Everything I've Learned this Year...

...can be directly or indirectly related to something that has happened on Friends.

That's the beauty of the show.

And yes, it is an obsession.
But a hilarious one, so who gives?

In no particular order, some of my favorite Friends moments:

Good stuff :)
Happy New Year everybody!

My Hips Lie

Gosh, November went by fast! I can't believe this is my last forced gratitude post!

Anyhow.

Yesterday I had my first ever experience with...

Zumba.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen. I hadn't gotten my Zumba on until 5 o'clock yesterday evening. Now, Petey said that the teacher was just okay (she's a Zumba connoisseur), not amazing. But I actually really loved it.

When it comes to dancing, I am no Shakira. At all. My hips are full of lies. But that doesn't matter. I dance my face off anyway. The best part was the fact that I wasn't even the worst one when it came to shaking my thang. And when I was confused and couldn't pick up on the pattern, a bunch of people were in the same boat. It was just all sorts of comforting. And also tons of fun.

So, I am grateful for my body. I mean, without it I wouldn't be able to do my absolute favorite things (like running, hiking, busting dance moves etc. etc.). I have little to no idea how my body does all the things it does (that's why I keep Mary Raymer in my life...), but I do realize just how amazing it is. And I'm super grateful for that.

And I'm pretty sure that none of you would disagree. I mean, we've all got our imperfections, but bodies are just pretty darn incredible. And so, folks, can I get a holla for your body love?

Yeah.

Holla.

I'll Be There For You

Dang it, dang it, dang it! My plan was to upload a bunch of pictures for this post when I went home over the weekend. Did I do it? No. So what you are getting is the pictures I could scrounge off the good ol' FB. They are epic pictures, really. But I just wanted to get pictures of more people, which, unfortunately, is not the case.

SO. The important thing to remember is:

Just because you aren't in the pictures,
doesn't mean that you aren't a rockin' awesome,
amazing friend
(well, maybe that applies to some of you...;).

ANYHOW. If you couldn't guess, today I am grateful for friends.
Real friends. The good ones who, you know, like the song "will be there for you...when the rain starts to fall" (you know you want to start singing it...).

Yesterday I was able to go to Tairsa's missionary farewell. And when I was there I was like "Holy heck. My friends from Hike School are so awesome." I'm pretty sure most people hate high school and everything that has to do with it. But I loved high school...and I'm 100% sure that the only reason I loved it so much was the fact that I had some totally bomb friends. Does the fact that I loved high school make me insanely lame?

Oh well.

I just had to take a second to give a shout out to all those amazing non-related people in my life who have been such a blessing to me. And seriously guys, I love you even if I couldn't find a picture of you on my facebook (I wasn't in a stealing photos mode today...). Like, Cedar Friends- I still love you...even though I apparently never take pictures of you. Maybe I just don't love your faces (jk;).

Moral of the story: Friends rock. They make life more entertaining through the good times and hecka easier through life's hard times. So, friends, love you! Thanks for making my life better.

At our 80's dance party.
Gosh we're hot.
Especially Sarah. Mmmm.

I like keeping friends who
make me feel like I can dress myself.

Not all of my friends are ridiculously short.
And the fact that Adam Couches is at least a foot and a half taller than all of us
should make up for the fact that no girl in the pic is past 5 foot 4".

How could you resist hanging out with such a studly crew?

And if my only true love is running,
I'm pretty sure that my only true lovers
are probably my running buddies.

My friends like to eat. As do I.

And that is my very anti-climactic ending to my insanely wild post.

The Fam: Immediate

Yes my family is just that huge. I have to do several posts to express all the gratitude I have for them. This one is for immediate.


(Sorry Whitney, had to steal a photo. I don't have any of all y'all)
The thing is, I'm pretty sure only 2 or maybe 3 of the 10 immediate members actually read my blog. Don't worry, I'll let them know I love them some other way.

Moving on.

