A Jog Through Janet's Life

My Very Own Pajama Trousers

2012-02-05T20:50:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Sarah and I went to the mall. She was sort of looking for some maternity jeans and I was sort of looking for normal person jeans. I wasn't really planning on buying anything, but I ended walking away with these beauties:

Don't mind the crooked hip. I'm learning how to correct it in personal training class.

Pretty awesome, huh?

They are basically pajama jeans, but instead of being jeans, they are "dress pants". They actually look like dress pants, but they have no zipper or button and they are stretchy. These will be perfect for work, because I need to dress nicer for some things and I have no dress pants. My "pajama trousers" can be worn with blouses and be dressy, or they can be worn with basic shirts and look just like pants. Either way, they feel like pajamas, but sure don't look like them! And the best part? They were 40% off. Be jealous my friends.

Soccer

2011-12-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

The real post is the one below. This post is simply a picture dump with maybe a few captions. Over the summer I found a cd with pictures from my freshman year of soccer. It brought back many memories, some of them not very happy ones. But I enjoyed them as I hope you will, too.

This picture is simply to remind everyone how much I despised having to play goalie.

I like this one because it's me and Leanne. We didn't get to do that often because one of us was always in goal.

And this one's a classic.

Painful Ponderings

2011-12-18T20:06:00.000-07:00

As most of you know (95% of the people who read this are probably my family), a while ago I developed a stress fracture in my leg. This came about because my running shoes began to make the bottoms of my feet hurt. Instead of getting new shoes (dumb) I modified my running style to make it through my runs. Bad idea. This led to overuse of an area of my leg I don't use so much normally, and I developed a stress fracture in that spot. And we all know that the only way to recover from such an injury is to rest. That meant to running for a potentially very long period of time. I had no idea how bad it was, since it was self-diagnosed, but things I read online said no running for anywhere from four weeks to six months depending on severity. That would be problematic since I had already registered to run the SLC marathon in April. This injury has not been good (I'm not sure what injuries are ever considered good...), but there are many things I learned from it, some of which I would like to impart to you now.

Listen to your body--I knew something was wrong way before I was physically unable to run. Yet I kept going, thinking that my body would fix itself. If your body is yelling at you to stop, listen.
Use the right equipment--I am fairly certain my shoes were the ultimate cause of the problem. They are great shoes; I had no problems with them until I came out to school. That was probably because they are performance shoes, meant for short distances. I started long distance running when I came back to school, which is when my problems began. Know what type of activity you will be doing, and get the correct equipment for it, even if it costs some money. You won't regret it.
Don't overwork your body--Also in the fall, I started a weightlifting class. One of my favorite machines was the calf raise machine, because I was good at it (unlike any sort of arm lifting). But running a lot and lifting in my legs was too much for my legs. Work them, then rest them.
Cross-training can be fun--this one was a shocker for me. I run. I've never done any other cardio of any sort. But after a little while of no activity, I decided I need to do something to keep my lungs strong. so I started rollerblading. It was so incredibly fun. I think I'll try to keep rollerblading on a semi-regular basis. I also started biking on a stationary bike. Biking has always been pretty tough for me, so I thought I would dread it. But after the first day I loved it. I sweat way more than I do while running, and I could push myself quite a bit as well. Especially in the snowier months, I will keep this as a cross-training option.
When you reach a plateau give yourself a break--this goes along with the above tip. My running became stagnant over the summer and it was super frustrating. I think it was because I got so used to running at my current level that I didn't push myself enough. Giving myself a (forced) break was just what I needed to see that. Pushing myself on the bike has helped me realize ways I can push myself when I get back to running.

So there you have it. The moral of the story is don't be an idiot like me. I am very lucky though, because I think I caught my injury fairly early, so it is pretty mild. My leg still hurts to the touch, but I can feel the bump of the new bone forming and it doesn't hurt to walk anymore. That means that I should be back into the swing of running in time for the Scoresby Scamper. Sorry you guys who thought I'd be out :) but the good news for you is that I haven't been training for it at all, so you still have a shot.

All I Want For Christmas

2011-12-04T20:09:00.001-07:00

This post was inspired by a phone conversation I had with Joseph.

There aren't very many things I actually need or absolutely want for Christmas, but I did make an Amazon Wish List just for the heck of it. You should check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/33PBCA9WY15B9.
Unfortunately, I can't put everything I want on the Wish List, so I'm going to add the other things I want here.

First and foremost is this--

The light cycle from Tron: Legacy. I'd be the coolest cat driving around Provo on it. And on this website, it's only $55,000. What a steal!

    2. I love Harry Potter, so a ticket to this would be awesome--it's the set of Harry Potter in London. It would be my dream come true of really being a magic folk. If I got that for Christmas, that would also mean I would need to get #3 for Christmas.

   3. A plane ticket to England. I have always wanted to go there. It's rich history, awesome architechture, and culture have always fascinated me. Not to mention it's my heritage, and I want to see where my ancestors lived. This would be a pretty rockin' present.

   4. My love of ice cream, especially humungous Utah's shakes, lead me to put a gift certificate to Iceberg Drive-Inn on the list. When I trained for my marathon, shakes were my secret obsession and now that I will be training for another one, it might just happen again. But a gift card would put less of a dent in my wallet.

   5. A great chair to curl up and read a book in. Options include, but are not limited to:

Now that you all know what I want for Christmas, I am expecting a very good haul :)

10 Things I Learned This Thanksgiving

2011-11-30T22:16:00.001-07:00

1. Lauren likes driving buses.

2. Playing chess with Preston is awesome!

3. Macey is surprisingly good at taking pictures. She took this one:

Sorry Lauren--bad picture

4. I don't think I'll ever get tired of Monopoly Deal.

5. Lauren isn't good at taking pictures with me.

6. Ben isn't either.

7. I miss spending holidays with the Clarks.

8. Macey is afraid of rocking whales.

9. Lauren likes being shut in lockers.

10. I have the best family ever.

November, Not December

2011-11-08T12:08:00.000-07:00

Saturday I got in my car to go to work just like any other day. But then I heard the radio. It was playing Christmas music! I changed the station and went on my merry way, but I can't forget that the radio is playing all Christmas music all the time when Christmas is still two months away. I have two main problems with this.

Does Thanksgiving not exist anymore? Thanksgiving might be my favorite holiday, but unfortunately, it is always overlooked by Christmas. I have great memories from Thanksgivings past, going to the Clarks or having them over and eating SO. MUCH. PIE. I remember more Thanksgivings than Christmases.
We don't start celebrating any other holiday two months in advance. We don't bust out Easter songs in February or start wearing Halloween costumes in August. In my opinion, it makes the holiday feel less special when we're immersed in it for months ahead of time. By the time the actual holiday rolls around, I am sick of it.

I urge you all to not start listening to Christmas music, decorating your homes, or getting Christmas trees*, until at least Thanksgiving is over.

*At least I don't have to worry about mom and dad getting a tree yet. Last year I think we got one on Christmas Eve...

2011-10-29T00:16:00.001-06:00

Some days I just wish my name was Willow. Then it would be perfectly normal to whip my hair back and forth.

Attack of the Pumkpin

2011-10-20T21:47:00.003-06:00

I wish our family grew pumpkins like we grow zucchini. I could work with that. Pumpkin flavored anything is my current obsession. Pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin chocolate chip bread, zucchini pumpkin bread (can you say never-ending zucchini plant?), pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cornbread...you get the idea. The pumpkin cornbread was a new try and it was delish. I love cornbread a ton, so I was hesitant that adding pumpkin would make two good things bad. False. I could stuff my face with this for days without getting sick of it. If you don't believe me, I made it with dinner and the four of us ate the entire pan easy, so my roommates can vouch for it too. Here's the recipe:
Pumpkin Cornbread
1 c flour
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/2 c brown sugar
1 c cornmeal
2 eggs
1 c pumpkin
1/4 c oil
1 T honey/molasses

Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

What are your favorite pumpkin recipes?

(sorry for not having anything real to blog about. Maybe sometime soon something out of the ordinary will happen in my life to report on. At least I had a catchy title.)

2011-10-10T22:40:00.002-06:00

This post goes perfectly with Mom's post about choosing to be happy and I wasn't even planning it. Today I decided to write down the little things that made me happy as they were happening to me. Here's my list:

snow on the mountains
using my running gloves for the first time this year
the leaves are changing colors
pancakes for breakfast
the shirt dad sent me
not being broke
birdies
the shirt dad sent me
going grocery shopping
free salad
beef jerky
playing skee ball at work
my client telling me I'm pretty
a text from an old friend
candy corn
fun plans
hearing the Script on the radio
a friend that makes me feel needed
food blogs
pizza
jokes

I'm sure I forgot some, because I couldn't really write down everything as it was happening. It made my day a lot brighter to recognize those things. It also made me see how glad I am that Mom and Dad send me packages :)

Accomplishment

2011-10-01T22:49:00.003-06:00

After playing 201530 times, I finally won my first game of Settlers of Catan.

I think I should end on a good note and retire.

And an addendum:
I also accomplished the not-so-awesome feat of having to ask some construction workers to use their port-a-potty while running.

I've reached a new low.

True Blue Through and Through

2011-09-20T22:58:00.002-06:00

While many are extremely disappointed in the performance of certain BYU athletic teams, I'll bet they still have one fan.

Just don't ask who her favorite cougar is. The answer may or may not have 4 INTs and 2(?) fumbles already this season.

Labor Day

2011-09-08T13:09:00.001-06:00

Instead of spending Monday laboring, Candace and I decided to go hiking. We wanted to hike Mt. Nebo. We knew it was an all-day thing, and we won't get many days free to be able to do it in the future. So we set off and had a grand time. The only problem was that we missed the trail that turned off to actually go up Mt. Nebo. We realized this more than an hour after the turn, when instead of ascending, we started descending the mountain. The hiking book was zero help as well. We really wanted to go up, so we thought we could forge our own trail to the North peak.
Wrong.

Have any of you tried hiking straight up the ridge of a mountain? It is hard. and probably dangerous. So we turned around and headed back down.

The ridge you see is the ridge we ascended

We still ended up hiking for about seven hours and felt like real hikers since we went on our own path for awhile. But maybe next time we'll try to go the right direction and make it to the top.

Definition

2011-08-22T16:07:00.000-06:00

Bumper Crop
n: Unusually large crop growth or harvest

This is what we have here folks.

Unfortunately, the small one is a normal sized zucchini. We have many of those, but are they fun? No, they just feed me five times a week. It's the monster zucchini that are the fun ones. The warted one was the same size of the watermelon that was sitting next to it this week. We have tons of monster zucchinis.

Get it? Tons?

Lauren really wanted to take them all home, so she could feed the entire state of Minnesota.

Or just Ben J.

Needless to say, I'm almost* zucchini-ed out.

*Unless someone wants to join me in Zucchini Week--a week dedicated to zucchini for every meal.

Vacation

2011-08-10T08:36:00.000-06:00

Do you know what it's like to be too cheap to do certain things? You know, things that you've always wanted to do, but haven't been willing to fork over the money for? For example, Mom has lived in Wausau going on six years now and just this summer made it up to Rib Mountain. Something on my list is Bear World. Every stinking time we go to Idaho I ask if we can go to Bear World and Dad says no and rambles off about how we can go see bears in nature for free or something. Well guess what? After this last trip out west, I still haven't been to Bear World.

BUT...

