A few of my favorite things... in no particular order

1. Taylor Swift (which thing I would have never had supposed)
2. Taylor Lautner
3. Alicia Keys
4. The Hollywood Tower of Terror
5. Down comforters
6. The Food Network (so relaxing)
7. My beach cruiser
8. My car
9. My wallet
10. The Black Apple
11. President Monson
12. Space heaters
13. Hot chocolate
14. My favorite movies (Step Up 2, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, Sense and Sensibility, She's the Man)
15. Europe -- and my friends there (Anni, Hannu, Hannah, Hanna, Anne, Lea)
16. Mani-pedis
17. Thinking about what the future might hold
18. The temple
19. The theatre
20. Josh Groban and Michael Buble

Fortunately -Unfortunately

Fortunately there was a massive sale at Ikea - wine flutes for $.25 each! I got 16.

Unfortunately I locked my keys in my car.

Fortunately I have AAA.

Unfortunately my phone died mid-call.

Fortunately Ikea had a courtesy phone.

Unfortunately the new AAA lady was not very friendly.

Fortunately there were couches and an Ikea catalogue to entertain myself.

Unfortunately once the locksmith got there it was blasted cold outside.

Fortunately the care opened relatively quickly.

Unfortunately I did not feel like exercising any more (the original after-Ikea plan).

Fortunately I had received the Hannah Montana movie from K and Amber so I watched it instead.

Resolutions!

Let's review. Last year I said I would:

1. Be healthy.

2. Fall in love.

3. Get to Germany and Paris. Failure is not an option.

4. Be more thoughtful.

5. More family time.

6. Buy a bike.

7. Take advice.

I was healthier. I joined my community gym and went fairly often. I can run for a half hour (of course it is at the same pace I walk but it's progress).

I fell in love! Of course I did not fall in love with a romantic partner as was my intention. I did fall in love with beach cruisers, HSM 3, California Adventure, New Moon, Modern Family, blonde hair, my new roommate Jennica (in a non Broke-Back way), partying even more, farmer's markets, a couple hot chocolate places, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books, and I met the D'Orsay.

I did get to Paris and Germany. And Austria. And Toronto. And California. It was a good year for travel.

I'm not sure I was more thoughtful. I'll have to think about it.

I did spend more time with my family, I think. A lot of it, sadly, was due to my father's death. I think we all realized how important we are to each other just a little more. My family had it's up and downs working through my dad's death, but on the whole, I think we did a stellar job. Everyone still loves each other, we may even love each other more.

Bike. Check. Next time I make this resolution, however, I will resolve to get gears. Still I love my little beach cruiser.

Take advice. This did not go so well. I read the magazines but did no follow through. I got a drill for Christmas - maybe that will change something.

Facebook Posts 2009

Friends

Friends are just the best ever.

Erika, Leah, Karina, me (yes, I'm blonde), and Heidi

Twilight

I do not like it. Bella is whiny, entitled. Edward is broody. Also it's poorly written. Like, with people starving and such, the problems in these books are hardly relevant. Also, the titles don't seem -- as far as I can tell -- to correlate with the story-lines. I read Twilight and the first chapter of New Moon, but stopped because Bella was so freakin' annoying. I say if your boyfriend wants to throw you a birthday party, be grateful, shut up and at least pretend that you like it. My goodness. Twilight the movie was entertaining because it was so awful. I laughed and laughed -- oh the cheese! So bad, so bad. I could go on and on.

But I've changed my mind. I. Love. New. Moon.

One word: Jacob. Free association. Umm... Jacob, hot. (But let's go on.) Has a personality, umm, doesn't make stupid breathing noises, doesn't talk about dying without someone, tan, can go on living, is Bella's chronological peer, can fix things, has a life.

Other things I liked: Alice's scarf as she drives a sports car, that there was less Edward, the longs spiel Jessica gives about leprosy and consumerism*, the makeup, that there was less Edward, that there was Jacob, that there was Jacob, that there was less Edward, that there was Jacob, that Bella got rejected a little more and was therefore a little more grateful, the cool scene with all the red (beautiful) in "Italy", that they pointed out that Edward is disturbingly old for Bella, that there was less Edward, that Jacob and Bella didn't have a 24/7 DTR like some folks do, that there was Jacob, the wardrobe, the cool part where Bella gets thrown against the wall and Jasper takes a hit to the wall too, and finally, that it was frankly a really fun movie.

