Friday, August 31, 2007

I figured it Out

You know how Gnu loves jumping pictures? Well Renee quickly jumped on the band wagon (he he he he, that's an original). I too love jumping pictures and try to capture them all of the time. However, I recently made a very important discovery. Does this look familiar to anyone?



So secretly Gnu is a huge High School Musical fan. He must have given the crew some pointers because this one is even better.



Gnu, do you really know the cast of High School Musical? I want to meet Zac Efron. He seems gay. Must be fun to shop with.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

The Grand Scheme

Stolen directly from Leslie's blog, I'd like to incorporate this into my repetoire of hilarious things I say. (Note: you will need to click on the link to Leslie's blog if you want to know about the Grand Scheme).

Courtney and I are the funniest people in the Berkeley student ward. There are other funny people, but we are the funniest. Gnu likes to add "self-proclaimed" in there, but no one is competing for this title--they all know they don't have a chance. Now, we are hilarious girls, but we are far from the funniest ever in the whole universe. Luckily for us, we came into the ward at a relatively dry time and were quickly the funniest and have been able to hold our title while other funnies have joined. Anyway, we have recently discovered (side note: she's probably going to get mad at me for stealing this blog topic, since I can imagine her writing up a doozy on the topic) that a large percentage of our jokes are covers. We have some Baker/Forester originals that we do really well, but some of our best jokes are covers. (Meaning they are our version of other jokes we've heard or seen--some classics, others obscure, think Free Bird).

As Amy can attest to (she has no blog or I would link to it, instead I choose to link to this: Iheartamy), I have an uncanny ability to make references to pop culture particularly television shows and movies of the "chick" variety. There is a gold mine of jokes that are easy to cover in both of these mediums. Courtney remembers everything thus adding to our possibilities.

Now, don't think that because we do covers, we aren't originally funny because we are...plenty of covers are easily better than their originals. I'm just saying that the fact that we have covers and Baker/Forester originals adds to our diversity and credibility as the funniest in the ward, Gnu. Anyway, I'm definitely going to add the grand scheme into the repetoire. I don't know when. I don't know how. But I know someday it'll happen.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Jeanette Tagged Me

My adorable little sister Jeanette, against her will, started a blog a while back. It's pretty nice being able to know what is going on in her life. Anyway, she tagged me on her blog and, as I've often said, I'm definitely a joiner. So, without delay, I bring you more facts about me!

Four Jobs I've Had:
  • Resident Assistant
  • Bartender
  • Gift Wrapper
  • Camp Counselor

Four Movies I Can Always Watch:

  • This Time Around
  • What's Up Doc?
  • Fever Pitch
  • Chipmunk Adventure

Four Places I've Lived:

  • Logan, UT
  • Greeley, PA
  • Seoul, Korea
  • Berkeley, CA

Four TV Shows I Enjoy:

  • The Office
  • Scrubs
  • 30 Rock
  • Gilmore Girls

Four Favorite Foods:

  • Cheese
  • Cupcakes
  • Apples
  • Chicken Tikki Masala from Breads of India

Four Websites I Visit:

Four Places I'd Rather Be Right Now:

  • My bed
  • My couch
  • A day spa
  • Disneyland

Four Blogger Buddies I'm Tagging:

  • Natalie
  • Courtney
  • Gnu
  • Kellie

Monday, August 27, 2007

World Peace

Now, besides the fact that it is sad to see our once beloved AC Slater on Dancing with the Stars and now hosting Miss Tean USA instead of reprising his famous role in Saved by the Bell the major motion picture, I wouldn't be surprised if Miss South Carolina even knows where the US is on a map. Even harder to imagine, why are beauty pageants still on and a career possiblity for women like this?

Thank you Pappy

Dads are wonderful. I've learned all sorts of wonderful things from dad throughout my life. I remember him teaching me how to ride a bike. I'm pretty sure we all learned on the red bike with the white seat. My dad taught me how to do magic. I can now make my leg disappear with the help of a large handkerchief. And my dad taught me how to take pictures. He's practically a professional when it comes to photography. The folks were recently in the bay area visiting us and this is what they shared with him. After he learned of the death of my camera, my dad was great at forwarding me all of the shots that he had taken so I would have something to blog about. You can all thank him yourselfs. What I didn't expect, was how great the pictures would be and the story that they tell.

