Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Looking for something else to waste your time with?

Trust me I'm a college student- I know good time wasters. I have mastered my facebook, Hulu, Netflix, Pinterest, Blog-stalking to homework ratio perfectly! {muahahahaha}
But alas this week is midterms. 3 tests in 3 days. When did I start studying for them? well... not before this weekend that's for sure. One day I will be a good studious student... one day.

Anyway what this means is that I should NOT be blogging right now but I should be studying but I realize that makes it difficult for you to waste your time when I have nothing to give but old blog posts.

So here is my gift to you: More Blog Posts!!! Just not mine {you are even more welcome} so here are blog posts that I love!

Confession: I really just wanted to use this picture bahaha

Nat the Fat Rat: On Being A Queen
C. Jane: 5 Loves- start with #1 here
Mormon Feminist Housewives: Judging the Hot Mom or Childless at Church
The Day Book: Girl Crush

All good Blogs- I would recommend checking them out!

Till we meet my friends, till we meet

Monday, February 27, 2012

"Miss Representation"

As a Women Studies minor and open feminist I have a lot of gripes about the media and the treatment/depiction of Women. My dear friend and Jeru roommate told me about this film that I should check out called Miss Representation. I really can't say anything more about it than the trailer already says so please watch it-


I hope that this does something to turn the media around, to turn our culture around. Something needs to change and I think this is it. If you want to learn more about the film go to their website: http://www.missrepresentation.org/

Take the pledge
Find a screening of the film
Write about your story as a woman, as a man who respects women.
Who ever you are- this isn't just a women's issue. After watching the trailer you must have noticed that most of the images of women were pornographic or alluded to sex- even Condalisa Rice. When the media turns the only women in politics into sex figures we have a problem.
Not to sound like any presidents or anything but we need change and we need to be that change.

Friday, February 24, 2012

people ask really interesting questions...

So today I was bored {after my 2.5 hour long nap...} and I was on my computer and decided to google something. {why do I shake when I wake up from a nap?- seriously, does anyone else have this problem?} But you know how google tries to guess what you're going to ask before you even ask it like it can read your mind or something? {bahaha I beat you this time google!} Well when I typed it "Why" this is what I got:


Have you ever wondered why manhole covers are round? I haven't before- but I do now!

So I got curious as to what other kinds of questions are asked on google. So I typed in questions words, you know, who, what, where, when, why, how and got the first 10 suggestions that came up. Some were pretty normal and some were pretty funny and then some were just weird haha.






You have to love people's curiosity.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Scientific Study: Maturity


Last night my roommate c-beer and I were talking and the topic of boys came up. {I apologize Bechdel test} C-beer told me of a conversation she recently had with her friend Nick. They had been talking about how much girls mature between the ages of 20 and 21. Basically part of Sophomore year to Junior year of college. C-beer told me of this rate of maturity Nick was describing- basically the progression of how boys and girls mature from high school to college graduation.

This is what they came up with

**

You'll note that there is a major spike in boy's maturity between the ages of 19 and 21- as this is a speculation on boys at BYU it is important to realize that boys usually go on LDS missions at this point which kind of throws them into adulthood/maturity. But don't worry- they go right back to being 21 year old boys pretty quickly after they get back.

You'll also notice that girls tend to mature at a more rapid rate between the ages of 19 and 21 as well. LDS missions for girls are not until the girl turns 21 so while all the guys from freshman year leave for two years the girls are left behind to deal with all the boys in their grade who are two years older than them. I'll break it down.

Freshman year: Boys 18 / Girls 18
Sophomore year: Boys 21 / Girls 19
Junior year: Boys 22 / Girls 20
Senior year: Boys 23 / Girls 21
2nd Senior year: Boys 23-... / Girls 22-...

Girls are almost forced into a rapid maturation to deal with the new pool of boys to socialize with and date. It's almost like being thrown into a pool of man-eating {or woman-eating} sharks and not knowing how to swim. The little floaties your freshman bishop gave you aren't quite enough to keep you from sinking.
It's really quite fun- trust me {...sarcasm, don't trust me- it was a joke}
But that in my personal opinion is why girls do mature so much between 19-21

What was my contribution to the conversation on boys? It is best described in song. Enjoy!

