4.29.2011

some songs: day thirty.

this is it...the final entry from this list here.

day thirty: your favorite song this time last year.

i was a little bit...and by little bit, i mean a lot...obsessed with griffin house this time last year. he is amazing and i adore his music. and he's real easy on the eyes. i was real attached to this song. and now that we have discussed it here, i will probably listen to it three times a day for the next couple of weeks. not bad, i tell ya, not bad at all. it could be worse.



thanks for enduring this 30-day song challenge that lasted three months. i sure did enjoy it. but now i need to find another prompt series. or maybe i should just start regular blogging. we'll see. but seriously, i hope you enjoyed the music shared.
what were you listening to last year?
any great musical finds this year?


that's all.

fill in the blank.

you can play along here.

1. i am looking forward to  breakfast with a friend on saturday. that is just the immediate future. there will be concerts aplenty in the next few weeks and a family vacation in june. i can't even tell you how excited i am. next wednesday i get to see the head and the heart. and then the following tuesday i get to see the milk carton kids (if you go to their website, you can download their album for free...yes, free) and joe purdy. in june i get to see iron and wine (and the head and the heart again). and then there will be a family vay-cay to sunny socal. i am pretty stoked about all of the above, that is for sure.  

2. something kind of embarrassing that i still love anyway is  reality tv. i know that it is overplayed and all that, but sometimes it is my favorite thing to watch. especially big brother. hands down, that is my favorite reality show ever. it's so crazy and an awesome sociological experiment. it's good, good stuff.  

3. my favorite car is  a paid for car. i didn't have a car payment for so long, so i kinda hate that i have one now. dumb car the broke. i would have driven it forever. but, if this question was about "dream" cars, i would have to say the cadillac cts-v coupe. it is definitely a dream car. but a girl can dream.  

4. if i could pick one type of weather to live with for the rest of my life it would be  early to mid fall. there is just something about the crisp, fall air that is good for my soul. i really could love it every day of my life.  

5. my favorite thing to do after a bad/stressful day is  veg out. normally, that includes watching a movie or tv and focusing on absolutely nothing of importance.  

6. this weekend  i am craft shopping. and going to birthday breakfast with a friend. and working. not bad, i'd say...not bad at all.  

7. if i were a color i would be  green  because  i just really like green. it can be bright and cheery. or sad and moody. or dark and mysterious. it's a good all-around color.  

what are you looking forward to?
anything exciting planned for this weekend?

that's all.

4.28.2011

an itty-bitty rant.

...but not really a rant. just something that i have been wanting to say for a very long time.

i have been harboring some intense feelings regarding a specific topic for a quite long while now. i decided to just let it go, as there was nothing i could do to change the situation. and i have been tolerating and/or suppressing my feelings about said topic for some time. but today i reached a breaking point.

i suppose i had been harboring the feelings because i couldn't formulate an appropriate or an accurate way to fully express myself and in turn, justify myself. luckily, i had the thought that i didn't need to justify anything to anyone. and i didn't need to use fancy grammar to express my feelings.

and so here it is...in all it's simplicity: i am not fond of (or more bluntly, i despise) blog posts that have anything to do with "what i wore today."

i don't need to see seventeen pictures of the outfit any particular blogger wore. yes, it i'm sure it is a darling outfit. and i'm sure the shoes do go great with the skirt. and that is fantastic that every item they are wearing is thrifted. or everything was purchased on clearance at target and cost $3.27. good for you, dear bloggers...but seriously...every. single day. i don't care. in fact, i can't think of anything i care less about.

now, i do feel like an explanation is in order...because i get that i don't have to read said blogs and i don't have to view the "outfit of the day" posts. it is my choice...but here is how i became a victim of said posts. there were a few blogs that i had been following because they were entertaining, or they had great ideas about decorating or simply because i like to blog stalk. but then all of the sudden, every single day, there are a plethora of pictures of these bloggers in these outfits in weird poses and it is creepy. really, i think that is what it comes down to, it's creepy. and so now, i can't even enjoy these blogs because i can't look past the creepy pictures of "what i wore today."

