The Happening

So I'm watching the super incredible Lost finale on Thursday night and one of the commercials is a promo for the new M. Night Shyamalan movie called "The Happening." Partway through the promo, the guy doing the voiceover says excitedly, "it's M. Night Shyamalan's first rated R movie!" And then at the very end, when they show the rating, the R is in red type to make it stand out on the screen.

So the R rating is something to be excited and proud about? Why?

Even if I hadn't made a personal choice to not see rated R movies, I still think this is an odd way of promoting a film. Do the PR people think we haven't been going to see M. Night Shyamalan movies because they aren't violent enough or have enough f-bombs thrown around? It wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that he hasn't made a really good movie since his first one, "The Sixth Sense," now would it??

I'm kind of offended that the promoters thought trumpeting the R rating would get more people in the theater to see this movie. I honestly hope it tanks. Sorry, M. Night. Better luck next time.

Happy Highlights Day

My natural hair color is dark brown. I started plucking the occasional gray hair in my 20s. By the time I hit my mid-30s, they were taking over so I started coloring my hair.

If you are blessed with lovely silver-fox hair - yay for you. I am not that fortunate. My grays are ugly and wiry. Here is a picture to prove it:

Ick! So about 5 years ago, I started coloring & foiling my hair. Voila! No more gray. And another benefit? Before highlights, I couldn't wear the color black next to my face because it made my skin turn yellow. Now I can wear black without looking jaundiced.

Here's the after picture. No more gray (except the sky outside - sorry about the bad lighting!)

Unfortunately, I'm having to color & foil every three months now which is totally expensive. I waited four months this time -- a mistake, as you can see by the first picture. I'm too chicken to try doing it myself. I much prefer going to my stylist where my hair is perfect every time.

Here's a self-portrait. I need to master the fake smile. And what's with those weird shadows by my eye? Oh well, the hair is working so who cares!?!

Tuesday Thoughts: A quandary, highlights & the Bachelorette

My quandary: I've got a few gift cards burning a collective hole in my pocket, mainly the eBay one for $75. The question of the day is, why am I so anxious to just spend it instead of wait to see if there's something I really want/need? Gift cards are a funny thing.

But the best news? I'm getting my hair colored & foiled this afternoon. I'm SO excited. I will post before/after pics sometime this week so you can see how bad I let my roots get. I had fun taking the before pictures of the top of my head today. ;)

The Bachelorette! I'm doing the Rose Ceremony game on the abc website with Lindsey and some others. I totally made bad picks this week. I picked Paul (speedo guy), Robert (the chef) and Sean (martial arts guy) to go home last week and they all ended up staying. I'm still surprised Robert & Sean are still there and I think they may go next week (actually hope - Chef Robert is creepy to me.) Paul changed my mind a little, although he's pretty young. My favorites are Fred (lawyer from Chicago), Brian (coach from Texas - LOVE him!) and Jason (single dad from WA.) I didn't like Jeremy getting the early rose and still stealing her away at the end. Didn't that icky girl on the last show do that one time? And what was her name? Glad to know I don't retain EVERYTHING I watch! Anyway, that's just bad form and you'd think these people would know that. Maybe I should write a Bachelor/Bachelorette handbook? lol

Movie News

1. I loved "Iron Man." Absolutely loved it. And not just because I have a thing for RDJr. But it was super funny, action packed and just great. I especially loved the ending and I really hope they make a sequel. The supporting cast was great and the special effects were fantastic as well. Okay, and yes, RDJr was absolutely dreamy. Yum.

2. Kim, Chrissy and I watched "Lars and the Real Girl" tonight. I'm surprised at how much I liked it. We kept commenting to each other that the town Lars lives in is like Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls. Anyway, it was a very sweet, touching and quirky movie.

3. Apparently, there's a "Twilight" trailer being shown during the "Indiana Jones" movie. Go to Lindsey's blog and follow the links so you can watch it for yourself. The trailer totally makes me want to reread the book and start counting down the days until the movie is released.

Gotta go watch the Bachelorette!

Look at my blog! Oh and a Sunday funny.

The uber-talented Heather just redesigned my blog. Isn't it fabulous? I love it!! My blog has personality now - yay! Click her link if you'd like your blog to be Heather-ized too! And thanks again to Jill for the hook-up. You know something? Lots of good things happen if you're blog buddies with Jill so I highly recommend getting to know her!

So the Sunday funny: the closing speaker in sacrament meeting yesterday gets up and says "well, I'm probably not as prepared as I should be since I'm still mourning David Archuleta's loss on American Idol this week." Ha! I laughed a lot.

I'm heading to Boni's to make wedding and graduation cards. Fun! And tonight's the Bachelorette! Have you seen the previews? I think the weird guy in the bushes totally has to be a red herring because you know he is getting a rose. They wouldn't make him look like a psycho stalker on the commercials - they'd save that awesome footage for the actual show! I'm so on to these reality show producers and their wily tactics! Happy Memorial Day!