**not actually a scientific study... complete speculation/bias. all that jazz
Also idea completely came from C-beer's friend Nick Nickslastname

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Things I Put On My Body: style WATCH

It was about a year ago {give or take a couple months} that I bought my first grown up watch. I was going to be an EFY counselor and I didn't want to be checking my phone for the time every 5 minutes. {because as an EFY counselor that's really all you do is check the time} I used to have this strange aversion to watches. I'm not really sure why- maybe just having something around my wrist made me feel claustrophobic {not a huge fan of bracelets either actually} either way it was kind of weird. At first it took me a while to get used to wearing a watch- but like all my other jewelry that I wear on a daily basis {my now 6 rings- yup, 6!} I started to feel naked when I forgot to put it on. I came to love that first little $10.00 watch from Target- it's thin brown band and rectangle face. Unfortunately the watch met it's untimely fate {tee hee- untimely- PUN!} in Turkey and I had to get me a new watch!

At first I was desperate and had seen a couple of cool watches in some stores in Jerusalem- ones that had Hebrew numbers! I thought they were the cooliest things ever. I asked Jimmy- the owner of the store I had seen them in- if they were for sale {they were kind of in a display case with a bunch of other random stuff so I wasn't sure- not a dumb question}. He told me they hadn't worked for years so no they weren't for sale but his friend down the way sold watches and he'd get me a good price. Jimmy did just that- took me to his friend's shop and said "this girl needs a watch- and she's a Mormon student so give her a good price- she's not rich". The store owner proceeded to take out a plethora of watches- most of them plastic and kind of gross- but then I saw this gold watch with a circle blue face. It was different, somewhat classier than the rest of the selection, and only 30 shekels! {a little less than $10} I purchased that little sucker and we ran off into the sunset back to the Jerusalem Center.


Isn't she lovely?

Alas, my heart was still pining for a watch with Hebrew numbers. I looked high and low- in the Old City, West J. I couldn't find any. One glorious day walking around West J. Kaitlyn, Lindsay, and I were looking for the mysterious hair wrapping lady to get us our hair did {we never did find her- sad story} but we found a store- a magical store filled with watches. And what did these watches have? HEBREW NUMBERS!!! All of them- big watches, small watches, colored watches, pocket watches. It was glorious. I picked out a little thin banded, black watch with a circular face for 70 shekels {worth it} and we have been dear friends ever since.


SO COOL!!!
I recently started reading lots of blogs for a research report I'm doing {no, I didn't make that up- it's real I tell you REAL!} and I discovered Nat the Fat Rat {a little behind on the times I'm aware}
but I also discovered that she wears a CALCULATOR WATCH! The inner nerd/math teacher+accountant's daughter in me longs for a watch that will tell me time and what 5654424+65422 is.

It's not that I don't love my other two watches- I wear both of them depending on the mood/outfit. But, don't you think they'd like another time telling friend?



I think they look lonely

{no I don't normally wear 2 watches at the same time}



Like one of these?

ps. I also want a pocket watch... what? yes I do.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Attempts At Being A Domestic Goddess: Faux-jitas

As some of you know I love Mexian food
As some of you know I also dislike vegetables
This creates a couple of problems in my life {early death and the like}

Anyway, about a week ago I decided I wanted to make fajitas but didn't really have any of the necessary ingredients- so I improvised! I found a recipe for fajitas and just substituted peppers and other vegetables with spices and it was delicious! I don't think they are an exact replica of fajitas but they are pretty delicious.

Here's what I did:
1 chicken breast
vegetable oil
Garlic Salt, Chili Powder, Onion Powder, Pepper, and Oregano to taste
tortillas, cheese

heat vegetable oil in frying pan {I don't have an exact measurement but just enough to thinly coat half the pan}
thaw chicken and cut into strips
put chicken into pan and season
cook chicken
warm tortillas
Tortillas+Cheese+Chicken
Consume!

the process

the spices

End product

easy, fast, delicious meal- yum

Monday, February 20, 2012

Attempts At Being A Domestic Goddess: Ssaaallllssssaaa

After 3.5 months of Jerusalem without even a hint of salsa {one of my favorite things in the world} I was about to die. Seriously the only down side of Jerusalem. I mean in Turkey they had this really good stuff you'd dip bread into and it was a spicy tomato-y/spicy/pepper flakey paste {actually it was super good- does anyone know what I'm talking about?} and you could always put spice on the shawarma which I highly recommend to anyone that likes spicy food- SO GOOD! {my mouth is all sorts of watering right now- ah I miss Jerusalem}

