Sucked into the blogging world

Lessons from a girl in the deli

2012-02-13T18:26:00.000-08:00

Customer Service:

-If you want to make a girls day, tell her that you like her jewelry

-Asking someone how their day is going gets pretty boring but you have to do it

-Oh, you wanted that sandwich that I just made and handed to you toasted? No problem! Just hand it back to me

Food:

-Wrapping a sammich is like wrapping the most difficult present of your life

-I don't know how long something's been sitting out unless I just made it

-Everything can be rewarmed!

-If it tastes delicious it is more than likely full of things that are bad for you.

Dishes:

-You're going to have to do the dishes, no matter how much you try to avoid it so you may as well get in there and be happy about it.

-If by chance water happens to find it's way through the v of your polo and roll down your belly, just go with it.

-ALWAYS wear the plastic apron

-Steel wool actually serves a purpose

In general:

-Your manager might think you're weird because he doesn't get your sense of humor and somehow how always misses what you say but that's okay, you'll still get paid anyway.

-Hot food never looks good after standing and being hot for four hours

-You will burn your hands on hot pans, not bad enough to leave a mark but just enough to sting for the whole shift

-The peanut butter and banana sammich is the cheapest, and most delicious thing on the menu. (honey roasted peanut butter will change your life)

-Work is hard but mostly worth it come payday.

Seattle fun times

2012-02-02T18:31:00.000-08:00

Oh hey, did you know that I went to Seattle? It's true! Last weekend I got to visit Joshua for his birthday and the big Amazon end of the holiday season party. I forget how much I love the rainy Northwest. It was cloudy and sort of rainy the whole weekend and I could not have been happier. Here's what we did in bullet points
- Ate hamburgers
- Opened birthday presents
- I sang Happy Birthday to Joshua and he blew out one candle that was in an oreo cakester
- Watched Project Runway!
- Wandered Pike's Place Market
- Ate Lunch served by the family of emo carnies
- Just Danced (no one can beat Joshua)
- Amazon party where we had our caricature drawn (SPOILER ALERT: we're totally riding a dinosaur)
- Attended 9am church
- Watched Malcolm in the Middle
- Fed the Missionaries lasagna, garlic bread, and broccoli
- Finished Pharmacology homework
- Watched a British movie that put me to sleep
- Rode two forms of public transportation
- And had my picture taken with a pig since it's not a real vacation until I have a picture with an animal statue.

Because sometimes I like to remember how good I have it

2012-01-26T05:25:00.000-08:00

+My french braids looked really good yesterday

+I live with two of my best friends

+JFLutes always knows how to help me feel better

+Only one full day until Seattle!

+I got to cashier at work yesterday

+I can jog three miles and not want to die

+I have the ability to express myself with words.

+I'm listening to the new Ingrid Michaelson CD and starting to like it

+There is a small possibility I'll get a nap today

+Thursday is temple day!

Maybe imma be busier than I thought

2012-01-16T19:09:00.001-08:00

You know how I get to do cool things like start IVs on my classmates? Well let me just tell you, that cool reward does not come with a hefty price. I've been sitting in my kitchen for the last seven hours working on a giant post assessment for clinical. Okay, I did take a short break somewhere in the middle to make pumpkin muffins so maybe I've only been working for six hours.

On the bright side:

+ I'm using the textbooks that they make me buy for school. So far I've cited six of my textbooks on this assignment alone. Who knew that textbooks were helpful?
+This is the first of many post assessment that I'll be doing this semester so hopefully I'll get faster. (Please bless I get faster!)

+I'm still learning a lot of really cool things and while this assignment is tedious, I don't totally hate it.

But seriously

2012-01-12T18:30:00.000-08:00

Check out my handiwork. I'm basically a real nurse now.

Two weeks of heaven

2012-01-07T11:54:00.000-08:00

I'm having a hard time finding the words to write about the Christmas Cruise so I'm mostly going to rely on pictures. and maybe a few words. Basically, I want to live on a warm beach. I want to make a million dollars and then retire and live on a beach in Mexico. Swimming in the ocean, I mean, come on. Favorite parts include:

-Double desserts

-Early dinner with the old people

-Second dinner

-Hanging out in our tiny room

-Not even Belizing that we were in different countries

-Exercising around the deck

-Sven

-The GI bug!

-Napping in the sun

-Swimming in the Ocean

-Supermart in Mexico

-Christmas spectacular

The list goes on and on but I'm not going to rub it in any longer. It was such a great week!

And if a Christmas cruise weren't enough, I got to spend the next eight days in California with Joshua Lutes and family. I've got one picture from the whole trip. Me and Joshua at the baptism of Jeremy and Alec. There were pictures of us with the moustache cookies that we made but I forgot to get them off of the computer in California. Sad day. But this is a pretty cute picture if I do say so myself.

Best parts of the California trip include:

-Going to Costco every other day

-Reading Dinosaur Comics

-Wearing shorts and sitting in the sun

-Remembering that charades is awful and fun at the same time. We shall forevermore call it awfully-fun, I guess.

-Sherlock Holmes

-Trampoline!

-My bed that took up all of the floor space in Ashleigh's room

-Donuts

-Miniature golf at Castle Park (meh)

-Andrew's sad face

-Just Dance with eight people watching

In the end, break was a blast. Life is a blast and there is so much to love about it. I am so lucky to have so many great people in my life. I say it every year but I'll say it again, BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!

Oh, boy.

2011-12-07T21:44:00.000-08:00

Because sometimes you just wish you could throw a rock at a cactus

And go Black Friday shopping with your sisters

Today was one of those days.

Christmas come faster!

Reasons to not be stressed

2011-12-05T11:57:00.000-08:00

We literally spent two weeks in pathophysiology talking about how terrible stress of any kind is for your body. I could tell you about cortisol, decreased immune response, decreased healing rates, and the negative effects it has on almost every body system but that just makes me even more stressed. So instead of remembering how stressed I really am at this moment I am going to make a list of reasons to not be stressed.

1. Christmas music. Particularly this song.

2. Only four more days of school classes.

3. This semester will eventually end, really soon.

4. Naps seem to be solving everything for me right now

5. Warm beaches are in my near future

6. I've got everything I need to make s'mores bars when life seems impossible

7. Alyssa and I have a lot of little fun things planned for finals week.

8. Amanda did not murder me in my sleep for calling her "Mandy"

9. Jan (or should I say Santa?) agreed to bring stockings on the Christmas cruise.

10. I've got enough Diet Coke to get me through finals week

11. Another weekend in Washington Terrace with the Robertsons and Joshua

12. I have a book to finish on Kendall's Kindle

13. Dinosaur sheets

14. It only snowed a baby bit last night which did not make my walk to school impossible

15. Temple lights on Saturday!

16. I can do hard things.

Inconsequential

2011-11-30T19:57:00.000-08:00

-I walk past this tree every day and get sort of creeped out. Can you tell why?

-While the original picture was great, the one with moustaches is even better. Nursing students be crazy.

-The BYU Tree of Life sculpture is no more. It was demolished about a month ago.

-Tonight I sang along to Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas is You" to Joshua via video chat, he was not impressed.

-I had to park on the street because my roommate's dumb boyfriend took the last spot in our parking lot.

-Only two more times that I have to go to pathophysiology

In the spirit of Thanksgiving...

2011-11-21T20:10:00.000-08:00

In no particular order, here are twenty things that I am so thankful for this year...

-Hot Tamales

-Three sisters that are all so unique and lovely

-The BYU Nursing program

-Friends in my nursing classes that help me love school

-The Provo Temple

-Airplanes that let me get to see the people I love

-Video chats which also help me see the people that I love

-Joshua Lutes

-Regina Spektor and her ridiculously intricate song lyrics

-My physical body and all of the tiny processes that make it work

-Harry Potter

-Laughter

-Really great roommates who are also my best friends

-The Lord's timing

-The opportunity that it gives me to learn patience

-A Saab named Vince

-Adrienne Sage, Henry Rex, and B. Elliot

-Sore muscles and Zumba

-Family time

-The ability to learn

-The joy that comes from doing what I know to be right

Are we there yet?

2011-11-16T11:13:00.001-08:00

TWO DAYS!

until my D&C final project is due

until I get to play with Henry Rex (and Kendall)

until I am finished with pathophysiology test 4 of 5

until I get to forget about school for the weekend

until my best friend comes into town!

until this photo gets to be recreated

because it is my favorite.

In two days I will be the happiest girl in the world.

I moustache you a question

2011-11-12T17:36:00.000-08:00

Don't ask me why, because I don't have a reason. Please don't ask me when, because I couldn't tell you. And for really reals, don't ask me how, that's just how it is. Yes world, the rumors are true, I am one of those weird people that loves the moustache. People can think it's weird, and I'm okay with it. I like to think that it makes me interesting. Mostly I just try to aim for the unexpected.

Anyway, Amanda wanted to have an 11/11/11 party and I wanted to have a moustache party so we combined the two. Also, I was thinking that if I couldn't get married on 11/11/11 I might as well do something awesome, like celebrate moustaches. I'll hit you with some highlights in the list below because I find it impossible to explain my life in paragraph form and still make it interesting.

+I cut out at least 10 different moustaches and glued them to sticks. People just held them up to their faces and visited with each other.

+I tried to have my picture taken with each one throughout the night.

+The moustache on the wall is at least 5 feet long and surrounded by famous people that have moustaches. Very classy.

+Cookies, chips, and soda were the refreshments

+Mt Dew spilled on the kitchen linoleum. The floor is still sticky after being wiped down 2 times.

+Party guests included nursing friends, work friends, old friends, London friends, ward members, and roommates.

+One party goer attended via picture text. (my favorite)

+Strangers showed up to our party which means it was, obviously, a real college party.

+It has been decided that we'll have a weirdly themed party once a month. Keep your eyes open for the Kevin Bacon and Mug party.

+The post party roommate chat was a really great extension to a really great night.

But here is the really big question that I have for you. Are you ready? Someday when your children ask what you did on 11/11/11, will you be able to tell them something awesome? I sure know that I will be telling them all about my 'stache party, and they will think I'm awesome.

Halloween Times

2011-10-31T21:44:00.000-07:00

Henry didn't quite know what to think about his favorite Aunt having a moustache.

We're just a hipster and a dude, trying against all odds to be friends. Somehow we make it work.

Sometimes I make us take sad pictures. because I think they are hilarious.

But we're actually pretty happy. Actually, we're really happy most of the time. Especially when we've got delicious food in our bellies. Hooray for Halloween celebrations!

10. Somethings

2011-10-23T19:46:00.000-07:00

1. I've got a mattress topper on my bed that refuses to stay on top of my bed. It constantly looks like my bed has a muffin top.

2. There is a box of winter clothes under my bed and I am really hoping that it won't need to be opened until after November is here.

3. Zumba is kicking my trash. (but in a good way) I know it was just a normal day when I have a hard time lowering myself onto the toilet seat the next day.

4. I am in nine different classes this semester which means that I will have NINE different finals come December time. Heaven help me.

5. The apartment I'm living in does not have a dishwasher which is not so bad since I've decided to live off cup of noodles this year. Just add hot water!

6. Being in the nursing home one time a week for five hours is hard work. I always come home feeling fulfilled but smelling of urine. It motivates me to be healthy now so I don't have to live in a long term care facility when I'm old.

7. I am qualified to give people injections. And I have had more shots in the last two weeks than I have in the last 10 years. Sometimes I get to do nurse-y things in nursing school.

8. I did attempt making donuts in the oven tonight. They ended up more like mini Texas Roadhouse rolls with cinnamon and sugar on them. DELICIOUS.

9. I wish I were eating something pumpkin flavored. Why is it Fall and I still have not eaten everything flavored pumpkin? (reason: see #4.)

10. We may or may not have spent 15 minutes taking self timer shots. This about sums up my life. Happy Fall from Allred 8!

Because sometimes pictures are involved

2011-10-03T18:29:00.000-07:00

So this one time Joshua came to visit. We embarked on the Great Salt Lake 2.o trip and had a marvelous time. Everyone should do this at least once. Of course I had to have my picture taken with the statue of a buffalo because we couldn't find any real ones. I peer pressured Joshua into his own photo.