Reasons Why My Family is The Bomb

• We all have an obsessive passion for Brother Neil (who is coming to concert!!!! woohoo!!!!)
• My family is freakin hilarious
• My parents make dinner for anyone and everyone on second Sundays of every month
• Spencer is kind enough to edit my very important documents (aka: grad school junk)
  
• Whitney is as fabulous as the amount of times she says that word (which is a lot and I love it:)
• Spencer and Whit have THE cutest kids on the planet
  
• There is always excitement when Isaac's around
• Eric was the only one at the state fair who could accurately name all the meat cuts
• Heather is willing to cry with me when I need to cry but ends up making me laugh instead, (which doesn't give me a headache)
• Kyle's confusion on words, presidential candidates, and color combinations never ceases to amuse
• Leslie. She's just Leslie. That in and of itself is reason enough (can I hear a "What we do?")
• My family has just as much drama as everyone else's (perhaps arguably more) but it never brings us down
• We have crazy awesome adventures
• Our family extends to so many other peeps (for example: Kelsey Barker living at our house for a month or Adam Couchis having pretty much all of our numbers in his phone)

I love my family outrageously and I really will never be able to say how grateful I am for them.

So hooray for family!

Thoughts

No one said my gratitude list had to be wholesome, right? Well, in that case...I'm grateful that I can think things in my head that no one else has to know about.

I know it's an awful habit. And I will give it up when I'm good and ready. But today is not that day.

Mis Padres

I am currently doing a project on self-exploration and as a part of it, I am interviewing people about

me.

Sounds pretty selfish, eh?

Oh well. What can you do?

But don't worry. I'm not here to talk about me. I just wanted to tell you that in my last interview, my interviewee told me that sometimes I talk about

my awesome family
too much.

But only sometimes.

I really am trying to be a better person and work on those things that the lovely people I have been interviewing have been saying, but you just can't got through a month's list of gratitudes and NOT mention the fam.

So here I am. Part 1 of my thanks for my family:

The parents.

Again, I think that I was just pretty dang blessed in this department.

My
parents
rock.

Maybe it just has to do with the fact that my mom
-is an excellent cook (her bread, more specifically)
-keeps active and stays in awesome shape (and after having 7 children!)
-can sew virtually anything you want
-makes the most lovely quilts for me to take to college
-is willing to teach me all of her mad skills

Or maybe it has to do with Pa's
-crazy abilities to fix absolutely anything that isn't working at a maximum functioning level
-commitment to stocking us with meat, cheese, butter and ice cream
-surprising tendency to talk on the phone
-mathematical genius
-patience with my non-technical mind when I'm trying to fix something over the phone

Or perhaps it's their combined effort to teach us what's right through example.

Whatever it is, I have some insanely amazing parents. My only hope is that somehow I can be half the parents they are to my own children.

So If You Get the Choice...

This one will be short. Cause sometimes, with being grateful, and not wanting people to think you are a freak, less is more.

And so, folks, I just wanted you to know that:

I am super grateful for spontaneity.

I'm pretty sure that life is more fulfilling when you can just let yourself go. More fulfilling and more exciting. And just plain old better.

That's Why They Call Us Mr. Farenheit

Once upon a time, the roomies and I decided to be insanely hardcore and not turn on our heat. In a nutshell, we freaking didn't want to pay that bill. So we went without.

And, gosh, we're awesome. Oh, there was complaining, but we did pretty much everything you can do to keep warm. I came to appreciate:

• Rocking awesome Queen dance parties
• Staying in warm showers for much longer than usual
• Hanging out at the library (or any other heated buildings)
  
• Wool socks
• Layers and layers and layers of clothes
• Lots of blankets
• And cuddling with the roomies (in front of the stupid space heater that hardly works)

And, for the record, it was totally working. We were rocking it down to 55 degrees! We joked that we wouldn't turn it on until we could see our breaths.

But as grateful as I am for all the aforementioned things, I think that I'm most grateful that one of the roomies (whose name coughamandacough won't be named) was willing to claim wimp-dom and turn the blasted heat on. I think we're all feeling a little better at a toasty 63. We might even be able to shed the mittens and scarves.

Thanks!