please don't get me wrong...i love the occasional "look-at-these-adorable-boots" posts. or the "i-made-this-skirt-look-how-cute" posts. and i do enjoy blogs that are about fashion and trends and the likes. the difference is the focus. the occasional share is not annoying, because seriously, who doesn't get excited about new boots or the ability to sew? and if the blog i am reading is about fashion, i would expect to see pictures of clothing regularly. i just don't need to see suzy-home-maker's outfit every. single. day.

and so, today, in my need to address this issue...because it was becoming an issue...i unfollowed a multitude of blogs. and it is most refreshing. and now, when i open my google reader and scroll through blog posts i won't be utterly annoyed. just entertained. and i will most definitely enjoy fashion blogging much more now that i don't have to deal with "what i wore today."

that's all.

my favorite thing about today was...#3.


my favorite thing about today was...

on thursdays, fridays and mondays i work two jobs. i go to work at eleven in the morning and don't get off work until eleven at night. today i had to be to my "real" job (i call it my real job because it is my full-time, benefited job) at two in the afternoon, which is an hour before i am normally required to be there. and because i had to be there at two i was going to be able to leave at ten. at nine, which is bedtime for the kiddies, i was fully prepared to stay until eleven, completely forgetting that i was going to be able to leave at ten. at ten, when my replacement arrived, i was ecstatic. it was the best feeling ever. so simple, yet so rewarding.

clearly, i am easily pleased.

that's all.

some songs: day twenty-nine.

second to last on this list here.

day twenty-nine: a song from your childhood.

i cannot pick just one song from my childhood. i had to make this playlist by kingston trio. every single one of these songs reminds me of being a kid. and i love it. and i will be forever grateful to my dad for introducing me to this great and amazing music. did you know that the kingston trio was awarded a lifetime achievement award at the grammy's this year? yeah, they were...because they are amazing. and i got to see them live over thanksgiving weekend. jealous? you best be.



what songs remind you of your childhood?
what did your parents listen to?
is that what reminds you of your childhood?


that's all.

4.27.2011

some songs: day twenty-eight.

can you believe it's almost over? check it out here.

day twenty-eight: a song that makes you feel guilty.

i have never thought about a song making me feel guilty...except for maybe a guilty pleasure song. i had to think about this one quite a bit and i picked this song. it doesn't have anything to do with my own personal feelings of quilt. it is just that when i hear this song, i am reminded of the movie, love actually. the scene when this song is played is heart wrenching and so sad. and the man should feel wildly guilty. because he is. so yeah, this song evokes guilt, but like i said, not my own guilty feelings. i'm not sure why, but that is one emotion that music doesn't trigger. that's a good thing, i tell ya...a real good thing.



do songs evoke guilt for you?
what songs?


that's all.

4.26.2011

some songs: day twenty-seven.

seriously, almost done with this.

day twenty-seven: a song you wish you could play.

no questions asked, i would want to play my favorite song. exactly the way jt plays it. i would kill to be able to play this song.



what do you wish you could play?

that's all.

4.25.2011

some songs: day twenty-six.

only a few days left of this.

day twenty-six: a song you can play on an instrument.

i can play twinkle, twinkle on a violin. or maybe i can. it's been a long time since i have played the violin. a real long time. sad to say, but it is true. i can play a handful of hymns on the piano, too. this is the first hymn i learned how to play and was lucky enough to play it several times throughout my high school seminary experience. gotta love seminary.



in reality, i would give anything to play any song on a guitar, though.

do you play an instrument?
what songs do you know?
if you don't, what do you wish you could play?


that's all.

4.24.2011

hide your kids, hide your wife.

i'm sure you have all seen this internet phenomenon. it is hilarious.


well, the best is that antoine was arrested this week for possession of marijuana. maybe antoine needed to hide his weed, too. just sayin'.

and just in case you didn't get enough...here is a fantastic cover.


that's all.

baskets and bunny poops.