Utah State Fair with Alaina, Brad, Adrie, Elliot, and Joshua was good times. Good thing it was raining or we probably would have stayed forever! Well, probably not. But I would like to have my very own calf.

College kids like to have parties for no reason and since Amanda loves cheese we decided to celebrate its greatness with a party. Queso dip, cheese ball, cheetos, doritos, and cream cheese frosting made up the menu.

She's still Japanese but I promoted her from the closet and into the room next door.

I've got a talented sister that will take my pictures every now and then. Junior year of college photos are going to be the next big thing! Mark my words.

Lucky for me Rachel's got the Conference ticket hook up so Amanda and I got to have this cool experience. Thanks again Rach!

School is hard and life is busy but I'm still finding things about which I can be happy. It's about the journey, right?

Since when does Lance Bass go to BYU?

2011-09-09T17:02:00.001-07:00

Thoughts on repeat

2011-09-02T19:26:00.000-07:00

School has started and despite the million new things to learn only a few things seem to stick.

-Math and science are the same thing and somehow there is A LOT of math/science involved in the Nursing program. Maybe I don't hate math so much after all.

-This picture of my grandparents comes to mind quite frequently as of late. Something about this candid shot makes me hope that I can have everything they ever had. How did I get so lucky to have lived and loved them this far in my life?
-And somehow I can't stop thinking about a certain boy and a certain day.

Highlights from a Summer with a cell phone camera

2011-08-21T20:22:00.000-07:00

Walking Kino before 7am and finding some of the best surprises in people's front yards, letters with pictures (I think my stick figures are improving!), 4th of July sugar cookies, cross stitching and sewing projects, my second story break in, the lovable lump that is Elliot, being crazy with Adrie, watching Henry learn how to crawl.

TABLE=7 points

2011-08-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

I am a crafter. If I'm not working on a project then I'm planning my next creative endeavor. Usually I see something that someone else has made and think, "I could totally do that". And that proved to be the case with a set of resin poured Scrabble tile coasters that I'd found on etsy. I made scrabble coasters and even a few button coasters for Christmas gifts but somehow that didn't seem like enough. I don't know when I got the idea to cover a whole table top with Scrabble tiles and resin but it sort of turned into an obsession sometime between Christmas and April. I did a ton of research about pouring resin table tops online and spoke to my Mother about it quite frequently. The project always seemed a little bit like a fantasy until it switched to reality when M&D gave me this table for Easter.
Excitement does not seem to quite put into words how I felt about the coming project. It's not everyday that your dreams come true.
I worked with a power sander to take off this weird crusty stuff off the top of the table. Holy, talk about some hard work for your hands. By the time I was satisfied with the smoothness of the table top my hands were bright red and mostly numb from constant vibration.
The next step was to spray paint the table top black. I do not think I would make a very stealthy graffiti artist. I went to work that day with black paint all over my fingers. When my coworkers asked what I was doing to get paint on my hands I told them that I was spray painting a table. They all thought I said "spray painting people". We had a good laugh about that.
With a moustache and a little bit of mischief, Joshua helped me spread the tiles out on the sanded and painted table top. There are almost six games worth of Scrabble tiles on the table. That's about 600 tiles for those of you that don't play. I should probably count the exact number. Maybe I will sometime when I'm real bored.Once the tiles were where I wanted they had to be glued down. Each tile had a tiny bit of wood glue spread on the back with a q-tip and was then pressed onto the table. Yes, it did take forever.About two weeks later, I finally found the courage to pour the resin on my already expensive table. As much as I've worked with resin before, it is still fairly unpredictable. A layer of masking tape and clear packing tape went around the table to create an edge to catch the resin. Talk about one stressful morning.After an emergency run to Michael's for another kit of resin, it all got poured and looked pretty good. I spent almost an hour blowing out and burning air bubbles with a butane lighter. I've probably got three different kinds of lung cancer from all of the fumes that I inhaled but it was worth it. Two days later I peeled off the tape to reveal the hardened resin edge. It was beautiful. I don't think you can understand the relief that I felt when I saw that all my hard work had actually produced something of which I could be proud. Also, if you look really close you can see the tail end of poison oak on my right eye. Don't get poison oak on your face, it's not fun.The last finishing touch was to sand off the sharp edge from where the resin and tape met. I got out the power sander again and buffed away that sharp top. My name and "fun" are the only two words that were intentionally spelled out on the table. Everything else is completely random. It took weeks of work but here she is, all finished and beautiful. My biggest and most expensive craft project ever and I am in love. I cannot wait to have this table forever.

Redundant redundant

2011-08-12T10:07:00.000-07:00

Life as a cashier is pretty repetitive but I still like it. Here are some of the things that are commonly heard and seen at the check-lane.

"I should buy a lottery ticket!" -After a purchase comes to a certain total like $12.34 or $111.11

"Do you want some kids? I'll sell them to you real cheap." -When a Mom is overwhelmed by her out of control children (which happens a lot)

"A man must have designed this" -Usually from an older lady when I have trouble finding the barcode on a large item like a vacuum or a tv

People call me "hon" sometimes and I love it.

I am always surprised when a guest calls me by name. I usually forget that I'm wearing a name tag.

The game show network is almost always on in the break room. I have watched more Family Feud and Lingo this Summer than I care to admit.

"What time are you off?" -One of the first questions the cashiers ask other cashiers

"I usually can't leave this store without spending less that $50."

"What did I even buy?" -When a total is especially high and there is not much merchandise to show for it.

The beep beep beep always makes me wish I could be on Supermarket Sweep

For the most part the day to day activities are similar but something about going to work gets me excited. The people that I work with are mostly fun and so supportive of each other. I did get invited to go 80's dancing with some people from work. Too bad I'm only 20 and I hate the 80's otherwise it could have been a lot of fun.

Pretty close to perfection

2011-07-06T08:55:00.000-07:00

-Bike riding, and lots of it! Downtown Portland, Seaside, Fort Stevens, the KOA campground
-Sun, all four pair of shorts I own worn in four days, and a light breeze
-Berry picking. And by picking I mean picking which boxes of berries we should buy
-Allergies that are the worst
-Scrabble table
-Bananagrams
-Trying to find Indian food and failing miserably. Next time we'll just go to Applebee's or something.
-Voo Doo Donuts
-Learning that Joshua does like some things delicious
-Patriotic songs in church
-Teaching the Laurels about avoiding crisis living and realizing that it was probably a hint that I should stop procrastinating so much
-Hanging out with my best friend from high school and her fiancee
-Realizing that peanut butter sauce and grilling is not my most favorite thing
-Warm sand between my toes and someone to enjoy it with
-Patriotism

-Mo's clam chowder and a kid with an eagle face
-A little extra on top because I'm special
-Salt water taffy, meh.
-Just a little bit of a sunburn
-Nearly dying from smoke inhalation and cold but doing it because we love America and fireworks. And it was worth the 30+ minute show put on by the good people of Seaside
-Sleeping on the ground, with a towel for a pillow, in a tent full of snore-ers and not even noticing because I was so exhausted.
-Reading some of the projects I made in the fifth grade. Obviously all poetry should rhyme and be borderline depressing.
-Slurpees and Mary S. Young park.
-Laughing so much that it hurts and enjoying things more than I ever thought possible

I wish I had something good to say

2011-06-24T08:37:00.000-07:00

-I wish that the sun made an appearance more often in Oregon
-I wish that Julia could fill the spot of mystery roommate number 4
-I wish the 4th of July would come faster
-I wish that I could dance like a robot
-I wish that I could hang out with my really cool niece and two nephews

-I'm glad that I get a break from school
-I'm glad that I know roommates 2 and 3 are pretty awesome
-I'm glad that time eventually passes
-I'm glad that I can watch So You Think You Can Dance to fill the void
-I'm glad that quality time with Kent and Jan involves watching the Adjustment Bureau

History repeats

2011-06-17T07:21:00.000-07:00

Am I the only one that thinks Zack from Saved by the Bell and Justin Bieber look related? Maybe it's just their matching mischievous boy, teen heartthrob attitudes.

But let's be honest. Justin Bieber will always win. at anything. because he will never say never. and he just wants somebody to love. And now we're celebrating J.Biebs Friday. You're welcome.

Thoughts and other things

2011-06-09T20:42:00.001-07:00

-I hope I'm not getting cancer as I stand in front of the microwave, waiting for my food to cook.
-I'm constantly surprised by the amount of money people spend on greeting cards. 6 cards for $30...are you serious?
-Eating frozen cookie dough is not nearly as fun without Alyssa. That mission had better be worth it!
-I have weird moments of creative inspiration as of late. The amount of projects I've started, and the others that I've dreamed up are stacking up in a rather ridiculous pile.
-If you have an old Scrabble game you're not using, I'll pay you to send it to me.
-I've stopped closing my blinds when I go to sleep. I find that I like being able to wake up to the morning sky. It's usually not sunny but today was the exception.
-I tip my hat to those people that ride their bike for transportation.
-I'm ready for Christmas to be here already.

Rice Krispie heart

2011-05-23T22:13:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to lie, I got some pretty awesome gifts for my birthday this year. Between a pendant necklace with an anatomically correct heart on it, a year long subscription to Entertainment Weekly, a Scrabble game with a note from a certain roommate that made me bawl my eyes out, and a generous donation from my parents to the London fund in an exchange for my slave labor services all Summer, a girl couldn't ask for more.

Unless she knew what four batches of Rice Krispie Treats made into one giant Krispie looked like.

I keep thinking that I'm going to take a bite of Krispie treat and be sick of it but it never fails to be delicious. I am so lucky to have thoughtful friends that know just what I need. Thanks again friends!

When I die, please stir my ashes into a batch of Rice Krispie Treats and take me to Disneyland. Oh, and don't forget the mini M&Ms.

TWENTY! (finally)

2011-05-18T21:25:00.001-07:00

After 364 days of being almost twenty I have finally reached the only goal that I've wanted all year--TWENTY!!! No more will I be grouped with irrational, thoughtless, reckless teenagers! Now that I've reached twenty and have a car I've officially been ushered into adult status! According to Adrie anyway. But seriously, all joking aside, the almost twenty year has been pretty integral in my life so far. If you had told me that I would learn so much about myself and what I wanted from life in one year I would not have believed it. I have laughed, cried, and studied more in the last twelve months than I have in my entire life. I have strengthened friendships with my family and friends creating bonds that will last for eternity. I am a different person than I was twelve months ago. And you know what, I don't think I could be happier.
Hello new decade of life. I'm excited to meet you.

My Saturday that was like Sunday, sort of

2011-05-16T16:33:00.000-07:00

By 7am Saturday, May 14, 2011 I was awake and ready for the day in my Sunday clothes putting the finishing touches on what I was going to say to the Laurels of my home stake. I was pretty nervous to say the least. I don't know who thinks two years out of Laurels myself makes me qualified to teach them but, you know, I went along with it anyway. Lucky for me I have a supportive Dad.
I guess I just have too much of Jan in me to do something halfway. I kept finding things I wanted to display on my table. I thought it turned out alright.
Oh hey, did I mention that the night before my big teaching debut I made 120 cupcakes for the Stake Achievement Day activity? The baking went smoothly and everything worked out well. I did come home from the Laurel Activity to find that Kino had jumped up on the table and broken into one of the boxes of cupcakes. It was sort of a miracle that I had 30 extra unfrosted cupcakes that I could hurry up and frost before the delivery was due. After a little stress of driving to the wrong Stake building and running sort of late from the whole Kino disaster, the cupcakes finally got delivered.
And I could go home and take a nap.

Slipping into new habits

2011-05-10T11:31:00.001-07:00

-Suddenly 10pm seems like the middle of the night and an appropriate hour to retire to my bedroom
-I often find myself staring at the clouds in the sky. Why have I never noticed how awesome, diverse, and constantly changing the clouds are in Oregon?
-I am constantly craving sun. It's not that I resent the rain but it's that I am dying for that feeling of being warmed by the light and heat that comes from the sun.
-I can read, and I can read for pleasure/non-school related things. I find myself enjoying it.
-I've started sleeping in the middle of my double bed. Man, do I feel luxurious.