Just in case you were wondering, my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving, which just so happens to be this very month. It has everything you could ever want: Family, Friends, and Food.

And, I mean, on what other day can you eat as much as you possibly want and be sure that no one is going to judge you? Uh-huh. True love right there.

And so, in light of this, the most fabulous holiday, I am going to dedicate my November blogging to talking about things that I'm grateful for. I've been feeling extra whiny lately, so this will be especially good for me. I can't promise a post every day (cause, who am I kidding? I have a hard enough time posting twice a month, let alone thirty times), but I will post as often as I can. Get excited!

I'm not really feeling a super long post right now, so I'll choose a simple thanks to start off with: I am grateful for my job at the library.
I've actually posted about it before, but I love my job. It's so bomb. In the best way possible. Even if the only hook up I get is that I can check out books without my student ID (insert oohs and ahhs).

The up side is that most everyone is friendly and/or entertaining (like the chick who told me that we were keeping the library too hot and someone was probably going to pass out. Yeah. It wasn't too hot. Or even hot at all. Menopause?).

Anyhow, Cedar City doesn't really flaunt job opportunities so I was looking for forever before I was found this job. And I will tell you what, I was a blink away from crying when they offered it, that's how insanely happy I was.

And the tears should probably have been shed. I'm thinking that in my short list of jobs that I have had (I have a great talent for keeping jobs a ridiculously long amount of time), this one is definitely a fave.

Pure Genius

My sweet grandma passed away just over a week ago (more on this later). My family had to quickly get everything ready for us to be able to drive up to Montana for the funeral.

Amidst the hurry and packing, Leslie expressed her sincere worry that our computer would be stolen while we were away. Her anti-theft device? This:

Seeing such genius makes me think, "Now, why didn't I think of that?"

The printer doesn't look too suspicious does it?

BYU vs. SUU: Sensitivity

I've been thinking more and more about BYU since I have recently had to start looking seriously at graduate schools. BYU is a tempting option. That's mostly because it's outrageously cheap in a world of very, very expensive grad schools.

And the more I think about BYU, the more I see the differences of BYU and SUU. And there are a lot. One example:

I attend SUU. And I know that yesterday, October 11th, is National Coming Out Day.

How many people at BYU knew that?

And did BYU provide an actual closet set up in the middle of campus for people to "come out" of?

Slightly Incredibly Astronomically different?


I rest my case.

A Confession

Here's the deal:

I am kind of a sinner (in lots of ways, but especially) in that I kind of really hate it when people try to get all preachy and religious on blogs. I know it's awful of me. But it just bugs. When people get all preachy on their blog, I'm thinking:

A) They're trying to get points by how spiritual they can come off
OR
B) They had a really awesome experience but they don't know the time and place to share it

And I'm guessing that my hatred simply comes from the fact that I have a really hard time letting my spirituality get across via the inter-web. I mean, it is just really hard for me to figure out how to give my feelings any justice without sounding cheesy. You know what I'm saying? Of course you do.

So, while I won't be whipping out a lengthy rendition of my testimony, I just wanted to say:

Gosh, I love general conference.

I mean, seriously. For a short weekend, God is letting us know what he's been thinking about. And, somehow, in all those messages we can gain a lot of guidance and revelation. What's more is that we can get a tiny little glimpse into how much our Heavenly Father loves us.

And that is just pretty awesome.

Missed One!

I forgot to add pictures of the quilt I made over the summer. It was basically the easiest thing ever (that was the point...the last one I did was much more labor intensive). I made it a twin size so that I can actually use it (the other one was made for when I get married...which we all know is still awhile away). And I got crafty and made myself a wicked sweet pillow to go with it. And all the patterns I used were blog stalked. The quilt pattern was found here. And I regret to inform you that I saw the pillow pattern on a blog, filed the pattern in my head, and completely forgot where I found it. So, sorry unreferenced blogger! Here are the pictures:

Instead of forcing my mom to do the quilting, like I usually do,
I figured I'd do it myself.
In a young and free spirit (I mean, if you're going to make a quilt for your lonely college bedroom, you might as well throw some panache in) I quilted it with my favorite song lyrics.
Featured here is "The way it pops and fizzes" (from The Band Perry's Hip to My Heart)
Other lyrics included:
-"I want a love that's still alive and well in rocking chairs" (Andy Grammar, Keep Your Head Up)
-"Pick yourself up and dust yourself off and back in the saddles" (Shakira, Waka Waka)
-"Good times never seem so good" (Neil Diamond, Sweet Caroline)
-etc etc...

