Some stuff . . .

I went to Wicked last night and despite the fact that my expectations were sky high, I thought it was great. I had so much fun and it's possible I teared up a time or two.

I've decided I have problems with following through/sticking with things. Right now anyone who knows me is probably thinking "Um . . . yeah. That's not really news!" It's becoming a real problem though, and I would attempt to do something about it, but I guess I just don't care that much. For example, I've been chatting with some guys (from LDS Singles and elsewhere) quite a bit lately and I'm into it at first, but then after a day or two (or, possibly like 20 minutes), I'm completely over it. So I guess that's where the problem comes in-they keep texting, chatting, emailing, etc., and I just never respond. I know it would be nicer to tell them I'm not interested, but it's easier to do nothing. I need to just stop talking to people unless I meet them in person. Or maybe I have ADD and the flakiness/lack of paying attention isn't really my fault. In that case, I'm pretty sure there's some kind of pill out there that should be able to fix me! Better give me double the normal dose. ;)

I have a new t.v. show obsession. Have you seen Tough Love on VH1? It's hilarious! It's on Sunday nights at 8pm and you really need to check it out.

Today I learned . . .

• Never ever use wallpaper or wallpaper borders in your home decor. What goes up must eventually come down and it's a b*tch to get off.
  
• Water and fabric softener make the best wallpaper remover. Use equal parts of each and use a credit card to scrape. (It's nice to know my Mervyn's card is still good for something!)
  

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

It would only make sense that the people who follow my blog would, much like myself, be complete slackers, so everyone who put forth the effort to leave me a comment wins something. Those of you who I know read my blog, but did not put forth the effort get nothing. Nada. Zip. No prize for you!

That kind of feels like a cop out, but really, that's a whole lot more prize-worthy crap I have to come up with, so it really isn't. Those of you who live in the area will get your shiz shortly; Traci and Melissa, I will personally deliver your prizes to Vegas in about two weeks; and Erin, yours will be in the mail at some point in time.

I also wanted to respond to a couple of comments . . . Melissa-sometimes you have to demand what you want/need, and Whitney-I'm pretty sure Donny's arms could solve the crisis in the Middle East.

Happy Blogaversary to me!

UPDATE: BECAUSE I WOKE UP TO ABOUT 5 FEET OF SNOW THIS MORNING AND NOW HAVE TO GO SHOVEL (WHERE THE CRAP ARE MY HOME TEACHERS??? OH THAT'S RIGHT, I DON'T HAVE ANY!), THE CONTEST HAS BEEN EXTENDED. SO IF YOU HAVEN'T LEFT A COMMENT YET, HURRY UP AND DO SO.

Alright, kiddos, leave me a comment explaining why you like my blog (if you want to be entered more than once, leave more than one reason) and you will be entered to win a brand new car! Well, not really, but I'm sure the actual prize will be just as exciting!

I'll pick a winner (and yes, I will be using actual statistical software) either tonight or tomorrow morning, so hurry and leave me a comment! Are you so excited!?!

Giveaway details

So here's the deal . . . at some point tomorrow morningish (if I remember) I will create a Blogaversary post. What you need to do is leave me a comment about why you like my blog. It doesn't need to be lengthy or fancy. If you want, you can just say it's because it's so stinkin' awesome, that's why. But I would really prefer that you use your own words. Then, using a very technical statistical model, I will pick a random comment (or possibly a couple). The winner(s) will get a special Kim's Favorite Stuff package. I don't know exactly what will be in the package because if I have to mail it, I don't want to spend a fortune. However, it may contain items such as my own personal copies of some of the best books I've read lately (they're not used, they're loved), a special delicious treat, something involving Zac Efron/Shia LaBeouf/New Kids, a personalized CD of my favorite non-mainstream music, or possibly even some of my favorite beauty products. Or it may be none of those things. I just can't decide. What's in it will probably depend on who wins 'cause I know not all of you will want the same stuff. So . . . yeah. Make sure you check back tomorrow. And please, please, please actually leave me a comment because I'll feel like a complete loser if I only get a couple of comments. Oh, and if you win you have to take a picture of what you get and post it on your blog. K, thanks.

It's coming!

The day you've been waiting for . . . it's coming! My year and a half blogaversary/blog birthday is coming up this Wednesday! Know what that means? That's right . . . GIVEAWAY!!!! O.k., so admittedly, I haven't quite figured out what the giveaway is going to be or how I am going to do it, but I will let you know tomorrow so that you can be all ready to leave me comments on the big day. So make sure you check in tomorrow so you know what the dealio is.

I hate it when . . .

1. It's time to start wearing flip flops again, but over the winter my toe muscles have declined into nothingness, thus causing not only my toes but also the front of my calves to scream in agony from trying to keep the stupid things on my feet. The fact that I can no longer walk like a normal person is probably an indication that I should have eased my feet in before wearing them all day at school.

2. I leave comments on Facebook and then realize two days later that half the comment doesn't make sense. For example, the following comment regarding the death of my cousin's stove whilst attempting to boil eggs:

• "I love that everyone else is concerned about getting you meals and a new stove, whereas I am focused on the fact that you attempted to celebrate a holiday. What happened to our twin stance on holiday decorating at Christmastime? Maybe the dead stove is an indicatotion, or, perhaps, a punishment, for celebrating easter. Just something to think on. :)"

Um . . . what? I know I like to make up words, but indicatotion? Really? I also hate that after I saw it, I had to a.) leave another comment explaining that I noticed my previous error and I'm not really stupid and b.) blog about it just to make sure that she really and truly knows that I know that that sentence made no sense. And had a spelling error. And Easter was not capitalized. And Christmastime probably shouldn't have been one word.

That's all.

good day

Lorri and I spent the day in Salt Lake today and we had tons of fun and ate waaaaay too much. We went to lunch at the best deli ever, Caputo's. I get The Caputo every time and I seriously have dreams about it's deliciousness. I'm pretty sure I could live on it. After that we went to my favorite non-chain bookstore, The Golden Braid. It's this great new-agey place that just makes you want to burn some incense and chant or something. They have a used-book section, so I picked out several books. Next, we had to run up to the U of U Hospital for an appointment for Lorri's daughter, Cortni. Everything went well with that, thankfully, so to celebrate we (of course) went shopping. Because I am currently poor, it was not as fun as usual. I only spent like five bucks at World Market. Believe me, that is a miracle. I also picked up some jeans and flip-flops at Old Navy. I don't really consider that "fun" shopping though, because I really needed the flip-flops. When I was getting rid of a bunch of stuff after getting back from Peru, I got rid of all but two pairs, one of which has now broken. I can't survive the summer without my flip-flops. See, this is what happens when you get rid of stuff-you just end up needing it again and have to go buy new ones. I think I've decided to just be a hoarder like that one crazy lady on Oprah. I'm pretty sure she never ran out of flip-flops. After being worn out by excessive (except not really) shopping, we decided it was time to eat again. Because we're high class like that, we went to Sweet Tomatoes. I love their chicken noodle soup. Apart from mine, it's some of the best stuff on the planet. After thoroughly stuffing ourselves (actually, just Lorri), we headed to another CA meeting at Journey. We saw quite a few familiar faces, including this guy who Lorri used to date who purred like a cat when they were making out. Seriously. Obviously, it did not work out between them. So, all in all, it was a pretty fun day.