A perfect Saturday

Why is this a perfect Saturday? Well, I'll tell you in a minute. Here's a recap of my week...going backward, starting with yesterday:

Friday: I went to work and at about 11:30, Dave says "time to go - pack it up." And with that, I packed it up and headed for home. I love getting told to go home early! I had my b-day lunch with Alberta at Panera then came home and took a three hour nap. Yes. A three hour nap! I also got my mail and a package arrived from Richard & Sue. They got me a whole bunch of cupcake stuff -- cookbook, cute papers, decorating bags/tips and these cookie molds from Williams Sonoma to make the Bakerella cupcake pops I've been dying to try. I keep having to say it but you guys don't believe me! I'm spoiled rotten! Then I went to dinner group and it was great plus we played a fun game called Rage and I won. Ta da! I came home to find my mom had snuck (sneaked?) over and done some cleaning for me. She apparently waited in the parking lot until I left and then broke in (with her own key) to surprise me. I have the best mom. She's a stalker but I love her.

Thursday: I cannot remember what I did on Thursday. It must have been something. Hmm.

Wednesday: Camp kick-off. It turned out really good and helped me to feel better about going this year. I have the most motivated, spirited, camp-loving YCLs this year. They were a blast to be around on Wednesday and it made the night just perfect.

Tuesday: Camp preparations and a Primary presidency meeting. Love the ladies I serve with. I also finally watched the Bachelorette. Loved it! I think DeAnna is darling. I didn't watch enough of the Bachelor when she was in the final two because that guy talked like a bad actor who was reading his lines. Oh the pain of listening to him - blech. But back to the Bachelorette: I have some favorites already, specifically the single father. I'm biased because he's from this area...well, and he's cute. I liked a lot of them actually -- just didn't like the guy with the speedo. Ick.

Monday: I went to Dick's Drive-in and Trophy Cupcakes at lunchtime with a couple girls from work for our birthdays. Very fun. That marshmallow one is my favorite now, I think. They both loved the hummingbird but it's banana and if you read my birthday post, you know I cannot stand bananas so that one is not even tempting. After work, I delivered cupcakes and then went to a b-day dinner with a friend. Fun night!

That brings us back to today, a gloriously perfect sunny and 70 degrees outside Saturday. I went to bed late Friday and woke up early due to the 3 hour nap but that's okay. So far this morning I've cleaned, re-organized my spice cupboard, done two loads of laundry, sent out a bunch of camp emails, worked on my sharing time for tomorrow, put away b-day gifts, listened to a great iPod playlist, and watched Grey's Anatomy -- all while the sun is shining and the windows are open letting in the fresh air. Grey's? I really loved it, except for the one kiss at the end but all of the other kisses at the end were great. I'm excited for Meredith & Derek. I loved Christina getting to show her stuff to crabby Hahn. I love the idea of Lexie and George although they might be too alike? Not sure. Anyway, great season finale.

And now, I must leave you to go shower because Lily & Ida are coming to take me to see IRON MAN with my boyfriend Robert Downey Jr. Then we're going somewhere for dinner. I'm so excited. See, I told you this was a perfect Saturday. I got stuff done AND I get to see a movie with friends? A movie I've been dying to see with a man I drool over??? Perfection.

I forgot to mention something important!

The last gift I opened on Friday was from my mom. She'd made a scrapbook for me of pictures of me from when I was a darling baby (yes, I was quite cute) right on through the long, painful awkward years, continuing to my 20s when I was tanning too much. She also included my baby book plus all of my old important papers (piano recital programs, report cards, etc.) I totally bawled when I opened it. Those gifts from the heart are so touching and meaningful. I love my mom.

And someday, I'll share a too tan picture. Oh it was bad. So glad I've learned my lesson!

So, so, SO much to say

How on earth am I going to condense my thoughts and the events of the past few days into an easy to read blog that won't put you, dear readers, into a coma? Let's give it a try, shall we?

My birthday was positively fabulous (and it had to live up to last year's limo & party filled extravaganza, which was huge!) Turning 41 was made less painful because of the wonderful people in my life, who spoiled me, as usual, in the following ways:

• I spent the weekend at a friend's cabin on the water not too far from home. Three of my dear friends came along with me and we had the best time. It was sunny and 80 degrees the entire weekend! We played games, watched movies, walked on the beach, ate way too much and of course, talked and laughed our faces off.
• Kim asked my friends, family and the youth I've served to write me a letter for my birthday. The letters were filled with memories or things they loved about me and put in a binder. Throughout the day, Kim, Lynda & Joyce would ring a bell and we'd stop what we were doing and they'd read a few of the letters to me. It was almost overwhelming at times but wonderful. (Major cryfest too.) What on earth did I do to deserve such an outpouring of love? (That's a rhetorical question - please do not respond!) I felt such love and it was fantastic. I also got some other great gifts, including a pre-ordered copy of this:

• We had these fabulously beautiful dinners both nights we were there. It was really nice to just relax and have a nice conversation over a wonderful meal. They made all of my favorites on Friday night, including peanut butter cup cheesecake. Perfection.
• We went to church and the high council speaker said he was a filmmaker. I googled him and the one movie he's made was rated R. He was a fantastic speaker and talked about personal revelation. But how do you do that, I wonder? Be who you want to be both artistically and spiritually?
• My mom and sister had dinner waiting for me when I got home Sunday night. Jaylene made me this cool floral arrangement in a vase/sconce type thing that I can hang on the wall in my living room. She is amazingly talented. Mom gave me this -- yay!
• I got my mail yesterday and got a birthday package from Jill of cozy socks and some yummy bath & body lotion. Totally unexpected! She is so dang sweet and thoughtful and we've never even met in person. Yet! :) Who'd have thought that blogging could be a blessing? And even better -- Heather, who redesigned Jill's blog is going to do mine too! I'm so excited that I will soon have a blog that's more "me" even though all of you google readers won't care. Anyway, Jill -- you are amazing! Here's a pic of Jill so everyone can see her cuteness!

• I'm woefully behind on TV. My TiVo is getting full, which scares me a little. I'll catch up by the weekend and post my thoughts then. I'm behind because...
• Camp kick-off is tomorrow night. My sister had made me our camp logo (for the camp t-shirt, schedule booklet, etc) but her computer is now dead and I'm having to completely recreate it. Besides that, I have to shop, finish the program, gather props for the skit, try to find a CD version of the minus track for our camp song because I can't be satisfied only having a cassette version and think of anything else I might be forgetting. Again, love-hate. I so totally love camp once I'm there but right now? Not quite as much.

As predicted, this got way long. Sorry. But at least I will remember how awesome my birthday weekend was when I reread this later. And really, it is all about me. ;)

Happy Birthday to Me

Because I know you were up all night, counting down the hours until my birthday, I thought I'd reward you by sharing a list of 41 things about me that maybe you don't know yet. If this is your first time here, it's your lucky day! If you're Jenilee, well, then, sorry. Most of this is old news for you.