We did bite the bullet and pay the $9 car fee to go to Antelope Island. Mom, Dad, and I have all lived in Utah, but have never really been interested in going, especially if it meant spending money. Since we had time to kill I suggested we go check it out. Neither parent was too excited to go, but they relented and didn't regret it. It was awesome! For those who don't know, Antelope Island is the huge Island in the Great Salt Lake. It is known for it's beaches where people can swim in the salt water and its buffalo (no buffalo jokes allowed here) that are semi-wild. We also checked out some old ranch that is popular for being the oldest something-or-other. Her are random facts about the island:

Standing in the Great Salt Lake

It used to be owned by the church. In fact, Brigham Young kept his sheep there.
It has rock that is some of the oldest in the country, even older than the rock at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
There are between 500 and 700 buffalo on the island and every October they round 'em up and vaccinate them and sell extras.
It's 15 miles long by four miles wide.
There are many other islands surrounding Antelope Island, but many are bird rookeries.

Look a the cool pictures I snapped with Dad's fancy pants camera!

Almost as cool as Bear World.

Almost.

Mom and Dad overlooking Egg Island

Problem

2011-07-28T13:30:00.000-06:00

I have 39 t-shirts.

Not counting the ones I left at school.

But that's not the problem. The problem is deciding which ones I can effectively stuff into my already overflowing suitcase to take back to school and which ones need to stay here. Leaving shirts here means saying goodbye forever because by the time I come back all the good ones will have mysteriously disappeared, never to be seen again (until I go to Emily's house and see her wearing them). Man, life sure is hard.

Eat Your Veggies

2011-07-06T12:20:00.000-06:00

We have been eating a lot of carrots lately. Carrots are cheap, nutritious, not to mention they are a rare vegetable that mom will actually eat these days. I like carrots a lot, so I don't mind, but I wanted to do something different for the others who eat my food. So when I found these gems, I knew I had to make them. According to America's Test Kitchen, roasting carrots brings out their natural flavor. And I think they were right. These were super easy, with few ingredients, and the result was sweet, tender carrots that everyone liked. Try them...it's a great way to fit more veggies in your diet. I'm sure adding to my recipe collection.

Roasted Carrots
from America's Test Kitchen

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
1.5 lbs carrots, peeled, halved crosswise, and cut lengthwise if necessary to create even pieces.
2 T melted butter
Table salt and ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. In large bowl, combine carrots with butter, 1/2 t salt, and 1/4 t pepper; toss to coat. Transfer carrots to foil or parchment lined rimmed baking sheet and spread in single layer.

2. Cover baking sheet tightly with foil and cook for 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue to cook, stirring twice, until carrots are well browned and tender. Transfer to serving platter, season with salt and pepper to taste, serve.

California Dreaming

2011-06-29T20:45:00.000-06:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a few weeks, but I've been super busy doing this:

here:

with these people:

It was pretty fun. We did all the tourist-y things, like go to Hollywood and the beach, plain awesome things like go to Six-Flags and Griffith Park, and off the beaten path things, like see the wild peacocks and the LA temple.

Reg for mom

Since it was the first time I've been to California, it was pretty exciting. It was a fun place to visit, because it is so different from home and there are tons of things to do, but the best part was hanging out with friends. I'm glad I got the chance to have fun with them and talk with them. It made a great vacation. Be jealous.

4 Things

2011-05-16T17:54:00.000-06:00

1. Look at this mini-carrot. Steroids?

2. A missionary from our ward just got home and spoke in church yesterday. To celebrate the occasion, his younger sister and two friends sang a musical number. It was Walk Tall, You're a Daughter.

3. Yum.

4. I found a workout video I cannot do. It's Jillian Michaels 40 min. Cardio Blast. I made it through 3 of the 7 circuits this morning. I'm sore.

Happenings at Home

2011-04-30T18:03:00.000-06:00

Hanging out around the homestead has been pretty exciting lately. The top three things I have done so far are the following:

Wii Fit--it was my summer goal to get the new high score in ski jumping. Joanna thought she had a pretty good record. It only took me two days--three attempts to crush her record.
Hung around with the Family. This includes Mom and Dad and Ben, Shannon, and Macey. I babysat Macey Friday night for Ben and Shannon's Anniversary and we had a lot of fun. She was the cutest person I've spent a Friday night with in a long time...
This morning Dad and I ran a 5k. Even with my bum hip I still managed to win overall female. I also won a door prize of a free Dominos pizza and a gift card to a running website. Pretty good way to start my summer of running.

My trophy

Collecting my Prize

I've also done lots of cooking, cleaning, sewing, reading, scrambling, and eating. Lots and lots of eating. It's going to be an epic summer.

Precious

2011-04-24T12:21:00.000-06:00

My sister is now a college graduate.

I'm glad you chose a major at the top of the life sciences alphabet so I didn't have to wait to hear your name.

Way to be, Sassy! You're getting older and more mature.

Commit to Virtue

2011-04-09T16:01:00.000-06:00

Only at BYU would they have a 5k where you sign a banner committing to virtue and the big attraction is having the Young Women's general president come. Sarah and I decided we wanted to be virtuous, so we signed up and ran. Little did we know how it would turn out.

Race day came around and we were less than pleased to wake up to a nice rain/snow mixture. It was cold. Do we look cold? Does Utah realize it's April?

(the real question I asked when I saw this picture was, "do we look like nerds or what?")

This was waiting for the gun to go off. Please note how I don't really look like an intense, serious runner.

The start!

Brian missed me finishing. Thanks a lot...just kidding. He just came back after I had finished, not realizing that I would be the first female finisher. Even though I was quite a bit slower than the last 5k I ran. Maybe that has to do with the fact that I haven't run just 3 miles since then. Or the fact that I took a wrong turn with a few other people and had to turn around.

But here is Sarah finishing! Doesn't she look super happy? And wet? And virtuous?

I was very happy I got first for a few reasons.
1. This is BYU! I really wanted to win a race at BYU and now I know the key is to run a race nobody knows about or wants to run. Cross that one off my bucket list.
2. Sarah said she heard some people saying (in regards to me), "She won? She didn't even look intense!" All I have to say to that is what now people?
3. First place=first prize. Last year's prize was $50, so I was pretty stoked. But this year the winners didn't get money...here I am accepting my prize.

What did I get?? And why do I not look too excited for it?

It's a ten disc CD of the October 2008 General Conference!!!!!!!!

I should have figured that the prize would be something like this. Maybe I'm not as virtuous as I thought, because I really wasn't excited to get this as a prize. I mean, it's nice and all, but for winning a race?

Even though I'm not $50 richer, it was fun and I'm glad we ran it. I plan on running a kajillion races, or at least a kajillion miles to train for a really big race. But no race I run will ever be as virtuous as this one.

Organizational Psych

2011-04-07T20:01:00.002-06:00

The following is what I do in my class. The class itself is ridiculous--the teacher is a grad student who could care less about us and she told us we could do whatever we want in class as long as we come. But we learn some random cool things from each other. For example, someone presented on some book and they showed this clip. I think it is a commentary on more than just the government, but on people in general, at least in our society. The sad thing is that it's true--people are so lazy. Enjoy!

Oh, and as a side-note, today in that class I learned that the amount of fat in a cup of whole milk is equivalent to the amount of fat in five slices of bacon. Good thing I refuse to drink whole milk because of the general nastiness of it anyways.

Three Things

2011-03-30T15:52:00.000-06:00

1. Saturday I went snowboarding for the first time ever. It was AWESOME! I was going to ski, but figured I would be a better snowboarder and I think I was right. We went up to the top my second time down, which I was nervous about at first. But it ended up being better up there, because I could go faster while still feeling in control. The only downside of the night was that I was afraid of killing myself, or at least breaking something, so every time I got going to fast and felt like I could lose control, I purposefully fell safely. I successfully avoided injury, but ended up with a sensitive derriere the next day.

2. I have some cereal updates.

Chocolate Chex. Emily gave me these for Christmas and they were delicious. Definitely not a breakfast cereal, but a good snack or dessert. It tasted like there was hot chocolate mix on Chex cereal. the only downside was that it felt that way too; after eating it dry my hands were nasty sticky. Overall, a keeper.
Cinnamon Chex. They were on sale at Smith's and plus coupon they were a steal of a deal. These were not very delicious. They had the same problem as Chocolate Chex (lots of rub-off), but didn't taste as good. It was literally a whole bunch of cinnamon sugar piled on Chex and it all came off in the milk. I would say skip this cereal.
Smart Start. This isn't a new cereal, but it is usually too expensive for me. But when you shop at WinCo and have coupons, it becomes much more affordable. It was gone remarkably fast after I opened it. It had a good strong crunch to it, making it satisfying, and reminded me a lot of Wheaties Fuel (which I love). I enjoy it both dry and with milk. Keep an eye out for deals on this cereal and be sure to snag some when you find a good bargain.
Cinnamon Cheerios. I truly believe that I could live off of General Mills Cereals. This was so much different than Cinnamon Chex. It wasn't grimy, but had a nice glossy covering of subtle cinnamon flavor. We all know I love Cheerios plain, but adding some cinnamon was a brilliant idea. It is still the healthiest cereal on the list, but was also the most satisfying as a breakfast or snack. Eat it with milk or eat it with nothing, just be sure you eat it!

3. Intramural tourney games started last week. Both my basketball and soccer teams won round one, and round two is this week. It also just so happens that both games were scheduled for the only two times during the week I couldn't go because of class. My basketball team played last night and they won, so I am assured at least one more game. Soccer plays tomorrow and I think we can win, but I am nervous because we will be missing some important players. If we lose I will not be a happy camper. Why does school always interfere with being a college student?

Jimmermania

2011-03-24T16:18:00.000-06:00

Since Jimmermania has taken over Provo and we have a big game tonight, I decided to write some Cougar-kus. I'm sure any Ben has created are much better, but I was trying to seem like I was paying attention in class at the same time. Anyway, Here some are for your viewing pleasure:

Twenty-eight point five

Jimmer's average points per game

Player Of the Year.

Jimmer drains the three

A player's hand in his face

He just got Jimmered.

Jimmer's feeling hot

Jackson's stealing left and right

Florida here we come.

In other Jimmer news, he keeps showing up in my dreams. Not quite sure what that means...

2011-03-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking about some random things that I like. Not the average ice cream, running, eating list of things I like. These are things that people (me) usually take for granted, but they do make me really happy in a weird way. REALLY happy. So I will share.

Going to the dentist
Cereal coupons
New haircuts
Birdies
Getting mail
Sending mail
Running up to the Y to watch the sun set
Grocery shopping
Freshly folded laundry
Free things
The smell of musk
making up recipes

What are some of your favorite weird things?

Ragnar

2011-03-02T06:34:00.000-07:00

Now that most of you have heard all about it, I'm going to blog about it.

It was awesome.

Pictures are worth a thousand words, so here you go (captions included to help the thousand words out)

at the start

the first hand off

Isn't Arizona...pretty?

better shot

night running with our reflective vests and headlamps

23rd out of 306 teams

our awesome team

Who's up for running Ragnar with me this fall?

2011-02-16T07:14:00.000-07:00

I have nothing to talk about. In reality, life has been good, but nothing blog-worthy.You'll have to wait for the next few weeks to get something good from me. But until then, I thought I would spread a little ~~jealousy~~ cheer by posting this picture.

(I'm pretty sure I'm slowly converting her to be a BYU fan).

BYU vs. UNLV

You are all welcome to come to a game with me, too. I can find you an all-sports pass easily and we can wait in line for hours to get somewhat decent seats. Just give me a heads-up.

