City by the Ocean

Cooking: A Dying Art Form

2012-01-22T20:08:00.001-07:00

Okay, so cooking really is not a dying art form for lots of the world, but it has been for me ever since June 2, 2011. ("Wait! Isn't that when you got married?") How very observant of you.
Once upon a time, I got married to my handsome chef musician redhead prince and I stopped cooking. Mr. Handsome chef musician redhead prince was not only one of the best chefs west of the Mississippi, but he adored cooking. He will even cook me meat even though he is a vegetarian.
It made sense for Wolf to cook when we were first married. I was going to school and working, but he only had work. Once fall semester started, we were already in the habit of enjoying his gourmet meals so I have really only cooked five or six times (and that is being generous) until this weekend.
Following is my meandering monologue of how I came to cook as much as all the meals added together in the 7.5 months preceding this weekend.
On Tuesday my Wolf had a tickle in his throat but he still cooked for me.
By Thursday darling Wolf could tell the tickle was turning into something mightily nastier but he still cooked up dan dan noodles (try it; you won't be sorry), tres leche cake, and helped me make spring rolls for a dinner with my brother Mark and Jill.
Thursday evening poor Wolf collapsed.
Friday brought on a school-less day for Wolf, and by the time I got home from my day, we were both exhausted and opted for take out from our wonderful neighborhood Brick Oven.
Saturday arrived with Wolf feeling even worse and I was craving ATK's German Apple Pancakes (sorry, you have to be a member to see the link. Google it and you can find a recipe. That was an order. Google it and find that recipe.) I made it and we both were in heaven as we finished the entire batch in under five minutes. (I also burned my hand pretty badly, but that's another story.)

I heated up leftovers for the rest of my meals and begged Wolf to eat anything.
Fast forward to today.
I head off to church with my wonderful brother because my car doors are frozen shut (thank you Mark!)
As I get home, I am craving cupcakes like something bad. (Thank you Jill...)
Instead I go for Smitten Kitchen's homemade oreos.

They are amazing. Trust me. Try every single one of these recipes that I list. They are some of my favorites.
Dinner? ATK's Nut-Crusted Chicken Cutlets with oregano. It was easily the best crusted chicken I have ever eaten in my life.

I now feel like a successful housewife.
My house is clean, my husband is almost all the way better, and I have successfully created (or helped create) several delicious delicacies.

Oh, and if you want an oreo, I have several sitting on a plate in my kitchen. We still have some tres leche cake in the fridge and do not need this many sweets. Please. Take them off my hands.

I'm movin' out.

2012-01-18T09:12:00.001-07:00

Billy Joel, how nice of you to describe it perfectly.
Just over a week ago, my husband got the call from our landlady. Because Wolfie promised to do a blog post about this, I will just say that we were told we had to move. in. less. than. 30. days.
I hate moving. Abhor it. I hate packing up everything, leaving nothing except a few memories and driving down the street to a new place. Then it takes a few days to unpack everything and remember where you unpacked everything.
Now I get the opportunity to move in the middle of a semester.
I have done that once before, but it was my single little self moving a few weeks into an easy semester. The move took all of four hours.
This time, it will be one month into a harder semester with more hours at work and more junk to move. Two little newlyweds can accumulate quite a bit of junk. Especially two little newlyweds that have more kitchen gadgets then you have in your kitchen. (I would almost be willing to make a bet on that. Unless you are a professional chef.)
My darling Wolf thinks it will only take a few hours.
I love his innocent optimism.
Where is it that we are moving? Back to my favorite city. O-Town. I love Orem. I love it more than I hate moving. I love that in some parts of it there will be two feet of snow but in another part, it will be bare. I love that it blooms at different times in the spring.
Where more specifically? Close enough to the mall that we can see it out of our gorgeous large windows in our living room and spare bedroom.
It makes sense; I have less than two months left at BYU, I work in AF, Wolfie works at the mall, and he has over a year left at UVU.
If you never visited me at my current place, you have just about two weeks left in which to do so.
Come visit me.
Come visit me any evening--except Friday--and entertain me while my husband is at work.

Desensitized to Christmas

2011-12-23T22:51:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been spending most of my evenings at my padre's house. (May I emphasize how much I adore living extremely close to my parents? It is one of my favorite things ever. Thank you, BYU, for employing my father for the past 33 years.)
I drove home tonight staring at some poorly decorated houses juxtaposed to a brilliance of River Woods. Some bad Christmas music was playing and I sang along without thinking about it. Then it hit me.
I do not feel like it is Christmas weekend.
It does not feel like Christmas eve in an hour and a half and Christmas definitely cannot be in just over 24 hours. That would be impossible.
It does not feel like Christmas even though I have been receiving Christmas emails from customers wishing me a happy holidays.
It does not feel like Christmas even though I spent the evening interacting with an adorable nephew play with his cousin's Christmas presents.
It does not feel like Christmas even though I received amazing crescent rolls and cake bites from my bosses as well as an entire bag full of chocolate from a dear, but crazy, coworker. (I am the biggest chocoholic she knows? Oh, and she enjoys calling me Maura.)
It does not feel like Christmas even though my sister and I shopped, in place of my father, for presents for his first granddaughter.
It does not feel like Christmas even though the husby and I finally have a tree. We got it yesterday. For free! Good things come to those who wait. Granted, it was from his parents. Why would that matter? It does not, in the grand Christmas scheme of things.
It does not feel like Christmas even though I cut out a stocking pattern for the husby and just have to sit down for an hour to sew up two stockings. I do not know why I am procrastinating sewing. I love to sew. Okay, it might stem from the fact that I have been on crafting overload for the past five days.
It does not feel like Christmas even though I bought my last Christmas present two days ago and I just have to put together the finishing touches on the only present I made this year.

Hopefully this will all change tomorrow when I start making the stockings. Maybe I will throw in a cheesy pandora Christmas song mix so that I am full of cheer before we head over to the in-law's for Christmas Eve evening.

My Tiny Tim Moment

2011-12-17T12:11:00.000-07:00

It all started with our trip to Ikea.
Wolf and I headed up to Draper to pick up glass bottles for part of some Christmas presents. We also picked up some cheap storage for all my crafting supplies, new dishes, and Christmas supplies.
Wolf was getting sick of my dozens of boxes lined up in our spare room. Even though we got quite a bit of storage, I have a feeling that it will still not hold all my crafting supplies...

On our drive home, we had to stop at the mall. We got a sweet new game (Pandemic) from my favorite game store in the world (Games People Play).
The whole reason we had to stop by the mall was to grab a bunch of boxes the girls at the kiosk had been hard at work with. Boxes like the ones seen in the below picture.

There were probably about 50 boxes that Wolf and I had to take out to his car. We did not want to make more than one trip so we did what any good couple would have done; we "borrowed" a wheelchair. I pushed out a very full wheelchair while he carried a large, falling apart, black trash bag.
One trip.
The boxes were shoved in every crevice of his car that was not taken up by Ikea merchandise. We had a very full car.
On our way back in to take the wheelchair to its resting place, Wolf offered me a ride.
I got in the chair and as we got up to the doors of the mall, we ran into a crowd. A man opened the door for me and everyone else in his group awkwardly moved out of the way to let the gimp and her escort back in. I put on the cheesiest smile I could muster up.
"Thank you so much, sir!"
"No problem."
"You have a Merry Christmas!"
".....you too....."
I was half tempted to throw in a "God bless you" but I thought that would be going a little overboard.

Wolf thought the whole thing was a little overboard, but I am good at creating awkward moments and I relish them.

My husband bought me ankle weights today

2011-12-03T22:16:00.000-07:00

Today has been a crazy day. Homework straight for over twelve hours.
Yuck.
At least most of this homework involved a sewing machine and paper cutters.
I made this:

It's a light fixture made out of about 1000 parchment paper circles. This is a pretty bad picture of it and as soon as I install it, I will probably take more pictures. No promises though.

I still have three pages to write tonight and six by Tuesday. Then there is a research paper due by Thursday and two of my finals are a week from this Monday.

To top it all off, the company I work for is going to be featured on a certain website starting this Friday and will make my work life crazier than usual for the next week and a half. (I am not sure if I am supposed to keep this under the radar or not...)

In other news, I am in love with these new flowers:

Super cute, right? They are my new favorite. I will probably end up buying a dozen of each color before I leave. Yours truly may or may not have put them online with no help. I am such a secret computer nerd. I was only sad that I was not asked to use HTML or Java in order to put them on our website. I was pretty proud of myself.

Last but not least, the freakiest thing happened to me at work yesterday.

**phone rings**

"Katelyn and Company, this is Laura." I expected a woman's voice to answer me.

"Yes, Laura? I was browsing around and had a few questions for you." A man with a southern accent was on the other end and I could not understand the first thirty seconds of what he was saying. "I noticed that you have a few guns and I need to get one before January. Let's say someone was coming after me. Would a 22 take them out or would you recommend a different gun for me?"

I hesitated and then hung up the phone as quickly as possible.

For some reason it scared me to pieces for a few minutes.

After that, my co-workers and I discussed what we would do if a crazy man came into our office.

Don't worry. I have my plans. No, I will not put them down here for you to plot against me.

Dear friends,

2011-10-29T13:53:00.001-06:00

Please do not abuse quotation marks or apostrophes.

Thank you.

(Or should I say
Dear friend's,
Please do not abuse "quotation marks" or apostrophe's.
"Thank you.")

I LOVE what I get to do

2011-10-27T19:07:00.001-06:00

Guess what?
For the past three days, I have not gone to BYU. Instead I have been heading North to a cute little elementary school in Lindon. I get to work with a 2-3 grade class and an awesome teacher. I stay there for six hours each day and every day is an adventure and really gets me excited to graduate and get my own class...until I decide to have little ones of my own.
Some of my favorite quotes so far:
"The sneakers threw eggs at your garage door."
{My teacher wanted the students to write a sentence describing what some sneaky people did while she was on vacation this summer.}
Example of something extinct? "People that do drugs all day."
Example of something endangered? "When people live at the side of a mountain that is about to explode, they are endangered."

Today, I got three hugs from students. I feel bad because I should not encourage them hugging me; I should really discourage it. What are you supposed to do when a cute little third grader just comes up and does it out of the blue?

Last, but definitely the cutest:
During this week, the students have been learning how to write letters. On Monday, they wrote a letter to their teacher. Tuesday was for someone in the classroom. Wednesday held one for the principle. Today they were supposed to write one to someone they appreciate. Emphasis on someone in their family.
I was collecting the letters and the students lined up to go to social studies. One little girl who I shall call T handed me her paper and said it was for me. "Thank you, T." I accepted the letter and put it in my pile, thinking that she was just giving it to me to put in the pile.
She pulled it out and put it firmly in my hand. "No. I wrote the letter for you."
I think my heart melted.
I waited until she was out of the classroom before I read her letter. It was the sweetest thing in the world!
"Dear Miss. Yahgar. I think you are so cool and fun. I think your last name is cool cause it's Ya gaer. What are you being for Halloween? What is your favirte candy? Mine is every one! It's cool that you go to byu!!!!!! I think that you are so prety. Are you married? I'm defently Not married. Love, T"
Well, that settles it. I'm cool and fun and I cannot wait to teach full time.