These should be in a gallery they are just brilliant.







I'm so glad that dad was able to capture these amazing shots and memories. Especially when I have no pictures since I have no camera. Oh, this just in. The memory cards have not been damaged. I still have pictures. More to come!

Thanks for the pictures dad.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

No More Pictures

I realize that my recent blog posts have been a little light on the pictures (read: there have been none). And I realize that for some of you this has been rough. I too love the pictures; it makes it easier to read...all those words for recreation? Exactly.

Well, I would like to blog with pictures, but I've had a death in the family. I went rafting yesterday and took the camera along and now I'm in the market for a new one. It is still undecided if the memory cards are going to give me access to all of my memories. I kind of hope so.

Now, you are probably thinking that it is my own stupid fault that my camera got wet and ruined when I chose to take it rafting. Let me explain. I've been rafting several times. Several. I go every year with my friends to the Snake river. I would never take my camera if it wasn't in a dry bag on that trip. There are actual rapids and you get wet on that river. So, last year I was super excited for the annual ward river trip. The plan was to raft the Russian River. I'd never been or heard anything about it. Silly me, I assumed that it would be like every other river I've gone down and include some rapids and some good times. Plus, with the ward we are guaranteed a little water fighting. Imagine my shock and disappointment when the river was about a foot deep and barely moving. We had to row the whole time if there was any chance of finishing that day. No rapids anywhere. No water fights either. I came out of there super dry. Nothing got wet. I had gone all prepared for Niagara falls and came out like I'd been in the Sahara desert.

August comes around again meaning the annual river trip is back on. New river this year. However, there are no rapids on this one either. I like to consider myself someone who learns from her lessons. Therefore, I didn't get all raft geared up and loaded up my backpack with supplies: granola bars, water, first aid kit and camera to capture the moments and God's green earth. Well it turns out this was a bad decision. We were drenched from water fights within 15 minutes. Everything got soggy. Even the food, nasty. Anyway, lots of fun and stories happened on the river last night. It was a good time. But among the damages was my camera. It was old and had had a good life. It had been to Europe and Seattle. It had a full successful life by providing me with memories and joy. Thank you camera. I hope I can find a cheap replacement that will make me just as happy. However, until then, there are no pictures on the blog.

Thursday, August 09, 2007

More Fun Facts, Part II

As promised, I'm going to continue to share useless, interesting and fun facts about myself with my reading public. Again, some of these may be new, some may not. Some show my hidden depth while others confirm that I'm completely hollow inside.