Chinese New Year

2011-02-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

When I was in high school, it sort of became tradition to celebrate Chinese New Year at home. We never did much other other than eat Chinese food, but it was still fun. Last week, my roommates and I decided we should celebrate Chinese New Year. We went all out with dinner, homemade fortune cookies, eating on the floor (sort of--actually eating on the floor would be nasty since our vacuum is dead), and watching Mulan. I learned that I am a horse and should plan for an overall bad year. Great. Other than that small setback, it was quite the enjoyable evening. Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

Delicious

2011-02-02T19:13:00.000-07:00

The other weekend, my roommate got a bread machine. She and all the rest of us were pretty excited for the all the delicious things that will be so much easier to make now. This morning I tried my hand at a loaf of bread, just because I could. It was fun to do. I put it in before I went running and it was done right when I got home from doing all my normal Wednesday morning activities (running and temple-going). While I will probably use a different recipe next time, Oatmeal honey bread was a pretty good first attempt. Here it is.

with the bread machine.

The final product.

Thoughtful

2011-01-31T07:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday one of my roommates said the following:

"Your sister is so crafty."

Now this may seem like a normal statement to hear, because I get homemade cards from Emily and Joanna sometimes and Emily has made me an apron and Joanna has made me placemats. But this was weird. Why? Because they were referring to Sarah.

Last week Sarah surprised me by making me new placemats, just because she loves me (and is really bored). They are super cute.

They are reversible. One side is red and the other side is gray with red stripes.

Sarah knew that the ones Joanna had made me had undergone some pretty rough times and they could use a breather, so she made me these. My roommates think she is super crafty because in the fall she also gave me some block letters that spell out FALL. And they are right. whether she thinks so or not, Sarah qualifies as crafty.
Commence pigs flying.

Stretching

2011-01-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

I like challenging myself to be healthier this year. This has been pretty easy for me thus far, considering I already run every day. But this week was the first time I had to stretch myself to reach my goal of doing two cross training activities. I considered being cheap and counting my intramural soccer and basketball games, because I haven't played those at all this year. But then I realized that was dumb, because I still play those a lot. Plus, I have access to more exercise options than almost any other person in our family. I considered all sorts of things, from racquetball to swimming. Finally I settled on two activities that I thought would be challenging for me.

The first was cross-country skiing. I have done this before, but I'm not very good, so I figured that would be a good chance for me to improve. It was hard. The person I went with had never done it before, but he is naturally athletic and picked it up quickly, so we decided to go on the "most difficult" paths. Oh boy. We both fell pretty hard a few times and I definitely felt it afterwards. Good cross-training choice. You should all try it.

The other activity was very new to me and something I vowed I would never, ever do. That's right people, I did Zumba. My roommate got a Zumba Advanced dvd and Candace, and Allison, and I decided to try it out. Good thing none of you were there or you would make fun of me for the rest of my life. There is a reason I play sports instead of dance. My roommate Beth (her dvd) decided to take pictures of us instead of joining us. So just to give you a taste of my mad Zumba skills, there are pictures below.

If you ever think I am too good at athletic things, picture me doing Zumba and you will realize the error of your ways.

Anyways, I was glad for the opportunity to stretch myself. Now I just have to talk myself into thinking that next month's challenge will be just as fun for me (I'm expecting it to be food related). Better go enjoy some ice cream while I can.

Life Lesson

2011-01-19T16:16:00.000-07:00

Life Lesson #56:
Do not lock your keys in your car when you know they are in the car.

Life Lesson #57:
Do not let the spare key to your car leave the state the car is in.

(I bet you guys wonder what life lessons #1-55 are, huh?)

Thursday Forum

2011-01-14T12:38:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Condoleezza Rice spoke in a special BYU Forum. It was a really big deal. I got 3128497 emails from BYU about it, professors were asked to announce it, it was on a Thursday instead of Tuesday, and they didn't broadcast it anywhere, audio or video. The Marriott Center was packed, more than the CES fireside last Sunday where Elder Christofferson spoke and the Relief Society Presidency was there. Did her forum live up to all the hype it was given?
Heck yes.
It was awesome! She spoke about a few different things, and it was all from a very interesting perspective--that of a black lady who grew up in the segregated south and still ended up being the Secretary of State. She talked about finding your passion in college, something that will make you wake up and want to change the world. She talked about how no other countries can surpass us as the greatest nation in the world, only the disastrous state of our k-12 education can destroy us. She talked about different political experiences she has had and learned from. She was a funny, down to earth person.
But the part that I like best was when she talked about what she always told the press at the beginning of press conferences. She would say, "today's headlines and history are rarely the same." Then she expounded on what she meant by that. It's really true. My personal headline for today would be, "Janet does zero homework, instead choosing to be lazy." But when I look back on my life, I'm not going to remember my life (hopefully) as not doing homework. I'm going to remember how what I did looks over time. I will think it paid off to help kids learn math and work to make myself better physically and spiritually. Our outlook on things change as we progress in our lives. We realize that maybe there was a reason for the things that happened and those things are not as big of a deal anymore. Maybe those things are still a big deal, but the way we view them changes. What I got out this quote is that we need to keep doing the things we know we need to do, even if it seems hard today. Also, when bad things happen, don't give up, thinking life is over and that can't be changed. Our perception of that experience will change and we will ultimately be glad we pushed through and kept going.

Sorry for the unfunny post. Sarah is out of town, so she hasn't told me any funny stories of her everyday life lately.

Success

2011-01-06T21:08:00.000-07:00

I can die happy now, all because of the goal I accomplished last semester.

I had to get in the zone for this one.

It started with this,

Then I got us going with a goal like this (but left footed),

Assisted off of one of these,

Tacked on a few more goals and we won ourselves one of these:

Sweet victory!

And thanks to Brian for coming to watch!

Pro/Con

2011-01-05T16:48:00.001-07:00

Here I am, back at work after a thoroughly enjoyable Christmas break. Now it's time to crack down and get back into school gear. Much more easily said than done. Here is the Pro/Con list of the upcoming semester (school-wise).
Pros:

I LIKE my classes. How weird is that? I freaked Sarah out when she asked how classes went and I replied, "awesome!" Basically I get to learn awesome things that I actually enjoy. This is a first.
I only have class Tuesdays and Thursdays. That's right folks, no class Monday, Wednesday, or Friday.
Since I only have class on two days, there is a lot of time for me to do homework and study, leaving plenty of time for recreational activities.
My classes are super laid back. This means few, if any tests, papers, projects, homework in general (other than reading).
None of my classes are taught by the awful professor I had last semester. That is a bigger pro than you could ever imagine.
I think these classes will actually help me figure out my life post-bachelor's degree. Finally.

Cons:

I finally brought my gamecube out to college. Who cares that it is ancient technologically, I will still want to play NBA Live, Mario Kart, or Sonic instead of doing my homework.
Tuesdays and Thursdays are very long days since all my classes are on those two days
Sarah is done with school. Poo on her. This somehow makes me less motivated, especially when she rubs it in my face.

Overall, I think the pro list wins out by far.
This semester is going to rock. Just so you know.

P.S. My fish are still on my blog, but their tank has been moved to the bottom. Please visit them and feed them still.

New Skills

2010-12-31T14:08:00.000-07:00

Before Christmas break I shot myself in the foot by announcing to Mom, Brian, and Sarah that I was going to learn a new skill over Christmas break. Then I couldn't think of a new skill that I wanted to learn, so mom thought of something for me. I was complaining about how expensive hummus is and she told me I should make my own. So I did and it is good. I found the recipe here. Others around here don't really like hummus, so they can't tell you if it really is good or not, but it is. It was pretty easy to make and most of the ingredients are easy to find (except for tahini, that was a challenge). The only annoying part was taking the shells off all the garbanzo beans.

So, overall, I learned how to make hummus. Will I make it on my own at school? That depends on how expensive tahini is and how much time I have on my hands.

P.S. I got the apron for Christmas. Isn't Emily crafty?

P.P.S. I also told Sarah I would try a new nut this Christmas. I had a Brazil Nut and it was nasty. Never again.

Fifth Wheel

2010-12-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

As Sarah mentioned here, we went to the Riverwoods the other night when mom and dad were around to look for a book. They said it could be a date for Brian and Sarah. Then they said they could double with mom and dad. Then they said I would be the fifth wheel. Awesome. That's about what it was. They walked around looking at the lights and I took pictures,

they sat next to each other and cuddled during the carriage ride,

and they took pictures together at the christmas tree.

What can I say, I AM a fifth wheel.

But right now, I don't mind one bit.

This is Not a Craft-Related Post

2010-12-16T15:10:00.000-07:00

Everyone seems to be posting about how crafty they have been lately....and I feel left out. I don't do crafty things, people! I was talking to Candace yesterday about how all the girls get sewing machines when they graduate. She laughed and said, "Do you even sew?" No, and when I do, it doesn't look good and I get real bored, real fast. So I am not going to be posting pictures of my most recent sewing/baking/crafting project.

Instead, I will tell you all that I am done with finals! Hoo-ray! Even though I am still jealous of Sarah for being done for good (hopefully...), I am very ready to be done with this semester and move onto the next. Next semester will be much more enjoyable learning for me.

In other news, I will hopefully shortly be blogging about my most recent bucket list accomplishment. As soon as I get pictures from it, I will let you know.

Yes, my life is boring. I have nothing else to report.

Oh, yeah, and did you notice my new fishes?
<------------------------------------------

Finals

2010-12-13T12:13:00.000-07:00

I have a new outlook on finals week. It has been working really well thus far. Every morning I do pretty much the exact same thing as the girl from the following video (including the motions).

I can do anything good!

Photo Shoot

2010-12-06T22:27:00.001-07:00

This is Lauren.

She's my niece.

She's real cute.

She's a real good eater.

She can be a real stinker.

She can also be real funny.

It was real fun to hang out with her over Thanksgiving.

I wish I could have hung out with all my nieces over Thanksgiving, because I know they're all real cute and funny too.

My Secret Spot

2010-12-04T17:23:00.001-07:00

Can you tell where I am right now from the background in this picture?

Does the added facial expression help?

Correct. I am in my secret spot in the HBLL, also known as the library. I will give ice cream to whoever can find my secret spot. I am studying. Ha to all you people who think I never study. I have been here for way to long, actually. I am going to leave soon, but I wanted to update you guys on my life and this is what it consists of. And I haven't even started studying for finals yet...awesome.

At least I don't come here so often I have my name on the study carrel, like someone else I know (look closely at the picture to read the name on the desk).

Thanksgiving Thanks

2010-11-29T15:44:00.000-07:00

This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for small South Dakota towns that hold races that barely anyone runs in.

This year, many of us who thanksgiving-ed at grandma's ran the 5th annual Warner Wobble Gobble. There were a record number of runners this year (our family may have contributed) and they came from all across the country JUST to run it (Missouri, Utah, Wisconsin).

Pre-race

Post-race

It was really fun. I crossed yet another item off my bucket list by crushing my PR and coming in first place overall for females . I was richly rewarded by winning a gift card to an athletic store and a free entry for next year's Wobble Gobble (now I have to come back next year)!

With the male winner

The shirts we got for registering are very nice and many of us also won door prizes, which were t-shirts or small gift cards to local places.
I have decided that small races are the best. The atmosphere is more fun and the run is more enjoyable. It's also a plus that fewer people run, so chances of winning are much better. It's also funny to see the old-school name tags in place of bibs and the post-race snack being boxes of granola bars tossed on the table.

Note the name tag bibs

Our family is awesome for doing things like this. Although some of us may have had to walk parts of it, or just came to cheer us on, or were sore for long periods of time after, it was well worth the money and time spent (especially the experience some got of seeing dad and Uncle Forrest link arms and sing and dance their way across the finish line).