{image from here.}

some songs: day twenty-five.

working towards finishing this.

day twenty-five: a song that makes you laugh.

i am choosing this song because i recently heard it. it is the most hilarious song to me. and the stupidest. but still, i laugh every single time i hear it. i know you know what i mean. and the reality of the song is somewhat hysterical...because it is true. (**be warned, there are some explicit lyrics in this song...besides the subject matter itself.**)




what song makes you laugh?

that's all.

4.23.2011

some songs: day twenty-four.

for more info, go here.

day twenty-four: a song you want to play at your funeral.

to be really honest, i am not quite sure what i would want played at my funeral. i'm not so sure i get to have a say in it. i mean, i guess when i do die, the people that love me and that will be planning the funeral will know what i liked and what i wanted, but to say i know that now...well, i don't. i could go so many directions with this, but thinking about it now i really would want "god be with you til we meet again" sung. other than that, i have no idea.



on a lighter note, though...whenever i think about this question, i think back to a guy we hung out with when we were 18 or 19 years old. i'm not sure what his real name was, but we called him badger. everyone called him badger. one night at his house, he told us he wanted this song played at his funeral and so, whenever i hear it, i think of badger and his funeral. how is that for a memory?




have you considered this question?
what would you want played?


that's all.

4.22.2011

this is a big one.

so guess what? i'll tell you. this is my five-hundredth post on this blog. it seems a little crazy. i remember when i was barely at one hundred. i thought that was quite an accomplishment. and then two hundred was an even bigger achievement. three and four hundred just slid right by...mostly because i haven't been that great of a blogger for the last year-plus.

but here we are...five hundred posts. about nearly nothing. yet entertaining. incidentally, my good friend...and a recently returned blogger...adriane sent me an email earlier today that included some talk about old blog posts. i mentioned that i think i used to be funny which made blogging so much easier but she pointed out something i hadn't thought of before. i don't think i am funny anymore because we are almost real grown-ups. (i say almost because i will never truly grow up...i spend eight hours a day with juveniles...it will be impossible for me to fully grow up spending that much time in that kind of environment...at least that's what i tell myself.)

but it's true. my life has changed so much over the past couple of years and i am definitely in a different frame of mind because of those changes. and they aren't bad changes, but i can most definitely see how the changes have changed what i choose and/or like to write about and share.

do you think i just used the word change too much?

regardless, i need to rededicate myself to blogging. and writing. and documenting. i need to take more pictures. i also need to forget trying to entertain you, the reader and focus on entertaining myself. because i just read a bunch of my old posts and i laughed. at almost all of them. so, that's the plan. as long as i laugh, that's all that matters. and if you are entertained, then you are welcome.

thanks for sticking around for five hundred posts. i do appreciate you, my audience. because, let's be honest, even though i entertain myself, i wouldn't write this if i wasn't trying to entertain you, too.

thanks again!
that's all.

random.

today, while driving from one job to the other i passed a "student driver" car. when i passed them, i remembered back to my student driving days and i remembered how crazy/scary it was to be driving on the actual road. and then i remembered that driving in the "student driver" car was not my first experience driving on the road.

that's right. i drove before i was licensed to drive on the public roads. i'm not quite sure what possessed me or what my thought process was, but this is how it went down.

my parents were out of town.

enough said, right? hahaha.

anyway, i was fifteen. my parents were out of town and we (my sisters and i...i'm dragging them into this) needed to get something at the store. obviously it was very important that we obtained said item and that exact moment. kmart was right down the street from where we lived, but we didn't want to ride our bikes. clearly, the next logical step was to take the car.

now mind you, previous to this incident, my dad had been letting us drive the cars around the parking lot of the family business for, literally, years. the building sat in the middle (basically) of the property and there was a parking lot/driveway that went around the whole building. we would drive around and around and practice parking and the whole nine yards. maybe this is why i thought i could drive on the road. i had been practicing driving since i was twelve-years-old.