51. I don't like kittens, cats or puppies....I can tolerate dogs if they are big. I'd be just fine if I never had a pet.
52. I have no idea how I survived before discovering pedicures. Thank you Amanda for getting married and having mom buy us all pedicures.
53. I have to sleep in the middle of my bed. I also try and take up as much room as possible.
54. I hate getting ready for bed. I don't hate washing my face, brushing my teeth or flossing. I hate the energy exerted to "get ready for bed."
55. I love pre-sleeping (taking a quick nap on the couch before getting ready for bed) but try to avoid it because I tend to wake up at 3 in the morning to go and get ready for bed.
56. On lazy Saturday mornings, I turn on the television and always hope that TBS or ABC Family will be having a bad movie marathon that day (by bad I mean awesome movies that you can't admit to liking because it is just not cool). This rarely happens and am I forced to watch something stupid while I eat my cereal.
57. I've been meaning to decorate my office at work since I moved in in January.
58. I practice my signature until it looks cool...it has evolved into an A with a squiggle and I couldn't be more pleased with it.
59. The Minnesotan accent is by far my favorite. I think this may have derived from Drop Dead Gorgeous.
60. I don't know how to drive a stick shift...and I really don't care if I ever learn.
61. I don't remember ever having church treats as a kid; however, now I can't go a Sunday without snacks for Sunday school--except fast Sunday.
62. I love getting non-junk, non-bill mail...random letters are the greatest things ever.
63. I have really good cop karma...I have no idea why, but I'm not complaining. Some people can always find parking places; I don't get pulled over.
64. I look adorable in hats although I never wear hats. I always buy them too because I'm adorable...I wonder what my problem is.
65. I have a way with parents. All women over the age of 40 find me absolutely adorable and perfect for their son, grandson, nephew...impossible to be perfect for all of them, sorry.
66. Friday eve is my favorite day of the week.
67. I've planned out my funny anecdote to tell on Letterman when I become a famous movie star and promote the release of the show--fake laughs and all.
68. I am very skilled at instant messenger and gchat--I surprise myself with the number of conversations I can carry on at the same time. I owe all of my fake typing skills to interoffice IM.
69. I'm not normally afraid of the dark, but sometimes I can freak myself out enough that I get totally scared and it only makes the fear worse.
70. I don't have tivo. This means that when I find a show that I love to watch, I plan my night around being home to watch it. It is bitter sweet when shows end, I get my life back but it closes an era (exhibit a: the Gilmore Girls)
71. I like listening to "bad" music that is awesome on KOIT 96.5 on the radio. I have a theory that lyrics to those songs are ingrained in our souls...think about how many of them you can easily sing along too. Just ask Courtney, she knows.
72. My sales rep in Seattle thinks I look like Mandy Moore. She tells everyone this too. I don't see it. Maybe the bangs.
73. Whenever Lori and I go out to dinner we always go to Stoneground...especially after the stinky cheese incident at Bombera.
74. I get a little sad when I hear or try and speak Korean now because I've forgotten so much. I'm grateful when Koreans humor me and let me talk to them and they say I'm good. I know they are lying, but it makes me feel good.
75. I really enjoy flowers and know how to take care of them, but I have a tendency to kill plants. I think it is a lazy thing.
76. I love reading fashion and entertainment magazines on airplanes and on the beach.
77. I miss being able to sleep in past 8 on a Saturday. Back in college, I could easily sleep in till 1 or 2. Walking up to go to work everyday has totally ruined my internal clock.
78. When I was younger I thought that one day I would have enough freckles that I would be all brown and perma-tan. That never happened.
79. I get an insane amount of junk mail.
80. I bruise really easily. I always seem to have one and have no idea where it came from.
81. I'm on a quest to discover/create the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever.
82. Sometimes I wonder what life would be like if it were a musical.
83. Raw tomatoes make me want to die...I had to eat them "to be nice" in Korea and it almost killed me. They are disgusting.
84. I miss being able to stay up for Letterman every once in awhile back in Utah. Prime time starts so late in California.
85. I love having house jokes that we can get all of our friends into. (Who's glad that guy's gone? What the h? Number 1, Ne na ne na, etc)
86. I always think I want a job that I have to be dressed in business formal all the time, but then when I have to wear a suit for a few days in a row, I'm totally glad that's not the case.
87. I'm pretty sure that I'm tied for funniest person in the ward. Self-proclaimed.
88. I play two chords on the guitar really well...the rest, not so much. I should practice.
89. I've lived in California for 18 months and am still driving around with a Utah license. I'm not so sure that is legal. I don't want to have to take a driving test.
90. I ride the bus every day with basically the same people. They all seem to be a lot more social than me since they will chat with each other while waiting. I just stand there and wait for the bus. I do however have two friends on the bus: Melissa and Scott. Awesome!
91. I don't wear glasses or contacts. I want a pair of glasses to wear as an accessory.
92. I often determine what I'm going to wear based off of the shoes that I want to wear.
93. It takes me forever to use gift cards that I receive. I either wait until there is something I really want to buy, or I forget I have them and just pay for stuff instead of using the gift card.
94. I like checking things off of to do lists. Sometimes I'll write down things that I do every day just so I have something to check off.
95. I keep to dos on post-it notes on my desk, along with reminders and things. This causes my desk to fill up with lots of post-it notes. I hate it when they lose their sticky and get stuck to my arm or move around on the desk. I also hate it when I use sub-par post-its and they leave a sticky residue on my desk.
96. I prefer using Sharpies and construction paper for most things (grocery lists, letters, sign up sheets, etc.).
97. If they didn't bleed through paper, I would only use Sharpie markers. I don't make mistakes and can handle the permanent ink. Just kidding--I just like the fine point Sharpie's.
98. Every time I clean my office and bedroom, I'm amazed at how quickly they get cluttered again. I'm not a dirty person, stuff just builds up.
99. Dirty bathrooms and kitchens gross me out.
100. I have a good sense of direction and can follow maps very well.