1. The first movie I saw more than once in the theater was "Grease." I remember begging my brother to drive me down to Peaches Records to buy the double-album soundtrack. Then I would play it over and over and sing along. I also would try to recreate the dance moves to "Summer Nights." I didn't realize it was a "bad" movie until I was much older.
2. I sucked my thumb as a child.
3. I did not need braces - I have pretty straight teeth for being a former thumb-sucker.
4. I was patrol captain in the 6th grade. It was a big deal.
5. I accidentally took the wrong punch at a wedding once but realized it on the very first sip and spit it out. Otherwise, I've never tasted alcohol.
6. I loved Archie comic books when I was younger.
7. I'm one of 10 children - three older half brothers, three older half sisters and three younger sisters.
8. I won tickets to a Kool and the Gang concert the summer after I graduated from high school. I can't remember who I went with but while I was there, I registered to vote for the first time there in the lobby of the Paramount Theatre.
9. I didn't wear makeup until I was 19. Every time I would go to school with it on, someone would say "oh look, Jeanelle's wearing makeup" and I would hate the attention and not wear it again.
10. I didn't use any sort of hair product or style my hair until I was 19.
11. I get really excited when I see wildlife like bald eagles, deer, anything. I'm always on the lookout for heron or hawks when I'm driving.
12. I remember seeing "The Sound of Music" for the first time when I was around 4 or 5. We saw it in a theater that had a balcony.
13. We had a ski boat when I was little and to this day, I absolutely love the smell of boat fuel.
14. I bit my nails until I was in my early 20s. Then I got acrylic nails put on and kept those for several years. Finally got rid of them (I do not miss them) and I no longer bite my nails.
15. My first ever concert was Lionel Richie. Tina Turner was the opening act. I think I was 16 or 17. I would so appreciate Tina more now than I did then. I just remember she was screechy and I was wishing Lionel would hurry up and come out.
16. I used to collect cows. Then I got smart and got rid of all of them. Never collect anything and if you do, don't tell anyone you collect anything because then that's all you get for every birthday and Christmas. Just a little unsolicited advice. I'm a giver that way.
17. I'm allergic to cats and therefore, not a big fan. Plus I don't like the ones that walk all over the countertops. If they do that in your house, please don't tell me.
18. We took a trip to Idaho when I was about 10 and it was there I got to try grape Bubble Yum for the first time and we saw "Star Wars." Big summer.
19. My roommates and I bought No-Doz when we were at Ricks College and I remember laying down and thinking my eyes were still open but they were actually closed. We flushed the rest of them down the toilet because we hated the way we felt.
20. I'm adopted. My parents had recently married and each had children from a previous marriage. They wanted a little girl so they called an attorney and set it up. They brought me home when I was three days old. The nurses called me "Kay" while I was in the hospital.
21. I dislike a lot of foods but two of my least favorite are bananas or green peppers. Their individual flavors overtake the flavor of anything else they happen to be mixed with. And bananas are mushy. Ick.
22. My brother once paid me a dime to eat a cherry. I couldn't do it. It was a texture thing. I'm still not great about eating fruit.
23. The first book I remember reading and crying each and every time I read it was Charlotte's Web.
24. I got my tonsils out when I was three. I remember being in the hospital bed and my mom there reading to me while I recovered.
25. My favorite flowers are lilies - love their fragrance.
26. I have worn Happy perfume by Clinique for probably 8 years or longer. Before that, I wore Obsession by Calvin Klein.
27. The first cassette tape I bought was AC-DC's "Back in Black." I couldn't decide between that one or Air Supply and went with AC-DC. I know, I know. They're so close in style, you can't understand why it was such a difficult decision, right?
28. I've never been to a professional football game.
29. We had an 8 passenger brown and white Dodge van growing up. It had an 8 track tape player in it. The best tape we had was Linda Ronstadt (you're no good, you're no good, you're no good. Baby you're no good! Sing it with me, Sheryl.) After a few years, my dad took the seats out of it and built a bed in the back. That was a fun place to have sleepovers. But seriously! A bed in the back of a van? I think he put in curtains too. But those were the days when my mom would drive and nurse my little sister at the same time. AT THE SAME TIME!
30. I am sort of weird about smells. I can't go to any of those grill places or Dennys without coming home and smelling just like the restaurants (i.e. a vat of grease.) If I had the power to do so, I'd outlaw the serving of fajitas everywhere. I want to run and hide when a sizzling plate of them comes near me because I know I'm going to have to go home and change every stitch of clothing and maybe even wash my hair because I will undoubtedly smell like fajitas the rest of the evening. Gross.
31. The first (and only) opera I ever saw was Madame Butterfly. I loved it.
32. My favorite season is spring. I get really happy whenever I see lilacs or magnolia trees blooming. If I had a home with a yard, I would fill it with flowers and flowering trees.
33. I have given a talk in sacrament meeting every year since at least 2002, but not yet this year. (And maybe earlier but I've only got computer files back to '02.) Five months down...seven to go...here's hoping I make it through the year!
34. I love Eclipse Winterfresh gum. There is no better gum in the world. Everything else is too big or else it loses its flavor too soon. I chew gum a lot but I'm not obnoxious about it.
35. I've never been to Disneyland, Disneyworld or Euro Disney, for that matter.
36. I'm more of a Democrat than a Republican (Sorry Kim)
37. I fell asleep during my first pedicure at a fancy (i.e. not cheap, not in a strip mall) salon. The lady had to actually wake me up.
38. I'm sort of anal about misspelled words, especially people's names. I think it's because my first name is spelled differently than you'd expect. Which leads me to #39...
39. I'm an excellent proofreader.
40. I'm a blue in the color code but I have a lot of red and a little white in me too.
41. I listened to only country music up until about two years ago. Now I listen to more pop/hip-hop/alternative/top 40 type music. I love music and have over 3200 songs in my iTunes (not including Christmas music - of which there is a TON!)

And there you have it - me in a nutshell (ha!) Thanks for making it to the end of this list, for being my friends, for all that you do to make me smile when I don't feel like it and for just being a blessing in my life.

xoxo
Jeanelle

I'm so stinkin' spoiled!

Do you see this cute girl?

Her name is Holly and we've never met but she sent me SUCH a great surprise today -- an Origins gift card! We participated in a fun swap organized by an equally cute girl named Jill. It was so fun! Thank you Holly for the sweet gift - I can't wait to spend it! I've never bought anything from Origins so will for sure check out the Pinch Your Cheeks!!

More fun things from today:

• My friend HJ sent me a card that she made and the front of it is a photo she took of a deer laying in her front yard recently (we both love to try and spot more deer than the other.)The deer is literally lying in her beauty bark. Crazy!
• The Hartmans came over and sang to me and brought me some of their world famous chocolate peanut butter cupcakes. YUM!
• I went to Red Robin with three long time friends tonight and drank way too many raspberry limeades (those crazy Mormons sure know how to party!) I got fun presents, including a Satsuma gift set from the Body Shop and Jane Eyre on DVD!

I am seriously the most blessed girl in the world! Well, I must go pack for my girls getaway. And I just heard on the news in the other room that NKOTB are going to be on the Today Show tomorrow. Must watch! Oh and the Office! Best episode(s) of the year. Loved it! So much to discuss but no time. Good night! Next time you hear from me, I'll be 41! Eek!

