what the...

looks like Hollywood Video is trying new promotional tactics...

Just a bill on capitol hill.

Some overdue pictures from my Thanksgiving adventure to the East Coast! Thank you to my dear friend/former roommate Abby for hosting me all weekend and walking/bicycle riding all over that city!

Enjoy :)

First, me and beautiful beautiful Georgetown University! I saw a picture of this campus last summer and fell in love with this castle building....and here it is in person!

You can see more of the building in this one...

THE STREETS OF GEORGETOWN. That deserved capital letters. Cobblestone streets, rows of colorful townhomes and adorable shops. As my sister Mandy put it, "the stuff dreams are made of!"

Outdoor ice skating!! I was determined to do this while I was there. Me and Abby have on about 10 layers of clothing each.

The Library of Congress! I just love the painted ceilings in this place. It's incredible.

The Capitol!

Good ol' Lincoln. Always reminds me of the Zeus statue in the movie Hercules.

And there you have it! Sorry I didn't take more pictures....too busy making sure I didn't jaywalk in front of any buses or get on the wrong metro or get shot by the snipers on top of the white house.

Speaking of the white house, I'm still a little miffed that Obama didn't invite me to Thanksgiving dinner. I'm certain my invitation got lost in the mail. I'm sure he'll give me a call about Christmas....any day now....

Honest Abe?

For some reason this is just really funny to me...

(If you can't read it, it says: "If I were two faced, would I be wearing this one?")
hahaha...

Go ahead....

And take a break from YOUR life and wander into MY head for a minute or three.
And yeah, that's Christmas music.....welcome to my world as of Nov. 1st :)

.......

A sneak peek into the intelligent and insightful daily musings of recent college grads:

(Texting conversation, 11/19)

Me: Yesterday I decided gravy is the United Nations of the Thanksgiving feast. The great unifier.

Kels: As long as it's not watery. If it's watery, it is a terrorist.

.......

And for those of you who are concerned about the future of a certain epic talkshow that's been in existence since 1986 (yes, one year longer than I've been alive)....

Be calm.
Oprah is MUCH bigger than Cher, so I'm expecting at LEAST 15 (fake) farewell tours before the real deal.
All is well.

.......

You may now return to your regularly scheduled daily programming.

T-Swiftenstein ▲

This made my entire day.

Taylor Swift mocks well....

My favorite part is when they come into the cafeteria and awkwardly set down their trays. 

bahahaha.

What about ME?

I said GOOD MORNING, Gill....

Wait, WHAT?

Yes, that's right. This is Aaron Schwartz...the actor who played Gerald "Gerry" Garner on Heavyweights (my favorite movie). Your eyes do not deceive you.

Kinda rocks your universe, eh?

hello, i'm a yellow.

So my supervisor at work is on a week-long cruise, and hence i am B-O-R-E-D at work. They put me at the front desk (good thing i hate answering the phone), and after eating enough cashews to fill me to the brim, I started perusing the Internet for something enjoyable.

And hence....a personality analysis. I used to hear about "the color code" from a good friend who worked at a juvenile justice camp that prescribed to the philosophy to analyze incoming delinquents. Basically it breaks people down into categories (red, yellow, blue, or white) based on traits they displayed AS A CHILD. This part got me skeptical...I don't think I'm the same person I was in high school, let alone who I was at 7. But my friend always claimed I was a "yellow," and I always wondered....

He was right. Yellow it is. Overwhelmingly yellow, in fact.

Here's what the test told me:

Yellows are motivated by Fun. They are inviting and embrace life as a party that they're hosting. They love playful interaction and can be extremely sociable. They are highly persuasive and seek instant gratification.
Yellows need to be adored and praised. While yellows are carefree, they are sensitive and highly alert to others' agendas to control them. Yellows typically carry within themselves the gift of a good heart.
Yellows need to look good socially, and friendships command a high priority in their lives. Yellows are happy, articulate, engaging of others and crave adventure. Easily distracted, they can never sit still for long. They embrace each day in the "present tense" and choose people who, like themselves, enjoy a curious nature.
Yellows are charismatic, spontaneous, and positive; but can also be irresponsible, obnoxious, and forgetful. When you deal with a yellow, take a positive, upbeat approach and promote light-hearted, creative, and fun interactions.