And here's my pillow.
It still makes me happy.

Here's the Proof

Remember that one time?

When I never posted the awesome goings on from August or September?

No need to fret any long, because here they are! Now, this is likely going to be a very long post. Not necessarily wordy, but complete with pictures and appropriate commentary. I have sectioned each set according to the event, so feel free to browse and skim through what interests you (what am I saying? Of course you guys are interested in all aspects of my life). Here goes:

Kicking it in Kansas

Here's the story:

Sometime over the summer, Spencer and Whitney
a) got themselves a new house AND
b) got themselves a new baby boy.
And no one from the original Lifferth household went to go see either. Which I thought was just a little ridiculous. SO I yammered at Heather until she agreed to come with. We forked out the dough for the plane tickets and GOSH were we happy we did. We had a blast! Spencer and Whit hooked us up with an amazing time in the hot and sticky KC! We did all sorts of awesome things including hiking, caving, camping, swimming, running, and chowing down on delicious barbecue food.

We hiked to a castle!
Don't they look like princesses?

This is where we camped. Right next to the water.

We woke up to a hurricane. Okay...lots of wind and rain. We stuck it out and made fun of all the people who booked it out of there once things started clearing up. Until Torrential Downpour #2 came along.

We had ourselves a little dance party in the kitchen.
Just like their Aunts Heather and Kim.

Racing the annual Wyco Trail Nerd Night 10k.

At the last minute we decided to go for the 10k Trail Run. Kyle and I did it 2 years ago. This time was much less muddy...but still tons of fun. And we totally rocked it! (ahem...I'm going to brag a little....) I got first! For the women! I was pretty stoked to say the least. Plus they gave me $50 to a local running store. My time was just under 58 mins. Heather booked it in with fourth for the women (1:06). And Spencer came in at 1:09. I was so proud of us :) Pics and results found here.

We seriously had such a blast. Thanks again Spencer and Whitney!

21 And Still Not Married

That's right, folks. I turned 21. Since I'm still not married, and this is the the great state of Utah, I can officially join the Old Maid and Hopeless Club. It's great. I love it! But really. I had possibly one of the best birthdays EVER thanks to the sneakiness of my sister Heather and The Boy. I was completely shocked when I came home 2 nights before my birthday and found Heather, Jana, and Mary sitting on my couch, cazookie in hand! They drove down all the way from Provo to surprise me! We did pretty much everything you can do in Cedar while they were down here. That includes:

• Being chased by a psycho upon attempting to enter the old hospital
• Hiking Kanarraville
• Swimming at The Lake on the Hill (dumbest name ever...)
• Eating at Pastry Pub
• Attending the most rockin' awesome dance party that SUU has possibly ever seen

Gosh. Gooooood times!

The fire we made to sit by while we enjoyed our shish-kabobs and s'mores.

The party we had on my birthday
that included my awesome Cedar friends and neighbors

Sittin' in Cedar

Has Cedar ever been the most hopping spot? Answer: Nope. Never. So we've had some great adventures trying to figure out what to do in our spare time. Usually it involves watching Monk or hitting up Krave (local Frozen Yogurt place). Sometimes we get a little bit crazier. Like:

When we went to the Iron County Fair.
Is that baby lamb not close to the cutest dang thing you have ever seen?
If it's not, you have no soul.

Snagging gobs of candy from the homecoming parade.
SUU I love you.

