The Ten Adventures

For all you grunge fans out there...

2011-06-08T13:58:00.002-06:00

So Emily and I work approximately 4 blocks from each other. Yet we've only gotten together for lunch twice now. Today being the second time. Today I forgot my delicious lunch that I had prepared. A low-light of my morning, realizing that tragedy. But it turned into a highlight of my day. Since I couldn't just eat at my desk like I normally do (lame) and had to go buy something, I figured I might as well see what Emily was up to for lunch. So I took a little stroll down to her office, we purchased some delectible cuisine, and decided to sit outside since it is such a beautiful day.

Best. decision. ever.

Turns out they do concerts in the park out there every day. They call it the Lunch Bunch. (cute, huh?)

Today's local talent was unintentionally hilarious. A group of guys in their late 30s or 40s. Still chasing their dream. Inspiring, really.

We had to take a little walk to get a peek at how many people were actually sitting down by the stage. Emily guessed 22. I guessed 14. We were both too high. As we passed by, the drummer, sporting a Hawaiian shirt and a long white ponytail, smiled and made eyes at me.

You know I'll be there when they return August 2. Join me. Please.

Avoid Eye Contact

2011-06-02T11:36:00.003-06:00

This is living in my pipes.

She woke up and started making noise a few days ago. Loud noise. Right through my bathroom wall. At first we thought it sounded like the house was just suffering from indigestion. I shared this thought with Matt the Landlord and he said that could be it. Or it could be the sub pump blah blah blah.

But before we could make it to Costco to get enough Pepto to remedy the situation, it hit me. How could I have not figured it out before? I realized that we were all in grave danger. Especially Matt the Landlord, who said he would come over and check the pipes.

Maybe I should warn him. He has a nice smile.

Here Comes the Sun.

2011-06-02T11:23:00.004-06:00

Summer might be coming. I'm not sure.

Either way, I'm in need of some new sunglasses.

Thoughts on these?

Love-Hate

2011-04-01T16:45:00.004-06:00

Things I love about today: 1. Sunshine and finally feeling like Spring. 2. New tights. 3. Driving to work this morn with Showtunes taking over one of the radio stations (it took me 90% of the drive there to realize the correlation between this Friday Morning Miracle and April Fools' Day). Things I hate about today: 1. See number 1 above. And then realize I am inside. 2. Client is coming to sign some papers, but not until almost 5, so I am stuck inside until then. 3. The announcement that there were treats in the break room, and then the sign on the table that said April Fools! Rude.

Phone, meet toilet.

2011-03-02T18:25:00.002-07:00

I had hoped you would never meet, but now you have.

Apparently the little muffin-top-esque shelf that is created when I roll the top of my sweatpants is not an appropriate nor a safe place to perch my phone when my hands are full of other things. Especially if I plan to forget that I placed the phone there and then go into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

Whoops, I'm crazy!

This is why I always keep the toilet seat closed. I had a roommate that fought with me about this once, saying that when she needed to go, she NEEDED to GO and didn't have that extra half second it takes to lift the lid. I remain firm in my conviction that the lid belongs down as much as possible. Precisely for reasons such as this.

Needless to say, my hand has never plunged into a toilet bowl so quickly (I was very grateful the water was clean). I took it apart, dried it off as best I could, put it back together, and turned it on. Anytime I pushed a button, it would act as if I pushed like 15 other buttons.

So into a bag of rice my celly friend went. Tried again this morning. White screen of death. Back into the rice.

Just tried again, and while I was out of the room, I called my dad. And then in the middle of our phone call "I" started text messaging random numbers. So if you get a weird message from me (especially if you are on my speed dial, which, let's face it, if you are one of the 7 people who read this blog there is a good chance you are), I apologize.

Back into the rice....Otherwise, we may have to revert to Short Mail...

Hap Prez Day

2011-02-21T23:36:00.002-07:00

I had much different vision for this post, but then thefacebook.com decided to ruin lives in just one more way.*

And Janna said I have like 50 unfinished drafts saved on here. Untrue. It is less than 10. But even so, I did not want to add another one to the pile.

So instead I will share with you some facts about our 11th President, James K. Polk.

And I will let you learn them the same way I did: through song.

*It would not let me save a picture, which was apparently taken on Janna's camera and not my own. Are we going to have to go back to the days where everyone has to get a picture on their own camera...or EMAIL them to each other? Young Hickory would not have let that happen.

NGO

2011-02-15T00:10:00.015-07:00

You know how there are some things that just never get old?

Like the fact that Darren is color blind?*

And I just laughed out loud to myself thinking about all the jokes we can/have made about it. I might be a bad person. But it's always funny. Every. Single. Time.

Here's another one that gets me every time. It's just always funny.

*Imagine this sentence in multiple colors. If you can. (Blogger hates me.)

Dilemma

2011-02-05T10:32:00.008-07:00

The Superbowl is just over 24 hours away. And I don't know who to root for.

I have equally legitimate reasons to cheer for either team.

Green Bay:

They have the same colors as my alma mater, Shawnee Mission South.

Pittsburgh:

Snoop Dogg is cheering for the Steelers.

Also, the Steelers have this crazy-haired BYU Alum:

I just don't know what to do.

Help?

It's like they wrote this song about me.

2010-10-27T23:03:00.007-06:00

So I've never actually watched Veggie Tales (was it a TV series? movies? I'm sure wikipedia.org could tell me, but that's not the point). But I do know that Katie Duncan has never been to Boston in the fall. Which is apparently a Veggie Tales song.

So I watched this video, since it will soon not apply to me (the Boston part anyway).

And when I did, I discovered how much it described my life.

I mean, a few things are inaccurate: I've been to Denver. And St. Paul (that's a new one this last summer). But I didn't bury treasure there, so really I guess it's just the Denver one. Pretty much everything else is accurate:

I've never been to Greenland.

I've never swabbed a poop deck (not really sure what swabbing entails, not interested in finding out).

Sometimes I feel like a pirate (ok, not a pirate) who doesn't do anything (I need a job. Real bad. I have far too much time on my hands).

I've never been to Boston, in any season (including fall).

And the clincher: I don't look good in leggings (darn you, current fashion trends).

It was a little creepy. It's like those veggies were singing the story of my life.

Melanie wanted a shout out. Because she reads this blog a few times a year.

The Dream Team

2010-09-06T14:30:00.006-06:00

I almost entitled this post "Another Saturday Night and We Ain't Got Nobody", but decided that that kind of pathetic didn't need to go into the title.

Anyways, last weekend, in honor of things changing with the new school year and such, we decided to make some goals for ourselves. A little funny since none of us are actually still in school, except Eben, but we are still here in the Prov living the college lifestyle so we'll go along with it for now.

We made some group centered goals for everyone and also some personal goals for the week. Please pay attention to the star chart. You can never go wrong with a good star chart. We have since moved the goals to a higher technology that is a Google Doc. I love Google Docs almost as much as I love star charts.

These are the people that were fortunate enough to be there in person when it all began, (Eben is looking forward to graduate life already, it was a crazy night).

We have now included some of our dearest friends from across the country in our goals as well. And that is how The Dream Team (or at least this version) was born.

The Dream Team
Not Pictured: Mark Skinner, Deanna Roark, Eben Hinton

Here's to becoming better in all areas of life!

Dear Brian Littrell

2010-09-06T12:43:00.001-06:00

Dear Brian,

I just wanted to write a quick note to say thanks for an unforgettable night. I know it's been 2.5 months now, but I still just can't stop thinking about it.

You know, I may not have ever told you this, but back when you guys were first big in the U.S., I totally had a crush on you. A lot of my friends thought Nick was the cutie, but you were the one I was drawn to. You promised you'd be there to make me smile. You promised to never break my heart. You promised you'd be the one. Needless to say, you won me over. You were my fire. I knew that without you all I was going to be was incomplete.

I guess what I really want to say is...Thanks for sticking with it all these years. I know you probably get a lot of crap for still being in a "boy" band at age 35, but I, for one, respect that you are not ashamed of who you are. You wear the matching sequined "B" jacket with pride.

And you still totally own that classic boy band choreography (more than Nick can say...but I'm not sure he was ever a great dancer). Very impressive.

So even though Nick is undeniably the most attractive Backstreet Boy now (and funny how 5 years doesn't seem like much of an age gap anymore), I just wanted you to know that you'll always hold a special place in my heart.

xoxo

19 November 2010

2010-08-13T10:17:00.004-06:00

Last night as I was laying in bed, wishing I had my chapstick that was in the other room, I started thinking how nice it would be to be able to conjure up a nice summoning charm. Accio chapstick! I think I may have even started practicing my swish and flick.

[Subject Change]*

You know those dreams where you realize you completely forgot to attend one of your classes all semester and now you have to go take the final? I don't. My mom said she still has that dream from time to time, but somehow I never had stressful test dreams. Until this summer. Go figure, I wait until after I graduate before I start having school nightmares.

Yeah, the Bar was that scary for me.

But the dreams never actually involved the test itself. It was always me, unable to get to the test (I had a very conscious fear of not getting there on time). I didn't have a pencil, and couldn't take the test.** Or we were trying to get pizza before the test and all the pizza places were closed. You know, weird stuff that makes sense in dreams and causes very real stress.

I didn't dream about the actual test until about 2 days beforehand. That one was terrible. I just kept writing essays I didn't know the answers to.*** I woke up and saw that it was like 3am, but I didn't want to go back to sleep if it meant that I had to dream about the next part of the test.

But the worst part is, I didn't start sleeping better when the test was over. I woke up a couple mornings ago in a panic. Oh my gosh, is the Bar today? Did I miss it? Can I still make it on time? That fleeting but intensely fearful sensation may have been worse than any of the dreams.

This post is getting boring and I'd like to be done reliving the Bar in any form.