So there you go, kids. You're dealing with a yellow.
I don't know....what do you think?


p.s. Go analyze yourself. It's free. https://www.colorcode.com/personality_test/ It makes you put in some info at the end, but I made up a last name and a zipcode so the zombies can't hunt me down....just in case. It emails you the link to see your results, but if you unclick the box about receiving newsletters then it shouldn't spam you or anything. (Are yellows too trusting?) The only downside is that it only tells you what your main type is. I guess you have to pay to get more in-depth results. Too bad I'm "easily distracted and can't sit still for long," or maybe I'd do some more investigating.

shnozzberries.

*Disclaimer: I'm having some genuine struggles with blogger lately. It's been making picture posting a nightmare because it puts the captions WHEREVER it wants! That's all.*

I have a not-so-little dream of one day opening my own cafe...or nook, you might say. A place where people can play music or sell jewelry and have yoga classes and maybe listen to the jukebox or record player. There will be plentiful book shelves and the furniture must NOT match. And the front door will be green.

First step: Invent delicious (yet healthy) recipes to sell at said nook.

It all begins today.

With bastrawi pie....banana-strawberry-kiwi pie. The other night I thought to myself, I really love bananas. People make banana cream pies, but why not just a banana pie? So, this morning I set to work. Tuesdays are a day for invention.


The fruits of choice (Mr. Quaker makes an appearance too.)














My beautiful whole grain oatmeal pie crust. Does life get any better?














The gorgeous filling (not sure why blogger is being weird and underlining my words).















Waiting patiently for the pie to be ready. I think kitty knew she wasn't getting any, so she struggled with me.













Beautiful and baked! I decided if I want to be a legit baker then I have to have a trademark inscription...it's like branding cattle. I chose the star. The filling got excited and bubbled up out of the corners. (Does a circular pie have corners? I know hats have 3 of them...)













Devour time! DELICIOUS SUCESSS!













Satisfied customers :)














The end. Love it.

count the ways.

Magically, even the Arizona weather seemed to know when it was October 1st. Ah, beatiful cool desert weather...how I've missed you. Remember how it's already almost snowing in Utah? Yeesh.

But weather/state pride aside....a few quick reasons why THIS is my favorite month....

leaves.
pumpkins.
sweaters.
conference.
the movie hocus pocus.
fall decorations.
pumpkin spice candle.
back doors open with the breeze wafting in.


October, let's run away together.

go, fight, win.

It's good to have goals.
It's fun to be a grown up with the freedom/time to do things like fulfill my goals.

So all that stuff I always say "wish I could do that...." or "someday"....Today is the day. So, year of 2009, before you leave me I will complete/begin the following dreams...

1. Visit the East Coast.
2. Start my own business.
3. Write a book.
4. Record a CD.
5. Write a musical fireside.

Because i can.

Details to follow...

a fish to catch & a song to sing

Working world, you've done me well.

Sitting at a computer/wearing headphones + daily commute = plentiful hours for listening to music. Score!

And since my laptop has gone to a better place (R.I.P. old faithful) and left me without an iTunes to call my own, i've been obsessively writing down songs i wish to own rather than promptly buying them upon love at first sight...er, sound. The lists abound....

And so here we have it, my top 10 list of "crank-it-up-when-my-ipod-shuffles-to-it/don't-change-the-station-when-the-radio-plays-it" list from the past month, courtesy of a yellow sticky note that's been bouncing around in my silver grown-up purse.

(Disclaimer: This is by no means a comprehensive list of my all-time favorite songs. Don't mistake it for such. That task would be impossible, and we'll leave it at that.)

In NO particular order...be they new hits or hailing back to the days of Woodstock...The songs that captured my heart (and my eardrums) in the month of September:

1. The Fisherman Song - Mae

2. Big Green Tractor - Jason Aldean

3. Painting by Chagall - The Weepies

4. Everlasting Love - Robert Knight

5. Season of Love - Shiny Toy Guns

6. Tonight's Gonna be a Good Night - Black Eyed Peas (Mozeltoff!)

7. Everybody - Ingrid Michaelson

8. I Wanna Know What Love Is - Foreigner

9. 1,2,3,4 - Plain White T's

10. Danny's Song - Loggins & Messina

Badda bing, Badda boom.