It's REAL

2011-05-04T21:31:00.000-07:00

You know how people have inside jokes that no one else understands and then you try to explain them and they're still not funny? Well that's probably how this whole blog is going to go but I don't care, people need to know.

There's a Miniature Tigers song called Japanese Woman Living in My Closet so naturally, since Liss Biss is half Japanese, I assumed she would live in my closet. We joked about it all year and it eventually turned into one of the most exciting mornings of my life. On a beautiful Sunday morning, our last Sunday in the Brittany, I got out of the shower and could not find Liss anywhere. I messed with my closet door a bit because it was falling off the track. Once I got it fixed it fell off again so I just opened it. To my GREAT surprise, there was a half Japanese woman living in my closet! It scared me real bad but it was so SO hilarious. Here she is right after the greatest surprise ever.
Now that my Japanese woman is leaving on Friday as a Young Preforming Missionary in Nauvoo the lyrics seem even more applicable.

There's a Japanese woman who lives in my closet
Eats up all my food when she thinks I'm at the office
I came home one day to find she'd gone away
Why do you wanna hurt me?

On my way to work, I'm lost in my head
Every turn I take I hope that she's there
She lived in my closest for a year and now she's gone
How could I ever go on?

Have you gone and lost your mind?
Why'd you let her stay so long?
Now you're all alone
So alone, alone

Okay, well maybe my situation isn't that depressing. It took eight months for Alyssa to change my life forever and I will miss talking to her via modern technology terribly over the next four months. But I guess that's the good thing, it's only four months. Oh and she'll get millions of blessings for serving. Good luck on your mission Liss Biss. I can't wait for you to live in my closet next Fall.

Oregon has been pretty good to me

2011-05-01T20:43:00.000-07:00

I've been trying and trying to think of some clever way to share the two exciting things that have happened to me in the ten days that I've lived in Oregon but I've go nothing. In this case, I'm going to rely on the old "a picture is worth a thousand words" thing to get me through.

I've been hired as a cashier at my most favorite store on all of the earth.

Joshua came to Oregon for a weekend visit. Hiking Silver Creek Falls with Kent and Jan was fun and almost 100% dry! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Oregon keeps sending us good weather. I am more than ready for sunshine.

Tom Cruise. All nighters. TSA. Oregon

2011-04-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

It's not really a secret that sometimes I wish my life were a movie. Not really that I want to be an actress or anything (I leave that to Liss Biss) but more that I love movie entertainment in general. You know how people have certain things they do to "escape"? Well my escape definitely comes in the form of some sort of moving pictures with sound attached.

So naturally, it came as quite a shock to me when I discovered that neither of my best friends had seen ANY of the Mission Impossible movies. NONE of them! I still really don't understand how that can even happen but I promise it's the truth. Well anyway, in an effort to help them understand me and my love for all things Tom Cruise (more on my love for him later), I had my mother send the three Mission Impossible movies to Provo so we could watch them together. Within five days all of the movies had been viewed and two lives had been changed forever. Oh my gosh Tom...you never disappoint me. Seriously, if you haven't seen these you need to watch them. Better yet, tell me if you haven't seen them yet and I will fly to wherever you are and watch them with you. Seriously, they are that great.

The viewing of MI 3 started the end of my very very long last night in Provo. Actually it was the long night that turned into a long morning and a long afternoon. That's right friends, I've officially entered the club of people that stay up all night. I'm such an adult! Between packing, cleaning, laughing at Alyssa's weird sleeping positions on the tiny couch, and general anxiety about where I would put all of my stuff for the summer, I was wide awake all night long. Highlights include me taking out the trash at 4am while singing really loud and then realizing there were people walking down the street (I just kept singing) and the cinnamon roll breakfast/dinner/snack with Alyssa at 7am.

By 10am Thursday morning I was on the road driving to Salt Lake with probably about 70% of the stuff I own and I cannot thank Alyssa enough for holding onto some of my stuff for the summer. (You da you da best).

Salt Lake was stressful because I had to unpack Vincent and try and figure out what last things I could live without for a few months. It was so hard! With my frazzled no sleep brain I managed to dump all my stuff at G+Gs and then went to pick up Alaina so she could take me to the airport. In the rush to actually get to the airport on time I made a mistake, sort of a big mistake. You see, I had left a packet of sparklers in my carry-on bag. Just in case you were thinking of doing the same--DON'T DO IT!. TSA took my license, my illegal not really even firework fireworks, filled out a giant form, made me just stand there and watch, took pictures of the goods I accidentally forgot that I had with my license and then told me after a million minutes that they didn't think I looked like someone that wanted to harm a plane so they weren't going to get the police involved. Holy moley. In my whole life I have never been so glad to look like a nice white girl. Can you just imagine the waterworks show I would have been had the police been involved?! For those of you that aren't aware, no sleep makes an already easy crier Mallory into a human fountain so it would have been pretty awful. Yeah, so I am officially mad at sparklers right now and I will be boycotting them this summer. Which means I can't do fun things like this picture. But I want them to know how mad I am at them. To the sparklers of the world; I hope you feel bad.

Large chunks of time from the plane ride home are missing as I drifted in and out of sleep but the parts that I do remember were delightful. By some miracle, Southwest started distributing honey roasted peanuts again (hello heaven) and that with my drank made for a delicious lunch.

I always forget how much I love the Northwest until I'm here. This place is beautiful. By the time 6:30pm rolled around the giant bed in my room was looking mighty appealing. I tried watching some internet tv but was fast asleep by the time the clocks chimed 7. The 12 hours of sleep I got last night we sound and just what I needed. It's already summer and I cannot believe it. Hooray for no school! Sorry this turned into the longest post ever. I've got to post fun things while I still have them to talk about.

Falling asleep in the library...

2011-04-18T23:52:00.000-07:00

Whelp. I don't know why I always think I can stay productive in the library until 2am but let's just say it's not for lack of trying! In the last few hours in the lib I've taken a final and finished most of a microbiology study guide and then started falling asleep. Today was just your typical day of finals. I went to work, took a final, studied in the LRC, had an emotional moment, made pizza with friends, and trekked back up to the library. Maybe someday it will all be worth it so I can have a computer monitor/TV that is this big. (I'm sitting about 4 feet away from it just so you know)

The pizza was delicious.
Apparently I've turned into a hunchback.

The sparklers were a little anti-climatic. How was I supposed to know they'd stay lit for like 5 seconds? Sheesh!
In other unrelated news...

Sometimes I don't mind acting like a child because I get to make this face and eat ice cream. Spring is finally here and I get to start a new chapter of my life in two days. I wonder if I still know how to live life outside of Provo because I've been here for so long. I just need to survive my last three finals.

Who thought I'd ever enjoy this so much?

2011-04-11T22:21:00.001-07:00

Meet Adrienne Sage:
-She is a handful and a half but quite possibly the funniest kid I've ever met.
-After telling me I'm not an adult one evening I of course inquired why. Apparently I deserve the status of child because I'm not yet twenty (the age at which Alaina tells her marriage is acceptable) and because she and her mom have to pick me up all the time (aka I don't have a car). Let me tell you Adrie...I'm half way there and working quite hard on the second one.
-Her sweet little hugs send thrills of happiness through my body. I don't think she fully understands how much I love her.

Meet Henry Rex:
-Something about being so close with Kendall and Josh and then seeing him within three hours of birth makes me feel like a part of him belongs to me.
-He's starting to get arms and legs that are so fat they spill over his wrists and ankles. I just want to squeeze him!
-I live for him smiling back at me. I think he's waiting to laugh because he knows I'll die when I finally hear it. I totally get why it would be distracting to have a baby and be in school at the same time.
-He's only been alive for such a short time but I can't even remember life without him.

I've got one niece and one nephew and one more on the way. I'm so excited to welcome Choke into our family and I have a feeling he'll be totally different than the two we've already got. I am amazed by my sisters and the mothers they have become. I can only hope that someday I can do the same. Here's to hoping I can make them as cute as these two. Cheers!

I find it confusing

2011-04-05T20:51:00.001-07:00

I just don't understand what it's called a "law firm". What is firm about it? I'm guessing it's not their bodies because when I think lawyers I think of Richard Gilmore and Tom Pixton, both of whom, I can assure you, have nothing firm about them. Now if they wanted to call hospitals a firm I would believe it because I believe everything I see on tv.

Celebrations

2011-04-01T23:21:00.000-07:00

The theme song for this J.Biebs Friday
Only one more blood donation until a gallon.
Emotional stability.
Actual warmth from the sun.
Fountain drinks and slurpees.
Another BYU rugby game.
A progression of Haka photos that makes me unbelievable happy.

Big B.
Another BYU victory. 123-3.
Jimmer who?
Jessica visiting from Canada.
Friends from last year.
Sunshine and FINALLY some Spring weather that lasted all day long.
Alyssa's Toms tan line (soooo hipster)
Sperry's FTW
Making it through the week.
Lots of sleep.
General Conference weekend.
All family, all the time.

It can only get better from here

2011-03-29T20:52:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad that we have these great memories of over the top frilly floral dresses and overalls. Remember the days when planning what you wore for family pictures was a thing?

I forgot how much I love it

2011-03-26T20:44:00.000-07:00

Today we went to a BYU Men's Rugby match and it. was. awesome. As soon we walked past the players warming up my heart leapt inside my chest. I could literally feel the joy spread through my body as I thought about everything rugby. I had this weird urge to scrum, ruck, tackle, and work in a way that is only possible in a rugby match. In that split second moment I missed the constantly sore muscles, the multicolored bruises that turned my legs and arms in to a colorful collage, the feel of cleats on my feet and knee length socks up my legs, but most of all, I missed playing with my team. You see, when you're life sort of depends on your teammates you get real close real fast. It's the battle, the physical struggle with your teammates by your side that makes it all worth it.

Since I'm feeling particularly nostalgic tonight...
See the excitement of winning a State Championship,
A little bit of the body damage
Recognize that we were a family
Feel my excitement,
See another win
And know that rugby gets pretty epic

To say that I loved playing rugby in high school would be an understatement. It was my life from January to mid-May. It occupied my thoughts, weekdays, weekends, and even dreams. It ended on a high note and I would not trade the memories I have from my experiences for anything. I'm glad that I will forever be a West Linn Renegade and I love that I can still enjoy rugby by watching others play. I'm already looking forward to the day that I get to tell my children I played rugby in high school. I cannot wait to see their faces.

For two other takes on the days festivities please view these two blogs. And yes, we are all in the library writing blogs instead of doing out homework. NBD. Amanda! and Alyssa! (and make Liss Biss send you an invite to her blog because she explains our daily activities way better than I do. I guess that's because she wants to be a teacher or something.)

Sort of gross but kind of awesome

2011-03-24T09:19:00.001-07:00

This semester I'm in a microbiology lab that is pretty much a joke. It's scheduled for a 2 hour block every Thursday morning from 8-10 a.m. but I am literally out of the classroom by 8:35a.m. at the latest. Basically the class consists of us turning in our assignments from the previous week while the T.A. tells us in a monotone voice about the experiment we'll be doing, we do the experiment (which usually consists of swabbing something, spreading it on an agar plate and putting it in the cupboard so we can see the growth on it next week), write down what's on the board, and then leave.

I guess you could say they're trying to teach us that microbes are everywhere and after the nasty things I've seen in the past 10 weeks, I believe them. Thanks BYU for turning us all into germaphobes.
Here are the results from last week's lab...
This is the growth that shows from a swab of my own throat after one week.

It's sort of sick right? Well believe me, I can tell you about some pretty disgusting things. I kind of guess that's going to be the story of my life for the rest of my life/career as a nurse. At least that's what I tell myself so I'm not surprised when I see something particularly awful. And to tell you the truth, it doesn't really bother me.

Now everyone go wash your hands because they are filthy and full of microbes!

Date night with Harold

2011-03-19T11:09:00.000-07:00

It's taken a while but Alyssa and I have finally figured out that to be together and to be productive on school work we need to be in library. We've made the Monday-night-until-midnight thing a weekly tradition and on the way home this Monday I suggested that we spend another night in the library to get even more school work completed. Because of various other activities and obligations we didn't get an opportunity to hang in the HBLL until Friday night after our ward talent show in the WILK. When that hour and a half of awkward talent sharing was over (side note: my roommate won the talent show because she made a peanut butter and jam sandwich on a pogo-stick! I promise you just read that right. We were all amazed and it was definitely the best, and most marketable talent) we walked into the most empty library I have EVER seen. I know I've only been here for two years but seriously it was SO empty. There were literally three other people on the whole third floor with Alyssa and me and that includes the man running the carpet cleaner. Of course I had to get some pictures.