Let's finish the way we started: HP.

*At one point, the above thought was connected to the below thought in my mind, but I no longer see the connection and am not going to attempt to make a smooth transition.

**This was obviously before I found out pencils were not even allowed.

***Although, maybe my dream wasn't quite as bad as one of my friends, who had a dream where he opened the cover of the test booklet and the first question was about Organic Chemistry. Talk about nightmares.

The Final Countdown

2010-07-26T11:03:00.002-06:00

It has come to this. Jill has graduated from law school and after months of studying she is taking the Bar this Tuesday and Wednesday. I'll just be glad to have it over so she can start enjoying the summer with us. I think she might agree. Good luck Jill!

fishtail.

2010-07-11T17:41:00.002-06:00

Rational Thoughts

2010-06-30T11:54:00.005-06:00

So it might be an understatement to say I'm not a morning person. I love how much I can get done when I am awake early, and really do LIKE mornings. It's the getting out of bed part that I just can't do.

I get all sorts of thoughts that seem to make sense at the time, but when I think back on them, they make little to no sense at all. They usually involve reasons for me to stay in bed. I'm REALLY good at convincing myself that it would be a better idea to go back to sleep than get up and go to the gym (sometimes this happens even after I've been up and actually out of bed for a few minutes). I'm also pretty good at rationalizing skipping class.

Sometimes in the hour-long process of waking up and hitting snooze, my dreams mix with conscious thoughts.

Here's a thought pattern I had the other day:

(Note: This very well could have taken place over the course of like 30 minutes. Time is so fluid at this time of day.)

Oh man, it's St. Patrick's Day isn't it?

(Roll over.)

Yes, it's St. Patrick's Day.

(My pillow is so soft.)

Hmmm....That means it is ValPal's birthday.

(Stretch.)

I should give her a call. Or at least send a happy bday textual message.

(Get out of bed. Walk down hall, through kitchen, through laundry room, towards bathroom.)

Man, good thing I wore green shorts to bed. I wouldn't want to get pinched right now.

(Pause.)

Wait a second...it's June. It's not St. Patrick's Day. And it's not Val's birthday.

That's too bad.

Teacher, can I use the Hall Pass?

2010-05-29T17:23:00.003-06:00

I've maybe expressed how law school = middle school (mostly just the first year).

I had all my classes with the same subsection of our class. My classes were assigned. My carrel was like my locker, which I visited between each class to trade out books I needed for each class. I never had to leave the building all day.

The difference was that my friends were approaching 30, not 13.

And now I've reverted even further (farther? I still don't know):

Bar Prep = elementary school.

Here's what I did in class yesterday.

I filled in blanks in a workbook.

What? You don't trust me to take notes on my own on my computer without getting distracted by gchat and wikipedia?

Thank you BarBri for realizing I have the attention span of a 2nd grader.

Choices

2010-05-19T15:49:00.007-06:00

We have to make a lot of choices in life. Some of the most difficult involve which celebrity gossip to believe and what to dismiss as false.

For example, some celebrity "trivia" I choose to believe:

Jamie Lee = hermaphrodite.

"Lady" Gaga may actually be "Sir" Gaga.

There is a website called ladygagaisaman dot com. What more proof do you need?

And some falsehoods I refuse to just blindly accept:

Tupac is dead.

TMZ saw him in New Orleans recently.

And this article citing the Top 20 reasons (narrowed down from 50) why he's alive points out some striking parallels between Mr. Shakur and Machiavelli. An interesting read.

And most recently...

Wentworth Miller is gay.

Just because he is the frontman for a popular men’s high-fashion line in South Korea (you have good taste, Korea) doesn't mean he is gay.

Z....and Done! (phew!)

2010-05-13T12:29:00.006-06:00

Janna is grateful for this sweet face she gets to see every time she opens her kitchen cupboard.

Not sure why she doesn't eat more. That's some pretty strong incentive (or at least pretty incentive).

And I'm grateful for zodiac signs. Because a zodiac compatibility website told me that this guy and I are a "perfect connection."

Apparently we are "well suited intellectually and every other way."

I might be in love.

Y

2010-05-02T23:53:00.003-06:00

That's my school!

(Or at least, it was.)

X? Not so much.

2010-04-20T17:35:00.003-06:00

So unless I decided to mention something X-rated here, which I won't, because I'm not that kind of girl, this post has nothing to do with the letter X. However, today Darren pointed out to me that I missed the birthday of my favorite baseball player. I am shamefaced. So, here's to you Joe. Happy Birthday. I love you.

p.s Jill, I feel like this should count as X anyways. At least I mentioned it.

W

2010-04-12T23:46:00.003-06:00

Love.

It's so elusive.

And let's be real. Dating sucks. Some of us can use all the help we can get.

For that reason (among others) I am grateful for

the Wingman.

To those who are willing to take one for the team so your buddy can live the dream...

Thank you.

Your selfless service makes the world a better place.

...and...

"W" runner up: wikipedia.

I've tried to avoid doing too many posts with multiple things, but I can't not give a shout out to the blessing that is wikipedia.org.

Yes, it is helpful for quickly briefing legal cases you will be called upon to discuss in class.

Yes, it is a perfect quick-reference when you're wondering if Amy Adams' hair is naturally red, or need help explaining to your roommates why Song of the South was never fully released on home video in the United States.

Yes. It is awesome.

Here's a sampling of recently read wikipedia articles:

-Sweet Valley Twins

-List of animals with fraudulent diplomas

-The Ides of March

-Snapple

-Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts

-The Wonder Years

I just have so much more to say about all of these things. But I won't. Not here, not now. Wikipedia just enriches my life.

And in other W news: my waterpolo team is in the championship tomorrow night. Just saying.

A pause from our regular programming

2010-03-26T15:57:00.006-06:00

We haven't been giving birthday shouts out lately because I still haven't finished this whole ABC thing, and I'm afraid if I break away from it, I never will (and that would obviously be a terrible, terrible thing).

However, it just doesn't seem right to just pass right by my co-bloggers birthday without any mention of it.

Happy Birthday Janna!

I know it's not much, but here is what I would like to give to you.

(I figure it's perfect because you are also a bit of a baseball/softball all-star.)

Love ya!

V is for Victory

2010-03-15T09:53:00.006-06:00

Nuff said.

U is for ... Underpants

2010-03-02T11:54:00.000-07:00

Because this clip is the only thing that came to mind with the letter U. Where would we be without them*?

or if you need more context:

Also, Janna reminded me we should give a special "U" shout out to urbandictionary.com, which blessed us with the much-needed definition of cheet (um, just the first def).

And how many times in my life have I needed to call "no stalk," but didn't know it was a legit-thanks-to-urban-dictionary phrase? (I could have used it that one time I met my friend's husband, whom I felt like I already knew...)

*Them refers to both underpants and the cast of Boy Meets World, including half of one of my favorite sibling-actor pairs.

T is for Twizzling.

2010-02-27T01:26:00.004-07:00

In case you were wondering, I'm still grateful for things.

Twizzle

\twi'z-'l\, noun:

1. a subtle touch that signifies more than friendship

2. may be manifested through a hand nuzzle, particularly to the elbow region, or a finger scratch, particularly to one's knee cap.

3. an action often involving a foam finger* and/or face-to-foam contact.

verb:

1. to administer a twizzle to another person

*(specifically, this foam finger)

But really it's one of those things you just know when you see/experience it (like skittling maybe).

I don't really know how to define it.

I just know I'm grateful for it.

let it Snow!

2010-02-06T11:18:00.022-07:00

One of my least favorite things in the world (besides waiting in lines) is being cold.

However, I do love the snow. At least while it is falling in those big, fatty flakes I can catch on my tongue and when it is still fresh and good to play in.

Things snow is good for:

Snowmobiling.

up to Lightning Peak

Building snowmen.

Most recently, with the sisters. Building a snowman that looks like Dad's passport photo.

Skiing.

I ski these days. I wouldn't necessarily say I'm a skiier, but...ok, maybe I will. I'm a skiier. Just not a good one. That would be Janna.

I figured I've lived in Utah for 7 years now, I may as well learn how to ski. Especially while I can take the class through BYU. Being a student is awesome. Anyway, such a good decision. I'm starting to get a glimpse of why people want to become ski bums.

And I find myself wishing it wasn't so warm for February (what has happened to me?) and wishing it would snow a foot. Or two. Quebes, does your rain dance work for snow?

And of course,

Battle sledding.

Changed my life. And changed the shape of my leg for about a year. Don't worry. That bump is 99% gone now. Thank you Logan and Klompers for a memorable snow season 2008.

RRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

2010-02-02T15:28:00.004-07:00

As some good friends have often said, the time for thinking is over; the time for action is now.

So I will stop thinking about what I will post for the letter R and start posting.

I'm grateful for Repentance. Contrary to what I used to think as a kid, repentance is not a punishment; it's a blessing. By not repenting, we are only punishing ourselves, denying ourselves of blessings that God is just waiting to pour out upon us.

I loved Elder Andersen's talk in the last General Conference about repentance.

"The invitation to repent is rarely a voice of chastisement but rather a loving appeal to turn around and to 're-turn' toward God."

It's hard and it can be scary. And it's sometimes hard for me to remember that the Lord already knows how I feel, because He's already been there, for me (see A). And it's only through repentance that I will be able to be healed and be encircled in the arms of my Savior's love, which sounds pretty good to me.

So I'm going to go ahead and say it: worth it.

Quarterbacks.

2010-01-23T11:48:00.002-07:00

I love BYU football. I really do. The BYU - Utah game 2006 was one of the more stressful days of my football watching life. It also provided one of the happiest moments of my football watching life. I can't describe it, but if watching clips of the last play of the game still takes your breath away like it does mine, then I don't have to.

or here's another one, with different commentary, which also fills me with joy. I couldn't pick just one.