The end.

October, I eagerly await your arrival.

Memoirs of a Zoobie

Dear Provo,

You were always magical to me. From the first time I drove north to visit friends for the weekend, I could feel it. Something in the way the light comes off the mountains, reflecting off streets crowded stop sign to stop sign with precariously paralleled vehicles. It can only be described as...hope. And mystery. And anticipation. The feeling of promise and adventures and opportunity and the great unknown, all lurking in the crevices between the hundreds of tightly packed apartment complexes. When I finally stopped dragging my feet and decided to try my hand at life in your city limits, I came with full force. I came with my expectations and my dreams, partly situated in large green storage bins and partly rolling about on the floorboards of my silver Honda. And fulfilling your potential, you gave me exactly what I wanted, and then some. You gave me a new life and a new fire and new ideas and new perspectives. And then, like I suppose most enchanted things do, you simply became REAL. When the glitter faded with the fiery Autumn leaves, you were just real. Just life. I imagine it's akin to the moment when a child finds out who REALLY stuffs his Christmas stocking, or when little girls in princess dresses realizes it's all just pretend. The good news is, like any yellow brick road and its man behind the curtain, the disappointment doesn't last forever. Real life has a funny way of holding just as many treasures as the North Pole or the Emerald City. Disillusioned children still go on to enjoy the holidays, after all. For me, I did not like it when I lost my hope in you, city of Provolone. I'm not easily disenchanted, so I always feel a little jaded whenever reality checks in. But truth be told, somewhere there toward the end, real life didn't seem so bad. Yes, you with all your flaws and reality checks became something I would learn to miss. And in the end, it was truthfully painful to leave you.

But I have to say...thank you. For showing me that I no longer need my kite strings or balloons to make me feel brave.

I came back to see you recently, after you sent me out into the "real world." For a while there, I thought I wanted you back, but then I realized...you're just you. Just life. So, again...thank you. Because I found, just briefly as I was watched the breeze playing in the Oak leaves...that feeling again. That same old magic, wafting through the branches and hiding just around the corner. And I realized, we are better off as long-distance friends, you and I. Keeping our mysteries and our intrigues to ourselves suits us, in the end. But just the same, you will still always be special to me. Magical, you might say.

Love, Katie

"All the things that break you are all the things that make you strong." -C. Underwood

The Interview

Grown up.
New shirt. New earrings. New day.
Building by the lake.
Validated parking.
Click click click.
Red high heels on tile.
Elevator ride.
1, 2, 3....7.
Deep breath.
Smile.
Painted walls.
Receptionist in jeans.
Artsy.
Handshake.
Desks. Faces.
Panoramic windows.
Conference room.

Resume.
Is there anything in my teeth?
Is my hair out of place?
What am I doing with my hands?
Small talk.
Big talk.
Thank you.
Hope.
Hallway. Elevator. Lobby.
Parking garage. Silver Honda.
Shoes off.
Toes wiggle.
Sigh.
Sunglasses.

iPod. Shuffle.
Miley. Archie. Jonas.
Little girl.

The Hills Are Alive

A short story in picture and verse.


Adventure.

Flight.

Tumble.

Plop.

Satisfaction.

THE END

Blogorithmic

I'm re-evaluating the rhythm of my blogs. I was just reading thru old posts and I thought...hey, I used to WRITE on this thing....I think my monthly updates kind of usurped my blogging style, since writing at the end of each month was the easiest way to update everything. Well, I'll probably still update about the most exciting parts of my month every now and again, but I want to start WRITING again. Writing and opinionating and musing and bemusing.

But, since I began August by making a list of things to blog about as usual, I do want to put up my usual type of blog for the time being...just so the list doesn't feel neglected....
So, without further ado....adieu...wait, what is that saying?

- Frisbee tourney. My team made it to the championship game! Which, I happened to be in Arizona during. Word has it we lost by one point. But, semifinals were still exciting!

- Hook. Went to an outdoor movie theatre with my roommates, laid on the grass, and watched this old classic. Beauty.