I like to travel

2011-10-22T22:27:00.000-06:00

This is a lovely map of all the states and countries I have been to. Not as much as I would like, but it is a nice start.

To do tomorrow:

2011-10-21T23:00:00.003-06:00

1. Finish studying

2. Take (and ace) my last midterm

3. Take a short break to relax my mind (cooking? tv show? cleaning? The possibilities are endless!)

4. Decide on a costume to wear to my Auntie's annual Halloween party

5. Complete several hours of homework

6. Forgo dinner to save my strength for the cake eating competition and so I can better savor my Aunt's amazing food

7. Pick up my bff and favorite little sister to head up to the par-tay

8. Eat amazing food

9. Beat all my cousins in the "no hands" cake eating competition...again

10. Blow my nose to get all the cake out of it

What I dislike

2011-09-17T15:04:00.003-06:00

You know those large fabric headbands that are apparently coming back into style? I really dislike them. Especially when little or no hair is showing at the front of the headband. It makes the girl wearing it look like she has a large forehead that should be covered up.

It also brings to mind this lovely picture of my "cancer patient sister":

Wolf takes all the pictures and keeps them on his computer

2011-09-05T13:02:00.004-06:00

There is a yield sign next to our house. I love it. No coming to a complete stop for me.

The organist in our ward plays songs like they are all funeral marches. Apparently he takes the lower number on the recommended tempo at the top of the page and plays 20 below it. This can turn opening hymns into lullabies.

Improper grammar really makes me cringe, but I hate telling people this because then they do it on purpose. And also I am likely to have incorrect grammar myself.

I love school. This semester is going to be pretty unusual. Three classes will only occur once a week...in three hour time slots. This is also the last fall semester I will have at BYU. Strange thought.

Wolf likes to leave the house at 5:30 am these days and return at 9:30 pm. It makes life difficult.

I dislike exclamation points. Sure, one is okay every once in a while, but what would entice you to use two or more unless you are about to die, in labor, have anger problems, or in the middle of a natural disaster?

It is one of my nephew's second birthday today. He has curls that could rival my hair and I miss him to pieces.

I take the freeway every single weekday currently. I know where all the holes are. The Center Street onramp is especially enjoyable right now because it has a large dip which gives you that roller coaster feeling.

I have decided that someday when I become pregnant (which will not be in the near future), I will not tell anyone for a long time. Besides Wolf. We're talking several months.

Lately I have had crazy blood sugar drops. It gets interesting when I'm walking through a store or sitting in church. Thankfully I usually carry nuts and sugary snacks to give me quick sugar and some protein.

Part of me wants to chop my hair completely off again.

My husband is a master chef.

Wolf and I just bought a vacuum on Saturday. We have shag carpet so it did not even look dirty, but after going through our living room once, I was a little sickened by the several inches of dust that collected.

There are going to be birds living in our house starting this week. If that is an enticement to come visit us, use that excuse.

We love visitors.

Eye Candy

2011-09-03T09:46:00.002-06:00

Let's talk...revelation

2011-08-14T11:10:00.002-06:00

Inspiration. Personal revelation.

A very religious-y topic.

I did not know I had strong opinions on the subject until I heard stories about it that I disagreed with. Does that ever happen to you?

I had the opportunity to write a paper on this topic for a D&C class a few weeks ago (summer term is over!) and that really got me thinking.

*Disclaimer: these are my personal opinions*

I believe that you should not seek personal revelation for most things. I think that as long as you are open and willing to receiving revelation, you should go about with your life making your own decisions unless you get a prompting to do something else. One should not feel they receive revelation from the weather (it was raining so I think I should not do it), other people's actions (that cashier was so nice to me, I take it as a yes to my question), or many other random outside influences that would have happened whether or not you were seeking an answer.

Don't just take my word for it on this topic. Elder Oaks had something to say about revelation during a 1981 BYU devotional. It is a wonderful talk. Go here to read it. Here is one of my favorite paragraphs from it:

"No answer is likely to come to a person who seeks guidance in choosing between two alternatives that are equally acceptable to the Lord. Thus, there are times when we can serve productively in two different fields of labor. Either answer is right. Similarly, the Spirit of the Lord is not likely to give us revelations on matters that are trivial. I once heard a young woman in testimony meeting praise the spirituality of her husband, indicating that he submitted every question to the Lord. She told how he accompanied her shopping and would not even choose between different brands of canned vegetables without making his selection a matter of prayer. That strikes me as improper. I believe the Lord expects us to use the intelligence and experience he has given us to make these kinds of choices."

If you have a big decision to make (who to marry, when to have kids, where to move, what job to accept) and you feel you need help, by all means ask, but it seems to me that many times God gives us back the decision.

So go ahead. Make a decision. A firm decision. Yes or no. Stick with your decision. Stop asking God. (See Martin Harris and the lost 116 pages.)

Seriously, read Elder Oaks' talk. It is amazing.

My new job

2011-08-13T11:28:00.002-06:00

I feel like if I was in elementary school (which I will be for a month out of this next semester) and I was asked what were the top two things I did this summer, it would be this.

1. I got married.

2. I started a new{ish} job.

In that order.

What are the top five about this new job?

1. The day goes by so much faster. I never worry about long shifts--because all I work now is long shifts. Putting together orders, making product, and talking to customers takes up more time than sitting at my cart.

2. I get to work with people. The occasional chat with old people, long-lost friends, and fellow cart workers does not fill the time that talking with the other girls in the office does.

3. I do not sit in one spot for most of my shift. You can only clean and restock for so long.

4. The new job has more action. This is not hard seeing as how the most action I got from the cart was from large sales and irate customers.

5. I have more flexible hours. I also do not have to worry about who is going to take a shift because the one person that can work it asked for the day off.

I only hope I will begin to understand fast talking Southerners better. I seem to chat with that type of accent more than any other on the phone.

Ending a {large} chapter in my life

2011-07-20T13:59:00.004-06:00

Pretty soon, I will be ending a large chapter in my life.

I always seem to get the huge raises when I am in curious places.

I was in the Phoenix airport two years ago when my boss called me and asked if I would become the new manager of my little cart. I was sitting in a theater, waiting for Harry Potter 7.2 to start on Tuesday when my boss called me. Because the movie was going to start in a couple minutes, I let the call go to voicemail. I am now glad I did that because I had time to think about what she would tell me.

In the message, my boss asked me to leave the cart that I have worked at for 50 months. She offered to have me become the manager of the Katelyn office where everything is made, shipped, and housed.

I was terribly flattered. I still am.

It really excites me. A raise, the chance to work with big (and small) businesses, a more stimulating environment, and the opportunity to get more hours.

I just feel strange leaving the mall after so long.

Starting soon, I will be phased out of the mall and phased into office life.

For you this means if you want to catch up with me, you can no longer go to the mall and hope that you see my curly locks at the Katelyn cart.

A bit of a problem

2011-07-17T08:43:00.003-06:00

I have a problem in my relationship right now.

I have only cooked the husby and myself one (and a few halves of a) meal.

I have yet to do a load of laundry.

I make the bed 1 in 7 times.

I do clean, but it is only what he does not have time for.

If I need anything and we happen to be together, he makes me stay put and he gets it.

I feel way too pampered to be married.

Granted, I am in school right now and he gets most of this done in the hours he spends alone. This will probably all change when fall semester starts and we both will be gone most of the day. (At least I will be the first one home so I can finally start doing things.)

I might just be old-fashioned

2011-07-06T14:30:00.003-06:00

You know those things that you take very seriously?

More seriously than just about anything else?

You believe that they should not be joked about and not rushed into?

Something that takes a decision that should take at least a year and up to a lifetime of thought and preparation?

It irks me greatly when someone else treats it as though it was a party or an informal brunch. They do it last second and it makes you think that they have not fully thought about this serious thing; it makes me think that they are not mature enough. Don't get me wrong, it is a joyous occasion, but it should not be something you decided to do a couple days ago. It should not be an event you invite everyone you can think of to. It should be you and the few people you are closet to. People that you will stay connected with for longer than a few months or you have a stronger connection with them than just Facebook because they are either your absolute closest friends or your family.

I feel guilty feeling upset about this, particularly because of who it involves, but I need my feelings made known to more people than just my husband. So for all nine followers that will eventually read this, know that I am a little upset, but also know that I am trying to get over this so I can support someone I love tonight feeling peaceful and full of love.

I'm married.

2011-07-03T21:44:00.001-06:00

New family blog.

Hints of what is to come at the reception...

2011-05-26T11:13:00.002-06:00

Empty picture frames

Ice Cream

Photo booth

White centerpieces

Calla Lily bouquet

Parasols

Bunting

How will it all come together? Very nicely, I hope...

Countdown

2011-05-19T09:20:00.003-06:00

1 day until the fiance's birthday

6 days until I go through the temple

8 days until I get to hear one of my favorite ballets performed by Utah Symphony (Rite of Spring)

11 days until I move most of my stuff into our little yellow house

12 days until I get my dress and we take the bridals

13 days until the open house

14 days until the wedding

15 days until we head off to Florida, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama

32 days until summer term starts

It's all coming so quickly! My bedroom is covered in birthday presents for the fiance, early wedding gifts, boxes to move, boxes of trash, and lots and lots of crafts.

Why I want to be what I want to be when I grow up

2011-05-04T18:39:00.002-06:00

Ever since before I was in public school, I have wanted to be an elementary school teacher. I have always been in love with children, so it made sense as the perfect profession for me. Children always make me so incredibly happy and I have wanted to be a mother ever since I tried naming my little sister after my nursery teacher. (I think she is grateful to my parents that her name is not Sister Mendenhall.) Years upon years ago, it was my bedtime. I was pretty young and I was telling my older sister a bedtime story. It went something like this:

"Once upon a time, there were a bunch of fairies." (Insert lovely things that the fairies did here.) "Then one day, all the fairies got really sick. They went to the doctor and the doctor said, 'Well, either you are all going to die....or you are all going to have babies!'" (The facts of life were a little hazy to me back then.)

Having a classroom will be like having a lot of nieces and nephews. I will get to spoil them, teach them, watch them learn, discipline them a little, and at the end of the day, send them back to their parents. Granted, it does come with loads of responsibility--there are way too many people out there that will sue for anything. It also is not the highest paying job in the world. In fact, my first year teaching (internship) will be just a few hundred dollars more than what I make right now at my kiosk, but I do not get people that go into their profession because of the Christmas bonus they will bring home or the salary that will be more than I could possibly make by teaching.

Ever since getting into the eled program, I have been in love with the courses, the teachers, and the girls I have classes with (and two boys). I cannot wait for school to start up again in the fall so that I can see these people again and get back into the classrooms.