...pause in the ABCs...

2010-01-19T16:13:00.003-07:00

I saw this background today and knew Jill would love it. So, this one is a shout out to you Jill Pill.

Puppies!

2010-01-15T10:01:00.002-07:00

Especially one puppy in particular: Brandi (1996-2009), may she rest in peace.

She was the best pet we ever had, and not just because she is the only pet we've ever had. She started out as a pet, but really ended up being our youngest sister.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who accidentally would mix up Laura and Brandi's names.

She started as an "outside dog" because my parents didn't really want a dog living in the house. That lasted one night. After that, the doghouse was really just a lawn ornament. The she was only allowed in the family room level of the house. A gate separated her from the rest of the house. Then she just wasn't allowed in the kitchen or bedrooms. But little by little, she took over the entire house.

She used to pretend she didn't like to wear hats, but she got used to it, and maybe even embraced it.

Last time I was home I found a mullet wig that was far too small to fit any normal human head (though it did look quite adorable on nephew Will). Sure enough, it was Brandi's. She had such a great sense of humor.

She loved playing outside, hated all other canines, and got uncontrollably excited whenever I was wearing anything remotely resembling athletic shorts or running shoes. She loved my dad, showing off her teeth, and staring at you with her soulful brown eyes anytime you went near the bread in the kitchen.

Favorite words: outside, bread, daddy, mommy, potty, car, walk.

She was so tolerant

...most of the time (exception: nee nee finglies).

Back in the Saddle Again with the letter O.

2010-01-06T14:45:00.006-07:00

Ok, I was running low on ideas for this one.* So I stuck with a no-fail theme of: what do I find amusing? Because I am always grateful for a little amusement. And the O Answer is...onesies!

Exhibit A:

Some treasures Rach and I found at H&M in NYC. Please notice the top 5 features of Rachel's suit:

1. velour

2. belt

3. velour

4. long pants can be hitched up into capris

5. velour

Exhibit B:

One day Janna and her roommates at the time decided to all go buy the onesie footie pajamas and friend Mike decided to go along. Guess who was the only one to actually buy footie pajamas? Of course.

Exhibit C:

This little treasure (ok, fine, I'm bragging because I think it's cool) was hand stitched** by yours truly over the break, and is modeled here by the lovely new nephew, for whom it was created. Really the best part is the family brand (which is a "cross C," as opposed to a "plus C"--don't get it wrong; that's super embarrassing) on the lamb. What can I say besides awesome?

So. I am grateful for onesies and how they pop into my life from time to time.

*And once I skipped one or two days, it was so easy to skip one or two weeks. Slippery slope. My b.

**This process took much longer than expected, so I will partly blame my neglect of this list on the onesie. I wanted a picture of it to include. You're welcome. Also to blame is what else I was doing whilst stitching: watching Season 4 of The O.C. in its entirety in a time period too short for me to feel comfortable admitting. I may have hated on Season 4 a bit in the past (as did many others, as evidenced by the mid-season cancellation), but actually watching it kind of filled me with joy.

And a treat for those of you who read the footnotes (because the children of lawyers who do not read footnotes will STARVE!)...

The Rhino.

NYC

2009-12-22T10:52:00.011-07:00

N is for New York because it is one of my favorite cities. (PS this post is mostly pictures. Also, if you would like some background music while reading, skip to the bottom first.)

We like to go there occasionally to enjoy the scenery,

and go to museums.
Then we try to take artsy pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge

and this happens.

We like to go to baseball games,
see fabulous plays,

and eat incredibly delicious large amounts of food.
And when it's over this is how we end up. No other way to enjoy New York.

And, just because...

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

2009-12-19T10:46:00.004-07:00

Today's thankful letter is M.

I kind of doubt anyone is keeping up anymore after my little bout of not keeping up. Sorry. It's been a busy couple of weeks. But either way, I am still grateful for

Macaulay Culkin.

Not only did he star in some of my favorite movies, Home Alone, My Girl, and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, but he also starred in one of the most excellent* papers I have ever written.

In order to graduate from law school you have to fulfill a substantial writing requirement. That means a 30 page paper. Ew. Not all classes require a paper, and not all papers meet the criteria for substantial writing (e.g., like I said, 30 pages, your prof has to approve drafts, etc.), so you have to be careful not to get stuck in your last semester with no good classes that will work for substantial writing, forcing you to write about something bo-ring. I decided to do mine last year in Sports and Entertainment Law, writing about child stars and their finances.

Sometimes I make bad decisions. But choosing this class for my substantial writing requirement was a very, very good decision.

Others who had supporting roles in my paper: Dominique Moceanu and Shannon Miller (of the Mag 7, I'm sure you remember), Corey Feldman, Nick Carter, some of the kids from Slumdog Millionaire, and of course MK and Ash (the most financially successful child stars of all time).

Thank you Macaulay!Thomas J. This is what I liked to call my nephew when he was in utero. Now he is Will.

*When I say excellent, I do not necessarily mean high quality. I mean, I got a decent grade, but mostly it was just an interesting-to-me topic and fun to research. I mean, who would think people.com could be a legit source in a law school paper? I did restrain myself from using wikipedia.org, even though that was the most informative source about the BSB's scuzzy manager.

Lady Wingmen...Taking One for the Team Since 2008

2009-12-17T16:34:00.005-07:00

Winter 08 -The legacy begins with Women's Basketball. Ranked #150 (with a winning record of 3-2). It was a learning year. ("What exactly constitutes a foul?")

Fall 08 - We continue our tradition of excellence with an 0-5 regular season record in flag football. However, we then pick the right time to start winning and made it to the semi-finals of the (D-III) tournament. Our coaches had an ceremony for us. I won the "Team Player" award because I was willing to play any position (translation: I was not terribly effective at any one position, so they kept moving me around, trying to find my niche).I just love Ox's dedication to the team uniform of tie-dye.

Winter 09 - We may have set an intramural record when we scored only 13 points in 40 minutes...and won!
Fall 09 - All of a sudden we were kind of awesome this season. So awesome, we got put in Division I for the tournament. That may or may not have been a mistake -- but with an intramural/Journey miracle, we did win our first tournament game against an upper division team! I credit the magic of the purple dreamcatcher tie-dye Elisse is sporting here (bottom right).

Special "L" shout-out to Lexy, one of the few original Lady Wingmen who has played every season. She is leaving us for the greener pastures of North Carolina. We will miss her terribly.

Also for L: labor. I've just been hanging out in the labor and delivery wing here today as my sis prepares to give birth to the wee bar'n. Any time now!

K

2009-12-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

If there was one thing in this world that could make me happier than the fact that I am done, done, and DONE with finals, this might be it:

This video fills me with joy. Every time I see it, Ryan Simmons skyrockets to the top of my "People I Want to Be Besties With" list. I miss when he lived across the street. But this almost fills that void. Almost.

J...We're so vain, we probably think this letter is about US!

2009-12-14T10:58:00.018-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts the past few days but it was a busy weekend. Jill had finals and I had Disneyland. Sucks to be one of us. Anyways, at the risk of sounding vain Jill and I have decided to dedicate the letter J to each other. After all, our lives would have ended up very differently if we had never found each other. I mean for one thing this blog wouldn't exist, and I know that all 8 of our readers (if we even have that many) would feel the lack.

2004:

We love our friends.

2005:

2006:

Janna's glasses look silly on Jill.

We celebrate Halloween.

We take care of each other (also, we are fantastically awkward)

2007:

We used to go to lacrosse games. And win tshirts.

We go to New York, home of Subway.

2008:

We're posers.

We are fans of wizardry and medieval Knight games.

We have awesomely amusing/creeptastic friends.

Best of both worlds.

2009:

We both will sing into anything as a microphone.

Matchers scratchers.

I...I wish I had a better title for this.

2009-12-10T18:08:00.007-07:00

Laffy Taffy joke of the day:

What did the hot dog say when he won the race?

I'm the wiener!

So one of my goals before I left BYU was to win an Intramural Champion tshirt. Some of my friends have multiples. Some of my friends won like their 6th last night. That will never be me; I'm not that athletically gifted. But I still wanted one. And I sure did not want to sign up for another degree just to buy more time to get one. That sounds almost not worth it. I've been on teams that have come close before, but we never quite went all the way...until this summer.

As I said, and as you are all aware, I'm not athletically gifted.

BUT,

with some careful recruiting,

and a lot of Journey "Don't Stop Believing,"

even more "My Life Would Suck Without You,"

(and some aforementioned tattoos, courtesy of Honks),

we finally did it.

Right after the awards ceremony.

The girls on the team (i.e., the reason we didn't get bumped to upper division)

I maybe hate Janna a little bit for winning a shirt on the first team she has ever joined. But whatev.

(I is for Intramural Championship T-shirt, if you didn't catch that.)

H

2009-12-08T13:58:00.009-07:00

H is for HP and by that I mean Harry Potter. I love it. I spent many years thoroughly invested in those characters and I don't regret a second of it.

While stuck in the car waiting to get out of the parking garage after a concert, everyone pulls out their copy of HP.

Just look how it brings people together.

At the midnight showing of #6.

Birthday theme party

H is also for Honks (HONKS!) which has also brought us many a good time and many a cheap tattoo as seen here:

The best of both worlds: Honks tattoo at HP theme party.

G

2009-12-07T15:27:00.000-07:00

I'm grateful for the letter g, brought to us by google. Not only is google the best search engine, and gmail the best email, the g has gotten me through many a boring summer job. Anything can be included in the gworld just by adding this beautiful letter in front. Give it a try. You'll love it.

Occasionally, when I go to type in a search term, my list of recent searches comes up, and I chuckle to myself. Some of my recent google searches: "caring for potted chrysanthemums," "national pygmy goat association," "IRC 215," "IRC 71," and "christina ricci."

