Gems from Pearlie Meg

Out on the Weekend

2012-01-18T16:13:00.000-07:00

Last week Glen and I realized something . . . there was a three-day weekend coming up in which neither of us had "responsibilities" to keep us at home. (yes, yes, tom, i know you had a one-day weekend. my apologies.) Since it's extremely rare that this kind of thing happens, I immediately decided we needed to make the most of it. Translation? Road trip to Moab!

It is slightly sad that winter in Utah this year has been relatively snow-free. I'm not suffering by it, because we all know I highly dislike driving in snow (although now that i work at home, what difference does it really make?). However, if weather here had been a little more "normal", we wouldn't have made the drive and wouldn't have had the chance to explore and enjoy the beautiful and simply amazing creations there are in this "little" corner of the world. So, thanks, Utah, for not snowing as much.

Trip Highlights:

- Free-entrance days at national parks and gift cards, which helped keep the trip on the cheap.

- Glen calling Balanced Rock "Gearshift Rock" . . . I didn't have the heart to correct him, but the signs on the road did.

- The hike to Delicate Arch . . . next-to-no-shade, which was good for us brave souls going there in January. And the view there. Made the whole thing worth it. (fortunately, the rest of the weekend wasn't a bust, either.)

- Being in Moab in the off-season; kind of weird, and plenty of stores/restaurants were closed until February or March, but it was nice not feeling like you were stepping on other people.

- Pasta Jay's . . . excellent garlic bread.

- Stopping to skip rocks and Glen lamenting that he didn't collect rocks from the Oregon coast when we were there on our honeymoon. Not many great specimens to choose from along the Colorado River.

- Fisher Towers -- the view was fantastic, and being there later in the afternoon cast a great light on the rocks.

- Laughing at our wind-blown hair on Monday when the temperature took a dip and we still ventured outside.

- The Green River Overlook in Canyonlands. Sooooo amazing.

-Glen being a goof in both the Arches and Canyonlands visitor's centers -- admiring the animal puppets and trying on skulls as hats.

- The great big enormous bird that was hanging out with our car at Grand View Point and Glen deciding to chase after it.

- Having a husband to drive through Price and Spanish Fork canyons in snowy conditions. I could have done it just fine (and it really wasn't that bad, anyway), but I'm glad I didn't have to.

- Coming home, unpacking, and savoring a weekend well-spent.

-Me

"No man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one." -Edward Hubbard

I'm Walking on Sunshine

2012-01-13T20:35:00.002-07:00

Hello, everybodee! Some day I'm going to remember that I used to be good at regularly posting on this blog. And then I got married. Go figure.

But just to update, Christmas was great. We made our way to Missouri with Bethany (glen's sis), whereupon we were greeted by weather that very much reminded me of Oregon. Joan kept apologizing that it was raining and gray, but I felt that Missouri was just trying to help me make the transition. That's the kind of winter weather I know!

Glen's family LOVES to play games, and I ... well, I like games, but not to the extent they do. Drew roped several others into a Risk Penathlon (or Olympics, complete with opening/closing ceremonies and flags for the individual "countries" such as Cletus-and-Jethro-stan), during which time I caught up on a lot of reading. Not that I needed to catch up. So while they played, Joan and I would read in the living room. Solidarity, sister! I did play some games with the family, though, and that was pretty fun. We also spent time watching Christmas movies and singing carols around the piano together. Good time all around, despite the fact that everybody at one point got sick. My turn came the day or so before we departed for Utah, and I spent our flights desperately trying to stave off my runny nose. It was a late night getting into Salt Lake (thank you again, floyd, for picking us up . . . you are a saint), and Glen will tell you I was ready to be home.

New Year's was pretty mellow, just the two of us, but after a week with eleven people in one house and then getting a whopping cold, it was just what I wanted. We crawled into bed at about 11:55, so we were still awake enough to not appreciate the fireworks that several of our neighbors lit off.

So now we're back to the same ol', and Glen's got a new slew of classes to keep him busy, and I think he's enjoying himself. And naturally I have made some resolutions, thanks to a new year, to improve myself. I got a bit lazy toward the end of the year with my physical/emotional/spiritual, etc., habits, and I want to get back in the swing of things. Here's to keeping my goals!

-Me

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." -Jack London

Giddy Up, Let's Go!

2011-12-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

I love Christmas. It's a great time of year. (Maybe not for the flatness of my belly, but it's a good time, nevertheless.) Last week Glen and I didn't have to make/pay for dinner three nights in a row because of it! (and then the fourth night we went out for dinner to celebrate that fact. aaaaand i was being lazy.) One of those nights was my office's holiday dinner, which was pretty interesting considering I don't see these people on a daily basis anymore. Our table was pretty silent because we almost didn't know what to talk about anymore! The next night was our ward Christmas party, for which I made the ever-fantastic strawberry jello/pretzel "salad". We're Mormons; you've got to have some kind of jello at a party, right? Anyway, it was a nice evening with dinner and a couple of musical numbers, and our table that night was MUCH more talkative.

Sunday we had our ward Christmas program in sacrament meeting, in which Glen and I sang in the choir and then played "O Holy Night" together -- me on the piano, Glen on the cello. After discovering this talent of Glen's when he played for the primary program a couple months ago, I think the ward is fast falling in love with the cello. And who could blame them?

And then of course there are cookies: gotta make those. I roped Glen into being my helper a couple of nights, and now those are all done and looking delicious and ready to be delivered to friends and neighbors -- Glen and I alone eating an entire pan of scotch-a-roos would be a BIG mistake. A delicious mistake, but a mistake regardless.

Hard to believe we'll be off in a couple of days to Missouri! The entire Merrell clan under one roof for a week! Gotta keep the holiday spirit alive and kickin', even if we occasionally step on each other's toes.

-Me

"Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall." -Larry Wilde

A Storybook Story

2011-12-07T15:14:00.001-07:00

A couple nights ago, I took a stroll through memory lane as I described to Glen things I remembered about Grandma and Grandpa Jensen's house: how furniture was situated, what the garden looked like, chasing basketballs down multiple hills, etc. But one thing especially stuck in my mind after talking to Glen, and that was a book that I would read. Of course, at the time I couldn't remember the title, but searching online helped me out there:

Doctor Squash the Doll Doctor

Written by the same woman who penned the famous Goodnight Moon, I remembered loving this story of the doctor who treated sick toys, pretending to listen to their non-existent hearts because it made them feel better. And when the doctor fell ill, the toys took care of him. Oh, the sweetness.

Okay, maybe it's a little corny, but I don't really care. I also discovered in my search that this book has been updated (the original had a mammy doll, so it wasn't exactly p.c.). I have to be honest; I still prefer the original illustrations. But oh well. It's still a sweet story, and even if I didn't quite remember how persimmons were mentioned, I remembered that they were in it. Amazing the little details that stick with you over twenty years.

Other childhood favorites:
The Monster at the End of this Book
Green Eggs and Ham
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Blueberries for Sal
Anything Berenstain Bears-related

What about your favorite childhood stories?

-Me

"Don't tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don't tell them where they know the fish." -Mark Twain

Thanks - Day Numer Trzydziesci

2011-11-30T16:43:00.001-07:00

On this my last day of thankful posting, I'd like to say I thought of something not at all superficial, so that all of you may end this month thinking that I'm a very deep person. But well . . . today I'm mostly thankful for . . .

Nail clippers.

What a pain it would be to have to "clip" your nails with a knife or scissors or something else that just makes me cringe. The first patent for an "improvement" to a fingernail clipper/trimmer in the United States was in 1875, which means something must have existed before then that people could use. But how much longer before 1875 did it exist? Wikipedia may never know.

Either way, I'm glad for a device that keeps my nails trimmed and neat. Because I don't think any of us ever like it when our nails catch on something.

-Me

"Every piece of software written today is likely going to infringe on someone else's patent." -Miguel de Icaza

Thanks - Day Nombre Veintinueve

2011-11-30T09:41:00.001-07:00

I guess there was a lot of online traffic yesterday. I tried last night to sign in to write what I was thankful for, and I kept getting errors. So here's what I was thankful for yesterday . . .

Amazing women.

Guys are great, too, but I'm just so grateful for the women in my ward right now. We had our Christmas program, "Women at the Well", last night. (yay! now i can stop mentioning it in every single post!) It was pretty crazy, and I was stressed for about three minutes when six people came up to me with the exact same problem. And sure, I was still kind of running around like a chicken with its head cut off for the half-hour preceding the program, but that wasn't stress. That was just me being myself.

In the end, it went really well and very smoothly, and all the women there were uplifted and inspired. Because I was the pianist for everybody and Heather told everyone I had been in charge of it, I got a lot of compliments. Compliments are great, and they made me feel good, but heaven knows I wouldn't have been able to do it without all the awesome sisters who agreed to participate. Our narrators were excellent and helped the women savor the messages, and the singers all worked so hard to bring the Spirit in with their beautiful voices. There were tons of holiday desserts brought by talented ladies, and we had a couple of sisters who spent their entire afternoon making the gym look gorgeous with trees, lights, nativities, and other decorations.

Thank you, ladies. You make me look good.

-Me

"People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs." -Unknown

Thanks - Day Vingthuit Nombre

2011-11-28T15:07:00.001-07:00

Today I am thankful for . . .

Layers.

No, not the kind that ogres and onions have.

The kind of layers that I can pile on when I have to be outside. Shirts, sweaters, sweatshirts, scarves, coats, gloves, hats, etc. It really hasn't snowed all that much yet (knock on wood), but it's still been plenty chilly. And as I prepare to venture outside again in a few minutes, I'm glad that I won't freeze because of all the layers I will have. (like cake. everybody likes cake. cakes have layers.)

-Me

"Life is like an onion. You peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep." -Carl Sandburg

Thanks - Day Numero Ventisette

2011-11-27T17:30:00.001-07:00

Today I am thankful for . . .

Love.

There are so many ways we can feel and express love. I'm very lucky that I am surrounded by people who are willing to show love for me. They teach me through love how I can do better and feel better about myself. I know everybody has different ways they show love, but each demonstration, no matter how small, is something special -- even amazing.

The lesson I taught in Sunday School class today was entirely focused on love, and we spent a lot of time talking about God's love and how He has manifested that love to us. He gave us the chance to become like Him, He sent His Son into the world so that we can return to Him, He blessed us with the Spirit so that we may follow the correct path. That's just a few things. There are so many more personal experiences I have had that help me know that God loves me. Now the challenge is to show that love to Him and to others (and even ourselves).

-Me

"Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence." -H.L. Mencken

Thanks - Day Numero Kaksikymmentakuusi

2011-11-26T15:55:00.001-07:00

Today I am thankful for . . .

Soap.

Glen had to work allllllll day today, leaving me alllllll alone for nine hours. What's a girl to do? For me . . . it's to clean. "Saturday is a special day" was definitely something we learned in my house. There were other days to clean, too, but that was when you cleaned the bathroom and all that extra stuff that takes a little longer. Since we were gone a couple of days this week, I took that phrase very much to heart as I laid out my day this morning.

Besides a 45-minute practice for "Women at the Well" and another 45 minutes or so to prepare my Sunday School lesson, I spent the morning and afternoon cleaning house (and now i can't find it in myself to dirty the kitchen again by making dinner ... but it must be done). I definitely do like things clean, so I'm thankful for soap, that helps us on our way there and helps me complete my checklist.

-Me

"I believe in getting into hot water; it keeps you clean." -G.K. Chesterton

Thanks - Day Stevilka Petindvajset

2011-11-26T15:44:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I was thankful for . . .

My parents.

I am so lucky to have two amazing people to be my parents. How I got so blessed, I don't know, but thanks be that I've got them. They have always been so supportive and encouraging, and I'm even grateful that they punished me when necessary, to let me know the the difference between right and wrong. I'm sure I've still given them a good share of worries, but I hope those days are fewer and farther between (and especially hoping that those worries aren't because i'm being dumb).

While at my sister's for Thanksgiving, I got to sing with my parents, sister, and husband (christmas music, but hey . . . we were really close to being past thanksgiving), and that is one of my favorite things to do with my family -- make music. It really was what my sister and I were most looking forward to for the couple of days we would all be together. I'm pretty lucky that both my parents are musical and that they passed that gift to me and my siblings. I'm thankful that they taught me how to clean, how to cook, how to read, how to think, how to be a better person.

My parents are just . . . darn cool.

-Me

"My parents only had one argument in forty-five years. It lasted forty-three years." -Cathy Ladman

Thanks - Day Number Twenty-Four

2011-11-26T15:36:00.001-07:00

Thursday I was thankful for . . .

Food. Lots and lots of food.

There are a lot of other things not-so-superficial that I was expressing thanks about at the table I was sharing with my husband and parents, but right now, I'm going to say that Thursday I was thankful for all the food.

All the family who joined us for the day just insisted on bringing more food than Kelly probably expected to appear, and once they did, I wondered why I bothered to make a salad (we had LOTS of those). But with twenty of us all in one place, I was grateful that a meal was what brought us together for the day. It was crazy for my sister, who only wishes on one day in the year that she had a double-oven, but it all worked out and was delicious. What a great day.

-Me

"Even though we're a week and a half away from Thanksgiving, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas." -Richard Roeper

Thanks - Day Sayi Yirmi Uc

2011-11-23T10:35:00.001-07:00

Today I am thankful for . . .

My grandparents.

Talk about amazing people. My Grandma/Grandpa J. have both passed away, but I sure am grateful for the time I got to spend with them, which was a fair amount, since we lived about fifteen minutes away from them. Unfortunately, it was a definite case of "I didn't know how good I had it until I didn't have it anymore", because I don't think I appreciated them enough while they were both around. But they were both strong, smart, and wonderful people, and they raised a pretty amazing son to be my dad.

My Grandma/Grandpa K. are still with us, and they have always been eager to support and serve however they can. Growing up, I didn't get to see them as often because they lived in Colorado, but I loved visiting them each summer (despite the long drive to get there). I have learned a lot from them the last couple of years about love. Both of them have had some pretty major health issues, but whenever I see them, I see how sweet they are to one another and how much they want to help each other.

And if you click here, you can see a glimpse of my grandma k. at around minute 6:03 ... she's the especially cute one.

-Me

"The reason grandparents and grandchildren get along so well is that they have a common enemy." -Sam Levenson

Thanks - Day Numero Hogeita Bi

2011-11-22T19:35:00.001-07:00

Today I am thankful for . . .

My piano.

As has been stated previously, I grew up in a musical home. There was one point that I remember we had two pianos in the house. I don't think it was for very long, and I was pretty young, but talk about wow! So now I can't imagine living in a place without a piano. I did so while I was in school, because what choice did I have when living in dinky BYU-approved housing? But as soon as I could, I got my piano (handed down by my fabulous grandma j.) here with me. What a great day that was.

I've moved a couple of times since having the piano permanently, and while those fellas who have been "coerced" into helping me move it may not have appreciated it, I think the grunt-work has been worth it. (although that could also be because i've never lifted a finger in moving it . . . father's orders.) I keep on bringing up the Relief Society Christmas program I've been in charge of, but it's kind of what's on my mind these days, and I am so grateful that we don't have to scramble to find a place to rehearse when I work with these women because I have my piano with me.

And I can bang out "Bumble Boogie" whenever I darn well please -- that's a plus. (okay, as long as it's not so early or late that i'll bug the neighbors.)

-Me

"Get up from that piano. You hurtin' its feelings." -Jelly Roll Morton

Thanks - Day Nummer Isa

2011-11-21T20:04:00.001-07:00

Today I am thankful for . . .

Pasta.

I've discovered that when Monday comes around, my default selection for dinner is some kind of noodle. Last week I finally branched out and made something without pasta, but it was the first Monday in at least a month that I had done so. Tonight, it was bowtie. Mmm.

I'm thankful for food in general, but I'm just grateful that when my imagination is lacking, I can pull out the angel hair. Pasta is usually a hit, after all. It's one of those dishes that I would never say no to, unless I've had it seven nights in a row (and maybe not even then, depending on circumstances). So to any culture who has contributed some kind of noodle to the world, kudos. And thanks.

-Me

"Most vegetarians look so much like the food they eat that they can be classified as cannibals." -Finley Peter Dunne

Thanks - Day Numri Njezet

2011-11-20T20:53:00.001-07:00

Today I am thankful for . . .

Happy people.

I admit, I'm not always the most cheerful of souls. Ever since I married Glen, who is always in a good mood, I've tried to be better so he doesn't come home to a depressing person, but I can't unequivocally say that I've always been "chipper". It's definitely something I'm working on.

But I love being around happy people. I've been putting together this program for the Relief Society in my ward, and there are some women who I just love to call because they always sound genuinely pleased to hear from me, even if I am giving them another assignment. After a practice with everyone tonight, I was returning keys to one of these women, and she just smiled and told me how fantastic I was (who doesn't like hearing that, really?). Of course, I think she's a fantastic person, too, and I told her so.

So I came home exhausted tonight after running around a bit and speaking loud enough for everyone to hear me (not too hard) and trying to at least act organized, but pretty happy myself; it's just contagious, isn't it?

-Me

"I am kind of a paranoiac in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy." -J.D. Salinger

Thanks - Day Numero Diciannove

2011-11-19T19:04:00.001-07:00

Today I am thankful for . . .

My watch.