Ran the RedRock

The RedRock Relay that is. It's a 12 person team race that goes from Brianhead down to Zion's National Park (roughly 180+ miles). I was on a team with one of my awesome friends here in Cedar and her parents. Her dad and one of the other guys on our team are actually Psych professors here. Awkward? Answer: Surprisingly not. It was TOTALLY WICKED!!! I totaled 18.6 miles. And it doesn't hurt that several people from other teams asked if I ran for a college cause I was flying!"

My face is so beautiful in this one.

Me handing off to heather on our last legs.

Thanks for sticking through guys!

IT'S OVER!!!!!

Yeah. I Just Did That.

I finally did it guys. I bought me some chacos:
I've been wanting some for like 3 years (not even kidding you). But you guys know what a cheap wad financially conscientious person I am. Am I right or am I right or am I right? (Right? Right? Right? RightRight? Name the movie...!)

I've been shopping deals on Chacos since forever and a few weeks ago my lovely friend/roomie found a deal that was just too darn good to pass up (so good, in fact, that we're going to rock matching ones:). Chacos for $36? Hook me up! So while they aren't exactly the ones I would've chosen...they were insanely cheap and I never complain about bargains.

They are currently in the mail. Should be here in a day or two (!!!!!!!!!!!).

And this purchase is sure to bring me back to my hippie roots (one summer and it's already to roots, folks). So, for the occasion, here's my favorite/most hippieish song I could think of:

It's a Little Premature...

But only just a little.

I'm talking about my senioritis.

Yesterday I had a nice chat with my counselor. You see, I've been planning on graduating with my bachelor's in a quick 3 years instead of the regular 4. Before you get too jealous, realize that I basically have to go on to graduate school (related work to a BS in psychology? Bar-tending is basically your only answer).

And it wasn't really as hard as you might think. I brought a handful of extra credits from high school, suffered through a summer at BYU and threw some internship credit for being a hippie. And there you go! Three years, baby! (It also doesn't hurt that psychology doesn't really believe in prereqs. I mean, after general psych and stats, you are good to go).

Anyhow...my counselor explained that I only have

--2 more required classes totaling in 6 credits (knew that)

--and a total of 13 credits, of which, 5 can come from my internship.

If you add all that junk together and do the math, I only need 3 classes next semester to graduate.

At first I was like, "no way, I'm still going to rock the 18 credit semesters so that I can learn more!"

But after a second or two much thought and deliberation I figured why the heck would I do more work than I need to?

I still haven't decided completely. Maybe I'll generate a burst of energy and go for the gusto of 5 or 6 classes.

More likely, though, I'll be rockin' PSY 3220 (Adult Development), PSY 4905 (History and Systems), and some random class like Drawing, Sewing, Cooking, or round three of Yoga and Swimming.

And NOW you can be jealous.
....
....
....
....
....
....
Until I realize I need to
--take the GRE
--decide on a master's program (MSW or MFT???)
--start begging and bribing for letters of recommendation
--write a letter of intent
--get my resume together
--apply
--pray like crazy
--etc. etc. etc.


P.S. I have much to write about the rockin' happenings of my life since the last time I wrote, all of which include pictures. However, the library here is not super conducive to newer technologies...so until the next time I feel like toting around my camera and the necessary cordage...Please, be patient with me.

Me

Don't you love hearing peoples' secrets? Me too! So here are some of mine. I'm not giving you the super juicy ones (I've got to keep some things to myself...). But here are some basic ones that will help you get to know me a little bit better:

This is me:

• I drink milk straight from the carton 95% of the time.
• I only recently started singing in the shower and I've converted to it.
• I've never seen The Lord of the Rings.
• I've never read Harry Potter.
• Most things that I love to do can also be described as super nerdy/old school: sewing, baking, embroidery, crocheting, and reading.
• My biggest pet peeve (non human related, anyway) is open cupboards.
• It makes me happy to see every shape and size of person running. Regardless, I judge every runner/jogger I see on their form.
• I dismiss every runner/jogger I see as a fake if they are wearing Nikes.
• My all time favorite place to shop is DI (love the bargains and the laughs).
  
• I am pretty sure (like 99.9%) that James Franco is the sexiest man alive.
• I have 75 first cousins on my Dad's side alone.
  