Also, I want to share a list my dear sister sent me when I didn't post yesterday.

If you are struggling for something that starts with G here are some ideas--grandparents, gerbils***, goats (don't you girls have a thing for goats), games, gangstas, gatorade, genes (like the gene that gives us fat knees), gmail, gchat, goggles, glitter, gyms, gum, gummy worms*, green sippy cups with unknown contents**,

Joey Gladstone & Kimmy Gibbler, golf, grazing, green (you could use that sweet pic of you jumping all decked out in green), etc.

Also today, a special g-shout out to the Grounds Crew, who are so valiantly trying to keep up with the crazy snowfall that has not stopped in the past 2 days. I applaud your efforts and only wish you would come shovel my driveway.

Ok, g-see you later! (And for most of you, I probably will.)

*I would add gummy-vites. Crazy delicious. So much better than old people vitamins.

**This refers to a particularly scarring childhood experience.

***Meh. Maybe. Hampty and Jennifer? Were they gerbils? Actually, judging from Hampty's name, I'm going with hamsters. Whatev.

I'm grateful for Finals!!!

2009-12-05T10:46:00.005-07:00

PSYCH! (They are ruining my [Jill's] life.)

F is for Fishtails.

Thanks Logan.

E

2009-12-04T14:44:00.011-07:00

E is for England!

Anyone who knows me knows how I feel about England. I had the opportunity a couple of years ago to go on a study abroad there and it was the best. I love the culture, architecture, landscapes and basically everything about England. I met some of the most fantastic people and had some of the best experiences of my life there. Last summer I was able to go back with one of my brothers and experience it in a whole different way and I only love it more, so yay for England!

Tower of London

Tower Bridge

Oxford

Kew Gardens

Big Ben

Other things that we like that start with the letter E: Eggs. Jill makes a killer omelet. Ask her sometime. Come to think of it I don't know that I've seen anyone surpass her scrambled egg making skills either. Just sayin.

D

2009-12-03T10:50:00.027-07:00

D is for Dancing.

I am grateful for all things involving dance. I grew up dancing and loved it (I'm having a flash back to that part in Girls Just Want to Have Fun when SJP is introducing herself to her new class and she says she loves to dance and everyone looks and her kind of weird) and I feel like I can say that I appreciate all kinds of dance...except modern, that's not really my thing. I love the occasional SYTYCD episode and let's not even talk about such great dance movies as Step Up and Step Up 2: The Streets etc. Also, who doesn't love a good dance party?

On a boat in NYC

Valentines Day and campfire dance parties

Step Up 2: The Streets

Ballet and Michael Jackson. Classic.

Now if only I had access to the footage from my Good Old Summertime Ballet Recital when I shouted at my friend Rachel on stage that she was doing it wrong. Good stuff I tell you. Good stuff.

Other things that we are grateful for starting with the letter D: dads, deodorant.

Now what starts with the letter C? Cookie starts with C!*

2009-12-02T10:21:00.015-07:00

Actually, this post is about something else that defined our summer: Cotton Candy. Mostly Tear Jerker Cotton Candy(best $0.99 I ever spent...like 45 times). That stuff is magical. The moment I saw it on display in the Bookstore, I knew that it must be present at all major events of the summer. I was the saddest when they ran out and I realized they were not getting in a new shipment. It meant summer WOULD come to an end. But if you ever come across it, here is a piece of advice: get the puffiest bag you can find. It will be the most potent, and therefore, the most excellent.

Chelsea experiencing TJCC for the first time on the way to a softball game. The epitome of summer.

4th of July at Bear Lake

fireworks are more explosive with TJ Cotton Candy

at the Harry Potter premiere

Dave loves cotton candy more than donuts.

at the Mapleton Pioneer Day parade. "Mapleton is our town." This was confirmed when cotton candy was available.

Other C things: cookies (I had one for breakfast just this morning), Carrie, Chelsea (because she asked, even though she won't read this), Cindy, Cardio Cinema (I was in a bad mood last night until I went to the gym and Step Up 2: The Streets was playing in the CC. Cured my bad mood instantly. That and the kid wearing the shirt that said "24/7/365."), Christmas trees, coats.

* I just learned that today is actually the 40th anniversary of Cookie Monster's first appearance on Sesame Street. How perfect.

B

2009-12-01T10:26:00.000-07:00

B is for Back-up plans.

I am grateful for the back-up plans in my life (e.g., Helaman Halls, BYU Law, abstinence, Logan, etc.).

They are champs.

Because what if things turned out the way I thought I wanted them in the first place?

Other gratitude-inducing things that start with B: baby animals, baby humans, Boyz II Men concerts, Book of Mormon, brothers, Banana Republic, boy bands.

ABCs of Gratitude

2009-11-30T15:46:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the too-often overshadowed holiday of Thanksgiving, the Daily U's list of things to be grateful for, and, for some reason, the thing that I am grateful for that is associated with the letter K, I decided we need to make a similar list. A new letter every day. If we actually post one every day, that would put us at Z right around Christmas. I make no guarantees.

Some of the things will be serious, some probably trite, and some just plain ridiculous (because remember how I am ridiculous? And so is Janna? And that is why we are friends?).

I'll start with a serious one for A.

I'm grateful for...

the Atonement.

It is the greatest gift that ever has been or could be given. And Jesus Christ suffered so that each one of us may benefit from it. We can be forgiven of our sins, we will be resurrected, and we have the opportunity to gain eternal life with our Father in Heaven. I cannot imagine the suffering Christ endured. I cannot comprehend the love He has for us that would motivate Him to willingly endure such suffering. But I know that it is real and such a powerful blessing in my life. And I am grateful for it.

Words of Wisdom

2009-11-24T15:53:00.000-07:00

[I told myself I have time to blog this today because I FINALLY figured out a way to listen to class recordings at increased speed. Holla. A huge victory. Income tax at 186% speed, here I come!]

I was chatting with a dear friend today when for some reason I remembered a humorous incident from our freshman year. But I only remembered the first half. She was there to inspire me with a reminder of the rest of the story. It went a little something like this...

One cold winter night, Rachel and I had nothing to do. Our roommates must have had dates or mono or something and we were trying to find friends to hang out with. But for some reason or another, it seemed like no one was around the dorms that evening. Even our old reliables, the Taylor club, did not come to their window when beckoned. There were several inches of fresh snow, so we stomped out our loneliness in the snow on the bball court outside their window... in the shape of a broken heart, naturally.

~~Before I continue, here's something you should know: we are ridiculous. And overdramatic. Especially when feeding off one another. Sometimes people take us serious when they shouldn't.~~

Enter returned missionary, living in the dorms.

RMLITD: Is that a Pacman?

R: It's a broken heart. No one wants to hang out with us.

J: The boys in our ward think we're ugly!!! (translation: we're bored)

RMLITD (waxing wise*): Someday they'll grow up and realize you're really what they want.

R and J (trying very hard to suppress our "WT?" faces): Um, thanks.

Well, that's more or less how it went.

His kind words of encouragement, however, did not help us find anyone to play with.

And the next morning, our friends also thought it was a Pacman outside their window.

Epic failure.

Yet classic memory.

*His wisdom is in question, because he did, in fact, return to live in the dorms post-mission. Maybe he was an RA. That would be more acceptable.

"cute companion and it'll protect my house"

2009-11-19T23:33:00.000-07:00

Logan gchatted me this today:

Logan: I spent all morning on The Ultimate Goat Fansite. i hope you appreciate the kind of restraint I have shown today by not emailing you every five seconds

I realize some people might tire of goat pictures

One of the favorites he did send me...Enjoy. (thank goodness youtube is allowed on campus now.)

And that is why we are friends.

I guess this means I'll never be on her "Favorite Things" episode...

2009-11-19T23:26:00.000-07:00

I don't even watch Oprah and I feel a little empty inside at this news.

That's how big of a deal this is.

It's over.

She's been on the air longer than I've been on the earth.

I don't believe she'll really be gone though. People like her never really leave us.

I just got weirdly sentimental and wanted to read all the books on her Book Club list...but maybe that's just because I'd love to read anything besides Fundamental Principles of Family Law in Utah (smelly, smelly book) and Secured Transactions (boring book)

Two posts from me in one week! This is a record.

2009-10-28T14:06:00.000-06:00

This is for you Cindy. So a week or two ago I cut and died my hair. It's really not that dramatic, but I told Cindy I would get her some visuals so here they are. It's like 5 inches shorter, blonder and includes bangs. It's fine.

We got Micah to be in the pics with me as his way of sending his love to Korea as well so I hope you enjoy.

P.S. Happy Birthday Darren. To many more years of fatty foods, golf, TV, and baseball.

Joyful, Joyful

2009-10-26T16:45:00.000-06:00

So I was having a hard time getting going this morning and needed some music to help me along, but couldn't decide what I wanted to listen to, (because I can't really function at all before 7 AM) so I put the Ipod on shuffle and the treasures that greeted me today were something else. I mean we had some Mandy, Sinead O' Connor, Newsies and then Sister Act II, yes I do have some Sister Act II on my Ipod and in fact I used to own the cassette tape. Anyways, as I am sitting here at work, trying desperately to find something else to do besides study or make any large life decisions I decided to share this with you all, because it makes me happy.

Also, a shout to Megan Shirk here who left me with a VHS of this movie when she left and I am telling you it has come in handy. Remember how Lauren Hill totally got her start here? And how she hates white people? I still love you in this movie Lauren, and I always will. Here's one more just because I couldn't leave this post without it.

Flesh all amesh and rocky road...it's about desire.

2009-10-12T16:33:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I get cravings that just don't go away.

Like the desire to watch Step Up. That one was recently satisfied.

Or the desire to eat biscuits and gravy. Still waiting for that one.