Back to the point


So after having to live without my beloved chips and salsa for 3.5 months {and actually pretty much all of EFY too- sad story} I was so happy to be reunited with that glorious dipping sauce. Well being the poor college student that I am it gets kind of expensive to buy my own salsa- especially at the rate I go. {Lyse can vouch for me on this one} Well I decided it would be a good idea to make my own salsa- and guess what? I was right! I made my aunt Christy's salsa {thanks to the recipe book my mom sent me a couple weeks ago}
and it was so delicious!
And so easy!
AND so cheap!
Red onion, green pepper, canned tomatoes with green chilies, garlic, lime, cilantro, and salt. What more could you ask for?

{okay I actually ask for it to be a bit spicier so I'm going to add some red pepper flakes and let that kick it up a notch or two}


What made it even better? My roommate Caitlin made homemade tortilla chips. Just fry up some corn tortillas and add salt and you've got some of the best tortilla chips you have ever tasted I swear. Mmmmmm- so good. So that was my dinner tonight- homemade salsa with homemade tortillas. #reunitedanditfeelssogood

Other thoughts of the weekend:
Hannah had her first stake dance! {my mom even sent me pictures}
This weekend was all sorts of crazy and fun and also crazy {#whoamI?}
Cafe Paesan in Orem- spicy chicken pizza gets my approval
I should never assume anything/try to read people ever again

Thursday, February 16, 2012

who is responsible?

In light of recent BYU events- which I'm not entirely proud of- I have been thinking a lot about responsibility. Even the recent article in the Daily Universe about a girl raped in Provo ended up talking about what women should do in order to prevent rape from happening to them.

My question is- who's fault is it really? If I have to walk home from campus in the dark because of a test review or for any reason at all and I end up getting attacked is it my fault for walking alone in the dark? Is it a girl who might have underestimated (or overestimated) the length of her skirt's fault for a guy suddenly getting inappropriate thoughts? While I'm not saying girls shouldn't be modest or shouldn't be cautious I also think it's time to give responsibility to those who are actually having the problem. Men and women have to control their impulses and thoughts and that is our personal responsibility. Can we help each other? yes. Men can stop raping women and women can try to wear clothing that is not revealing {easier said than done my friends}.

My friend recently posted this on her facebook wall/timeline thing {why is it called a wall or a timeline? It doesn't make sense...} and I think it finally puts responsibility in its proper place:
Sexual Assault Prevention Tips Guaranteed to Work

1. Don’t put drugs in women’s drinks.
2. When you see a woman walking by herself, leave her alone.
... 3. If you pull over to help a woman whose car has broken down, remember not to assault her.
4. If you are in a lift and a woman gets in, don’t assault her. You know what? Don’t even ogle her.
5. When you encounter a woman who is asleep, the safest course of action is to not assault her.
6. Never creep into a woman’s home through an unlocked door or window, or spring out at her from between parked cars, or assault her.
7. When you lurk in bushes and doorways with criminal intentions, always wear bright clothing, wave a flashlight, or play “Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed)” by the Raveonettes on a boombox really loud, so women in the vicinity will know where to aim their flamethrowers.
8. USE THE BUDDY SYSTEM! If it is inconvenient for you to stop yourself from assaulting women, ask a trusted friend to accompany you when in public.
9. Carry a rape whistle. If you find that you are about to assault a woman, you can hand the whistle to your buddy, so s/he can blow it to call for help.
10. Give your buddy a revolver, so that when indifferent passers-by either ignore the rape whistle, or gather round to enjoy the spectacle, s/he can pistol-whip you.

Don’t forget: Honesty is the best policy. When asking a woman out on a date, don’t pretend that you are interested in her as a person; tell her straight up that you expect to be assaulting her later. If you don’t communicate your intentions, the woman may take it as a sign that you do not plan to rape her.
The only way to prevent rape 100% of the time is for men not to rape, the only way to prevent attacks is to not attack.