Many of you know very well that I highly dislike tardiness. In fact, I've called myself "incapable" of being late. In fact, I'm very likely incapable of being on time, mostly because I show up everywhere early. I had to laugh to myself when our stake choir director reminded me personally today of the time we need to be at the church building tomorrow morning because I am one of probably three people who doesn't need to be reminded of the time or to be there ON time.

My watch is most helpful to me, because I use it very regularly. I know everybody can check the time on their cell phones these days, and I have lived through a time without a wristwatch that I did the same thing. But I had a high contempt for it, because I hated having to pull out my phone and press buttons to light up my phone to see the time. With a watch, it's a quick movement of my arm, and voila! 4:20. Easy. As. Pie.

-Me

"A man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure." -Segal's Law

Thanks - Day Nummer Achttien

2011-11-18T22:27:00.001-07:00

Today I am thankful for . . .

Left-overs.

Most of the time, I think I'm pretty good at getting dinner ready each day (glen could possibly disagree with me on this). It might not be the most exciting or original meal, but I think I pretty regularly get it done. But I have to admit that there are some days that I just don't want to make dinner. Like today. I finished work and then did chores around the house, and by the time I took a little time to sit and read, my body decided that it would rather fall asleep than stay awake in order for me to get dinner made.

But left-overs kept us fed when Glen came home, and a good thing, too, since we had to leave again half an hour later to see "Children of Eden" at the local high school. Left-overs also keep Glen fed for lunch, so I'm sure he's grateful for them, too.

-Me

"Fish is the only food that is considered spoiled once it smells like what it is." -P.J. O'Rourke

Thanks - Day Numero Septendecim

2011-11-17T22:01:00.001-07:00

Today I am thankful for . . .

Costco.

Why?

Rotisserie Chicken. Mmmm . . .

-Me

"The only ailment chicken soup can't cure is neurotic dependence on one's mother." -Arthur Naiman

Thanks - Day Numero Dezaseis

2011-11-16T18:15:00.001-07:00

Today I am thankful for . . .

Cider.

As the years have gone by, my love for hot chocolate has not necessarily decreased; I still enjoy a good cup of cocoa on these colder days. But my goodness, my love for cider has increased dramatically. I actually crave hot cider more often than I crave hot chocolate! Can you believe it?

But there's something about curling up with a steaming mug of apple-y, cinnamon-y good-ness on a cold night, when you just want to snuggle with your husband's wolf blanket and a good book. I love the smell, I love the warmth, and I love the comfort such a setting gives me.

Mmmm . . .

-Me

"He that drinks his cyder [sic] alone, let him catch his horse alone." -Benjamin Franklin

Thanks - Day Nommer Vyftien

2011-11-15T11:25:00.001-07:00

Today I am thankful for . . .

Dancing.

Exercise is important, right? At least, that's what we're told. And I have to say that these days, the only way I really truly enjoy getting rid of my extra calories is by dancing. Don't get me wrong; sports are great. I've played sports. I've enjoyed sports. But dancing never fails to be fun to me, and it's healthy. Bonus.

I'm also thankful for dancing today because Glen and I are going to see Savion Glover tonight. Okay, some of you say "Who?", and I understand that. I'm sorry for you, but I understand it. I'm excited to see some excellent and amazing tap talent tonight.

-Me

"Almost nobody dances sober, unless they happen to be insane." -H. P. Lovecraft

Thanks - Days Nummer Tretten and Nomor Empat Belas

2011-11-14T18:33:00.001-07:00

I forgot to say yesterday what I was thankful for! Oops! Gotta make up for it, right? Here goes . . .

Yesterday I was thankful for . . .

Not being a princess.

This may sound strange, because doesn't every girl want to be a princess? And maybe when I was little, I wanted to be Belle (because she's the coolest disney princess, hands down . . . and i loved the dress), but I think my sentiments yesterday were more influenced by Roman Holiday, because I think it's lame that Audrey Hepburn's Princess Ann couldn't end up with Gregory Peck's Joe Bradley because of her "duty". It's a great movie, but when you really think about having your life out there to be scrutinized by everybody, I don't envy that position.

And today I am thankful for . . .

Chocolate.

I really don't think that needs further explanation.

-Me

"People get so in the habit of worry that if you save them from drowning and put them on a bank to dry in the sun with hot chocolate and muffins they wonder whether they are catching cold." -John Jay Chapman

Thanks - Day Broj Dvanaest

2011-11-12T13:17:00.001-07:00

Today I am thankful for . . .

Electricity.

I had to draaaaag myself out of bed this morning to go to stake choir practice, and before I left, I put a load of laundry in the washing machine. I had turned on the lights to use the bathroom and see my shoes in the bedroom closet. When I got back, I switched the laundry, now using both the washing machine and the dryer, Glen and I made waffles and bacon for breakfast, then we both used the computer for various reasons.

Would we have been able to do any of this without electricity? Well, yes, but . . . Not too long ago, you could still do all these things (except for the computer part, really), but it took a heck of a lot longer. Now laundry can be done in a couple of hours instead of taking all day (and you don't even have to hope the weather's decent so you can hang your clothes out to dry). Irons of all kinds are self-heating, rather than placing (and replacing once they got cold) them on a wooden/coal stove. Light bulbs exist so that we don't have to stumble around with oil lamps, candles, or in the dark.

And that's just what I've used so far today.

-Me

"All power corrupts, but we need the electricity." -Unknown

Thanks - Day Nimewo Onz

2011-11-11T20:57:00.001-07:00

Today I am thankful for . . .

Automated Bowling Scores.

Glen and I went bowling for our date night, and I know once upon a time I learned about how bowling scoring worked. Alas, I cannot remember. (well, glen re-explained it to me tonight. it sounded familiar.) But I've never gone to a bowling alley where I've had to do the scoring myself. It's always been generated for me, usually accompanied by fun little animations to rub in your gutter balls and celebrate your strikes. I'm glad I don't have to figure it out myself.

But maybe I should remember how to do it, because it's always good to have a little knowledge to spare.

-Me

"Having a family is like having a bowling alley installed in your brain." -Martin Mull

Thanks - Day Numer Tiu

2011-11-10T14:40:00.001-07:00

Today I am thankful for . . .

My siblings.

This is another case where I'm not in contact enough with the people who mean the most to me. And while I'll be seeing my parents and sister at Thanksgiving, I won't be seeing my brothers at any time in the holiday season, so I guess I'm feeling a little sentimental.

Kelly is an awesome big-little sister. She always comments on pictures of us Jensens, "Why am I so short?" But even though I surpassed her in height when I was 12, she's always been someone I could look up to. When I was little, I just wanted to be her; that's how cool she was to me. And she still is. She's lived her life in a way that I completely admire, and I hope that as I continue my life, I can remember her example.

Craig is the brother I always thought of as the "protective" one. Of course, that also translates into being the brother who would most readily tease me about boys, but as I got older, that teasing seemed to have a more caring element behind it. (hope it wasn't just my imagination.) Craig was pretty good about giving me rides and not acting like I was a nuisance because of them. To this day, I still remember going with him to the elementary school soccer field so he could give me pointers on my game, which naturally made me think I was so awesome.

Tom was my "playmate" growing up. I use the quotation marks, because I'm sure there were times he probably wanted to pummel me and I would use my girly tears to get him in trouble. But there were also times we would "wrestle" our pillows on the trampoline, write stories together, choreograph dance moves to the Beach Boys, and even put on plays with our stuffed animals when the house was empty. (dress-up, too.) I could always count on Tom's creativity and crazy antics to make every childhood activity fifty times better.

Oh, yeah. They're a bunch of hams, too. (see video for proof.)

-Me

"If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance." -George Bernard Shaw

Thanks - Day Numero Nou

2011-11-09T22:17:00.001-07:00

Today I am thankful for . . .

Shoes.

Where would I go without shoes? I'd barely make it past my gravelly driveway to toss out the garbage without them! All it takes is that extra layer, and you're good to go. Anywhere. Well, okay, maybe not "anywhere", depending on the kind of shoe you're wearing. And heaven knows, I have plenty of shoes that I can't wear unless I plan on sitting a lot. (ahem, tango heels)

But a good pair of shoes give you power. They give you the chance to step out your door and go on an adventure, be it a stroll to the nearest park, a romp through the snow, or a trek up Squaw Peak. And once you find that one pair of really great shoes that you can go anywhere in and not get blistered heels, it's sure hard to let them go. Of course, once the sole starts separating from the upper, it's probably time to say goodbye.

-Me

"I never put on a pair of shoes until I've worn them at least five years." -Samuel Goldwyn

Thanks - Day Numero ng Walong

2011-11-08T16:08:00.001-07:00

I have a feeling, seeing as how it's November, that many of the things I'm thankful for are going to relate to keeping me warm, because today I am thankful for

Fuzzy Blankets.

I still have tried to be strong and not admit defeat. The heater has not gone on in this apartment, even on Sunday when it snowed the previous night (a bare dusting that melted in the sunlight, but still ... any snow is cold). And last night, Glen had to work a midnight release, so I went to sleep all by my lonesome, and was the bed ever chilly!

Fortunately, there are such things in this world as blankets, and it was a fuzzy blanket that kept me warm all through the night, even after Glen came home. I like staying warm. It's a lovely feeling. Thank you, blankets.

-Me

"Give a man a fire and he's warm for the day. But set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life." -Terry Pratchett

Thanks - Day Nummer Syv

2011-11-07T16:09:00.000-07:00

What am I grateful for today?

Books.

It might very possibly be an understatement to say I love to read. I'll let those around me be the judges . . . past roommates, family, friends, husband . . . what say you?

It's not necessarily that I "get lost" in the world of the books I'm reading; I think I can get back to reality pretty quickly. But when I begin to read a book I enjoy, I am voracious. I will put it down if I have to, but there must be a really VERY good reason for it . . . like dinner.

I find it fascinating when an author manages to capture a detail, a spoken sentence, a turn of phrase so perfectly that I completely understand what they mean. I love how books can make you laugh out loud, make you cry, and make you learn. When I was younger, I remember using words and phrases in my journal entries that I'd read in books. They make 10-year-old Me sound kind of stilted, because I'm absolutely certain I didn't use them in my spoken communication. Even now, I hearken back to books to describe something better than I could ever do on my own. What an influence they can have on us. At least, they have had an influence on me, who finds it hard to put down a book when I have a "mere" 100 pages to go.

I need to visit the library.

-Me

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." -Groucho Marx

Thanks -- Day Nummer Zes

2011-11-06T10:03:00.001-07:00

Today I am thankful for ...

lds.org

I have this calling that totally freaks me out: I am a Sunday School teacher. Both my husband and father would love this calling; I . . . do . . . not. I'm coming around to it, but you should have seen the look on my face when I was asked to do it four months ago. (hint: pure terror)

I do not profess to be a scriptorian or gospel scholar. I love it and everything, but I've always felt like my testimony is pretty darn basic; I've never really delved into study and thought about those crazy little ideas that really really REALLY smart people do. Now I have to lead discussions and help people feel the Spirit? ACK!!!

Really, it hasn't been too bad, and lds.org helps me out a ton when I am in need of an obscure quotation or conference address or scripture reference that the topical guide isn't helping me out with. There are so many resources that are there for any of us, not just the ones who struggle with teaching. It's not the standing up in front of people that is daunting for me; it's the coming up with good things to say in my own words that I find my Kryptonite. Fortunately, I think, "Hey, this Apostle probably said it a ton better ... hey, internet; hey, lds.org search bar. Let's be friends."

And today, I finally managed not to use a Pres. Uchtdorf quote. My class will be so proud of me.

-Me

"At this point some of you may be thinking, 'That's all very fine and good, but what does it have to do with flying an airplane?'" -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Thanks -- Day Rhif Pump

2011-11-05T10:13:00.000-06:00

Today I am thankful for ...

Cars.

The weather has turned suddenly cold once more (simultaneous feelings of "dang" and "excellent" are present), and this morning I went to a choir practice for upcoming stake conference. Our stake center, where we were practicing, isn't really all that far away ... maybe a little over half a mile. But even a half a mile of walking would have made me very unhappy unless I really bundled up (which of course i didn't because i wanted to sleep as long as possible).

Enter Neville the Altima. (yes, i still name cars.) While my destination was too close for the car to significantly warm up, at least it cut my travel time by a goodly amount. So ... cars keep you warm and get you places faster. Both excellent points for which I am very grateful.

Gee, I would have been a terrible pioneer.

-Me

"Travel is only glamorous in retrospect." -Paul Theroux

Thanks -- Day Numero Quatre

2011-11-04T18:25:00.001-06:00

Today I am thankful for ...

Fridays.

Today is Friday, and I am grateful for it.

Doesn't most everyone look forward to Friday? To that moment where you can log off your computer, sit back, and sigh in relief and delight, "No more work for another two and a half days." Granted, there are other responsibilities that I (and, i'm sure, all of you) have that I need to take care of when I reach the weekend. But there's something so satisfying about finally reaching that day when you can break the chains of monotony and can look forward to possibly sleeping in, even for half an hour. It's like the day is saying, "Congratulations! You made it through another week! Breathe deep. Enjoy." This is Friday's gift to us.

Ahhh . . .

-Me

"Only Robinson Crusoe had everything done by Friday." -Anonymous

Thanks -- Day Nummer Drei

2011-11-03T20:45:00.000-06:00

Today I am thankful for...

Music.

Tonight I worked with some of the Young Women in my ward, teaching them a song that they will sing at a Relief Society Christmas program in a month or so, and I just thought to myself, "I am so grateful that music exists." Music binds us to each other in so many ways. It can be inspirational, thought-provoking, tear-jerkingly beautiful, and just plain fun (usually not all at once, but hey ... it could happen some day).

I was so blessed to grow up in a musical home, with parents who encouraged and taught me, and siblings who provided examples to me of what music and talents I wanted to pursue and develop. I had so many wonderful opportunities to improve myself, and while practice was never my strong suit (especially when i had to do so in the mornings before school), my love for music never deteriorated.

Music has not just provided me with a way to express myself; it has also brought me connections and associations that I never otherwise would have had. I came into contact with so many close friends throughout the years because of the music we shared. Ties to friends that I met in other circumstances were made stronger because of music.

So many more thoughts about how music has blessed my life are coming into my head, but listing all of them would make for far too long a post, and I'm trying to keep these relatively short. Suffice it to say that I am grateful that Heavenly Father blessed me with music and gave me the capabilities to share it and possibly serve others with it.

-Me

"If Beethoven had been killed in a plane crash at the age of 22, it would have changed the history of music . . . and of aviation." -Tom Stoppard

Thanks -- Day 2

2011-11-02T15:29:00.000-06:00

And the list continues. Today's Thankful "Item": Becky and Esther.

A little before I graduated from college, these two gals came into my life. We'd already been living in the same ward for some time, but we hadn't gotten to know each other until several months had passed. But once we got to be friends, I sure stuck to them. I'd like to say we've been through a lot together, and it's probably true. But I'm sure grateful they've been in my life and been a couple of the best friends I've ever had. I had a blast living with them (even if that sentiment wasn't always shared), and I've loved sharing big and little moments with them.

We don't see each other all too often anymore, which is ... understandable, but still kind of sad. I find myself missing them at random times (usually when work is being dumb), and I'm always happy when either one chats with me online or drops by my place. I could do more to let them know how much they've influenced me (in a positive light, naturally) and how much I appreciate them, but I'm going to stop right now before I get too gooshy.

I just love my girls.

-Me

"A good friend can tell you what is the matter with you in a minute. He may not seem such a good friend after telling." -Arthur Brisbane

Let Us Give Tanks -- Day Numero Uno

2011-11-01T18:51:00.002-06:00

Now that Halloween is over for another year, it's time to turn our thoughts to the next holiday. Yikes! It's November! Can't believe it. And in honor of the next day we celebrate here in good ol' America, I'm going to post one thing I'm thankful for each day. Aren't you so excited? And can you guess what holiday I'm referring to? I know it must be difficult to think of it. (hint: it's not veteran's day.)

(the hope is that i will remember to have good thoughts every day while i labor through the work day. good luck.)

Here we go; item one:

Glen.

Here is a guy who is going to school, participating in choir, working, serving with the Young Men in the ward, and singing with a barbershop chorus. He is one busy fella. But he's my busy fella, and I'm so glad he's in my life and does take the time to be with me (especially when i make him dinner). It's still kind of funny to me sometimes how our "story" worked out, but I'm really glad it did. I'm thankful for my hubby. He's one amazing man.

-Me

"American women expect to find in their husbands a perfection that English women only hope to find in their butlers." -W. Somerset Maugham

Very Superstitious

2011-11-01T15:29:00.000-06:00

All right, I still don't know if I'm extremely pro- or anti-Trunk-or-Treating. All I know is that our ward had one, so Glen and I went. And we ran out of candy very early on because we were not informed (along with a few other families in our ward) that it was a MULTI-ward activity. A lot more children than we expected. Oops! Anyway, here were some of the bang-up jobs of costumes:

Damien sure had fun at church the next day with his new haircut. teehee

I think Brandon had wayyyyy too much fun making people scream at him as he feigned deafness.

The subjects of these two pictures were not in the same family group or anything!

Providential.