Quick check-in

• Camp meeting tonight. We got a lot done but still have some major things to accomplish before kick-off next week. Kind of nervous but not really -- it'll all come together. I'm having such a love-hate relationship with camp this year. I think it's because it's my 7th year in a row and I'm tired.
• My elderly neighbor (who happens to be LDS like me) just called re: some condo business but during the course of our conversation, she told me she watches America's Next Top Model and that she was so surprised because the winner was decided tonight and she was a "plus sized" model. I can't decide what's more shocking -- that a non-skinny-minnie won that show or that my nearly 80 year old neighbor watches it religiously.
• My sister just stopped by - love her.
• I got gift cards to eBay and iTunes today - I have such nice friends!
• I'm bringing "Lars and the Real Girl" on my get-away weekend with the girls. I've heard good things about it. Anyone have a review they want to share?
• Why do people that I thought I knew and loved have to turn out to be big dumb jerks? (I wish I could go into detail here but I can't.)
• I downloaded the soundtrack to "Dan in Real Life." LOVE IT! It is just a fantastic soundtrack that totally moved the movie along. Most soundtracks are just random songs these days but this one is all one person (Sondre Lercher) and the songs just sort of accompany and tell the story. Mellow and nice music.

Thanks to all of you who read and comment on my little blog - I truly appreciate it and it really makes me happy to read your comments.

Monkey, will you marry me? Blech.

I want it on the record that I am a sap. Truly! I love romance, I love happy endings, I love schmaltz. With that being said, there's a fine line between "You've Got Mail" and pretty much anything on the Lifetime channel, in my humble opinion. I mean, a girl has to have standards, you know! But give me a romantic movie, book, song or TV show and I'm in heaven.

But the "most romantic proposal ever" on last night's Bachelor? Meh. The "Monkey, will you marry me" proposal was just eye-rollingly embarrassing. And do you think Shayne has some sort of unresolved daddy issues? Something about the way she sort of jumps on Matt and hangs on him (like a MONKEY!) and then the whole baby-talk voice just makes me wonder. (I'm not a psychiatrist but I play one on this blog.)

Anyway, congratulations Matt & Monkey. Best wishes and all that jazz. Jaded readers, what do you give them? Six months?

By the way, I loved Chelsea giving it to him at the end and Matt's almost feeble defense of Shayne and her character. That was good TV!

New subject -- for those of you tracking my last to-do list, I'm having my windshield replaced today! I know you're all so very proud of me, aren't you? And no, I still haven't made my dental or eye appts. Someday! But the windshield guy is coming out to get my car and then he's bringing it back after it's done. Will he REALLY bring it back? I'm kind of fond of my car...

My Mother's Day - the good, the bad, and the best

Let's get the bad out of the way...

My sister and I struggled with what to get my mom (because she truly wants for nothing) when Jaylene had a brilliant idea to get planter boxes for Mom's deck. The plan was to have my bro-in-law install them while Mom was at church. Perfect! She's been wanting them for ages - she'll be thrilled. I went over to Mom's first thing to make dessert and prep for dinner and she told me when my other siblings would be stopping by to wish her a happy day (I have a weird family that doesn't enjoy being together.) Mom then mentions how excited she is to get the gift from one brother because he was making her planter boxes for her deck.

I KNOW!

So my sister calls and she tells her and everyone cries. Mom feels horrible, sister is mad and sad that her perfect plan is ruined. Mom has also been weepy all morning anyway because she's missing her own mom who died several years ago. So HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! Sigh.

Well, my brother comes over and brings her the HOOKS that he welded himself for her own potted plants to hang off the deck. He also brought her this funny bird statue thing. So now our present works and everyone is happy. All is right with the world.

And now the good...

I walk into Sacrament meeting and my friend Kim's daughter Jamie invites me to come and sit by them so I do. Chrissy, Kim's youngest daughter, is giving a talk so Jamie & I spend most of the time making faces and smiling at Chrissy from the back of the chapel. Her time finally comes and she talks about how the Personal Progress program helps YW to become better women and mothers (among other things.) All is going well when she starts talking about how even though some people haven't given birth themselves, they're still mothers. I catch my breath a little. Then she starts talking about me. Basically, I hear my name, start to cry and pretty much block out all of the wonderful things Chrissy says about me. It was such a sweet and thoughtful thing for her to recognize me like that and just another of those sweet moments in my life that I need to remember (so that's why I'm writing it down.) I'm so, so grateful to have such a special bond with each one of Kim's four daughters and I am especially thankful that she shares them so freely with me! I love you Kara, Callie, Jamie & Chrissy! xoxo

And now the best...

I have an amazing mother. Truly. I think often how blessed I am to have been placed in her care and wonder what I did to deserve her. My mom is fun, smart, talented and the most amazing worker ever. Give her a job and she just goes -- it's a wonder to see! My mom was the mom everyone loved to hang out with when I was in high school. She has the kind of home where anyone can just show up, walk in, open the fridge and sit down at the table for a chat. I love the relationship we have now. My mom is truly my favorite friend and I love that we can just crack each other up over the stupidest things. Every year at this time she fills my deck full of pots of flowers and it just makes me smile every time I come and go. I love my mom.