- All-nighter. I remember during finals week of my freshman year, when I stayed up until 7am so I could study for my math test AND clean the fridge for cleaning checks, etc. The next afternoon my roommate found me lying on the couch, legitimately convinced that I could eat mashed potatoes and lie down at the same time. Hrmm. Anyway, during finals week of my last week of senior year, I stayed up until 5am finishing a project. Fitting, i know? I didn't try the potatoes thing again.

- Caraline's wedding. Ah yes, another one bitest the dust! This lovely friend of mine went and got herself hitched on August 8th. It gave me an excuse to dress up and eat carrot cake. I love weddings. They make me feel good.

- Guitar capo. Bought one. Loving it. Cue the "whole new world" theme music.

- Abby. My roommate Abby drove down to Arizona with me! Her sister lives in Gilbert so she stayed for a few days. Anyway, we spent an afternoon together doing the following: Mesa Temple, Pizzamart (best pizza place in the whole valley, I say), Bahama Bucks. A most excellent day!

- Bandslam. Yeah, THAT movie. The "wow, ANOTHER pre-teen movie with Disney channel starlets who sing" movie of the summer. I would like to meet the cast of the movie. To give them all good games. Really, i loved it! It definitely had some plot holes and amateur acting and quirky moments...but that's what i loved! The quirk. This movie had heart.

- Safford roadtrip. Caraline had a second reception out in eastern Arizona where her hubbycakes is from, and our friends Jackie and Daniela missed her first reception sooo...roadtrip! It involved...stocking up at QT (i love you QuikTrip!) and accidentally only having ONE cd for the entire drive....Taylor Swift's sophomore album, "Fearless." Did we get sick of it? Never. How dare you ask. But I digress....Safford. Thatcher. Did I mention I'm in love with small towns? My heart is set on living in one. We saw the stars. I will blog about my small-town aspirations on another day.

- Frisbee. Ah, two bulletpoints on frisbee in one blog! Happy day. I think I have found my new frisbee crew down here in AZ-town. It's a bunch of Tempe kids. ASU-ites, you might say. It's not the closest thing to my house, but it works. I am pleased :)

- Sojourner Center. Whilst hunting for a job, I came across one at an abuse shelter in downtown Phoenix. With the ambition of getting my foot in the door for employment, I signed up for one of their tours. In retrospect, I've decided that line of work is not for me...but it warmed my heart to be there, nonetheless. We got to peek in on the nursery, and I saw the kids all curled up on their mats. Heaven bless people who save the world.

- Sewing. Long lost hobby. I've become obsessed. I like it because you can't think about anything but your project while you're doing it. Total concentration. I think it's rejuvenating.

- Androo's game. My brudder decided to lace up his baseball cleats after many moons of retirement, and I ventured out to Glendale (almost to Flagstaff, I say) to watch his game the other night with his wife Bonnie and my sister Monica. I love baseball. I love gingerbread ice cream cones (I know, right? So random for a concession stand at a ballpark). Anyway his team played a double header and didn't win either, but my hermano scored the only runs in both games for his team. Woot!

And that's enough of that! I have lots of stuff I feel like rambling about. I mean, i just moved home and started my life completely over from scratch. Also, I graduated from college. Yeah, grown up time....Momentous, I know. Enough so that it deserves its OWN blog, not a bullet point on a list. I'll get back to you on that. In the meantime...

This is the skirt I fashioned out of a pair of pantalones...















One last hurrah on the porch swing...


















Mesa Temple!

















Abby and I preparing to eat our delicioso PizzaMart feast!

Julio (Iglesias?)

Yet another month has come and gone.
AND WHAT A MONTH IT WAS.
As already evidenced by the fact that I had to write a pre-blog halfway thru the month because I knew this one would be gargantuous. I will do my best to hold back on the gargant....is that the noun version of that word? Look, I'm already rambling....let's get on with it, shall we?

Highlights of Joo-Lye 2009, aka my last month in Provo, aka my last month of COLLEGE LIFE.

- Grad tassel. I own one. It's gold. It hangs on the wall by my bed to remind me that the end is in sight.

- 4th of july. I already blogged about this most favorite holiday. So i will say no more.

- Hockey game. So, one of my FHE brothers is named Gabe. Gabe plays for a city hockey league. So, being the good family that we are, we all went to support him earlier this month. We chanted things like "Gabe the babe," and "Gabe pride." (Yeah...) Anyways, naturally....I managed to get nailed with a hockey puck. It flew into the stands, bounced off the bleachers, and nailed me in the left shoulder blade. It hurt like the dickens for about 2 days but there was never even a visible bruise. What a waste of an amazing injury....Good story though.