And in case you've forgotten what we look like:

Wait a minute! I may have used a picture from last yea- ... wait, no. I didn't. This year. It was a very last-minute realization/decision that we were going to go to the trunk-or-treat, so hooray for recycling costumes! Most of the children had no idea who Clark Gable was (how sad), so when we would verify that someone didn't know who he was, we were either a) Bonnie and Clyde, or b) ballroom dancers. (if someone knew who clark gable was, we were clark gable and his femme fatale. doesn't that describe me to a T?) But even though there wasn't a consensus on who we actually were, everyone did agree that we were pretty dang classy.

We also re-used the costumes at a party at the Cooks' home, another fun couple in our ward. The name game with the Halloween theme was quite the stand-out event, considering there were about three "Edward Cullen"s and three "Dracula"s in the pot (each participant contributed names, so there were some repeats) and when we reached the Charade round, the action for each was exactly the same, which meant a lot of fang-faking. Very entertaining. Thanks, the Cooks, for a fun Halloween night!

-Me

"You don't believe the story of the Great Pumpkin? I thought little girls always believed everything that was told to them. I thought little girls were innocent and trusting." -Linus
"Welcome to the 20th century!" -Sally

As Time Goes By

2011-10-19T15:59:00.000-06:00

I recently posted on facebook: "Today's debate in regards to 'Cruel Summer': Bananarama or Ace of Base? Go." Overwhelmingly, the response was in favor of the Ace of Base version. I can't say I'm terribly surprised, but I was expecting at least one old-schooler to go with the original (especially since that's the version heard in the original Karate Kid. if that doesn't make it a classic, i don't know what does.).

So it seems that my friends prefer the year 1998 to the year 1983. Now, I can safely say that there is one advantage that 1998 has over 1983 ... I had been born by then. 1983, you juuuuuust missed out on the glory that is me. But let's do a little more research, now that I'm curious, to compare the two.

1983

Tokyo Disneyland
GPS is made available for civilian use, and where would my cousin Kathryn be without it? (well, okay, maybe she's better at directions since last i checked.)
Red Hot Chili Peppers formed
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day declared a federal holiday
Crispix debuts
Flashdance AND Return of the Jedi
Introduction of the McNugget
First minivans, and where would Mormons be without them?
"Billie Jean" on MTV and MJ introduces the Moonwalk
Disney Channel premieres (before the advent of hannah montana, so it was quality at the time)
Fraggle Rock, A Team
A Christmas Story is released, thus providing TNT with a movie to play for 24 HOURS STRAIGHT

Okay, so 1983 wasn't all wine and roses: remember it was also the year that MASH ended, there were no more DeLoreans being made, and Superman III came out. But look how many good things came out of it!

No, Richard Pryor was not photo-shopped in; this was seriously the movie poster.

1998

Winter Olympics in Nagano
80-90% of pagers (remember those?) are without service for a day when a communications satellite fails
Mulan, A Bug's Life, Mask of Zorro
Lifetime Channel debuts
Dawson's Creek debuts
Seinfeld ends
No more Ginger Spice
Britney Spears, NSync, and 98°
"My Heart Will Go On" is on the radio for 24 HOURS STRAIGHT

All right, comparing ... comparing ... 1983 gives us: Red Hot Chili Peppers, the moonwalk, Disney Channel (pre-deterioration), and Fraggle Rock. 1998 gives us: Britney Spears, "My Heart Will Go On", Lifetime Channel, and Dawson's Creek.

1983 wins.

-Me

There Once Was a Yodeler

2011-10-19T12:52:00.000-06:00

More retroactive reporting: going back to Labor Day! Before that lovely three-day weekend, my pal Megan had written to me to remind me of how much fun I had going to Swiss Days last year, so I managed to persuade Glen to come along this year, and extremely fortuitously, we arrived at the shuttle parking lot in Midway right behind Meg and Mash! The first thing we did was sit and listen to Kerry Christiansen: master yodeler. All of us enjoyed his performance (meg especially appreciated the neil diamond tribute), but Glen far and away was the most excited about it.

You can't hear Mr. Christiansen too well, but toward the end you can at least hear Glen and me pipe in.

After listening to Herr Yodel Meister, Glen not-too-reluctantly followed me around to the various booths as I tried to find something cute for our home. Swiss Days is a fun festival, and I'm glad two years in a row now that I have attended.

Enthralled.

Meg's reaction to the Neil Diamond Tribute

No sheepdogs this year, though. I decided to forego that in order for Glen and I to have a nice peaceful day off together before he became so busy with school and choir and his calling and work that he no longer had time for me. Woe is me.

Glen and some of the wares we admired but did not purchase.

And now it is October, and we all know what that means: novelty accessories!!!!! I wore one of my pairs of Halloween earrings the other night when we spent an evening with Grandma Merrell and Glen's sisters, and Eliza (one of glen's nieces) was quite captivated. I LOVE this time of year!

-Me

"I always say that shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist." -Tammy Faye Bakker

She Works Hard for the Money

2011-10-12T20:52:00.000-06:00

She's alive! She's aliiiiiive!!!

Yes, it's true. Despite being extremely remiss on my blog the past two months, I do still exist and function in this world. And just in case you were all missing my incisive and witty posts, you can breathe easy: I'm going to be better at this. Life in our little part of the world goes by pretty swimmingly. Of course, Glen is being a responsible student (he had to start some time, right? j/k) and working hard on school stuff, so our time together is restricted, but that's all right. Ish. I'm dealing with it.

I'm also dealing with extended hours at work. As my very loving brother stated in a comment on my facebook status last week, "boo-freaking hoo". This coming from a guy who for several months puts in work days that extend until midnight is understandable, but I'm attempting to work up a little sympathy here. Ten-hour days may seem a mere pittance to some, but it's definitely not something I've been used to doing on a regular basis since I began working like a "real person". And as a result, Glen comes home about every other day to a wife who is just about miserable because she was on the computer when he left at 7:30 a.m. and is still on it when he came home at 5:15 p.m.

Usually I'm able to work myself up to being normal (well, normal for me, which is more eccentric than normal), but some days it just doesn't happen as easily. The occasional day when I work only eight hours seems like a marvelous respite, and I'm suddenly energized for the rest of the day. This works out well because I've only been taking eight-hour days when I've had non-work-business to attend to, and I should probably be awake for such activities.

Still finding time for good things, though. Last week, I went to the BYU Homecoming Spectacular, which my husband was singing in and Brian Stokes Mitchell was guest-appearing. WOW! He was amazing. (and so was brian stokes mitchell. teehee) No, in all seriousness, it was a great show, and I left feeling thoroughly inspired. The weekend before, Glen and I went to a BYU football game, during most of which I was extremely discouraged, but when your alma mater comes from behind in the fourth quarter and wins almost by a miracle, you can't help but feast on the excitement and exhilaration of the crowd.

Okay, you're probably getting tired. As am I. Will post soon with more of our doings (without the complaining bit attached, i promise).

See? Told you I was tired.

-Me

"The human race is faced with a cruel choice: work or daytime television." -Unknown

Accentuate the Positive

2011-08-19T18:54:00.001-06:00

If memory serves, I wrote a post about a show that Glen and I would be participating in and singing some good ol' Gilbert and Sullivan. Well, the show, entitled Accentuate the Positive, is past and gone, and life is back to being a little less crazy. The last couple of weeks before the performances were a tad nuts, especially with the trips to Payson through the interminable construction that is I-15 in Utah county. People really need to learn how to merge.

There was a bit of shuffling going on through the rehearsal process, during which I suddenly (and completely unexpectedly) was assigned the part of Mabel for the "Pirates" section. -cue large megan eyes- Glen ended up being our Pirate King, and he's just enough of a ham (maybe barely, teehee) that he pulled it off exceptionally well. There ended up being a running joke amongst some of the cast about the fact that I had to sing to and flirt with a guy other than my husband, but we all know whom I went home with. Just couldn't resist the red velvet jacket with the lacy cuffs.

And the hats were fantastic.

Glen's barbershop group was a hit, as well. They sang between sections of the show, and no one could deny they did a fantastic job. I hope they keep singing together, because Glen loves ... loves ... LOVES ... singing barbershop. I hope this doesn't become a reason for jealousy.

Inevitably, there were hiccups during performances, but everybody did really well, and the biggest miracle of my stage "career" occurred: I made people laugh! On purpose! I remember trying to be "funny" during my little bit parts in high school, and it never translated too well to the audience. (and thus begin the placating comments about how talented i really was ... really, guys, comedy was never my strong suit.) So, yes, I was able to sing "Poor Wandering One" without my voice cracking, but the true satisfactory moment for me was the first time the audience laughed at my antics.

Ah, the theater, the theater. What has happened to the theater?

-Me

"Working in the theater has a lot in common with unemployment." -Arthur Gingold

Whistle While You Work

2011-08-12T08:54:00.000-06:00

Another month has passed us by, and I have not written anything. I guess that could be a good thing, since you all could assume my lack of posting equals a lack of wasting my summer on a computer. (in fact, go ahead and make that assumption.) I admit, though, it's hard to feel that way when I spend eight hours on the computer each day because of work.

Speaking of work, I've been working from home now for the last three weeks, and it seems to be going all right. There are still aspects of working at an actual office that I miss, but it hasn't been too terrible. The hardest part so far is motivating myself to still get out of bed early enough so I don't work in my pajamas.

Days Begun in Pajamas: 12
Days Showered and Dressed: 3

Our home has become a computer zone (four computers ... yeesh), which I will say now does not thrill me in the least. I may be getting rid of my crazy laptop, but that's the only one that looks like it could get the shaft. We got a little desk for Glen's desktop so that he wouldn't have to write papers on the floor come school-time, so we've got a funny little set-up on the western wall on the office, but it works for us. So far.

My little work space ... it actually is a lot more organized than it looks.

Lovebird desk set-up

The purchase of Glen's computer desk was part of a "date" night" shopping trip that took us to various locations as we attempted to figure out a way to organize the office closet. Fortunately, we found some shelves that fit the bill, and once they were set up and put in, I was suddenly a much more happy girl. Thank goodness our closet no longer looks like the mass hysteria that is my piles of music.

Music that still needs a home. Our entire office used to look like this.

Hooray! I can find things in the closet again!

If only my parents had visited after this organizational evening; I wouldn't have been so ashamed to have them spend the night.

-Me

"If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the significance of a clean desk?" -Laurence J. Peter

This Our Hymn of Grateful Praise

2011-07-19T19:28:00.002-06:00

Glen took me to "Harry Potter". I'm no longer jealous. I'm a happy girl. Thank you, honey!

-Me

Come Fly With Me

2011-07-16T13:19:00.002-06:00

I admit it: I suffered from intense jealousy the last couple of days. Wouldn't you if your friends were doing this?

Luna Lovegood, Rita Skeeter, and Dobby the House Elf

(yes, these are MY friends!!!)

I know that I have made no secret of my nerdiness on this blog, much less my love for Harry Potter. With the VERY final film having come out yesterday and several of my close friends attending midnight or even this-weekend showings, I am having trouble suppressing my envy.

Don't get me wrong, though. Glen does a fantastic job of making up for my disappointment. Last night after making curry at home (mmmm...), we headed to Sundance for the full moon lift ride.

All right, this could be taken anywhere, but it was, in fact, on the lift.

We had excellent timing, as well, because about ten minutes into the ride (on the way up), the moon came out from behind the mountains, and it was peaceful and beautiful seeing it rise in the sky for the next half hour. What an enjoyable and satisfying date night. Thank you, sweetheart.

But you and I both know we're still going to Harry Potter before it hits the dollar theater.

-Me

"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger." -J.R.R. Tolkien

I Can't See Me Loving Nobody But You

2011-07-12T07:29:00.000-06:00

Wow! We've made it an entire month! I guess that means we're in this for life (and beyond). Things are going pretty well so far, so I think I'll keep my fella. We're definitely making adjustments and learning new things about each other as we actually live together and all that, but I feel like the transition has been going pretty dang smoothly. (let's hope glen feels the same.)

In "honor" of our month-iversary (not really; it just happened to fall on the same day), I finally got the piano out of my old place. It was kind of strange walking into the old apartment (especially since no one was home) and remembering that I had also forgotten my aprons when I first moved out, but you move on. Anyway, now we finally can actually play and sing in our own place ... and bug our loud neighbors in the process, hooray!

When I arrived home, I saw that my sweet hubby had vacuumed for me, but what surprisingly escaped my notice on the first walk through the kitchen was the vase of flowers he'd bought for me. What a wonderful guy.

We spent some time figuring out where to hang pictures and the like once the piano was in and settled, and while we're still not done yet, we're further along than we were, and it's actually starting to look like a home.

Glen's panoramic shot of our living room so far

The two pictures at either ends were wedding presents!

Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive and loving as we've gotten started! We're excited to share more!

-Me

"Most modern calendars mar the sweet simplicity of our lives by reminding us that each day that passes is the anniversary of some perfectly uninteresting event." -Oscar Wilde

Catch a Wave

2011-07-08T07:44:00.000-06:00

Bear with me as I go backwards in time.

For the honeymoon, Glen and I headed to Lincoln City, where we stayed at a condo that was right on the beach. Fabulous. One night when the tide was high, I turned all the lights off; from my perspective, I couldn't even see the beach, just the water as it crashed along. So. Cool.

The weather was a tad chilly, which wasn't a big surprise, but we did take a stroll each morning along the beach, where Glen was introduced the frigid cold Pacific. I'm not sure exactly how he felt about his toes going numb as we walked along, but he was a good sport. He was pretty excited to build sandcastles and find perfect skipping rocks (too bad the ocean is not the place to actually skip rocks).

Wooden post on beach = crane stance

Seeing as how Oregon is my neck of the woods, Glen got to experience a taste of a couple of Jensen traditions: Mo's and Read's. I will readily admit that Mo's is not the greatest of seafood restaurants, but it's got personality and history, so no trip to the Oregon Coast is quite complete without a visit. And we're still working our way through the salt water taffy we bought at Read's ... mainly because we're trying to make a quality product last. :)

Glen's creation

Other than that, we really spent the honeymoon relaxing. A little while before, we had begun reading Lord of the Rings together, so we finished Fellowship while at the beach, as well as reading a couple of books on our own. We also took advantage of the hot tub on the deck, which provided us with an opportunity to actually use our swimsuits and see the beautiful beach at the same time. Thank you, hot tub.

Our view of the beach from the hot tub. Awesome.

And if ever you're in Lincoln City looking for a good place to get a yummy pizza, try Humble Pie. It's dinky. But the pizza is excellent.

Successful honeymoon. And I'd like to thank my body for not getting sick until after it was over.

Awww, they're playing footsies

-Me

"I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life." -Rita Rudner

Coming to America

2011-07-07T13:21:00.000-06:00

An unexpected blessing occured at work last week: we got a four-day weekend for the 4th of July! Wow! There's kind of a floater holiday that the company puts in random places, and this year it was last weekend. Made for an interesting time of it, though, as I scrambled to figure out something to do with my extra day while my hubby was still at work. But all in all, a good weekend.

I went up to SLC to visit Esther and Asher on my extra day off, and it was fun to spend some time with my gal pal. I came back to a very warm home, but the a/c problem that started up the day before was resolved, and my sweet hubby took me out for Thai food and a cheap movie for a nice date night (and to take advantage of free a/c in other locations).

Our tattoos at "Freedom Days"

We hit the Freedom Festival on Saturday, which was crowded and hot, but pretty fun. We had fortunate timing and were able to hear a bagpipe group at the Colonial Days area, which Glen really enjoyed. (okay, i did, too, but his glee was manifest more clearly.) We got out of there before I melted completely, though, and got to relax and eat a bit before walking over to his grandparents' place, which is just behind LaVell Edwards Stadium. So after spending some good time chatting with family members I hadn't met yet, we had prime seats for watching the Stadium of Fire fireworks. Gotta love 'em. (although i hope i don't hear that song any more this year. no offense, katy perry.)

On Monday, after a morning of chores and a gift-card trip to Bed, Bath, and Beyond, we picked up Glen's sister and mom and headed to Springville for a Layton family afternoon. His grandparents are celebrating their 60th anniversary this year (wow!!!) and so this weekend was the "reunion/celebration", which was fun. Naturally, there was good food (including our lil' smokies .... scrumptious), and I had a good time getting to know more of Glen's family and trying to remember who was who. Glen was excited to bring his balloons to make balloon animals for his cousins, who were excited to get them (and pop them).

The "60" for Glen's g-parents

Glen's nieces sure enjoy their balloon animals

Happy birthday, America! I'm sure glad you're where I live.

-Me

"The thing that impresses me the most about America is the way parents obey their children." -King Edward VIII

To Kathryn

2011-06-28T09:12:00.000-06:00

Dear Beloved Cousin,

It is hard to post about a wedding when you have no pictures. Believe me, I would looooooooooove to write about my fabulous wedding, as you have so requested (mainly because it was incredibly fabulous), but I'm afraid the post would look terribly boring without pictures to accompany it. (i have been informed that i write too many posts without pictures, and therefore my blog is difficult to muscle through.) I would have taken pictures myself, but alas! Wedding dresses have no pockets. I know others did take pictures, but officially I have only received six that my mother forwarded to me from your madre. Until I have some more, I probably won't be posting specifically about that wonderful day. I must crave your indulgence and ask you to be patient.