I'm ending this post with a great quote by Elder M. Russell Ballard and he's speaking to women:

“The kingdom of God will roll forward until it fills the entire earth. It is for you to be beacons and banners to the entire world, to show the women and the men of the world there is such a natural disposition in women to do good, and to seek after the things of the Spirit. I simply say to you, God bless the women of the Church.”

Another jam-packed day!

8:30 AM Out of bed
9:15 AM Take call from salon to ask if I wanted to come in for my foil at 11. I sadly say that I cannot (my appt isn't until 5/21 so I will have gray hair on my b-day. Dang.)
9:30 AM Leave house and drive to singles conference
3:00 PM Ditch singles conference to attend tri-stake youth Dance Festival
5:00 PM Red Robin for dinner with Lily & Ida
6:00 PM Meander around Target
7:30 PM Home to make grocery list
8:30 PM WinCo for groceries for tomorrow's dinner
9:30 PM Laundry & prepare for tomorrow's Sharing Time
10:30 PM I am watching Lost and cutting out pics of families for Sharing Time

Singles Conf report-out: Spiritually but not socially fulfilling. The ratio of women to men was about 3 to 1 and that's probably being generous. We introduced ourselves to two of the men sitting around us and were checked out visually by the other men there (truly, it's hilarious to witness. Some of them made circles around the gym during lunch just to see what the women looked like!)

I felt fine being there and had a wonderful time with my friends. Brother & Sister Parkin were both fantastic speakers and I took lots of notes that I think I'll save for another blog. They were both amazing and totally worth the trip. I was wishing my non-single friends could have been there to hear them speak. But all in all, I'm glad I went. And I'm glad it's over. Time to get cutting!

Singles Conference...sigh...

I neglected to mention earlier that I'm going to a singles conference all day Saturday/tomorrow. Probably because the previous post was all happy thoughts and well, singles events do not make me happy. It's the most awkward and uncomfortable environment ever. Everyone is looking at everyone else, or pretending not to be looking at everyone else. It's just weird and I'm completely dreading even walking into the building.

I'm truly only going for three reasons: 1. the keynote speakers are James & Bonnie Parkin (SO excited to hear her speak in person!) 2. I'm going with two of my favorite friends, Lily and Ida and 3. I need to try and meet single LDS men because the only men I meet now are already married, are gay or are 20 years younger than me.

We're not staying for the dance that evening because the last singles dance we went to was made up of either men who brought dates or men who were talking about their grandchildren. You think I'm kidding but I promise you I am not. And while grandchildren talk is all well and good for the 50ish-60ish women, it's not good for the 40ish, but looks and acts so much younger, women, like myself. ;)

So to all of you happily and not always happily married women out there, walk away from the computer and go hug your husbands right this very minute and be grateful you have them. It's no fun looking. At all.

Good things about today

1. It's sunny today!
2. I'm going to the temple in a bit because one of my former Laurels is going for the first time before she leaves on her mission next month.
3. I came home to find two cards from other former Laurels waiting for me in the mail (one on a mission, one at BYU, planning a mission.) Love that I had (and still have) such good relationships with most of the YW I worked with over the years. What a blessing to have them want to stay in touch with me even though we've all moved on.
4. It's Friday.
5. I spent some time this afternoon IM'ing with a kid I met in my class this week. He told me he thinks our instructor might have tried to hit on him when he was grading his test (a male instructor.) He was asking him about his hobbies, where he lives, if he has a roommate, etc. The kid from my class said (and he's a kid because he's 25 and I'm officially old) "he asked me stuff you'd ask a girl you want to ask her out on a date." Laughed a lot. A LOT. My boss was hassling me for having too much fun at work.
6. Got a ton of work done today. Feels good!
7. Finally sent my favorite things package for the blog swap, coordinated by Jill. Hope you like it, Katie!! :)
8. Got a new router that will hopefully fix my wireless problem for both my work laptop and the iPod touch. Apparently, I have been stealing someone's wireless because mine wasn't working. At all. Nice.
9. Today at work I listened to my fun but short little playlist that includes my current favorite song: Take a Bow by Rihanna. Hit repeat a lot. Getting ready to download the entire Leona Lewis CD after hearing Angel on Jill's blog. LOVE iTUNES!

Gotta go shave my legs! Yes TMI but what's rule number one of this blog? It's my blog and I can write whatever I want, so there! lol.

Weds Night Quickie

I passed my test - I only missed three out of twenty-five, which I was thrilled with. The first day was horrible but the second and third day were better and the stuff we were learning was easier to apply and understand. I was at a table of six - one other younger girl and then four men. We were seriously the rowdy table. We got along so great, laughed a ton, and studied for the test together during the final review. We also exchanged contact info so we can stay in touch. It ended up being fun but truly, I'm just thrilled I'm done with the classes. I have to schedule a project simulation next but that is just a "show up and you get credit for having done it" kind of thing. Yay!

