My Seinfeld Moment...

Bathroom. I have to use the bathroom. My bladder kept telling me this, but I knew it was only 10 minutes until lunch and I didn't want to run upstairs to use the bathroom and then run upstairs again to go to lunch. It's so much better to do both at the same time. So I waited 10 more minutes. When 1:00 rolled around I shot out of my office like a bullet, raced upstairs, into the bathroom and into stall #1 (I was not about to travel any farther than I had to). I did my business and then reached for the toilet paper.

Nothing.

What? This could not be! I reached my hand higher up in the dispenser thinking that perhaps the new roll just never dropped down.

Still nothing. I had no toilet paper.

All I could think of at that moment was an episode of Seinfeld when Elaine is in the bathroom and there's no toilet paper. She asks the woman in the stall next to her if she could "spare a square".

"Oh crap!" I thought. "That is going to be me!"

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), there was nobody else in the bathroom let alone anyone in the stall next to me who could kindly hand me a square. That meant I was simply stuck.

Stuck in the bathroom with no toilet paper. What was I to do? Multiple ideas quickly formed in my head as to how I could handle this situation:

1 - There is a tiny piece of toilet paper on the floor next to me. Should I use it? My decision: NEVER! I would rather die first!

2 - Would I have enough time to run out of my stall and into the next stall before someone entered the bathroom and caught me with my pants down? My decision: Too risky.

3 - Do I crawl under the wall into the next stall to avoid having to leave the stall altogether? My decision: Would anyone want to crawl on a dirty bathroom floor with their pants down?

4 - Do I sit here and just let myself air dry? My decision: A definite possiblity, but one that would take way too long. But then again, what other choice did I have?

Just as I was about to concede to the idea of waiting it out, I looked up....

Seat Protectors! They do more than just protect your seat!

Pranks...

I was looking through an old scrapbook of mine the other night (from my college years) and I came across a group of guys I lived by during my 2nd year of college. Looking at the pictures brought back several fun memories. Some of my very favorite memories of these guys were the pranks my roommate and I used to play on them. I thought I'd share one with all of you.

One day my roommate Stacy and I visited our neighbors, and while I was in the front room distracting them with some very intellectual conversation, she was wandering around their bedrooms looking for a house key. After a few minutes she grabbed me and said we had to go to the store. So we left and headed to the store where we made a copy of the house key she had taken from one of the guys bedrooms. Thirty minutes later we were back at their house and replaced the key. They never knew we took it.

Throughout the semester the guys would occassionally get locked out and they'd come hang at our place until one of their roommate's got home. One time this happened and Stacy said "You know, I am an expert lock picker. I can probably unlock your door for you." He basically laughed at her but dared her to try it. She went into her room, grabbed a little box of hair stuff (bobby pins, etc) and went over to their house. We both followed her but she wouldn't let him watch what she was doing. Surprisingly, he agreed to turn the other way. She got out a bobby pin, shoved it into the lock and twisted it around to make it look like she used it, then took the spare key out of the little box and unlocked the door. After she replaced the key she said "All done!" and handed the bobby pin to the guy. He was speechless. He was so impressed in fact, that he and his roommates often asked her to pick their lock whenever they got locked out. And she came through for them everytime.

One night when all the guys were out on the town, Stacy and I grabbed the key, went over to their house and proceeded to place 40 goldfish in random locations throughout their house: toilets, bathtubs, sinks, kitchen bowls, cups, etc. Then we took all their pans and hid them, put their couches on end, and spread shredded paper all over their floors. When they got home they immediately marched over to our house and demanded to know how we got in their house because they locked the door and no windows were open. We just looked at them without saying a word and then they suddenly seemed to remember that Stacy can pick locks with bobby pins. She had to help them clean it all up (somehow I got out of it). The day we all moved home for the summer, we went over to their house and gave them the spare key. They laughed and were amazed that we managed to pull that off for the entire semester.

Remembering Sundance...