Love, Megan Merrell

p.s. To anybody else who may be reading my letter to Kathryn and you have pictures in which I would have interest, this is my passive-aggressive way of asking you to please send them to me!

Promises, Promises

2011-06-02T07:49:00.000-06:00

All right, I always said I wouldn't be the kind of girl who constantly posted the countdown to her wedding, because it always drove me crazy to see that on facebook. In fact, I pretty much vowed not to. But I'm going to sliiiiiiightly cheat today, simply because ...

SINGLE-DIGIT DAYS LEFT, PEOPLE!!!!

All right, that's off my chest. Thank you. bows

-Me

"The music at a wedding procession always reminds me of the music of soldiers going into battle." -Heinrich Heine

93 Million Miles Away

2011-06-01T08:04:00.000-06:00

After a dismally gloomy May in Utah, the sun has come out once more. I sure hope it's here to stay for quite some time. Help me out, everyone, and do some sun dances! I'm asking for purely selfish reasons, of course, (especially as regards the 11th of this month, so you oregonians had better participate, too) but I don't think I'm the only one who would appreciate some nice weather.

Let's keep the sun shining!

-Me

"A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain." -Mark Twain

Willow, Tit Willow, Tit Willow

2011-05-23T14:07:00.000-06:00

When I was in sixth grade, my music/expressive arts teacher decided that our "end of year" show would be a little one-act operetta entitled Trial By Jury. Thus I was formally introduced to Gilbert and Sullivan, a name pairing I had only heard listening to "The Pirate Song" by Ray Stevens in a passing reference to The Pirates of Penzance. A bunch of 11/12-year-olds singing light opera was probably one of the most grating-on-the-ears experiences my parents ever endured, but oh well.

As I have grown up, my experience with Gilbert and Sullivan has become a little more varied, but not so much that I can sing "Modern Major General" at full speed. I doubt that will ever happen, actually.

However, this summer, I will become more acquainted with Gilbert and Sullivan as Glen and I take the stage for a "revue" show of sorts (it will be quite the hodge-podge show, actually, but i'm only in the g&s sections). Time alone will tell if the experience will be positive or negative. Right now, I have other things to be focusing on. We'll see how I feel about it in a month.

I will be more enthusiastic than Sam, though.

-Me

"This ain't some Gilbert and Sullivan show, you know, with some little flittin' Tinkerbell!" -Ray Stevens

The Sweetest Gift

2011-05-18T13:07:00.000-06:00

The big day is approaching, which is SO crazy, but I'm pretty dang excited. The 'rents were in town almost two weeks ago, so my sweet sis threw me a bridal shower while Mom was physically present. It was a crazy weekend, too, because I was also moving into our new place. While we gals partied, Dad and Glen took the last of my stuff and picked up the bed we bought and dropped that at the new place. Thanks, fellas! I'm glad I didn't have to do that!

It was a fun afternoon, and I loved seeing all who came. Thanks, Kelly and Becky for putting together such a nice little party for me!

Me and my future sis-in-law Jenny

Kim and Sylvia

Cute former roomies (and asher)

Meg and Mash look on as I leap in excitement over the KitchenAid Mom got me

My cute family ladies who came to the shower!

Thanks so much, everyone! Y'all are awesome.

So now I'm in a new place, allllll by my lonesome until after June 11th. I'm hardly ever there except to sleep, though, so that's all right. (good thing i'm barely there, too, considering there's no furniture yet, teehee)

-Me

"Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance." -Charlotte Lucas, Pride and Prejudice

White and Nerdy

2011-05-10T13:44:00.001-06:00

Sometimes I feel like I am surrounded by cool people. Friends, cousins, etc. I think they're all excellent people. And I know you shouldn't compare yourself to others, but I occasionally still do that. (bad megan!) They take the best pictures, do the most fun things, give the best impressions of themselves to others. And as cool as they are, I wonder ... how could I ever be cool like them?

I'll have to settle for being myself (a state of being, by the way, i am normally very happy with). Sometimes, though, I really feel like I can relate to Dr. Sigmund Freud.

Oh, Siggy, somehow we'll make it.

-Me

"If you're a misfit within a group of misfits, does that mean you're actually normal and popular?" -Laura Preble

Idle Hands are ... What, Exactly?

2011-04-18T08:16:00.001-06:00

Sometimes you do anything you can ...

... to help the work day pass more quickly. (thanks, corey, for taping glen's face to clyde.)

-Me

"Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?" -Edgar Bergen

The Winner Takes it All

2011-03-29T09:39:00.000-06:00

Well, at least I'm not alone in how terrible my bracket was picked this year. Out of 5.9 million-plus people who filled out brackets on espn.com's Tournament Challenge, only two ... TWO ... people correctly predicted all of the teams who would be in the Final Four. And 70.3% did not get any teams in the Final Four. Most of my family stands (or cowers in humiliation) among that 70.3%. Congrats to Vicki and Steph for being non-conformists and getting one pick in the Final Four.

And extra congrats (officially) to Aunt Vicki because before the tournament has even ended, you are the winner of the coveted Kelly Klan "trophy", even if your national champion pick was beaten in one of the many upsets in just the third round.

As for me, I am shame-faced by all the pink on my bracket. I will not be visiting that page for the remainder of this tournament.

Just wait until next year, Vicki. Next year.

-Me

"I'll get you next time, Gadget! Next time!" -Dr. Claw

We Have No Bananas Today

2011-03-27T14:19:00.000-06:00

Preparing for marriage can be stressful, as many of you know. But amidst the stress, some funny conversations and debates have popped up between Glen and me. And I wanted to share one particularly frivolous one.

Bananas: Green or Yellow?

Now, I am in the green-tinted banana camp, and Glen is firmly planted in the yellow-with-some-brown-spots camp. This bodes well for our marriage, because when we go for groceries, we can buy delicious and beautiful kind-of-green bananas which I will enjoy for a couple of days, and once they go bad, Glen will happily consume them. What a symbiotic relationship we've got going. This will definitely not create a rift between us.

But what do you all think? Do you enjoy the crisp, fresh, delicious taste of a banana that still carries that green-ish hue? Or are you a mushy, over-sweet, kind-of-gross banana enthusiast? (yes, megan admits that she's attempting to sway your thinking; but it's her blog ... glen can influence you on his own blog, if he ever wants to create one.)

-Me

"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana." -Groucho Marx

The Luckiest

2011-03-14T10:28:00.000-06:00

It's been a crazy couple of weeks. Some very high highs, a couple of not-so-wonderful lows. But the highs have definitely been great, so that's what I'm going to focus on today. I have just resigned myself to the idea that the next three months will probably be a succession of these highs and lows in greater concentration than in previous times of my life. But it'll be better in the end.

Anyway, to list ... highs.

-Have never lost my ring.
-Glen got a Pell grant and is now debt-free!
-Went dress shopping for a few days and bought a gorgeous dress (and glen is feeling tortured because he can't see it until june 11th).
-The rash on my forehead (which accompanies one of the lows, but skipping over that) is slowly and steadily improving and fading.
-Mom met Glen and approved. (there was no doubt about that happening.)
-Have told and re-told the proposal story to great effect.
-Made a trek out to GJ for the weekend and got to see lots of family.
-Made enough Thai food to feed about thirty people (and there weren't 30 of us) and didn't have to chop the jalapenos or the onions ... thank you, sweetie.
-Hot tubbed both nights in GJ. Beautiful. (and thanks, camille and brad)
-Drove around Colorado National Monument on a practically perfect day.
-Jimmer broke 50 points. (focusing on the good game, not the game that made me want to tear my eyes out.)
-Slept on about a quarter of a king-size bed.
-Had multiple people comment on how thin I am. (was i fat before? ... don't answer that.)
-Was with Glen for two full days straight and didn't get anywhere near being tired of him.

All in all, I'm a pretty lucky gal. Still lots to do (more than i realize, i'm sure), but feeling good and happy. Hooray!

-Me

"Tristan and Isolde were lucky to die when they did. They'd have been sick of all that rubbish in a year." -Robertson Davies

Northbound Train

2011-02-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

I have a feeling that my regular readers are people who have already found out the news in various other ways ... phone calls, facebook, word-of-mouth, etc. However, I probably should cover all my bases. So here goes. Drumroll, please?

B-d-d-d-d-d- ... (how would you "spell" a drumroll, anyway?)

I am engaged!

(commences dancing, leaping, and general revelry)

And now comes the proposal story, for those of you who have inquired. For those of you who already know the story, or simply don't need/want to know, you may cease reading from this point on, if you so desire. (hyphenated sentences represent megan's inner thoughts.)

Friday night I arrived at Glen's apartment so we could make dinner and do our usual Friday-night-stuff. He immediately said, "Hey, let's go for a walk while it's still light outside. The sun's going to set."

--raises eyebrows ... "a 'walk', huh?"--

So we headed out into the chilly February evening (about 6 o'clock) and walked over to a footbridge at the Provo River fairly close to Glen's place.

--"a bridge? does he know about me and bridges?" harking back to the "anne of green gables" movie (if you pick it up at 9:30, you'll reach the relevant scene) ... to answer that question, yes, he did. esther was kind enough to inform him of that humorous and silly 'fantasy'--

We stood looking at the water, when suddenly, over the din of the rushing water below, I heard strands of music wafting in the air.

--"North and South??? ohhhhh, corny, sweet, and here it comes." megan begins to laugh.--

Ended up that the cord connecting his mp3 player to the speaker was a little faulty, so the music was crackling. He ended up pulling that out of his coat pocket and handing it to me to hold so the music wouldn't keep cutting out and he could actually kneel and pull out the ring. (which is b-e-a-utiful.)

--"wow, this is really happening!" still laughter, kind of welling, but no tears to ruin my make-up, thank goodness--

He asked the question, I (obviously) said yes, and the rest is history. So, completely unexpected to me, I laughed through a good part of the proposal. Hardly poised behavior. But fortunately, Glen loves and knows me well enough to know that I wasn't laughing at him and wondering, "What in the heck are you thinking?"

I spent the rest of the weekend wearing out my phone, which has never been put to so much use the entire length of my ownership thereof.

But it was worth it.

Oh! And when I actually can find a decent camera that will actually manage to get a good shot of my ring, I'll post pictures of it. Unfortunately, my camera really stinks.

-Me

"In Hollywood a marriage is a success if it outlasts milk." -Rita Rudner

Hello, I Love You, Won't You Tell Me Your Name?

2011-02-22T11:15:00.000-07:00

You know how sometimes it's fun to "people watch"? Not in the sense that you're staring at complete strangers and making them very uncomfortable, of course, but to just watch trends in behavior and such. I've never been much of a people watch-er, but goodness, when I do, I sure enjoy trying to figure out the relationships between the people. Dating, engaged, married, getting-away-from-children-for-a-night, older gents and ladies, etc.

Glen and I were given front-row seats to a VERY obvious first date yesterday afternoon. It was almost laughable to observe. Topics covered included family locations, favorite music, and my personal favorite in the thought-provoking-question category, "What class do you want to take that you haven't?" (answer: "martial arts" -- he's a keeper, honey)

I tried to laugh discreetly with Glen once I discovered what was going on, and I sure hope I was successful. However, I'm pretty sure that the girl was so intent on asking question after question that she wasn't paying much attention to the couple at the other end of the table ("the couple" being us). If there was something to be improved upon, it was the fact that the guy was hardly asking her questions back. We considered slipping him a note with that suggestion for about two seconds, but we refrained. However, if he's hoping for continual dates with the same girl, he's going to have to ask questions about her.

Ah, the world of first dates ... I don't miss it.

(and now i wonder if anybody was observing glen and me ...)

Awkward first date? Maybe not.

-Me

"Don't accept rides from strange men, and remember that all men are strange." -Robin Morgan

You Make Me Smile With My Heart

2011-02-14T13:55:00.000-07:00

Valentine's Day again. You either love it or you hate it. I guess I'm still on the fence. I mean, love is great and I'm all for that. But shouldn't you be using every day as an opportunity to express love for those around you? (deep thought, i know.)

But no matter what my thoughts are on the holiday itself, I'm looking forward to spending an evening with my fella. Years ago, my mom got a recipe for this delicious parfait out of The Oregonian, and it's been a family favorite ever since that time. This year was the first year I attempted to make it. Let's hope that it gets a good reception! (glen ...)

Looking over previous posts, I realized that last year I did not include a list of things I love, as in the years before (which i'm sure you allllll noticed). Seeing as how this is a gross violation of a blog tradition that I started three years ago, I must repent of the error and write out a list this year in an attempt to make amends. In this small way I can take steps toward a better and brighter future.

Here goes (in no particular order, for the most part):

Glen
My family
Blankets
My bed
Good oranges
Gal pals
Avocados
Cute shoes
Sappy movies
Warmer weather
Elinor (my piano)
Pretty choir music
My rice bag
Excellent books
Opportunities to laugh hysterically (even at myself)
Happy tears
Earrings

I'll stop there. Obviously some of those items are a little more frivolous than others, so perhaps I should clarify the type of love I feel for them. But I'm going to assume that you, my readers, are intelligent enough to distinguish between the real love and the mere infatuation with inanimate objects. ;)

Spread the love, everyone!

-Me

"I'm not a vegetarian because I love animals. I'm a vegetarian because I hate plants." -A. Whitney Brown

Let's Go, Girls

2011-02-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

So -- people think that Mormons are weird. Well, quite frankly, I think everyone is weird in their own special way, not just Mormons. I will say that we are definitely different, a fact which made my mom laugh a bit when I told her about our "last roommate hurrah" to commemorate Lisa moving out. I mean, I think going out to dinner with friends is pretty standard when you're moving farther than two minutes away from them, and we did that Friday night. But Saturday morning is when we deviated from what other people may do. Lisa, Betsey, and I left our place at 7 a.m. to make a drive and go to the Manti temple. None of us had been to that temple, but it was a really beautiful place. And I didn't really think anything of it until I told my parents about it and Mom queried, "How many people do that as a last hurrah?" Good question, Mom.

The weekend before last I was also able to do some gal-pal activities because Glen was long gone (to vegas) and naturally that left me with lots of free time. Attending True Grit with Jen and Casey was pretty fun, especially at the parts of the movie that we all cringed at and wished later we hadn't witnessed. heh heh Then there was lunchtime with Becky (and consequently, noah) and to the Carl Bloch exhibit that evening with Esther. Gotta love my girls, and I do. It was nice to spend some time one-on-one with them (and then all together later that same evening when becky and noah dropped by my place).

In other news: pink eye is dumb. I have never had it before, and two weeks ago, I woke up, feeling that my right eye was just ... watering (and other stuff, too, but we won't get into that) and it looked a tad irritated. By the end of the day, it was fully yucky. (nice vocabulary choice, huh? i'm soooo eloquent.) I think I washed every single cloth-like possession of mine in the next two days, as well as visiting the doctor, which I just love, to get some anti-biotic drops to clear it out. It made its way into my left eye, too, but it eventually decided to go away, which made me happy. I sincerely hope I never get it again, because it was a big fat pain ... and I am not an expert at putting stuff in my eyes.

Now we wait for the weather to warm up. PLEASE ... warm up.

-Me

"A hospital is no place to be sick." -Samuel Goldwyn

I Need My Kneaded Biscuits Plain

2011-01-25T14:23:00.004-07:00

I've got a beef. It's a nerdy beef, but it's a beef all the same. And I'm going to write about it. Are you prepared? Okay, here we go.

I am occasionally "ashamed" of the fact that I tend to be a prescriptivist when it comes to how the English language is used (chiefly as regards its spelling, actually). Needless to say, my descriptivist friends all but call me a Nazi just because I dislike seeing a phrase such as "a lot" spelled as one word. Look, I understand that language has to be malleable. I don't want English to become a dead language thanks to a bunch of stodgy rules we've forced onto it. Besides, there are so many exceptions to existing English grammar and style "rules" that it would be impossible for me to keep track of them all, much less attempt to lump everything together in one "giant Jell-o mold." (gold star for who knows that reference.)

But I'm sick of apologizing for the fact that I enjoy correct spelling. Is it so hard to add an "L" and a space to the horrific and indolent "alright"? I know that "alright" has its defenders (and has for the last century), some of whom might be among my readers. But in my opinion, "alright" came about because people decided to justify laziness by saying they follow such examples as "all together" and "altogether". That argument holds no water, guys, because the phrase "all together" and the word "altogether" have different meanings! Not so with "all right" and "alright", if you ask me.

And thus is stated one example out of many lovely pet peeves I have acquired throughout my life, my study, and my work. (ooh! the serial comma in that list could spark another writing debate concerning style, but let's not go into that. i'm sticking to spelling nuisances for now.) Some of you may find it hard to believe, but most of the time I do manage to keep quiet when somebody misspells or misuses a common word. Maybe I should keep quiet more often than I do, but I used to be worse. Really. I don't wish to ostracize my friends and family by relentlessly correcting their spelling. (especially since i make mistakes, too.)

To the general universe, though, I beg you. Please stop making me feel ashamed for liking some rules, especially when it comes to spelling. Spelling used to be a strength of mine that I was proud of; now it seems to mark me as stuffy, pretentious, and old-fashioned. I'd like to be happy with my spelling abilities once more. Is there any way we can let me spell "all right" as two words without making me feel like a dinosaur for doing so?

Only an ELang graduate would giggle at this.