Two for two!

I went to another meeting tonight. Have I mentioned how much I love the meetings, the people, etc.? At this meeting there were a bunch of younger girls (as in under 18) who sat across the circle from me and it was odd to watch them because they were fidgeting and chit-chatting and basically doing everything I did when I was first going to meetings. Funny how I now find it irritating! Also funny how they reminded me of my little Primary children! Drug addicts, CTR 7's, it's all the same! Tonight's topic was honesty, which I found kind of ironic because after last night's meeting I looked through my journal from the time when I was in rehab and, despite the fact that it's something no one but myself will ever see, it was totally full of lies. I don't know if I believed what I was saying at the time, or if I was just trying to convince myself, but there were definitely some things in there that were completely false. I guess I should just be grateful that I (somewhat) know better now. Not that I'm completely honest now, but I'm pretty sure I'm a bit better. Or at least I don't lie directly to your face, I just don't say anything! Haha, kinda just kidding! Oh well, it's progress, not perfection and really, some things just don't need to be said. Maybe in another four and a half years I'll actually be fully honest. One can only dream, right!

Oh, how I've missed you!

Lorri and I went to a CA meeting tonight and I'm ashamed to admit it's the first meeting I've been to in probably three years or so. It was a little weird at first, but when people started sharing, it felt like home. One of the first people to speak mentioned how we were in a room full of "black sheep" and I loved that. As an addict, I tend to believe that I'm somehow different than everyone else. Not necessarily better, but just different. Tonight I realized how true that is; I am different . . . from all of the rest of you. Thankfully, while I may be different, I'm not alone in my differentlyabledness (yes, I know that's not a word, but I like it anyway!) It was such a comforting feeling to be around people who are just like me and who have the same messed up thinking as myself. I've been around BYU people for so long, and don't get me wrong, they're great people, but they're not MY people. I always feel like I'm holding something back around them. For example, when people ask me what I was doing before I went back to school, I'm never quite sure what to say. If someone from the program asks me that question, I can say, proudly, that I went to rehab. Proudly, because to them it means I was getting clean, whereas to someone who isn't an addict, it just shouts out that I'm an addict, and there are a whole lot of preconceived notions that come with that. It was also interesting to see all of the people who are new in recovery and remember when that was me. Back then meetings were a novelty and more of a social event. Now I actually listen to the people who are sharing and really appreciate what they have to say. It really makes me want to be a sponsor again. I have the time and I've worked the steps, but I haven't worked a program for years, and I really need to get back to doing that. Anyway, I just wanted to share how encouraging this meeting was and how great it made me feel. Most of you probably have no idea what I'm talking about, but that's o.k. Frankly, I hope you never know what I'm talking about. But for those of you who know what I'm talking about, hopefully you can relate and share in my happiness a little bit.

Just for you, Em!

Hahahaha!

Remember a few months ago when I said I only watch one little clip from Transformers? You know, the one where Shia talks about Satan's Camaro and his voice goes squeaky? Well I could never find a clip of it . . . until today that is! Watch for the 15 second mark, and that's my favoritest scene! :)

Can't stop watching this

I so miss this show!

David After Dentist

Hahahaha! I can't even count how many times I've felt the same way!

So . . .

My blog's one and a half year birthday is coming up on April 15th. I know, it feels like waaaay longer, huh! Anyway, I feel as though I should celebrate this because I missed the one year and I'll probably forget about the two year mark. I also feel as though I should do some sort of giveaway. That's what all the cool bloggers do, doncha know. Problemo numero uno is that I don't have anything to give away that is a.) cool, b.) not already used and c.) not something I want for myself. I suppose I could give away all the crap I've been saving for DI/a yard sale, but who would want garbage bags full of gently-used shiz? (Besides people who shop at DI and yard sales.) Maybe I need a skill with which to make something cool. Does anyone have any suggestions for skills I can learn, skills you can teach me, prize giveaway ideas, or something you would like to give me that I can then regift to a lucky reader? Keep in mind that only one or two of you ever comment, so if you send something really cool my way, chances are you may end up receiving it yourself.

And another one . . .

There is a slight possibility that I got a little bit teary-eyed watching all the little children dance.

Where the Hell is Matt?

Mark posted this on his blog and I loved it so much that I had to steal it.

Oh my . . .

If you like these sexy people . . .


then you must click here.

He's Just Not That Into You

If you haven't seen this movie, STOP RIGHT HERE! I'm about to ruin it for you.


So I suspected going into this movie that I would probably end up being irritated, and I was beyond right. I don't think there was a single character who didn't irritate me at some point. Here are my thoughts:

• Jennifer Aniston: Really, Jen? Really. Your message to women out there appears to be that if you really love someone enough, you will lower your standards and forget about what you've wanted your whole life. But make sure you only give up your dreams and settle if you really, really love the person.
• Ginnifer Goodwin: This was probably the character that pissed me off and made me cringe the most. The whole movie is spent setting up these mythical rules that you must follow, but then in Ginnifer's case, if you completely ignore them all and continue to act like a psycho, you will be the exception that the movie (and the book) say that you won't be, and get the guy who, mind you, is a complete jerk and you probably shouldn't want in the first place.
• Scarlett Johansson: Way to be a skank. Do you really want to be with someone who will so easily cheat on his wife? Because I'm sure he won't eventually do THE EXACT SAME THING to you in the end! And BTW, when she was in the closet while the guy she was seeing (i.e. sleeping with) was getting it on with his wife, she probably should have just walked out and been like "Hey, your husband's a jerk."
• Jennifer Connelly: This character was slightly reminiscent of Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction. I was seriously waiting for the bunny in the soup pot. "I won't be ignored, Ben! I know you're secretly smoking!" It couldn't be that he's secretly smoking because you're SUCH A SHREW. And dude tells you he's cheating on you and then you get all bummed when he says he's going to move out? Really? 'Cause that reaction would have been slightly more appropriate when he said he slept with someone else.
• Kevin Connolly: Wanna know why Scarlett doesn't like you? Because you're a jerk. And maybe a little bit because you're only like four feet tall. And possibly because you aren't already married, but that's beside the point.
  
• Ben Affleck: Are you seriously going to date/live with this woman for seven years and then be all shocked when she wants to get married? And when you go crawling back to her, trying to be the hero in her time of need, is it really because you love her or because you're sick of living on your stupid, little boat? And are you really all proud of yourself for hanging a picture on the wall . . . three weeks later??? Kudos to you for being on top of that.
• Bradley Cooper: What a man. Way to own up to cheating on your wife . . . in the middle of HOME DEPOT! I guess the laminate flooring was just too much for you and you couldn't keep it in anymore. And "I've never felt this way about someone before," is not a valid excuse for cheating on your wife. Wanna know why? Because there is no valid excuse for cheating on your wife.
• Justin Long: Some girl, who you knew all along was psycho, goes all extra-psycho on you and tells you off and now you're all of a sudden in love with her? Are we supposed to think you're all sweet now because you've all of a sudden seen the error of your ways and are going to change? Me thinks not.
  

Wow, I feel so much better now! Thanks for reading my little rant!

Pay it Forward, Blogger-Style

I've seen this on a lot of blogs lately and LOVE the idea, here’s how it works: the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, some homemade goodies from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (or copy and paste like I did). Then come back, let me know you’re going to play and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your goodies! Please submit in an e-mail or on the comment, your address, if I don’t have it already. Remember that only the first 3 comments will receive a gift from me, so be quick! Have fun!