So another year of the Sundance Film festival has come and gone and it was another year that I didn't make the trek to Park City to go "star gazing". Actually, I have only ever gone to Park City during Sundance once and it was back in 2003. My friend had received some tickets to the showing of "Song for a Raggy Boy" and she invited me to go along. I had no idea what I was in for, but it turned out to be a very fun adventure. Here are some of my favorite memories:

1 - Trying to find a place to park. It's nearly impossible just for future reference.

2 - Ignoring the teenage boys who were wanting to take us home to meet their mothers (I don't remember exactly what they said, but we got a good laugh out of it).

3 - Sitting in a theatre full of men couples and women couples. I swear everyone there was either gay or lesbian and it didn't take long for me to realize that they probably assumed my friend and I were as well.

4 - Watching the movie and really enjoying it until about half way through when I eventually figured out that a certain word they kept saying over and over was, in fact, the F word. They had such thick Irish accents that I didn't realize it at first. After that it was hard for me to sit through the rest of the movie (but the movie itself was SO GOOD!)

5 - Sitting through the Q&A session with Aidan Quinn (the star of the movie). He was so dreamy.

6 - Talking to and getting my picture taken with Aidan Quinn. I still keep this picture on my bookshelf at home.


7 - Getting caramel apples afterwards and talking with my friend about Aidan Quinn. We were both on a natural high after that.

I had such a great time that I would love to go again. Unfortunately it hasn't happened yet, but perhaps someday it will.

Julianne Hough...

We all know Julianne Hough can dance, but can she sing? Do any of you out there in the blogosphere like her songs? Does she have a wide fan-base? Her album is on sale at Amazon for only $9.99. Does that mean it's a piece of crap or are CDs really that cheap these days?

There is something about her voice that's well...different. I can't tell if she sings through her nose or if that's just the way she sings. Her voice sounds tight and almost too twangy, like she's trying too hard to be a country singer. I'm wondering if something other than country would be better suited for her.

Well, I'm still on the fence as to whether I like her or not so I'm asking you...can Julianne Hough make it as a country singer or should she stick to dancing?

Here's her music video if you need to listen before you vote. In my opinion, the video is worse than the song.

A Fun Surprise...

My sister called me on Sunday and asked if I'd be going over to our parent's. I said yes and she said "Okay, can you please bring the insert to your Gilmore Girls season 2 DVD?" I said yes but was wondering what on earth she'd want with the insert. All she said was that hers looked weird and she wanted to compare the two.

So, I hauled over to my parents house with Season 2 of the Gilmore Girls in tow. I walked in the door and handed the insert to her. She said "Oh thanks" and then said "Mine just seems to have some weird writing on it. Check it out."

And then she handed me this:


I think I stared at it for about 10 seconds thinking "Why does her insert have my name on it?" and then it dawned on me that it was signed by Edward Herrmann (aka: Richard Gilmore). At that point I may or may not have freaked out a little.

Edward Herrmann was a guest artist at the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert and after the Friday performance she and a friend went and got a few autographs. I actually joked with her that she should have had him sign her bra. It never even crossed my mind that she would have him sign the DVD inserts.

For someone who loves the Gilmore Girls as much as I do, this was the best surprise ever! And all she asked for in return was the insert from my DVD to replace the one she gave me.

I have the greatest sister ever!

Black America Day?

Okay, I admit it, I watched part of the inauguration today. Not much of it since I am at work, but I watched Obama's swearing in and listened to his speech. It wasn't bad. Actually, it was quite good. I guess I'll wait and see what he can do to help this country before I decide whether I should hate him or not.

But there is one thing that has been bothering me ever since I watched the inauguration. There were a lot of people in attendance. Millions, to be exact. But in the 20-25 minutes that I watched, I only saw about five white people. I know there had to be more white people than that, but where were they? Why was every close up shot of someone in the audience always of a black person?