My early Tuesday AM dream

I slept like crap and woke up at 3:30 this morning and could not go back to sleep. After tossing and turning for about an hour, I turned on the TV and watched about 15 minutes of the Bachelor that I'd TiVo'd the night before. I started to feel sleepy and turned it off. The following is an actual account of my dream that took place sometime between 4:30 and 6:00 this morning. Note: I truly did dream this.

Scene: Las Vegas, a high rise restaurant overlooking a giant Sphinx (is there even one of those in Vegas?)

Time: Just before dawn

I walk into the restaurant and am waiting for someone. It's filled with people and has spectactular views. Then I notice a table of three people I know, none of whom know each other: a work acquaintance, a friend of my mom and a friend from church. I greet all of them and we chat. They ask what I'm doing there and I say I'm waiting for someone.

Next I look over towards the lobby/waiting area of the restaurant and see 3 TV personality-type people, one of whom is a Seattle area TV weatherman. In walks Matt Grant, The Bachelor. He sits down and starts to talk to the TV people. After a short while, I walk over to him and he puts his arm around me and we start walking to the elevator. Matt is clearly upset and I can see a muscle throbbing in his jaw. I ask "what's wrong?" He says "I made the wrong choice."

Apparently, I had not been given a rose.

After saying that, he turned around and we notice a woman eavesdropping on our conversation. I snottily tell her this does not concern her and we get in the elevator. His arm is still around me and he's still visibly upset.

Are you ready for the big finale? I hope so!

Then we're in a shuttle bus or something and it's crowded with people (including the snoopy woman from the restaurant.) Matt and I are still sitting very closely, his arm is still tightly around me. For most of the ride, we say nothing. Then Matt says into my ear, "I've made a decision. I'm not proposing to either one of them."

Cue my alarm clock.

I KNOW! What an ending! After I woke up, I started to giggle. I cannot believe I dreamed something so detailed and so realistic about someone on TV.

I blame last night's enchiladas.

Anyone have a weird dream to share???

My day today

1. In my last class of the series but guess what? It's the WORST teacher -- the same one I had last fall and I learned nothing from him. He reads from the book and if you ask him a question about the material, he has to look everything up in the book before he'll answer. I know I say this every time but I'm honestly scared I won't pass this test the first time. Wednesday, 1 PM Pacific...prayers are always welcome.


2. I went out to dinner with two families I love and we celebrated Cinco de Mayo. Did I bring my camera? No. Because I'm lame. But we were near the Puget Sound (big body of water, in case you were wondering) and took a walk on the pier near the restaurant. So fun. It was sunny and beautiful but windy and cold. I was just grateful for sun.


3. After dinner, I went over to Kim's because she had gone to Trophy Cupcakes earlier today and I finally got to try the toasted marshmallow cupcake (the one the owner demo'd on Martha, shown below.) Anyway - I love the frosting (Kim didn't so much.) But I'm a marshmallow fan and I thought it was heavenly. I only ate a couple of bites because it's late and I want to save it for tomorrow.
   
   


4. While I was saying goodbye to Kim and Kara, I heard something and looked up and there was their bald eagle (they have a pair that built a nest in one of their trees last year.) Anyway, he/she wasn't in the nest tree but another tree that I have since dubbed "the bathroom" because one look at the ferns below the tree, and you'd agree with me. Anyway, it was so fun to see. I love eagles!!
   
   
5. My youngest sister, Jen, has a blog. She lives in Hawaii and gets to do fun stuff plus she has four darling kids and a great husband who's in the army. You really need to go check it out sometime -- specifically today's post and yesterday's. Two keywords to draw you in: NKOTB and a skull.

And I'll finish with a pic of Kim's eagle from a month or so ago. Isn't she just so lucky to have him as a yard-mate?

A cure

Wanna know how you get yourself out of the "I'm beaten down by service" funk? You go to church.

I'm still tired and stuff but life feels a little more manageable now. Plus it's 5:11 PM and my big glass of water is sitting here, dinner's on the stove AND I'm in my pajamas. How much better can life be, right???

Beyond tired (aka a blog full o'whine.)

Someday I'll stop complaining about my busy life. I promise. But that someday is not here yet so bear with me. And I know others have more on their plate than I do but they can get their own blog and whine all they want to.

I'm still getting used to being in Primary after 8 months of being 1st counselor in the presidency. I thought a Primary calling would be a piece of cake after spending the past five years in YW. I thought "oh this will be great. No more weekly activities, no more dances, no more marathon Sundays with tons of meetings" etc. Well, let me tell you something -- one Primary quarterly activity is worth at least three months of Wednesday nights. AT LEAST! I love kids. Truly. They are fun, they make me laugh and they are so stinkin smart but holy cow they wear a girl out.