So riddle me this: why should rape and attack on women be a issue for women when it is obviously a problem for men?

A Personal History- Valentines Day 4

And now the end of the saga. My most recent Valentines Day.

My current situation: living in a house with 4 amazing roommates. I have wonderful friends all around from various circles of my life (freshman/sophomore roommates, EFY, Jerusalem, high school, etc.) and of course I am still single {and enjoying it}

Highlights from February 14, 2012:

This was probably my busiest Valentines Day by far. It started with school and homework which was definitely not a high light but I digress. My real Valentines Day started with a Respite Night at Clear Horizons Academy. CHA is a special school for kids with autism- most of these kids are not high functioning and many have difficulties communicating. Respite Night was a chance for the parents of the students at the school to drop off all of their children (whether they're on the Autism spectrum or not) and just have a night off- a rare treat for parents of children with Autism. There were probably 50 volunteers and about as many kids that showed up. My special valentine was a boy named Fawkes {yes, like Guy Fawkes}. I help my friend Ryan watch him on Mondays while his mom is teacher her class. {Ryan says he looks like an Ewok... not sure if I entirely agree but I actually just looked up what an Ewok looked like because I didn't know what they looked like...**} So Fawkes and I were kind of buds before respite night but like any relationship we had our rough patches. For the most part though Fawkes and I had a great time playing with puzzles and flash cards- well Fawkes played and I watched and assisted when called upon by my little darlin. At the end of the night we were both just as happy as could be which is what I call a successful evening.

After respite night I dashed over to my grandparent's house to eat a delicious late dinner {my second dinner of the night} of enchiladas and other delicious Mexican foods. The special thing about that- and the reason why it was so late- was because my uncle John came into town.

Needless to say it was a fabulous Valentines Day. I got to play with kids all night and do a bit of service while doing it and I got to eat dinner with people who love me {even if it's just because they're biologically obligated to}. So not your typical Valentines Day but most definitely one to remember. New Valentines tradition? I think so.

**yes that was probably something I should have kept to myself- hide face in somewhat shame

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

A Personal History- Valentines Day 3

Sorry I'm a bit behind on this little series but here is the story of my 3rd real valentines day.

Sophomore year of college, living in King Henry {it was just a phase}. The weekend before Valentines day my roommate Taalin and I just spent the morning/early afternoon together. We went to Target and found this wonderful little place called Pizza Pie Cafe Express. It's basically Pizza Pie Cafe but to go and super cheap. We got 5 dollar pizza and a cheese bread and cinnamon bread and had a little picnic on our living room floor. It was so delicious and cheap, yum. I ended up getting a valentines day package from my mom that day which included lots and lots of candy and a letter from Dan. Best mail day ever.

The Elders Quorum even decided to buy all the girls in the ward flowers

{still the best idea I think I have ever heard- everyone should get flowers on Valentines Day}

The Monday of Valentines Day our ward had been invited to a dance. I ended up going with my roommate and some guy friends from my ward. The dance was actually really fun until they started playing this dating game activity. It was like mystery date where you'd have one boy and three girls and questions and all that jazz. It was painfully long and awkward and the speakers weren't working and we were all ready to dance again. {No need to have another reminder of how single we were and how desperate our bishops were to marry us off} They ended up doing 4 rounds (2 boys and 2 girls) and on the last one they were calling up thelast three girls and I hear "Katie Robison" faintly over the speaker. I about died. Out of the hundreds of girls names in that bowl of course my name was chosen. I walked up to the stage {none too thrilled might I add} and took my proper place as "contestant #3" {or #1, no one really knew} Because the speakers hadn't been working properly the entire time it was impossible for anyone to hear including the people on the stage. So after answering questions like "what is your best Halloween costume?" and "what's your best pick up line?" and no one being able to understand it was basically put up to a vote from the audience. AKA dudes, tell me which girl is hottest. So awkward {the feminist inside me was slightly raging at this point} In the end the lucky man on the other side of the curtain declared he had rightfully picked for what I'm sure his bishop had hoped to be his eternal companion: "contestant #3". Yes ladies and gentlemen, I was the prize date {I should put that on my resume... 'prize date for 28 year old single Belmont dude'} Our joint prize? a 25 dollar gift card to Red Robin. After awkwardly meeting for the first time on stage in front of our peers we went off to the side to exchange numbers so that he could call me and we could potentially fall in love and graduate from our respective singles wards.