After about two productive hours I lost my focus and things went downhill from there. By this point in the evening we were both freezing due to the blowing fans that were drying the carpets and losing our minds a little bit because we were the last two survivors in the whole wide world of academics.
We made a little video on Liss Biss's computer that may surface a some point but for now it's just fun for us to laugh at. I even did a little dancing! hahaha. I guess the moral of this story is that you shouldn't expect to get things done in an empty library without peers to pressure you into being quiet and productive. I crossed two of about a million school assignments off my list but I enjoyed myself and that's what really matters, right?

Another reason Thursday is my favorite

2011-03-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

The day started with Lucky Charms...
and ended with green Rice Krispie Treats...with my two favorite roommates. Thank you St. Patrick for giving me a reason to celebrate.

Having second thoughts

2011-03-14T20:50:00.000-07:00

Suddenly the late night walk home from the library seems like it could be a brush with death. Here's to hoping I don't get struck by lightening tonight.

Don't forget the Mexican spices

2011-03-11T20:29:00.000-08:00

Mexican food is the most delicious food ever. I'm pretty sure I would eat it all day errr day if I didn't know how bad it was for my body. But don't worry friends, it doesn't keep me away from it too much. There is a very real possibility that I was born craving a quesedilla as rumor has it all my mother would eat while pregnant was Taco Bell, but I'm gonna go ahead and guess it is because of my positive association with everything Mexican. Here's just a little list of happy moments and Mexican food.

-The first day of school trips to Garcia's in Tempe
-Exploding a bag of Taco Bell hot sauce in my eye on the way home from Garcia's
-Numerous trips to Mexico-The best meal ever when Mom and Dad were out of town
-Jazz choir trips where we ate Mexican food because I insisted.-Jose and Maria making us the most delicious food in Rocky Point-STREET MEAT!-Quesedilla parties in the dorms-And the continuing tradition of Chevy's chips and salsa.

That's it. Hands down, Mexican food is delicious and it and it makes me happy. Now, I'm gonna go make myself a quesedilla.

Eye of the tiger

2011-03-08T15:33:00.001-08:00

You know that point in a movie when the inspirational song starts to play and the main character goes through some major change/makes a giant step toward their ultimate goal? Think Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Legally Blonde, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Nacho Libre, Rocky, Step Up 1, 2, and 3, and pretty much any sports movie where a girl has something to prove.

Anyway, that was my life yesterday. Not that I really had anything to prove to anyone but there were a million things that needed to be done and I made it happen. I left the house by 6:45 a.m., studied in the library for an hour, went to 5 hours of work, spent two more hours in the library, then two and a half hours in class, went to the MOA to analyze a piece of art, took a test, and then made my way home for a quick dinner around 8:30 p.m. By 9:15 p.m. Alyssa and I were on our way back up to the library where we stayed until the music played us out at 11:45 p.m. At home, I started my nursing assignment, got ready for bed and pulled the covers up to my chin knowing that I had accomplished everything I needed to for the day to be over.

Moral of the story:
If my life had a soundtrack, it would be awesome.

Thinking of Thanksgiving

2011-03-04T09:49:00.000-08:00

I know it's not November or anything but sometimes I just want to be grateful. Well actually, I can't really help but be grateful for about a million different things right now.

1. It has not snowed in the past week.

2. I have an awesome job where I can do homework while "working"

3. I have enough money to pay the bills

4. I am lucky enough to be in a nursing program that I love

5. I have legs that work (Which is a really big one for me because as I sort of slipped out of the shower this morning and had this image of me falling on the edge of the tub and breaking my femur. Weird thing is that I regularly having visions of me falling and breaking a limb. I think I'm paranoid that I won't be able to get around with a bum leg) Long story short, I'm glad I can walk.

The list goes on and on but there's just a little teaser for now. Life is great.

One Split Second

2011-03-01T13:30:00.000-08:00

Today in nursing lab we got to play with those doppler machines to listen to pulses, more specifically the brachial, popliteal, and pedal pulses. Pure amazement is what I felt when I heard that whooshing sound of my blood running through my arteries. For a split second it made me think about someday hearing the heartbeat of a baby in-utero be it mine or someonelse's. It sort of creeped me out.

Does this make me a quarter Asian?

2011-02-23T21:10:00.000-08:00

I've had my fair share of awful roommates but this year has been the exception. It was with some nervousness that Alyssa and I signed contracts to live with each other last Winter. We had been good friends through high school but never the best of friends. I'm pretty sure that it all started with our Senior Jazz Choir trip to Seattle and things just got better from there. Our friendship is an odd blend of ridiculously silly and deadly serious. She helps me stay up a little later and I help her go to bed before the sun comes up. She tells me what sort of things I say in my sleep and I tell her that Heavenly Father doesn't care if she can make a puppet. First semester was full of grand adventures including, but not limited to, helping me make coasters, Halloween, midnight Harry Potter, cookie dough freezer balls, eating at least one bag of tortilla chips a week, getting scared by Criminal minds, late night library nights once or twice, making new friends: Kameron, Captain Von Trap, Weasel Face, Ge-off, Just Kevin, Spanky Buttars, Trevor!, and Prince Eric, and of course some delightful chats that take place while we should be doing homework.

She is the Japanese woman that lives in my closet
She is my best friend.
Love you Liss Biss!

I'm sort of weird on Friday

2011-02-18T19:34:00.001-08:00

-I'm beginning to think Beyonce has a closet full of leotards. See videos Single Ladies, Ego, Halo, Sweet Dreams, and Upgrade You respectively.
-That being said, if I had a body like that I'd run around in a swim suit all day too.
-I continue to believe that if I could meet one person dead or alive I would meet Beyonce. There's not a doubt in my mind that it would be the right decision.
-Three day weekend of laying around = my spring break
-I made my own refried beans in the crockpot yesterday and they are delicious.
-I'm made my own 7-layer bean dip for lunch/dinner. Thanks for the inspiration Natalie.
-The Miniature Tigers are coming to Salt Lake in April and I will be attending. (EXCITEMENT!!!)
-Amanda and I have decided that we want to be on the Amazing Race. She will be the map reader/navigator and I will be the driver since I will know how to drive a manual.
-I am going up to Salt Lake this weekend to hang out with my Grandma. All I want to do is sit in the hot tub and watch movies on that awful TV.
-Corn starch is a lazy girl's life saver.
-Three months from today is my birthday!
-Only my left bum cheek hurts from pilates on Wednesday...I don't understand!
-Today I am wearing the Kazakhstan shirt Natalie gave me for being the first to name all 195 countries. It is, to this day, one of my proudest accomplishments.
-Just played the game again and got 190/195. I've still got it.

The Romantic Gesture

2011-02-14T13:48:00.001-08:00

When I was home at Christmas I had the opportunity to go through Mom's stash of old jewelry. While pilfering through piles of vintage treasures we came across a simple silver bracelet with the best origin story ever. According to her, while dancing with my Dad at a Stake dance, he slipped the bracelet onto her wrist without her ever noticing. When she finally realized there was a foreign bracelet on her wrist, she opened it up to find this little note.
Something about this story, and thinking about my 15 year old mother and 16 year old father in-like with each other makes my heart melt a little bit. It makes me feel lucky to have parents that have cared about each other for so long.

This morning as I rushed out the door to work, I noticed rose petals scattered all in front of my neighbor's door. I can only assume that it was for the one that's engaged from her soon to be husband. It made the long walk to work go by quickly as I smiled about the simple gesture that will mean a lot to that lucky lady. I guess what I'm trying to say it that whether it's giving a toaster to a girl that likes to complain about burning her toast in the oven, or spreading rose petals for your fiance it is always appreciated and it makes me smile. Happy Valentines Day friends.

In unrelated news, I cannot get this song out of my head so I thought maybe I'd get it stuck in yours too.

Rest

2011-02-11T19:01:00.000-08:00

Tonight I've been laying around editing photos and updating my blog. I hope you enjoy it. For me, I'm rather enjoying this lazy evening spent mostly in my bed. I never realize how busy the week has been until it's over. Happy weekend!

My life in bullet points

2011-02-09T07:35:00.000-08:00

-Utah winter has not only decided to dry out my skin but my eyeballs as well.
-Received a 93% on my first nursing test yesterday. I don't think I have EVER walked home from the testing center in such a good mood.
-Have so enjoyed the hilarity that comes from Alyssa Aramaki (aka Liss Biss)
-Slipped down the stairs in the SWKT the other day. Luckily I mostly caught myself before experiencing too much embarrassment.
-Excited by the thought of making Valentines Day cookies all weekend long.
-Just realized that I will be living in an apartment next fall that does not have air conditioning
-Been contemplating chopping off my hair, or maybe just cutting it. Having long static charged hair stuck to your neck is not the funnest thing in the world.
-Decided on my next craft project. SPOILER ALERT: it is Harry Potter related.
-Planning the endless amount of craft projects I want to do with Mom this summer.
-Working hard at school and sort of loving the payoff
-Finally realizing why people love college so much.
-Self timer roommate picture!

Almost 20 going on 60

2011-02-01T10:42:00.000-08:00

I think we can safely attribute my love of all things crafty to the fact that I grew up with Mom sewing doll clothes, decorating and redecorating our house, and encouraging handmade creations. When you add my love of crafts to my "old soul" personality, it makes my real age about 60. For those of you that don't follow

Love of crafts + "old soul" = Mallory is really an old lady at heart

And you know what? I'm okay with it. A ton of people have no idea what to do with a needle and thread and it makes me sad. There are few things that satisfy me more than sitting down to make and create something and then having it completed to my liking. To add to the theory that I'm an old lady is the fact that I love hand sewing. I'm just lucky my hereditary arthritis hasn't kicked in yet.

Lately I'm obsessed with cross-stitch. It's kind of embarrassing how much time I've spent looking at cross-stitch patterns on Etsy in the last few weeks but I can't help myself. These two will be hanging on my wall next Fall.
In the tradition of our family I've started to sew felt Christmas ornaments. I think it all started with the Harry Potter set I made Kendall in 2009.

It's been snowballing ever since and this holiday season I finished two more Harry Potter's and a total of eight owls.

Next year I want to move into the world of robots and dinosaurs. I can't wait. In the end I guess what I'm trying to say is that your should all embrace your inner old lady...anything could happen.

Here's to the future

2011-01-30T20:17:00.000-08:00

"There is no substitute under the heavens for productive labor. It is the process by which dreams become realities. It is the process by which idle visions become dynamic achievements"
-President Gordon B. Hinckley

Alyssa and I are working hard to make some dynamic achievements. It's been a little challenging this week but the payoff has been great.

Sunday surprise

2011-01-23T21:33:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we have dinner parties.

And then we're too tired to clean up our rooms after we're done.

It's going to be a crazy week.

Start of something new

2011-01-19T18:16:00.000-08:00

Another new semester at BYU and I can't help but feel that this is the semester that will change the rest of my life. I keep thinking that at this point last year I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I'd been so sure that I wanted to study dietetics but after about four weeks in my intro to nursing class I knew that I wanted to be a nurse. I continue to be grateful for every prompting, decision, and event that has led me to this point. I am thrilled to have such an amazing opportunity. So without further adieu here are some pictures of the one and only time I'll wear my uniform this semester.

Above is the group of us in the Tuesday, 9:00am Nursing 294 lab. Call me if you want your blood pressure taken. Also, my newly established 5'8" status has officially put me in the "tall ones in back" category.

At the end of a long week

2010-12-16T11:40:00.000-08:00

I've started and stopped a lot of blogs in the past few days. Life has been pretty scattered this week due to finals, lack of sleep, and a crazy work schedule but I've finally made it to the end. Finals are finished and I can feel the weight of school lifting from my shoulders. My boarding pass is printed and I'll be on a flight home tomorrow morning. At the end of a week like this I think I'm mostly grateful to learn that I can do the things that seem impossible. I'm so thankful for the heavenly help I've had this week.