O.k., so that's what I copied from the blog I got this from. In reality, I love the idea of getting something from someone else, not so much the idea that I have to make something for someone else. Why? Because, to channel Lloyd Dobler, I don't want to scrapbook anything, paint anything or make anything cutesy. I don't want to scrapbook anything involving paint or cutesy-ness; or paint anything that ends up in a scrapbook or cutesy; or make something cutesy involving scrapbooks and paint; or secretly purchase and pass off as my own, anything scrapbooked, painted or cutesy. So . . . if, after learning about my complete lack of excitement/motivation/capability to do anything involving any of the above, you still would like to comment and get something homemade from me, feel free to do so. You will probably get a plate of cookies. (I do make delicious cookies, though!)

The Zefron

I have avoided watching any of the High School Musicals because well, let's be honest, they looked fairly stupid and lame. And I LOVE both high school movies and musicals, so it takes a lot for me to say that. After much whining, though, Lorri finally convinced me to watch them. O.k., actually if we're being honest here, all she did was suggest we have a HSM night and watch all three. I didn't need much convincing because hello . . . Zac Efron! So here are my thoughts about the phenomenon that is the High School Musical trilogy.

• They definitely get better as you go along. The first one was o.k., the third one was (depending on your definition) a masterpiece.
• I don't like Vanessa Hudgens. She irritates me and I can't figure out what kind of voodoo magic she has performed to get Zac Efron to go out with her for the past couple years. He should probably end that.
  
• Besides the Zefron, my favorite character was Ryan. I would watch the movies just for the looks on his face. The looks were especially entertaining in the second movie during the Hawaiian-themed number he and Sharpay did. (BTW, Sharpay? Really? Way to name your kid after a dog, 'cause that won't get her made fun of or anything.)
  
• There was waaaay too much bronzer going on. I'm not going to point any fingers (Zefron), but seriously.
  
• Rumor is they're planning on a fourth one, but with a different cast. I'm not sure how I feel about this. Zac IS High School Musical. Anyone else would just be Adrian Zmed compared to John Travolta. (Grease and Grease 2-don't you know your trivia!)
  

M'kay, so that's it. I take back (almost) every bad thing I said about the movies. I would definitely recommend them as long as you're going to watch all three.

gross

Every year or two I decide to actually bathe the dogs. It's usually a big, painful production which is why it rarely happens. Recently, however, the dogs have been nasty stinky. The kind of stinky that rubs off on your hands when you pet them. Sick. Anyway, here are some pictures (because I know you care!). Make sure you notice the demonic eyes on the dogs. I tried to fix it, but the program I'm using just isn't powerful enough to erase the evilness.

Darcy was not thrilled and tried desperately to escape the bathroom.


We finally got him in the shower. As you can see, he still looks happy. This is because he didn't fully understand what was coming.

Oh, the injustice. Not only is he being subjected to a thorough cleaning and delousing, but pictures are being taken of his humiliation. Please note that the shower floor is that color because of the dirt, not because the shower is gross.


For some reason the fur on Darcy's butt grows at twice the rate of the rest of his lovely locks, so every once in a while we have to trim his butt hair. Today was the lucky day! He was not excited and kept sitting down. Here's Lizzie trying to help with the trim.


Here's what we removed from both his buttocks and the shower drain.


And here is the finished product.


About 20 minutes after this picture they went outside and got all muddy. Rotten little dogs! I'm pretty sure they did it just to piss me off.

New NKOTB!

Click here to watch the new video for "2 in the Morning." I love that this song has a Grey's Anatomy reference. That just makes me happy.

Penguins

Over Christmas (I know, I'm a little behind here!) I made these little penguins for the nieces. They're made of olives, cream cheese and carrots. I got the idea from Once Upon a Plate, which is a great food blog that you should check out if you haven't done so already.

Also coming soon . . .

How I succumbed to the Zefron.


Travel plans.


And some delicious Cafe Rio recipes.

Coming soon . . .

Tales of hair
and devil eyes.
Look into my eyes . . .

You are getting very sleepy! You want to give me lots of treats and bones!

Mmmmmmmm

Last night for a little FHE treat, Lorri and I made Glazed Carmelized Roasted Banana Bread Drop Doughnuts. Or, as I like to call them, little banana fritter things. They were delicious. Here's a link to some pictures. (Not my pictures though, as I don't really see the point in taking my own pictures when I can just link to someone else's.) As you know, I have issues with following directions; I view recipes as a jumping off point for experimentation. Here's what we did differently than the actual recipe:

• We didn't use cinnamon chips. This was mainly just because I couldn't find any at the store. Next time if I don't use the chips, I think I'll dust the finished doughnuts with cinnamon or cinnamon sugar.
  
• Lorri was in charge of roasting the bananas and she used probably three times as much butter and brown sugar. Lorri would not be Lorri without massive amounts of butter and sugar. This made the batter more moist (and flavorful) than it would have been otherwise, which made the doughnuts more fritter shaped than doughnut hole shaped.
  
• Instead of milk in the glaze, we used heavy cream that was left over from the batter part.
  
• We also ended up needing about one and a half times the amount of glaze the recipe called for. I think if you just make sure the doughnuts are cooled off when you dip them, they won't soak up as much glaze and you'll be fine with a single recipe's worth, though.
  

Here's the other one . . .

Rules:
1. Put your music library on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write that song title as the answer to the question, no matter how silly it sounds! Most of the time they seem to work though, strangely enough.
4. Ok, go!
5. When you're done, tag 20 people in this note, and make sure to tag the person who sent you this.

Here are my answers:

1) IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OK?" YOU SAY?
Once and For All (Newsies)

2) WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Soul (Matchbox Twenty)

3) WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Fear and Love (Morcheeba)

4) HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Ask the Mountains (Enya)

5) WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Drink With Me (Les Mis) . . . interesting answer!

6) WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Are You Kidding Me (Anouk)

7) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
Hallelujah (Paramore)

8) WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Mercy (Duffy)

9) WHAT IS 2+2?
Catch my Disease (Ben Lee)

10) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
We're Young and Beautiful (Carrie Underwood)

11) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Ocean of Joy (Buddha Cafe)

12) WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
More Than This (Peter Gabriel)

13) WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
I Don't Care (Fall Out Boy)

14) WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Defying Gravity (Wicked)

15) WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
What Hurts The Most (Rascal Flatts)

16) WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) (Abba) Hahahahahaha!

17) WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Lonely No More (Rob Thomas)

18) WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Stupid Boy (Keith Urban)

19) WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Damaged (Plumb)

stupid Facebook things

Since I haven't had much to write about lately, here are two stupid Facebook things I filled out. They're not really stupid, they just took more effort than I wanted to put forth.

25 Random Things About me

1. I don’t believe in talking on the phone. If something can’t be said by text or email, then it probably doesn’t need to be said at all.

2. I’m obsessive compulsive about having fresh breath. Gum is a necessity for me.

3. I love it when DVDs have audio commentaries. I always watch/listen to them.

4. My fingers are always moving. Ever since I took typing in high school I have typed along with everything that people say. I’m better at not moving my fingers as much now; it used to be really obvious.