Midnight

2010-11-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

Can you tell what that is?

It's my friend's rendition of the dark mark on my arm. If you don't know what the dark mark is, read Harry Potter and THEN go see the movies. Especially Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I.

The other night, I went with some friends to the midnight showing.

It was awesome. It might be my favorite Harry Potter movie. It was, in my opinion, the closest following to the book, which is a big deal to me. It still was way different from my imagination, which is a problem, since my imagination is so awesome. But I have gotten used to that over the span of the movies and have learned to enjoy them anyway. I won't say much about the movie in detail, because I know some of you will be going to see it. Call me up after you see it and we can chat about it.

Midnight showings rock!
Harry Potter rocks even more.

2010-11-10T22:21:00.000-07:00

This is my football team.

We are really good. In fact, we're undefeated thus far.

I've never played flag football before this year, but I really like it.

My favorite position is runningback. I always figured I would be a receiver, and I do play it some, but running is kind of my thing.

Game: tomorrow 8:15 at the Lacrosse fields.

Be there.

(Being there in spirit counts if you can't make it in person.)

Overload

2010-11-08T22:36:00.001-07:00

I have a bunch of things on my mind that just need to come out, so I can forget about them and bust out the rest of my homework tonight. Here they go.

I am so tired of reading.
Homemade pizza is my new best friend.
To me, hanging out becomes a problem when the line between hanging out and dating becomes blurry.
I have become an FHE snob from being an FHE mom for so long.
I am addicted to sweets.
Just The Way You Are is my new favorite song.
Why does everyone in class have to fail every paper? Does it assert the professor's superiority?
The stars have been so bright lately.
Why do I always cover my co-worker's shift for her so she can go hang out with friends?
I love Christmas, but Christmas music is meant for December, not November and especially not October.
I wonder what the MMPI would tell me about myself.
Two weeks until I will be in MN.
My running gloves are so cool.
Why does it seem like the same few girls get whatever guy they want?
I shouldn't even bother studying. I get the same grade no matter what.
Some people need to make their intentions clear.
Why does Sarah always get two points better than me on our D&C tests?
Lebron is hands down the best player in the NBA. No contest.
I hope it snows while I run tomorrow morning.
I really want to go to England with mom some day.
Mom probably thinks I am insane after calling her so often to rant.
Why do I even have a blog?
I hope I can sleep tonight.
Candace better not get me sick.
I am not anti-social--I just like more personal interaction rather than huge groups/parties.
Too bad Jackson Emery is married.
I can't wait to watch some intramural soccer this week.
I wish I could see my nieces more. They are the cutest ever.
Why do people overlook Thanksgiving? I love it.
I'm glad Jo re-birdied my quillow.
I can't wait to watch some BYU basketball domination this winter.
It's going to be a good winter.
Not one of my college friends knows my biggest pet peeve. Only my family...they REALLY know.
I love long sleeved shirts.
I want to go snowboarding or skiing at least once this winter.
I can't wait until the lights go up at Temple Square.
I just saw Halley's Comet.
Why are boys so confusing?
Tomorrow night will be a long night in the library...

Welcome to my mind.
Back to studying.

Someone...Special

2010-11-06T22:41:00.000-06:00

So. There is someone in my life. I pretty much go everywhere and do everything with this person. We meet up on campus just to say hi, call/text each other after just having seen each other, and when we are apart, we think of things we can't forget to tell the other.
No, I don't have a boyfriend, I have a roommate.
Her name is Candace and she rocks. The following evidence proves the truth of that statement.

What will I ever do when she gets married or goes on a mission?

(By the way, she does take normal pictures, those just aren't as special.)

School

2010-11-02T15:36:00.003-06:00

So today I very reluctantly got out my Astronomy book so I could read the next chapter. Who likes to read textbooks? But I got really excited when I opened it, because I saw that the ENTIRE chapter was dedicated to neutron stars. How cool! A teaspoon of neutron star on the earth weighing 100 million tons is unimaginable. I got so excited I looked to the next chapter hoping for more thrills and it didn't disappoint. It's all about black holes! That was my favorite part of Physical Science 100. Reading textbooks has never been more exciting.

I am a nerd. Rock on.

2010-11-01T21:04:00.002-06:00

With winter rapidly approaching, each morning I run in more complete darkness. There are a lot of things about this I don't like, like the need to stay in well lit, heavily trafficked areas (that's for you, mom), but there is one thing that captivates me almost every morning. The stars are incredible.

I have always loved stargazing. I remember dad taking me to the Kenyon Observatory a few times, or just being outside and asking him to show me constellations. There is just something about a night sky that is awe-inspiring. This semester I am in an Astronomy class and have loved learning the constellations. There are the ones I already know and love, like Orion, the Big and Little Dippers, and the Seven Sisters, but I have also learned new ones that are just as cool, like Cassiopeia, the Hyades (Taurus), and the Summer Triangle Constellations. Sometimes, while running, I'll let my feet travel their familiar path and I'll just stare at the sky. It is times like these I am in "awesome wonder" and am grateful for the beauty the Lord has provided for us. So sometime when you need a break from life, go outside and watch the stars and ponder on their greatness.

weird

2010-10-29T15:05:00.001-06:00

I do not look THAT much like Sarah.

Retraction

2010-10-27T23:02:00.002-06:00

Please Disregard the previous post.

Welcome to Provo, winter.

Finally

2010-10-25T15:12:00.002-06:00

Friday night I went to a pre-season Jazz game.
Saturday I ran through leaves so thick I couldn't see the trail.
Later I could have used a blanket at the football game.
When I got home I found my Halloween package from mom.
That night I went to a haunted house.
Sunday I needed an umbrella to get to church.
That evening I smelled the fall leaves for the first time.
This morning I woke up to snow on all the mountains.
Then I broke out my running gloves.
I saw my breath while I was running
Tonight we're carving pumpkins for FHE.

Welcome to Provo, fall. I've been waiting for you.

Family

2010-10-21T16:16:00.006-06:00

Lately I have realized how much I have had the opportunity to be with my family over the past year. Not counting Sarah and Brian, who live down the road, I have been able to see some members of my family seven months out of the 10 there have been. This is very abnormal for a college kid who lives across the country from her family. By the end of the year, I will have seen my family 9 of the 12 months in 2010. While some of these visits were quick, or some not for the happiest of reasons, they were times when I could be with the one group of people who not only understand and love my oddities, but possess most of these oddities. Here is a recap of the year of the family:

January--I was still at home over Christmas break for a few days in January. We went to the art museum and curling, among other things.

March--Mom and Joanna came out for Christian's wedding and to do some dress shopping.

April--Mom and dad came out for General Conference and mom's mission reunion.

I also went on sabbatical from school for a week at Joseph and Tracy's. It would be fun to make this a yearly tradition.

June--I went home for Joanna and Ben's wedding at the end of the month. I mostly did wedding things.

July--I saw everyone at and around the two weddings, along with extra time after from Emily and Preston.

August--Road trips through the night are only worth it for such awesome things as a double wedding reception and family get together.

September--Even though the reason we met in Virginia was sad, being with the whole family was by far the best way to make it through.

I am thoroughly looking forward to next month, when I will see more family, including Grandma, at Thanksgiving. As always, we plan on doing family-y things, like eating tons, especially pie, playing games, and doing crafts. I also look forward to Christmas, especially since I know other siblings will be around and it won't just be me and the parents (even though you know I love being with just you guys...). I am so lucky--
FAMILY ROCKS!

2010-10-15T19:05:00.003-06:00

Something strange has been happening to me lately. I first noticed this trend over the summer and it has continued pretty consistently ever since. I am having trouble understanding why this keeps happening and maybe you can help me out. Just today this happened, so I will use that conversation as the example.

"Hey ____!"

"Oh, hi Janet, it's been so long since I've seen you! how are you?"

"I'm doing well, how about yourself?

"I'm good, you know just going to school and all that great stuff. Hey, did you just get your hair cut?"

"No, does it look like it?"

"Yeah, but maybe it's something else that's different..."

Yeah, I get asked at least once a week if I just got my hair cut. I get asked by people who I only see every once in a while and people I see all the time. But I do my hair the same way every day. Straight down. Every once in a while I will wear a headband or something, but it's always just plain old down. And I haven't had my hair cut since June, so it's not like it's that people just haven't seen me since I changed up my hair style. Plus, that was just a trim, nothing major.

I just thought I would share this strange occurrence with you guys. Does it ever happen to you? It's getting a little frustrating, just because my hair looks exactly the same to me every day. Anyway, sorry for the rant, I have nothing else to blog about anyway, so this will have to do for now.

Summer Wishing

2010-09-23T17:24:00.005-06:00

Last Saturday I pretended it was still summer. I totally forgot about school and work and life and just had fun. After my marathon Candace, Cammie, and I went to the Utah State Fair. We enjoyed looking at all the animals, walking through the 4H and merchant buildings, buying some delicious fair food, and even riding a fair ride. It took me back to the days of the good ol' Knox County Fair, especially since they were very similar. I remembered the year when I was eight and entered the Little Miss Knox county pageant just to get free ride wristband. I remembered riding the Gravitron over and over again (my friends didn't want to ride it, because they didn't think it was that fun...). I remembered watching the tractor pull and Tough Truck contests. The fair used to be my favorite thing ever. It isn't my favorite thing anymore, the marathon was still way more fun, but it was a fun way to forget about life for awhile and just have fun with friends. Running into Sarah and Brian unexpectedly was fun, too.

The quilt judging

Waiting in line.

The fair ride that was like the Strawberries you spin, but it swung you, too.

Our elephant ear

Pig racing! I rooted for Lindsey Loham and Arnold Schwarzenpigger.

Bucket List Update

2010-09-20T23:07:00.007-06:00

Woohoo!

I'm a marathoner and it's awesome. It's probably one of the best experiences I've ever had and now I kind of want to do another one. Here is how it went down:

I woke up at 4:20, got ready, ate a breakfast of champions, and made my way to the park, where...
Tons of buses were lined up to take people up the canyon. I sat next to a lady who had run many marathons and was planning on doing one in Layton in two weeks. Crazy.
The buses took us to the top of the hill, where 50 port-a-potties were lined up.
It was pitch black still, so the windy path down to the starting line was lighted by green glow sticks.
By the starting line there was a big tent with heaters in the corners. I was in one of the first groups up, so there were just a few people were sitting alone on the ground in complete darkness and complete silence. It was so surreal.
A little later I stood in line for half an hour to use the port-a-potties. I was freezing after sitting next to the heater.
Then it was time to start!
The first few miles flew past. Around mile 5 or 6 a girl caught up to me and we ran together for a few miles. She was at the exact same point in the psych major at BYU as I was, so we had a lot to talk about. I lost her when I had to take a pit stop at the bathroom.
I ran some more, then some more,then some more (you get the point).
I saw Candace, Cammie, Sarah, and Brian multiple times along the path. It was nice to see familiar faces, even if they weren't expecting to see me...
I finished. The last mile was the longest, because people kept saying, "you're almost done!", when really I had another half mile to go.

My goal time was 4 hours. I surprised myself by crushing that and finishing in 3:39.07. That time was good enough to qualify me for the Boston Marathon in April. I seriously considered running it since I can, but that only lasted about a day, because then I realized it's during Finals...But it's still a cool idea. I also never "hit the wall," which everyone says is horrible, so I am glad I didn't, and I wasn't very sore after. In fact, we went to the fair later in the day, and Sunday I went to church like normal and felt pretty good.