Scents

2010-12-10T14:10:00.000-08:00

My seventh grade Core teacher Mrs. Busch (the one that frequently rubbed off her penciled on eyebrows in frustration) told us that certain scents bring up different memories. She proceeded to pour a bag of recently fallen fall leaves on the table and has us smell them and see what memories we remembered. I remember having this instant flashback to Boston in the Fall. I think it had been about two years since Dad, Mom, Kendall, and I had traveled to B-town and walking around in the leaves wasn't a memory that I ever consciously remembered storing. It was a very weird experience.

So here I am, almost eight years later, still fascinated with the idea that my brain can store memories without any conscious effort on my part. Since I'm now one of those weird kids that is obsessed with the human body, I decided to look up the science between memory and scent. This is what Discover Health taught me...

"A smell can bring on a flood of memories, influence people's moods and even affect their work performance. Because the olfactory bulb is part of the brain's limbic system, an area so closely associated with memory and feeling it's sometimes called the "emotional brain," smell can call up memories and powerful responses almost instantaneously.
The olfactory bulb has intimate access to the amygdala, which processes emotion, and the hippocampus, which is responsible for associative learning. Despite the tight wiring, however, smells would not trigger memories if it weren't for conditioned responses. When you first smell a new scent, you link it to an event, a person, a thing or even a moment."

So I've been thinking about this for a while and started compiling a list of the scents I associate with certain memories or people.

Hot Tamales or Cinnamon Bears (really any cinnamon candy) - Natalie
Fresh wall paint- Mom and Dad
Recently cut grass- Dad
Lavender- Mom
Any indoor pool- G+G's Salt Lake pool
Coconut Lime Verbena Lotion- Kendall
Pink Lemonade- Joshua
Gasoline- Mexico (this one always makes me laugh)
The smell of any doctors office- The West Linn Women's Clinic
School smell- Aunt Cheri and when Kendall, Rachel, and I would "help" her set up the classroom for the Fall.
Wet/muddy shoes- Rugby

And of course there are the harder ones that you don't really know how to define the scent. Like Alaina's house. I can definitely tell when something comes from Alaina's. I almost certain that if someone gave me something from the Backus home I could tell. I haven't been there in more than four years, but even now I'm positive I could recognize it. Also, the smell of G+G's Salt Lake apartment always gives me strong flashbacks to coming there as a child.

Are there any scents that you associate with certain memories/people?

Two things...maybe three

2010-12-06T20:45:00.000-08:00

Tonight in FHE we finger painted a mural. The theme was Christmas in Space. Our end had way more pizazz than the other end. I think my fingers may be permanently stained with tempera paint, which doesn't totally make sense because tempera paint is suppose to be washable.
I went to the temple lights with some of my girl friends this weekend and really enjoyed it a lot. I took in the rain and cold and just told myself it was part of the Christmas experience. I do so love to see the temple.
Three days of school left and then finals! I'm getting so excited for Christmas in the Northwest.

Anatomy and some other things

2010-12-03T10:03:00.000-08:00

Anatomy has been one of the most intense classes I've taken at BYU but it also seems to be the class most relevant to my life. It's not just because I start the nursing program next semester but because the more I learn about the body the more I realize what a gift it is. In the past semester I've spent two hours a week in lecture, two hours a week in lab, and at least two more hours in open lab studying off the cadavers not to mention the time I spent studying off the computer program at home. The more time I spent learning and memorizing bones, muscles, structures, and organs, the more I was in awe of all the intricate details that make up our bodies. I don't know how anyone could look at the body and not think a divine creator had some part in it.

The heart is my favorite organ. I get goosebumps when I think about how blood pumps through atria, valves, and ventricles then out though arteries to the body and then back through the veins to the heart. I love that it sounds like a simple process but how there are really so many other small pieces that contribute to it. I love that I can feel my own heart beating and know that by body is doing its job. I love that one muscle can keep us alive simply by pumping. It's also pretty cool to hold a human heart in your hand. Just saying.

I'm continually fascinated by the leg muscles. If you could look at the dissected quad and hamstring muscles of a cadaver I think you'd understand. The adductor magnus is my favorite one because it's this huge meaty piece of muscle on the medial side of the leg and it's there just so you can move your leg.

Galea aponeurotica is my favorite anatomical term to say. It's just the fibrious tissue that covers the top of your head but I can never say it enough. GALEA APONEUROTICA!

After I study for a long time I fall asleep naming anatomy terms. It's sort of a bad habit because it usually keeps me up longer than if I just laid there. The terms are constantly running through my mind.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that our bodies are awesome. Next time you climb a flight of stairs, eat a delicious meal, or lay down at night to sleep take a minute to stop and think about what an amazing gift it is to have your body. The last semester has been a real testimony strengthener for me as I've seen how great our bodies actually are. If I were Satan, I'd feel pretty foolish for giving up the opportunity to have a body. Be grateful for what you have and take care of your bodies because they are truly the greatest gift.

It all makes sense now

2010-12-01T09:28:00.000-08:00

Various precipitating factors may cause tension type headaches in susceptible individuals:
* Stress: usually occurs in the afternoon after long stressful work hours or after an exam
* Sleep deprivation
* Uncomfortable stressful position and/or bad posture
* Irregular meal time (hunger)
* Eyestrain
* Caffeine withdrawal
* Dehydration

Guess which one is not part of my life?

T minus 2 days until anatomy lab final
T minus 12 days until finals week

I am super excited for Christmas break.

Life has been good

2010-11-26T14:51:00.000-08:00

As I've been here in Oregon enjoying a rather different holiday than usual, I can't help but think how blessed I have been and continue to be in my life. I have always been given what I needed even when I didn't know that's what I was missing. Life continues to simply be grand and I'm sure it will only get better. I thought I'd share some of the little seen pictures as I blog from the home computer. Some are cute but mostly they're just hilarious.
I loved those silky star pajamas. This Christmas was also the year I got the hand held cotton candy maker. mmmmm...cotton candy
Please notice how ill fitting all of our jeans are. Women's fashion has come a long way since then.
FINE! I totally did ruin this picture.
So we went to Boston in 2001 when PT Cruisers were new and SO cool. Of course we had to get a picture with Kendall and me standing through the sunroof.
Delphine! Remember how she could never get our drinks right? And where is Kendall in this picture? Check out my sweet corn rows. hahahah.

I hope you enjoyed the little flashback. Happy Thanksgiving!

Airport Adventures

2010-11-24T10:16:00.000-08:00

The great blizzard of 2010 got me stuck in the Salt Lake airport last night for about 5 hours. I got to the airport and the snow had not started falling. Around 5:30pm the storm unleashed its furry. I have never seen snow like I did last night. The wind was blowing and the snow was falling and you could hardly see out the window because everything was white. Needless to say my flight got delayed, and delayed again, and then delayed a third time. I really didn't mind so much. I had a nice chair to sit in, a book to read and my flight wasn't canceled like so many of the other ones. Because I didn't really want to lose my fancy chair, I sat down almost the whole time. It gave me a lot of time to observe the different people in the airport. This is what I've noticed.

There are three types of people that react to a flight delay
1. The ones that get angry/frustrated at the people working in the airport. (which I don't understand because it's not like the airport employees can control an airplane)
2. The ones that instantly become super friendly with the airport employees in hopes that it will increase their chances of getting on a flight (but seriously? does that help anyone?)
3. The people that patiently sit around and catch little snippets and updates from people around them. (the majority of people) I fall into this catagory

Everyone has a laptop. Was it like this even a few years ago?

Most of the men with laptops were playing computer games or watching a movie.

Quite a few women with laptops were catching up on their online shopping.

There are some people that would just prefer to stand up and wait for the plane.

The airport food of choice is definitely Burger King.

Most of the single travelers had headphones in/on the whole time we sat there.

The airport gets sort of cold when you sit around forever.

Eventually our flight got out of there. I escaped the winter wonderland and made it safely to Reno, NV and then all the way to Portland, OR. I waited outside in the cold, breathing in the deliciously cold and clean air of the Northwest. It's great to be home.

Best Thing Ever = Harry Potter 7

2010-11-19T02:13:00.000-08:00

Before:

After:

That's right...I just got back from the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows premiere and it blew my mind. Like seriously, all the best action and forward moving plot of movie 5 combined with the cute/funny little snippets of movie 6. July cannot come fast enough.

Perspective

2010-11-17T21:16:00.000-08:00

School is hard. Especially when you're in a class called statistics. It's a little bit discouraging when you spend all day studying, think your doing great, take the exam, and then don't do so hot. aye aye aye.

On the bright side, tomorrow is Thursday (the start of my weekend for those of you that don't read this blog all too often) and Alyssa and I get to go to the midnight Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 movie. I can't wait to be a part of history.

I go home for thanksgiving one week from today.

I've finally convinced Alyssa that it's okay to listen to Christmas music before Thanksgiving. It's just an extension of the holiday season!

I go home for Christmas one month from today!

It doesn't really matter what grade I get in statistics as long as it's above a C because I already got into the BYU Nursing program!

This weekend I...

2010-11-14T18:46:00.000-08:00

Slept in until 10am without even making myself sleep.
Studied for like 45 minutes before I figured out that I really have no motivation to memorize all the chemistry involved in glycolysis, krebs cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation
Discovered that I really love to do things while laying in bed. There is just no feeling like being warm in your bed, laying down, and knowing that you're getting stuff done. Especially if it's real cold in your apartment.
Made cookies for Dad's birthday.
Ate a J-dawg with some of my favorite people.
"Killed it" in Beauty more than twice. Stupid stop signs.
Started listening to Bon Iver and couldn't stop.
Attended a baby shower for Kendall and enjoyed some great food. That baby is coming so soon!
Spilled body spray all over my hands. They still smell like white gardenias.
Realized that the semester is nearly finished! Really only one week of class, then Thanksgiving break, and then two weeks of school and finals. And then I'm a nursing student. AH!
Remembered that I have a Christmas tree pin to wear as soon as Thanksgiving is over.
Started sewing Christmas decorations
Watched Thoroughly Modern Millie with Alyssa and totally loved it. I think it helped that people kept telling us how awful it was before we watched it.
Chatted with Amanda at least three times
Cleaned off the mountain of junk from my desk.
Sang in sacrament with my FHE group.
Realized that it's going to be a long, cold winter in my top corner bedroom.

If you love something, you should probably name it

2010-11-10T20:33:00.000-08:00

It's probably not news to most of you that I was the victim of bike theft this summer. I walked out to church one Sunday morning and this is all that remained of my mode of transportation.
I am convinced that the reason said bike was stolen was because I never named it.

Naming a car is a tricky thing. You've got to pick the right name to fit the car's personality (you cannot name a black Escalade "Rainbow") while keeping it original (a white car named Snowball, are you for serious?). For example, a few years ago Kendall and I dubbed the Honda Odyssey mini-van Rocky (short for rocket ship) because a.) it's a beast like the great Rocky Balboa and b.) it sounds like the ship may just take off while you drive it.
The second example, and one very close to my heart, is Cher the 1995 Dodge Spirit. Now, Cher was my girl all through the last two years of high school. Kendall and I wanted to pick a name that was classy (she had an automatic seat belt!) but still a little bit trashy (there were a few cigarette burns on the upholstery). Cher just seemed to fit perfectly.
In order to keep all current and future modes of transportation safe from damage and theft, they have been named. The beautiful bike that Aunt Cheri was kind enough to lend me has been named Firenze after the centaur in Harry Potter that is old, wise, and kind to Harry in the forbidden forest. (And yes, I am comparing myself to Harry Potter and Provo is the forbidden forest, deal with it) And in anticipation of what is to come, I've named the Black Jetta Beauty because a.) having a car to use is a beautiful thing and b.) it's short for Black Beauty, like the mighty stallion, because I hear it has a pretty powerful engine. Oh, and the car is actually black.

In memory of my long lost (unnamed) bike, I've purchased a necklace with a bedazzled bike. I'm glad it could teach me to name the things that are important before they are gone forever. And thank goodness it was only a bike!