5. I have ginormous feet. Shoe shopping tends to make me a little bitter.

6. I’m really bad at keeping in touch with people. Because of this I firmly believe that everyone should have a blog. That way I know what’s going on with you, you know what’s going on with me and we never have to actually communicate.

7. I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.

8. I like to make lists. I usually start by listing several things I’ve already done so that I can go ahead and cross them off.

9. I am incapable of not having a book in progress. The second I finish reading a book, I have to find another one to replace it.

10. I have to have music going all the time. I can’t concentrate without background music. If I’m in the car, before I even put it in drive, I have to find a good song.

11. One of my biggest fears is my parents getting old and becoming incapacitated in some way.

12. I love teeny bopper movies. If Hillary Duff is in it, I will make time to watch it.

13. John Hughes and the Brat Pack ruined my high school years. Or at least my perception of how those years were supposed to go. I’m still waiting for Jake Ryan.

14. Any time someone is smoking in a movie I always have to watch to see if they’re a real smoker or not. It bugs me when someone does a really crappy job of pretending to smoke. Do they not care about their craft at all???

15. I love to cook. I still toy with the idea of going to a culinary institute.

16. If you come over to my house I will attempt to force you to watch either Gossip Girl or Arrested Development with me. It’s for your own good.

17. I like to make up my own descriptive words. Ex: scandalicious, trendalicious. Basically anything with –icious on the end.

18. I have a very sensitive nose. I don’t do well with yucky smells. I have been known to drive down the street, gagging, with my head hanging out the window, all because I caught a whiff of dog poopies or nasty garbage smell. I’ve learned to just keep the windows up now.

19. I love almond and coconut flavoring, but I don’t like actual almonds or coconut in my food.

20. I require a very large purse. I like to have lots of stuff available . . . you never know when you might need something!

21. Very few things in life make me happier than walking into Sephora.

22. I have the best nieces in the whole world. I’m scared to have my own kids because I’m not sure they could measure up to my girls.

23. I love road trips. At least a couple of times per week I get the urge to just keep on driving instead of going home.

24. I would rather have something salty than something sweet.

25. I don’t believe in making beds. I’m just going to get back into it (probably at least a couple times during the day) so why bother making it?

Ryan Started the Fire

Muahahahaha!

Wow, this is crazy!

Baby-faced boy Alfie Patten is father at 13

Ch-check it out!

I got a haircut over the weekend and for the first time since about 1991, I have bangs! O.k., admittedly they're longer, swoopy bangs that may not fully count as bangs, but still. This is the most bangs I have had in the last 18ish years, so they must count for something.

And I'm sorry I cut the top of my head off so you can't get the full effect. It was the best I could do. And hey, look at that! There's my super cute, new purse sitting on the table behind me.

way cool video

"Her Morning Elegance" by Oren Lavie

Muahahahaha!

I just discovered a hilarious, new (to me) blog. You should probably check out My Religious Blog. This person is my new hero. My personal favorite posts are "Mormons on TV," "Footprints," and "Brigham Young Quote." I'd give you links to each one, but I think you should read through to try to find them. Enjoy!

That poor dog!

I think this is my new favorite Soup clip. Just give the dog a cupcake already! Geez!

Boring Sunday Summary

Not much to report today. It was our turn for the Sharing Time presentation thinger, so we didn't have a full class time today. This, of course, was a blessing. We had just enough time in class to explain to the kids that next week we're going to be laying down the law and we won't be putting up with their shenanigans anymore. We (my co-teacher and I) have decided that we're going to do a monthly sticker chart for each child to earn something cool that has yet to be decided upon. We are also giving them a certain number of chances each day to behave and if they don't, we are going to take them to their parents and request that they be beaten. Or possibly just request that the child sit with the parent for the rest of church. We also had the kids come up with their own set of rules so they know exactly what is expected of them. Hopefully this will help to improve both their behavior and my sanity. I'm also trying to have a better attitude about the whole thing. So far it hasn't really worked, but I'm still trying.

Another great thing that happened today (besides the shortened class time) was that one of the women I visit teach sent her husband over with their snowblower to clear the sidewalks and driveway for me! Since I'm all about being honest, I'll admit that every time I've had to shovel in the past month I have said about a bajillion bad words in my head. Shoveling does not bring out the best in me, so having someone else do it significantly improved my day.

Unrelated to Sunday, but also important . . . if you live in Utah, KBYU is airing a three-part documentary on addiction that my boss participated in. It's on at 8 p.m. starting this Monday and going through Wednesday. I believe it's specifically about addiction in Utah, so I'm assuming it will cover the LDS perspective, but I could be wrong. Either way, you should watch.

Loves it!

So you know how everyone's been doing their own versions of Beyonce's Single Ladies video? Well, this is far and away the best. Well, other than the SNL one with Justin Timberlake. Loves it! If you don't know the Beyonce song, click here to watch the video. And here's the Justin Timberlake one. It's a crappy version of it, but it's the only one I could find on YouTube that didn't have the original version cut into it.

I'm baaaaack!

Vegas was great, as usual. I love that when I go there I can just relax and hang out. Lorri asked me what I did over the weekend and I was like "Well, yesterday we went and got the car washed and then went to CostCo." It doesn't sound like much, but I would much rather spend time with the family going to CostCo than um . . . not going to CostCo with the fam. That was deep. Here are some highlights from the weekend:

• Sariah was playing around with a fake lotion container and was offering everyone some lotion. Only problem is she can't quite say lotion yet. Instead it sounded alternately like "oh sh*t?" and "no sh*t?"
• The previously mentioned car wash was all fancy. They had gelato and paninis and stuff. Much fancier than Super Sonic. They also let you ride in your car through the car wash part of it. Super Sonic doesn't do that. Ooh, and the bubbles were rainbow colored. I don't know if this was an effect of the sun or if the spray was multi-colored, but it was very impressive.
  
• The nieces have officially been introduced to New Kids on the Block. Now when "Summertime" comes on in the car, they recognize it as Kimmy's song. My work there is done. For now.
• Ashley has started calling me Kimberly instead of Kimmy. She also calls her mom Mother. I think the mother thing is hilarious, but I'm not sure how I feel about Kimberly. It means she's getting older and that's just not allowed.
• Ashley has named her favorite stuffed animal Strawberry Donut. Apparently this has something to do with Strawberry Shortcake.
• Melissa and I had a mini Gossip Girl marathon one evening. Now I'm not going to accuse anyone of anything, but I will say that some people (my brother) claim they don't like or watch the show, but they were mysteriously in the room the whole time we were watching it. They were also laughing at pretty much every word out of Chuck Bass's mouth. Again, I'm not going to accuse anyone (Matthew) of anything, but I really think that some people should just be honest and admit their love for Gossip Girl. I'm just sayin' . . .

Later, gator

I'm off to Vegas for the weekend, fulfilling my New Year's Resolution of taking a road trip by myself. Is it cheating if I make a resolution to do something that I already know that I'm going to do, just so that I can say I actually fulfilled one of my resolutions? I didn't think so. :) I'll be back next week with tales of debauchery and going to see The Thunder From Down Under. Or maybe just hanging with the fam. Either way it'll be fun. And (possibly more importantly) I get to miss Primary! Muahahahaha!