Our activity today turned out great. We had so many kids that we ran out of stuff for them to make (bad but also a good thing, kind of.) We had kids there who had never been to Primary before and kids there who hadn't been to Primary in a really long time. Plus the wonderful regulars were all there and we had enough helpers too. All in all, a huge success.

But seriously - I am wiped out. This is what I've done after the activity ended around 1 PM today: made up two more brownie-in-a-jar kits, printed 8 more recipe cards because some didn't get one to tie on their jar, divided the pictures to hand out tomorrow after driving down to Sam's Club to pick them up (after I spent well over an hour selecting and downloading the best pictures of each of the 46 children who were there today.) Oh and I returned some of the extra brownie ingredients to Albertsons too. I also went to a fabulous baptism this afternoon. I led the music while we were waiting for the kids to dry off and I basically sang a solo because nobody knew any of the Primary songs we were trying to get them to sing. Good times, good times.

And before 1 PM tomorrow, I have to figure out what I'm doing for Sharing Time and also go to an emergency camp meeting because one of our level leaders had to drop out suddenly. Camp Kick-off (of which I'm pretty much in charge of putting together) is in two weeks and I've barely thought about it.

Oh and today I got asked to be an emergency contact person in our ward in case we have a natural disaster. If that happens, I'm apparently supposed to go check on people. Nice, huh? Hopefully this effort doesn't require me to attend any meetings.

Have I mentioned recently that I'm kind of coveting the assistant librarian calling? I certainly wouldn't want to be the ward librarian -- too much of a headache. But assistant? Running copies, checking out TVs and handing out scissors that don't really cut? That would be nirvana.

I love, love, love to serve. LOVE IT! But I'm just a teensy, tiny bit tired.

Sigh. I feel better now.

A not-as-fun-as-I'd-like Friday

I've had a headache all day that I think was trying to turn into a migraine. Quite annoying. It's still there but more of a dull pain than what it was earlier. I'm taking a break from assembling the recipe cards for the brownie-mix-in-a-jar activity for tomorrow so that I can post the thoughts that are running through my aching brain:

• Last night's baby shower was a huge success based on these facts: lots of wonderful people came, Kara got tons of great stuff and everybody stayed long after it ended to eat and visit. We served Lemon Truffle Pie and Toll House Chocolate Chip Pie and they both turned out so yummy. The cookie pie is SUPER easy, the lemon one is a little more labor intensive but totally worth the effort. I also made Heavenly Fruit Dip (recipe to follow) which we served with strawberries, pineapple and grapes. One thing we did was have everyone bring their favorite children's book and then each person told why they loved it. It was a fun mixer AND Kara got a ton of fun kid books. Sheryl sang her book (you had to be there - but it was a brilliant performance.) I brought "Are You My Mother" by Dr. Seuss. I loved that book and gave it to her because that's how I learned to read -- sitting in the hall coat closet when I was 4, reading Dr. Seuss books. Why did I sit in the closet? I'm not quite sure.
• Last night I dreamed about my dog (who died last year) most of the night. I couldn't find her leash. What does that mean? Why are dreams so weird?
• I am totally loving Grey's Anatomy. I loved Addison being on last night and thought it was strange that not one person mentioned that she is now a brunette instead of a redhead. That would have been the first thing out of my mouth but hey, I'm shallow. I don't like that icky Ava/Jane Doe girl. At all. But I still dislike Izzy more. Blech. And Erica needs to quit being such a jerk to Christina. And I really hope they don't go there with Erica and Callie, but you know they're gonna.
• I let some people I love help me today. I'm not great about letting people help me because I'm massively independent. However, it was a lovely reminder that I have amazingly wonderful people in my life.
• I bought some fun clothes for spring/summer over the last couple of weeks. I got the CUTEST white skirt the other day. I'm very excited about it. I need to find some fun sandal-y type shoes though but, oh, I'm excited to wear it. Maybe someday it'll hit 70 degrees so I can break it out. A girl can dream.
• I have to re-watch "The Office" before I can comment on it fully. Except you really should go watch the deleted scenes here. Oh and you can download Dwight's org chart as well as the emergency overlay. I found it hysterical that he tracks the menstrual cycles of the women in the office. Oh and I so loved his negotiation tactics! It was nice to see him being less of a sad sack finally. I also loved Angela's wild and crazy mad libs, "a man eating cat food!" Ha! I know I said I wasn't going to comment fully but I keep remembering things. Like the fact that Toby and Ryan were such total jerks to Jim! I used to feel sorry for Toby but he was WAY beyond over the line last night. And I cannot wait until Ryan gets knocked off of his high horse.

Okay, and with that, here's the yummiest fruit dip ever recipe. Like I mentioned above, it is fantastic with pineapple, strawberries and grapes and great to serve at any party.

Heavenly Fruit Dip
2 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 small box vanilla instant pudding
1 tab sugar
1/2 tsp rum extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix/whisk well for two minutes, then chill several hours or overnight. Stir before serving.