• When I was little, I always planned that if I got cancer and got hooked up with the Make-A-Wish program, I'd wish to meet Neil Diamond.
• I think showering is overrated.
• One of my favorite books is Walk To Remember, and I've yet to read it without crying.
• I am absolutely and completely terrified of what I want most in life: getting married and having kids.
• My favorite smell is new backpacks (the cheap-o plastic kid ones).
• I'm a cryer. I cry at everything. But I'm a closet cryer...so it's likely that you've never seen the tears.
• I will only eat pretzels that are Rold Gold Tiny Twists.
• I feel incredibly lazy when watching movies unless I'm with a big group of people.
• Even I think my running habits are on the side of obsession.
• I cannot for the life of me pronounce the word "rural."
• When I go shopping, I touch anything that looks soft or oddly textured.
• I'm horrified by snakes. Even little dinky ones. Even pictures of them. Even shoelaces on the ground that resemble them.
• My favorite color is coral. But if you're a boy and you ask, I'll probably tell you something else because I don't want to explain the color coral to you.
• I pretty much always judge books by the covers.
• I love dance parties. Especially ones that are in my kitchen when I'm donning an apron.
• If I had cable TV, I'd spend most of my days watching Say Yes to the Dress, What Not to Wear, and Cake Boss.
• I'm also slightly embarrassed to admit that I love the food channel. Doesn't really matter which show.
  
• I'm a quarter German.
• I think 73 degrees is the best temperature.
• The most boring date I've been on was watching the Super Bowl. And it was a first date.
• I think my family is basically the most rockin' awesome family of all...no exceptions.
  

So there you go. A little glimpse into the life and mind of Kim.

The Way it Pops and Fizzes

Dear Readers,

Sometimes, when I'm feeling extra generous, I like to share some of my personal loves with you. Since I discovered it, I have been madly in love with this song. At first, I thought maybe it was just infatuation...but it has passed the test of time (yes, 3ish weeks is apparently long enough to know that it's true love). And you know what they say about love: "you can give it all away and have it still" (and by "they" I obviously mean Neil Diamond). So that is what I chose to do. I'm giving you this song so that you can fall in love as well. Man, you are welcome!

Sincerely, Kim



Sigh. So good.

I Want Some B Shoogs in this Here G and O*

It's official. I'm basically done being a hippie. No more forays into the wilderness. No more peeing behind bushes. No more using slang like
"wiggy"
"B and R" or
"diggled" (Betcha can't guess what those mean...).

In fact, the only proof of my hippie existence is this:

The hair wrap.

And possibly the fact that I can bust a flame out of
sticks, a rock and little bit of rope
faster than Bear Grylls.

Ahem. Here's another handful of quotes for you from the students, just so you can all get a glimpse into what I dealt with on a daily basis for more than half this summer:


"I'm a proud booger eater." --Katie

"My advice is if you have questions, don't ask staff cause they don't know." --James

"Wait. Stevie Wonder is blind???" --Eric

"I asked for a bible and a drug book." --Justine

"Mmmmm. I love my tastebuds." --Jen

"I was such a slut in kindergarten. I had like 30 husbands." --Molly

"It's actually not that much." --Isabel, about her $1200.00 per month allowance (don't even get me started on this one. I thought about doing a post on just this comment, but I knew that it would make me waaaay more angry than I should be. So just know that it makes me want to punch someone and vomit when I think about this.)

"This hike has been torture! I've seen a package of cigarettes, a Monster, and a hotdog. The worst was the hotdog!" --Kate

Eric: Have you ever slept in a banana hammock?
Patrick: Do you even know what a banana hammock is?
Eric: Yeah. Isn't it the thing people in poor countries sleep in?



Again, oh, how I loved my job. Even if it was stressful at times, there was always an amusing quote to go around. I'm kind of glad you're over, summer hippie job of 2011. But I really will miss you. Later!

*Hippie title translated into English: I would like some brown sugar in my granola and oatmeal.

This Is What It Has Come To

I counted.