Or the desire to wear camo. This one struck almost a month ago, and still has not been adequately addressed.

But it did remind me of that one time when my dad and I went to Cabella's.

We got some funny looks. Probably they just didn't understand what he was taking pictures of, since I obviously blended in seamlessly.

But just in case...

Invisible face for extra precaution.

Also, remember how it's Columbus Day? No wonder school was such a strug today. We shouldn't have been there at all.

But apparently Columbus' big day was on October 12 on the Julian calendar, but October 21 on the Gregorian calendar, or so wikipedia tells me. I don't know the difference between the Julian and the Gregorian calendars because I don't have time to click on the links today, but I do know that since I missed today, I will have to make it up with two days off, probably October 22-23. Who's with me?

Somebody in Korea loves us...or at least reads our blog.

2009-10-06T12:59:00.000-06:00

I've just been so entertained by Cindy's flood of posts about Korea I just haven't had time to post anything of my own. But per your request, Cindy, here is a new post to celebrate the month of October...and you.

Reasons we're for Cindy:
1. She is so great at untangling knotted masses of yarn.
2. She was one of our most faithful softball fans, even on nights when games conflicted with SYTYCD. And she wore the yarmulke I made her.2a. And she for sure made the best signs.
3. Ford sounds like Fort.
4. Tattoos. 'Nuff said.
5. She knows who she is...and that's freedom.

The beginning of the end.

2009-08-24T22:36:00.000-06:00

Today was my last first day of school.

Ever.
I had mixed feelings.
I am kind of getting tired of taking classes all the time. Summer has been so so nice.
But I don't know what to do with myself if I'm not in school. That's all I've done for the past 19 years. What am I going to do when I'm done with this year? Get a job? Well, I guess I'll have to, because I have no intention of going back for more (ValPal, I support your PhD-ing, but I want none of it).
Several people told me to make sure I took a picture on my last first day. I did. But let me be clear about 1 thing: this picture is very inaccurate because I took it after I came home rather than before I left. 7:45am is way too early to take a back to school picture, especially when I would have to find somewhere to set it up with the self-timer. No way. Not this morning. Unless you were wanting a picture of me scowling on my way out the door. 8:00 class and I don't get along.I kind of wish I had my first ever first day of school pic. I probably would have been pretty darn cute, chubby knees and all.

***Update*** Here it is! My first first day of school. Chubby knees and all.

Guess now it's official! Can't back out, can't back out.

2009-08-03T23:52:00.002-06:00

As has been previously established, our friend Janna has a problem. Being the true friends that we are, Katie Duncan and I want to help, and we think it is will be best for her to quit cold turkey. Today we got a huge promise out of her, about which I feel great.

Today,
August 3,
in the year of our Lord 2009,
Janna Lyn Siler
promised to buy
no new coats
until
February.

This is a big deal.
Please support us in helping her keep her goal.

If she breaks her promise, she will have to give me either one coat of my choice or 3 coats of her choice for me and Duncan.
We covered all extreme hypotheticals.
If she gains 50 pounds and all of her coats are too small, we will buy her another coat.
If she loses 50 pounds and all of her coats are too big, I will turn her into an eating disorder clinic.

Obsessed

2009-07-23T10:12:00.000-06:00

Unfortunately for some, this is not a tribute to the oh so excellent movie starring the one and only Beyoncé Knowles. That is for a different time and day and post. Although worth talking about so we might have to come back to that...anyways, back to the topic at hand today, I have an unhealthy obsession and am realizing this more and more all the time. Everybody has their thing right? For some people it might be shoes, for others it might be movies, or books or something, but for me it is coats. I love them. I feel like during the winter time a coat can basically be your outfit. Because of this obsession I have acquired a few coats over the years and I've been trying to be good about not purchasing anymore unless there is substantial evidence that the item in question is something I need. Well, today I had a weak moment...and I bought this beauty. I couldn't help myself. I actually found another navy coat with cute gold buttons, and considered buying both of them for about a minute and half until I found out the navy one no longer came in my size. Also, I just bought another new coat when I went to New York a couple months ago that I haven't even gotten a chance to wear yet. What I'm trying to say here is that I have a problem and the first step is admitting it right? I need help, because this "thing" of mine is expensive. I should just stick with crocheting. Maybe I could crochet myself a coat.

I kind of wish I didn't know.

2009-07-21T16:41:00.000-06:00

Every few years I rediscover this album. It's happening again right now, and I love it.

This girl was angry in the 90s.

And then I remember how her angriest of the angry, "You Oughta Know," was about Joey Gladstone.Weird. And so not right.

The Craftiest

2009-07-16T16:00:00.000-06:00

I don't know why, but for some reason summer just brings out the crafty side in me, or at least a more intense desire to be so, and this summer is no exception. Lately, Jill and I have embraced the fact that we are going to transition beautifully into old age. We love rocking chairs, cats, prune juice, and...crocheting! (ok some of those might be lies, but i really do love rocking chairs and crocheting)
This is the beginning of the baby blanket I'm making. It may not look like much yet, but just you wait till I'm done with it, it will be the cutest thing you've ever seen...hopefully. I'll keep you updated. Here are the people modeling Jill's recent crocheted creations in Bear Lake. An armband, headband, and my personal fave, a yarmulke.
Crafts and porchin. Best combination ever. Also, see what I mean by aging gracefully? Thank you Jill for looking the part of the perfect old woman here.
Another thing that I'm currently obsessed with, but have not actually participated in the actual crafting of is friendship bracelets! This is a close up of mine and the scratch it left on my hand due to the super glued knot, with Max and the boys in the background. I love BYU football. Love them! Thanks for keeping us together Rachel.

Next up on the craft list...shoe lace bows. I know you want one.

Have you ever seen a whale with a polka dotted tail?

2009-07-08T14:29:00.000-06:00

I love that my mother can text message. It provides so much entertainment for me some days. This morning's text informed me that it was Raffi's birthday and suggested I take an elephant out to play in his honor.

This Canadian that has been called "the Bruce Springsteen of the younger set" taught me so much. He taught me how oats, peas, beans, and barley grow. He taught me how to identify Santa ("ho ho ho", cherry nose, cap on head, suit that's red...). He taught me about life.

In case elephants are not readily available to you, some other ways you could celebrate the birthday of a man who helped shape my childhood and who I am today:

Go to the zoo

Sing about a baby beluga

Eat oples and banonos

Eat iples and baninis

Sing French Christmas carols

Happy Birthday Raffi!

And if I have anything to do with it, this kid will be singing Down By the Bay and Petit Papa Noel before s/he can talk.

I owe her so much.

2009-06-25T16:41:00.000-06:00

My mom just informed me that my namesake died today.

R.I.P.

p.s. MJ too?

Sometimes I feel bad...

2009-06-04T16:52:00.001-06:00

...for getting paid to watch 5 episodes of the O.C. today.

But then I just pop my bag of popcorn and settle in for the episode featuring Death Cab.

Thanks, everyone, for ignoring my calls and multiple messages, giving me so very little to do today. I got excited when the phone rang today and was mad when it turned out to be a pre-recorded sales call.

That's gotta say something.

f-book, what were you thinking?

2009-05-15T09:44:00.000-06:00

I hate f-book quizzes. I hate when they dominate my mini-feed when there is so much more interesting info out there on which I'd rather be updated. As such, I refuse to take them.

But this morning, one caught my eye:

WHICH FEMALE DIVA ARE YOU??? (LADIES ONLY)

(thank you f-book for clarifying who is supposed to take this quiz)

I fought it. But I had to know...could thefacebook.com really know me this well, see this clearly into my soul?

So I took it. And came out with this:

Your Result: "New New" ATL
You are New New, you are a cute little rich daddy's girl who is just trying to find love.

Who the h is New New?

I shouldn't have to wikipedia a diva.

Only to find out she is fictional (albeit based on TLC's "T-Boz").

So I have now confirmed what I already strongly suspected.

Facebook...you don't even know!

We all know this is actually the diva I would be:

Nostalgia

2009-04-08T12:17:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I like to look at pictures of myself. A slight sign of vanity? Maybe. Jill does it too. It's not like I do it all the time, but it's just entertaining. Back in the day when I used to study, if I ever gave my computer enough time to get to the slide show screen saver it turned into a nice long study break. Anyway today while I was taking a work break, because my job is so strenuous, I may or may not have viewed all tagged photos of myself on the fb and in doing so became a little nostalgic. I have met some excellent people here in the Prov and have had some good times. I'm making this sound like I graduated and am moving on to bigger and better things, but I'm not really. I'm still here at good old BYU and probably will be for longer than I would like, but none the less today is a day of appreciation. My life is good.

Here, in no particular order, are just some of the pics that fill my heart with happiness when I see them and remind me of people and places that I love. Just a taste of my college career.

Sorry for the large amount, but really how can you limit so many years to so few pictures? Plus, if you didn't want to look you didn't have to.

Ok love you bye!

The Daily U continually brings amusement to my life...

2009-04-06T14:45:00.000-06:00

Sucks to be the poor sweet editor in charge of this ending up on the desk of President Monson this morning.

True Madness

2009-03-29T23:23:00.000-06:00

So I will admit I don't follow college basketball very closely at all 49 weeks out of the year.

It's pretty much that I just don't care enough. To stay interested in the game, I need someone to cheer for. And to know who to cheer for, I need a personal connection of some sort with one of the teams.

BYU is the only team I've ever really cared about (even if they never make it past the first round). It's in my blood. Somehow, even living in Kansas since age 10, I've never felt a strong connection to the Jayhawks (Sorry, Katie).

But that all changes in March.

I fill out a bracket. Since I don't follow the teams, I really have no legit way to judge who I think will win, so my choices are mainly arbitrary (sometimes I have systems, like which mascot would win in a fight, or who I like better if I know people from the state). I love to pick upsets, but usually pick way too many and pick the wrong ones.