-Me

"A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the word you first thought of." -Burt Bacharach

A Hazy Shade of Winter

2011-01-18T13:58:00.000-07:00

Just in case anyone was wondering, I am alive. You can all return from the edge of your seats now.

I won't attempt to catch y'all up on the last month, because it would be an insanely long post, and I just don't have the patience. :) You can just assume that Christmas and New Years' and all the celebrating that went along with the holidays were excellent. (and you'd be right.)

Today I'm simply relieved that the glacial two weeks (or more?) we had here when I got back from Oregon are over. It really wasn't any fun getting up for work and scraping off the ice in 5-degree-weather ... every day for two weeks. Not that I ever thought weathermen were incredibly reliable, but I felt like they kept on predicting at-least-freezing temperatures simply to torment me. (oh, i'm sorry, do i sound like a baby? i don't care; it was TOO COLD!) The first day it reached 32 again, I was excessively happy. And "excessively" in this case is no exaggeration.

Now is the season for list-making: resolutions, places to visit, people to see, repairs to make, music to practice. It seems pretty daunting when I lay it all out at once, but I'll try to take one day and one goal at a time (maybe two goals if the first one isn't terribly difficult).

Today's Focus List: The Groceries. (quite possibly the most important list, period.)

-Me

"Canada is a country whose main exports are hockey players and cold fronts." -Pierre Trudeau

No Al, No Al

2010-12-20T12:13:00.000-07:00

December is two-thirds over. Wow. And just when I was getting used to writing 2010 on my checks.

By this time tomorrow, I will be chillin' in Oregon, and I'm incredibly excited for the break. After the last couple of weeks planning all the musical programs for church (and dealing with people canceling and last-minute practices because everybody is always so busy this time of year), I'm really looking forward to going to church with my parents next week simply because I won't have to lug around a bag of music. I'm also especially pumped to not have to worry about going to work for a week. Huzzah!

But despite my relief that the music programs I planned are over, I was very happy with how they turned out. I'm pretty lucky to be surrounded by talented and dedicated people who are willing to share. And then of course there are the treats accompanying all these things. Mmm...

This last weekend was quite splendiferous. Saturday Glen and I headed up north, with a quick visit to a sleepy Esther on the way, to my sister's to hang out and attend Kelly's piano student recital, in which my oldest niece and nephew played. Kelly and I played to finish off the extravaganza, so I'm definitely getting in my practice on the Sleigh Ride duet. (you ready for me, mom?) Anyway, we had a good time listening and then hanging out for a bit. That evening was my ward's Christmas dinner, so I ate some scrumptious food and enjoyed the company of ward friends as we all made fun of the ugly sweaters that people were sporting.

Glen and I exchanged gifts last night, and I am not ashamed to admit that a portion of my gift(s) to him was partly for my benefit. He lives in a very typical boys' apartment, so I'm not sure they've even heard of measuring cups. But now he can measure to his heart's content. (and so can i when i go over there.) And while I gave practical gifts, he gave me a very sweet one: a necklace. Thus marks the first time a boy has ever given me jewelry. I kind of like it. :) (and when i say "kind of", i mean "really".)

-Me

"Christmas is not about being with people you like! It's about being with your family!" -Tim Taylor

And a Partridge In a Pear Tree

2010-12-13T12:52:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite feelings about the more ... commercialized, we'll call it ... aspect of Christmas is the glee about gift-giving. I know that it's incredibly easy to just give a gift card, and let's face it - getting money can be very handy. But I really love it when I've picked a present for someone that I think they will really enjoy or love. I'm not going to say I always pick (or make, for that matter) the perfect gift, but there are a couple this year that I'm pretty excited to know what the recipients will think of them. At least I know for sure that Becky liked the knee pads. One for one so far this year.

Oh, the anticipation.

This is a series of me opening a gift a couple years ago. The ensuing delight is what I'd like others to exhibit when they open gifts from me.

I think she likes it.

-Me

"You haven't given me a gift; you've given me an obligation!" -Sheldon Cooper

Chow Down

2010-12-01T14:12:00.000-07:00

It was only a matter of time. Last fall/winter I managed to not get a cold. No sniffles, no sore throats, nothing like that. It was a relief, considering the winter before I think I had a cold three different times. (as i recall, all of us who resided in the halfway house that winter were sick quite often.) I guess I was long overdue for a stuffy nose.

I'm going to be bold and blame my nephew for getting me sick. The poor kid was coughing up a storm while I was at my sister's for Thanksgiving. But I'm still glad I made my way to Kelly's for the holiday. As ever, I always forget to take pictures when it comes to Thanksgiving with my family, so no pictures from that. I was there a couple of days, and it was pretty fun. The food was delicious, naturally, and Kelly made a fantastic pot of hot tomato. Mmm.

And now ... bring on Christmas! I witnessed (and helped very little) the ornamentation of the tree and decorating of the house at my sister's before I came back home, where the tree had already been put up by my extremely efficient roommate. Monday night the ward headed up to Salt Lake to see the lights on Temple Square, and while it was bitterly cold, I always enjoy seeing the lights, and this time was no exception. (the experience also did wonders for my cold. ;) )

Now I get to worry about what to give people for Christmas ... hmm. Suggestions?

-Me

"On Thanksgiving Day all over America, families sit down to dinner at the same moment - halftime." -Unknown

It's All in the Family

2010-11-23T09:40:00.000-07:00

It really is too bad that the time of year when you see your family the most is when weather is at its worst. At a family dinner last night, my brother made that comment and he and his wife contemplated starting a holiday during the summer that would gather the family together. That way, you wouldn't have to worry about the weather interfering with any plans you make. (theoretically.) I'm with you, guys. I'm with you.

But I have enjoyed seeing my family more often in the last month or so. Several of us got together last month when my folks were in town, and my cousin Ryan decided he liked the idea of us all seeing each other, so that evening he picked a date for us all to get together again.

(pictures courtesy of steph hodgwoman ... well, "courtesy" in that i stole them from her facebook album)

So a week and a half ago, all of us Utah-dwellers, plus some Colorado visitors, got together. It was quite the group, and it's just a given that when three of more of us on the Kelly side are together, it's going to be a loud evening. A very loud evening. But the volume is ultimately worth it when you're surrounded by people who love you and who you love. (awww...) What is especially fortunate is that Glen wasn't scared away by the decibel level of my family. He still willingly saw me the next day and everything! More daunting to him is the task of remembering who was who. Good luck!

And what with the major holiday coming up in a couple days, Tom and Lisa drove down from Oregon to spend a week with her family, so a few of us got together for dinner last night. Wasn't as big a group, but we can still make our presence known, even in a large sports "bar" (yeah, no one was actually sitting at the bar ... welcome to orem). Once I finish with work this week, I get to spend Thanksgiving up at Kelly's place, too, so that will be most excellent. Lots of family time. It's great.

-Me

"There is plenty of peace in a home where the family doesn't make the mistake of trying to get together." -Kin Hubbard

Spin It, Let's Begin It

2010-11-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a certain youtube video, I have spent the last week or so getting various theme songs stuck in my head. (darkwing duck spent nearly the whole day with me on monday.) Childhood reminiscing can be pretty fun, when you realize what silly things stuck out to you and what your favorites were.

Barkley. I always wanted a big fuzzy dog like Barkley. He didn't appear a whole lot on Sesame Street when I watched it, but when he did, I smiled. (trivia: the name "barkley" was a consideration when jim henson and co. were naming rowlf the dog.)

Daniel the Tiger. Shy, soft-spoken, and sweet puppet in the Land of Make-Believe on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Although, I kind of think I just liked the clock that he lived in.

TaleSpin. Shere Khan as a business tycoon in those snazzy suits? Sheer (no pun intended) genius. Baloo as a hot-shot pilot? Niiiice. And (former king) Louie as a bartender? Excellent. Add in that catchy theme song and you've got a hit. (especially since there was no mowgli in sight.)

Adding to my nerdy nature, I'm including a Power Ranger. But not Tommy the "heart throb" or Jason the de facto leader. Billy, the blue Ranger. Totally my favorite. He had the geek thing going for him, and I loved it. ("geek thing" also explained donatello as my favorite ninja turtle.)

And going back to the Disney afternoon line-up, my favorite cartoon of those was Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers. Whether Monty was being lured by the scintillating smell of "cheeeeeese" or Gadget continued to be oblivious to Chip and Dale vying for her attention, I loved this show.

Of course, I didn't realize until later in life that Chip and Dale were modeled after Harrison Ford and Tom Selleck. Which naturally adds to their awesomeness.

-Me

"Somewhere on this globe, every ten seconds, there is a woman giving birth to a child. She must be found and stopped." -Sam Levenson

Smile

2010-11-12T09:24:00.000-07:00

I know the following statement may come as a shock to my readers, considering how open I am about my life, but there are some things I am a little shy about sharing on this blog, even when I'm very happy about them. But, hey, since I have no problem talking about a lack of a dating life, I shouldn't have a problem talking about having one, either.

In other words ... Megan has a boyfriend. (insert big smiley face here.)

I do not use exclamation points because I am attempting to play it cool. (ha!) But if you want details and such, please feel free to contact me and ask, and I will most definitely be using more exclamation points as I share than you really wish me to. Okay, here are a few that just need to get out.

!!!!!

I feel like I should write more, but I'll leave it at that, and you may draw your own conclusions. ;)

Oh, also, his name is Glen. :) (sound familar, anyone?)

-Me

"What's the difference between a boyfriend and a husband? About 30 pounds." -Cindy Gardner

Cold Feet

2010-11-09T22:42:00.000-07:00

It's officially cold. I'm wearing scarfs, sweaters, and gloves, and I used the rice bag last night to warm my feet as I went to sleep. (thank you again, becky!) It's a good thing I look cute in winter accessories; there's got to be an upside to bundling up. Gotta keep warm, gotta keep warm.

I moved into my new office last week! Hooray! No, not a promotion or anything; the space was just freed up. I was pretty happy about the move. Now I don't have to look like a deviant looking through other people's offices just to take a look outside. Granted, my view isn't incredibly amazing ... there's a nice cement wall ... but I can see the sky. Lots of fun new things in my life these days. It all adds up to me being amazingly blessed.

Last weekend I took a jaunt to BYU campus and attended the Women's/Men's Chorus concert. They both sounded awesome, and I did feel a tad sentimental when the Women's Chorus took their place on stage. Naturally, the people in the audience only ever truly come for the Men's Chorus, as evidenced by the numerous cheers that rang through the hall when their turn came around. They sang some beautiful sets, as well as finishing off with a rousing, riveting, and ridiculous set that included "I Know An Old Lady" (yes, the one who swallows a fly). Boys acting silly and singing (yes, i'm looking at you, glen) ... makes for a great end to a fantastic concert.

-Me

"Our pens have turned into ink-sicles!" -Rat Clerks in Muppet Christmas Carol

I Put a Spell On You

2010-11-03T14:18:00.000-06:00

If my Halloween costume looks slightly familiar to my regular readers, it's because it is. I had no desire to go searching for a different outfit after the time I took to find a dress for the murder mystery dinner a few weeks ago, so I was just the 30's Hollywood star again. I got many varying guesses about what exactly I was, too. I was just too generic to be a specific person, but not generic enough so that people automatically knew what era I was representing. Oh, well. What matters is that my feet were killing me by 10 p.m. because I'd been wearing those heels since 7 a.m. ;)

Me and the roomies before hitting the parties

Only because I think this is adorable

The office has changed a lot this last year, so Halloween wasn't quite the spooktacular it historically has been, but that's all right. Still managed to drink my way through four cups of hot chocolate (the sweets fast ended two days previous) and tie with Sylvia for the best costumes, although I think she should have been the sole winner of the Swedish fish. The owl with the red cape alone put her Briar Rose look far above my costume.

"Once upon a dream."

Cute.

That night, the roomies and I (plus paul) headed to a couple of Halloween parties hosted by friends in the ward, which were both very fun. (i especially enjoyed bronson and jason singing to the soundtrack of "dr. horrible's sing-along-blog". natural performers.) We finished the evening by watching The Scarlet Pimpernel (not exactly a halloween-ish movie, is it?), but I was so tired that I made it only halfway before heading to bed. Mmm, sleep.

Guess the Disney princess look is "in". Beautiful Jen.

Dr. Horrible, aka Bronson, agrees to a photo op.

Jason was a tad too realistic as a zombie.

Oh, the humanity.

Maybe I'm childish this way, but I still have a lot of fun dressing up for Halloween. I generally decide at the last minute what I'll be, but it's fun putting something together and looking not-quite-myself. And I always love seeing what other people become. I think all my roommates looked particularly excellent: Betsey as Princess Lolly, Lisa as a fairy, and Sarah as Cleopatra. You all looked amazing, girls!

And Danny gets the prize for most surprising costume.

Paul as the Goblin King, i.e. David Bowie, and Tiffany as Lady Gaga

How ... cute? (they looked awesome)

In other news, the old car has been sold! Don't worry, Lisa, I found it a good home.

-Me

"Peace! But not ... literally." -Dr. Horrible

I'll Save You From the Terror on the Screen

2010-10-29T14:26:00.000-06:00

I still haven't decided if I enjoy being scared. You'd think that people wouldn't like being scared ... ever, but some individuals enjoy the adrenaline rush. Scary movies, rollercoasters, haunted houses, etc. They exist for a reason: some people like them. They have the luxury of being scared while remaining safe. Go figure.

I just don't know if I am one of the people who like or hate it. But I do know I like watching my friends be scared when I know what's coming. Last week, visiting the corn maze at Thanksgiving Point, while I got a little tired of the constant screaming by the girls with me, I rather enjoyed seeing them scared as I was the one to lead them through. (although ... i didn't know what was coming that time. i was just not nearly as scared as they were.)

Last night, I watched Wait Until Dark with some friends next door, and being blessed with the advantage of having seen the movie before, I was looking forward to the especially suspenseful and frightening moments. Why was I looking forward to them? Because I knew they would all jump and scream. And when they did so last night, I laughed. How incredibly mean of me.

And then I think of watching Arachnophobia last Friday next door. I saw it long ago as a little kid (can't believe i watched it at the age of six or seven ... how did that slip past mom's radar?), but there were only a couple of snippets I remembered. Was I laughing then? Nope. Half the movie, I was using my blanket to shield my eyes from the screen. No question about my enjoyment, or more appropriately, the lack thereof, during the evening. And yet, the "spider" my roommates planted in my bed didn't disturb me a bit. I felt it, wondered what it was, and promptly fell asleep. I wasn't even afraid to lift up my covers in the morning and discover what was at the foot of my bed. Curious.

I suppose it depends on the manner of being frightened that changes my pleasure in being so affected. Haunted maze? Fun-scared. Wait Until Dark? Fun-scared with the additional sadistic glee of seeing everybody else jump. Arachnophobia? NOT fun-scared. Creepy crawlies that can leap across a room and kill you? You can keep those particular thrills, thank you.

-Me

"Wait here, Audrey. This is between me and the vegetable." -Rick Moranis, Little Shop of Horrors

Go Greased Lightning

2010-10-26T10:28:00.000-06:00

The king is dead. Long live the king.

I think this applies to the biggest news of my life of the last week, aside from my parents being in town and hanging with my family over the weekend. I got myself a new car!

Of course, it's a used car, but it's never been used by me, and it's been used less than the car I've been driving for the last three and a half years. I've been very fond of that good, faithful Corolla, but it was time for an upgrade to a car that proves I'm not still a poor college student.

So forgive me if I boast, and don't mock me too much when I say I got the feeling that I'd betrayed the old car as I drove past it the other day. But I'm pretty excited, and I think you should be, too! I'm liking my ride.

-Me

"Space isn't remote at all. It's only an hour's drive away if you car could go straight upwards." -Fred Hoyle

They're Creepy and They're Kooky

2010-10-19T09:42:00.000-06:00

I'll tell you one of the things I love about fall and the season of Halloween: the accessories! Actually, that's something I love about the holiday season in general, because it's definitely not restricted to just Halloween. But currently it's October, and that's the holiday on the brain, especially after visiting the haunted maze and going on the hay ride last night (what fun to have my friends cling to my jacket as we walked ... and occasionally ran ... through the maze. when did i become the brave one?).

I love my Halloween earrings. I believe the count is at six or seven pairs, all of which I think are so fun. Not to be less regarded are the hair clips, necklaces, and socks that illuminate what this season is really about, namely black cats, spider webs, and skeletons. When October began and I wore my pumpkin-headed scarecrow earrings to work, I literally hopped a little as I showed them off in exuberant delight to my amused co-workers.

Sylvia says that I remind her of kindergarten teachers with my adoration of the Halloween accessories, but I disagree. I have not bought a Halloween sweater, after all.

Maybe next year.

-Me

"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death." -Harold Wilson

Blue Monday

2010-10-11T13:54:00.000-06:00

You know you've had a good weekend when you come to work on Monday even more tired than when you left it on Friday afternoon. The only downside? You come to work on Monday even more tired than when you left it on Friday afternoon.

I already said something about this, but I'll repeat that I watched ... a really wonderful movie ... with some gal pals on Friday night. It had been a few months since I'd watched it, and I was most definitely craving it. The friends who came had also already seen it, so we actually spent a lot of time jabbering away while the movie played, only pausing to swoon during significant scenes (and some others in between). Of course, there was also the inevitable laughter generated at my expense as I pointed out the lack of a cravat in a scene and then later when I started cawing like a crow in response to a comment of Megan's.