During the month of June (30 days), between work, Ragnar, and a Havasupai trip, I showered a total of 10 times.

That's right, folks, 10.

Part of me wants to be completely disgusted in myself.

But the other part kind of just wants to be congratulated on going above and beyond expectations.

I'm a Hippie and I'm a Mormon

Oh how I love my job...

I've been meaning to give you all an update on how my summer as a hippie is going. I've been keeping track of the most outlandish/humorous quotes and was hoping to give you a good post about them. But the conversation I had last week seemed to sorta trump the rest of the quotes. And I, like a good blogger, decided that this took priority over the rest.

So my job (and the people I work with) is pretty liberal, especially for a born and raised Utah County Mormon, like myself. Most of my coworkers are from the east and they're very...not-Mormon (sorry, couldn't think of a better way to describe it). It's been a really enlightening experience (for real) and I've learned a lot about myself and my beliefs.

However, the nature of the program doesn't really allow me to be vocal about my religion and the things I stand for (can you imagine how those parents would react if they thought I was trying to convert their kids??? Uh, yeah. No thanks) so I generally keep that stuff on the down low.

Until last week.

At the beginning of the week, we crossed an unfamiliar plant. After the girls asked what kind of plant it was, a staff informed them that it was called "Mormon Tea Plant" which spurred the girls onto a conversation about Mormons. They asked us, "Have you ever met a Mormon?" "Uh...yeah," we replied and girls dropped the subject.

But later we got a new girl from California and when she found out I was from Utah she asked if I was Mormon. "Yeah," I said. As soon as that syllable crossed my lips, the rest of the students freaked out.

"What!?! You're Mormon??? You told us you weren't!"

-->"Um. I never said that."

"So you really are a Mormon??"

-->"Yeah. I am."

"Can you cut your hair?"

-->"Yeah."

"Are you allowed to wear make-up?"

-->"Of course. And we aren't polygamists either."

"You're not? I thought..."

-->"Nope. No Mormons are polygamists."

(collectively)"Ohhhhhhh..."

"What do you believe."

-->"We're Christians. We believe in Christ."

(again, collectively)"Ohhhhhh..."

"Well, I guess now that you mention it, you do look like a Mormon."

-->"What do you mean?"

"I mean, with your braid."

(I've also been told I look Amish at work because of the braid. I'm pretty sure I'm never wearing a braid into the field again.)

One of the students was from Utah as well, although she wasn't LDS. The girls switched and started asking her questions. My personal favorite was when one girl asked her, "Do Mormons party?" She answered, "No. Well, not like we party. They play night games in their backyards." (The girl did admit that she had done it before and thought it was really fun.)

So there you go, folks. I'm a Mormon. I cut my hair when I feel like it. I wear make-up if occasion encourages (which, this summer, seems like never). And instead of getting drunk on the weekends and pounding out a box of cigarettes, I like to play Kick the Can in the neighbor's backyard and end the night with a spontaneous Slurpee run. And you know what? I don't think I'm missing out on anything. Life as a hippie has taught me that. So bring on the Ultimate Frisbee! We can grab some stack'em yogurts at Maverick when we're done.

Reason for Never Posting #1

I decided to split this post into two parts so that you can all receive maximal information. Isn't that nice of me?

And Reason #1 for Never Posting is: My lovely new job.

The summer job that I secured (despite my lack of dreadlocks) is being a hippie.

Okay there's a little more to it, I guess.

I'm working for a program that backpacks with at risk youth. My schedule is 8 days on and 6 days off. And I'm not kidding you. Pretty much everyone I work with drives a Subaru, likely lives in that Subaru, and eats granola. Hippies. I rest my case.

So far, I've worked 2 shifts. The first shift I was working with a group of 5 girl students. The second shift was with 10 boys. Unusually, pretty much the only difference between the girls and boys is that the girls had tampons in their supply bags and boys swore more. That's all.