i'm pretty sure one, if not both, of my little sisters were with me. and it was just a quick trip to the store and back. we didn't go the long way and we didn't go for a jaunt around town. just straight down the street four blocks and back up the street four blocks. a mile. i drove a mile.

well...kinda.

there was an apartment attached to the family business and growing up, there were always renters. during this particular time there was a lovely family living there and the husband/dad was a student at utah state university. he was a funny guy and he saw me take the car to the store.

here is where it gets a little foggy. i quite honestly don't remember why or where or any of the details, but i ended up giving this guy a ride...i don't even think it was the same day, but it was still that same period of time while my parents were gone (duh. i wouldn't have taken the car if they were there...thanks captain obvious). i do believe he needed a ride to the university campus because i remember driving up the hill. and the best part is that we weren't in the car that i had taken previously. nope. we were in my grandpa's old one-ton, manual transmission truck.

i really, truly wish i could remember the details. but here is the detail i remember for sure...said neighbor/nice guy outed me to my dad. he told my dad that he didn't know i had gotten my license. busted. i wasn't even sixteen yet. in fact, i think i was barely fifteen...almost a whole year away from being sixteen.

i didn't get punished...or, if i did it must not have been that tragic because i don't remember. i don't even remember getting lectured.

gosh. definitely not a shining moment. but hilarious. absolutely hilarious.

that's all.

some songs: day twenty-three.

getting close to the end of this here.

day twenty-three: a song that you want to play at your wedding.

i have two songs i want played/sung at my wedding. i love the original versions of these songs, so i'm not sure if i want someone else to sing them or to just have them played.

the first is more by harry connick, jr. i heart him and almost everything about him...especially that voice. and this song is such a classic. i think i would have to just have this one played because harry is amazing.



and the second is feels like home by chantal kreviazuk. i love her version more than judy collins. but i think i would love to have someone sing this song for me. i know exactly who i would ask to do it, too. we've never talked about it, but i know she would do it for me. no question.



what song(s) do you want played?
or what song(s) did you have played?


that's all.

fill in the blank.

play along right here.
1. fridays are  just another day. i work weekends, so friday is the second day of my work week...not counting my part-time gig. i wish they were more exciting, but working two jobs, seven days a week makes everyday a little less exciting.  

2.   my family, great music, time with friends, eating great food, being pampered, cute babies, puppies and flip flops  make me terribly happy.

3. something that inspires me is  seeing other people who have their own trials and struggles rise above and succeed despite the difficulty. realizing that i'm not the only one facing trials is somewhat comforting. if that makes sense.  

4. if i had a day off today, i would  probably go and visit my sister and her babies.  

5. if i had to put a label on my home decor style, i would say my style is  non-existent. actually, i would consider myself a minimalist. but i would also say that i haven't even really attempted to decorate. in all honesty, i have no idea where to even begin. i did just purchase a print from an etsy store that i have been eyeing for awhile and so i am hoping that can be a starting point.  

6. concerning politics, i would say i'm  conservative. politics are a joke right now, but i still lean conservatively. which is interesting, considering i work in social services. i mean, i don't really know why that is significant, but many of my co-workers find it odd that i am as conservative as i am. but there are a few of us, so i don't feel too left out. and i live in utah. enough said, right?  

7. i'd like to go to  iceland  so i could  see if it really is as beautiful and as interesting as it looks in the pictures that i have seen recently. there was a post on a blog with lots of pictures and i kinda fell in love with the idea of going to iceland. i mentioned it to a friend today and she said it wasn't in her top five...but it most definitely is in mine...now. italy, ireland and iceland. interesting.  

where are you dying to go?
and what about your friday?
anything exciting planned?

that's all.