I'm not trying to be prejudiced or judgmental. This is a very historic and significant day for America. Though I didn't vote for Obama, I still feel a sense of pride over the fact that we have finally elected an African American to be President. It's a great moment in history and I think every American, no matter their race (or beliefs), should feel proud to be part of this historic day.

So to the media I would just like to say:

Allow everyone to celebrate this day. Don't just show black people on TV. Don't just interview black people about why this is such a significant and historical day. Don't just take pictures of black people to post on your websites. Don't turn this day into Black America day!

This day doesn't belong to African Americans. This day belongs to Americans. Period.

Guess Who....

...just got summoned to Jury Duty!

It's for the entire month of March! Happy spring break to me....

Peach Ole'!

Have any of you ever had this drink before? Have you even heard of it? If so, you are SO LUCKY! I just tasted this little piece of heaven last night for the first time. There were several of us who had never had it before and weren't quite sure what we were drinking when we took our first sip. But it didn't take long before we were all asking, "What is this drink and where can I buy it?"

Come to find out, it's Peach Ole' and the Bishop of our ward just so happens to be the juice's owner! We did not know this until last night. But it is indeed very good news. Why? Well, because that means we can make off with 1/2 gallon jugs of the syrup without having to pay for it!

True story. A girl in my ward asked if she could hook an IV up to her arm so the juice would just constantly flow through her body. The Bishop told her to just take a jug home. If only I was so lucky.

FTC: Great Britain

Yesterday was once again our monthly FTC meeting. One of these days I think more people are going to want to join in the fun, but for now we still only have 4 club members. We still had a great time though listening to songs by British artists and reading up on British history and enjoying some British props:


And we enjoyed a fine feast as well, consisting of: Fish 'n Chips:


Baked beans over toast, Hobnobs, Penguins, Table water crackers, and direct from England were some treats a new friend had mailed me:

Angel Delight, Marmite, and shortbread fingers


Everyone absolutely raved about the Angel Delight. It's like our chocolate pudding but light and fluffy. SO delicious! The Marmite was not quite as popular. Though two of the members enjoyed it, one did not:



And how fun that Sherlock Holmes decided to join us! I borrowed his magnifying glass to see if any of you can tell me if I have something stuck in my teeth:


Next month we are going to Greece!

Vying for Attention....

Last Sunday I was walking down the hall at church when a young man in my ward stopped to look at a bulletin board. He saw me, said hello and we proceeded to walk together to our next class. Granted it was only about 10 steps away, but we did strike up a conversation and were in the middle of it when we entered the classroom. The instant we walked into the room some girl ran up to us and speaking directly to the guy, said "There's a table up front with name tags so please go put one on". Since her motives were completely transparent, I just stood there and tried to hide my laughter when he replied "Okay, I will". I guess that wasn't good enough for her and she continued to insist, "Yes, please. We'd love everyone to wear a nametag".

"Does she even see me?" I wondered. I continued to stand there as if I were completely invisible as she continued her blatant attempt to get his attention. Finally I could no longer resist, so I said, "No thanks".

Holy cow! Had I known that she was going to sear every piece of hair off my head and face with her glare, maybe I would have reconsidered my actions. But I quietly stood there while she turned back to the guy and said "You'll put on a nametag, won't you?" Oh my gosh! Did he not already say that he would put on a nametag? Yet once again the guy had to tell her that he would put on a nametag when he got to the table.

Obviously she didn't care if I decided to put a name tag on or not, nor did she care whether or not she was completely interrupting another conversation. It was apparent that she wasn't really there to talk about nametags and it was even more apparent that I was in her way. I just love the girls in a single's ward. They always feel like they have to compete with you for someone else's attention. Since I refuse to play that game, I eventually just walked away.

I'm sure she felt victorious. Kudos to her.

Prayers....