Saturday brought this

2011-05-02T09:10:00.001-06:00

Mark and Jill's wedding. This marked the last time I will be head babysitter during a sibling's wedding.

Side effects may include...

2011-05-02T08:56:00.002-06:00

I have never had to worry about side effects in my life. I have managed to avoid different sorts of things that would require medication. However, because of a certain event happening one month from today(!), I got to start taking a little pill every single night starting a couple days before Mark's wedding festivities.
I started taking it a little warily, but I went into it with an optimistic view and hoped for the best.

I guess it could be going worse...

I go from being pretty normal (for me) to feeling rather nauseated in a matter of seconds. It is not the most pleasant feeling in the world. As bad as this is, I have been known in the past few days to randomly break into tears. Occasionally there are cover ups (speeches at Mark and Jill's wedding luncheon were rather sweet) but oftentimes (like at the dinner table last night) I just start crying with no real logical reason. I feel so bad for people around me, especially the fiance. He has seen this bipolar side more than everyone else put together.
Let me apologize in advance if you see me in the next day or two and I act a little off around you. It is nothing personal I promise.

This weather

2011-04-27T16:55:00.003-06:00

You know those stories engaged people tell you about the weather when they are taking pictures? "Well, we took them last Wednesday when it was raining really hard, but it stopped raining right when we got out of the car to snap some pictures and it started up again right after the last shot!" I guess I was silly in assuming that the Utah weather would stay perfect for taking engagements. We picked a day.

A week ago today.

Wednesday the 20th.

We were going to shoot in SLC with these amazing photographers that are retired, but we managed to convince them to shoot us. I checked the weather. In the morning, it was due to be cloudy with a 20% chance of rain.

After we got up to Salt Lake and arrived at our destination (Garden Park Ward) it started to rain. At first it was nice, misty rain. Rain that Utah does not get terribly often. We took a few shots in various locations, but the misty rain turned into fat raindrops. The photo shoot was a bust. We got around twenty shots in all, but no one liked them enough to put on announcements. So, we agreed to resume today.

Even with taking the instructions to an extreme ("Put your elbow on your knee...your other knee...make it look natural...Now put your arms around his neck. Not your hands, your arms."), I think the (singular) picture I have seen so far looks worth the wait.

And this, my friends, is my fiance. (On the left. I'm the one on the right.)

Great quote from yesterday...

2011-04-06T23:19:00.002-06:00

"In this last dance, can you describe anything different or interesting you saw someone do?"

"I noticed Lois. No explanation necessary."

...Just because I was the only one flailing all of my limbs...

As in "My face feels warm; I think I'm..."

2011-03-27T11:58:00.006-06:00

BLUSHING
A few weeks ago, my baby sister and I went to Velour to an "anti bridal fair". While we were there, I got to talk to vendors like Alta Moda Bridal, The Catering Company, The Flower Basket Bouquet, Dippidee, Seraph Stationary, Mood Events, Nik Day Music, Versa Artistry, and Justin Hackworth Photography. My darling friend JULIE snagged me an invite to this exclusive event. I got many scrumptious ideas as Angi and I ate ambrosial appetizers, sipped sinfully smooth soup, drained divine drinks, and carefully chewed on crave-worthy cake.

Here we are with our mouths full in a lovely moment captured by Justin Hackworth. (My mother always taught me never to show my teeth in a smile if my mouth was full. My mother is still working on Angi's posture.)

It really was a wonderful evening. Angi and I both received swag bags (although she "accidentally" took mine as we parted ways that evening), dress up for the cocktail vibe evening, spend quality sister time together, obtained garlic breath (it was worth it), and decide we need to grace Communal with our presence soon. (Okay. I decided that on my own, but Angi really like their food too.)

Wedding ideas thus far

2011-03-21T12:10:00.002-06:00

I have always been really into wedding planning. I have been thinking up ideas ever since I was in high school and now that I actually have the chance to plan my own wedding, it has been hard to narrow down the ideas!
I will post tutorials as I get to making all of these, but here are my favorite ideas so far:

Found here. (All for this penny)

Found here. (My DIY wedding day)

Found here. (My DIY wedding day)

Found here. (Again. DIY Wedding day.)

Found here. (Dollar store crafts)

Reasons as to why I am in love

2011-03-12T23:29:00.005-07:00

We say the same things at the same time. Several times a day.

We have bizarre nicknames for each other.
He does not care how I act. Generally I live up to his expectation to be a mature 21-year-old, but sometimes you just have to let loose and throw paper off the "catwalk" at the mall or entertain him with monologues or go to Kiwanas after the sun goes down to talk and cuddle and drink sparkling pear juice straight from the cool green glass bottle.
He catches me when I trip over nothing. Even when we're at the symphony.
He crafts with me. {Oh wait. I don't know if he wanted that one to come out of the closet.}
His wit is nearly as clever as mine is.
He will read my mind. This sounds creepy but it actually is rather nice. Just the other day, I just had to say "Would you like to..." and he gave me my answer. The correct answer. Not only did he give me his answer, but he then proceeded to tell me what the rest of my question was. Pretty soon I won't have to talk at all.
He has a gorgeous singing voice.
He has been known to rub my feet as I take finals {online}.
He cooks me anything I would like and it tastes divine. Usually. Everything I have requested him to cook tastes magnificent. Some of the random endeavors he has decided to take on may have teased my palate in the wrong sort of way.
He lets me call him at any time of the day or night. And he has been known to answer when I call him at 4:00 am.
He gives me a piggyback ride whenever I decide to jump on his back. I jump on his back on a fairly frequent basis.
He has caught onto my strange urge for random, poorly thought through pranking tendencies and frequently plays along. Even during the ones that end up in an epic fail.
He has shown me into secret places in the mall that few amateurs have been in.
When it's that time of the month and I am in a bit of pain, he'll stop at a store {without my asking} in the middle of a date to not only get me my choice of painkillers, but also a bottle of water to help wash the pills down.
He is a bigger nerd than I am.
He picked out the most gorgeous ring I could imagine and it only leaves my finger when I do baptisms or when I want to give him a good scare.

The girl who cried wolf

2011-02-19T01:34:00.004-07:00

I am engaged. To be married. To one handsome and witty Wolf.

It all happened Thursday, February 17, 2011.

It was a Thursday like any other Thursday; full of carefree events that might make it into a daily journal (if I kept a daily journal) and yet not memorable enough that in ten years I would sit my children down and tell them the tales of that Thursday. I lunched with my {then} boyfriend at noon, went wedding present shopping with my darling friend Manny in early afternoon, and then dutifully went to my two classes that are held on Thursdays.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

That night, I received my nightly phone call from work and called my boss to pass on the numbers. Immediately after I hung up with my boss, I headed out the door. I had plans that night to have a laid back evening with Manny. However, as I pulled into her driveway/parking lot, I got another call. From Kaeli. Kaeli closed at work.
"Hey, Laura, I locked my keys in the cart. My work key and my car keys."
After running a few options through my brain that did not involve me actually going to the mall, I agreed to come rescue her. (It was not the first nor probably the last time.) As I pulled up to the mall, I noticed my {then} boyfriend's car still in the parking lot.
'Strange. He was supposed to have left twenty minutes ago.' And yet, I did not suspect anything. I dashed to the cart and then stopped in my tracks.
There was no Kaeli.
I walked around the cart once.
No Kaeli.
As I was about to pull out my phone to call her, I saw my {then} boyfriend walking up.
"Hey! What are you doing here?"
"Kaeli called me to come unlock the cart. Her keys are in there."
"I saw her leave fifteen minutes ago."
"Oh."
And yet, I did not suspect anything.

Until.
"But since you're here..." And with that, he pulled out a ring box. A deliciously colored ring box that made my heart start to pound and my eyes widen. I slowly opened it and then felt annoyance start to rise in my being. In this gorgeous box that I would have filled with my most prized trinkets fifteen years ago was a very large, very obnoxious flower ring.
For the next five--very long--seconds, I thought he was trying his hand at pranking. A fake proposal just to mess me up. Something that would give him street cred in the humor department. It just was not working for him.
After those five seconds, I noticed him pull something off his pinky. This ring came with a proposal.
And I honestly don't remember the two minutes right after that moment.
I do know that when he gave me the real ring, my first reaction was "I hate you."
I do know that I was kidding about hating him.
I'm pretty sure I told him yes.

I accidentally stood up Manny that night.
She has since forgiven me.

And so it begins

2011-01-30T11:16:00.004-07:00

On Wednesday morning, I almost peed my pants because I was so nervous. The wait to laminate six pieces of paper was an hour longer than it should have been and I laughed a strange, nearly forced laugh whenever the laminating machine fixing tech men made joke after joke while trying to find the problem with the machine. I did laugh when I thought of the image I left (while tripping out to my car) for the last stragglers, obviously uncaring that they were late to their 9:00 class.

25 beanbags in a mesh bag in my left arm.
A 6' x 4' laminated bundle that I needed to take sheers to.
My bag, unusually large, on my right arm.
7 curiously long jump ropes along for the ride.
4 large orange cones balanced precariously on a few binders balanced on the palm of my right hand.

A half hour, I was to my destination. After running around frantically and trying not to look completely crazy, I had a minute to spare; to make sure I had my whistle around my neck and a mic properly attached.
"Hello, third grade! My name is Miss Sederberg and I'll be your P.E. teacher for the next five weeks!"

So I'm dating this vegetarian...

2011-01-16T00:17:00.003-07:00

I am always so intrigued by how people react to their discovery of my vegetarian boyfriend. Why does it matter what he puts in his mouth so long as it's food? Many comment on the protein deficiency. Others ask if I am "turning", but even more ask if I'm "turning" him.

The two of us (boyfriend and I) talked about this tonight. It all started with one of the security guards named Dirk.

Scene: Lois is sitting at her cart, cutting numbers out of price tag stickers to make a price that she wants. It's slow for a Saturday evening and few people go by. Up meanders Dirk.
Dirk: So, are you sparking Russ?
Lois: (A little confused by this random question.)
Dirk: Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude.
Lois: Oh, no. No problem. Yes, I'm dating him.
Dirk: Have you gotten him to eat meat yet?
Lois: Nope. He seems to be pretty set in his ways.
Dirk: Here's what you need to do. You need to have steak every time you're together.
Lois: I'll remember that. Steak...So, were you here when the gunman came?
The conversation takes a turn as Lois gets Dirk off the controversial topic of "to eat or not to eat" and onto one she is sure he could (and does) talk about for several minutes. Dirk leaves and Lois continues on with her dreary evening at work. A few hours later, the subject of the vegetarian topic himself shows up on his way from one job and to another.
Lois: Guess who just came by and asked if I was sparking you?
Vegetarian: Dirk?
Lois: Right on. He gave me some good advice about what to do with you.
Vegetarian: What would that be?
Lois: To eat a steak every time we're together. I think he--like everyone else--is scared that I'll become like you.
Vegetarian: Do they realize I'm fine if you eat steak in front of me? I'll even cook you one.
End scene.