- FHE video. Our ward had a film festival and each family had to make a music video for it. Our group chose "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen (my suggestion of "Fat-bottomed Girls" didn't go over so well. But oh, what a song....) Anyways it was hilarious. It involved a gnome statue and purple leggings. You can fill in the blanks.

- Institute pizza. Have you ever ordered and transported pizzas to feed 180 people? I have. Actually, I did this every summer at EFY for like 700 kids. But at EFY they got delivered. When you get put in charge of ordering it for your entire stake institute class, consider delivery....because if you choose to pick them up in your Honda CR-V, you might be silly and forget that the parking lot isn't near the building. And you might only ask one friend to help you carry them. And your shoulder blade might still be hurting from a certain hockey puck incident 2 days before. Needless to say, my arms were sore the rest of the week....

- FRISBEE. Yes yes yes! Intramurals is well under way. The season is mid-tournament right now, so the semi-final game is tomorrow night. Stay tuned for the August update to find out what happens...

- Cedar City! Yes, I took a little drive down to little ol' Cedar. Hit up a Shakespeare play, remembered that I hate shakespeare, hung out with old roommates and friends, etc etc. It felt good to get one last visit in before I bail on the state of Utah.

- Slip n Slide. Giant hill + hoses + dish soap + boogie boards + my ward = Best activity ever. And one very bruised kneecap. (Why do all my good stories end in injury?)

- Harry Potter, i.e. 'arry potta! Of course I went to the midnight showing. Must you even ask? Of course I drew a lightning bolt on my forehead....and the forehead of everyone who came with me. Unfortunately the movie was only mediocre for me....I didn't like that they changed some stuff from the book. But just as movies go, I would say it's definitely worth seeing. But only if you have a lightning bolted forehead.

- Speaking in church. Truth be told, I haven't spoken in sacrament meeting since I was like 15. I almost made it all the way thru college without speaking in a student ward....but they got me 3 weeks before graduation. Sneaky. But honestly I loved it...I got to speak on friendship and fellowshipping. Best topic ever. I love friends.

- The Peanut Butter Solution. (Okay that was a bad pun about a strange movie.) The real story is about a peanut butter war between myself and my roommate Lars. Round one: I hid a giant marshmallow inside her jar of PB. Round 2: She hid a handful of mini mallows in mine. Round 3: You know those little poppers you can play with? I put a couple in her PB...I was afraid she might eat one if I put too many. That wouldn't have been pretty. Round 4: She takes a can of sweet peas exactly small enough to fit in my jar and crams it down into the PB. Not even enough room left to get my fingers in there to pry it out. I managed somehow. Round 5: I break spaghetti noodles into thirds and cram them pointy end down into her peanut butter, until every inch is full of them. It was like a pokey fortress of noodles. Round 6: I am waiting for this to happen still. I'm sure it'll be epic. Stay tuned.

- Cherries. Have you ever tried a cherry? I have. As of this july. And i'm addicted. But be careful, they will make your tummy hurt if you eat too many all at once. Which I guess applies to any food....except tacos...okay maybe tacos...

- Provo River. Death-defying experience! Okay not exactly. But it wasn't a LEISURELY floating experience like the Salt River in Arizona. For one, it was FREEZING. I couldn't feel my hands every time I tried to paddle. For another thing, there was actually a current. Think rocks and logs. I made a deal with my friend that if he would steer both our tubes around scary things then I would go in front and take all the cold splashes from said obstacles. It was a cold but worthwhile bargain...I was thawing out for hours afterward. Would I do it again? Of course :)

- 7/11 slurpees. It's best when you live two blocks from a 7/11. It's even better when they have pina colada and banana slurpee flavors for a dollar. And it's awesome when there's a random swing hanging from a tree exactly one block between home and the the 7/11. It's become quite the tradition.

- Boating. Went boating with my co-workers on Provo Lake. They tubed. I watched. I hate tubing. It scares me. Plus the water smelled weird....my boss called it "poo lake." Gross. Kind of like growing up in the Islands subdivision, eh?