When I decided to write this post, I didn't know exactly what to write. I mean, the program has lots of different aspects and particulars and I don't really want to go into all of those. It'd be boring for everyone involved. So instead I decided to give you my favorite quotes from my last 2 shifts. These kids are a little ridiculous and they sometimes say some really smart things. I thought I'd share, so that you all can enjoy my work like I do. Here are my favorites:


"I just want to maintain my perplexion." --Sarah, while washing her face.

Brian: Okay, here's an unfair triv (for explanation's sake: if there's an extra divide of food, someone will ask a trivia question and whoever gets the right answer gets the extra div of food). What body part is the horn on a narwhal?
Max: Lord of the Rings!

"I don't really need goals." --Thomas.

"I am starving. I've been starving since breakfast!" --Jackson, while eating his second bowl of food for dinner.

"It just has really smart humor." --Liam, about Hot Rod.

Brian: Here's an unfair triv. Where did Andrew Jackson get the scar on his cheek?
Liam: Who's Andrew Jackson. Wait, he's an actor, right?

"Nobody likes the Yankees except for Yankees fans." --Max

"I want people to know that I party. I want people to know that I fist pump." --Ryan, while discussing stereotypes that might be formed by the music we listen to.


So there you have it folks. That is, in a nutshell, the beauty of my job this summer. Don't worry-I'll keep ya'll posted.

It's an Unhealthy Obsession

I went for a 7 mile run this morning. 6 and 1/2 of those miles were in the pouring rain.

The picture doesn't really give it justice. I was soaked. Dripping, actually. I could literally wring out every article of clothing I was wearing, even my underwear.

But I loved it. Every last sopping footfall.

And that, my friends, is the story of my obsession.

P.S. I am truly sorry that I haven't written for so long. Much has happened since the last time we chatted. And by lots, I mean LOTS. So basically, next time I post, prepare yourselves for an outrageously long and informative narrative of my life for the past month and half. Meanwhile, I will be rocking the life of an at-risk-youth-saving-hippie.

How's that for a cliffhanger?

My Job at the Library

When people find out that I work at the library here on campus, they usually snicker. Like working here would be so boring. And, sometimes it is. Sometimes any job can be boring. I mean, sure, lots of other jobs get some rocking perks like free food or 50% off merchandise...like clothes. And the perks that come with working at the library are limited (seriously, who thinks that checking out a book without the completely mandatory student ID card is a perk?) But in all honesty, I love working here. It's the best. And I will tell you why:

• I know what goes where, which comes in handy when I've gotta write 10 page research papers.
• I can change due dates (oooooh, aaaahhhh), for myself and others.
• I get to be the sexy librarian.
• I often get paid for doing homework, sniffing markers (actually, not that enjoyable) and daydreaming.
  
• I get to say to attractive guys, "I can check you out."
• I get to chat with the locals (which might be synonymous with crazies...like the guy who swears that Planet of the Apes (the pre-Mark Wahlberg stuff) will be the most historically accurate film sometime in the near future).
• I get the best movie/book reviews.
• I know where all of the best places to make out are (not that I've been able to use this very helpful resource...yet...)

There are tons of other reasons why my job is the bomb. But the best reason I can think of is portrayed most effectively through this lovely clip:



Oh man, Arthur is still rocking it.

It is definitely one of my goals to remake this awesome music video.

Or at least sing the song to some unwanting patron.

Moral of the story: Go to the library. More specifically, come to my library. That way, I can hook you up with the awesomeness.

Or, more likely, I'm bored and want a visitor who doesn't spend 10 minutes telling me that the Mark Wahlberg version sucks.

It's done!

Right after I graduated from high school, I decided that my summer project would be to make a quilt.

One year and 10 months later
(so much for "summer"),
having spent more than 200 bucks
(sewing, I found out, is not a very practical hobby
for a college student)
and after enduring lots of cutting
and sewing
and more cutting
and picking
and resewing...

I finished.

So here it is:

(sorry for the super attractive Ruby's Inn background).

A close up.

Another pic...just for the record.

So that's it.
I'm quite pleased with it. 200 bucks, 250ish+ hours and probably about 10 or so curse words was totally worth it.