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Let the Celebrations Begin

I officially started my birthday celebrations last night at Lark Creek Steakhouse. It is super delicious if any of you are starving in the Bloomingdale's mall and want a big, tasty dinner.

This is also why I didn't have time to finish the 100 list last night, and why I didn't get to eat a French Dip sandwich yesterday. I still claim I'm in the club even though I haven't had participated in three months.

This week the annual NABE and ABA meetings are here in San Francisco (it's a big lawyer seminar) which means it's like traveling for week long meetings without the benefit of having the rest of your life on hold (or at least out of your hands) because you are far away. There's just too much to do when they are all together. So, some of my team was in town and we went out to dinner after the meetings. Dinner was good as was the snickerdoodle cookie with a candle that I got because it is my birthday on Saturday!!! Hurray! The celebrations have begun, and I'm in full "I'm so happy it is my birthday" mode! Not liking the fact that I have lots of work and meetings and have to stay late in the city every night...but I'm psyched that it's finally my birthday.

I'll keep you all posted on the rest of the celebrations. I think it may get pretty spread out this year since my parents are in town for the actual day and celebration, my work party won't be until next week, and the friend party will have to be later too.

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Let's talk about me, baby. Part I

I've seen these lists going around on several of my friend's blogs lately. H, I've seen it on stranger's blogs, I just haven't read it because they aren't as entertaining if you don't know the person...I digress. I was obviously hesitant at first because 100 interesting factoids is a lot. But since I like to talk about myself and can easily type as I think up stuff--just as Natalie can attest to--I'm sure I'll be able to create a great list for you all. So, in no particular order and without further adew, I bring you 100 interesting facts about yours truly that you may or may have not already known. Keep in mind these go from shallow to deep and back again, and I could probably write an entire blog entry about each and every one (I won't though.)