I think I have Post Marathon Depression now. I spent so much time running that now I don't know what to do with myself. The only way for me to get over this is to run some more! So Sarah and I are running a 5k together on Saturday. Bring on more races, I'm addicted!

National Security

2010-09-11T11:11:00.004-06:00

On my plane trip back to college this week, there was a lady I went through the airport with. She told me that she always beeps going through the metal detector, therefore she always gets wanded and patted down by the security guards. This caught me a little off guard. Was she a terrorist, or a suspect that security always has to keep a close eye on? She didn't seem like one--she was an older lady that looked kind and appeared to treat her family well. She did grow up in downtown Chicago, which could have roughed her up some, but has long since left and is now settled in a small town. Is the small town a way to lay low?

I don't think so.

You see, this nice lady was my grandma. She always gets stopped at security, because her hip replacement makes the metal detector go off. While Sarah and I did find it funny, it's also dumb. It's ridiculous that she gets stopped every time she travels because of her hip. Who would ever suspect grandma is a terrorist? Unless she really is hiding a bomb in her hip...Grandma???

Moving Day

2010-08-24T16:28:00.003-06:00

Today is the big day. I went over my lunch break to get my key and after work and my run I am going to move on over to my new place. This move is pretty exciting for me. I am excited to go to a new ward, have new neighbors/roommates, and meet new people in general. Feeling excited over moving is definitely a new feeling for me. I was pretty excited to move in last year, but not as excited for some reason. And I was most definitely NOT excited for the one really big move I had while at home. My feelings were actually very opposite those I feel now. I didn't want to go to a new ward, have new neighbors/classmates/teammates, or meet anyone new really.

I didn't want to leave this
Or this
This was one thing about this move that was better than now--they packed everything up, hauled it, and unloaded it all for us. I wish they would come, especially in that nice, big truck, and do the same now. Instead my car has had to do the past week.

While I hated that move, I'm now so glad we did it. It was a chance to start fresh, make great new friends, and attend a great (and by great I mean strange and hilarious) ward. I grew a lot from that move and all that transpired from it and I hope this move brings the same.

Cartoons

2010-08-20T12:35:00.003-06:00

Last night, after I had finally moved everything (mostly) out of my apartment and cleaned, I headed over to my temporary housing and relaxed. The topic of old cartoons came up. It was decided that they aren't nearly as good these days and I have to agree. While I was either too young or didn't watch all the same cartoons as the others(e.g. Talespin), I did watch Pinky and the Brain and Animaniacs. Despite how much Joseph likes Phineas and Ferb, I think even he would agree it is nothing when compared to the following. It is the episode I remember the most. Enjoy!

This clip is especially for Ben J., but everyone needs to watch it.
Live long and Perspire.

Holidays

2010-08-18T10:29:00.003-06:00

I am a big fan of holidays. Not just the ones that we get school and work off from, the lesser known ones, too. The calendar we have at work happens to be chalk full of lesser known holidays that I think we should all take time to celebrate in the upcoming months. Here are some of my favorites.

July 13--Embrace Your Geekness Day. Too bad we all missed this one. Some of us would have had more to embrace than others.
September 5--Be Late For Something Day. Wait, I think a lot of people in our family celebrate this one every day...
September 21--Miniature Golf Day.
October 2--Name your Car Day. The only problem with this one is that you either have to rename your car every year or you have to get a new car every year.
October 27--Sylvia Plath Day. I refuse to celebrate this day due to the morbidity of it. Also, NEVER read this book.
November 4--King Tut Day. Who cares that Election day is two days earlier; King Tut was probably better than anyone we can vote for anyway.
December 2--National Fritters Day. Yum.

I know I am planning on celebrating some of these holidays and I think you should, too.

Homeless

2010-08-15T20:41:00.003-06:00

That's right folks, this is the new adjective that will be describing me in the next two weeks. Let's face it, some things about BYU are just dumb and housing is one of the highest things on that list. What happens is a phenomenon called limbo, or homeless week. This strikes most students changing housing complexes between summer and fall semesters. Their old place makes them checkout early and their new place does not allow them to check in until right before school starts. I, for instance, have to be checked out of my apartment by this Thursday, the 20th. I can't move into my new apartment until the following Friday, the 26th. As you can see, this creates quite the problem, as I have nowhere to live for over a week. Some people have family, some have friends, but some people are just stuck. Apartments take full advantage of this situation by allowing tenets to move in early for a fee. In my apartment, by moving in, a tenet also forfeits all rights to a clean apartment. No thanks. I am lucky enough to have a sister who doesn't live there, but has to pay rent on an apartment through August, so I can crash there for most of the week. But seriously? I am paying an arm and a leg already just to live in these places, the least they can do is let me actually live there.

I feel like this guy.

A Wintery Sidetrip

2010-08-11T09:12:00.006-06:00

On our way back to Provo, Sarah, Brian, and I stopped in Winter Quarters. It was only a little detour off our path, and since we were in no rush to get home, we decided to stop. It was worth it. We learned about how it is always considered the tragedy at Winter Quarters, because 20% of the people there died. Really, however, it shouldn't be seen as a tragedy, because of the great sense of community that showed through during the rough time. Another thing that Brian learned and Sarah and I relearned is that humidity is awful. We thought it must have been equal to Ohio humidity.Overall, it was a fun stop, a good way to break up a long and boring trip, and an enlightening trip where we could learn about our ancestor pioneers.

I am pretty sure you can see the humidity in this picture.

This is where Joseph and Benjamin Porter are buried (we think). There were no headstones, so we had to count off in feet to where they think they were buried.

Winter Quarters Temple

Another thing that broke up our drive was passing the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile. The only pictures are on my phone, and I don't know how to upload to the computer yet, so sorry. I wonder how many people are like us and slow down a bunch when passing it to try to get a good picture.

My Life in Numbers

2010-08-04T11:12:00.000-06:00

The following is my life right now in number form:
8...hours a day I work
6.25...hours of sleep I usually get a night
53...hours until I will be home again
3017.68...miles I will have driven by next Wednesday
11...books I have read so far this summer
7...books left on my summer reading list
9...vacation days from work this summer, all for marriages. Not mine.
26.2...miles I plan on running in September
45...miles I average a week in preparation fro my 26.2
4...FHE dads that I have gone through while still being the mom
6...days I will be homeless between contracts
20...years I have graced you guys with my existence
26...days until school starts
95...the average temperature around these parts lately
0...single siblings I have left. Pressure much?
0...times I have won bananagrams this summer--what's wrong with me?

Please, Utah

2010-07-30T13:31:00.003-06:00

The news should be, more or less, an upstanding, respectable, television program (unless you count Rhinelander's Channel 12 WFJW), even if it is sometimes biased. Apparently I'm wrong in that assumption I have held, well, basically forever. Today this flashed up on the screen as the top story:

"Arizona Immigration Law Effecting Utah"

I have no idea how the Arizona Immigration Law is Affecting Utah, because my mind was instead paying attention to the obvious lack of thought that was put into the job. How am I supposed to trust them to tell me current events when they can't even use the correct word in a sentence?

I think I prefer watching Rhinelander's Chief Meteorologist Luke Sampe give sub-par weather reports while the green screen behind him is on a different page.

2010-07-30T09:21:00.000-06:00

Many of you must be wondering what I do with my life now that all the wedding mayhem has died down. Along with catching up on my sleep and lazing around time, I thought I would help break a world record. No biggie. Do you even need to ask which color I was?

Oh, and snorkel guy was like five people in front of us, but you never see us in the video.

2010-07-19T13:47:00.004-06:00

In case you missed it, July has been a pretty busy month...
It started with this:

Then we moved on to this:

5 down.......one to go.............................................

Hobbies

2010-07-10T10:53:00.007-06:00

Work provides me with a LOT of time to get my share of summer reading in. But sometimes, I just can't read for eight hours straight (like every day), so I decided I need a new hobby. Yesterday, Sarah made me realize I can chat through Yahoo Mail. I decided to find out what other treasures Yahoo Mail provides and I found out that picnik works through Yahoo. For those who don't know what picnik is, it's a photo editing site where you can do cool things to your pictures and add text or images or draw things in. It will pull up every image in your inbox and let you choose which one you want to edit. So guess what I spent yesterday afternoon doing?

This one looks like it should go on a BYUSA poster

After doing a random one, I decided to work on pictures of my nieces and nephew. I didn't take hardly any of these myself, so I'm sorry if you are upset I stole your picture.

None of them are really stellar. I have never done photo editing before and there are things I wish I knew how to do, but overall, I think they are good enough. I have one other one from the wedding that I really like, but I can't post that one yet, because I need to wait for another wedding to take place to finish it.

Happy Fourth

2010-07-04T20:03:00.004-06:00

We had a pretty laid back Fourth of July after a busy, busy weekend. We did, however, take time to celebrate the founding of our country by indulging in some of our favorite American desserts. Mom and I followed tradition by making a stinking awesome cake. This time it was America themed.

Fun outside, but it was the inside that was special...

We also have had ice cream with raspberries, some of mom's raspberry trifle, wedding cake, and strawberry fluff, all of which are patriotically colored. And don't forget the lemon bars we have coming out the wazoo! Happy Fourth of July!

Tradition

2010-06-21T10:54:00.008-06:00

In just over a week, I am going home! Home has many great things to offer and I am planning on taking full advantage during the few days I will actually be in Wausau. The Hmong restaurant, the Wausau ward, fishing, and canoeing are all calling my name, but there is one thing in particular that is a definite must. It is something that I do just about every time I go home (and no, it's not petting the kitty, especially since we have no kitties to pet. Nice try). It is the famous Briq's one-pounder. Those seven ridges of 96% fat-free ice cream with the perfect peak on top call my name every time there is a special occasion that involves celebrating. Special occasions include everything from marriages, to having visitors come, to running a race, to coming home. I like all ice cream--duh, but Briq's just appeals to me for some reason. Maybe it's the cheap prices or the wonderful half sized strawberry rhubarb sundaes that mom will always take when I have a hankering for Briq's--whatever the case, I'm sold. Only eight more days...I have never been more excited to gain a pound in my life. These are only half pounds--we were practicing for our first ever pounder.

It runs in the family

If you are feeling sad you can't have a one-pounder, I am more than willing to eat one for you. Just let me know.

Question

2010-06-15T13:02:00.000-06:00

Are you guys on strike against blogging?

BORING

Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime?

2010-06-08T19:59:00.002-06:00

As spring term rapidly comes to a close, I am becoming more and more aware of how bored I am going to be during summer term. I am not taking classes and I am going full time at work, but that still leaves a lot of time for me to have to fill up. What should I do to entertain myself during these long days, both at work and after work? So far, my list is as follows:

Read--I am compiling a summer reading list. I am starting off with a bang by reading David Copperfield first.
Run--I will be training for some marathon of some sort sometime, so I can run a heck of a lot, which will take up a decent amount of time.
Go to weddings/receptions--this is already booked to take up a lot of time over the summer, which I am very excited about.
Hike--I want to go on more hiking adventures, but with whom and where?
Swim--I've had quite the hankering to go swimming lately, but I haven't been able to yet. I will though, someday.
Get a tan--hopefully the previous two help with that.

As you can see, my list is not very good. If you have any ideas for me on how I can make my summer term spectacular, by all means, let me know so I don't die of boredom.

Birthday Bonanza #2

2010-05-30T23:39:00.004-06:00

(See below for Birthday Bonanza #1)

Birthday Haiku:

The cake was bar none

The presents were outstanding

Being 20 rocks.