Something died on my face

2010-11-07T18:14:00.000-08:00

I think I'm discovering that I'm an awful writer. I mean, give me a topic and I can bust out an A+ quality five paragraph essay in no time but ask me to write something creative and more likely than not you'll be disappointed. That being said I'll let the pictures do most of the talking for my Halloween holiday. The quick sum up: I went to my roommates house in Alpine for a party with her family and some friends on Utah Halloween (aka Saturday night 10/30). I decided to be a dad for Halloween a) because I'm a little bit lazy and b) I'm sort of obsessed with mustaches right now.

Alyssa and I are really great at being awkward with other people which makes things pretty hilarious. And just in case you're wondering, I am indeed dying for another occasion to wear my dad mustache.

Seriously so blessed

2010-10-30T13:49:00.001-07:00

As of Friday at 5pm I have officially been accepted to the BYU Nursing program! It's been a tough road to get me to this point but I could not be more ecstatic. I am so grateful to the people that believed I could get to this point when I didn't. I'll start taking nursing classes when I come back to school after Christmas break and I can't wait! Miracles really do happen.

Mini Vacation

2010-10-19T18:29:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends from high school, Michelle Francis, flew out to Utah last Friday to spend the weekend with me. Different circumstances kept us forever in different places when it was convenient to get together and after more than a year of being apart we decided it was time to reunite. Michelle arrived in SLC Friday morning and the next 78 hours were as perfect as perfect can be. I have not laughed so much in my whole life. It was such a blessing to have a break from school and I'm so glad that Alaina would trust me with her car for the weekend. Nothing beats reuniting with a friend and finding that even though time has passed it feels like you've never been apart.

I'm glad Michelle had an iphone otherwise we wouldn't have any of these gems.

Silhouettes

2010-10-09T09:58:00.000-07:00

I am consumed by the thought of doing crafts right now. Something about being super busy always makes me want to take a break and do something crafty. This summer I was especially crafty and made silhouettes. (whoa...I just spelled that right all on my own). I don't know where I got the idea from, maybe I just stumbled upon it as I surfed the internet at work or maybe it was just a weird inspiration, I don't really know but it's turned into one of my favorite things. Oh and it was pretty easy too.

Here's how you do it...
Take some profile pictures. Try and keep the pictures at the same distance so the heads are the same size. These are what my pictures looked like.
Obviously the heads are a little different size in these pictures. It really helps if you have a fancy computer scientist help you format the pictures and make them the size you want but I'm guessing most of you can do that on your own. Also, take into account what size frame you want to display them in. I knew that I wanted both the silhouettes to fit in an 8x10 frame so they were formatted to be that size.
Print the pictures and trace the outline onto tissue paper. I didn't have a working printer when I did this so I just traced the outline right off the laptop screen. It was really nice to have the back light while tracing.
Tape the tissue paper outline to the paper you want your final silhouette to be made of and cut along your traced line through both the tissue paper and project paper. And like magic you have a cut out of your profile!
Here's what my finished product looks like. I went to the trouble of matting them inside an oval. It took forever to figure out but it made the finished product look so much better. Since I didn't really have any process to that I'll let you figure it out on your own.

You can make a silhouette out of any picture you have so you might not have to go to the trouble of taking new pictures. I guess you could do some of an action shot. That would actually be super sweet. Anyway, making silhouettes isn't really hard but it takes some time and patience with cutting. I really love my silhouettes and the memories I made creating them. Happy crafting!
I've started a new project but it's top secret! But more on that later.

Things That Make Me Love Thursday

2010-10-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

It's my last day of work for the week!
Anatomy Lab! I'm sort of obsessed. It's hard for me to study for any other class because all I can think about are those cadavers.
Project Runway!
Grey's Anatomy!
I give myself the night off from school work.
Tomorrow just so happens to be pay day.
The week is almost over and that puts me one week closer to Christmas and my 20th Birthday!
The whole weekend is still ahead of me. And yes, I count Friday as a weekend day.
I don't have to wake up to an alarm tomorrow!

How Could I Not Buy This?

2010-09-17T21:25:00.000-07:00

But seriously October, COME FASTER!

Thoughts

2010-09-14T20:24:00.000-07:00

I've finally discovered how to get milk into my diet. Two words: Chocolate Pudding
I'm sort of really excited to look at cadavers in anatomy.
Florence + the Machine has been my motivation to study this week.
Ingrid has a new song that is real good. I think that might be my motivation to study next week. Have a listen
I've gotten ready by myself for the last 5 years and now my new roommates like to be up in the morning and get in my way while I prepare for the day. It's hard.
Hey remember how we're suppose to be running a 10K next weekend? hahaha
I keep having dreams where people are brushing my hair. First it was Mom, then Kendall, and then Joshua. Is that weird?
I want fake facial hair for Halloween. Pretty much that's going to be my costume.
I've been sick of my hair lately.
I have a great roommate.
What am I going to do when it gets cold and I can't ride my bike everywhere?
I had to pay $65 to get CPR certified. Doesn't that seem like something they should do for free?
Grooveshark.com is the new pandora except better because you get to pick the songs that play.
I have my first round of tests/quizzes for the semester this week.
My work schedule got rearranged so now I work M-TH from 8am-1pm. I figure an hour of sleep lost for a work free Friday is worth it.
If you make it through Wednesday the rest of the week is a piece of cake.
I don't think I've ever been so excited for General Conference to come.
My friend Michelle is coming to visit me in Utah!
Mastering Chemistry is the devil.
I wish someone would tell me what to wear tomorrow.
I think tortilla chips are my favorite kind of chip. SO salty and delicious.

Mildly Obsessed

2010-09-09T20:34:00.000-07:00

I cannot get enough of Sharpies lately. If I had to pick one tool to use from now until forever with which to created, I'd pick a black Sharpie. I don't know what it is about them that I love so much. I like that you can use just black and focus more on the lines of things rather than colors. It's also probably because that smell is so delicious. [Note to reader: I do not sit around an huff Sharpies. I'm just stating the fact that I (and probably many of you) cannot resist the smell of a Sharpie while in use]. Anyway, this is my latest creation for a Humanities assignment. Three things you should know about it: it's cheesy, most of my high school projects looked similar to this, and it's 100% Sharpie created. Hooray for Gilgamesh I guess.

Also, I wanted to show you the valuable skills I'm learning at the Law School. I scanned the original piece of art into a PDF and then sent it to myself from a copy machine. It's pretty high tech I guess.

Also also, I love this Sharpie Pens commercial. It's just so cute.

The End of Summer

2010-09-07T18:35:00.001-07:00

It is still so weird to me that the Summer is really over. In a way my summer ended as soon as I left for Oregon. Not that I didn't see my trip up North as a vacation but more that everything I've had the last four months ended when I drove out of Provo. Everything about this Summer was perfect. Even getting my bike stolen turned out to be okay since I got the sweet upgrade to a bike with baskets (thanks Aunt Cheri!). Anyway, to remember the last month of Summer I thought I'd sum it up in some of my favorite pictures of the last month of freedom.

Pretzels

The Great Salt Lake

Hiking the Y

Seaside, Oregon

I'm crossing my fingers for a speedy Fall semester because I'm already ready for Christmas break!

A Laugh

2010-08-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

I cannot stop thinking about this commercial! The best part is the last 10 seconds so watch all of it.

100 (more) Things

2010-07-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

1. I can sleep almost anywhere
2. I crave canned peaches a lot right now
3. I can kill a spider as long as it is below eye level
4. On the last day of my senior year of high school I got into a fender bender with a parked car
5. Dove soap is the only way to feel clean
6. Sometimes I feel a compulsive need to buy new shoes
7. I actually hate rubber bands. They creep me out for some reason
8. I love the feel of hot paper as it comes out of a printer
9. I also love the smell of hot paper as it comes out of a printer
10. Having curly hair is like the best way to be lazy and get away with it
11. I wish I could travel the world with Natalie. I'm pretty sure we would be the world's greatest travel companions.
12. I will go to London in 2012
13. Alaina and I have the most similar personalities of all the girls in our family
14. I really want an old book I can hollow out so I can hide things in it while it sits on a book shelf.
15. Ticking clocks use to drive me crazy when I was trying to fall asleep. Now I'm just too excited to go to sleep to even notice the ticking.
16. I bruise really easily
17. I'll always choose the top bunk
18. My birthday is the 18th of May
19. My middle fingers are super crooked
20. I am almost 20. Did you know that?
21. Living away from home = spending money on boring things. That's right toilet paper, dish soap, and paper towels I'm talking to you!
22. It is very nice to be in charge of myself
23. Unpainted girl toenails give me the creeps
24. I really enjoy hands
25. Sometimes I imagine what it would be like to have a nubbin
26. Sometimes I feel like I would give anything to have a DVR again
27. I love to snuggle
28. I think doing the dishes isn't so bad as long as you do them right after they've been dirtied
29. I have a scar on my knee from a cut that got infected with sand on a rugby pitch
30. The Child Development class I took last semester is the best class I have taken so far at BYU.
31. I frequently go through phases where I'm obsessed with peanut butter. (Seriously try peanut butter on toast already!)
32. I love to nap on top of my bed with a blanket while it's still light outside
33. Dinosaurs are my favorite
34. Some days I just want to lay in bed all day
35. I like how smooth and soft eye lid skin feels under my fingers
36. I usually dream in the morning
37. Mexican food is the best food
38. Fried chicken will make me sick, without fail, every time I eat it
39. Fat babies are HILARIOUS to look at
40. I wish that I could read more with out falling asleep. I spent too many years reading right before bed and now my body can't tell the difference between reading for pleasure and sleep time.
41. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EmWRNp_6l8 Most favorite dance ever. I get chills every time I watch it
42. Every time I get out of the shower I shake my towel to make sure there aren't any spiders living in it
43. Baseball is the most boring thing ever to watch. Well I suppose it's more interesting than golf but really, I couldn't tell you
44. Cookies are my favorite dessert
45. It's a tie between oatmeal scotchies and sugar cookies for my favorite cookie
46. I am so excited to take anatomy in the Fall
47. I am also so excited to meet Baby C. Don't you think Kendall and Josh will be awesome parents? I do
48. When you get the right bag of Crazy Bread from Little Caesars it's like heaven sold in a bag for only $1
49. I love to be warmed by the sun after you've been cold and inside for too long
50. I don't really like roast beef
51. I'm a little bit more than obsessed with Beyonce
52. If I could meet one celebrity right now I would meet Beyonce
53. If they were handing away magical powers I would choose to apparate
54. Of all school subjects English comes to me most naturally
55. I hate white pants and white church shoes. They just seem so impractical
56. I do not enjoy getting wet when I'm not planning on it. Clothes are for wearing and swim suits are for playing in water
57. I am most definitely a morning person
58. Cooked broccoli with lots of salt is the only way to go
59. Pride and Prejudice is one of my top three favorite movies. I could watch it every day
60. I like to donate blood
61. I still jump on elevators when I'm alone
62. Sometimes when I take my warm clothes out of the dryer, I put them in a pile and lay on top of them
63. I believe some candies are just better when they're a little bit warm. Try leaving a box of Hot Tamales in a warm car for a while and then eat them. It will change your life.
64. I love to get things in the mail
65. The older I get, the more I enjoy being with my family
66. I am a master of Uno
67. When I was little I use to ask for a baby brother for Christmas. Now that I'm older I am so glad that Santa never brought one to me.
68. The softer a bed is, the better.
69. Natalie, Kendall, and I all share a weird obsession with Pop Culture. That's right world, I'm keeping up with the kardashians, big whoop.
70. I like mini cupcakes but I hate making them. It's too much work with not enough to show for it. Oh and I eat way more of them than regular cupcakes
71. I would rather spend time with a few good friends than with a giant group of people I sort of know
72. It bothers me when people I barely know call me Mal
73. I like the way stainless steel appliances look but I would never put them in my own kitchen
74. I like weird old things
75. I want to live in a cute little old house when I grow up
76. When I'm going to sleep for the night I lay on my back and flip onto my stomach. I usually wake up on my back
77. When I nap, I lay on my side
78. I enjoy listening to the radio in the car with the windows rolled down
79. I've never been pulled over or ticketed by a cop
80. Journaling is awesome. I started keeping one about a year ago and I love flipping back and reading what I've written
81. Kendall and I share a love of Western Family's string cheese
82. I would probably choose ground beef over about any other kind of meat
83. Every time I cut an avocado in half I want to eat it with a spoon
84. If I could plant any fruit producing tree and have it thrive, I would plant an avocado tree
85. I love the smell outside after it rains
86. I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (are you singing the song because I sure am?)
87. Tongues simultaneously disgust and amaze me
88. Sometimes I want to eat just the crust off a slice of pizza
89. Target is my most favorite store
90. I frequently pick things up off the floor with my toes
91. The smell of fresh wall paint makes me think of my Mom and Dad
92. My favorite part about playing rugby in high school was getting to be a part of a team and learning to love my teammates
93. "Smack That" by Akon runs through my mind more often than I'd like to admit
94. I like the way my eyelashes feel when they're covered with mascara
95. The first thing I remember about September 11, 2001 is that Grandma called and told us we were getting bombed. Mom and I turned on the news on right after that
96. I've discovered that it's easier to waste time on a computer than you think
97. I really do love to laugh
98. It constantly surprises me how much I am like my mother
99. I've still never let anyone cut off any of my skin tags
100. I wish we could go to Mexico with the family every Christmas

Filling My Time with T-Shirts

2010-07-26T11:43:00.000-07:00

For those of you that don't know, I work at the BYU Law School as an assistant faculty secretary. To say things are slow during the summer would be and understatement. Things here just barely dribble by as I literally sit and wait for someone to give me something, anything, to do. In the last few weeks of boredom I've discovered a few things to keep me busy. Of all the things to pass the time my favorite by far is looking a t-shirt designs. It has even led me to buy these two beauties below.