Epilogue:

How did the date go you ask? Well turns out homeboy belmont {no I don't remember his name- should give you a clue as to how it went} didn't end up calling me until the first week of March {a month later if you were wondering}. We went out on a fabulous Thursday night date to an almost empty Red Robin. We ate burgers and talked {though he actually was never facing me during the date... awkward}. We successfully spent the $25 on burgers and a sundae for two {well it was more like for 10 but you know}. He dropped me back off at my apartment and we went our separate ways never to hear from each other again.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

A Personal History- Valentines Day 2

Freshman year of college and I had a boyfriend- my first and only boyfriend {to date} and also the first boy I ever loved. We had been officially dating for 2 months and on our 2 month marker {anniversary just sounds weird} he brought me homemade chocolate chip cookies, a mix CD, and he told me he loved me. This was just a few days before Valentines Day that year and it is a memory that today I still cherish because at that time I was in love with my best friend {and the cookies were delicious}.
We didn't do much for Valentines Day. V-day was on a Sunday so we went out to dinner Saturday night {the malt shop in Provo} and came back to my apartment and just hung out with our friends. We actually ended up making this really embarrassing short video about apples to apples or something {it wasn't my idea}. On Sunday Dan and I sat next to each other at church and went to my grandparents for dinner. I think we might have even gone to a fireside {I know there was one going on but I don't remember if we went} and later that night we watched Monsters Inc. I know romantic, right?

The other thing I remember about that Valentines Day is that I had decided to make it more of a "thanking of the people I loved/appreciated" holiday. I went to the store and bought cards for my physical therapist from that year and took the office some chocolate and I bought my grandparents some flowers just to say thanks for being such amazing people and helping me while I was in Provo. I also made a cake and cupcakes just to have around the house and give people because my mom sent me a mix and cool heart shaped cake pan.

This part of that valentines day is my favorite part now because it reminds me of the amazing people I have in my life and that I am consistently around people that I love. I do love valentines day- not just because of the cheesy movies or chocolates and flowers but because it is a time to appreciate the people you love in your life. This specific valentines day also helps me remember that I don't need a boyfriend to have a good valentines day- not that I didn't enjoy every minute of Monsters Inc. and I did love Dan- but valentines day is more than that. It really is about all of the people you love.

My cake and one cupcake

I can't believe I'm putting this picture up- embarrassing

Oh did I mention I also gave blood that weekend for the first time and they totally screwed up-
yup, still haven't quite mentally recovered from have a needle moved around inside my arm

Happy Valentines Day

Saturday, February 11, 2012

A Personal History- Valentines Day 1

So I thought I'd go down memory lane and revisit some of my more fabulous memories. And by fabulous I mean somewhat painfully funny memories. Valentines Day. This is kind of a 4 part series I guess. I have had 4 valentines days since I turned 16 so I guess that would mean that I have had 4 real valentines days. So this is my first real valentines day.

How great is this: GNO! That's right- Girls Night Out. Me and my besties: Laura {who is now engaged!!}, Kelsey, and Ariel {who is now married!!}. We got all dressed up, and went out to dinner at Pogacha. After an absolutely delightful dinner we decided to go to QFC and bought flowers for ourselves and family members {mom's and sisters and the like}. It was so much fun! After we went to Laura's for a delicious night of chocolate fondue and just had girl talk.

It was seriously one of the most fun nights of my life. Just spending the night with some of my best friends of all time.

Thanks girlies for making my first "real" valentines day so fantastic!!




Olivia and I pre-outing

Kelsey, Laura, Me, and Ariel at dinner

Me, Ariel, and Laura

Me and Laura buying flowers

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Mystery Letter



So today we as a house received a mystery letter. When this happens we usually let it sit on our counter with the rest of the mail and just wait for it to get up and walk to it's intended owner instead of us actually doing something about it. But we noticed today that this letter was a little different. It was in this super cool envelope {do you say Eh-nvelope or Ah-nvelope?} and was from the Domincan Republic so we assumed it was from a missionary. Two of us having a current or former missionary felt for the intended recipient of this letter- what a tragedy to not receive a letter from a dear friend from abroad. Well upon further investigation {seriously it took us until 9:00 to realize this- the mail gets here at noon} we realized that it was from 1993 ummm... that was almost 20 years ago! I don't even have memories from that year! So in my immediate curiosity {well actually my friends immediate curiosity} I/we facebook stalked the recipient of the letter and it turned out that a good family friend of mine was a mutual friend {gotta love modern technology}. So of course I messaged this mutual friend and told her the story and asked if she could contact this woman and find out if this letter was actually intended for her.