Little Miss Attitude

My friend and former college roommate, Traci, was in town from Vegas yesterday and I feel like a failure as a blogger because I didn't take any pictures to post. To make up for it, here's a picture from back in the day that I stole from either her Facebook or someone's blog, I forget which. Traci is the one with the attitude while everyone else is smiling nicely. (The other girls are former roommates as well, just in case you were wondering.)

Traci and I actually lived together twice-during our Freshman year in the dorms and then again a couple years later. We had some good times, but I kind of feel bad because she was forced to live with me before I mellowed out and became fun. The fact that she is still my friend says a lot about her. What says even more about her is that while she was here she allowed me to force her to watch "Gossip Girl." And guess what . . . she liked it! A new fan is born! Let this be a lesson to anyone who wants to stay at my house . . . you will be forced to watch either "Gossip Girl" or "Arrested Development," so be prepared. And there will be no getting out of it!

The Idol

Well, for better or for worse, American Idol is back. I'm not a big fan of the early days of the competition. It's too painful to watch and I feel horrible for a lot of the people. I know a lot of them just do it to get on t.v., but for the rest of them who truly think they are talented . . . why has no one in their lives bothered to explain to them that this is just not the case? Where are their family and friends?

Other thoughts:

• Bikini chick made me vomit in my mouth a little bit. The worst part was when she was trying to molest Ryan Seacrest. Oh, and when she was jumping up and down, flinging the goods around. And when she was singing. And when she was wearing the bikini and stripper shoes. Oh, and when she was EXISTING! I was mortified. Is it possible to vote or sign a petition to have someone kicked out of your gender? She was the epitome of everything that is wrong with young women today. (So, Kim, how do you really feel?)
  
• I liked geeky Joe Cocker/cocker spaniel dude. I liked his attitude.
  
• Sexual chocolate? Um . . . no. Although when Simon said he must've stolen that nickname from Randy, I did near about pee my pants.
• All of the previews leading up to the blind guy kept making me roll my eyes. It's possible that I have achieved the pinnacle of cynicalness. I know, I know, he's a wonder to behold. Whatever. He's totally going to get cut in Hollywood. If for some reason he doesn't though, he'll for sure win because how could you not vote for him? Even I would probably get over the negativity and vote for him.

M'kay, that's all.

Best Show Ever

I just finished watching tonight's Gossip Girl for the second time. (I watched it when it was on, and then Lorri made me watch it again with her when she got home from work.) Have I mentioned that I enjoy this show? Have I mentioned that I enjoy Chuck Bass? Here are a couple things I haven't mentioned:

• I don't like Jack Bass. He needs to go. Chuck is the perfect blend of twisted, nasty, bad boy goodness, but Jack is just twisted and nasty and I would prefer that he leave now.
  
• I'm not sure how I feel about this whole Serena and Dan sharing a half-sibling thing. I could possibly overlook it if their parents weren't also hooking up, but toss that fact in, and the line has officially been crossed. Perfect opportunity to stop the endless, vicious cycle of Serena and Dan. I'm sick of them. I liked them in Season 1, but they really need to move on. Not that Aaron Rose aka Rat Boy was any better, but at least he was a step in the right direction.
• Speaking of Aaron, just because he was gross and needed to leave the show doesn't mean his dad did too. I miss Cyrus. Plus, you can't have Wallace Shawn on your show and not have him at some point say "Inconceivable!" I think that would have been the perfect reaction to the news of Lily and Rufus's love child.
  
• Why was Nate only in this episode for a total of like 73 seconds? Are they trying to slowly eliminate him from the show? This is unacceptable. (Or is it inconceivable?) Bring back the man bangs!
• I love that they brought back the little 12 year-old mean girls. I think they need to be featured in every episode from now on. They totally steal the show.

I could go on, but I'll stop now as I'm guessing that most of you probably don't watch the show. I think you should though, because really, how many people out there can make ensembles such as the following look cool?



Ahhhh, only Chuck Bass, my friends, only Chuck Bass.

Here's the purse

The photo (and the nasty background) doesn't do it justice. It has cute buckles on the sides and overall it's just magnificent. You really need to see it in person.

Also, completely unrelated, and yet not because this is a post about a purse . . . Gossip Girl is on tonight! Make sure you watch!

Primary

As more people in the ward read my blog, I have realized that I probably shouldn't talk so much about my Primary class, or at the very least I should only share the funnies and not so much the complaints. I can't do it, though. I don't want to step on anyone's toes by talking about their children or grandchildren or neighbor's children or best friend's children, but you know what, maybe if said children were better behaved, there wouldn't be any toes to step on. (Ouch, that was really mean-sorry! I meant that with all the love in the world.) I won't go into specifics, but I will say that I've been through a whole lotta crap in my life and come through it o.k., but this group of 6 year-olds just about broke me yesterday. I just kept repeating "You will not let these children see you cry." over and over in my head. I would have just walked out and quit right then and there, but I was afraid that if I left them alone in the classroom, it would turn into "The Lord of the Flies." Remember Piggy? Well, I didn't want a Piggy on my hands, so I stayed. But seriously, if next week isn't better (I talked to a member of the Presidency and told them they needed to do something), I'm never going back.

Top That

And this, my friends, is just one of the many reasons why I enjoy 30 Rock.

new must-have product

Perhaps I'm behind the times (as in a couple thousand years), or just too much of a snob to use something not from Sephora, but I have just discovered that you can use olive oil as a deep conditioner for your hair. Some cute little co-eds were talking about it in one of my classes today, so I rushed right home to try it out. Because only the best is good enough for my hair (and because it's all we had in the house), I used extra-virgin olive oil, or as Satan's Spawn calls it, EVOO. I'm sure you could use the cheaper kind if you wanted. You basically just slop some of it on your hair while it's dry (I used like 1/3 of a cup), then either put a shower cap on and sit under a dryer cap thingy (because we all have one of those at home, right?), or do what I did, and clip your hair up out of the way, and take a long, hot shower. The steam will help the oily, juiciness work its magic better. After you've let it sit on your hair for a while, you just shampoo it out. You have to shampoo a couple times, though, to get it all out. Also, this was kind of fun and it may have just been my imagination, but I swear to you the oil made my shampoo like fifty times foamier. So while you're shampooing, feel free to make shampoo mohawks and assorted fun shapes with the extra foam. Or not, if you prefer to act like an adult. Oh, and another sidenote, the oil will make the floor very slippy. Fortunately I was in a shower stall and you can only do the splits so far in a shower stall. I'm sure if I had been in an actual bathtub, bad things would have happened. So please, be careful! Obviously, after you shampoo, there is no need to condition as that's kinda the point of the oil. I am happy to report that my hair does appear to be much more shiny and healthy looking AND this was accomplished with stuff out of my parent's kitchen cupboard, so it was totally free (for me).

Possibly sacreligious afterthought: Ladies, I think we need to push for our own keychain oil vials, but for haircare instead of anointing purposes.

a funny

Click here. Too funny!

Tequila, anyone?