I looked simply fabulous on Saturday night as an up-and-coming 1930s Hollywood actress/director while attending a murder mystery dinner. (and i better have, considering the effort i went through to find a dress. finally went up to salt lake that morning to patronize a vintage clothing store.) You'd think that accusing seven other people for two and a half hours for the murder of the big-time producer who turns out to be your uncle wouldn't be too entertaining, but I had a lot of fun. Trying to segue into revealing important information as everybody else was doing the same thing was sometimes a bit of a chore, but I was pretty pleased with my ability to do so semi-effectively. And I felt pretty doing it, which is naturally what is most important to me.

(and now i don't have to worry about what i'm going to be for halloween.)

Glen and me in our get-ups.

Sunday evening, I attended a "24 years and older" singles' dinner that turned out to be quite the large affair. The whole point was to mingle and mix, and I met a couple of new people, but I spent the chief of my time chatting it up with friends, all the while resisting the urge to consume any of the cookies I brought with me. (silly sugar fast. is it november yet?)

-Me

"One should always be wary of anyone who promises that their love will last longer than a weekend." -Quentin Crisp

A Lovely Night

2010-10-08T23:45:00.000-06:00

I'm hopeless.

Watched North and South tonight with some girlfriends.

That should explain my opening sentence pretty well. :)

-Me

"Music makes one feel so romantic - at least it always gets on one's nerves - which is the same thing nowadays." -Oscar Wilde

Always There to Be My Guy

2010-10-06T08:32:00.001-06:00

There's a new man in my life. He likes to travel around, always has a smile on his face, and is a pretty sharp dresser. Allow me to introduce him. Clyde.

Okay, he hasn't really got much of a personality, but he always makes his way back to me. Beats me how he does it, though, considering he can't exactly move his feet. Clyde was introduced into our office a couple weeks ago during our Spirit Week, and it's become a running joke to wonder where he's going to turn up next. He's made it quite often into my cubicle, though, thanks to a caring (or is it meddling?) boss who thinks I don't meet enough guys.

Clyde actually has scared a few people in the office, because most of his head is taller than the cubicle walls, so some people, when not looking closely, have been startled by him. I guess I can understand that, but the first morning he showed up in my cubicle, it didn't faze me at all. Maybe that's why he always ends up back with me, because I really don't mind his presence.

But I think this is even more proof that I need to get myself a real man.

-Me

"My husband gave me a necklace. It's fake. I requested fake. Maybe I'm paranoid, but in this day and age, I don't want something around my neck that's worth more than my head." -Rita Rudner

Don't Stop Believing

2010-10-01T11:40:00.002-06:00

If I talk more about dating, relationships, and love in general, there's a good reason for it: it's on my mind a lot these days. I apologize if this bothers you, but you can choose to stop reading and watch the latest viral video. You continue at your own risk, so don't come crying to me and say I didn't warn you. Maybe I should put it in big letters.

WARNING: Thoughts on my personal life follow.

Now that that's over, let us proceed. I have to admit, I've felt more than a little frustrated about dating lately, both for myself and for others. (but mostly for me. i'm selfish that way.) Different experiences have been contributing to my attitude, but unfortunately I've let those experiences cloud my vision more than they should. Occasionally I've felt myself falling into what Howard W. Hunter termed "The Three D's ... Despair, Doom, and Discouragement." Grr. It's time to make a change. Pres. Hunter was right when he said that those three D's "are not an acceptable view of life." That's why I'm thankful for the opportunities I've been given to hope.

Hope is a pretty amazing concept, principle, and restorative. I love what Pres. Uchtdorf says about it, that it "has the power to fill our lives with happiness. Its absence - when this desire of our heart is delayed - can make the heart sick." (in case you couldn't tell from my constant quoting of pres. uchtdorf, he's my favorite.) I know that to be true, that when I give into despair and don't hope, my heart is sick. I am completely unhappy when I believe the worst about relationships and my ability to find someone with whom I can be happy. That's when I forget to hope. Shame on me.

But through it all, I know that hoping is better than despairing. Sure, I've had discouraging experiences to put me off, but I've also had numerous experiences giving me hope that I'm going to be all right, whether I'm married or single. (although they mainly give me hope that i won't be single forever ... i actually prefer that hope.) Some experiences are pretty personal, and I won't elaborate on them here (shock! megan actually keeps quiet about some things!), but suffice it to say that they have come.

I think it is one of God's tender mercies that he gives me reminders to restore hope in mankind, myself, and dating. At ward temple night, Betsey and I reminded ourselves of the good guys we know, the ones that give us hope that it is possible to find a good man in this crazy world. The little things that I actually do right, those things that make me remember that I'm a good person despite my failings, gives me hope that I am improving and making myself better for a future husband and family.

Hope restored does wonders for my attitude and most likely improves my chances of actually being asked out by a guy I want to be around. Who would want to date a bitter girl who believes the worst about herself? If I were a guy, I sure wouldn't. I don't want to be that girl. So I'm going to remember to hope, to be happy, to remember what God has already done for me and what He has promised.

If you're struggling with hope, I echo Pres. Uchtdorf's words: "And to all who suffer - to all who feel discouraged, worried, or lonely - I say with love and deep concern for you, never give in. Never surrender. Never allow despair to overcome your spirit." There is so much to hope for. (even marriage for megan. ;) )

-Me

"My doctor gave me two weeks to live. I hope they're in August." -Ronnie Shakes

Dancing in September

2010-09-28T10:00:00.000-06:00

Fall approaches swiftly. The weather seems to be having a final hurrah this week with semi-high temperatures, but it's only a matter of time before it drops. That's all right. Just have to get in my outside time as much as possible before that happens. Fortunately, I had a few opportunities to do so over the weekend.

Thursday (yes, not the weekend, but this was an outdoor activity), several of the people in my office went to Mt. Timpanogos Park to do some planting, weeding, digging, etc., as part of our "Spirit Week". Trying to dig holes in rocky soil was quite a chore, but we were victorious, and it was so nice to have a break from the cubicle for a morning.

Worker bees

Was I really this happy digging in the impossible ground?

Clint gets a little jarred from hitting some stubborn rock with the pick axe

Friday night Jay and I went to Sundance for the full moon lift ride. I was thankful that it was a clear night, because it would have felt kind of wasteful to go during cloud cover. Since this was the last weekend of the full moon rides, there were plenty of people (cough, cough, understatement) waiting around, so we stood in line a lot longer than I originally (and naively) anticipated. No worries. It was a tad chilly, but we survived, and it was excellent dangling my feet for an hour and talking under the stars.

Token picture from the lift ride

Sunday afternoon, my roommates and I went out the canyon to see the changing colors. There were plenty of colors to see in the canyon as we drove, and we stopped at a park to have a photo session, but it's still early enough that the trees in the park were all pretty green. You had to look up a few feet to see red, orange, and yellow. But no matter. It was still a gorgeous day, so we had a good time walking around, taking pictures and climbing trees, simply enjoying ourselves and the afternoon.

Feelin' the love

Cute girls Betsey, Sarah, and Lisa (yes, even with Betsey's face)

Gorgeous Lisa

Tree hugger

Betsey helps Lisa climb. How sweet.

They took me seriously when I said "Attitude!"

I still don't know if I'm completely ready for the change of season, but at least I haven't been completely wasting the nice weather while we've got it. Besides, I know that there are aspects of fall that I love, so bring it on!

-Me

"September tries its best to have us forget summer." -Bern Williams

He Left All the Books to Her

2010-09-24T19:08:00.002-06:00

The other day I was looking up possibilities of books to read and check out of the library (decided on The Brothers Karamazov and The Portrait of a Lady, if anybody's curious), and while searching through lists, I came upon a title written by Honore de Balzac. And the first thing that popped in my head was Hermione Gingold's (as Mrs. Shinn) distinctive, disgusted declaration of "Balllllllllzac!" in The Music Man. And it made me ponder how fun it is that we associate completely disparate things together, that hearing or seeing one thing can make us think of another. (Of course, I also had "Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little" stuck in my head the rest of the day, too.)

Okay, so Mrs. Shinn referring directly to Balzac isn't much of a stretch of the imagination, but what else makes me think of something completely different, that because of experience I associate two distinct (and possibly random) items with one another?

1. Ballroom Dancing with Gilbert Blythe. How did that happen? Thanks to an old friend named Caleb, who did ballroom dancing, but also dressed as Gilbert Blythe for Halloween one year to complement Megan Young's Anne Shirley.

2. Family Dinners with The Three Musketeers. Because half our dinner conversation while I was growing up was probably movie quotes, I suppose any movie could suffice, but I always think of my brothers quoting Rochefort. My opinion is that they did it in order to imitate his gravelly voice, but I still laugh when I think of them saying such things as "Burn it" and "There are three". (and then i laugh harder when i remember that i occasionally made the mistake of trying to imitate him, too.)

3. "The Blue Danube" and American Football. I wrote about this in a previous post, but it's definitely one worth mentioning again for the sake of this list. Thanks to a terrible little film named "NFL's Greatest Hits", this music and sport will forever be linked together in my memory.

4. Kinko's and Little People. No, not the politically correct term for midgets, but the Fisher-Price toy brand. I don't know if it was a Kinko's, but when I was little, I remember going with my mother to a copying store and there were toys to play with while I waited. I don't even know for sure if it the toys there actually were Little People, but that's what pops in my head whenever I walk into my local Kinko's to make a copy.

Weird, huh? There are lots of other little things, and of course they don't matter to anyone but me. But I suppose that's what makes me special. Unique. A little strange. "Pick-a-little, talk-a-little, cheep!"

-Me

"The National Rifle Association says, 'Guns don't kill people. People do.' But I think the gun helps." -Eddie Izzard

All My Only Dreams

2010-09-17T11:44:00.000-06:00

I never used to be able to remember my dreams. I kind of miss those days. I wouldn't call my dreams at all prophetic, considering I never plan on creeping around my church building with Josh Groban, a la James Bond, or falling in love with a potential murderer or getting shot in the shoulder by a group of renegade soldiers. But it does make me (and others) wonder ... what is going on with my head?

I suppose dreams aren't ever supposed to be normal, but mine have certainly strayed to the morbid side of the dream spectrum. Murder, unrequited love, skulking, shootings, being forced into an office I don't wish to enter (or was that reality?) ... None of them have been nightmares, per se, but goodness. How about something a little more uplifting and hopeful? (yes, being forced into an office was a dream, but i don't know why i didn't want to go in. maybe there was a balrog on the other side?)

Don't get me wrong. I don't want to have dreams where I'm skipping in meadows of daisies, singing "I Honestly Love You". (there's an image.) I'd wake myself up retching if that were the case. I wouldn't mind some happy love; not overkill, naturally. Or if there has to be action, I'd be more than happy to destroy the Death Star or escape the crumbling walls of the cavern housing the Holy Grail. And if there has to be unrequited love, I'd be perfectly content if it were someone else's love for me ... someone else like, oh, I don't know, Richard Armitage, for example.

In my dreams. Oh, wait ...

I'll just have to accept that I can't control my dreams while I'm asleep. At least I can have a semblance of control over ones I have when I'm awake. The one where I become a famous author/singer and can afford a new car is an especially nice one.

Yeah. This is a good dream.

-Me

"I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're going and hook up with them later." -Mitch Hedberg

That Don't Impress Me Much

2010-09-15T11:43:00.000-06:00

I'd like the publicly thank Elder Scott for calling movie dates "stupid" because 1), it's pretty much totally true, and 2), it made me laugh out loud during the CES fireside on Sunday night. I will admit, I've gone on movie dates (both by asking and being asked), and none of them have been bad, mostly because I've generally gone with guys that I already knew to some degree and we had fun commenting on them.

But it's true. Movie dates are stupid. And after being a third wheel to an extremely awkward and terrible movie date on Friday night, I especially feel that way. Even if it's going well and you're getting along, movie dates are still a bad idea.

So begins my list of dating activities and habits that I definitely think are faux pas (and i've done some of them myself, so this is partly learned from personal experience):

1. Movie dates. Sure, it's fine once you've known each other awhile, but if you're attempting to know someone better, sitting in the dark for two hours with them isn't going to help you do so. (that goes for making out, too.)

2. Over-long dates. There's nothing wrong with keeping a date short. One of my favorite dates in semi-recent history was an ice cream date that wasn't much more than an hour. Bulking up on activities or attempting to draw it out, even if you're both interested, just isn't worth it.

3. DTRs on a second date. "Oh, my gosh, we've made it to a second date, which means you must really like me a lot, so please be my boyfriend!" Okay, maybe they're not that desperate, but unfortunately several boys and girls (in utah county especially) go on so few dates that when the miraculous second date occurs with the same person, you jump the gun.

3a. Actually, DTRs in general. While not always required, they are often a necessary evil. But I don't think anyone enjoys them, even if there's a good outcome.

4. Mentioning past relationships. While you may want your date to know that you are attractive and past relationships are proof that at one time someone thought you were, you also don't want to make your date think you're still hung up on a previous significant other ... or that you're a bitter girl who hates men as a result of a bad break-up.

5. Obsession with being original and creative. Sure, you want to make an impression, especially if you're hoping for recurring dates, but it can cause some really unnecessary grief. Pres. Uchtdorf had it right when he said, "Dates don't have to be -- and in most cases shouldn't be -- expensive and over-planned affairs. ... Relax. Find simple ways to be together." Amen to that. Maybe I'm boring, but the standard activities that people are afraid to repeat simply because they're unoriginal are more than acceptable to me. I still like having fun, but you can have fun going out for ice cream. There's a good reason why it's a tried-and-true activity.

(something about this list tells me i like ice cream.)

So what are some good dating habits? Maybe that should be my next post, so I'm not just focusing on the negative.

-Me

"Computer dating is fine, if you're a computer." -Rita Mae Brown

Gotta Get Back in Time

2010-09-09T09:16:00.000-06:00

My neighbor borrowed my Back to the Future trilogy a couple weeks ago, and naturally any mention of those movies brings on some very deep discussions among my friends. A popular discussion topic, with the year 2015 nearing, is how accurate Back to the Future II was in depicting its fictional future. What futuristic devices from that movie do we use now or could come close to using in five years? (disclaimer: i do not stay up on recent technology or inventions, so this is all my limited perception at the current moment.)

First things first: Successful predictions.

1. Multiple-station TV. With picture-in-picture settings for televisions and multiple-tabbed-internet use, this definitely makes the list of accurate predictions (plus, it's clearly a flat-screen tv).

2. Video conferencing. Granted, the picture is never as clear over Skype or Gchat as it is when Marty gets railed on (and subsequently terminated) by his angry Japanese boss, but we've definitely got it ... as well as five years to improve the clarity.

3. Video advertising. Goldie Wilson III basically gives a commercial from a billboard. Yeah, we've got automated billboards, and video advertising abounds on the internet (banner ads, anyone?).

Unfortunately, the number of failed predictions far exceeds the number of successful ones. Examples include:

1. Food hydrators. As nice as it would be to have really, really tiny food that expands within a matter of seconds so as to save room in the freezer, this just hasn't come to pass. We'll have to content ourselves with our microwaves.

2. Holographic movie titles. This one is debatable, considering the trend of 3-D movies in the last couple of years, but anybody wearing the 3-D glasses outside of the theater simply for the experience of being attacked by the 19th incarnation of Jaws is just going to look like a goober.

3. Self-drying clothes. While this would come in handy the next time you're being chased by bullies and have to make a quick escape into the pond in the courthouse square, I'd suggest stashing a change of clothes elsewhere if you want to become instantly dry again. On a related note, we're not any close to inventing jackets that automatically adjust their sleeve-length, although apparently Nike's filed a patent on self-lacing shoes (but you'd still have to press a button to get it done, which defeats the whole purpose).

4. Hover boards. Far and away this is the prediction that has caused the greatest disappointment among my generation by not coming true. The hover conversion (complete with flying cars) maybe could still happen some day. There is hover technology out there (for bunches of dollars), after all. But it's definitely not at a point where it will be so prolific in five years that child-geared hover boards are produced en masse by Mattel.

So, for a little while, where we're going, we will still need roads.

-Me

"The future will be better tomorrow." -Dan Quayle

Who Let the Dogs Out?

2010-09-07T09:39:00.000-06:00

It's a usual trend that long weekends are never quite long enough. But we move along, accepting that sad fact, being happy in the knowledge that we made good use of our extra time.

Thursday evening (not technically the weekend, but close) Jay I went to the "Look Who's Talking" event of the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. It's basically a preview night, when you choose a pavilion in the park and get a brief glimpse of several amazing storytellers in one sitting. They all have different styles and strengths, but all were just incredible. Great night.

Friday began the commandeering (voluntary on my part, just to be clear) of my time by Megan and Mashell. So fun. After going to dinner with my pal Tim, I headed over to their place for a movie night, during which we also made a midnight run to Macy's in our jammies and danced in the aisles.