4.21.2011

some songs: day twenty-two.

oh yeah. remember this? enjoy.

day twenty-two: a song that you workout to.

well, this wasn't so easy to come up with as i don't necessarily listen to anything specific when i workout. but, when i really thought about it, i remembered an album i aquired way back in 1996. espn jock jams vol. 2. it was amazing and we listened to it all the time. and this is my favorite song from that album. and it is the epitomy of a good, solid workout song. i'm sure you love it, too.


how about you?
what do you listen to when you work out?


that's all.

4.09.2011

repeated conversations.

(i just found this post...it was started 12.15.08. yes, more than two years ago. it was in my drafts. i don't remember starting it. i don't remember what the point of the post was going to be. but i thought i would just post it anyway...and emphasize that we all still talk about weight loss. but i don't think it is to the extent that it was when i wrote this. anyway, enjoy this incomplete and random post. and don't worry...there are more "drafts" where this one came from. oh, and i still feel this way about my co-workers...regardless of what has happened at work over the last two years.)

one of the best things about my job is the people i work with. i genuinely enjoy the company of all my co-workers. i mean, i don't want to be bff with each of them, but i am able to enjoy the time i get to and/or have to spend with each one of them.

my job consists of lots and lots of down time. time that can be spent watching tv, surfing the internet, playing games or talking. most of the time we talk. and we talk about everything. we talk about our jobs. we talk about the youth we work with. we talk about co-workers. we talk about our families. we talk about our finances. we talk about the stupid stuff we have done in the past. we talk about our hobbies. i mean, there is no topic that is off limits. seriously, no topic.

i bring this all up because lately at work, we have all been obsessed with discussing weight loss. it's truly a phenomenon. we have weight loss contests at work and there always seems to be someone trying to lose weight, but lately, it has become a bit extreme. this is no exaggeration, but in the last week, i have had at least one conversation about weight loss with at least six co-workers. i know i have had at least three conversations with one of those co-workers, so we are talking about non-stop weight loss talk. it is actually kind of comical at this point.

4.08.2011

fill in the blank.

fill in your own blanks.
check it out here.
1. something that makes me a great friend is  that i am a listener. or at least i hope that i am...cause that is what i try to be.  

2. i am  so over winter weather. the fact that it just snowed for over twenty-four hours makes me want to slit my wrists...but spring shall cometh. eventually.  

3. i am not  excited about going to back to two jobs next week. it's been nice to have a little breaky-break from the grind of it all. but then there is only a month and a half left of the school year and then summer break. and then there is a chance that my job at the school won't be there due to budget constraints. but we'll just have to wait and see. i'm not sure how i feel about that, either. i guess i will wait to see what happens before i decide how i want to feel about it.  

4. if i had to describe myself in three words, they would be  tenderhearted, predictable and tall.  

5. something i'm really cheap about is  contact solution. i cannot and will not buy the brand name solution. i always by the equate brand (from wal-mart). i get two bottles for about six dollars. one bottle of the brand name kind is at least twice that, if not more. i refuse to pay that much for that, especially cause i wear disposable lenses.  

6. something i'm willing to splurge on is  just about everything else. especially music. this includes actual music as well as tickets for shows and driving to shows and that kind of stuff.  

7. i would trade  living in logan   for  living in vegas or phoenix or cali if the job was right (meaning that i am making enough to live on without a second job)   in a heartbeat.

what about you?
what are you?

that's all.

wee bit.

yes, i realize it's not wednesday, but deal.
{one} what is one food that, as an adult you love, but as a child you said you’d never touch? i've always been pretty open minded about different foods. the one thing i remember having to choke down if i was forced to eat it was oatmeal. i was not a fan growing up, but i readily eat it now.

{two} did you go to college? if yes, what was your major? i did. i went to utah state. go aggies. i majored in sociology...after taking a nearly five-year break cause i couldn't figure out what i wanted to major in.

{three} what’s the most wild animal you’ve seen in real life (not counting the zoo)? well, probably just a moose. or buffalo at yellowstone. that's still considered the wild, right?

{four} have you ever been to a fortune teller? never. and i can't foresee myself going to one anytime in the near future. but maybe the fortune teller would see something different.