When 2008 came to an end, I wasn't overly excited. Not that 2008 was a fantastic year or anything. It was just a reminder to me that another year had passed and I had nothing to show for it. I think I must have the most boring life on the planet. I go to work, I go home, I workout, I eat dinner, I watch TV, I never talk to anyone. It really is a thrill a minute.

This is mainly the reason why I decided to write down some goals; some things I want to accomplish this year that will actually make me feel like my life has purpose and direction. The goals I picked aren't necessarily hard or even that exciting, but I had a hope that they could at least drag me out of the rut I found myself in and make me excited about life.

It was only four days into the new year when I was sitting in church and was overcome by this feeling of excitement and joy. Where it came from, I didn't know. I was just listening to a speaker when all of a sudden the joy and excitement swelled up inside me and then I just couldn't stop smiling.

I have no idea what that means but I do believe it was an answer to my prayers and I know that no matter what this year brings, I am going to make it the best year I possibly can. I have the chance at a fresh start, a new beginning. And whatever changes may come this year, I will gladly accept them. I can already see a change within myself as well.

Sometimes, in small and unexpected ways, prayers are answered even when we don't quite know what we are praying for.

My Boyfriend...

I just thought I would introduce you all to my latest love. Isn't he so remarkably handsome? I am just so in love with him that it is hard to pry my eyes (and lips) away from his body. Seriously, if I can ever get this man to agree to marry me I will be the happiest girl alive.

Oh Gag.

Johnny Depp has got to be one of the sorriest and ugliest excuses for a man I have ever seen in my life. Just look at this picture! Can someone (anyone!) please explain to me what is so good looking about him? I just don't understand why there are millions of women* in this world who bow down to him and think he's the greatest thing on earth. He looks like he just escaped from a fashion show for ex-cons and found work as a janitor who apparently sweats so profusely that he has to carry his own towel around with him.

You know, people always ask me why it is I don't like Pirates of the Carribean. He is probably my #2 reason.

I apologize to all you Johnny Depp lovers out there but I will never be a fan.

*There is also one guy that I know of who, while on a date with me, proclaimed that Johnny Depp is hot. I asked the guy if he was gay. Really, I did.

Open Play Bowling League...

A few of my co-workers decided to start up a weekly open-play bowling league during our lunch break at work. Today they invited me to go along so I thought I'd check it out. Thanks to having a bowling alley on campus that only costs $1.00 per game if you have a student or faculty/staff ID card, we got in 45 minutes of exercise and had a great time in the process. Of course, I came in last, but that won't be the case every week (I hope). The scores for todays game were:

113 - Maverick
113 - Lou
112 - Bling Bling
101 - Camel*

This is an open play bowling league which means anyone can join. If you work at or near the University of Utah and want to play a friendly game of bowling, you can come play with us. We don't compete against anyone. We just take a break from work and have a little fun.

*I didn't know I had to come up with a nickname and Camel was the best I could do on such short notice. I think I want to change it though so I am open to suggestions.

Kermit, Hermit or Bob?

Some of my family went to my grandma's house this past Sunday to visit. Grandma Great (as my nieces and nephews call her) has this hand puppet frog that "talks" and lights up when you put your hand inside and start moving the mouth. My nephew and niece decided to play with it. Here's what went down:

Someone asked my nephew: "What are you doing?"
Nephew: "Oh, I'm just looking up his bladder!"

Then I had this conversation with my niece:

Me: So is that Kermit?
Niece: No.
Me: Is it his brother Hermit?
Niece: Hermit? No, it's not Hermit.
Me: Then what is his name?
Niece: I don't know. Why doesn't he tell us?
Frog: Ribbit, Ribbit, Ribbit.
Niece: He said his name is Bob.
Me: Bob? Really?
Niece: Yes. Bob.

Bob then wanted to sing a song, so my niece joined in:



Then Bob decided to chew her earlobe off:

My 2009 Plan...