Mashell, Megan, Amber, and Sarah at Swiss Days

Saturday brought with it a fabulous pancake breakfast with the girls (and we ate probably about a third of the food prepared), then a brief break to head home and get ready for the day. Then it was off with the M's, new friend Amber, and new roommate Sarah to Swiss Days in Midway. Yodeling, wurst, fun market booths. It was a great way to spend the afternoon and early evening. Sweet teeth hit that night, and the M's and I satisfied our cravings for chocolate and caramel apples before watching another movie and then laughing through several viral videos.

Soldier Hollow Championship spectators

Monday took us to Soldier Hollow for the Sheepdog Championship there. Wow. We got there at the beginning of the day, so it was an "early morning" for a holiday, but no worries. Watching the sheepdogs and their handlers round up and herd a bunch of idiotic sheep was pretty astounding (and at times, nerve-wracking as they raced against the clock). Dogs are pretty much awesome, as clearly demonstrated as we watched the trials, the duck herding, and the K-9 unit. And despite my best efforts, my face was very lovingly manhandled by the sun. Even a hat and multiple applications of sunscreen isn't always enough to protect you. Well, it's not always enough to protect me, at least.

Nerdy me in the morning before being burned

Thanks, Megan and Mashell, for letting me tag along on a fabulous stay-cation.

-Me

"Yesterday I was a dog. Today I'm a dog. Tomorrow I'll probably be a dog. sigh There's so little hope for advancement." -Snoopy

Just Keep Swimming

2010-08-31T11:58:00.000-06:00

As we near the end of summer (can't believe it's the last day of august!), I'm glad that I finally got to go swimming. That's right, everyone. I didn't go swimming all summer! Whenever I tried to make plans to do it, they always fell through or the weather wasn't cooperating. So it was a slightly big deal when Saturday came around and I finally got in a pool!

Friday evening ended up being a girls' night in with Sharalyn. We made dinner, got some goodies, made cookies, and watched chick flicks. I haven't had a girls' night in like that in quite some time, and it was a nice, relaxing evening before the on-the-go nature of Saturday.

Lest you misunderstand my description of the day, allow me to clarify. Saturday was dang fun. After a pretty standard morning of errands and chores, I met up with some cousins and my aunt Vicki to go swimming at a family friend's in Orem. Thanks to my fair skin, I left three hours later with a sunburned back, but I didn't mind that much. Could have been worse. At least I put some sunscreen on when I first arrived, or it really would have been worse.

Me and Alicia at the ward activity

Sharalyn enjoys some pizza

After swimming, I went home and immediately changed and left again for our ward activity. Swimming was a part of that activity, as well, but I was done being in my swimming suit by then. Among other things, we enjoyed some really delicious pizza, talked, and played volleyball. Betsey and I even sustained some injuries during a calamitous play in which Bro. Itri simultaneously collided with me while spiking the ball into Betsey's face. Nothing life-threatening, of course, but enough to make him feel guilty and sheepish when he greeted us Sunday morning. cue evil grin

Julia, Katie, and Melinda look cute while Brady just looks like himself

Upon arrival at the ol' homestead from the ward activity, I got all "dolled up" to go for a girls' night out with Megan and Mashell. My hair wasn't too pleased with me, seeing as how I hadn't washed it for far too long and then had gone swimming and was then attempting to curl it and make it cute before going out. But it cooperated for the most part, and the three of us were looking mighty fine as we blasted Mariah Carey and Abba from the car during our ride to and from Spark.

My reaction to Mashell's crazy online dating stories.

And I thought my dating life was messed up.

Needless to say, I had no trouble falling asleep on Saturday night.

-Me

"Leave it to a girl to take the fun out of sex discrimination." -Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes

Don't Drink the Water

2010-08-27T09:41:00.001-06:00

Remember how you learn something new every day? Well, last Friday I officially learned how to throw a football. Twenty-six years and I never really knew how to do it. Naturally, I was simply excellent from the instant I began (ha!), but hey, practice is important. And it got me out of the ongoing show of how terrible I still am at tossing a frisbee. So thanks go out to Danny for teaching me and even going so far as to compliment me whenever I miraculously threw a decent spiral. And thanks go out to the friends who came to my park party Friday night. It was a lovely night, and I enjoyed seeing who came and played.

Saturday I learned the rate of speed at which I fill water balloons. I went up to Kelly's to help out with Jake's 9th (!) birthday party, and we filled up 200 water balloons in an hour. We spent the following two hours trying to keep the boys entertained and happy while playing the various water-based games. I got soaked in the process as I was the lucky one holding the target that the boys shot at with their water guns (i'm convinced that a couple of boys thought my face, not the dartboard, was the target) and then during their all-out water war (once the organized games were over), I dragged Jake out into the middle of the backyard so everybody could get him. Okay, yes, I knew the risk that I would get attacked, too, as I held him in place, but I chose to take that risk for the fun of it. Not being used to running around with a bunch of boys for a couple of hours in the sun, I was exhausted by the time I reached home that evening.

On a slightly more serious note, I'd just like to give a shout-out to my wonderful friends who do a lot more for me than I probably deserve. It's been an interesting month or so, and I'm grateful to all of you for putting up with me as I've talked (and occasionally cried) through some difficult issues. At the risk of publicly embarrassing some of my pals, here's a small list, and you all know how you've been there for me: Jay, Lisa, Glen, Sylvia ... Maybe some day I'll return the favor.

-Me

"Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody." -Mark Twain

War! What is It Good For?

2010-08-20T09:43:00.000-06:00

Who knew that marshmallows could be used as weapons? Not deadly weapons, of course. Not even serious-injury weapons. But weapons, nevertheless. I never knew. Until Monday night.

No, in our war we did not use marshmallow "shooters", something I had never heard of before Monday night. We just used the might of our arms to hurl confectionary sweets at each other. But to know that you had actually hit someone, the marshmallows were covered in flour. Yum.

Needless to say, any "rules" we were attempting to play by went out the window after about five minutes, at which time we just went after each other with the marshmallows, picking up stray ammunition on the ground and re-dipping them in the plastic bags of flour we all carried. And when unable to find marshmallows (or at least unwilling to stoop down to the ground to pick them up), we made exceptionally good use of our left-over flour.

What an attractive crew we all were by the end of the hour.

-Me

"The only winner in the War of 1812 was Tchaikovsky." -Solomon Short

For Old Friends Who've Just Met

2010-08-16T14:52:00.000-06:00

Unfortunately, I wasn't very diligent about taking pictures while in Oregon last week. So you'll just have to use your imagination when it comes to picturing the settings of my various activities. Believe it or not, I didn't just cry at the gas station. Here are some good things I did:

1. Hanging with Mutter and Vater. They're awesome and fantastic, and I'm sure lucky that I have parents who love and support me, despite all my crazy antics.

2. Kate's bachelorette party at the rose gardens, complete with garden party theme. Helping contribute to the atmosphere was the opera in the park playing in the ampitheater below us. Also the funny hats.

3. Day trip to Cannon Beach with Melissa. The weather wasn't too kind to us, but I didn't mind much, even if my hair did get more-than-slightly untidy from walking in the rain and wind at Hug Point.

4. Kate's wedding. The sun came out just in time to make the entire afternoon just beautiful (and hot!), as if Kate wasn't lighting up the whole day with her beauty already.

5. Family dinners. Food is important.

6. Visited my brothers' places and hung out with my sisters-in-law. Hope they didn't hate the intrusion, because I had fun seeing them.

7. Karen's reception. Such fun. I saw quite a few people I wasn't expecting to see, but it was great talking to them. (also true for kate's wedding.) Karen was gorgeous, as well.

8. Bought new shoes. Quite possibly the highlight of my trip.

At the two weddings, I got to catch up with plenty of people, many of whom I haven't seen since ... I don't know ... high school graduation? I had oodles of fun talking to everybody and I didn't really mind answering the same questions multiple times, but I did decide that I should create a nametag that answers at least the standard questions, so as to prevent the necessity of repeating yourself and skip ahead to the individual conversation topics. Maybe it would be a bit large and unattractive as an accessory, but it sure would come in handy in those situations when you're updating people on years of your life. I believe mine would include this information:

Name (necessity? not sure, considering people usually know your name, but this is a nametag)
Residence Area ("area" because people will not have always heard of orem)
Occupation (including your enjoyment of said occupation)
Relationship Status (be brief, even if it's complicated)
How much you participate in activities that people remember you doing ten years ago

Of course, this is an entirely subjective list, and you may supplement or elide as you see fit, but I think it gives a fairly good overview of the questions I was frequently (if not constantly) answering when seeing old friends.

-Me

"It is a sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information." -Oscar Wilde

Lonely Teardrops

2010-08-12T14:31:00.000-06:00

I cry easily. I know this, and basically everyone who knows me knows this (and if you didn't know before, now you do). It's not because I'm generally sad (at least, i don't think i am); it's just how I operate. However, the last two weeks or so, it's been different. I've been crying even more!

Who knows what has triggered this emotional state I've been in? I sure don't know. Even when the tears haven't spilled over, I've still teetered dangerously close to that edge, and the frequency and timing of these occurrences is just weird. I mean, who cries at the gas station? But I did yesterday, when my mom and I were stopped at Costco.

I have great hopes that my emotions will soon bury themselves a little deeper, but in the meantime, I'd better avoid any person, place, or thing that contains anything remotely sentimental or sad. This includes certain movies (Up), tv shows (Little House on the Prairie), and books (To Kill a Mockingbird). Historically, the contents of a hypothetical list entitled "Things that Make Megan Cry" have never surprised me. The addition of gas stations is odd, though.

What next? Collapsing into tears over a discount at Winco? Heaven forbid.

-Me

"After twelve years of therapy my psychiatrist said something that brought tears to my eyes. He said, 'No hablo ingles.'" -Ronnie Shakes

I Want Candy

2010-08-05T13:07:00.000-06:00

Gotta say ... I love desserts. I eat too many for my own good. In fact, I made myself sick on Monday after consuming ice cream not only by myself in the afternoon, but with Megan and Mashell that evening at Rock Canyon Park. (in my defense, the ice cream that night was practically forced upon me ... i just couldn't say no ... yeah, that's the truth.) (do you believe me?)

A couple of weeks ago, Lisa, Sharalyn, and I had a blast concocting some yummy ice cream treats, what with the four flavors of ice cream in our freezer, the multitude of toppings at hand, and the oreo's I'd bought earlier that week on a whim.

Didn't stop there. Crepes were the norm a few times. Lisa made dessert crepes two evenings in a row (the two evenings in a row directly following the ice cream night, in fact), and I managed to deny them the second evening, miraculously (but most definitely not the first). Then the next week, which was last week, Lisa, Betsey, and I headed to IHOP and all three of us got crepes ... plus some fun stories from our waiter about him getting into a pub brawl in Dublin.

You'd think I'd be sick of the sweets, but I guess I'm not. Last night I went to Cheesecake Factory with Jay. And you can't go to the Cheesecake Factory without getting dessert! Okay, you can, and I have before, but very rarely. (almost as rarely as i've gone to the cheesecake factory.)

I'm sure there are other sweets I've consumed in the last couple of weeks, but these are the most noteworthy. I'd like to make a vow and abstain (courteously) from sweets for a while, but I'm going on vacation and attending two weddings in Oregon in the next week, and I know I would just break my vow while there. Maybe I'll make the vow once I'm back.

-Me

"It's important to begin a search on a full stomach." -Henry Bromel

Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest

2010-07-28T14:45:00.000-06:00

A couple months ago, I was asked which I would rather be: a pirate or a ninja? It didn't take much deliberation for me to answer. Hands down, in a fictional world where I kick major trash, I would much rather kick said trash as a pirate. And who could blame me for wanting to follow in these footsteps?

One-eyed Willy

This guy is smart enough to set booby traps for those less-deserving crooks who dare take his share of the treasure he so "manfully" earned. (and by so doing, he helps save the goonies.)

Captain James Hook

Only one hand and this guy still manages to hold his own against a boy who can fly.

Dread Pirate Roberts

Okay, so the original Roberts retired to Patagonia to live like a king, so it's really Westley that I admire, but come on. He sails, climbs the Cliffs of Insanity, fences, beats giants, and outwits evil geniuses. (not to mention coming back to life a couple times.) All this in addition to plunder and mayhem on the high seas, and in a mask, no less? Awesome.

Captain Jack Sparrow

I couldn't leave him out. Why? He's always one step ahead of his enemies (and frequently his friends), managing to confuse others with his bizarre behavior, but then coming out on top so he can "raid, pillage, plunder, and otherwise pilfer [his] weasly black guts out." You'd think that kind of purpose in life would make him the bad guy, but somehow ... it doesn't.

So ... smart, athletic, fashion-savvy, and just plain cool? Yeah, I want to be a pirate. Just have to cure that sea-sickness problem.

-Me

"Avast there, mateys! Ye're sailing with Long John Blackbeard Peg-leg Patch-eye Hook!" -Ray Stevens, The Pirate Song

"Get the Work Done" Day

2010-07-25T10:00:00.000-06:00

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am kind of a cleaning machine. For the most part, I even enjoy it, mainly because I feel like I can get my frustrations out in a non-violent manner as I attack various parts of the house. (except dusting. yuck. i will always try to pass off dusting.) And I really like how the house looks when I'm done. It's a good feeling of accomplishment, even if for the rest of the day you can smell the pine-sol the instant you walk through the front door.

So last weekend, when both my roommates were out of town, I went above and beyond the call of duty with my Saturday morning chores. I always clean my bathroom and vacuum my floor, as well as doing laundry. But occasionally I'll add the kitchen floor to that (and i still get on my hands and knees to scrub ... thanks for the early training, mom). So bathroom, vacuum, laundry, kitchen floor. We have a half-bath on the main level that is not really under anybody's "jurisdiction", but I'm sure it's never been cleaned since long before I even moved in, so that got added to the list. Bathroom, vacuum, laundry, kitchen floor, half-bath. But I was on a roll and kept going. Bathroom, vacuum, laundry, kitchen floor, half-bath, all kitchen surfaces (which of course requires moving things around, which we rarely do). Then came the biggest challenge by far. The microwave. What a chore! But again, when I was done, I was thrilled! It was a thing of beauty. When Lisa got back from Houston, I even went so far as to tell her to look in the microwave. That's how excited I was about it being clean again. What a nerd.

Then this Friday night came along. Once again I was alone in the house. Once again I got in my cleaning mode, but I attacked a different part of the house entirely. There is another small room on my floor that has basically turned into a storage room ... which I utilized the instant I moved in. That room was an unmitigated disaster. Not "dirty", exactly, but a bona fide mess. What I had added to it over the course of the last year didn't help matters, either. It took me two hours and five pails of garbage to organize the chaos, but when I was done, you could see the floor! (and the futon.) Still plenty of stuff being stored in there, but you're not afraid to enter for fear of being lost in a black hole! Again, when Lisa arrived home that night, I told her to go downstairs and take a look.

But I still haven't dusted. Would anybody like to come over and take care of that?

-Me

"Neurotics build castles in the air, psychotics live in them. My mother cleans them." -Rita Rudner

Raindrops on Roses and ...

2010-07-19T11:16:00.000-06:00

I have lots of favorites. The little happenings that just thrill you, the happy moments, the friends, the random messages, the good news. They make my day. So my day was made a few times this last week.

1. I talked to Carol for the first time in over a year. For having been one of my best friends in school, I've done a lousy job at keeping in contact with her. But she called to tell me she's getting married, and I was uber-excited! I literally cheered and hopped around the room after I got off the phone.

Kim and Carol ... long ago

2. After enjoying some delicious frozen yogurt at Red Mango, I heard my name called while walking out, and when I turned, I saw it was my old roommate Nicole! What a sweetheart. Although I lived with her for only four months over four years ago, she was a blast to share a room with, so I was excited that she recognized me and got my attention.

Nicole and me on a roommate's night out ... again, long ago

3. I got to go out to dinner with my family when my aunt Vicki was in the area, so we went to Carrabba's and gave my cousin Steph a hard time while she waited on us. Good food and my family? Yeah, that's worth skipping fhe for.

4. I am safe from having to give a talk in church for a while. Put me in front of a podium for a musical number, I feel fine. I even will perform admirably, if not perfectly. Put me up there to give a memorized line/paragraph/anything that somebody else wrote down at any point in time, I will be great. Put me up there to give a talk where I'm using my own words, I have to pray all day for the jitters to back off. Fortunately, I think it went well, and I'm safe. For now.

5. I finally bought an air popper and a candy thermometer and made caramel corn! 'Twas delicious.

I wonder what it says about me that three of my favorite moments somehow involved food. I'll justify it by saying that each of those times, I had someone(s) to share it with. -cue audience "awwww"-

-Me

"The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public." -George Jessel

For Suddenly I Can See the Magic of Books

2010-07-14T17:18:00.000-06:00

And the subject has come back to books. I managed to add yet another novel to my list of favorites, and while some of you may not be big fans of Mr. Dickens, this is the second book of his that has attained that honor in my eyes. What is the book, you ask? The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery (which he never meant to publish on any account).

Now, I think I was about eleven years old when I first discovered that the name of David Copperfield belonged to something more than an illusionist. It took me some time to recover from that shock, considering fifteen years later was when I actually made the sincere effort to read the book. Like the other Dickens novels I have read, Copperfield is abundant with diverse characters: some good, some bad, and some in-between. Like the other works, these diverse characters are connected in complex (and not always joyful) circumstances. But what made this particular novel a little easier for me to handle, despite its 800+ page-length, was that all the events and characters tied back to the one chap whose name graces the cover.