But the point is, all of a sudden, I care. I cheer for teams I didn't really even know existed the week before (Morehead State, anyone? Binghamton?). But they matter to me now because I wrote their name in my bracket.

Also, I LOVE to watch people watch March Madness. Especially in the first round, because there are so many games. My favorite place to March Madness people watch is the Wilk Terrace. The people just get so into it. I love it.

So I just wanted to announce that my bracket is kind of treating me well right now.
This is so unprecedented. After the first weekend of play, I was ranked lower than 3 million in espn.com's rankings. I am currently 264,773. Maybe not too exciting to most of you, but I feel great about it. I'm even ranked number one in my friends pool. Holla.

Small hiccup: I picked KU to win it all. First time in a while I have done that--and they let me down. So as this is the highest I will probably be ranked during the tournament, I'm sharing it now.

Why am I writing this right now when I'm already sleep-deprived and should be reading my Evidence homework?
There are some questions I just don't know the answer to.

P.S. Birthday shout-out today goes to Grandpa Crane. March 29, 1905 - August 1996. What an incredible man.

Going Green

2009-03-17T12:41:00.000-06:00

I'm not Catholic and I don't drink, but that doesn't mean that walking around and seeing everyone wearing green doesn't fill me with a bit of joy.

This post was inspired by Mr. Ricks, my carrel-next-door-neighbor, when, as we enjoyed our sherbet floats courtesy of Lexis Nexis, he asked me if my favorite Irish band was House of Pain. So I thought to myself, "If I were to make a St. Patrick's Day playlist, what would be included?" Here is what I have come up with:

House of Pain"Jump Around," of course, because 1. it's their only song I know and 2. it's awesome. But their singles "Shamrocks & Shenanigans" and "Top O' The Morning To Ya" also sound promising.

U2 - duh.
The CranberriesI bet you didn't know they were originally called The Cranberry Saw Us. What does that even mean? Their debut album was "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?" Great motto for life. We only ever had "To the Faithful Departed," of which I probably only listened to one song, but that is definitely enough to merit space on this St. Patty's Day Playlist.

Sinead O'ConnorNothing compares to "Nothing Compares 2 U."
I also want to take this opportunity to thank Sinead for the inspiration she gave to another great singing group, Hot Sundaes.

Gotta love St. Patrick's Day.

***Today's post is dedicated to ValPal. Happy Birthday! Love you!***

She did it again

2009-03-09T13:52:00.001-06:00

Welp she did it again folks. Jill went and got herself published in the Daily U again. If you would like to know what she had to say just take a little gander below:

Saved by the Bell

Because of the recent flood of letters complaining about the BYUSA elections, it seems that many people think the only reason people run is to win the scholarship and to pad their resume, which will help them get a job, get married and fine happiness and success (as suggested by the author of the March 4 letter, “Life Without BYUSA”). While I see no problem with joining together as a student body – or at least 10 percent of a student body – to support someone in achieving their dream of campus-wide fame as the figurehead leader of BYUSA, perhaps we should make sure their motivations are not tainted by promises of dollar signs and dates.

In an episode of “Saved by the Bell” (Season 1, Episode 13, “The Election”), Zack only runs for student body president for the free trip to Washington. When Mr. Belding tricks him into believing the trip has been canceled, Zack realizes he doesn’t actually want the job. Maybe we should trick all the candidates into believing they will receive no personal benefits from winning the election. Then only those with the purest of intentions will remain to be the face of BYU. But I ask you, would it really be so horrible for us to help these souls improve their resumes and dating lives?

There you have it. You may notice this is not the first time Saved by the Bell was used in Jill's letters to the editor. she says 'it's just that art imitates life.' Yes, she just referred to SBTB as art. I really believe that all of our best life lessons can be learned from SBTB.

P.S. Recently I’ve been feeling newly committed to our blog. I mean I sit in front of a computer all day and I rely on others blogs for entertainment to get me through the day so I feel I should be giving a little to the blogging universe rather than always just taking. We’ll see how long this feeling lasts.

One more thing. I had to speak in church yesterday. I hate speaking in church because of the amount of nervousness that overtakes me but yesterday wasn’t terrible. I only had one awkward moment where I lost my place and my face turned red but whatev. I would just like to give a shout out to Darren who helped me spice up my talk with sports analogies and another shout out to Cara who managed to included Zac Efron’s swoop bangs in her talk. It’s just that few can manage to get their bangs to look so good.

Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam...

2009-01-29T13:53:00.000-07:00

HAPPY KANSAS DAY!!!

On this, the 148th birthday of the great state of Kansas, I would just like to make a list of great things about Kansas.

The Sunflower State

Cawker City, Kansas is the home to the world's largest ball of twine. Some people (particularly those from Darwin, MN) may claim that the largest twine ball is actually up north in the land of 10,000 lakes because Frank Stoeber died when his twine ball was just a foot shy of beating Francis Johnson's record in Darwin, and thus had to be finished by the community. "Cawker City, in a touching tribute, built an open-air gazebo over his ball and set it up on Highway 24 in town, where it can still be touched and whiffed by travelers." Locals and visitors continue to add twine to this community project (but be sure to email before you go so Linda can have twine available for you if it's not time for the annual Twine-A-Thon in August). One of my life goals is to visit Cawker City to touch, whiff, and possibly wrap the world's largest ball of twine.
We came in as a free state after the turmoil of Bleeding Kansas.
We are the geographical center of the continental United States.
Who else has a state song as cool as "Home on the Range"?
BBQ - Kansas City is famous for its barbeque and hosts several barbeque cooking contests each year, with one of the more notable being in Lenexa, KS. The Great Lenexa Barbeque Battle began in 1982 with just 12 contestants and 12 judges. In 1984 the governor declared the contest the official Kansas State Championship. It has since grown to its current size of 185 contestants and 240 judges. This year's Battle will be on June 26 & 27 at Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park (at 87th & Lackman).
Along those lines, KC has several famous BBQ restaurants, including Jack Stack, Gates (my friend from Centerville, UT imports Gates BBQ sauce because it's so good) and KC Masterpiece. Tragically, only one KC Masterpiece restaurant remains. Thankfully, it is in my hometown of Overland Park.
Chicago has nothing on us. Dodge City is in fact the windiest city in America, with an average wind speed of 13.9 mph
Famous Kansans:
*Dr. Forrest C. "Phog" Allen, 1885 - 1974, Lawrence, University of Kansas men's varsity basketball coach*Wilt "The Stilt" Chamberlain, 1936 - 1999, Lawrence, University of Kansas basketball player 1955-1957*William Clark (of Lewis and Clark)*Amelia Earhart*Dorothy Gale*Dwight D. Eisenhower, who, incidentally, was the last bald president we elected.
Kansas day miracles like the fact that my only class of the day was canceled, giving me time to write this tribute.
Also, we are the breadbasket of the world. Eat that.
And you can celebrate Kansas Day anywhere in the world. For example, in Utah. By wearing Kansas gear and standing in the shape of a K. Obviously.

Love...or Something Like It

2009-01-22T12:26:00.001-07:00

I don't know what it is, but I love Peter Gallagher. So does Janna.
I just read in the Daily U that someone saw him at Sundance. Words don't express the jealousy I felt.
Can you blame me?

Birthday Boy

2008-12-29T23:27:00.000-07:00

Thomas Anthony John. Perhaps you know him as Tony, Anthony, TJ, Fat Tony John. He is 28.
Some things that remind us of Tony John:

Red Sox

Billy Joel

long talks
good advice

poopy pants

drama

eloquent
scarves
never used to wear a coat
tends to lose coats
married my (Jill's) sister

Happy Birthday Tony!

Hot Time, Summer in the City!

2008-12-22T23:18:00.000-07:00

Something recently reminded me of when we went to Atlanta this summer, and with all this extra time I have on my hands recently, I thought it was about time to blog about it. Bethanie decided to go ahead and get married on us this summer. This is something my close friends don't do very often, so naturally, we couldn't miss this occasion. Janna, Darren, and I flew down to Atlanta a few days before the wedding and got to check out the city. We didn't go on a Segway Ghost Tour of the city, unfortunately, but we did have a few adventures (and may or may not have seen the ghost of Margaret Mitchell).

The Waffle House was delish. And gave us great hats. A Southern classic. We do have them in KC, but not on every corner like in Atlanta.

We also visited the Olympic Park. I remember being very sticky at this point, even though it was still fairly early in our adventures. Atlanta is a very humid place.

Special shouts out were given to our favorite moments from the 1996 Summer Olympics, hosted by the great city of Atlanta. Mine was of course Keri Strug and her miraculous vault landing.

Underground Atlanta held such wonders as "Mysteries of the Unknown" . . .

. . .and Mark Teixeira jerseys for 50% off, thanks to a trade earlier that week. Janna took advantage. I think she was not the only one.

We got to fulfill one of Darren's life goals in seeing the Braves play at Turner Field, where it just happened to be Wild West Night.

Very exciting (on both counts-checking off the goal, and being able to do so on a theme night).

I always appreciate a good theme night.

The weather threatened to be inclement, but it was not enough to drive away die-hard fans like us (mostly Darren).

Clint Sammons had a good game and we loved him. We also loved how the scoreboard showed the players decked out in western garb for Wild West Night (where, incidentally, Jewel sang the national anthem).

Also exciting was the fact that the Braves won.

Darren treated us with a lot of trivia and statistics about the team, the players, the stadium, baseball in general, etc. I remember little to none of it now. Sorry. But it was interesting at the time.