There you go, friends. My boyfriend, the vegetarian, would cook me steak if I so wanted it. I still eat meat, I just do not eat it as frequently as I used to because while cooking for two, what good is it to use ingredients only one of them will eat? (He's also lactose intolerant. Good thing I'm not a picky eater.)

p.s. The gunman at the mall story is true. I'll tell you about it sometime.

Dilemma

2010-12-22T08:35:00.002-07:00

My bedroom at my parents is really warm. I love it. The bed is nice and comfortable. I love it.
My bedroom at my house in provo is rather chilly. I feel like I reside in a walk in fridge. The bed is rather uncomfortable; you can feel the springs in it.
Yet somehow, I sleep better in Provo than I do in Orem.
I am taking a whole five days off work next week (okay, a Sunday is included in that run, but I still count it). It will be--by far--the longest time I will have away from work without actually being on vacation. This is my winter vacation. Happy New Years to me.

Sunday Morning Chatter

2010-12-12T11:20:00.004-07:00

Granola.
I love granola. I haven't made any in a while because although the prep time is minimal, I don't have a whole lot of time to sit around and cook something for a couple hours, stirring every fifteen minutes. Thank goodness for 1:00 church. Sundays are the only time I make it. Today I added a bit of peanut butter and love the way it turned out. It's not the best with my strawberry yogurt (surprise, surprise) but it still is a great twist on one of my favorite breakfast foods.
I want to make avocado compound butter soon. I crave avocados. They are a miracle fruit. Maybe I just need more monounsaturated fats; potassium; vitamins B, E, and K; fiber; etc. I used to spread avocado on a whole wheat bagel (I know, not the healthiest thing in the world) and eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was so good that I could not take my mind off it the rest of the day.
For all those who hate me because apparently I only eat healthy food (says the roommates), I made this cake last week with a friend.
Triple-chocolate mousse cake by the one and only America's Test Kitchen. We made a bit of an alteration and changed out the white chocolate layer for a mint chocolate layer. (I apologize if you crave white chocolate when you wake up in the middle of the night. I really do not enjoy it.)

And.....biggest news of the year: my brother Mark proposed to a girl on Friday. A girl from the ward. One we grew up with. Everyone is so happy. (We needed another January birthday in our family. Particularly another birthday on my birthday.)

This is apparently the only picture of the two of us together on facebook.

Girls camp eight years ago. I'm in light blue and she's attacking my back. I miss those days. (Those days of being young and careless and free and not having any backbiters or gross gossip. Not the days of Jill attacking my back.)

Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T10:48:00.003-07:00

What am I thankful for?These adorable 4 1/2 inchers that I bought yesterday. Mmmm. They are the first peeptoe shoes that I've bought.
My fambam. Every single one of you. Siblings, parents, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents. You know who you are. I really do appreciate you.
All my amazing friends. The ones I see on a regular basis and the ones that I rarely see. New and old. I love them all. A shout out to two in particular? Audra Campbell and Julia Blackham. My life would be rather boring without them and they are two of my absolute best friends ever. I could talk to them about anything and I respect their opinions more than pretty much anyone else. Though sometimes I do not get to see them on a terribly frequent basis, I know that I can always count on them.
My school. I have a rather intense obsession with BYU. I love it. I love learning. I feel privileged to be going there.
My religion. I would be a very different person without it.
The chocolate pecan pie in the oven. I hope it turns out.
My talents. Whatever they are. (And by "whatever they are" I mean all the various ones I have. I'm not doing a pity party for myself. )
My job and the fact that my boss trusts me so much and respects what I have to say. It's no joke when I say that I call her more than anyone else. (I don't make very many phone calls.) She is a very intelligent woman and the sweetest lady in the world.
Music. Chopin is my hero. Paul McCartney is a stud. John Mayer is really good live.
My very warm bedroom at my parents.
America.

Snow snow go away

2010-11-21T11:46:00.002-07:00

I tolerate winter.

I don't absolutely love it nor do I curse it first thing every morning when I wake up in a cold room. You see, I used to love winter. The more snow, the better. That was back in the day when I would either take a bus to school, walk a half mile on flat ground to school, or drive to school. Walking a half mile to a mile to school isn't that bad. It's the hill that gets me. I get to choose between a steep hill to walk up or flight after flight of stairs.
I hate trying to keep a balance between a social life and a studious life. This week is a prime example. Tomorrow I have the biggest paper of the semester due. I started it early enough, but starting it isn't enough. Between babysitting, work, dates, long phone calls (don't worry, Dad, they're all after 9:00), the symphony, a surprise party, Harry Potter, the football game, working out, seeing plays, spending time with my bff Angi, and eating (which can sometimes be hard to fit in), I find that I get to wake up early tomorrow to add on one more page.
Such is a college student's life.

Oh yeah. I've decided it is crucial that I live with my bff Angela next year. (If your name is Angela and you are just finding this out for the first time, forgive me. My mind has been a bit frazzled as of late and whenever I think of mentioning it to you, it's either 1 am or I am someplace where I cannot use my phone.) Where will we live? I do not know. We'll figure that out in a few months.

A big, fat, juicy Smashburger

2010-11-11T23:28:00.003-07:00

I usually do not crave meat.
On the contrary. I eat it when it is given to me, but I do not go out of my way to get some. In fact, in all the years I have lived on my own, I don't know if I've purchased raw meat from the grocery store more than three times.
And yet, ever since I learned the guy I'm going to dinner with tomorrow is a vegetarian, I have been craving steak. Or a large Smashburger. Juicy meat on a large bun with tomatoes and onions and lettuce. Mmmmmmmmmmm. With a side of sweet potato fries.
Where's Angela when I need her to Smashburger with me? (Yes. That word is a verb.)

Thoughts

2010-11-06T09:20:00.004-06:00

I want to marry a black man. Not even kidding you. Why? They are so attractive. And then I can have tan little babies.

That or a Ukrainian ballroom dancer.

I could see myself being tight with my cute little Vietnamese math lab TA. He is just so adorably nerdy with a slight twist of being socially awkward.
I am the only Sederberg under the age of 57 in Utah right now. Has this ever happened to me before? Nope.
I love to make people laugh. This means that I love being around people that laugh easily. (Hi, Maria!) Last night was a good night for me. Crepe party. Hosted by one of my best friends. After my little work fiasco (I did not think I would be inside the mall at 10:00 until the holiday hour change), I absolutely loved every minute of the night.
The three questions my roommates ask me most frequently: "Who's your boyfriend this week?" (I don't know about this one.) "Who are you going out with tonight?" (Apparently I dress up all the time. I like the way I dress.) "Do you ever eat anything that isn't healthy?" (Thank you, whole wheat bread, homemade granola, produce, and everything else in my cupboard.)
I am glad I never bought that sweet coat. The car mechanic's fee was twice the amount of the coat. Sometimes I dislike being an adult.
My schedule for next semester is comprised of theater, dance, p.e., math, art, and music. Could it be any better?
I never again want to be in the mall on Halloween night. It was disgusting. Thousands of people in one slowly moving line, walking around the mall. My friend works at the customer information desk and he told me that lots of kids were lost. "Well, what is your son wearing?" "A Dracula costume." Just like a couple dozen other kids.
My cousin is Juliet for the next month or so at BYU (starting on the 10). Go see her and then tell her how absolutely amazing she is.
I miss my baby brother and sister. Especially in moments like last night when I got to see the interaction between one of my besties and her freshman brother.

Hello, November

2010-11-03T18:31:00.002-06:00

I want to be the same.
The same as what?
The same as people who aren't different.

Don't you just love your favorite movie? Whatever it is? Mine has some pretty sweet quotes from it.

Today I saw a fender bender. Well, I didn't actually see it, but I did see a car move out of the corner of my eye and when I next looked over, a guy was getting out of his car. Three cars were involved. A truck was the initiator of the whole shebang. The middle car seemed to have the most damage, but the car in front was new enough to not have a license plate on. Yikes.

I have never been in a car accident.
I hope I am never in one.

I have been hit by a car, but I was a pedestrian and that happened almost exactly two years ago. I was scolded for it. Not for being hit by a car, but for being too independent. It was night time. Around ten. I was at work; a friend dropped me off at the beginning of my shift and I did not want to bother anyone to drive me home. I had done the walk before. It's only around 3 miles, but I had only done it while light out.

I'm not stupid.

I was a little scared as I began my walk to my little apartment. I still remember how cold it was and how the wind was blowing unusually hard for the evening. There were goosebumps on my legs the whole time I was outside. I was wearing a brown skirt with green shoes that make that professional sounding "click" when you walk and a white coat.
I scampered across the crosswalk at the first stoplight. There was a large blue van turning left that was approaching me and apparently did not see my bright white coat, illuminated by the headlights of cars and streetlamps. I could see it coming, but what do you do in that sort of situation?

Whump

I was able to brace the rest of my body with my arms. My eyes were wide and I could feel my asthma acting up. After a few seconds, I made the first move; I continued across the street. I did not look at the driver of the car. I did not look back. I did not collect $200. The rest of the walk did not get any funner. Three boys thought they were the most hilarious men in the world when they followed me for a couple blocks. I listened to their steps to make sure they were not getting louder.
When I only had a mile left, my boyfriend at the time called me. After realizing by the sounds of passing cars that I was not in my apartment, he began to fire off questions. He found out my location and after a quick "I'll be right there", he hung up.
I had never been happier to see his old and battered white Chevy Cavalier. He made it in half the time it should have taken him. As I curled up in his passenger seat, turning up the heat all the way, he began to lecture me about how foolish I was. I told him the whole story and everything finally hit me; I began to bawl.
I haven't thought of that story in a long time.
It came back to me today. Sitting in my car, one hundred yards from where I was hit.

Isn't it funny how memories come back to us?

It has happened...Now I want cake to celebrate.

2010-10-11T16:35:00.003-06:00

Today I became an official Elementary Education major. I cannot believe this day has finally arrived.
In other news...I played a great role in participation during my biology class today.
"'Yes, there are thousands and thousands of uses for corn, all of which I'm going to tell you about right now'...Does anyone know what movie that is from?"
Silence in the class.
"That quote is from Tina the Tour Guide who works in the Alamo."
Laura in her best Texan accent: "There's no basement in the Alamo."
"Very good. I can tell you've seen the movie."

Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini op. 14 Variation 18

2010-10-10T09:33:00.007-06:00

Last night, I got to go to my favorite symphony in all of Utah and hear them perform my current favorite classical music piece. The solo pianist was Conrad Tao, a sixteen-year-old currently enrolled in Juilliard’s Pre-College Division studying piano. It took me a second to realize that the person he is closet in age to in my family is my baby brother. Yikes! Sixteen did not seem like that young of an age until I pictured Michael up there.

This clip (of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra) features the last few seconds of variation 17 that lead into everyone's favorite variation.

Approximately a year ago...