I just put the trash and recycling cans out for pick-up and realized that um . . . the recycling bin is full to overflowing (as in contents are kinda visible) of liquor boxes. Now I don't know if you're aware, but in the Mormon world, drinking is slightly frowned upon. And when I say slightly frowned upon, I mean if you drink, you had better sleep with one eye open because the destroying angel is totally coming for you. You're on his list. And much like Santa, he's checked it twice, so there's no escaping it. Now before you freak out and start praying for me, let me explain. My BFF and former roommate, Lorri, just moved in with me, and a couple of moves ago, we discovered that the best packing boxes are liquor boxes because they're heavy duty. They are, after all, meant to cushion glass bottles and such. So the days leading up to a move are usually filled with several trips to the liquor store to get boxes. They actually make it quite convenient (at least the store by our old place did) and just keep them right inside the door so you don't even have to really go in. But anyway, my point is that a member of the Bishopric lives next door and if I get a call in the next few days asking me to come in and meet with the Bishop, I'm going to have to laugh. A lot. And at least I'm recycling the boxes. Even if I were drunk and partying all the time, I think that saving the environment should count for something. I'm pretty sure Heavenly Father likes it when we respect the Earth and recycle. Maybe I could even get brownie points toward some future sin. Maybe if I recyle enough and earn enough brownie points, I could like go shopping on the Sabbath or watch an R-rated movie or something and not have it count. Or is that not how it works? :)

Bulgogi Beef

I love this stuff. I always get it at Dew in Provo, and I finally decided to try to make my own. It was delicious. I may never have to go back to Dew again.

Bulgogi Beef

1/4 c. soy sauce
3 T. sugar
1 T. vegetable oil
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
3 med garlic cloves
3 chopped green onions (including green parts)
2 lbs. sirloin

Slice the sirloin, against the grain, as thinly as possible. If you have a meat slicer you might want to try that, on the thinnest setting. Otherwise, just try to kind of shave off as thin a slice as possible. (This will take a while.) Mix together all the other ingredients and marinate the beef in it for at least half an hour. If you have a special Korean BBQ grill, use that to cook, otherwise, just pan fry with a little bit of sesame oil. Only cook a little bit of beef at a time, though, so you can keep your eye on it. You just want to cook it barely enough to be done, otherwise it'll be tough. Do NOT overcook it!!! You do not want to be eating shoe leather! (Unless you're my brother, and then actually, yes, you kinda do.) You can keep the cooked stuff warm in a bowl with foil over it while you cook the rest. Serve it with rice (preferably jasmine) and if you have any taste at all, tons of Kimchi (Found in the refrigerated area of the produce section. Not all stores carry it. Harmon's does. Smith's doesn't. I think Albertson's might.)

Special Kim directions: I added a little ginger to the marinade as well. I buy the already pulverized, in-the-jar kind. I used about a spoonful and a half, but I had doubled the recipe, so just do it to taste. I also used extra garlic and green onions. I ended up doing two batches of this stuff because the first was so stinkin' good. The second was even better because I sliced the beef way more thin and I marinated it for a couple hours longer. I also didn't bother to toast the sesame seeds with the first batch, but I would highly recommend that you go ahead and do that if you're going to try this recipe. It makes a difference.

T.V. thoughts

So, "Gossip Girl" was on last night and just confirmed how much I enjoy Chuck Bass. Any episode in which he says "I'm Chuck Bass." is my favorite. Lorri and I just watched the first disc of Season 1. I am determined to indoctrinate her into the Gossip Girl world. She will watch it and she will like it.

I also watched "The Secret Life of the American Teenager." Preggo chick is kinda getting an attitude, and I'm not really sure how I feel about that. I still love the show though, mainly because Molly Ringwald is on it and I wanted to be her when I grew up. So few famous people have red hair; we have to stick together. Speaking of Molly, "Pretty in Pink" was also just on, and maybe I've mentioned it before, but I'm not sure how I feel about that movie. I used to hate it, but it's growing on me. Now I like it, but still not as much as most other Molly movies. I think it's because Andrew McCarthy appears to be drunk and/or high throughout most of it. Plus, whenever they kissed it seemed very awkward. And, at the end (SPOILER ALERT), when she runs after him and they kiss in the parking lot, she drops her purse and it always irritates me because it looks like the parking lot is covered in puddles. I know it's this big romantic moment and all, but that doesn't mean you have to drop your bag in a nasty puddle.

Speaking of purses, Lorri bought me a new one today. It's super cute. I will take a picture and show you. You will be jealous. Trust me.

the twitching

I don't think that in yesterday's blog I accurately described the eye twitching. I made it sound like it was just once in a while and you were probably wondering what the big deal was. It isn't once in a while. It's every single day, most of the day, but not necessarily constantly. I get half hour breaks here and there. It gets worse at night and at church. Why at church, I don't know. Either the twitching is of the devil and is uncomfortable in the Lord's house, or it's more noticeable when I'm just sitting there and let's be honest, kinda bored. It's really distracting when I'm driving because I always want to watch it in the rear-view mirror, which probably is not the safest thing to do. So yeah, that's a more accurate description of the devil's twitching that's going on in my eyelid. Oh, and it's mostly in my right eye, but sometimes it'll go back and forth between my right and left eyes. That's always fun. Also, since I'm being honest (about being bored at church on occasion), I have to say that I have contemplated how painful it would be to try and dig the nerve out with some kind of sharp weapon/instrument. Not that I'm going to because really, I'm far too vain for that, but seriously, if I could figure out a way to have it not hurt too much, not leave an ugly scar (a Luke Perry-esque scar would be acceptable), and not paralyze the rest of my face, it's possible that I would perform surgery on myself. I could videotape it for YouTube! I wonder if Botox would paralyze it. Oooh! Now that is truly something to think about!

Drama in the house

So remember a while ago how I mentioned how the only thing that seems to help with my migraines is Topamax, but it's way pricey (like $250/month) and I can't afford it now that I have crap insurance? Well, my new hero, the nurse at the Student Health Center, hooked me up with some Patient Assistance Program (which is for the poor people of America, like myself), so now I get it for free. This is wonderful news, except that this time around I have developed an odd new side effect. For the last month or so, my eyelid has been twitching. It was like a jackhammer the other night and was keeping me awake, so I finally asked the pharmacist about it today, and he said I'm pretty much just shiz out of luck. Only he didn't use those words. Or anything close to those words. What he actually said was if I've been on it for more than two weeks and my eye is still twitching, then I should switch to something else. So . . . here is the dilemma . . . stay with what I know works and that I get for free, and just deal with the twitching (which is just off and on, not all the time), or get rid of the random jackhammering of my eyelid and try to find something else?

New Year's Resolutions

1. Be more prompt about responding to and/or actually respond to emails, texts, and blog comments. I would have included phone calls on the list, but let's be honest, that'll never happen.

2. Stop turning the t.v. on just because it's there. I have my shows, I know when they're on, there's no need for the t.v. to be on other than those times. If background noise is needed, music will do.

3. Stay caught up on my reading and studying. Muahahahaha! That was a funny one! What would life be like without cramming? It's just completely beyond my comprehension.

4. Cook more often. I love cooking, but I don't do it often enough because really, it's just easier to not. I want to start experimenting with some of the recipes I keep saving, though.

5. Be more honest and up front with people. If I don't want to do something, I'm going to just say no, instead of making up a lame excuse or avoiding the person. If my feelbads get hurt, I'm going to say something right away, instead of letting it fester until I blow up months later at something completely unrelated. (Are you frightened at the thought of an even more honest me?!?)

6. Continue the trend I started last summer of doing things by myself. I really like going to the movies by myself. Going out to eat by myself kind of sucks, but other stuff, like museums and shopping is fun. I really want to go on a trip by myself. A solo road trip would be fun.