I'm not really sure what I expected. I thought that at best in a week I'd find out that this woman was in fact the recipient and then I'd mail it to her and then nothing else... Or something along those lines. Well I actually heard back from the mutual friend tonight! Turns out she was a roommate of the recipient and just called her and she did live in the same house that I'm living in now! The woman that sent her the letter was a woman she taught on her mission and got baptized. She lives close to Provo now and I got her number and will be able to get her the letter soon.

Seriously, what are the chances that a letter gets lost for 20 years and once it is finally sent there is someone in the house {that has probably had over a hundred residents since 1993} there is someone that has a connection to the intended recipient. I'm telling you I have a good feeling about this letter-it's important and has it's own purposes of this delay. I can't wait to figure out what it is/if it does.

To be continued...

Monday, February 6, 2012

I'm off!

To the testing center! Oh my first test of the new year. And my first interaction with the testing center since American Heritage final spring semester (don't worry I passed the class). Basically this post is just because I'm horrifically bored and don't actually want to trudge up to campus just to fail a test (low expectations lead to happy average grades- that's what I always say). I also want to share this experience with you. How? you might ask. Well luckily for you the testing center has a web-cam. Take a peek and you might see me in line in the next... oh *check watch here and then realize the time is actually on my computer* 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Sunday, February 5, 2012

The problem with being 20 and single...

I am fortunate enough to have a very close knit extended family. Tonight at family dinner (at grandpa/uncle Bob's) we had my aunt and uncle and their two kids; two of my second-cousins-once-removed and their wives (second-cousin-once-removed-in-law?); my first-cousin-once-removed and wife (first-cousin-once-removed-in-law?); and my second cousin (no wife). My second cousin is only a few years older than me and we look nothing alike- why would we?

So I'm eating at a table with my s-c-o-r and my s-c-o-r-i-l and my grandma and we start talking. Some how my adventures in Jerusalem come up but then the conversation dies down and during a pause one of my s-c-o-r's asks "so is he {referring to my second cousin} from the Jerusalem program?"...

**insert awkward pause here**

So the only way to respond of course is "Oh, Chad- no. He's my cousin. You're related to him too". Honest mistake- the only two single people over the age of 20 at a family dinner where we haven't seen everyone (or met everyone) in over 6 months- it was bound to happen. No harm, no foul- just a funny story.

tee hee hee, ho ho ho, ha ha ha, snort

Of course then the conversation led to "so are you still writing that missionary?"

Happy February!

ps: in case you missed it, the problem with being 20 and single (and really one of few problems) is that your second-cousins-once-removed think you're dating your single second cousin... which I guess technically is legal...

Oh my food

Saturday is a special day It's the day we get ready for fast Sunday

Yup, tomorrow is fast Sunday and I am most definitely in need of it.
Here was my day in regards to food:
Breakfast: Cracker Barrel- French Toast
love me some french toast
though I would have happily substituted 2 of the 4 slices for hash browns.
Luckily my dear friend Ryan and I ended the breakfast on a good note
by finishing the triangle peg puzzle(It's harder than it looks- we did get a little itty-bitty hint though)
Lunch: Station 22 with some of the original roommates
It was so fun seeing my old besties Macey and Kylee
but seriously this place is delicious!
I got myself the Basil Chicken Sandwich (sans tomato and red onion)
But seriously chicken breast, fresh basil leaves, lettuce, and I think a pesto sauce.
All on a toasted roll of some delicious sort- heaven.
Definitely a cool atmosphere with sort of rag-time music, cool art, and basil water (actually way better than lemon/mint/cucumber water- in my humble opinion)
Lucky for me it's my roommates birthday on Tuesday and we're going again- can't wait!
(it is seriously that good)

Dinner: In-n-out
I know- super classic. So good though.
Basic burger with ketchup, mustard, and lettuce (you guys-I'm {kind of} growing up)
Fries (my first love) and a chocolate shake (my other first love)
It was the perfect dinner to the end of a practically perfect sledding adventure
and a great way to end my wonderful day of eating!