Haiku for Ben:

Jimmer's returning

B-ball team is solid, but

Harvey status? Gone

Birthday Bonanza #1

2010-05-30T14:27:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was my birthday. I didn't really do much actual celebrating though, because I spent the entire day in Southern Utah hiking around Goblin Valley with a group of friends. It was awesome. I had never been very far south in Utah and it was a cool experience. It made me want to go down and hike other areas, like Zion and Arches. We didn't actually go on any official hikes, we just wandered as far back as we could, to where not many people were. The "goblins" were so high in parts that it was like a maze, so we didn't know where we were going. The geology of the rocks intrigued me so much that I learned all about how and why they formed, so if you want to know, I'll gladly spew out my new knowledge (yes, I'm a nerd, so what?).

The last picture was taken on top of that big gray ridge on the right.

It doesn't seem that high up...

oh, but it is (Mom, I advise you to not ask how we got up there).

Anyway, it was a great way to spend my birthday. One friend even got me a cupcake with a candle and they sang to me at lunch. It was fun and unexpected. I got a nice tan, too.

Birthday bash #2 happens today. I'm going over to open presents and have cake with Sarah and her apartment. Yes, my birthday rocks.

so cool.

(PS--sorry everyone who tried to call me yesterday, I didn't have service the whole day. Thanks for the thought though.)

Queen/Keen--Rip Off or Not?

2010-05-23T15:46:00.007-06:00

Yesterday Sarah and I ventured to Park City to hit up the outlet malls. It was a good trip (despite not remembering how to get there...) and we both got some good things, Sarah more than me. But afterwards we realized we were famished. Sarah asked if I wanted to stop somewhere or wait until we got back to Provo. Since neither of us have any food at the moment (don't worry mom, we aren't starving ourselves), we decided to stop and get food. We decided to stop at the one and only Dairy Keen!

If any of you know Heber, you know Dairy Keen. Who would name a fast food place Dairy Keen after there is already Dairy Queen in existence? Anyway, we got really excited and decided to check it out and see if it is a worthwhile place.

It was. I expected it to be kind of like Crown Burger--kind of nasty in a greasy, ghetto-like way. It was actually a legit place. It was nice, clean, the food was not all greasy, and it was cute. They are the home of the train, which I still don't understand, but they had train sets going and the workers wore conductors hats. The food was good as well. Sarah and I just got plain burgers and thick shakes, but they have all sorts of burgers and salads and seafood and fries/onion rings/tater tots, and lots of dessert choices. The thick shakes were basically flurries, but they fill the cup to overflowing and they add lots of the mix-in of your choice. My cookie dough shake had the most cookie dough of any ice cream creation ever. It was delicious.

I suggest you all make time to go to the historic Dairy Keen. Next time I drive past, I will be very tempted to stop again at the Home of the Train.

Is It Even Worth It?

2010-05-13T17:45:00.003-06:00

Well, this post is being written from the wonderful second floor of the Harold B. Lee Library. That's right people. I'm in the library and I have been for over three hours. I know you don't think I study. That, my friends, is a falsehood. I have spent many hours in the library recently, and most of these hours are spent studying. Yet despite all my study dates with the library, I have noticed lately that I seem to perform the exact same on my tests I study for as on the tests I do not study at all for. Or, even worse, studying makes my grades drop. What is with this? Here are the reasons I have come up with:

I don't know how to study. Instead I just waste my time by being distracted every ten seconds and not actually learning the things I am looking at. Cramming fits into this option I think, because it is supposedly ineffective, yet this seems to be the only way I study. I don't think this is true. I can still spout off to you numerous pointless facts about the philosophical beginnings of psychology and I took that class two semesters ago and crammed for every single test.
I study the wrong thing. This could be the case, but I don't think so, because it is hard to study the wrong thing when the teacher tells you EXACTLY what is going to be on the test. If you are studying the wrong thing then, you have problems other than grades to worry about.
Studying is mentally draining, therefore I am not at the top of my game while taking my test. My mind is shutting down while I need it to be fully functioning. So, although everything is fresh in my mind, my mind is shutting down and not allowing any of those facts to appear to me.
I am naturally knowledgeable on subjects covered on the test. I remember what the teacher or book said on the subject, so my gut normally tells me what the answer is. Yet when I take a test after studying I begin to question what my gut tells me, remembering part of something I studied, but not all of it. then I change my answer, or just debate what the answer should be and end up leaving it blank accidentally (has happened).

The last idea is the most appealing to me. It points the blame away from me and even makes me look smart. If this is the case, how do I fix this problem? My answer, of course, is to not study. I fear that is a bad option though, because I still feel like I need to study and I usually feel unprepared when I go into the testing center without preparing.

So sorry if you don't care about my success in college and had to read this post. But I needed a break and what else can I think to blog about while in the library?
Anyway, off to take yet another test...

Virginia Awesomeness

2010-04-26T21:18:00.005-06:00

Visiting Virginia was awesome, but when I tell people I feel like I don't do my trip justice. Everything sounds boring, but really it wasn't. I think it was just so much fun because it was really fun to just be with Joseph, Tracy, Afton, and Logan and it was really nice to have a break from school/Provo. Here are some highlights from my trip (this doesn't necessarily mean that the things I write are the best parts of my trip).

Playing games--when is that not part of a trip to visit Scoresbys? We played The Farming Game, Five Crowns, Ticket to Ride, Wii Fit Plus, and Guitar Hero. We are definitely still very competitive people.
Hanging out with Afton and Logan--I had a couple opportunities to watch them when Joe and Tracy were out, and they are cool kids. We enjoyed doing such things as reading Goodnight Moon, looking at countless pictures of Macey, and taking pictures of ourselves.

Hanging out with the Scoresby family together. We did great things, like sing songs and teach Afton how to do a somersault. See the video at the bottom for the results.
Eating lots of ice cream. Lots and lots of ice cream. Other foods, too, but mostly ice cream.

Talking to Joseph and Tracy. I haven't really had much of an opportunity just to talk to them, and it was really good to get to know them better.
Watching Star Trek- It kind of saddens me to say it, but I liked it. In my defense, it definitely helped that Chris Pine was in it. Plus, it didn't seem nearly as nerdy as the old ones.

There you have it. My trip in a nutshell. If you want a more in depth version ask Sarah and Brian. Sarah told me to tell her everything, so I did and they regretting asking. I was really sad to fly back today. I didn't want to leave them and go back to my new(ish) job, new semester, and new roommates, but I guess I had to. However, my day was brightened considerably by the Creamery ice cream Sarah and Brian surprised me with at work.

I have the best family ever. Hands down.

Answers

2010-04-15T20:16:00.002-06:00

Thanks to all those who attempted to answer my questions. It was a lot to answer; I wasn't going to ask that many, but I really liked talking about myself. Here are the answers, so you can all know a little more about me.

1. favorite actor--Steve Carell

2. I walked at 7 months--be jealous

3. favorite item of clothing--shorts. Mesh preferably, but all shorts really.

4. wedding dress--roushing in the middle area, maybe with a gathered skirt.

5. where I want to travel most? England

6. preferred breed of dog-chocolate lab or other large dog--like a mastiff.

7. I would rather die by being stung by a swarm of killer bees.

8. best part of buffet at Ryan's--sweet rolls. Definitely

9. My favorite breakfast food is pancakes

10. how did I get the scar on my upper leg? I was riding my bike down he hill across the upper driveway and skidded. The bike went into my leg, followed by gravel. I should have gotten stitched, but didn't.

11. Why was my baptism special? I was baptized by Ben, not dad. I also believe I was confirmed by Joseph.

12. My favorite flavor of ice cream is cake batter.

13. I want to get married in the St. Paul temple.

14. How did cougars become my favorite animal? Once on a car trip out west, we stopped at some rest area in Wyoming I think. They had all these pamphlets about watching out for cougars and what to do if you encountered a cougar. I was scared to death, but really wanted to see one. Then I loved them.

15. My two favorite primary songs are Love is Spoken Here and I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ.

16. Everyone felt bad for me on my 5th birthday, because I had chicken pox.

17. Bear. Derrick Bear Dodd

18. When Ben was home for the summer we played Soog ball. It was just modified baseball.

19. My first job--working concessions at Hiawatha Pool. I made $25 an afternoon. Plus, extra food we would make,which was the best part.

There you go. Now, you can learn it all and be my best friend.

The Ultimate Test of Knowledge

2010-04-11T19:20:00.003-06:00

Anyone who gets a 100% on this quiz is my best friend. That could very possibly be true, because this quiz is all about me! Warning, this quiz will be tough. Only those who really know me will get most of these right--I think. Here's where we learn who really knows me.

1. Who is my favorite actor?

2. How old was I when I learned how to walk?

3. What is my favorite item of clothing?

4. What style of wedding dress do I want?

5. If I could travel anywhere in the world, where would I go?

6. If I could have a dog, what breed would I choose?

7. Would I rather die by being stung by a swarm of killer bees or by being eaten by a a swarm of killer ants?

8. What is the best part of the buffet at Ryan's?

9. What is my favorite breakfast food?

10. How did I get the big scar above my knee?

11. Why do I feel my baptism was different/special than those of other 8 year olds?

12. What's my favorite flavor of ice cream?

13. What temple do I want to get married in?

14. How did cougars become my favorite animal?

15. Name one of my two favorite primary songs.

16. Why did everybody feel bad for me on my 6th (maybe 5th) birthday?

17. What's Derrick Dodd's middle name (not his real name, just what he told us it was)?

18. What's the name of the game Ben and I made up the summer he came home from college?

19. What was my first job?

100 points towards becoming my best friend if you win.

Fixations

2010-04-08T21:44:00.002-06:00

In Psychology we learn Freud's Stages of Psychoanalytic stages. With that we learn about fixations. I always thought I was orally fixated. I am horrible at biting my nails and I am a big gum chewer and like eating even when I'm not hungry. But I think I have a different type of fixation. I don't know what stage this would fit in, but I love to touch, rub, or feel textures with my hands. I love the squishy, mold-able material that is on the handle of my hairbrush and the prickly feeling of things poking my hand (not to the point of pain, of course). But I am pretty sure my favorite things to rub are birdies. There has always been somethings special about birdies that feels wonderful when I rub them. For the deprived out there, birdies are just the ties on a quilt or blanket. I don't know what the real name for them is, but they look like birds and are the best invention ever. Birdies help me through the tough times because they make me happy just by touching them or tightening all the knots. I don't really understand what it is about the the feeling of birdies that is so calming and wonderful to me. Maybe I am fixated on the time of my first birdied blanket. I think my earliest memory centers around that blanket. I was in my crib with it and Sarah was mad because she wanted it. For some reason she thought it was hers (crazy). That blanket withstood many hard times to let me rub its birdies (including Sarah hiding it from me countless times. I think she even threw it in the trash once...) and eventually all its birdies fell off. Maybe I miss the days when Sarah was so jealous of my cuteness and skill at getting whatever I wanted, or maybe I just miss being so young and carefree. Whatever the case, I think I will always love birdies.

This picture is of my current birdie blanket. The whole point of the blanket is the birdies, not the warmth it could bring. Mom made me this quillow after my other blanket died mysteriously... All the birdies had long ago fallen off, so it was stashed in my closet until Christmas, when Joanna re-birdied it as a present to me. What a great present!

Hooray for birdies!

Conference Craziness!