2010-10-03T20:02:00.008-06:00

I chopped off all my hair. (I've discovered that there are not a lot of pictures that were taken relatively soon after the cut.) If I were a dude, I could have had that cut and still lived the honor code.

The other night I was with four of my favorite ladies in the whole wide world. Christie, Lindsay, Christina, and Maria. We enjoyed a short film of my darling 80-year-old (at the time) grandmother trying to act out "Denver Broncos" in a rousing game of charades. After the laughs were over, Roo started flipping through old pictures. Old as in one year old. Here are two more pictures of my short hair...just not quite as short as it was the day I had Tina chop it all off.

Please take note not only of the green paper umbrella in my hair, but also the red paper umbrella on top of my distinguished father's head. Also examine my darling cousin Eric in the other photo. I am unsure of what his arm gestures mean, but he is a pretty cool kid. And I might want to wear that dress to church someday. Sans the black skinny jeans.
I probably look better in vintage maroon dresses than you do.

Especially if you are a boy.

I want cake.

2010-09-27T10:57:00.003-06:00

Martha Stewart makes me want to make {and ~~delicately eat~~ devour} cake.
It looks like it would taste amazing...

Maybe I should go grocery shopping soon. I'm on my 5th day of living here and have yet to buy groceries...I guess I am just really good at ~~going to Orem to binge~~ finding free food.

And now, a couple lines from the song that I am somehow serenaded with every time I work. Thanks for the reminder, John.

Nothing to do, nowhere to be
A simple little kind of free
Nothing to do, no one but me
And that's all I need

I'm perfectly lonely
'Cause I don't belong to anyone
Nobody belongs to me

"Hey, Laura, want to go on a hike with me?"

2010-09-26T09:24:00.002-06:00

Now, normally when people ask if I want to hike with them, they're talking 5 miles, max. I absolutely love to hike, but I haven't done any strenuous hikes lately. So, on the drive to the trailhead when I was asked if I had any time restraints, I laughed but wondered what kind of hike I was being taken on.

Lake Hardy.

If you've heard of this lake, I will be proud of you. If you've been to this lake, I will be rather surprised. From the looks of the trail, not many go all the way up to the lake.

During this hike, you end up at 10,000 ft. (Timp is at 11,749 ft.)
Distance: 13 miles round trip
Hiking time: 8 to 12 hours for a hiking trip, 2-3 day for backpacking.
Difficulty: extremely strenuous
We took Schoolhouse Springs up to 1st Hamongog, then continued on 2nd Hamongog all the way up to the lake.
Neither of us thought the hike would be half as long as it was. (Okay, he knew what type of a hike we were getting ourselves into, but I had no idea the difficulty level he was thinking.)
12 hours was not an exaggeration by any means. We stared up the trail at around 1:30 pm and got back down at around 2:30. am.
Was it worth it? It was a gorgeous trail. We made it up to the lake at around 8:30. Right about the time sunset was going on. Coming back in the dark really should not have taken much more time, but we had to forge our own trail for a couple miles. (For the last mile of the hike, there really wasn't a well marked trail. After we got to where we thought the trail was going to be...it was not there.) We climbed over huge boulders, walked through endless amounts of brush, and jumped off (5 ft) cliffs. We had flashlights, but once the moon rose, we used that as our light and continued on our way.
I admit, I was a little scared for the few hours in the dark where we were trail-less, but I was calmed down by the fact that I had complete cell phone coverage. And the fact that the person I went with has worked for the forest service for the past three years.

I feel rather satisfied with my day yesterday.

I would love to own...

2010-09-23T20:49:00.003-06:00

Something about gray heels. I adore the booties espeically.
(Found at the one and only Charlotte.)

Happiness...

2010-09-19T12:12:00.006-06:00

...is a warm gun.

Well, that's what my dear friends John, Paul, George, and Ringo think. I might have to disagree with them.
I am generally a happy person. I do not get discouraged easily. I am able to laugh at myself in almost any situation. I have never had any sort of depression. I love my life and my life seems to love me back.
These past two weeks, however, I have been all over the emotional spectrum. Occasionally I found myself sitting in the middle of my bedroom, cursing at my laundry. ("Stupid laundry. Why do you have to be washed? Why do I have to wear clothes? Why can't I just buy new clothes every day? How come I cannot find a couple hours to just do one load?" I finally got one load done yesterday. I have about three or four left.)
But I have also laughed. Quite a bit. Because my little brother shook his hips for me. (This was right after the action:)
I am not at my house terribly often. It does not help that I have tried to be out of the house every evening this past week. It worked. These are the activities that made me very happy and out of the house in the evening this past week:

Monday~Hip hop dancing.
Tuesday~Temple and...something else...secretive. (Ange, you're the best. You do all the dirty work for me. See, I probably would have been a minute ahead of you because I had to give you directions, and I would have ran into said person. As it stands, it is a good thing it was dark or else said person would have seen my brown car.)
Wednesday~Work. (I had other plans for Wednesday. Other awesome plans that included dancing, but I found out last minute that I had to work. At least I got to see my darling Rachel and have an amazing chat with her.)
Thursday~Ice cream date.
Friday~Tuesdays with Morrie. Amazing play. I absolutely loved it.
Saturday~Iowa v Arizona football game with one of my besties, her boy, a girl I've known since elementary school, and two other boys. (He is cute, Manny. Maybe if I meet him again, he won't be playing a card game so I can legit talk to him.)

Happiness to me? Fresh rolls on Tuesday. (Making bread dough is very soothing to me.)

Picking up Angela on her way home from school. (No, she doesn't go to Cascade. And she is in this picture. Just to the right of the cement dumpster holder things.)

Watching my father look very educated and dignified even when he eats a tv dinner for lunch.

I hate breaks.

2010-09-15T11:56:00.004-06:00

This is the first semester in which I have changed my schedule after the first day of school.

I added a class on the add/drop deadline.

My teacher of this short block class is probably not going to appreciate that.
I will probably appreciate it less. I have missed the first five classes of eighteen. Hopefully it will not be hard to catch up.
Do you know what this means? This means I work a lot less until October 19. I am possibly down to half the hours as before. Strange. This also means that now on Mondays and Wednesdays I have a four hour block of nothing in my schedule until October 19. This also means that since I finished all my homework that is due within the next week, I have nothing to do. Nothing except to sit on my dad's couch and eat some rolls. (Some amazing rolls. My dad even says so. He's always right.) And listen to the chatter in the main office right outside the door. Listen to one of the girls awkwardly tell all the dudes in the office that "...oh yeah, I'm engaged..." Overhear that one of the dudes has a liver problem. Learn that another office worker consistently does not refrigerate his lunch. All are important facts that greatly enriched my day.
If you live/work/go to school around BYU and you find that you have nothing to do on a Monday or Wednesday anytime between 9 and 1, you should be a good Samaritan and find me. I will probably still be on my dad's couch. I will be the one covered in cobwebs.

Three hours down, one to go.

My funk and the fix

2010-09-14T15:55:00.003-06:00

For the past week, I have been in a serious funk.

The kind of funk where you want to get out of it, but no matter what you do, you fall back into it after the excitement is done.
I tried everything I could think of.

Latino festival. Chick flicks. The Lion King up in SLC. Piano. Babysitting. The Foreigner. Music. Rolling down hills. Chocolate. Chocolate covered gummy bears. A blessing.

Nothing seemed to completely cure me of this funk. What to do, what to do...
Dancing.

I am not a dancer. Not at all.

I used to be one though.
Ballet: 10 years.
Clogging: 3 years.
Tap: 2 years.
Jazz: 1 year

I have really been wanting to try my hand at hip hop dancing lately. I am a little obsessed with watching all the movies with crappy plot lines but amazing dancing in them.

Yesterday I headed over to my local gym and grabbed a guest pass. After giving me their little tour, I made it to the classroom just in time for the hip hop class. I had no idea what to expect. Darron looked just like what I imagined a hip hop instructor would look like. You know how some people just look cool? He knew he was cool. I believed him.
At the beginning of the class, he asked everyone who was new to raise their hands. Surprisingly, more than half of the couple dozen students put their hands up. I silently breathed a sigh of relief.

And then it began.
Some of the students were well versed in the art of hip hop but most of them were on my level; they wanted to learn.

In a half hour, he taught us a three minute routine. I'm sure I looked like the whitest of white girls trying to hip hop but at least I could keep up. I found myself laughing at my reflection on multiple occasions. Darron came over in my direction a few times and I expected him to offer advice or give out critiques, but he only supported my effort and nodded in agreement to my moves.
I felt amazing after the class. I burned some calories, had fun, danced, and laughed at myself. You can bet that I will be back to that gym tonight to grab a membership.

Hip hop every Monday night.

I could get used to that.

Sting said it best.

2010-09-12T15:36:00.005-06:00

I like to go a bit further...

If you love someone, set them free. If they come back they're yours;

if they don't they never were.

Girls like sleepovers.

2010-09-09T07:46:00.001-06:00

Since Monday evening, four girls have offered to have a sleepover with me. I find it amusing but very sweet.
I plan on taking all four up on their offers.

Reasons why yesterday was actually an amazing day

2010-09-07T07:44:00.002-06:00

~I got a raise
~I was able to go to the Latino festival with Aud
~I was creepy at the boys in a van next to Aud's car (and it turns out I know them...yikes!)
~I got to talk to Lisita
~I made plans to see Lisa and Mark today
~I got a great workout
~I did not get in a car accident (admittedly, it was closer than I would have liked...)
~I went up the canyon. Twice!
~I ate frozen yogurt
~I was able to laugh about my situation and different ironic points of it.
~I had an amazing talk with Audra and she really helped me with the struggle I am having right now.
~I met my cousin's fiance (and learned he was engaged)
~I got a date for Friday
~I was able to talk with Alyson.
~I decided that I get to be selfish for the next week or two. Or however long I want to be. Because Audra told me so.
~I discovered that I really have amazing friends.
~I made plans for a terrific workout schedule
~I finished all my homework (even if it took me three hours to write a half page paper that should have taken me ten minutes)

Sorry...you were informed incorrectly...

2010-09-02T18:47:00.004-06:00

Dear girls from my home ward (excluding the ones my age, the ones older than I am, or even the ones a year or two younger than me),
I am positive you mean well, but embellishing stories you have heard with my name mentioned in them probably is not the best idea. Especially if you tell people in our ward. Because when they mention it to me, I am not the least bit embarrassed. (I rarely get embarrassed.) However, the poor, blushing, lady confronting me with what she was told seems to be a little flustered.
Thank you for starting the rumors.
Trust me, it is completely fiction.
(I am not upset that you told people. I'm really not. I just feel bad that those poor women are misinformed.)
Love, Laura

Grilled pizza and the wonders of facebook

2010-08-29T10:59:00.003-06:00

Last night, I went on a date with Matthew. We doubled with my brother Matt and Tricia.
Matt and Trish kindly agreed to host at their adorable house and to plan a mystery activity. My interest was piqued when they mentioned something about having to pull a few strings for the activity, but I had no idea what to expect.
Matthew and I arrived to help with dinner. Dinner was absolutely amazing. Homemade grilled whole wheat pizza (the two varieties included "normal" and "exotic") with a roasted beet salad. It was so incredibly healthy and also tasted rather delicious.
Then came the activity. Matthew and I were instructed to sit on different couches and then we were each handed a piece of paper. My brother then proceeded to tell us something I did not believe for a few minutes. "I got in contact with Matt's mother..."