Katie joined us for Day 2 in the South, after an experience on the way to the airport that taught us that a GPS is not actually omniscient. I don't have the pics from our adventures that day, but we did visit the Margaret Mitchell Museum, including a (unauthorized) self-guided tour of her house. In the basement, the Gone With the Wind photos transitioned to a Martin Luther King, Jr. exhibit. Except there was not really a transition at all. And since we were not taking the official tour with a guide, we never really figured out the connection. Except this: apparently, MLK Jr. once sang in a youth choir at the premier of the Gone With the Wind movie.

Am I missing the connection here?

We also visited Martin's house and burial place. Very cultural.

We also had the mission of obtaining a garter for the wedding reception. I am pretty sure we were the only white people in the entire mall when we went to buy one.

The heat took a lot out of us though, and Katie needed a bit of a nap at the Marta station as we waited for Valerie to come pick us up for the bachelorette party. We had not seen Val all summer and were very excited to see her. She drove down from Charlotte for the wedding. I'm pretty sure Katie is dreaming about the tender reunion here and Janna is just not one to always show the full extent of her emotions. I was very excited, and probably was showing it behind the camera.

Extra Special shouts out to Valerie for being willing to drive us around (we obviously loved the public joy of Marta, but it was nice to have a car to get to the places the 4 train lines and various bus lines did not go, and on our own time schedule) and to her wonderful, generous, highly educated sister Maria, whose car Val was using this summer.

Bethanie all decorated for the party.

At the party we met Randon's sister Shawney. A couple hours later, on the way home, we asked her to be our best friend. We really like her. Shockingly, she did not seem to be scared away.

I suppose I should include some pics of the wedding day. It was the reason we were there. (This is why I never blog...it just takes me so long and by this point I just want to be done.)

The happy couple.

Marci refused to smile for the pictures. I somehow, being an awesome photographer, caught this special moment where the true feelings of the bride and her maids were displayed. It was hot (the only way it could have been more humid was if it was actually raining--which it did just a short while later). And this was only the beginning.

It was so fun to be able to be there. So in the friends-getting-married count, we are now at 2 down, 7 to go. I have good company.

[Note: The 2 and 7 refer to the 9 of us that go back to the dorms/Lib Square. However, it was hard to actually narrow it to those 9 because some of those have temporarily left us while others have joined us since then. So maybe let's just leave it at this: My close friends tend not to get married. It's a trend we are still resisting.]

Here's to Thailand

2008-11-13T17:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Cindy.

Tag Schmlag

2008-11-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

I didn't think we'd ever have enough of a following to be tagged, but here I am. Carrie and Emily both tagged me, so I can't really escape it.

6 Places I go often:

1. The Law Lib. These are in order by the way. I spend most of my time here. I live my entire life here pretty much. It's kind of sad. (You may have to enlarge the pic to see that I'm pointing to the law building.)

2. The J. Reuben Clark Law School - Room 306. I have 3 of my 4 classes here, so I am there often. Since I spend approximately 89% of my life in the law building, I thought I'd separate the lib from the rest of the building.

3. Janna/Valerie/Lauren/Cara's house. You may call it Blue Condo West. You may call it West Sapphire Chateau. You may call it my home away from home.

4. The intramural fields. This season, especially the football fields (Lady Wingmen have 2 games this week--we might finally win! Come support!) I love the intramural program. I am always looking for more teams to support though I have no time to support them.

5. The Wilk. For weekly lunches. For random errands made up just to give me an excuse to get out of the law building for 2 seconds and get some fresh air.

6. Smith's. My life is really exciting.

6 people who email regularly
Who email me? Probably the Graduate Student Society, the Bishop, Dad, Melanie, other family members, Sister Rachel Bodily's weekly emails. Oh, and Doctor Dictionary is my most faithful correspondent, bringing me a Word of the Day each day. Today's word: intimation \in-tuh-MAY-shuhn\, noun:an indirect or slight suggestion; hint.

6 of my favorite restaurants:
Oh, I don't know. As I was recently reminded, I can't make decisions such as where to eat. I'll say Gloria's Little Italy, Chili's, Sol Azteca, Sweet Tomatoes, the Max, KC Masterpiece. But probably just because under this pressure I can't remember the place I really truly Love.

6 places I would rather be:
Really anywhere with people I love and enjoy. The beach , New York, Spain, home in KC, home at my apt, basically any place where I wouldn't have to deal with finals or writing my case note. I don't think that place exists. :(

6 TV shows I like to watch:
I really don't watch that much TV. But I would have to say: 1. The Office; 2. Without a Trace; 3. Jeopardy; 4. Wheel of Fortune (I really should be on this show. I am so much better than the people who are on it sometimes!); 5. Saved by the Bell; 6. The O.C. (especially Seasons 1 and 2).

6 People I tag:
I don't. Except Janna. If I have to do this, so does she. This was supposed to be a joint blog to document our adventures. This was not really an adventure, but we stopped following that rule in like post 1.

6 Quirks:

1. I like to eat the chocolate shell off of 3 Musketeers Bars before savoring the nougaty goodness inside. I just discovered this anew as I have eaten 2 bars in the past 5 minutes in that manner.

2. I don't like to sleep with doors open that are facing my bed. For example, I used to never be able to sleep with my closet doors open. I didn't like having that gaping hole staring at me while I slept. I had to get over that because my shoes impede the closing of the door these days. So now I hate to have the bathroom door open, which my bed currently points at.

3. I hate dangling prepositions. It was kind of painful for me to end that last paragraph with an "at." I blame Mr. Pulsinelli, 12th grade English teacher. Thanks to him I also couldn't say "this" or "that" without a qualifier. This what? I have slowly been able to get over that, but not completely. I still always think about it when I say it out loud, and cringe to myself.

4. I always run home from Janna's house. She now lives down the street from me, nearly a block away! I get bored walking to and from her house, so I often start to run to get there faster. Darren noticed this one night as he crossed the street to go home and I took off running, not even thinking about it. I got a phone call from him a few seconds later, thanking me for running. Apparently it was funny/weird...quirky, if you will.

5. I only drink milk out of a mug. I cannot/do not drink it out of a glass. I think it's because I don't actually like milk, so I only have it when I am eating cookies or some other delicious treat, which for some reason I associate with milk needing to be in a mug. I have made an effort to drink more milk in the past year, which means my cookie consumption has also dramatically increased.

6. I only do my crossword puzzles in pen. I refuse to use a pencil. It just looks ugly. Having to scribble or write over incorrect letters because I cannot erase? Not ugly. Pencil? UGLY. Also, I have to go down the list of clues in order. Even if one jumps out at me that I know right away, I will usually wait until I get to that number before I fill it in.

But I'm really not that quirky. Ask anybody.

The Boys are Back!

2008-10-28T12:06:00.001-06:00

In fact, the whole cast was back...and so were we, this time in a theater with hundreds of screaming girls rather than in the comfort of our own homes. Last Thursday night/Friday morning, in honor of Darren's upcoming birthday (even though he didn't come), we attended the midnight(eh, 12:05...12:01 was sold out) showing of High School Musical 3: Senior Year.

HSM3: Senior Year is the third and final installment of the phenomenon that began as a Disney Channel Original Movie (a DCOM, if you will) like any other. But what was different about this DCOM? Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century was apparently successful enough to merit Zenon: The Zequal. But where was Z3? Not in the theaters. (In fact, it was the only Zenon installment not to be released on VHS or DVD.) Was it the music? Zenon had some catchy music, courtesy of intergalactic superstar Protozoa. "Boom, boom, boom, make my heart go zoom, zoom, my supernova girl." Classic. That can't be the deciding factor. Was it the choreography? Kenny Ortega is kind of a genius. Was it...Zac Efron?

You know what, it doesn't even matter. I totally digress. So we went to the theater for the midnight showing.

Now, I am the kind of person who will bring my own treats to the theater so I don't have to pay their outrageous prices. Shoot, it was a big enough commitment to buy a movie ticket that was more than $5. As a general rule, I struggle to commit to things more than $5. (Side note: this is the first time I have ever paid for anything High School musical related. I received the first DVD as a Valentines gift--tender, I know, he knew me so well--and both soundtracks as two-week-old hand-me-downs from my little sister when she bought the deluxe editions).

So I brought my own bag of popcorn. However, due to microwave timing issues, it may have gotten a little bit burnt. I wasn't sure, I hadn't opened it yet. The smell made me suspicious, but I would just figure that out later, it was time to go! Cara however thought the smell was downright offensive and wanted me to throw it out the window. I compromised.

Since this movie was kind of a big deal, we knew we would need to get there pretty early to get in line if we wanted to get 8 seats together. So we went at like 10. This left plenty of time for fun activities such as telling fortunes, and rolling some dice.

When I rolled the die, I defied all odds and on like 12 of my first 20 rolls, I rolled a 4. It was pretty amazing. Val and I were amazed.

Finally the lights dimmed and the previews began. All of a sudden Zac Efron's face filled the screen (who even knew he was in any other movies anytime soon?). Probably 85% of the theater screamed in unison. This became a theme for the night. Zac Efron appears: girls scream. Zac dances with Vanessa: girls scream. Zac takes off his shirt: girls scream. I hope that I speak for everyone in our group when I say that I did not scream at these moments. I laughed.

In fact, I laughed through much of the movie. Sometimes I couldn't help myself. It was one of those "this is riduculous, and I cannot believe they expect anyone to take this movie seriously and I'm loving it" laughs. Because, really. This movie is ridiculous. And I cannot believe anyone could take this movie seriously or expect me to. And I loved it.

P.S. Val loved it so much she went out and bought an East High sweatsuit the next day. (Okay, the pants were too small--even Val is not the size of a 10 year old--but we will be checking back for a tween size large when it comes in.)

