezed like 10+ times everyday. Isaac decided that he would say, 'bless you' over the chat apparatus after every time I sneezed, to be polite.

2) There is another guy that we work with, Mike, and I kid you not, his wife and family are the only reason why I have to make sure the phones are covered from 8-5 every day. They call so many times a day that its getting hilarious and sad to say, a little ridiculous! :)

3) About a month or so ago, Isaac and I started keeping tally with how many times Mike's wife called and how many times his family called just as a 'gee whiz' factor. I promise, these will all tie together soon. :)

So here's the game: I'm not sure exactly how this whole thing started, but we decided to have a contest everyday. Isaac and my sneezes against how many times Mike's wife calls. We got creamed yesterday. She had like 5 or 6 and we only had 3 sneezes. Usually we can keep up with her pretty well but there was nothing in the air yesterday, apparently. However, today, I've already sneezed twice and she hasn't called at all. In all fairness, Mike just walked in like 10 minutes ago, but still. We're gonna cream this lady! :) Isaac is leaving this month to go to school in Richmond, VA so I'm hoping that I'm up to face the task alone once he's gone...that's gonna mean a lot more sneezing for me after he departs. *hopes she can do it*

I know, its sad that we play this game...but we were talking today about how when we sneeze at home, we have the urge to text each other to tell the other person. haha its sad, but it spices work up just a little bit. Not to mention that I'm easily amused, so it really shouldn't surprise anyone! :) The funny part is that we both get so excited when one of us sneezes...like we've accomplished some amazing feat that we should be proud of....ah, boredom. It messes with you. :) Anyway, my boss has been in a meeting all day for the last couple of days and they have been snacking in there and he felt guilty so he bought us bagels for breakfast to ease his pain...I'm going to go enjoy me a guilt bagel...they usually seem to taste a little better than regular bagels! :) This should be good...HEARTCHA! XOXO