I will now post the funniest lines:

"You give me everything just by breathing." - Edward

"You are the only reason to stay alive... if that's what I am." - Edward

"If this is about my soul, take it. I don't want it without you." - Bella to Edward

"It doesn't make sense for you to love me. I'm human, nothing." - Bella to Edward*

I have hated Twilight for as long as I can remember Twilight existing. And I still find fault with many things (if you couldn't tell). But, thanks to New Moon, I've found a lot of things I really like. I've seen the flick twice.... in one week. And I'd see it again. It was so so so fun to watch. And I find myself thinking about it and chatting about it.

Point: See it, enjoy it, laugh over it, then see it again.

* Blogger's note: Thank you, L-dawg, for finding this quote! "I dont know why you wanted to sit through al those zombies eating people. and no hot guys kissing. It's gross. I mean why are there so many zombie movies anyway? If its suppose to like draw a parallel with like leprosy, my cousin had leprosy, its not funny, ya know? And its suppose to be an awareness for consumerism? 'Cause dont be so pleased with your own like self over ritual clever-ness ya know? Like, some girls like to shop. Not all girls apparently. Even though I was surprised you called at all. Like your depression thing, I get it, like I'm totally totally worried. But after awhile itjust gets old. It's like im going through stuff too. Like Mike just wants us to be friends? It's hard!"

*Blogger's note: All quotes are from DTRs between Bella and Edward. Get rid of Edward = get rid of cheesy lines.

*Blogger's note: The photo is for Miss J and her fav scene.

Detox

I'm a church-going chick. What I got out of the messages today was that I need to detox. Someone mentioned songs with swearwords and I spent the rest of the class trying to get out a catchy, swearworded phrase from a song out of my head. That's not cool.

Sometimes I have this false belief that because something is produced it must be mainstream and normal. That's like saying that because a restaurant gives you a certain portion, that is how much you should eat.

I like noise. I like my music loud. I like to have a movie going when I clean. I hear the advice to take some time to meditate and I think to myself, like, what would I think about? I think I just don't know how to meditate, really. And I'm thinking I'm not alone.

I think that meditation is where good ideas sprout. I'm reminded of the story about the dude who discovered light/sound (one of..) waves. He watched the waves of a river and wondered about it and, viola, waves are totally in! I wonder what ideas I'm missing out on.

I'm always complaining that I don't have enough time and that I just don't have time for fun things like learning the guitar, or French, or how to cook. But really, sigh, I might just be using that time with media outlets that are totally non-inspiring.

So I deleted a lot of songs from my computer, committed to less TV, and I'm going to make a new effort to chill out and meditate.

Fasting

I know fasting works. It's been a long and hungry journey to come to this conclusion, but come to it I have. I've fasted a lot. I'm mean, not an abnormal amount, but enough to not look forward to it and to know the "tricks of the trade." (Drinking lots and lots, stay up late and wake up late so you don't feel it as much, stuff like that).

I first fasted before receiving my patriarchal blessing. Good times. Some time later, when I was older, I started fasting more regularly.

As a sophomore in college there was some fiasco with a friend's fiance; I don't quite remember He was being deployed and that was especially bad for some forgotten reason (like the wedding was scheduled after deployment or something). So we all fasted. That's when I learned that chili dogs are not good ever and especially not after a fast. But somehow he didn't get deployed.

On my mission we fasted with Nadja, hoping her parents would be cool with her baptism. I got transferred and a little while later she really did get baptized.

I have this one client that has really been struggling. Like 6 months worth. No clue what to do for him. I put his name on the temple prayer role sometimes. And I fasted for him a couple times. No change. But then, just a few weeks ago, when I'd kind of called it quits, he really started to improve. He has been on the upswing for 6 weeks, which is, like, long enough for me to say he's in "behavioral remission."

On Saturday my mom called and told me that a friend I'd grown up with, Carolyn, was in hospital with H1N1 and pneumonia. Her parents were told to expect the worst. And the ward was fasting so I started one too. And, although we aren't out of the woods yet, she's doing a lot better. They expect to bring her out of the coma tomorrow.

I've had my fair share of lame fasts where I really couldn't see the results or even if there were any results. Of the examples I've named above, some of the fasts I'd forgotten about by the time the desired event happened. Maybe I should write stuff down. Well, I may forget what I fast for, but hopefully I won't forget to fast.

Toronto

My friend, the Queen, is studying for her Ph.d at York University in Toronto (sounds very sophisticated doesn't it?). My friend Em and I went to visit and see the sites. Good times were had by all. I loved visiting the Queen on her "home turf" and exploring a new city. Famous movies filmed her include Fever Pitch, Mean Girls, My Big fat Greek Wedding, Serendipity, Tommy Boy, and (as mentioned later) X-Men.

