Gratitude List

I've been sick lately and feeling pretty crappy, which always brings me down. To combat the pity party, I like to do a gratitude list every day. I usually stop when I'm feeling better, but I really should just keep going. It's kind of like praying-it's easy to remember to pray when things aren't going well, but it isn't always easy to remember when things are good. So anyway, I thought I would share today's gratitude list with everyone (meaning the two or three of you who read my blog!). Most, if not all of the things on my lists are little things, since they're the easiest things to overlook.

1. Comfortable pillows that support your head and neck just right.
2. Good conditioner
3. Refrigerated water
4. Tennis shoes
5. Fun, colorful socks
6. New Kids on the Block (don't hate, participate!)
7. Clearance sales at Old Navy
8. Siblings who I actually enjoy spending time with.
9. Aveeno lotion
10. Sweats
11. Going to bed early
12. Nephi and his goodly parents
13. Inspiring music
14. Fun post-its and notepads
15. Hair bands that wrap around my pony tail a perfect four times. (a little OCD coming out!)
16. Quiet
17. Books
18. Friends I know I can always count on.
19. Big purses to hold all the stuff I think I can't live without.
20. Perfume
21. Amanda Bynes
22. Waking up before my alarm goes off
23. Pretty eyeshadow
24. Children in general
25. Email forwards
26. Good pizza
27. Modern medicine
28. Good examples
29. Genealogy
30. Knowing the truth
31. Keeping in touch with old friends
32. Seeing the blogs of people who I went to high school with, but was not friends with, and being happy that they're happy, instead of bitter because they were popular and I wasn't.
33. Being an adult
34. Wheat
35. Having President Hinckley be the prophet for most of my growing up years.
36. People who use their talents
37. Museums
38. Clean clothes
39. Green olives stuffed with anchovies
40. Old photographs
41. Dwight from "The Office"
42. Closed-toed shoes in the winter so I don't have to paint my toenails
43. PBS
44. Being able to put on my make-up in five minutes or less
45. Older Disney movies
46. Calendars with pretty pictures
47. Laura Ingalls Wilder
48. Dental floss
49. Colored pencils
50. 100 Calorie Packs of Cheetos Asteroids

My favorite pancakes

This is my new favorite breakfast food. Considering the healthiness factor, I think you will be amazed at how much better than plain pancakes they are. It's also a great food storage recipe.

Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes

1 c. wheat
1 c. milk
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 eggs
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. oil

Toss it all together in the blender and blend for five minutes.

Those are the official directions. When I make them, though, I never have buttermilk, so I use regular milk with a little lemon juice. I also add a banana (I'm told applesauce is good too), and take out half the oil and use flaxseed meal. Also, I normally am all about scraping the last of things from the bowl, but in this case, don't use the last little bit at the bottom of the blender. I did this last week and the last pancake was basically chunks of wheat held together with a little bit of pancake. Not so tasty.

My little Lizzie-kins

Little Miss Lizzie likes to hop up on my bed and lie with her head on my pillow. She won't do this when I'm in the room though. She waits until I leave, but I leave the the light on and the door open so she knows I'm coming back, then she jumps up there. When I walk back in and see her there, she looks at me with delight and wags her tail furiously as though she has just performed an amazing trick. This picture is after the furious tail wagging, and now she's just looking at me like I need to leave her the heck alone. And before you ask . . . yes, my bed is always unmade like that and yes, having a dog in your bed is unsanitary. Get over it. I also feel compelled to point out the fact that there are three different pillowcases in use here.

Now you gotta cut loose, footloose!

Here's Mark all dressed up for a masquerade dance at his school last weekend. Those are my mom's white trouser socks.

Interesting . . .

I am currently reading "The Coming of the Lord" by Gerald N. Lund. In it he quotes Charles W. Penrose from the September 19, 1859 edition of "The Millennial Star." Referring to the Second Coming, he writes, "new diseases will silently eat their ghastly way through the ranks of the wicked; the earth, soaked with gore and defiled with the filthiness of her inhabitants, will begin to withhold her fruits in their season; the waves of the sea will heave themselves beyond their bounds . . ." Hmmm . . . this brings to mine such things as the bird flu, the tsunami, and the fact that there is no wheat seed crop for this year because it failed last year. It's always interesting to read things like this and see that it's actually happening.

This better work . . .

I bought this teeth whitening kit . . .

and I'm starting it tonight. I have great hopes for it. I'll let you know how it goes.

Ashley the photographer

Here are a couple pictures that Ashley took when I was down there a couple weeks ago. My dad would be so proud of her skillz!

Traci and Carson

This is a picture of my friend, Traci, and her baby boy, Carson. My trip to Vegas earlier this month was to go to the baby blessing. Traci and I were roommates in the dorms our Freshmen year, and then a couple years later we lived together again. Traci has seen my yucky side (remember when the power went out and you guys were all singing in the next room?) and is still friends with me!!! She also rescued me when I rolled over in bed and popped something in my neck. Our rooms shared a wall, so I had to pound on the wall really early in the morning to wake her up because I couldn't get up by myself. The second time we were roommates she was studying for the LSAT and I was just not going to class, so we would watch TLC all day. I have many fond memories of "A Baby Story," "A Wedding Story," and I think "A Dating Story." Ahh . . . good times skipping class and watching t.v.!

My Halloween costume for next year

What/who does this remind you of?

Apparently Clay Aiken is going to be in Spamalot on Broadway. His hair and costume remind me of someone/something, but I don't know what. Any thoughts? A leprechaun, perhaps? A refined, dignified leprechaun, though. Actually, it kind of looks like one of those cardboard cut-outs you stand behind with just your head poking out of the top, and maybe there's a twelve year-old girl standing behind this one.