1. I don't care for ice cream. I'd much rather eat cakes and cookies.
2. Apples are my favorite fruit. Honey crisp apples make me so happy.
3. I have an iPod that I never ever use.
4. Some days I know exactly what I want and then the next day I want something completely contradictory. I actually want both but know that will never be possible (e.g. stay single forever and be married).
5. I love being around friends. We don't have to be doing anything. I just love to sit around and chat. In fact, I prefer this to being all alone (although there is a season for everything).
6. I love all of my nieces and nephews and love returning them to their parents when they have dirty diapers or have eaten (this comment refers to the boys).
7. I love the sensation of dead arm when I wake up. How on earth can my pillow weigh so much?
8. I hate my laugh. It is loud and I can't control it.
9. I love laughing. Especially when it makes me cry and my stomach starts hurting. And love it the most when I have to run from the room to the bathroom so I don't pee my pants.
10. Sometimes I wish I could quit my job and open up a bakery that is only open at night time (that's the best time for cupcakes). However, I fear being a small business owner because all the business stuff is a lot of work. Yes, I majored in business. Oh and all of my recipes are stolen from the Barefoot Contessa. So this is a silly plan.
11. I love fresh flowers...I love solid vibrant colors.
12. I love to dance. (Said in the Sarah Jessica Parker Girls Just Want to Have Fun voice)
13. I love movies.
14. I love ABC Family movies and pray that one day I'll be able to buy them on DVD so I can watch them all the time. Especially This Time Around.
15. I get obsessed with albums and will listen to them over and over again until I'm sick or them or find something else. Then I rarely come back to them once I've moved on. It takes me a lot longer to get sick of an album then most people.
16. I love getting non-work emails from friends.
17. I enjoy writing stories rather than telling them even though it takes a lot longer and is sometimes more confusing.
18. I love shoes.
19. I told all of my sisters that I was the favorite and then told my parents and I've gotten the entire family to believe me and act accordingly. Now I really am the favorite.
20. I love my little sister even though everyone (my mom) thinks I was mad she took my "baby" status from me. I'm glad I'm not the baby.
21. I love how different all of my sisters are from me.
22. I love listening to people tell stories.
23. I'm not that great at listening and remembering.
24. I said I contradict myself sometimes.
25. Water is my favorite beverage. I seriously love it more than anything else and always order it at restaurants even though it makes the server mad because it is free.
26. I tip well even when the server doesn't deserve it. I could probably count the number of times that I was so annoyed that I didn't tip well. It's not a lot.
27. I really enjoyed being a server and a bar tender. I sometimes think that I should quit my job and work at a hoity toity restaurant in san francisco and sleep in every morning...then I remember I don't get weekends off and I have to be nice to everyone.
28. I love not having to do my hair.
29. I wish I was better at wearing make up. Some people can make thier eyes looks so cool. When I try I feel like I have a ton of make up on and that I'm playing dress up.
30. Getting emails from Natalie and Amy still makes me happy...every single time. Because I know they will be long and full of inconsequential tidbits that we can analyze.
31. I love discovering lost acquaintences in the blogosphere. A couple of weeks ago I found this kid that was my fhe dad at Utah State for like a semester before he transferred to BYU...I've since lost where I tracked the blog down and hope to run into it again.
32. I love sleep and have no idea why I always stay up too late thus causing me to get less sleep than I would love.
33. I love obvious dating/realtionship/health/life lesson articles on MSN and Yahoo. If you've ever read them you totally know what I'm talking about.
34. I love reading the news on my phone on the bus ride home when I'm avoiding studying.
35. I hate sitting next to strangers on buses and airplanes. I think as small as possible and avoid contact as much as possible.
36. I love my freckles...and I'm super glad that Abbie has adorable freckles too.
37. I'm obsessed with sunblock. I hate getting sun burns and will put on SPF 50 numerous times in an outing.
38. I feel stupid when I do get sun burnt.
39. I love getting more freckles though. I also love when I've been out in the sun and they are brighter than normal.
40. I love that the freckles on my legs camoflouge the leg hair thus allowing me to go bare legged when I really shouldn't because the leg hair is quite long.
41. I love making up nicknames.
42. I could watch any episode of Gilmore Girls with my mom in her monstrous bed any time and still love it.
43. When watching the Gilmore Girl episodes by season numerous time, I'm a little sad every time it gets to the end because I don't want it to end.
44. Full seasons of television shows on DVD is the greatest invention ever.
45. I love to read on the bus and am anxiously awaiting the end of the perma-studying because there are so many books I want to read.
46. I can never decide what I want for Christmas or my birthday until it is right upon me.
47. I love my birthday more than any other day in the entire year.
48. I only eat kid cereals. Adult cereals gross me out.
49. I have a tendency to create awkward moments or make semi-awkward moments even worse.
50. I have grown to love the awkward. They make for excellent stories.

Due to #32 I'm going to have to go to bed. I'm super sleepy and I've got a busy and early day tomorrow morning. I'll finish this list later.

Monday, August 06, 2007

Tie a String on your Finger

After my own forgetfulness last month, I'm not going to let this month's French Dip Tuesday go by uncelebrated. Let's all get French Dip sandwiches tomorrow...yum!

Sunday, August 05, 2007

My Sabbatical

As many of you may have noticed, I took a month long sabbatical from the blog. During this time, I have been able to do a lot of quality research and gather the information needed to further the entertainment derived from this blog and its entries. According to my mother, my blog is hilarious, and I should write a book. This is something I already knew. I'm h-ing hilarious and could easily be the equivalent of a mormon Sophie Kinsella--with the help of my life coach, of course.



I did a lot of this on my sabbatical. Here I am thinking. Thinking about the meaning of life. Thinking about my purpose here on this earth. Thinking about what the future holds for me. Thinking about what to blog about. Truth be told...I'm posing for the picture so I look like I'm thinking. There was no thought process in my head besides I hope this picture doesn't make me look fat because I'll just delete it.

I'm confident that this month long sabbatical will result in a plethora of funny posts that will one day be the basis for my best-seller and chronicle my life's adventures. I'll try and keep you entertained this week Leslie.