I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions. I never have. I can't really explain why, but I believe people make resolutions only to forget about them a month later. I've never been one to sit down and write out what I want to accomplish in a year. I just take one day at a time and do whatever I want, whenever I want. Obviously, things haven't quite worked out how I would have planned (had I actually made a plan) so this year I decided I am going to sit down and write a list of things I would like to accomplish this year. I'm calling it "My 2009 Plan".

1 - Create a healthier lifestyle. This means sticking with my Jillian Michael's program (which was pretty much forgotten the entire month of Dec.) to eat healthier and exercise my butt off. I better not look how I do now by this time next year.

2 - Read more. I know, I know. Most of you are probably thinking that there is no way I could read more. I am always reading. I do read quite a bit. I love to read. But I still don't read nearly enough and that's partly because I watch too much TV. Which brings me to:

3 - Watch less TV. I am a TV addict. Is there a support group for that? If so, I need to join.

4 - Make a quilt. When I finished my last quilt I said "NO MORE!" It was hard, it was frustrating, it was time consuming...but it was also very rewarding. I'm giving it another go and this time I'm only giving myself one year (instead of the two that turned into three).

5 - Go on a vacation. I actually made a goal a few years ago that I would go on at least one vacation a year. Last year I didn't get one and it was one long year of constantly working!

6 - Become a more spiritual person. I feel like my life has been lacking in the spiritual department as of late. This year there are a few things I want to do to better myself spiritually: 1) actually read the Ensign every month rather than just look at the cover; 2) read my scriptures daily 3) read more church related books 4) attend the temple regularly 5) keep a journal of spiritual thoughts/impressions/promptings etc.

7 - Be more social. The year started off well, but by the middle of the summer I completely slacked off. I'm sadly learning that it's becoming easier for me to just stay home and harder for me to be social. That needs to change if I want to accomplish my next goal.

8 - Get married. Perhaps this isn't a realistic goal. Maybe I should start with a date and work my way up to marriage next year. But I figure that if I make it part of my plan this year then I have a better chance of getting somewhere (instead of nowhere which is where I've been for far too long).

So there you have it friends! I've now given you my list (though perhaps not a complete list) of goals I want to accomplish by the end of 2009. I am entrusting each of you to help me out. You can either do some of these things with me, or you can just be my motivation to keep going.

Let's see where this year takes me!

Christmas Break Recap...

I have returned! I am so excited to finally post my first blog of 2009. I started my blog January of 2008 and in reading my blog posts from the past year, 2008 was one amazing (and often times hilarious) journey. I hope that 2009 is just as great.

I had an amazing 12 days away from work and I realized more than ever that I LOVE not having to work. Life was fun and relaxing. There was no stress in having to wake up at 5:30am to go to work, no scraping my windshield because I was up before the sun, no sitting at work bored out of my mind because there was nothing to do, and no coming home completed exhausted and feeling like a little more of my brain wasted away by staring aimlessly at a computer screen all day. Instead, I was able to:

1 - shovel close to a foot of snow off my parent's driveway on Christmas day (and if you think I looked hot before the shoveling, you should have seen me an hour later!):

2 - Spend three full days (and nights) with my parents and two of my sisters over Christmas.

3 - play with nieces and nephews:



4 - make fun of my brother as he tried the Skip-it (an old toy of mine that the grandkids play with now):



5 - go fabric shopping with my mom for material to make a new quilt.

6 - spend a day in Payson with my sister and her kids as she helped me cut all the fabric for my quilt (while listening to my 5 year old niece say to me, "You really are no good at this, are you?").

7 - do more shopping with my mom to buy more quilting supplies.

8 - crochet a scarf:


9 - complete my first block for my new quilt:


10 - do more shopping (for fun stuff unrelated to quilting).

11 - go see "Marley and Me" with my roommate (no movie review is forthcoming):


12 - go to dinner with friends visiting from New York:


13 - visit Temple Square to see the lights - even though it was snowing and well...there were no lights (I stole this picture from my sister):


14 - help my roommate paint our house.

15 - watch lots of movies and just relax.