I don't know what it is about these t-shirts that I love so much. Maybe I'm just a sucker for bright colors. Maybe I enjoy the thought of lounging around in a t-shirt. Or maybe (and probably most likely) my love of inanimate objects with faces is just too strong for me to resist having them on a t-shirt. So, for those of you who don't know where to look or are just bored like me, these are my two favorite t-shirt sites.
At shirt.woot! they post a new t-shirt everyday for only $10. You don't even have to pay shipping. The designs are always different so you never know what's coming.
Threadless is a site full of shirts that are just awesome. They're more expensive but they go on sale periodically. If I had a million dollars and spent more time wearing t-shirts I would definitely own more of these.
Well friends, that's about it. Hope you're all having a fantastic Monday! I'm stuck at work all day (8-5) and I've already run out of t-shirts to look at. Any ideas?

Dinosaur Day

2010-07-20T17:49:00.000-07:00

So pretty much I'm in love with dinosaurs. If I had to pick a moment when the love affair began I'd pinpoint this sunny day in Murray, Utah when Kendall and Rachel let me take pictures at the Sinclair gas station.

Life since then has been a blur of growing obsession as I slowly purchased almost anything dinosaur and snapped pictures of dinos anywhere I could find them. For some reason both of these dinosaurs were discovered in Boston when I was there in May.

One day at work I received the following email from Joshua.

"Mallory!

Can we finish our hoodies on Friday so that we can have dinosaur day on Saturday? My idea of dinosaur day is that we wear dinosaur t-shirts and dinosaur hoodies and watch dinosaur movies or something. Does that seem like a good idea?

Joshua!"

When Saturday came around we did just that. We got together in the morning to work on our hoodies and then met Kendall and Josh for J-dawgs. After that we went and got Jurassic Park, Dino nuggets, and our own choice of 2 liter for dinner. At the end of the day Joshua presented me with my very own dinosaur puzzle, a puzzle that he'd made all by himself! 53 pieces of wooden dinosaur beauty. It has been fascinating for me to see what sort of creative things he comes up with.

Here is a glimpse of what my finished hoodie looks like.

So pretty much dinosaur day is my favorite day and I wish it could be everyday.

Let Freedom Ring

2010-07-10T09:33:00.000-07:00

As promised here are some of the pictures from the longest 4th of July ever. Seriously. We celebrated the greatness that is the United States from Saturday morning to Monday night. It was an awesome weekend.

Saturday morning started with blueberry pancakes with strawberries on top. Very patriotic.

Okay so Joshua and I totally didn't plan on matching but when I saw his red striped shirt I knew I had to wear blue. hahaha. Later in the evening we waited to watch stadium of fire and played a lot of Uno.

Sunday was church and then once it was dark outside we lit sparklers. Call me old fashioned but they're still my favorite.

On Monday Julia and I went to see Eclipse. It was awesome. We made a delicious french silk pie and went swimming later with some friends. Basically my life is awesome. I've been spending a lot of time with my (to put it in Aunt Cheri's words) "special friend" Joshua. He's in our ward and we've been dating for the last few weeks. It's been interesting to experience life with a boy involved. Happy 4th of July again world! Oh, and I get to be an Aunt again. Hooray!

Blast from the Past

2010-07-08T07:58:00.000-07:00

It's been forever since I've blogged and blah blah blah but I'm ready to be committed again. Well at least for the rest of the summer. And what just happened to me is way too cool to not blog about it. Okay so I signed onto Facebook this morning to one new message. Here's the message...

okay so you probably dont remember me but as you can tell from my fb profile im Adan Banda haha ring a bell? i was in your first grade class Mrs Gaches hahah
yes i realize it was a long time ago, but little do you know a certain memory resounds through my mind from that time. it may sound silly and insignificant but when we were at recess one day at KDN i said some things to you that were not particularly what a "whatever-old" should say. Being newly baptized into the LDS church i didnt realize the significance, i was a rude nasty little kid...
you said something i never have forgotten,
"you should probably be a better example of the church... and be a better Mormon."
That day stood out to me more than ever and now I will be serving a mission for the church. ive come a long way from that little kid.
I depart next wednesday for the Paraguay Asuncion North Mission.
Thank you for putting me in my place that day. You dont even know how much i've wanted to do better from that day forward.
Thank you

Isn't that the coolest thing ever?! Who would have ever guessed that sassy little six year old Mallory could have influenced someone's life forever. I am glad that I was a good enough kid to set the example even though I don't consciously remember setting it. I am grateful that I had parents to teach me what it meant to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at such a young age. I guess what they tell you is true, you never know when someone is watching you.

I promise a 4th of July blog with photos will be up in the next few days.

So Much for Which I am Grateful

2009-12-07T17:50:00.001-08:00

This Quesedilla maker...love G+G

The Temple Lights

My New Coat

Snow to Eat

Good Friends and my Christmas Tree Pin

And that Christmas is only 18 days away! I am so excited to see everyone.

Ingrid and My Fanny Pack

2009-10-19T20:01:00.001-07:00

It has been an exceptional last few days I must say. I've finally started to feel like this is my real life and I'm not just at summer camp. Not that I've ever really been to this fancy of a summer camp but still, you get the point. Saturday night was the Ingrid Michaelson concert in Salt Lake. Sophie borrowed her brother's car and we drove up to the big city. We had a lovely little visit with G+G. Grandma had some little eclairs for us that were delicious and we had a nice little rest. Sophie keeps telling me she wants to go back and visit with them and I'm all for it! haha
We drove over to the concert and Sophie did the best parallel parking job I've ever seen. There were literally eight inches in front and behind the car. Needless to say we had a pretty awesome parking spot. The concert was amazing! I loved it. I wish I could go to a concert every weekend. Too bad I'm a poor college student.

Sunday night Kendall & Josh were kind enough to take me with them over to Alaina's house to watch the Proposal. It was SO good to be in a real home and eat real food. Alaina made flapjacks and I think that counts as real food.

Today (monday) I donated blood. It's something I've been thinking about for a while and it just happened part of my church calling to promote the blood drive, so I figured now was the time to give it a try. Long story short, I survived! I'm really glad that I tried and I don't think I would be opposed to doing it again in the future. My finger prick is bruising a lot but my arm feels alright. I'm starting to understand the people that told me there would be a lot to choose from at college. Here's a picture to sum up my last few days. Ingrid shirt, fanny pack, track marks from blood giving, and a smile on my face.

Oh, and just in case you didn't know I'm bringing back the fanny pack. It is the most practical invention ever and I don't know why people don't use them more often. I mean the eighties are coming back so why not bring the fanny pack along for the ride? My fanny is black leather so pretty much it's the definition of class. Pass the word along. THE FANNY IS BACK!

Something New-ish

2009-10-15T23:13:00.000-07:00

It is late; I am still awake. Just thought you should know. Oh and I wanted to tell you I now know how to use semicolons. (See first sentence)

College. is. awesome.

Harrison Hero

2009-10-02T11:44:00.000-07:00

Last Fall I had a little obsession with Harrison Ford. Mom, Dad, and I watched about every Harrison Ford movie there is except Star Wars. The list includes such gems as Working Girl, Witness, The Fugitive, Clear and Present Danger, Air Force One, Patriot Games and many other works of cinematic genius. While watching these movies my very astute father made the connection that Harrison Ford seems to frequent the role of reluctant hero. He never wants to chase down the bad guys but eventually ends up doing it anyway to save the people he loves.
So I'm sitting in my English class the other day, ironically thinking about Harrison Ford (you see, I kind of have a little bit of a crush on him and I didn't know his frequent role would also make it's debut in my own life) when we got put into groups of four for our next unit. I think to myself, "Great, another group of quite kids and we'll get nothing done." As I started talking and making things happen I couldn't help but remember my old man crush Harrison Ford and the reluctant hero that he plays in his movies. I guess I'm the reluctant leader. I hate taking the lead in a situation but if no one else steps up I eventually will. I couldn't tell you why I am so reluctant but I think I want to change it. Someday maybe I'll be with it enough to be able to take the lead on my own but for now I'm still a little reluctant like my BFF Harrison.

And for the record I am in love with the Harrison Ford from the eighties and nineties. Not the old man that's married to Calista Flockhart and has one earring.

Fun Fact

2009-09-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

Since I've come to the great BYU approximately 30 days ago I have been counting. The count is up to 31. What exactly have I seen about one of everyday? The answer is pregnant women. I know it seems weird but it sort of fascinates me. So next time you see someone that's preggers maybe you should start counting.

Does anyone else count weird things or is that just me?

Adventure in Sundance

2009-09-19T11:01:00.000-07:00

After the fastest week ever came friday! A girl in our ward has a cabin in Sundance and invited us all (the girls from both the 1100 and 1200 halls) to have a sleepover. I went up later with my friend Sophie and Hillary because we wanted to get some homework finished. After some adventures in finding the right road to get us to Sundance we finally made it to the house around 10:00pm.
There were a ton of girls there. More than twenty for sure but past that I'm not the most accurate estimator. After a few annoying name games we sat around the table (like 10 of us) and talked forever. At 1:00am about half the girls at the table left to go back to the dorms and then our conversation evolved into some of the best conversation I've ever had. It was so great. Now I have a reason to be connected to some girls and I love it.
When we finally got around to going to bed Sophie and I found a spot on the floor to sleep. We had to snuggle because it was so cold. Someone said something about the world's largest ball of twine and I quoted Drop Dead Gorgeous and we spent the next three minutes, in fits of giggles, quoting lines from the movie. When we were done laughing she said, "I think we're meant to be friends". I couldn't have agreed more.

PPParty Everyday. Party Everyday

2009-09-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

Finally a weekend! haha. It was another busy night at the college dorms. We finally had our ward social and got put into our family home evening groups. I am so psyched about my group. I feel like it is such an answer to prayer. For one thing Draco Malfoy is in my group. Not the actual Tom Felton boy but one that looks exactly like him. The funny thing is I pointed him out to Kendall the day before in the Cannon center and then the next day he is part of my family. Oh it is so great. The best part is he is super normal. You know like not a jerk. I'll sneak a picture of him as soon as I get to know him a little better. :)
After the social we went the Fall Fest on campus which is I guess the opening social of the school year. There were SO many people there. We spent some time dancing and just wandering around seeing what there was to do. I played with Julia for a bit and met all her crazy roommates. Then as our new tradion would have it we went back to the dorm and watched a movie in McCall and Stephanie's room which happens to be Erica's old room 1108. We all brought our collection or junk food and had a little girl party and watched 13 Going on 30.
Right now I'm sitting in the bottom of the library taking a little break from all of my studies. I've already finished Anthropology and Physical science homework and next I'm moving on to English 150 and Nutrition. Life is still a party!