What?

The activity was a "re getting to know you" game. Since Matthew and I have not really been with each other for four months, we had a list of 10 questions about the other person. My brother found one of Matthew's brothers on facebook who then got my brother in contact with Matthew's mother. She provided my brother with the answers to his questions. Even after the explanation, I barely believed.

Facebook does definitely make the world a smaller place.

(And, for the record, we both did extremely well. He did not know that my brother Tim once reset my biological clock, and I had no idea that he had a hairline fracture once.)

Talkin bout my generation

2010-08-15T20:41:00.001-06:00

Michael: Dad, I love you.
Dad: Ditto.
Laura: Has Dad used that word before in his life?
Tim: Ditto was a cool word when Dad was growing up.
Michael: It was a Pokemon when I was growing up.

A classic

2010-08-15T11:18:00.002-06:00

My darling cousin, Christine, showed me this awesome photo. I don't know what's better about it. The cat's face or the fact that we have proof that he sat on my mother's lap--especially after she got her Quickie 3000. I miss that old wheelchair. Sometimes I go and sit on it.
Her new wheelchair is a tribute to me. It's a Solara.

One good scare

2010-08-11T09:28:00.005-06:00

Yesterday, I headed over to the darling JSB and up to the third floor. The purpose of my excursion was to study the midterm my teacher had given us so that I could study up for the final. My teacher was surprised by how many of his students were there that fine reading day and he had ran out of copies of the test. So after handing me the answer key, he sent me out to the hall and told me that he would be out with a copy of the test in a minute or two.
When I received the test, I was a little curious. It's not like I have photographic memory or even really really amazingly spot on memory, but the test did not look that familiar and we took it just a few weeks ago. There was a boy sitting next to me who received one of the fresh off the printer tests at the same time I did and he was having a similar concern. He even wrote down which problems he missed and he was dubious as to why he would miss such a simple question. We finally turned to another student with an old test and discovered that our tests were different...
As I stood up to head back to my professor's office, I was terrified that he had given us the final instead of the midterm. I tried to talk sense to myself with reminders that if he did, none of it would have been my fault and nothing bad would happen to me, but the reassurances did nothing to help the sinking feeling I had.
When I reached his office, he looked at the test and gave a little chuckle. He explained to me that he always keeps two copies of his updated tests so that if the information is lost in one place, he will have it in another. However, the flash drive that he kept the latest version of the midterm--the one I took in the testing center--had reached the end of its life and none of the files were able to be saved. So, he turned to his trusty computer. The only problem with that is that he apparently saved the test as a new file whenever he made a change to any question.
During his explanation, I felt my heart rate return to normal.
A few minutes later, he printed out the right test and I was able to study questions with the right answers.

My addiction

2010-08-09T08:41:00.004-06:00

I have an addiction. (At least I can admit it, right?)

My addiction is for craft blogs.

I hope to start one soonish; mostly because the dozens of craft blogs I go through each day inspire me. (Dozens and dozens.)

Finals are coming up on Wednesday-Thursday. I have decided not to allow myself to go to any craft blog until I take my finals. All two of them.

This might be the hardest thing I've done all term, but if I can pull off 90s on both tests, I will have a 4.0 for the term, an admirable goal in my opinion.

My life is rather satisfactory

2010-08-05T00:06:00.005-06:00

My laufer and I went to the temple yesterday. We have decided to make this a weekly outing so we can catch up and drive and get a spiritual high. Conveniently enough, both of us love doing all three things. We spontaneously decided to head over to Draper because it is a gorgeous temple and we wanted something new.
Only when we arrived to an empty parking lot, void of people over the age of 8 (some sort of shenanigan games were being played on the temple grounds by a handful of young boys) did we decide that spontaneity in temple attendance should only be considered when ruling out the temples that are being cleaned.
I am rather glad we had to drive for longer. The lightning storms were amazing and we got to see two rainbow "stubs".

I have a rather amusing family. If you know anyone in my family, you know what I am talking about. For example...

Also, Mark and I saw this today.
Twice, actually. During one of the instances, he was going uphill. The other sighting involved missionaries. (There was a threesome with four bikes...hmm...)

The fastest four days of summer

2010-07-28T09:26:00.004-06:00

Last week, I went to this beautiful city.

It was all so I could visit this handsome man.

Here's a better picture. Same man.

And here I am.

We went for many long walks in places like this.

While he was at work, I spent a lot of time at his condo which is located in this part of the city.

One morning, we went to one of these.

While we were there, we devoured a couple of these. (Anyone want to join us for a crepe party when he moves back?)

We watched this. In 3D

We also went to this lovely place.

It was basically the best long weekend so far this year.

My roommate

2010-07-20T22:18:00.003-06:00

"Next time I bring my sticker book, would you like me to put more stickers on your wall?"
"I would love that. Do you like me?"
"Yeah. Remember how we're bffs?"
"You're right."
I love conversations with my nephew as he slowly starts to fall asleep. I call him Jack. Or Jacky Jay. His real name really is nothing close to that. He was christened as Jack just a few months ago as he continuously tried to jump over the largest piles of stuff that he could put together. I likened him to "Jack be nimble, Jack be quick". Jack now calls me Bob.
"Did you know that one time as I took Matt or Mark to the airport, I threw up in the car?"
"I did not know that."
"I just wanted to tell you that to see if you could remember if it was Matt or Mark."
"Oh. Okay. I think it was Mark."
"I think it was Matt because I think I remember it."
He's cute.

I went on a cruise once.

2010-07-17T14:30:00.013-06:00

Good to know, Mike.

2010-07-17T00:07:00.004-06:00

This evening, I was standing with Michael and Ange in the kitchen. (When I say evening, I mean a few minutes before midnight.) We were on something. Everything was hilarious as it usually is that close to midnight. I have not laughed that hard in weeks.
At the end of the conversation, I announced that I was going to take my skirt off.
Okay. As a preface to this, you must know that I often wear pants, especially sweats, under my skirts when I am done with my day. The pants were visible under my skirt. All three parties of the conversation were well aware of my layering.
Michael still acted as little brothers do and began to march downstairs for bed.
"I'M WEARING PANTS! I'M WEARING PANTS!" The sound level was probably to the point where my disgusted yet darling daddy would have come out had we gone on any longer.
"Yeah? Well I'm wearing underwear."
Thank you, Michael. With boys, you're not always sure...

Except for one of my brothers. My mother used to let us pack our own clothes; when we were young enough not to know any better. (That's not to say that she doesn't now.) On one occasion, a brother only packed the essentials.
Socks and underwear.

New old spice

2010-07-16T17:12:00.004-06:00

Ah. Old Spice. You have to love their commercials. They have a 100% success rate at making me laugh when viewed. Well, apparently BYU wanted in on the action. I love their take on it...

One of the best parts is the tree...watch where it goes after the first scene.

p.s. I love that he mentions grades will be better when students stop studying in a cave. Note the title of my previous post. I do about 80% of homework and studying in my room.

I live in a cave

2010-07-13T23:46:00.002-06:00

It's cold tonight. A few weeks ago I measured the temperature in my bedroom and came up with 59 degrees Fahrenheit. The two heat vents are closed, but I bet if I opened them, the temperature would not dip. My window looks out under a deck; sunshine rarely makes an appearance in the room. I have lost my five-year-old roommate for a few nights so tonight there will be no nightlight casting bizarre shadows on the ceiling nor light crawling under my door from the hall or freezer room. My bedroom will be pitch black. The way I prefer. The way I spent many nights growing up. After my first night black and scary disorienting night I spent in this room as a young girl, I realized that I rather enjoyed the calm and quiet darkness.
The room has a great vantage point. I always know when people are going up or down the stairs. I even have their strides memorized. I can tell if someone is enjoying a late night snack in the dining room and if someone is coming in from the garage or back doors and whenever someone decides to shower or make a visit to the loo. I was also the only one that thought we had a mouse living under our fridge several years back (until they moved the fridge one day to find his dead body). I like to be informed about daily routine and visitors. I like the room.
I have been trying to savor certain things lately like this room. What happens on the day when I move out and never move back? This room housed me during my childhood and teenage years. I demonstrated to my two older sisters how sound of a sleeper I am when I was knee high to a grasshopper as we were adding onto our house and one of their alarms went off in the middle of the night. I played with my birthday presents the day of my baptism right next to the closet. I blockaded the door with my mattress just a few years later when Ange shared the room with me and I was mad at my roommate. I primped and pampered myself before every single high school dance in front of the mirror that actually belongs to Maria. And yet, I couldn't wait to vacate the room two years ago. I never thought I would be happy to move back home, but here I am. A resident of Orem until further notice.

I feel safe to live in the Provo area?

2010-06-28T20:49:00.002-06:00

I was out of town when the rape/assault happened next to the Provo River, but it was one of the things my dad told me as he drove me home from the airport. I shuddered as he told me, but pushed it out of my mind until I started classes last week.
In one of my religion classes, I sit by and have come to become acquainted with a girl in another part of that story. She was the girl who was threatened with a foot long knife until she gave up the keys to her car by that same man later in the evening.
I have talked to her a bit about it and she sounds so chill about it. She is going to testify against the man when he goes to court. She just feels sorry for the more unfortunate girl in the story.
To think that happened just downhill from where I live...

Don't expect me to make animal noises.

2010-06-23T12:29:00.003-06:00

Sometimes as I meander across campus, I watch the golf carts roll by. Their passengers stare at the buildings, gorgeous fauna, and the students.
I cannot help but feel like I am part of a safari exhibit in the zoo where guests travel in the safety of a vehicle through the throngs of animals.
And I am willing to guess that if these travelers held out food to us, we--like animals--would hurry to the cart to snatch up the offerings.

I am a nerd

2010-06-17T17:11:00.002-06:00

Birthday

2010-06-13T16:50:00.004-06:00

Friday night and Saturday morning, I made a trifle. My best friend's birthday was on Saturday and I have many fond memories of making and eating trifle with him. Now he's gone and half the trifle is left. Seventeen hours can go rather quickly--especially when five of them are spent sleeping. When you haven't been with someone in over a month, there is a lot to catch up on especially when the week immediately before you see each other, you are both out of the country and have no form of communication whatsoever.
I want these next two and a half months to fly.
My valuable lesson learned today is: do not substitute matches for candles. Unless you can sing the Happy Birthday song really quickly. Or if the one blowing out the flame has a low lung capacity.

I am now a woman.