7. Stop worrying so much about what other people think. I'm pretty sure that there are far less people out there judging me than I think there are. Of course if you're judging me and think I'm cool, that's o.k., but if you're judging me and think I'm a loser . . . who do you think you are to be judging me? Maybe you oughtsta be worrying about yo-self! Mmmmhmmmmm!

Kennedy Center Honors Tribute to The Who

Love The Who. Love Dave Grohl. LOVE Rob Thomas. Tolerate Joss Stone. Don't know who Bettye LaVette is (which probably makes me sound hugely ignorant), but she gave me chills. BTW, my aunt is a huge Rob Thomas fanatic, so we had to watch and record this last Tuesday and when the cameras showed Rob sitting in the audience, she got all excited, despite the fact that he was sitting next to, as my aunt calls her, "that woman he's married to."

Sunday Summary and Other Stuff

• During Sharing Time there was this big, elaborate presentation about how we're walking along this sidewalk between school (Earth) and home (Heaven). As we walk along, we come to a puddle (physical death) that we use a bridge (resurrection) to cross over. Then we come to another puddle (spiritual death) that has another bridge (Atonement), but this one is more of a toll bridge and you have to pay to cross (by going to church, pray, etc.). Well, in case you didn't know, kids take things pretty literally, and they couldn't figure out why we were using a bridge to cross a puddle. Some of their comments were: "Why don't you just step over it?" "Why can't you just go around it?" "Why don't you just jump over it?" Finally the Primary lady compared it to more of a lake or an ocean instead of a puddle. Then it became "Well, why don't you just swim across?" "Is it really deep like a well?" I think they were also caught up on the whole paying to get across thing because then one kid said something about borrowing some money to get across. Finally, one little kid compared the puddle to a giant mudhole and that's why you can't just go around or swim across it, and then I guess everyone got it. The whole gospel analogy apparently went waaaay over their heads though.
• Classes changed at the new year and I now teach the 6/7 year olds. I thought no class could be more hyper than my last class. I was wrong.
  
• I'm really trying to have a better attitude about Primary. For example, whenever I'm feeling depressed about being single and childless, I think of Primary, and then I find myself immensely grateful for my single, childless state. Primary really has helped me count my blessings!
  
• School starts again tomorrow. I'm hoping it will provide me with something to blog about. With the lack of school and t.v. shows these last couple weeks, I really haven't had much to talk about.
  
• Speaking of t.v., Gossip Girl, aka The Best Friggin' Show Ever (other than Arrested Development), is back tomorrow! Oh, Chuck Bass, how I've missed you! I've decided that instead of being embarassed that I watch mindless, skanky shows like Gossip Girl, I'm just going to embrace it, so expect to be hearing more about GG, Grey's, and Private Practice. You might as well just watch along with me. You know you want to.
  

Christmas Week Highlights

• On Christmas morning, despite the new bike and dollhouse, Ashley appeared most excited about her new Cinderella toothbrush.
  
• Sariah spent the morning in her new Care Bears apron, playing with her toy vacuum. All she needed was a pair of high heels and an oppressive husband and she would have made a perfect 50's housewife.
  
• I got Arrested Development on DVD. I'm pretty sure everyone needs to come over and watch it with me.
  
• My aunt and uncle came in from Baltimore for a week. They always stay with my Grandma, who also lives in the area. On Christmas morning, my aunt was so excited to get over here that she was up at 3:30. They ended up getting here early and waking everyone up.
  
• I was most excited that I had people to cook for. I spent most of last week cooking and baking and I was in heaven.
• This was the first year I've gotten to be part of the whole Santa/putting toys together/staying up late thing. It was fun.
  
• Ashley and I made and decorated cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. We had a great time. Her excitement officially melted my Grinchy heart, just in time for Christmas.
  
• On Christmas Day we were supposed to get a huge snowstorm. It was supposed to be one to tell the grandkids about. I think we got about an inch. Apparently it hit all around us, but missed Orem. I was not pleased.
  
• Some friends of the family came over on Saturday and they have some kind of special water filter that apparently makes your water magic. I'm going to start drinking their water and see if it makes me special in any way. They all looked exceedingly healthy, so keep your fingers crossed. I'll let you know if the magic elixir works.
  

Sunday Summary

• I really hope my next batch of Primary kids have fun prayers like these kids do. Today's closing prayer included the following: "Please bless that we'll be good and not yucky. Be in heaven, Father of God. Bless the food. Name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
• I'm pretty sure that people should stick with the traditional Mormon child spacing of every two years. It creates problems when you have children closer together because then they sit in the rows in front of and in back of each other in Sharing Time and basically harass each other the entire time. For example, one of my kids was wearing a hooded sweater today and his brother, who was sitting behind him, decided to pull on the hood and strangle him. I didn't actually see this happen; I heard the choking noises and apparently another teacher ran up from a couple rows back to stop him. Perhaps I would have noticed it if I hadn't been distracted by another pair of siblings who were trying to force each other to smell their feet.
• We received our ward photo directory today and a miracle has occurred . . . an actual Christmas miracle . . . my picture is quite good (relatively speaking). Let us take a moment now and thank the Lord for this generous gift.
  

My brother needs a helmet

Mark went and broke himself again. He went snowboarding and managed to break his clavicle. For those of you with no medical training (or who don't watch House or Grey's), that means he broke his collar bone. This, a month and a half after he broke his elbow (or at least the part of the arm bone that ends in the area of the elbow), and two weeks before he goes to Spain for four months. I think we're going to need to get him either a helmet or a bubble or maybe both.

must find

I woke up thinking about Airborne. Not this Airborne.


This Airborne.

I must find this movie. It's completely craptastic and I must watch it. Like right now. If you've never seen it, let me tell you why you should watch it. It has Seth Green and Jack Black in it before they were famous. And Seth has long, 90's style luscious locks in it. It also has the secretary from Ferris Bueller (Graaaaaaace!) and the teacher from Saved by the Bell. And oh yeah, it has Shane McDermott in it, who did pretty much nothing after this movie, but hello . . . he looked like this . . .


And o.k., so the movie isn't great (it got a 20% on Rotten Tomatoes), but the 90's weren't exactly known for their quality teen movies. They had a lot to live up to after the genius of the 80's and the Brat Pack. So, just watch it for fun, not for quality entertainment, and you'll have a great time. Trust me.

Primary talent show

Today in Primary we did the yearly talent show. (When I say we, I mean people other than myself, because I just don't do that. Plus, it was mainly for the kids.) One of my little boys got up with his mom and sang a song from "The Polar Express." It was the most hilarious, but yet most touching thing I have ever seen. I knew his mom could sing, so I was kind of expecting that he would be all cute and have this great voice. Not so much. But he was just so enthusiastic and earnest and sweet, and he was just really belting it out. And so while I was laughing, I was also crying like a baby. Just a little bit though. It was seriously touching. And at first I didn't realize that I was the only one crying, so I was trying to hide behind the kid who was sitting on my lap, but then I realized the Primary President was also crying, so I stopped being ashamed and openly wiped the tears and snot from my face. It was almost enough to melt my Grinchy heart. I wish I had it on video. It would be a YouTube classic for sure. I'm about to admit something that I will totally deny ever saying later, but I may possibly miss my little Primary kids next year. Of course this feeling could be completely erased next week when they're hyped up on pre-Christmas cheer.

lyrics question

In the song, "Summertime" by New Kids on the Block (No, I will never stop talking about them. Don't even ask.), there is a line that says "with your flip flops, half shirt, short shorts, mini skirt, walkin' on the beach so pretty . . ." My question is . . . why is this girl wearing both short shorts and a mini skirt? Judging by the components of her ensemble, modesty is not her top priority, so I don't understand why she has both of those items on. In my mind she's looking a little stupid right about now. Maybe they just needed more syllables for that line of the song. I don't know. All I know is it bugs me every time I hear it. I love the song, but not so much that line. You should go listen to the song and tell me what you think.