{five} can you juggle? no. and i can't tell you how bad i want to know how to juggle. i've tried to learn so many times, but i don't have the patience...and obviously, the coordination.

{six} hardwood floors or carpet? i have carpets, but i would go for hardwood in a heartbeat.

{seven} is it called “soda” or “pop”? it's soda. all growing up i called it pop. i can't remember where or why or how, but i started referring to it as soda and that has stuck.

{eight} what was your first car? a 1972 buick electra...a hand-me-down from all of my older siblings. it was a beast. i still wish i had that car. it had so many great nicknames. i miss it.

{nine} what is the most decadent dessert you’ve ever eaten? isn't all dessert decadent? i can't think of anything specifically.

{ten} how often do you rearrange your furniture? nearly never. currently, my living space is so small that i don't have many options. maybe it would be different if i had more space, but probably not. i don't dig a lot of change.

now your turn.
tell us a wee bit about you.


that's all.

4.04.2011

random. (and a contest.)

i just took a gander at this month's 100 for $5 albums on amazon and there are 15 that i want. i really need to start a new music fund.

but for reals, the person that can correctly name at least 5 of the 15 albums i desire will win a super-fun-fantastic-special-yet-to-be-determined prize. it will be a good one...promise.

just leave your guesses in the comment section.

this contest will end on april 15th.

cause i like tax day.

ready. set. go.

(ps. i will not give a prize for naming one correct album. to be a serious contender, i have determined that the winner will have to have named at least five correct albums.)

4.01.2011

fill in the blank.

if you like filling in blanks, go here.
1. the best prank i ever pulled was  when i was a freshman in college. my best friend lived in an apartment building above some guys that were a good six or seven years older than us...which, when you are 18 and just out of high school is a lot of years older...and we had this big brother/little sister relationship with them, which included lots of pranks. there are two that stick out in my mind...once, they wanted to borrow a blender for a margarita party and so before we took it down to them, we put some blue food coloring under the blades where they couldn't see it. margaritas are generally green, so when they blended the margaritas and they were blue, they were convinced it was because they used white tequila instead of gold tequila. they thought that the margaritas were blue because yellow and blue make green. hilarious. also, we once "broke" into their apartment and rearranged all of their cupboards. i mean, we basically moved them out and then back in. they didn't appreciate that so much.  

2. the best prank ever pulled on me was  pulled by one of the guys that lived in the apartment referenced above. i live in a small-ish community that was much smaller sixteen years ago. when i would stop to pick up my friend or to just quick run in, i would leave my keys in my car and the doors unlocked...and once, i even left the car running. joe, they guy from downstairs, decided it would be funny to play hide and seek with my car. when i went out to leave, he was sitting on the front porch and he was just holding up my keys and a yellow post-it with a clue on it. i got to go on a scavenger hunt for my car. it was hilarious and the whole time i was gathering the clues, i just wanted to high-five joe, cause i totally deserved it.  

3. a day without  some quality rounds of words with friends  is a wasted day. (btw...i'm totally joking about this, but seriously, i love this game. love. you should all be playing. and you should be playing with me. it's super fun.)

4. the most important things in life are  family and friends. i don't want to live in a world where i don't have family or friends.  

5. i dream of  lots of things. mostly, though, i dream of living a life of leisure. how awesome would that be? maybe, one day...but in the meantime, i will continue to change lives and influence the young 'ens.  

6. i dread  getting up in the morning. i am the worst morning person in the world. i would love to be able to skip the whole getting out of bed and starting the day. once my day is started, i'm good to go...it's just the getting started part that i dislike.  

7. a discovery i made this week was  unplugging from the tv is actually liberating. i haven't been watching tv all week and i've quite enjoyed it. it's been refreshing and i've gotten a lot of stuff done that i wouldn't have even thought to do. i did watch a couple of movies, but that was about it. i'm considering getting rid of cable all together...we'll see.  

what about you?
what's new with you?

that's all.