2010-06-12T08:55:00.004-06:00

More than a week ago, I flew in to California for my long awaited cruise for sister week.
[sis-ter week] noun.
1. A get together that happens every other year in which the Sederberg sisters (Rebecca, Maria, Laura, and Angela) gather and do something fun.
I arrived in the Long Beach Airport a few hours before Rebecca could come pick me up, so I sat on one of the few benches in that tiny airport. I watched people come and go, but I definitely sat for the longest amount of time. Since I love to people watch, I did not mind the wait.
After an hour, a man sat down at a bench close to mine. He was in his late thirties or early fourties. When he had been seated for a few minutes, I heard him speak.
"Excuse me....Excuse me." I turned and realized he was directing his speech towards me. "Are you from Phoenix or Texas?" Uh...what?
"Nope. I am not." Ever since then, I've wondered what would have happened if I had answered yes.
"Oh. Well I am waiting for someone from there." Is this your tactic to find said person? Ask random people if they are from Phoenix? Or Texas?
"Yeah. I'm waiting for someone as well." I turned my head back to the position it was in before.
A couple minutes passed.
"Hey, can I buy you a drink?" What? I turned back so I could face him.
"No. That's okay. I'm fine." I didn't know whether to laugh or walk away.
"Really? Because I'm headed over to get myself one right now. I could get you anything."
"I'm really not thirsty. I just had a lot of...water on the plane." How on earth are you supposed to graciously turn down a man offering you a drink? In the passenger pick up area of an airport?

The worst part of the situation is that he went to the little food stand we were seated next. We had our conversation right as I was contemplating getting some food because I hadn't eaten in quite a while. After we spoke, I felt like I couldn't get up right after him and order some food.

Beatles song of the week: Everybody's got something to hide except for me and my monkey

2010-05-31T13:17:00.001-06:00

Come on come on come on come on
Come on is such a joy
Come on is such a joy
Come on lets take it easy
Come on lets take it easy
Take it easy take it easy
Everybody's got something to hide except for me and
my monkey.

The deeper you go the higher you fly
The higher you fly the deeper you go
So come on come on

Take it easy take it easy
Everybody's got something to hide except for me and
my monkey.

Your inside is out and your outside is in
Your outside is in and your inside is out
So come on come on

Everybody's got something to hide except for me and
my monkey.

2010-05-31T13:01:00.003-06:00

I could not for the life of me fall asleep last night. My body did not want to cooperate with my well thought out plan: fall asleep by 11 at the latest, wake up at 7, go running, and start my day. By 2, I was sick of being curled up on my bed and finally turned to my favorite amino acid to help. Oh, tryptophan, how I love you. I finally fell asleep.

And when my alarm went off, I promptly turned it off.

Fast forward two and a half hours. Oops.

I was a little irritated that I had slept in that late, but I felt fully rested, full of energy, and ready to take on the world. And the rest of my laundry which I finally finished after four large loads in the course of three days.
Next came my victory lunch. I felt like a six-year-old as I grilled a cheese sandwich and ate it while sitting on the clutter free area of the window seat. I even had entertainment as I watched our blue jay looking for his own lunch. After making a glass of chocolate milk, I felt satisfied and fully submerged into my childhood again.

Too bad I have to head off to work in a bit.

Words that make me incredibly happy inside:

2010-05-30T22:39:00.001-06:00

Your cruise is leaving in seven days.

just keep swimming

2010-05-27T12:54:00.006-06:00

In two weeks I will be on a cruise with Bec, Roo, and Ange. My favorite sisters. And my only sisters. Contemplating this, I came to the realization that I have not purchased a swimsuit in three years. Mulling over that fact, I decided I should probably get a new one. Last night I looked around online and found a favorite swimsuit designer. In their 2o10 collection, I found the cutest suit ever. The problem with this? I could not justify the price tag.

So what did I end up getting? It is dark purple and I am pretty sure it is primarily meant for women with a large chest and/or a want to hide their belly. I have neither.

Dear little Rhoda

2010-05-26T17:08:00.009-06:00

I have many mall friends.
Mall friend [mawl frend]
-noun
1. One of the older people who walk around at the mall and talk to me.
Rhoda is by far my favorite mall friend. I first met her on Black Friday when I with my darling Clerax as the backup employee. At first glance, Rhoda seemed to me as just a darling elderly lady whose mental health was beginning to go with her age. I even overheard her telling Clerax that she had totaled her car. By running it into a parked car. At the beginning of this year, she began to visit me at work every once in a while. Her visits were always the highlight of my day. She is one of the most cheerful and optimistic people I know. I had not seen her in about a month--which worried me--until I finished my shift today. I ran into her in Nordstrom and we chatted just like old times. She asked me to walk her out to her bus, but I interrupted and asked if she would let me drive her home instead. (I know what it is like to ride a bus every single day.) As we moseyed on out to my car, she admitted that she had taken the bus to the mall and then walked over to JoAnn's, a rather lengthy walk for that darling lady. On the way to drop her off, I also learned that she lives in a trailer. She likes to give any extra money she has to her children. None of her posterity lives even close to Utah. They populate Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri. I cried inside as she stepped out of my car in the trailer park and headed over to her cute but tiny trailer. Do her children not realize that their mother is living in a shack?
If anyone I know exemplifies charity, it is this woman. I can learn so much from her. Now I will look forward to her visits even more.

Gone

2010-05-25T22:03:00.002-06:00

"Make new friends, but keep the old.
One is silver, the other is gold.

A circle is round, it has no end.
That's how long, I will be your friend.

A fire burns bright, it warms the heart.
We've been friends, from the very start.

You have one hand, I have the other.
Put them together, we have each other.

Silver is precious, gold is too.
I am precious, and so are you."

Lately I have realized that I have lost one of my best friends. The more I think about it, the more I see that I started losing this friend before the year even started. It makes me sad, but she is starting a new life and if she does not want me to play as large a part as I used to, then I guess that is what she wants.

Disneyland and Mailbu

2010-05-25T11:54:00.004-06:00

So. I got to go to Disneyland! Woot. The morning after I arrived in SoCal, Matt picked me up and we headed over to Anaheim. It was a blast. We ran around and did all our favorite rides twice.

This was what my hair looked like before Splash Mountain.

Indiana Jones.

Okay. I learned that I can look very creepy.

Aww. Presh.

The next day, after crashing at Lisa's casa for the night, we drove to Malibu and traveled on a gorgeous highway. Rugged, green hills on one side, big, blue ocean on the other. We took one of the canyon roads and found our way to this awesome overlook.
Utah is home to my majestic mountains, but we do not have any body of water that compares to the ocean.

California, day 1

2010-05-22T14:18:00.002-06:00

I had an absolute blast out in Cali last week. The first morning I was there, I was a little impatient to get on with my weekend. I got to play with my three oldest nephews while I waited to go down to the OC for Saturday and Sunday.
How could you not love playing with these three boys?
Little ikeike liked playing "egg" with me. He would curl up in a pillowcase and "crack" into any animal. ("Let's pretend that cats are in eggs.") He also reminded me several times that week that I made him that green blanket when he was a baby.

I also hung out with the baby and tomtom. Those two are hilarious. The baby is the cutest baby, but he seems much older than his age. tomtom liked to help the baby make faces.

Really? There are more awards for him to receive?

2010-05-17T08:31:00.003-06:00

Dr. Sederberg will be giving a forum tomorrow morning in the de Jong Concert Hall at BYU for receiving the Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Faculty Lecturer award. He gave an amazing devotional at BYU when I was in ninth grade that you can find here. Since he will be giving this talk during spring term, he does not get to do a repeat performance in the Marriott Center.
So...head down to BYU or turn on your television, radio, or computer. If you miss it, it will be archived on BYU's website. Basically, there is no chance for you not to watch it.

I expect a full report the next time I see you.

Adding texture to my life

2010-05-06T13:52:00.002-06:00

This morning, I got to texture half of a bathroom. It was actually very soothing.
Unlike painting, you don't have to be precise or perfect or worry about getting it on the ceiling or on the floor. Well, you do, but it's not that big of a deal.
I felt like an artist. Scooping up mounds of my texture substance and putting in on the wall in whatever fashion I wanted to. In fact, if I had any artistic skills, I would probably drop out of school right now to pursue a career in art. Abstract art.
It also provides you with the perfect situation to think. In my life, I have lots of time to think (especially at my job) but while texturing the walls, I knew no one was going to bother me so I could get as deep into my thoughts as I wished. I could think about my trip to California (I will be on a plane in 27 hours...) or about just one boy or about my life in general or about some homework Maria gave me to do with her or about my new piano pieces or about something secret I will be doing with my nephews or about how cute I think Christina looks while she is pregnant or about how I should eat soon. No interruptions. I do not have to worry about what I look like while I think and slather stuff onto the walls. A thinker's bliss.

A bunch of words about Michael

2010-04-29T15:18:00.003-06:00

Today is my baby brother’s fifteenth birthday. I don’t believe it yet. I still think he goes to elementary school. Until I see him. I am always surprised by how tall he is. He will surpass me in height in a few short months. He has been growing an average of a half inch each month. His voice has gotten so much deeper. When I tease him about going through puberty (it must be hard to be the youngest in my family), he speaks in a falsetto.
The other day, my family realized that when Ange heads off to college, it will be Michael and my dad alone in the house. That will certainly be interesting. Those two are hilarious together. Both are dreamers but Michael definitely speaks more than the doctor.
Michael can be shy around people, but when he starts to feel comfortable, he can be the life of the party. If someone wants to play a game, they go to Michael. If someone is needed to stoop into a crawl space, they talk to Michael. Whenever I do not want to go on errands by myself, I grab Michael. Lately he has even been putting away the books or ipod when I try to talk to him in the car! He is the sweetheart of the family. He is so easygoing and now that he has long outgrown his crybaby stage, he is so much fun to be around.
Just a few days ago, he tried out for, and made it into, Wind Symphony at Orem High--their top band. He is so talented. Not only musically, but he has been blessed with golden fingers. Not only is he amazing at fixing problems with electronics, but he can also battle Bowser, rescue Zelda, and finish first in a kart race any (and usually every) day.
He tolerates me when I kiss his Kinder chocolate box with red lipstick on or I give him hugs in front of his friends or I put a wig and makeup on him to turn him into a girl for an hour or I tickle him mercilessly (you think I’m ticklish...), or I have the one blonde moment in my life with him at Lowes. Even with all of that, he is still one of my best friends. In March when I went to my favorite concert of all times in Salt Lake (Let It Be), I wanted him to go with me more than anyone else. I occasionally ask him for fashion advice. We pull off shenanigans and get away with them. He rides bikes with me (even though I get the crappy bike).
And although he might get a bit impatient with me when I wake him up from a nap to show him that I just discovered I am double jointed in my shoulders, we are still bffs. (If you are like my dad, one of those people who think bff=best friend’s friend, let me help you out a bit in life. Bff =best friends forever.