2010-04-04T18:42:00.006-06:00

This Easter/ Conference weekend was especially awesome this year. Friday morning mom and dad came into town and we got to spend all weekend with them. It was filled with many wonderful things, such as...(in no particular order)

swimming
going out to eat at Tucano's
going to conference
eating ice cream
having an Easter egg hunt (I'm not very skilled at finding things I guess...)
having the Easter Bunny visit us
going to more conference
shopping
talking with mom and dad
hanging out with mom and dad
visiting historic Utah sites

It was a really fun weekend. Sometimes reality stinks compared to other things that I could do, even though I know it would get old after awhile. Only two weeks until the semester is over. My how time flies.

Talents

2010-03-28T22:19:00.004-06:00

Sarah has a talent. Surprise! Just kidding, but I'm going to talk about one specific talent of hers that I had forgotten about until recently.

At home, Sarah was really good at scaring me. When it was just us at home, she would hide behind my bedroom door (or any door actually...) while I was showering. Then when I came out and passed said door, Sarah would jump out at me and say boo or something. She scared me. Every stinking time. Even if I knew she was there I would still be scared. Sarah took great pleasure out of this. I think her favorite times were when I was so scared that I would fall down. She thought it was SO funny; I thought it was dumb.

Fast forward multiple years.

Sarah is really the only person that could ever scare me, at least enough to make me fall over. I have a roommate whom I enjoy scaring, because she gets spooked easily. She has tried to scare me back, but it has never worked. It hasn't really worked when others have tried either. I don't know why, Sarah is just really scary to me.

So the other day I picked Sarah up and we drove to campus. She decided she would come to my soccer game. I left my stuff for the game in the car and planned on getting it after work. So after work, I went to get my stuff and not paying attention, went up to the car. As I was about to manually unlock the car, I realize there is a person sitting in the driver's seat just staring at me. I freaked out. My hands flew up and I jumped, basically looking like a total idiot. It was Sarah. She laughed for a good few minutes about this and then a few minutes later she started laughing about it again. I'm glad she takes such pleasure in scaring me.

anyway, moral of the story is that Sarah is scary and she thinks it's funny. So beware.

By the way, that whole afternoon/evening was amusing for Sarah. Immediately after the previous incident, I walked into the boys bathroom. Sarah got a kick out of that one, too.

My Life

2010-03-18T10:18:00.005-06:00

I bet you are all dying to know what I have been doing with my life lately, since I have been a bad blogger. Well, I will give you guys a glimpse of the life of a champion-aka my life.

1. School. It may not seem like it, but school is still at the top of my list. I go to class, take tests, and write papers, just like every other student.

2. Work. I still go to work every day as well. It's boring. Nothing new to report.

3. I play basketball and soccer. Both of my intramural teams have won round one of tournament games. Last night I even had fans!

4. I run. I ran the Rex Lee Run last Saturday, which was fun. I was racing someone and lost, but it was still fun.

This is some of our ward that participated.

5. March madness! And boy is it mad! It has taken over my life. And it's just the first day. How do my teachers expect me to get any work done during this great time? I'm actually watching a game as I write this.

6. I have a social life. I know, who would have thought? Really, I have been doing a lot of stuff with friends and people in the ward lately. It's a lot of fun to actually get to know people , but it's also sad, because there's only a month left in the semester and we're moving out of the ward.

That's all. Now you know why I never blog.

This is what I did over Spring Break

2010-03-07T20:26:00.002-07:00

I don't even have a Spring Break, but I like copying people's titles. Plus, I consider this past weekend somewhat of a spring break for me. Sorry I have no pictures, mom has the few we took.

I started out the early weekend with a viewing of Top Gun. It was a great way to start.

I skipped class. I felt rebellious.

I went wedding dress shopping. The only one I actually tried on was Joanna's and I couldn't even zip it up. But I did learn what style of wedding dress I like.

Along with the last one, I learned that I should be a fashion consultant. Who would've thought that I'm good at picking out good clothes for people?

I ate out A LOT. It was awesome. I think I only ate one meal of my own Friday through Sunday and it was breakfast.

I went swimming and laughed at Sarah. You'll have to ask her why.

I went to a wedding and reception and saw some extended family.

I chauffeured various people to various locations around Provo and Salt Lake. I always knew I was good with directions, but I realized that I like being good at it.

I got to have some family accompany me to church. That is one thing I really miss about being at college--sitting by mom at church. (I know she misses it too)

I learned that grandma is silent, but deadly, at Rook. Word of advice--don't believe her when she says she doesn't really know what she's doing and she has a bad hand.

I gagged at my sisters for being smitten.

I spent time with the awesomest mom ever and two of the awesomest sisters ever and. The only thing that would have made it better is if my other awesome family members were there.

Awesome Spring Break, if I do say so myself.

Cereal Connoisseurs

2010-02-26T21:33:00.003-07:00

I've always thought being a food connoisseur would be great fun. I never really thought I'd be very good at it, though, because I'm easy to please. things can be undone or not salty enough or too sweet and I still think it tastes good. But if there is one thing that I do can critique, it's cereal. I know what makes a good cereal and what doesn't (at least in my mind). Too bad there isn't a degree I can get at college for cereal tasting. I still plan on starting some sort of business with it. I'm going to give you all a taste of my tasting abilities with my very first cereal critique, Chocolate Cheerios.

I was rather hesitant to try Chocolate Cheerios. Plain Cheerios are wonderful by themselves and I don't like any other flavor of Cheerios, so what would make Chocolate Cheerios any different? Yet there was a sale on cereal at Smith's, so I took a chance.

And it paid off.

It was a perfect blend of chocolate and cheerio. the chocolate was not too overpowering and the distinct cheerio flavor was still present. I must admit, I liked it better without milk than with, but it was decent with milk, too. To me, it was reminiscent of Cocoa Puffs, but better, because the cocoa was toned down, it was less sugary, and more dense.

Definitely worth a try.

9 out of 10 stars

Problem--A real cereal critique did not share the same opinion as me. Mr Cereal said:

Chocolate Cheerios is short on chocolate. It's strange. The milk left over at the bottom of the bowl is very chocolatey... wonderfully chocolatey. I'd buy it in a bottle. Unfortunately, the gustatory trip to get to the end of a bowl is not a very fun experience.

The whole grain corn and oat flavors of the cereal pieces seem to compete with the chocolate rather than work with it. The loser of the competition is the chocolate. The result is a sweet, burnt, corny oat flavor with a sad touch of chocolate.

...

This cereal is a dud. In it's current incarnation, this combination of chocolate and Cheerios simply does not work.

Dumb. I should totally try to fight him for his job. You guys trust me more, right?

Productivity at Work

2010-02-22T17:48:00.004-07:00

I enjoy working at the copy center. After I finish facebooking and emailing and catching up on all the latest news, I get to do this (for Joanna of course). These are the ones I think will look best on Joanna.

i love my job.

2010-02-12T13:56:00.003-07:00

So this semester has been very different from last. My classes are much less challenging and I have a lot more time to bum around (or be social...). It's a good thing that my semester is like this, because for Christmas, one of my roommates got three months of Netflix. I have watched at least one, if not two or three, movies a week. We've gotten all sorts of movies, from That Thing You Do (classic I guess) to Julie and Julia. It's pretty fun to be able to watch whatever movie we want. The problem is that we're running out of movies to watch. So I ask for your assistance. What movies should we get? These can be classics or new releases--Anything that you think is worth a watch basically. I'm serious about wanting you guys' opinion, because we are getting closer and closer on our viewing list to Supersize Me and Bollywood movies.

Side note: I don't do anything cool enough to take pictures of, which is why I never put pictures up. So either suggest things for me to do that are picture worthy or live with the fact that you don't ever get pictures of me.

What's In a Name

2010-02-03T15:47:00.005-07:00

I like my name. It is a name that people know and recognize, but it's not a common name. The only people I have personally known that are also named Janet are two teachers I had-- ironically both named Janet Jones. Even though people often say that it is an old person name, I beg to differ. For proof, I have the Urban Dictionary definition of Janet. (For those of you who don't know what Urban Dictionary is, it's a website where you can look up words and get the urban definition of a word, including words that are not in a real/professional dictionary. Example--geezer: An old man, particularly one who is either cranky or eccentric. Rather derogatory term.)

Janet:
1.) cool. awesome. amazing.
2.) A girl who while seemingly sweet and innocent is truly very sexual and slutty.(I don't know how I feel about that...)
3.) Fictional character, who is the prettiest thing on the planet, has a body hotter than a habanero, and lips like a ripe pomegranate, and a smile so incredibly radiant you had to watch it through a piece of smoked glass.

There you have it. No further proof needed. I am cool.
P.S. Beware if you go to urbandictionary.com; since it is urban it is also not always family friendly.

Food

2010-01-25T21:25:00.005-07:00

I promise cereal isn't the only thing I eat. Yesterday I made cookies and they were pretty darn good. They looked kind of weird, because I had to cut them with a knife and so it made lines. But it still looked cool. They were a big hit at FHE too. Joseph and I just had a conversation about how he doesn't know if I'm a good cook and I don't know if he's a good cook, because we've never lived together when we could both cook. I believe Joseph's a good cook, especially since some apple crisp he made was cooking while we talked. So this is my proof that I am a good cook. If one batch of cookies does not prove to you that I'm decent at cooking, ask the summer residents of the Scoresby home. I made dinner for them once a week--ALL summer long. And if that still doesn't convince you, read Sarah's post about her cooking skills. I can't be worse than that.

Cereal Mania

2010-01-21T14:35:00.003-07:00

Recently, the grocery stores in town have had massive sales on cereal. AWESOME. I got oatmeal squares, life and peanut butter captain crunch for $1.00 each and am going to go sometime this weekend to get multiple boxes each of Kix, cheerios, and Reese's Puffs for $1.50 each. Add in my dollar off a box of cheerios coupon and I'm set. I may even throw in some other types of cereal, like Wheaties or Chex. Why, you may ask, am I stockpiling cereal? Because I LOVE CEREAL! It's a fact. I could live off cereal. I would eat my cheerios, or other plain cereals like oatmeal squares, for breakfast, then have lunch and dinner be any other cereal, like Reese's Puffs. I would eat these sugary cereals without milk, because I feel they were made to be eaten dry and I don't really like sugary cereals with milk anyway. This could sustain me for a long time, and it basically has recently. When there is cereal in the house, I eat it until it is gone. Other foods, minus fruits and veggies, get put on hold, because cereal is just that good.
I always thought an awesome birthday/Christmas/ any other holiday present would be a cereal pyramid. It would just be a bunch of boxes of cereal made into a pyramid or any cool design. In case any of you want to be my best friend, I am going to make a list below of my favorite cereals. I am going to try to make it in order of most to least favorite, but sometimes it is hard to choose. Happy munching.

Cheerios-hands down favorite. It is good with or without milk any time of the day.
Golden Grahams
Reese's Puffs
Grape Nuts
Kix
Peanut Butter Captain Crunch
Wheaties
Oatmeal Squares
Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Captain Crunch (no berries)
Cocoa Puffs
Cookie Crisp
Crunch Berries--the problem with this and the next one is that they need milk.
Lucky Charms
Life
Chex
Rice Krispies
Corn Flakes

If it's not on the list, I don't really like it.

I can't wait to get home and eat cereal for dinner...again.

2010-01-16T09:04:00.004-07:00

Getting back to school has seemed a little bit like a drag. Not that I don't enjoy it, but the two short weeks of school have felt so long. I decided that to break up the monotony we needed to have some fun. So for FHE we went a little out the ordinary to have an FHE that would fire everybody up. Literally. We did fire-breathing for FHE and it was awesome! Pictures tell a thousand words do I'll these pictures do all the talking.

Needless to say, that got everybody a little more excited about being back at school.

Look Who Came to Visit!