Oh I forgot to tell the story about my toe! Well it's not really that exciting but I'd just left Julia to try and find my dormmates. I was wearing the only shoes that are comfortable since I got giant blisters on the back of my heals from another pair of shoes and to make a long story short some boy was dancing crazily, shuffled backwards and took my big toenail with him. Oh man it hurt. It was a little bloody but I think I'll survive.

Are you there world?...It's me Mallory

2009-09-09T20:43:00.000-07:00

Wow wow wow! So much has changed since January. Right now I am sitting in my college dorm just loving life. Too much has happend lately to capture it all but I'll just update you all on a few things.
Toward the beginning of March I was accepted to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. I have lived the college life for about three weeks and I am totally in love with it. Classes are different. I am loving the 50 minute class periods but I never knew that there was this much text book reading involvedin learning. I've made a few good friends and I cannot wait to see what the next seven months brings to me.
Today I took a little 20 minute walk over to Paul Mitchell the School and had Gabbe cut and style my hair. That girl really has a gift. hahaha. I added up the total time I spent walking today and it adds up to a little under 90 minutes. Take that obesity. Anyway...I came home, ate dinner with some friends and then watched SYTYCD and Glee with some girls from my hall. It is so great when I get all my homework done on campus. I'm already looking forward to the weekend because we're all going to watch HSM:3 Senior year in my neighbors room. I will close with a few pictures of my new girl friends.

Movie nights! Eight girls crammed into a dorm room watching some movies.
The middle picture is titled "Choosy Mormons Choose Jif" Thank you McCall.
The Hotty Potty. I think you get the point.

Starting Now

2009-01-20T20:42:00.001-08:00

I feel a little bad for neglecting my blog so much lately. There was just too much excitement with the great snow storm '08 and with all of the family that I figured there were other things to do. So like a neglected journal I am going to forget all of the wonderful things that have happened in the last month and get right in to what is happening right now.

+Today was the first official day of rugby...ouch
+It finally hit me that I am a SENIOR! I am graduating and then I will be out on my own. It really hit me when my bf Michelle told me she was leaving for BYU-Hawaii July 1st. It freaked me out. That is so close! Some of these people I will never see again. It makes me unbelievably sad.
+Finals come next week and I am having a hard time coming up with the motivation to do well. I think the thought that I have not yet been accepted to BYU-Provo should be good enough motivation.
+Chipotle is my most favorite food in the world right now. If there is one in your town you should go. If not come visit me in Oregon and I will take you. Make sure you get chips and guacamole. They make them fresh ever day. AND the burritos are to die for.
+I love having a friend to talk to. For some reason I have been so chatty with one friend in particular and it is the greatest thing ever. It's almost as if we're becoming best friends all over again as we discover new things about each other through conversation.

Well I am going to try and take this slow so I don't get overwhelmed with the blogging world. Hopefully I'll be back soon. Oh and if you haven't heard the Ingrid Michaelson song Giving Up go listen to it. It's my new favorite.

Still Good

2008-12-11T19:32:00.001-08:00

For some reason Natalie thinks this is hilarious but I am sure she has just built it up in her mind. Man do I love the thug life.

Life is so great. Honestly I am loving everything. Rugby starts so soon I cannot even believe it. Christmas is only two weeks from today (weird) and I only have to go to six more days of school before break. G+G are in Oregon right now and they are so fun! Boston was a blast. Life is just delicious. Just find a little something to love and then everything seems so much more lovely. I wish I could see you all and Christmas but I know that I can't. I love you all nonetheless.

Twilight

2008-11-24T11:55:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to get to go to the Twilight midnight premiere with my friend Elissa. Oh dear was that exciting. I really loved the movie. It was so delicious.
We made matching shirts.

This is our really excited face when we were on our way.

Here we are waiting in line

Here we are tired of waiting in line. We did a lot of waiting since we got there at 8:00. But man our good seats were totally worth it.

After a long while the movie finally came.

The whole evening was delightful. Honestly I loved it. I can't wait to see it again this week. I've been reading the book out loud to Michelle--who's never read it!--and then we are going to see it together. We're almost finished. Oh my gosh this book never gets old.

Things I Love SO Much I Cry a Little Bit

2008-11-19T20:54:00.000-08:00

I just finished my BYU application! I can't even thing about it, it makes me so nervous!
Tomorrow night is the Twilight premiere! AHAHAHAHAHAAAAHHHHH!
I get to go to Boston and see two of my sisters
Christmas is right after that and then I get to see all three of my sisters!
Listening to Christmas music with Michelle really loud while we drive to lunch.
Really deep sleep.
Kino...isn't he cute?
A Dad that will help me work really hard on my essays so I can go to college.
Facebook
Pizza
Rugby is starting. (First touch practice last night. My body hurts already.)
Each day that I live I see how much stuff for which there is to be grateful. Thanksgiving is one week from today and even though I won't be spending it in my ideal way I guess things could get a lot worse. At least I get to make the pies right?

It's Been a While

2008-11-17T17:43:00.000-08:00

Life is good. Last weekend I got to travel to Seattle, WA for a Jazz choir festival. It was so much fun! I also got to miss a day of school so that was a plus. Friday we wandered around Pikes Market and then Saturday we sang in the Olympic Jazz festival. Our outfits looked good, my solo was sassy, and all was right in the world. We were chosen as one of three groups to sing again in the evening so that was good. The Mexican fiesta we had at the end (which is equivalent to we ate at a mexican restaurant) was delicious. I think growing up in Arizona has permanantly engrained Mexican food into my blood. For example, I believe that we could solve all the world's problems by getting everyone together and having a giant mexican food fiesta. That is how delicious mexican food can be. Anyway here are some pictures from my weekend adventures.

PS-Three days until Twilight

AHHHHH!

2008-10-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

I am not kidding I cried. I am so super excited. Only 202 more days. Natalie you better watch this because I know you don't usually watch video blogs but you'll miss out if you don't.

Is anyone else freeeeaking out?

Suprise No Really...SUPRISE!!!

2008-10-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

Well the last seven days I have been an orphan and loving it! The parentals have been in Hawaii and I think I've been having just as much of a vacation here as they have been on that sunny island. For Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday night I was lucky enough to get to stay with my friend Michelle. Her family is very religeous and it was really interesting for me to see how different yet similar are lives are in that aspect. I think my favorite thing was the fact that they pray all the time. Not like pray formal prayers but whenever they need help on something or just to give thanks or ask for safety. I really enjoyed it so much. Not to mention that Michelle's Mom (Dixie but I have to call her Mrs. Francis) is the sweetest person in the world. Here's an older picture of Michelle and me just incase anyone doesn't know her.
Wednesday was Megan's 18th Birthday and I planned a suprise party for her. Oh my goodness it was so fun! She had no idea! I was shaking when we came into our house because I was so excited! Anyway I went to Red Robin with her family for dinner, has a trusted friend let people in for the suprise and then when Megan and I came home to spend the night...SUPRISE. Honestly I think that everyone should plan atleast one suprise party in their life, it's so much fun! The turn out was that great so it was pretty intimate but it seemed just right for Megan. (Have no fears parental supervision was provided)

Thursday and Friday I got to do what I do best. Be independent. I picked up Kino thursday after work, went speed dating for a school fundraiser (awkward/fun) and went to sleep. Friday I forced myself to be social and I went to my first football game. I didn't really go for the game but more to watch my friend Kate be a cheerleader. She was the best one for sure and it was totally worth it. Plus I got to flirt a little bit with my silent almost boyfriend. (not really)

I'm loving life.
HSM 3 Next weekend!

Fourth

2008-10-16T17:53:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot about this picture. Alaina came to visit the fam in Oregon one March and she brought us all a little present. This was right after she told us she was expecting Adrie. I'm pretty sure I cried when she told us.

Proof

2008-10-12T13:15:00.000-07:00

Let me prove to you that I was the one to give kendall the kissing disease. (but not by kissing)

1. Two weekends ago when I was "sick" I slept for 25 hours of a two day weekend. Also the parentals couldn't wake me when I was taking a nap after school on that friday.
2. I have pretty much given up watching tv because I am so tired by the end of the day. That's right...most nights I go to bed around 8:30.
3.This three day weekend I have already slept 30 hours and I am thinking about taking a nap this afternoon.
4.I can trace this mono's lineage from Kendall to me back to Gabbe who got it from Emily Kara who got it from Ian Leslie. It all makes sense.

You could just say I'm tired because I wake up at five (true story) but it's not normal to sleep for 10 hours and still wake up tired. Perhaps a sleep number would solve all my problems, who knows? But I'm sticking it out. Maybe I just love sleep (true) too much perhaps? We may never know.

A Little of This --- A Little of That

2008-10-07T19:19:00.000-07:00

1.I love sleeping so much. Why do you never appreciate something until you lose it?!
I really wish I could go to the High School Musical 3 midnight premiere
I start my application for BYU in eight days! AHH!
Only a few more days before the parents go to Hawii and I get to be a responsible adult!
School is hard. Why does studying stink so much?
I love working. I mean to say I love having money from working.
When I get super tired right under my right eye twitches.
I have a solo in jazz choir
I think I would make a good banker because I really enjoy counting money. I do a lot of this as choir treasurer.
Girl music is SO GOOD! ie-Ingrid, Priscilla, Fiona, Regina, Paramore...we are all good friends.
Someone brought cupcake in to work today. I had a pumkin spice one that was delicious.
I have renamed Wednesday Suckday because it is so awful.
I started sleeping on my side instead of my stomach. I couldn't tell you how this evolved.
The Ahhhhs in You Don't Know Me make me think of the Oompah Loompahs in the Johnny Depp version of Willy Wonka
Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day
I should really finish my homework now.

Expecto Patronum

2008-09-30T18:46:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot about Harry Potter lately (typical I know). It might have something to do with the fact that I watched all five of the movies with Mom in the last few weeks but I couldn't tell for sure. Anyway in the third movie Harry learns how to produce the Patronus charm to ward off the dementors that attack him. For the spell to work you have to have a really powerful/strong happy memory that basically forces the dementors away. I've been thinking about my most happy memory and I finally decided when I was the most happy. Get ready...

Thanksgiving of 2007 was the best family holiday I think I have ever had with my family. Tears come to my eyes when I think about how perfect that week was but one moment sticks out in particular. On Thanksgiving day we all kneeled together for family prayer. It was my turn to say the prayer and I got all choked up because I was so joyful with my family and just having the idea that we can have an eternity of thanksgiving weeks together in heaven. I don't know words cannot express how those few minutes in prayer changed my outlook on life. I feel extremely blessed everytime I get together with my family and I must say I cannot wait until the day we can all be reunited together in heaven once again without the stress of the world.
Okay now I want to know what memory you would use to keep the dementors away from you. I'm not gonna lie mine is pretty solid so dementors if you're reading now you know you have no chance of getting my soul!

Little Things

2008-09-22T18:09:00.001-07:00

I'm sitting here at the computer in my house, on a Monday night, all by myself. I really have nothing planned tonight and I don't think there is any way for me to be more content. Today was it's usual productive day with a few little bits of heaven interspersed to make it extraordinary.
Today I got my first AP Biology test back. I had prepped myself for the worst as our teacher told us not many people did well on it. I thought Oh well I've got the rest of the semester anyway. I finally got it back I and was so excited 52/56! I had recieved one of three A's in the entire class. If I had been by myself I would have cried. Ah! I was and still am way excited about it.
Second bit of heaven came at work when I found a large basket of funsized Milkyways sitting out for us to eat.
Third and probably the bit I was counting on all day was my fantastic dinner of my two most favorite things on earth. For dinner I ate chips and homemade bean dip and salsa. Both were poor imatations of the real things made by people I dearly love but still I couldn't have been any more happy as I ate until I was stuffed of something oh so delicious.
The last bit of heaven comes with the rest of my night. I don't have anything planned. I'm already in my pj's and soon I will climb into bed to read my dragon book and watch some tv before I sleep so I can do it all again tomorrow.
Look for the little things in your life that make you happy. I'm sure if I were a more mature person I would have some more fulfilling things on my list but for now I am utterly and blissfully happy.