Me, Em, and the Queen driving between Buffalo and Toronto

Niagara Falls

Canadian Thanksgiving with me, Britt (actual Canadian), the Queen, Karina (another actual Canadian), and Em

I love, love, love the fall.

Casa Loma. You may recognize it from X-Men.

Milk in a bag. What the.

Toronto temple with the Queen.

CN Tower.

Finally, someone who understands me.

Michael Buble!

St. Lawrence Market -- Pike's Place ain't got nothing on this.

With Em, in flight.

Mr. A to Z

This weekend CJ and I took the trek to Boise (Nampa) Idaho to partake in the wonder that is Jason Mraz. We were not disappointed.

Oh, the anticipation.

Can you feel what we were feeling? He sang all the Jason standards. Personal favs "You and I," Beautiful Mess" and "Lucky."

Here's Jason on the screen. Our seats were pretty sweet. The big projector helped, though, to capture every moment more fully.

After about an hour of music Jason was done. He came back for no encore despite a lot of cheering. The lights went out. Disappointment filled our hearts. Then, suddenly from behind us we heard music. we left our seats and go very close as we watched from this smaller venue. Bliss.

New Blog

This blog is kind of like my journal or my scrapbook. And I really love it. But it's personal and really only appeals to people who know me, or friends or friends (sometimes) or creepy voyeurs. So I've made another blog, a more anonymous blog, that is just information -- not journaling or personal photos. Check it out at somethinghrh.blogspot.com.

Millions of Peaches

Saturdays are special days. And so are Fridays. One Friday my mom and I went up to my grandma's to can peaches. Millions of peaches. For free. Here's how we did it and how you could do it too!

First we bought some peaches. So I guess they weren't free after all. Actually my mom bought them, so they were free to me. I want to teach you all a valuable lesson. Peaches weren't put there by a man in a factory down town, but by my mom at my grandma's.

You fill quart jars with about a half of a cup of sugar. Yum. Then you boil some water and cover the sugar. Swirl it around so the sugar dissolves. This is what makes canned peaches delicious.

Don't forget to skin the peaches. It's easiest to cut the peaches in half along the little crease all peaches have, then take the skin off. You can't cut them into fourths or little bite-sized pieces.

Put in your peaches, concave side down, then fill in the cracks with some more hot water.

Wiped the outsides or else it will be yucky-central.

Get the lids ready for gellin' by boiling then first. You have to separate the lids or they'll melt onto each other. My mom uses a fork to get the lids out, but my grandma used her hands.

Make sure your grandma gets a little upset and worried about what your mom is doing. If she's not a little worried, your peaches probably won't turn out very well because no one was monitoring you for mistakes. Also, it's kind of funny.

Put your bottles into a swell canning container pretty full of water. Keep them in this hot water bath (lid on) for 20 minutes. Shhh, the cans are sealing.

Removed carefully as contents will be hot. You can push down on the lids and the tops should stick. If they bounce back up, no sealing has taken place. You'd better stick those jars in the fridge and eat them first, or it will be super nast. Good luck!

Salt Flats

In Utah there is flat salt. There are fields of salt. It has the appearance of snow, but, nay, 'tis salt. We (Heidikins and I) drove from SLC about an hour and a half. We stopped off at Salt Air to take some rockin' band photos. I would go on this drive again in a heart beat. No finer company could be had and the imagery was amazing. It is a desolate beauty.

RSL

Real Salt Lake. As previously posted, I love them. This time I went with my girls and we got to meet "the boys." Check it out.

Jamison Olave

Beckerman!

Me, Heidikins, Leo the Lion, the CJ, and ErinMasi

Beltran - usually has a sweet faux hawk.

CJ and the Fox -- she has a strange relationship with mascots

Point proven. The bear is grooming her.

All the Beautiful Children

I found a great deal on a flight to visit my brother and sister-in-law in Idaho. This was the first time I've ever visited them by myself. Although there were some bumps getting up there (Trev coming a day early to pick me up at the airport, for example) and the trip was way too short, it was so worth it. And you can tell it from these awesome photos.

My little models. I did everyone's hair. Two barrel-curl girls and one faux-hawk.

The girl can handle it.

Our picnic outside: manti chicken, roasted potatoes, watermelon, and corn on the cob.

Our fearless chef.

The corn came from K-dawg's garden box. Best corn I've ever had -- picked moments before boiling. Fresher it could not be.

C-Bear is "slow to warm up," but then she does. And look how cute it is!

How a Friday got even better

Friday I was in Target and I saw this beautiful black woman coming towards me. She was with a man, who looked slightly familiar to me. It was Will Swensen and Audra McDonald!