2010-01-06T18:16:00.002-07:00

Lauren Franzen was having a blast visiting her family in Arizona. But then one day she looked at a map and realized how close she was to Utah. She knew Aunt Janet was in Utah and was dying to see her again. You see, when they met over Thanksgiving, Lauren and Janet hit it off right away. Lauren was sad to see Janet go and didn't see the attraction in living so far away. So when Lauren saw how close they were to Utah, she had to visit to see for herself. She convinced her parents to drive up to Utah and spend come time with her aunt and uncle in Bountiful, knowing they would have to stop and visit Aunt Janet and Aunt Sarah. And they did. Lauren was very impressed with BYU, so she now understands why Janet would leave her to live in Provo instead. She especially liked seeing the boy dancing outside the Wilk and checking out the bookstore. But her favorite was visiting Janet's work. She couldn't believe what a cool job Aunt Janet had making important copies for important people. She was sad to go, but knew it was time to hit the road. But she needed a reminder of her and Janet's happy reunion, so they took a picture together. Lauren was so sad to go that she couldn't bear smiling in the picture. But she really did have loads of fun.

Break!

2009-12-30T16:02:00.004-07:00

So, this is what it's like to be on Christmas break--I am sitting in the Family History Center at church, because tonight is mom's night to work for four hours and dad is out of town. How much better can winter break get? But really, this break has been so stellar I haven't had time to blog. I have done many awesome things, such as:

get sick

help dad cut down a tree

haul wood

chop wood (lots with wood this break I realize...)

go to basketball practice

play the Wii

hang out with friends

hang out with other friends

hang out with the best friends ever (my family)

make fun of Joanna

go to the art museum

Make an awesome gingerbread house

watch Split become the social cat that none of us knew existed

bum around with mom

hang out with Macey (and Ben and Shannon)

NEW--get my grades and breathe a sigh of relief

wake up late

shovel the driveway

play ninja destruction

get my hair cut by the wonderful hair stylist Joanna

eat good food

eats more good food (I basically haven't stopped eating since I got home, it's awesome)

You guys are all jealous, I know it. To finish off my break of awesomeness, I am going to do such things as go to basketball practice again, hang out with friends again, and hang out with Ben, Shannon, and Macey again. Can't wait. But I can't wait for school to start either, because I feel like I do nothing productive here. That's why it's called break I guess. Sorry for the lack of pictures, but I don't have access to them at the FHC. I'll add this picture from after I shoveled the driveway.

Ten Years of Awesomeness

2009-12-08T13:41:00.002-07:00

That's right. In the newspaper the other day they had the best police beat entries from the past decade. It is amazing to me that students were just as dumb back then. If there were no dates given with the incident, I would have guessed that it was just a normal police beat for the week. Anyway, I am putting some of my favorites in for your enjoyment.

March 26, 2008: The mother of a BYU student called police when she suspected that her daughter's roommate stole her butter knife. The mother later called to drop the charges. (Will you do that for me if I need, mom?)

July 4, 2009: An owl was found in the former president's home. An officer communicated with the owl and it left.

November 25, 2005: An unknown person used a washable wipe marker to write obscenities such as "poo-poo" and "poo" on a black Denali parked in Heritage Halls.

Oct. 2001: A female BYU student living in Deseret Towers received a suspicious looking brown paper package in the mail. The student did not recognize the return address and called the police. After investigating, police concluded that a friend had purchased a Beanie Baby on Ebay and the Beanie baby had been sent directly to the BYU student.

March 5, 2002: A strange letter was received by KBYU. The letter had a lump in it, so the recipient put the letter in the microwave to neutralize the substance if it was anthrax. The letter started on fire and by the time the recipient could put out the flames, the only readable part of the letter was the return address, which read, "Shadows of things to come." Police are unsure about the substance contained int he letter.

Oh There's No Place Like Home For the Holidays

2009-12-05T21:13:00.005-07:00

I had to do a "creative project" for my humanities class this week. We were supposed to emulate a style we talked about. More specifically we were supposed to emulate a certain artist and work. I chose John Constable. I don't know if any of you know anything about him, or have even heard of him, but he paints landscapes of every day life, not romanticized life (even though he was a Romantic). He painted scenes that he knew and loved. These were also social scenes; in other words, they have buildings or people in them. Drawing from all these things, there was only one scene I could think of that fit all of these specifications for me. Here is the final result.

I've entitled it Ice Village, Wausau (The painting I'm drawing this from is called Chain Pier, Brighton, so it's not that I am lame at naming things). It's not very good. The sky is supposed to be a big part of it. It is supposed to be a storm rolling in. But the part I like best is this...

Can you tell who that man that is dressed like Ronald McDonald is? That's the only way I could make it obvious that that was dad ice fishing. Pretty awesome if I do say so myself.

But this is definitely one thing I am looking forward to when I go home for Christmas. Seeing all the ice fishing villages is always great fun. Maybe I'll even venture out and try my luck at it again.

Pre-Thanksgiving Thanks

2009-11-24T15:14:00.004-07:00

I know it isn't Thanksgiving yet, but since I will be busy at home, I want to do this thankfulness post now. Plus, most of the people who read this are already partying in the Northwoods without me, so they won't even see it until after Thanksgiving. Also, today has just been a blah day, and I need to realize all the things I am thankful for. So here are just a few of them:

My family! I get to spend this entire weekend with all of them! How awesome is that? Really, I am way excited.

A job. I got this job really fast at the beginning of the semester. Even if I don't get to keep it next semester, I'm thankful I could work, especially here, this semester.

School. This summer I learned how much I really am grateful for school, so I don't have to have a summer job my whole life. Plus, it gives me the opportunity to meet new people and have new experiences.

My body. Bodies really are crazy when you think about it. They do all sorts of things that are insane. I will be more thankful for my body once it helps me win the Scoresby Scamper in a few days...

Food. And the people that prepare it. When all I have to eat are the things I make for myself, I realize how much time and energy people put into making good meals. I have had good meals at home forever, and now I miss that. I have nothing in my apartment at the moment, because I'm going home tomorrow. Really, I have no food. I think I'll have pita bread and milk for dinner, and pita bread and milk for breakfast tomorrow, because that's all I have.

My talents. Being in college really gives me the opportunity to expand and share my talents.

Sports. This kind of goes with talents I guess, because I wouldn't like them so much if I sucked at them. But begin on intramural teams and running and doing other random sports (like last night we went ice skating for fhe) lets me have some fun and relax and calm down after a long, boring, stressful day. Even watching sports does that to some effect.

Technology. My phone and the computer are amazing. They help me stay in touch with my family on a more than regular basis. Even if it is something dumb, like Joanna calling me to remind me that she REALLY needs me to bring the brown heels home, I like it.

Okay, that is all. I could write more, but my battery is out of juice. This really did make me feel better after a seemingly pointless day of going to class and work and being told that the TA hated my paper. Happy Thanksgiving folks. I know mine will be.

Scoresby Scamper Thoughts

2009-11-17T09:00:00.004-07:00

This is all I have to say.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_c9LbS5HgQ

(I wish I could get the actual video on here, but I don't know how)

Christmas List

2009-11-12T09:32:00.003-07:00

Now, this isn't my Christmas list. I think Sarah left some things off her list, so I am making a Christmas list for Sarah.

Mesh shorts. She only has one pair, and when she runs everyday and has flexibility class, it gets gross. I lent her a pair of mine, but I think she needs her own and I like mine that she has.
spandex shirt. She uses mine for jogging class. She needs her own.
brown belt. Her one brown belt is too small for her, so she gave it to me. Yet her jeans are often too big, so she indefinitely has my brown belt. I really like that belt and want it back.
black Sunday flats. She doesn't have any and has been borrowing mine for the entire semester. I would like them back.

(If you haven't noticed a trend by now, she basically uses my entire wardrobe and needs her own)

barrettes. She had some that she really liked, but after going through a lot, including Peru, the last one died a while back. Some new ones would be greatly appreciated.

Okay, that's all. These are just the things I think she NEEDS, not things that I think she would like, like she has on her list. I hope this helps Santa out a bit. If he needs any more help, he can just call me up.

Ace of Cakes? I Think Not...

2009-10-31T15:15:00.003-06:00

I have had fun making cool cakes with mom over the years. Some of the best include our cat cake, our dog cake, and our fondant cakes. I wanted to make a cake for Halloween this year, but I was a little iffy about it since mom wouldn't be around to basically make it for me. I still made it and the results are as follows:

Problems--It was a little lopsided. I tried the whole cut the top off to where it is even, but that just made it harder to spread the frosting. It didn't help that I accidentally put the layers not straight on top of one another. When I realized I had done that, it was too late.

--The frosting was hard to make. I kept thinking it was too runny, or too stiff. It was hard to spread and make look nice, so I gave up.

--The edges of my pans were in an undulating shape, and one part started to fall apart while I was frosting it. I tried to hold it together with frosting, but that didn't work. Sot here is tons of frosting on that part.

--the coloring didn't turn out as nice as I would have liked. The picture does make it look lighter than it really is, though. The top has a greenish hue to it that you can't see in the pictures and the cake and frosting is lighter than I would have preferred.

It was fun to make the cake, but not nearly as fun doing it alone. Some of my roommates kept asking what I was making the cake for. I guess making cakes just to make cake isn't common. I would much rather make a cake with mom, who knows way more about that type of thing. It did taste really good and I think the inside looks cool, so it was a success. I just won't be doing it again probably.

Why I Am Glad Mom and Dad Came To Visit

2009-10-25T14:18:00.004-06:00

Look! Food!

Just kidding. The groceries were just a plus. I am really glad they came. It was really fun to spend the weekend with them. Even though they weren't here that long it was fun to talk to them and go to the game with them and stuff. I just didn't post pictures because the only ones that were taken were taken by mom. So I will let her post them.

I am already counting down the days until Thanksgiving!

Help!

2009-10-16T09:32:00.002-06:00

I need you guys' creativity to help me out. I need a Halloween costume for two. Casie and I want to be something together, but we can't think of anything cool. So if you could leave me your ideas I would be very grateful. If you have a spectacular idea for just one person, that would work too, but only if it is truly amazing. Hurry, Halloween is soon!

What Day is Today (really yesterday...)

2009-10-13T15:11:00.008-06:00

...Today (yesterday) is (was) Sarah's birthday.

I know this is kind of late, but I am doing a birthday tribute post in honor of Sarah. So I'm going to do the cool thing where you use the first letter in her name to describe why I like her. Like in elementary school.

Stretching with her is really fun, especially when we do the splits.

After a long day at school and work, I can go to her house and play with her and her roommates and feel better, because they are so much fun.

Running with her in the mornings is awesome, because we go slow, but at least we get up and go really early.

After searching for a job forever, she finally got one. It isn't the best, but she is glad she has any paying job and hasn't really complained (yet).

Her house is always stocked with some sort of ice cream. If not ice cream, there's cake or brownies or some sort of food I can eat and I don't even feel bad about eating it.

At times she can be quite a drok. But I think it's really funny.

For being so mean to me and excluding me when we were little, she is surprisingly kind to me and invites me to do things with her and her friends.

Talking to her about dumb things that are bothering me makes me feel better, because she usually understands and says that she just had the same sort of thing happen at her house.

Our clothing styles are very similar when it comes to casual wear, so we can go shopping together and share clothes.

Never would she beat around the bush with me. She tells me like it is. And I like that.

Happy birthday SasNotice the Ghetto candles. Candles that go in Jack O' Lanterns and matches.This is the drok aspect of her.

And this one is a quality picture taken while driving down a mountain on our way out to school.