2010-04-27T11:44:00.002-06:00

Michael edged the lawn last night. I always forget how much I love the look of a recently edged lawn until I see one.

Michael also shared some Kinder chocolate with me last night. Even if it was just one little segment.

I am going here in 10 days and I am so terribly excited!

But first, I have a piano recital to perform at. Yikes! I haven't performed at one in three years.

A very nostalgic feeling

2010-04-26T08:34:00.002-06:00

I love that sound when it is late at night and while pulling off the freeway, the car slows down. It doesn't even have to be after a trip. It could just be driving home from the point of the mountain. To me it means that I am almost home and I can go to bed.

Really?

2010-04-20T14:23:00.002-06:00

This is apparently my 300th post.

I went here today:
I went to this one yesterday:

Lately, I've been excited to hear a certain song come onto the radio. It reminds me of one of my good friends. The friend that I saw from between three and fourteen hours every single day for almost exactly a month. Because he left early this morning, I was happy to smile when I heard that song this afternoon.
I'm in the process of moving. One last night in Applewood forever. Home to O-town. My own large bedroom, my old bed, a yard, a house, a home. I have accumulated lots of stuff in the two years I have lived in my darling apartment.

Terrif

2010-04-15T00:14:00.003-06:00

Life has been lovely as of late.
Just like a stroll in the park.
The kind of park that is blooming in the springtime with scents dancing past your nose in the warm breeze. The sun caressing the contours of your exposed skin. The perfect spring day in which it is not terribly hot; in which you can frolic around without sweating.

Oh great

2010-04-12T09:03:00.005-06:00

Did I just go two weeks without a post? Not even a Beatles song?
Huh. I've been a little distracted lately...
What have I been up to?Every time I open at the mall, I bring along a homemade granola parfait. With blueberries on the top. I feel as though I munch down on a gobby concoction of heaven when I dig into one of those.

I am LOVING spring and I cannot wait to play a little six square with the fam. It's probably my favorite family game to play right now.

I am also excited to move home in a week. (Yes, Mik and Ange. I should be completely moved in by Wednesday. Thanks for asking me several times a week.) This summer could get...interesting, but I'm excited for the challenge. I would like to thank Ange for making me feel as though I belong in the house...even if I am just considered to be something to stash in the basement.

Beatles song of the week: I want you (She's so heavy)

2010-04-12T08:32:00.004-06:00

I have been a little MIA lately so for this song, I chose their longest.
I want you
I want you so bad babe
I want you,
I want you so bad
It’s driving me mad, it’s driving me mad.

She’s so heavy heavy, heavy, heavy.

I want you
You know I want you so bad babe
I want you,
You know I want you so bad
It’s driving me mad, it’s driving me mad
Yeh!

She’s so...

Holi

2010-03-29T15:40:00.002-06:00

Festival of Colors is amazing. Go to it. I went with Lisa, Julia, Kyrie, Ward, and Matt and it was a blast (of colors).

This was before we left. Don't we look terribly white and clean?

We progressively got more colorful. This is what I looked like fifteen minutes after getting there.

And more of us around the same time.

Matt and I tried to sneak away but they found us eventually. Okay. More like we lost them and it took us a while to find each other.

Eventually all the colors ran together so everyone just looked dusty.

And all the roomies after we dusted ourselves off a bit.

Manny and Melissa found us. I love those girls.

Beatles song of the week: Because

2010-03-29T15:38:00.001-06:00

Because the world is round it turns me on
Because the world is round

Because the wind is high it blows my mind
Because the wind is high

Love is all, love is new
Love is all, love is you

Because the sky is blue, it makes me cry
Because the sky is blue

My latest iPhoto upload

2010-03-27T09:25:00.006-06:00

Ah. Don't you just love roommates. To answer the question you asked us a couple weeks ago, Angela, we do not cook dinners together, but we dance together. An apartment that dances together pantses together. Imagine that you're walking over to fhe one fine evening and while you expect to find four normal girls sitting all normal like, you come across this. (And as for the curious people, yes, we do dance together several times a week often with the windows open when it gets too hot.)

Ward and I like to play with my camera. I did not include the pics in which he shot directly up my nose.

Lisa my love and I went to the charity ball. I liked dressing her up and doing her makeup. She's like the sister two years older than me I never had.

A little green with envy?

2010-03-25T13:28:00.001-06:00

St Patrick's Day was kinda a big thing in my apartment.

Beatles song of the week: Girl

2010-03-22T08:30:00.001-06:00

Is there anybody going to listen to my story
All about the girl who came to stay?
She's the kind of girl you want so much
It makes you sorry
Still you don't regret a single day.
Ah girl
Girl

When I think of all the times I've tried so hard to leave her
She will turn to me and start to cry;
And she promises the earth to me
And I believe her
After all this time I don't know why
Ah girl
Girl

She's the kind of girl who puts you down
When friends are there, you feel a fool.
When you say she's looking good
She acts as if it's understood.
She's cool, ooh, ooh, ooh,
Girl
Girl

Was she told when she was young that pain
Would lead to pleasure?
Did she understand it when they said
That a man must break his back to earn
His day of leisure?
Will she still believe it when he's dead?
Ah girl
Girl

Microwaved air heads

2010-03-18T18:45:00.001-06:00

If you are ever in need of eating twenty airheads in twenty minutes, do not heat them up if the air heads are too hard and chewy.
Trust me.
It changes the texture completely and tastes gross.
You should probably make yourself throw up if you do eat three. Or four.

Officially converted

2010-03-16T18:22:00.003-06:00

My roommates are all converted to my craziness. I am certainly proud.

Beatles song of the week: Glass Onion

2010-03-15T22:33:00.001-06:00

I told you about strawberry fields
You know the place where nothing is real
Well here's another place you can go
Where everything flows
Looking through the bent backed tulips
To see how the other half live
Looking through a glass onion

I told you about the walrus and me, man
You know that we're as close as can be, man
Well here's another clue for you all
The walrus was Paul
Standing on the cast iron shore, yeah
Lady Madonna trying to make ends meet, yeah
Looking through a glass onion

Oh yeah
Looking through a glass onion

I told you about the fool on the hill
I tell you man he living there still
Well here's another place you can be
Listen to me
Fixing a hole in the ocean
Trying to make a dove-tail joint, yeah
Looking through a glass onion

A slice of banana bread and two sugar cookies

2010-03-11T09:01:00.003-07:00

Yesterday I was in a melancholy mood when I was on my way to work. Work has been actually really good for me lately and I was hoping that I would be able to find some way to smile. The exact opposite happened. One problem presented itself at the beginning of the day and another just a half hour later. My mediocre mood turned into a grumpy one. In vent texts, I poured out one of my problems to my darling work friend, Clerax (no, that is not her real name). She sympathized as she could see how annoying it could be for someone and then told me she was going to bring me some sugar to boost my mood.
The time of her arrival drew closer and I expected some store bought refined sugar. Instead, she pulled out two ziplock baggies and handed them to me one at a time. "I had to take the banana bread out of the oven a bit early so I could make it here on time, so eat around the mushy part. I also brought you two sugar cookies, decorated for your favorite holiday." The St. Patrick's Day cookies and large slice of banana bread came at just the right moment.
We talked for another twenty minutes in person and she gently teased me. I love people like Clerax. The ones you know will always be able to make you smile.

Beatles song of the week: Piggies

2010-03-09T18:54:00.002-07:00

*The only Beatles song in which they swear.

Have you seen the little piggies
Crawling in the dirt
And for all the little piggies
Life is getting worse
Always having dirt to play around in.

Have you seen the bigger piggies
In their starched white shirts
You will find the bigger piggies
Stirring up the dirt
Always have clean shirts to play around in.

In their sties with all their backing
They don't care what goes on around
In their eyes there's something lacking
What they need's a damn good whacking.

Everywhere there's lots of piggies
Living piggy lives
You can see them out for dinner
With their piggy wives
Clutching forks and knives to eat their bacon.

Ode to Etsy

2010-03-04T08:52:00.002-07:00

I am an Etsy addict. There are so many adorable shops on it and if you know where to look, you can find amazing deals.
In the jewelry section, you have some amazing jewelry at Whirling Rainbow and Dreamspirit. These beautiful shops are my Aunt Nancy's and she sure can make superb jewelry.
Next comes my favorite topic, vintage clothes.
"Don't live in the past. Don't hold on to something that's changing fast. What we are, is what we are and what we wear is vintage clothes." -Sir Paul McCartney.
I bought this cute jumper yesterday:
It comes from Lea's Vintage and I really quite enjoy her shop. (With that jumper priced at $25, how can you not like it?)
Another favorite vintage shop is Fab Gabs. Their clothes are gorgeous, but they are on the dressier side.

I secretly blog stalk.

2010-03-03T18:59:00.002-07:00

I blog stalk everyone on my blog rolls, but I also secretly blog stalk a whole gang of people. Many of these people are not terribly great at updating their blogs so I jump for joy when I see that they have a new post.
Due to their infrequent lack of blogging, I hate to seem like a very bored, too much time on her hands sort of girl that likes to go to their blogs a couple times a day, so I did something to fix that. My fix is actually pretty creepy the more I think about it. I made it so that I can see when these blogs are updated so that I head over to them when there is some figurative fresh ink on the pages.
Their blogs aren't private and I did get permission to read them from a relative a while ago...but I still feel shady reading about their lives.

Dear Chopin,

2010-03-02T13:53:00.003-07:00

I hope you had a happy 200th birthday yesterday. You are still my (and Dad's) favorite composer. I spent the evening listening to your nocturnes, polonaises, preludes, impromptus, scherzos, etc. I enjoyed reading what NPR had to say about you here.

Beatles song of the week: Ticket to Ride

2010-03-01T08:25:00.001-07:00

I think I'm gonna be sad,
I think it's today, yeah.
The girl that's driving me mad
Is going away.

She's got a ticket to ride,
She's got a ticket to ride,
She's got a ticket to ride,
But she don't care.

She said that living with me
Was bringing her down yeah.
She would never be free
When I was around.

I don't know why she's ridin' so high,
She ought to think twice,
She ought to do right by me.
Before she gets to saying goodbye,
She ought to think twice,
She ought to do right by me.

I think I'm gonna be sad,
I think it's today yeah.
The girl that's driving me mad
Is going away, yeah.

I don't know why she's ridin' so high,
She ought to think twice,
She ought to do right by me.
Before she gets to saying goodbye,
She ought to think twice,
She ought to do right by me.

She heard that living with me,
Was bringing her down, yeah.
She would never be free
When I was around.

Going commercial

2010-02-28T21:06:00.003-07:00

Once upon a time there lived three adorable roommates. Their names were Laura, Kyrie, and Julia. Now these three girls loved to joke around and have a good time. One Saturday morning, they were watching their usual TLC shows when they kept noticing a certain commercial come on. Finally, Julia sat up and exclaimed, "We could make on!"
So, the three girls proceeded to make three commercials. And they laughed.
Don't you just love Saturday mornings like these?