Ashley likes gum

Since Traci gave me grief today about not updating my blog (despite the fact that she hasn't updated hers since New Year's), here's a post for you. Ashley likes gum. She likes it a lot. She's really good about not swallowing it and spitting it out in the garbage when she's done. Well, most of the time. It did mysteriously disappear once when we were shopping. I never did figure out what happened to it. She must've accidentally swallowed it or something.

Christian Slater

Another movie I have watched recently . . . "Bed of Roses." Does anyone remember back in the day when he was totally hot? He always played the damaged, quiet guy. He was great, but yet always underestimated. Here are my top Christian Slater movies, in no particular order. O.k., really they're the only ones I can remember that he was in. I'm sure there are lots more though.

1. Bed of Roses
2. Heathers
3. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
4. Pump Up the Volume
5. That one movie with Marisa Tomei where he had a baboon heart.
6. Ummm . . . that one movie where he was a cop or something. Kuffs, I think?


Wendy-do you remember how we watched "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" and I was scared to go to sleep because I thought the crazy witch lady would pop out from behind the couch? That was way back when it was fun to try to stay up all night and watch movies. I don't last much past 10ish these days, and that's only on weekends. Weeknights I'm out by 9, but that's just 'cause I get up at 5. I have to have my eight hours or I'm a nasty, horrible person. More so than usual.

Blog stalking

I've added more blogs to the lists of people I blog stalk. I hope people don't think it's creepy, but you know what-if you don't want people looking at your blog, you should probably not have a blog, seeing as how the internet is made for people to look at it and gasp! is a public domain. If you don't want people looking, write in a journal or something. I wonder if I have a blog stalker. Probably not, but maybe if I wish for it hard enough, I will someday! :)

Oh, and I also added a list of my favorite websites.

Vegas, baby

I'm going to Vegas tomorrow to see my brother's family and go to a friend's baby blessing. I'm totally excited . . . to go to Sephora. And see my nieces. I really hope everyone out there has discovered Sephora and enjoys it as much as I do. I plan on purchasing the following:

Philosophy Melon Daquiri 3-in-1 stuff I want some other scents too, but I don't know which ones yet. Melon Daquiri is the best ever, though. I first tried it in 2004, and I've been addicted to it ever since.

Diorshow Mascara They actually have a brown color, instead of black-brown, which just looks like black.

I also want a new perfume. I really need a refill on my Vera Wang, but I think I want something new and exciting instead. I have no idea what, though. I need suggestions.

I realize that probably no one really cares what I buy at Sephora, but if you know me at all, you know I enjoy beauty products and like to possess lots of them. They make me happy.

I'm flying back on Thursday, and I'm sure I will have lots of pictures to post then. I hope I will. In reality though, I probably won't even get the camera out until the very last day when I realize I haven't taken any pictures yet.

Another list. I like lists

Here are some movies I've watched lately, because that's pretty much what I do all day at work. Nice, huh! Some of these are new, some are oldies but goodies.

"Waitress"
Cute movie, but kind of anti-climactic.

"Return to Peyton Place"
I love old movies that were totally scandalous at the time. I actually found this DVD at FYE for like five bucks. I love the used movie section at FYE. I keep wanting to call it EFY though.

"Labyrinth"
Great movie. We used to quote it in high school.

"The Bourne Ultimatum"
Love, love, love these movies. Time flies when I watch them and I get tons of work done because I'm so into the movie. They best be making a fourth one.

"Stardust"
I watched this on my iPod (like all the others), and it was o.k., but I want to watch it on a regular sized screen because I think I missed a lot. It looked like it would be pretty cool if you could really look at it.

"The Rescuers"
Another FYE find, although not used. I was so excited. I loved this movie growing up, but I haven't seen it in years. I totally teared up in several places. I had forgotten how traumatic the old Disney movies can be. Seriously, like when Medusa tells Penny she'll never be adopted because no one will want her . . . totally cried. They would never put that in a Disney movie now.

"Darby O'Gill and the Little People"
I love it when all the leprechauns do their little dance. It's hilarious. I really want "The Gnome-Mobile" but it's always sold out.

So yeah, that's some of what I've been watching the last little bit. Kind of sad, really.

There . . . are you happy now?

So apparently the one person who actually reads my blog would like me to actually update it. Wendy, your wish is my command. One of my New Year's Goals (I don't like the word resolutions, it sounds serious, like you actually have to do it), is to read more. I have a habit of buying lots and lots of books, but then never actually reading them. Since the last few weeks have blurred together and I don't know what I read in 2007 versus 2008, here's a list of books I've read recently:

"Digging to America" by Anne Tyler
Babies being adopted from Korea by American and Iranian families.

"Dead Sleep" by Greg Iles
A basic suspense novel. I've read several of his books, and they've all been very entertaining. They would make great beach or airplane books.

"The Dark Queen" by Susan Carroll
To quote the back of the book, it is "A fabulous, feminist fantasy." It was pretty good.

"Hard Row" by Margaret Maron
She's one of my favorite authors. She has two series, and then a few not related books. This one is from the Judge Knott series-mysteries set in North Carolina. These books always make me want to eat Southern food. Mmmmmm.

"Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert
Everyone has probably already read this, but I'm a little behind. If you haven't read it though, you really must. It was very inspiring, but mostly in that it made me want some gelato and pasta.

"T is for Trespass" by Sue Grafton
Another one of my favorite authors. Not exactly great literature, but to be honest, most of the time I would rather just be entertained. This one wasn't quite as good as some of her others.