- Logan roadtrip. Yes, I went on a one-day mid-week roadtrip up to Cache Valley with my lovely friend Katie Lewis to watch her play her guitar at her very own show! She's famous, I know. I wore a tie-dye shirt with her name on it. I also fell in love with northern Utah. But only summery northern Utah....I suspect it would be fearsome in the winter.

- Ward Campout. Finished off the month of July last friday night with a ward campout up in Springville canyon! Bonfire, food, volleyball, fireside (literally), sleeping under the stars....Oh yeah, and did I mention it still managed to be freezing cold at night? Why is summer so conditional on trivial things like "location"? Needless to say, my roommate Jenny and I solved that problem by putting one of our sleeping bags inside the other one and squishing both of us inside both of them. It was squishy but toasty warm! Yay roommate bonding :)

- TEMPLES. This is my favorite highlight so I saved it for last. Guess how many Temples I went to and/or saw this month! Done guessing? EIGHT! Yes, for reals. Provo, Timpanogos, Draper, Oquirrh Mountain (pronounced O-kur...it means "glowing" in Indian lingo), Jordan River, Salt Lake, Bountiful, and Logan! I feel like the luckiest girl ever. I didn't even plan for such a thing to happen. Utah sure has its perks every now and again!

Okay congratulations if you're still reading! You shall be rewarded with pictures (albeit not very many...)

Enjoy :)

First, an escapee that didn't make it into the 4th of July post. Here we are walking to go spy on the Jonas Brothers concert.

The lightning bolt in all its glory...

Teen angst. We just wanted to be like Harry...

Logan Temple! (it looks like a castle)

Oquirrh Mountain Temple!

Bountiful Temple!

Sorry I don't have pictures of the other Temples.....they're pretty too, don't worry.

Love love love :)

American Pie

I think the title of this blog might also be the title of a dirty teen movie. I promise there's no correlation....

Well, it's halfway through July and I could already tell my monthly update was going to be HUGE if I waited til the end of the month, so I decided to knock some of it out of the way by posting about my 4th of July!

Truthfully....this is my favorite holiday. It represents everything SUMMER and everything WARM and everything FAMILY & FRIENDS and everything involving FIREWORKS.

The past couple summers I've been holed up at EFY during this beautiful holiday, but this year i CELEBRATED! In review...

Waking up and running outside in our pajamas to watch the parade on University Ave.
Eating the apple pie my roommates Abby and Kate made.
Ice blocking with roommates and friends.
Attempt at tie-dying shirts (more on this in the actual monthly update.)
Sitting with my feet in the pool with my roommate Kelsey.
Wearing a shirt that says "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Boys."
Traveling to a field on campus to prepare for fireworks, like 4 hours early.
Eating a picnic dinner and throwing a frisbee around.
Relocating from the field to the parking lot right outside the stadium....
....hence, getting to overhear the SheDaisy and JONAS BROTHERS concert for free.
Being so close to the fireworks show that the ground shook every time one went off.
Sparklers.
Actually playing with fireworks (Arizona puts a lid on that hobby really quick...I was fascinated like a little kid probably would be).
Having leftover sparklers for weeks to come...

mmmm :) All in all, not too shabby!

And now, pictures! Plus some random ones that didn't make June's post but should have.
Enjoy!

They raised this giant flag outside the stadium...I think it has holes in it so the wind wouldn't blow it away like a giant sailboat.

More flag jumping...

Ice blocking! And Provo mountains (mandy you love them...)

Buying my very first sparklers!

Ah, more of the matching pictures....

This one is my favorite...

This is when me and my roommates went to see Beauty and the Beast (the play) at an outdoor theatre in Orem! So fun! I think we will go back for West Side Story this month.

Roommate breakfast! We went in our PJ's. I look like I'm their special homeless friend in this one. My outfit: Green hoodie, ill-fitting Thomas the Tank Engine pants (that i made myself in sewing class a couple years ago) and leopard-print slipper-boots (thanks mom).

Myself and Abby at said breakfast...

My very LAST first day of school EVER! I figure if little kids take these pictures before school then I should make it full-circle and finish it off the same way. I put a bow in my hair for the occasion...and included the porch swing.

That's all, kids! Now watch the video in the next blog and laugh a lot.