Published

2008-10-07T20:42:00.000-06:00

So Friday was the day. Our friend Jill Crane was finally published in the Daily Universe. It was epic to say the least. Jill wrote a letter to the editor in retaliation/as commentary on a previous letter about cheerleaders uniforms needing to be more modest at BYU, including a comment to the effect of "although I'm not quite certain because I've never been a cheerleader, but I believe it is still possible to do the splits in a longer skirt." You get the idea.
I was at work when I found that she had finally made it in. I had been sitting at my desk for approximately 10 minutes when one of my students became outraged at something in the readers forum. I am not a morning person so my outburst of laughter, probably before I had actually spoken to anyone mind you, was not only thought of as out of context by my employees but totally uncharacteristic for me period. They think I'm a little bit crazy anyways. Might as well keep it going. Anyways, after I explained to the confused girl that it was all in jest she fully appreciated.

So here you go, read and enjoy:

THE SHORTER THE BETTER

In response to the Sept. 24 opinion piece and resulting debate regarding the length of the cheerleaders' skirts, I have a suggestion: Stop thinking you are more righteous than the cheerleaders because you don't have nice enough legs to wear skirts that short. They're just doing their part to help the team.
I would call to your remembrance the episode of "Saved by the Bell" (season1, episode 16, "Save that Tiger") where Jessie wants the squad to wear ankle-length cheerleading skirts. For what should be obvious reasons, this idea didn't fly, and they returned to the traditional uniforms, which included short skirts. Naturally, the team won. The moral of the story here: modesty doesn't win, and if we want our football team to get into a BCS bowl, we should support the cheerleaders' short skirts and sleeveless tops. In fact, the shorter the better. Maybe if we took another inch off the skirts we could climb a few more spots in the rankings. You can't say that wouldn't be worth it.

There you have it. Please do not think that that was serious. I know we love Saved by the Bell, but to actually reference it parenthetically, how could anyone take that seriously? Come on people.

My heart just skipped a beat.

2008-08-29T18:23:00.000-06:00

I was just reading Cindy's frequently updated blog, and lo and behold...
Less than 24 hours till kickoff! I'm getting a little giddy.

The Rules of the Derby

2008-08-18T16:55:00.000-06:00

Having been to only two demolition derbies in my life to date, I don't think I would feel good about calling myself an expert yet. An aficionado certainly, but my friend Logan (with whom I have shared both of my derby experiences), is much further along that road to expertise. You might say I've learned everything I know in this area from him. As such, this post is dedicated to him in honor of his birthday, which was ages ago (August 12 - I'm embarassingly late).

For those who are planning to go to the next demolition derby that comes within 100 miles of your hometown (which really should be all of you), I have compiled a list of some of the rules of demolition derbies.

Rule #1 - Dress Appropriately

My #2 biggest regret in life is that I was inappropriately dressed for the first demolition derby I went to. I hope that some of my shame was erased through my efforts this time around.

Some examples of appropriate attire:

Overalls (p.s. Susie's Deals currently does not have any overalls in stock--check back in the fall--but DI has three racks). Overalls should be worn with one strap, at most.
Camo
For women: Knock-off sunglasses (mine are straight from Chinatown). The flashier the better.
Flannel
Cut-offs
Anything proclaiming state pride, especially if that state is Texas. "Don't Mess With Texas." Also, Logan's hat says something about Wyoming.
For men: mirrored sunglasses. For some reason, these are excessively creepy when paired with a...
Mustache!

I believe this mustache is known as "The Bruiser."

It also doubles well as a unibrow.

Somehow it ended up here for a while. It was very difficult to smile without it falling off. And it was very difficult not to smile while wearing the mustache. Warning about the mustache: it sheds.

More wardrode options:

Mullets
Harley Davidson anything

Bandanas. This man artfully combines the flannel, mustache, bandana, and possible mullet. Side note: No need to leave your walking sticks at home. They ARE allowed.

tank top
tattoo
long beard (beautifully paired with a balding shaved head)

Stars and Stripes. God Bless America.

Rule #2 - Arrive early

The place was packed. Apparently we were very lucky to find seats, as not everyone did. My friend Laura (who did not recognize us upon the first glimpse) reported that they stopped letting ticket holders in soon after it started.

This pair was lucky enough to have front row seats and were appropriately dressed for the honor with dew rag, two-tone hair, low cut shirt and platform shoes.

When this blessed event is at a fair, as this one was, another reason to come early is to see all the cute booths and maybe get to pet some animals. This one's head felt soft as a stuffed animal.

There were also many carnival rides to choose from, including the Zipper. I agreed to go on it, but promised Logan I would throw up if I did, and was secretly relieved when it turned out to be to expensive for poor college students to ride.

Rule #3 - Eat greasy/fried food.
It appears this fellow purchased a Delicious Scone with Cinnamon and Honey Butter. Good choice, champ!

Rule #4 - Pick a favorite.
I believe this is essential. It helps to root for one car, maybe two, in each round. I am partial to station wagons.

66T must have been a favorite for one of the early heats. Look at him go!

Rule #5 - For when there is fire. Alternately, for when a car flips.

Naturally you will cheer because it is exciting to see a car flip or an engine catch on fire. However, you must quickly go quiet as the firefighters run out or someone goes to check and see if the person is okay. The silence shows your concern for the driver.
Once you get the signal that everyone is okay, you go wild. The crowd roars.

Rule #6 - Don't be disappointed if your chosen car does not win its heat - there is a grudge round.

Welcome to Grudge City, USA!
Any car that does not make it past its heat to the final round (and is still running) is given a second chance in the grudge match that takes place right before the final round.

Rule #7 - Regarding Children

Star them young. This tot is learning early to love the derby.

Someday soon, she will be able to appreciate it as much as these young ones.

Rule #8 - Participate in activities between heats.

It takes a while to clear all the wrecked cars out of the arena before the next round can begin, but this woman barely noticed. Time flies when you're doing the Macarena! Not surprising of the VH1 #1 Greatest One-Hit Wonder of all Time.
(Also, her husband must be a Toby Keith fan. Wardrobe approved.)

This kid had moves I'd never seen.
Warning: While the children should be allowed or even encouraged to celebrate, far too many young girls were mixing the pelvic thrust into their dancing. I was a little bit traumatized.

Rule #9 - Expect greatness.

Car 300 was a true champion. Despite its front driver-side wheel being completely turned under the car, he never gave up. The announcer proclaimed him out for the count, encouraging the other cars to get one last hit on him. That was all it took. 300 would not accept this teasing treatment of his defeat. And so it was that he roared back to life, surprising all but the truly devoted, winning the grand prize.

Rule #10 - NEVER let anything stop you from coming to a demoltion derby--not even an IV.

Sammy's: A Provo Dining Adventure

2008-07-26T09:44:00.000-06:00

Last night we had our first experience at Sammy's in Provo. I had heard of it from a few people who are cooler than I and had been wanting to visit it for a while now. However, the way we actually ended up here is that it is one of the shockingly few dining establishments on or near Center Street that is open past 8 p.m. I failed to take a pic of the outside (unsure how this happened - I was extremely camera happy here), but it's a cute little white cinderblock building with big blue letter's spelling out "sammy's," located just one second north of Center Street on 100 West. The above pic is Janna and Cindy inside as we wait for our orders to be taken.

As we waited for some space to open up around the bar, we perused the polaroids hanging on the wall above and around the window. Sammy's has hosted famous celebs such as:

Bee Money

and Ashley Tisdale! Omg. 4Real.

I liked the place when we walked in,

but I officially loved it as soon as I noticed this decorative outlet.

Janna and Cindy quickly realized that the bar we were sitting at was perfect for dancing on. Also contributing to this need to dance were the awesome tunes being played for our enjoyment. I think it was just a radio station, but it treated us to some classics such as "Bring It All to Me" by Blaque feat. J.C. Chasez - a song which will always remind me of my sister Carrie and a boy from our high school years.

The whole show at Sammy's was being run by Mary and Spencer, who could not have been nicer.

Mary took orders, manned the cash register, and made about 400 shakes while we were there. She also gave recommendations. After helping Cindy choose an appropriate burger, she confidently suggested the Hawaiian shake, now knowing what Cindy was in the mood for.

Despite being quite busy, Mary was very friendly and even shared some of her boy dilemmas with us--something we always appreciate.

Spencer was more behind-the-scenes, emerging mostly to bring people their food. Spencer brought us our food and dressed our burgers and grilled cheese sandwiches right there in front of us. A perfect situation for picky and non-picky eaters alike; those who only like one slice of lettuce and a drizzle of ranch as well as those who like almost, but not quite, everything.

Like Mary, he was very tolerant of our desire to be chatty. Unfortunately, he had no details from his love life to share.

He also had an awesome apron. Very classy. He didn't want a picture because it was dirty. I didn't care.

The fry sauce was of a questionable color. However, I was unafraid to try some, due to the reassuring inscription above the door:

Perhaps it is the love that brings people from all walks of life into Sammy's. This woman had an interesting (for lack of a better word) hairstyle, which would not be so blurry if I had been brave enough to use my flash to capture it. I felt like I was back in Spain, stealthily photographing all the outrageous 'dos.

Need a new scripture case? Sammy's has just the one for you! It's the place for one-stop scripture tote shopping and dining!

Before we left, we made sure to get our picture snapped with the Polaroid, to document our visit. We may have had to do a bit of rearranging to get such prime positioning on the wall.

Adventure Awaits

2008-07-19T19:25:00.000-06:00

Checking the mail is such a hit-or-miss event. One day, the mailbox held a little treat in the form of the Utah Valley Adventure Passport: Ten Adventures booklet. We figured this was the closest we were going to get to a book of city walks, which our friend Megan so excellently blogs about in New York. So there are 10 adventures in this booklet. We're going to do the best we can to experience the wonders of Utah County before real life pulls us mercifully away from this place. And this book is going to help us do just that, directing us to treasures of which we have previously been unaware. We might blog about some or all of them. And, if we feel so inclined, we might slip in some other adventures.