Needless to say I'm ready for a day of fasting!
Shabbat Shalom Y'all!

ps. important to note that several delicious snacks were involved:

NEW DISCOVERY(IES)!!!!!- Triple-double Oreos. Yum.
(Thank you so much Kyle B. for bringing them into my life)(vanilla cream and chocolate creme and 3 cookies- how can you not be in love)

Frosted pink/white animal cookies- I just learned that they actually have animals underneath the frosting. You ever wonder if you're eating a bear or a lion or really any other circus animal- just suck off the frosting and it's there! Magic I tell you**

Red vines are still delicious. Just thought I'd let you know.

(**This is probably just me that didn't know this until today... embarrassing...)

Friday, February 3, 2012

my screams about ice cream


Alright you guys I admit it. I love me some Ice Cream! (I said it. I'm freeeeeeeeeeeeee!)
Recently (Thursday night at about 11:30 pm) I decided that I was craving something creamy, chocolaty, and cold. I decided that I wanted some delicious ice cream (though on the way to Smiths I realized that what I was actually craving was an Oreo Pie Shake from Sammy's but I digress). I went and bought myself some of my personal favorite Ben & Jerry's half baked ice cream. Here's the description for this deliciousness: "Chocolate & Vanilla Ice Creams mixed with Gobs of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough & Fudge Brownies". I actually had to have someone translate it for me because all I read was heaven in pint sized form.

But me and the good stuff don't always get along I'm sad to say. Here are my screams about my ice creams.***

1. When I'm eating ice cream from a cone I always get it on my face. I cannot eat from a cone without ice getting on my nose, chin, mouth (as opposed to in- shwoops). Needless to say it makes getting ice cream on dates embarrassing
2. I always somehow get ice cream on my hands. I don't know what it is- just getting close to my pint of B&J my fingers attract that gooey chocolate and I never know where it will show up. In fact I just was on my computer and ended up getting ice cream on my mouse pad because it was on the tip of my pointer finger- who does that? me...
3. I eat ice cream slowly... it's just a cross I have to bear. If it's cold I can't just scarf it down like I could pizza or french fries.
4. Dreyers and Breyers... can we please get a little more original?
5. 4-5 dollars for a gallon (not even a gallon now!) of ice cream (that one's for my dad)
and finally
6. It's just so good- I always want it but I also want to savor it. It creates such an internal conflict- I know another cross to bear.

All in all ice cream and I have a decent relationship. Sometimes it's a rocky road (couldn't ignore the use of the pun- admitted pun intended) but I still love it.
*** family tradition of getting dipped cones from McD's on the way home from Rattle Snake Lake-
Even in the winter

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Oh February

'Tis the season dear Provo. Love is in the air. My roommate got engaged a couple weeks ago, shortly followed by one of my dearest friends Laura, which was just the beginning of the flood. All of these people I am truly happy for- really I am. You should have seen me when I heard Laura got engaged! Silently screaming since it was 12 at night and my roommates were asleep, running outside jumping around. I'm sure I looked like a lunatic- but only because I was so happy. But seriously you'd think it was a commandment to multiply and replenish the earth or strongly encouraged to get married or something... oh wait.
But with all this love in the air my dear reader I can't help but feel... lonely? Sure, we'll go with lonely. I am so blessed to have amazing friends and roommates- always have been. But it is at this time of the year that I wouldn't mind having a little bit of love in my own life. Especially in Provo where if you're not looking to get married in the next semester you're considered a sinner by some church authorities. But back to my love life- I'm not giving you a full disclosure by any means. Please, I'm not that pathetic/ridiculous. But my love life right now is just kind of ridiculous and I couldn't quite find a way to describe it until today on Pinterest (oh, what would I do without you). And without further ado I give you
My love life

Typical right? Another apt "Pin" that my mom sent me (oh- she knows me so well)

so when I get discouraged
(thinking all is lost**)
this is what will carry me through

**if you now have "when upon life's billows you are tempest tossed" running through your head I apologize