Now, at this point, some of you are freaking out. Not so much over Will Swensen (aka the sell-out from the Single's Ward, now working in NYC in Hair.... and if you know anything about Hair you understand why I call him a sell-out) but over Audra McDonald. My hands indeed began to shake and I could think of nothing else.

For those of you who don't know who Audra is, this next paragraph will help. She's won Grammy award winner, an Emmy award winner, and -most notably - a Tony award winner. In fact, she had 3 Tony awards by age 28. My personal favorites include her performances in Ragtime and Disney's new (and awkwardly historically incorrect) Annie. She's also been in Raisin in the Sun, but I've never seen it. (Currently she's on TV in a rather lame show called Private Practice.)

Will and Audra (who are dating, seriously Audra?) are in town apparently rehearsing for a show at the Hale.

No one else seemed to know what was going on. I walked around Target, pretending I was having reception problems, in order to get my camera phone high enough to take a photo. I called up Miss J to freak out together, who attempted to rush to Target and get a glimp but was too slow.

They were parked, like, one car over from me. I have a rather noticeable car. I don't think they realized that I was taking photos of them from my car (photos did not make it in to the blog) but if they did, then they now know that the chick in the yellow PT is a freak.

In short, it was a really great day.

PS22

Move over Von Trapps, PS22 "rawks my socks" (as my 17 year-old nephew would say). I don't know who this teacher is but he is amazing! And the kids are amazing. I've never heard kids that can sing like this. Here's their version of Viva la Vida, but you can go to the website and see much more.

Zum Geburtstag Viel Glück

In mid-July I turned 26. I found at deal on a hotel and the night before my birthday I stayed over alone. It was soooooo enjoyable! I spent the first fifteen minutes in the hotel alone just jumping around and squealing to myself. I turned on the TV (which had fantastic picture quality) and what was on? Nothing less than one of my favorite movies - Sister of the Traveling Pants II. I cried with Bee, swore I'd never reject a man with a British accent, wondered if I could get away with a wig, and wished that I lived in Greece always.

In the morning I went into town in search of breakfast. I had hot chocolate and a nutella-banana crepe and did some quick shopping. I felt on top of the world, doing exactly those things that make me happiest. It was like God said, "Hey, Happy Birthday - I got a day for you with all the coolest things packed into it!"

After breakfast I spent some time in peaceful meditation. I evaluated life (I'm for it), and set goals. For a while I've felt really chaotic, especially at work. During this time (and in the couple weeks since) I felt leagues more centered and focused in life.

I'm converted. I'm doing this every year and I've been recommending it to everyone.

In the afternoon friends met me for a fun afternoon. We went to the Olympic Park. We rode the ski lift, sped down the alpine slide, and experienced the world's steepest zip line.

We watched ski jumpers practice. We messed around with a neglected and apparently unattended bobsled, after seeing someone really go down the track.

We went shopping. Number of items purchased by girls: 0. Number of items purchased by men: many. And a special thanks to Isaac who put on skinny jeans just because it was my birthday.

At night even more friends met us at a restaurant for a birthday feast. It meant a lot to me to see how many stellar people wanted to celebrate with me.

That night, a couple friends stayed in the hotel with me. We projected a movie on the wall. What movie, you might ask? None other than another favorite of mine - High School Musical III: Senior Year.

Could life be more perfect? I submit that it could not.

The Night Routine

So I promise myself on a daily basis that I will go to bed earlier, due to the daily hangover that greets me every morning. But I don't. At night I putter around. I do this and that. Check Facebook, email, and my friends' blogs. Then I have to chat with the roommates, get a bite to eat, wash my face, check everything online again, read a little, brush my teeth. Finally I go to sleep, promising myself to do better the next day.

Fourth of July

On the Fourth of July most people go to parades. I was IN one! Miss J works for the local Uni and Kate and I volunteered to pass out candy and tattoos with her. This car holds the land record for El Caminos -- sweet.

Once we were out of stuff Miss J and I rode, but not Kate. No Kate got commitments from small children that they will go to university. And she inspired adults that it's "not too late."

Yum! Lunch on the Uni and time with super fun new friends!

Every year LaVell Edward's Stadium becomes the Stadium of Fire (cue cheesy music). On a spur-of-the-moment decision Stranilla and I bought tickets off this 70-something "scalper." The show featured Glen Beck and SheDaisy and... The Jonas Brothers!

Kevin Jonas

Joe Jonas -- of whom I later dreamed.

And finally, Nick Jonas.

After shakin' like we just don't care, singing along to S.O.S, Burning Up, Paranoid, Year 3000 (trippy lyrics) and LoveBug, the fireworks began. Ooo, ahhh. Delightful.