My apologies

I've been slacking with the posts again. In my defense, it was the last week of classes and I have finals coming up, so I've been just a tad bit busy. Actually, not as busy as I should be because I decided like a month ago that I was done with this semester and I didn't want to put forth any more effort. That's kind of the story of my life-unless I really love something, I tend to only put forth enough effort to get by. I am most definitely not a perfectionist or a go-getter. Mainly because I just don't care enough. I'm really glad there are perfectionists and go-getters out there though, because otherwise nothing would ever get done. So hats off to you guys. Thanks for enabling my slackerness.

None of that was the point of this post. The point of this post is that I subscribe to lots of blogs. No, really . . . lots and lots of blogs. Like possibly a couple of hundred. Don't you dare judge me-I fully admit I have no life. So I thought I would share some of the joy with you and post a couple of links here and there. My requirements for blogs that I read are that they must contain either pretty pictures, recipes, funnies, celebrity gossip, or be written by people I know. Here are the feeds for today. Just go ahead and subscribe. You know you want to.

• Austin Bush Photography (to subscribe to the feed, use austinbushphotography.com/feed/)
  
• Old Fashioned Homemaking
  
• TMZ

Disclaimer: I take no responsibility for the content of these blogs. Well, other than the fact that I like them and recommended them. But if you read something you disagree with or that offends you, don't come crying to me.

ew

Jennifer Connelly's legs look like they're transplants from Body Worlds. Make sure you click to make it bigger so you get the full effect.

Um . . .

I didn't realize exactly how many blog posts there were and how long it would take to go onto each one and label it, so don't be expecting all this labeling to be done for a while. Like for at least a few weeks. And it's kind of hard to decide on categories. Do I just do a general category of celebrities or do I need to have separate ones for Shia and Zac Efron? Or maybe one for general celebrities and one for hotties? Obviously I gave New Kids on the Block their own category instead of just putting them under music, but that was a given. And why am I even bothering with this labeling thing anyway? I was just going to do recipes so that I could find things easier, but then it got out of control. I realize I'm only doing this to avoid studying for finals, but now that I've started, it's become an obsession and I can't stop.

FYI pt. 2

Oh, and I also added a little email button thing so that if I post something wonderful and fabulous, you can easily email it to all of your friends. Or, more likely, if there's a recipe you want to try (because I post them so often), you can email it to yourself to print out later.

FYI

I'm going to start changing things up a little bit. Instead of having a Recipe o the Week that I don't update on a weekly basis, I'm just going to post recipes when I feel like it and start labeling the posts so you can find them all in one place. I'm also going to go back and include all the former Recipes o the Week in the post in which I announced that there was a new recipe. It was bugging me that once I changed the recipe, there was no record of the previous one. So this is my solution. Plus, I can never find my recipes for Texas Sheet Cake or Blender Pancakes, but I've posted the recipes on here before, so every time I want to make them, I have to look them up on my blog. So really, this whole thing is just to make my own life easier, not yours.

Also, I think I'm done with the Hottie du Jour feature. Not because I don't enjoy gazing at them lovingly, but because, except for a day here and there, they're always the same person. And I'll admit it, I am slightly ashamed of my Shia obsession. There, I said it.

I'm also going to fix my playlist so that it doesn't automatically start playing. Why? Because the first thing I do when I go onto anyone's blog is look to see if they have one and immediately turn it off. It's not that I don't like your music, it's that I already have my own music playing (and sometimes your music does suck, but mostly it's just that my music is already going). So since I would prefer that yours not start automatically, I'll change mine to not start automatically as well.

great website

The Big Picture from The Boston Globe. Plus, this was on the front page (of the website, I don't know about the actual paper).

she's gone wiccan

Well, maybe not wiccan, but definitely new age-y. Every year or so I go through a new age-y/Buddhist/spirituality kick. Not that I'm leaving my Church or anything, but I do start coloring mandalas, meditating, thinking about doing yoga (occasionally I'll do a little downward facing dog and child's pose, but that's about it), and reading up on all sorts of what I call "New Age, You Go Girl" literature. Technically it isn't all new age, but it is about being a powerful woman. Here is what is currently on my bedside table. Some I've read before, some are new. And a couple aren't actually NAYGG books, but they're still good.

• "The New Feminine Brain: Developing Your Intuitive Genius" by Mona Lisa Schulz
• "Women Who Run With the Wolves" by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
• "Wise Women: Over 2000 Years of Spiritual Writing by Women" by Susan Cahill
• "The Witch of Portobello" by Paulo Coelho (fiction)
• "Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living" by Pema Chodron
• "Living by the Word: Selected Writings 1973-1987" by Alice Walker
• "Dematerializing: Taming the Power of Possessions" by Jane Hammerslough
  

I think it's good every once in a while to declutter your mind, retreat from the world just a little bit and remember that spirituality and religion aren't the same thing. Are you the kind of person who lives their religion as a checklist? Prayer-check. Family Home Evening-check. Scripture reading-check. Do you go through the motions because that's what you're supposed to do or do you actually feel it? Does it bring you joy or does it just bring you more things to add to your to-do list? My new age-y kicks seem to always come at a time when I'm just going through the motions, but not really feeling it. They always seem to help me refocus my priorities and realize that I'm doing things for all the wrong reasons. So if you're ever feeling the same way, I hope you won't be scared off by any kind of new age stigma (i.e. thoughts of pagans celebrating the Solstice, etc.) and you'll consider checking into it. This doesn't mean you need to start buying crystals or anything like that, but just try to get more in touch with the world and not the worldly.

interesting article

Polish Jew gave his life defining, fighting genocide

stuff

I kind of got blogged out for a while there and had to take a little hiatus in order to preserve my sanity. Here's what's been going on in the last week and a half-ish:

• If I could stop Christmas from coming, I would. I'm just not feeling it this year.
  
• Last week in Primary the music lady was teaching the kids a new Christmas song and she asked the kids who Mary's husband was. One of the kids answered "Heavenly Father." I almost blurted out "He was her baby daddy, not her husband," but fortunately I realized how unbelievably inappropriate that would have been, and I stopped myself.
  
• Only one more week of classes left. I don't know if I can make it.
  
• Remember that Mexican Tomato Lime soup recipe I posted a few weeks ago? I made it again, but added black beans and diced green chilies and it was even better than the last time. You really should try it.
  
• "Swiss Family Robinson" was on t.v. today. I love the old Disney movies. They prepared you for real life. Kids today are spoiled by princesses and happily ever after. The real world just isn't that nice. Sometimes your dog gets rabies and you have to shoot it. That's just the way it goes.