David Copperfield isn't the perfect man. I particularly wanted to strangle him for ignoring the blatantly obviously perfect woman for him and instead falling head over heels in love with a girl who, despite her sweetness, was just silly and shallow (and she knew it). But David, even through his weaknesses, is still over-all a decent and good man. I liked that. I appreciated his willingness to push ahead in his life, overcoming a painful childhood to be a better person and recognize the kind of man he didn't wish to be. In an age when we are surrounded by "victims", where people's parents are endlessly blamed for screwing up their children forever, it's refreshing to read about someone who didn't keep under that cloak of martyrdom. I don't wish to denigrate those afflicted individuals who really have had to live with horrible circumstances; I just think too many people are eager to blame others instead of moving ahead and making themselves better. (insert hypocritical blush here.)

There were a myriad of thoughts and ideas expressed in Copperfield that caught my eye and stuck in my mind, but this one has stayed with me ever since I finished the book last week:

"I have never believed it possible that any natural or improved ability can claim immunity from the companionship of the steady, plain, hard-working qualities, and hope to gain its end. There is no such thing as such fulfilment on this earth. Some happy talent, and some fortunate opportunity, may form the two sides of the ladder on which some men mount, but the rounds of that ladder must be made of stuff to stand wear and tear; and there is no substitute for thorough-going, ardent, and sincere earnestness."

In other words, practice makes perfect. We have natural abilities given to us, but it is up to us to improve those abilities. I can't expect to look at Liszt's Liebestraume and play it wonderfully, no matter how good a sight-reader I am. I have to practice it. I have to work at it. I must make the "stuff to stand wear and tear". I really liked this philosophy of David's, and it's one of several unexpected lessons I discovered while reading.

Looking forward to my next reading venture. Suggestions, anyone? (i've got two more i'm working through at present, but i'm always open to other possibilities.)

-Me

"It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations." -Winston Churchill

I'm Sorry ... So Sorry

2010-07-08T08:42:00.000-06:00

Allow me to beg pardon. I have yet to learn to contain myself. I've never been very good at abridging myself and keeping stories brief. So for those of you who attempted or succeeded at powering your way through my latest post, I salute you. And I extend my deepest apologies.

I said a few months ago that I would do things that were blog-worthy and shed the appellation of Boring Blog Megan. What I fail to recognize occasionally is that even if I am doing good and fun things, like my trip to Oregon, I need not write about every event. (and i really wasn't lying when i said i condensed, either.) Doing so only manages to make this particular label stick to me like Krazy Glue and I can't ever shake it off.

I do this in my conversations, too. I come away from those wondering why I felt the need to share everything I did, or why I was compelled to talk so much. I don't think I make people uncomfortable (i hope not, at least), but I do have a tendency to dominate conversations when I should be a little more aware of the concept of listening.

So now I make a new goal in a further effort to acquire a better blogging nickname (and to be a better listener in person): I will be to the point, and I won't pummel you all with too much information. Wish me luck.

-Me

"Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving wordy evidence of that fact." -George Eliot

I Get Around

2010-07-07T18:42:00.000-06:00

Phew! Now that I've been back in Utah for a week, I guess it's about time I talked about the week I spent in Oregon. For any friends of mine in Oregon who might be a little annoyed with me that I didn't get in touch with you while I was there ... believe me, I had no extra time. It was a busy week. Really good and excellent, and I absolutely loved being with my family (even with the ten+ chilluns around), but it was pretty busy.

Mom wasted no time putting her daughters to work when we both arrived in Tualatin on Wednesday night. Thursday night was the pre-wedding family bbq, and there was prep work and errands and other last-minute things to be done. And then of course other family coming in. What fun! (that's not sarcastic, even though it could read that way.) And despite Mom's stressing, the bbq went off very well, and the weather was beautiful. (naturally.)

Lisa walks with Lucy

Gpa, Gma, Jami, Craig, Mom, Dad

Jami, the beautiful bride

Friday was the wedding, and it was simply wonderful. Jami and Craig looked beautiful and dapper, respectively, and I'm so excited to have a new sister-in-law! Naturally I was a crybaby during the actual ceremony, but I blame Dad, who was directly in my line of sight and got pretty emotional himself. I had reassured the Hodgmans that I was fine before it started, but I knew that would change all too soon, even if I didn't inform them of that fact.

The reception that night was great, seeing familiar faces and catching up, and catering to Lexy and Ali's dancing whims between catching-up-times. It was a dessert bar, and quite considerately, there was a sugar-free table. We all admired that table, and then immediately headed over to the chocolate fountain. We like sugar in our family. And it came in handy once the line of people finally died down and the DJ really got things moving. I really wish I had pictures of all of us dancing fools, but that would have meant I didn't dance, myself. And I danced. And danced.

On the Waterfront. Yay, Portland!

Saturday was spent in Portland at Saturday Market and then to Lake Oswego for an art festival and then back to Portland to see The Lion King. Pretty dang cool. Actually, the day was hot, which is why I got a pretty nasty sunburn on the back of my neck, but The Lion King was really cool, and it was fun to see it with my family.

Sunday we headed down to Salem where my cousin Sam blessed his new daughter, Bristol. It's really neat to be present for those occasions. I get very used to seeing my family discuss sports and the ongoing BYU/Utah debate (hands down, byu beats all ... sorry steph) and all of us shouting to be heard, so to witness a more quiet and infinitely more spiritual side of my family is very special to me.

Jake shows me his treasures on the beach

Andrew's gotta run from the waves

Jack gets some air

Monday, we headed to the beach, and after many adventures on the road there, what with Mom forgetting the directions for getting into the rental house and blessing modern technology (in that you can check email from my parents' phones and get the instructions again), we arrived to a misty day at the Oregon Coast. I didn't mind that it was gray when we first arrived, but Mom was sure disappointed and worried it would be like that the rest of the time there. Suffice it to say, it wasn't.

Ali doesn't play in the water, but she still likes the beach

Mom and her seestor Vicki

Tuesday was beautiful, and it was great spending the morning on the beach (even if it was a tad chilly) and then going to see Toy Story 3 in the afternoon. (which was awesome!!!!!!) Went to Mo's, of course, for lunch (after i had raised a stink about them planning to do so after i had skipped town), and then to Read's (and i forgot my seafoam in lincoln city! maybe someone else enjoyed it). It may not be the best fish 'n' chips or the best candy, but it's tradition, and because of our traditions, each of us knows who he is ... oops, went off on a Tevye moment there. Anyway, I'm glad we went.

Kelly and Nerak, appropriately dressed

Nicole basks in the sun

Wednesday I headed back to Portland with the grandfolks, which was a fun little drive. Totally providential that our flights were five minutes apart from each other. I was glad for that time I got to spend one-on-two with them. They're pretty dang awesome. Upon arriving back in Utah, Becky picked me up and we attempted to find a Cracker Barrel for dinner, but either we missed it or the big billboard was wrong, because we couldn't find it (cue sad face). Oh, well. We still stopped for dinner, and Becky got to hear all about my week. Lucky her.

I knew this post would be too long. And I massively condensed it, too! Guess I'll just have to do better next time. All in all, it was a great trip home, being almost constantly on-the-go, and I'm going to say again that I'm really excited about my new sister-in-law! My family's awesome, Oregon's awesome, and I'm awesome. It's an awesome combination.

-Me

"We live in an age where pizza gets to your home before the police." -Jeff Marder

Let's Hear It for the Boy

2010-06-20T11:22:00.000-06:00

"Guys are idiots." How many times have I heard this in my single adult life? How many times have I said it myself (or some variation of it)? Plenty. I've heard it from friends, family, and church leaders. Why do we say this? Why has this become an immediate response when speaking about dating? This is something that has been on my mind, and I'm going to write my thoughts about it, so I hope you don't mind getting a glimpse into my psyche as I elaborate on this. And I think I should state for the record right now: I'm not going to be bashing men, so for any guys who read my posts, continue. I hope you're all right with what I say.

A friend led me to another blog where a girl had written about dating and relationships, and I had mixed feelings about what she wrote. I agreed with some things she said, but I couldn't agree with her when she mentioned this seemingly strange habit that even church leaders have of telling us that guys are idiots. I agree that they say so in order to appease us girls who are barely ever asked on dates, to reassure us that it's not our fault, because of course we girls are simply fabulous. But she further interprets the statement as their way of saying, "You'd better accept it, because you're going to have to settle for one of these idiots." Maybe that's an oversimplification of what she said, but that was the impression I got from what I read.

I don't agree with this portion of her analysis. This is the impression I get when I hear from leaders that guys are idiots: "Lots of guys are idiots, but you don't have to settle for their little-boy antics, because one day a non-idiot will shape up and you will find happiness together." I have never gotten the impression that I have to settle for the idiots who don't even try to date or for the idiots who don't give a girl a second glance just because she happens to be 5'11". Because not all guys will do that. I know this.

I was talking to a couple of guys in my ward this week and the topic naturally strayed to dating and relationships, and one of them said the line about guys and idiocy. He asked me if I concurred. I almost said yes, mainly out of habit, but I stopped to consider before I answered. I don't actually concur, and I said so. I said that if I really believed that all guys are idiots, I would despair completely of ever getting married and I wouldn't even be friends with guys. Why would I willingly associate with people I thought were dumb? With that said, I don't despair of ever getting married, even if occasionally my impatience and lack of knowledge about when it may happen manifest themselves more often than they should in my behavior and conversation. I'm not going to be hypocritical and deny that I've ever said that guys are dumb, because I have said it on more than one occasion; however, I think I need to be more careful about the generalizations I make, because I just don't believe that all guys are idiots.

I believe that all of us are capable of being great, and this in no way excludes guys. I know so many who are simply wonderful, strong, and caring men, within my family, my circle of friends, and among the strangers with whom I come into contact throughout the course of my day. I can't think guys are idiots when I hear from a friend about how she went on a good date with a guy who obviously was trying to make it fun for her, when I talk to my parents and my mother tells me about my dad helping her out in the yard all day, when I go to the temple and see an aged couple, the husband looking at his wife with complete adoration. It gives me hope that it is possible that I will have that some day, too.

This is a favorite quotation from one of my favorite books, and it pretty well describes my thoughts about men. "A man is to me a higher and a completer being than a gentleman.... I take it that 'gentleman' is a term that only describes a person in his relation to others; but when we speak of him as 'a man', we consider him not merely with regard to his fellow-men, but in relation to himself, -to life - to time - to eternity." Maybe we all have different definitions of what "a man" is, but I believe that a man is a "high and complete" being, and is fully capable of being a non-idiot, a being worthy of us girls who are pretty wonderful ourselves. Perhaps more of them need to live up to this expectation, but I know plenty who already do.

Maybe it's appropriate that I write about this on Father's Day, considering one of the biggest non-idiot men I know is my father. He's always been a good example to me, and I really appreciate the time he's taken to be there for me as I've gone through life. I recall both tender moments and snide remarks with him with the same degree of fondness, ironically enough. But I've never doubted my father's love for my mother, for his children, for the Lord. I've never doubted his status as a "true man". Thanks, Dad, for being a good example of what a man can and should be.

Guys, take heart; you're not all idiots. Girls, take heart; not all guys are idiots. We don't need to wait around for the other sex to shape up to make ourselves better right now (this goes both ways), but we don't need to give in to the bitter rhetoric that we're never going to find someone. Because, one day, I know, some non-idiot will come along for me. I can only hope that I will have improved myself enough and worked hard to live up to the name of "woman" as I've waited for my "true man".

-Me

"The easiest kind of relationship for me is with ten thousand people. The hardest is with one." -Joan Baez

Land of the Empire Builders

2010-06-17T21:24:00.000-06:00

In fourth grade, we all learn about the history of the state we live in. Yes? Am I mistaken in that belief? I'm pretty sure it's true, even for those poor souls who had to grow up outside of the great state of Oregon. (it was a shock to me to find out that other kids didn't attend outdoor school! do they still do that in oregon? i'm afraid to know the answer, in case the answer is no.)

I don't know about the curriculum in other states and what exactly they learned about, but we didn't learn fun facts or current events or anything. We studied the Oregon Trail. Of course, we'd already had years of experience and practice in regards to the Oregon Trail, thanks to that awesome computer game you all know you played in elementary school.

The point is, I didn't know a lot of the "official" state facts of Oregon until I'd moved out of the state in which I grew up. I didn't even know there was an official state song ("Oregon, my Oregon") until I was 21, although when I said this to my parents at the time, Dad insisted he used to sing it at the border on family vacations. Don't recall that one, Dad. Sorry.

Here are some of my favorite Oregon Official State Facts:

Animal: Beaver

Shocker.

Beverage: Milk

With all the breweries in Oregon, this pleasantly surprised me.

Flower: Oregon Grape.

I was slightly confused on this one, because the name doesn't sound like a flower ...

Motto: She Flies With Her Own Wings.

This kind of sounds to me like the phrase, "Walk to a beat of a different drum." For anybody who's been to Eugene, you know that's true.

Tree: Douglas Fir.

I knew my car's name sounded familiar.

Dance: Square.

Huey Lewis was right. It is hip to be square.

Sing it with me: "Hail to thee, Land of Heroes, My Ooooooo-reeeeeeee-gon." (pronounced "gun", NOT "gone")

-Me

"I take my children everywhere, but they always find their way back home." -Robert Orben

The Sunshine of My Life

2010-06-15T20:40:00.002-06:00

Keeping busy is where it's at. I should know. I've been busy. I can tell it's summer, though, not merely by increasing temperatures (although they took a dip over the weekend), but also by the lethargic feeling I've currently got going in the office. I need a break that's longer than a day! Maybe that will energize me. I realized that I haven't created a summer to-do list like I have the last couple of years, and I must repent that grievous error at once! But moving on to other things.

Last weekend was the Orem Summerfest, which meant, of course, that the weather took a cruddy turn. I found it pretty amusing, actually, when the deluge poured down on us Saturday afternoon twenty minutes after we reached the grounds. While everybody ran for shelter and many left for good, I and my companions stuck out the rain, because darn it all, we might as well! (i'd also already bought tickets for rides, and what a waste that would have been.) So we stuck out the rain, walked around the booths, got a "huge scone" (they should just call it what it is -- an elephant ear!), and once the rain had gone, got our rides that we paid for. Tara came with me on the ferris wheel, which was a fun, albeit wet, experience. Fortunately, my bum is as much an Oregonian as the rest of me, so I sat it out quite cheerfully, if I do say so myself.

That evening, I joined several of my ward friends for the fireworks. Having been there during the day, I was oh-so-knowledgeable in leading some of my friends to the food area before the fireworks started up, which naturally was an important part of the evening. Food always is. And the fireworks were awesome.

Last night, seeing as how the weather went back to being lovely and more summer-like, the ward took a hike to Stewart Falls, which is a beautiful hike up above Sundance. Surprisingly enough, I was the one in front in both directions. Didn't realize that I would be the pace-setter, but I suppose that's all right. I had a good time walking and talking with the girls, some of whom I didn't know at all well before the evening. Huzzah!

In other news, my Seven Brides evening was a stirring success. Everybody that came was eager to watch it, and the one person who hadn't previously seen it sincerely enjoyed it (at least, he did if he wasn't lying). I also appreciated Katie and Whitney bringing some scrumptious caramel corn, considering I burned the microwave popcorn. Something else to put on my "want" list: an air popper.

-Me

"Irrigation of the land with seawater desalinated by fusion power is ancient. It's called 'rain'." -Michael McClary

If I Can Learn to Do It

2010-06-11T19:22:00.000-06:00

Discovering something new is always fun. Last weekend I discovered the ridiculous thrill that is Bollywood. After Jay succumbed to his curiosity about North and South last month, I thought it was about time that I did the same for Bollywood movies. So, trusting to Jay's judgment, we watched Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. And what did I discover? I loved it! Well, okay, "love" might be too strong a word. I'm not about to spend all my time trying to convert others to Bollywood movies like I have with, ahem, other movies. But I was thoroughly entertained. Brutally awkward pauses, ten-minute-long musical numbers, drawn-out love stories ... yeah, it was pretty fun.

Really, doesn't this look like a movie you all would love?

Another discovery made the following day. More like a re-discovery, actually: I really enjoy being a hostess. I invited several people over for dinner, and while I don't know if they all had a really great time, I enjoyed myself. I like making the plans and preparing the food (especially our southwest chicken soup recipe that i adore) and getting people together. People are good. I like people. I'm hosting again tonight for a movie night, and I'm pretty excited to watch Seven Brides, as are several of the people who are coming over to watch it. Go figure.

Gotta love men who sing and dance. And fight.

A third discovery of the week: I'm not as terrible at the organ as I thought I was going to be! After playing last month in the Tabernacle and observing my talented family (and really talented bro. christianson) play, I determined that I was going to play the organ better. Sure, I've faked it in sacrament meetings and such, but I never played it the way I wished I could. "And what way was that, Megan?" you ask, as well you may. That way was ... WITH PEDALS. So on Tuesday night after helping out with ward building clean-up and Wednesday before ward volleyball, I snuck into the chapel for an hour and practiced using the pedals! I was expecting to be so frustrated with my lack of skill that I would probably pound on the great manual like I do on the piano keyboard when dusting. But I wasn't frustrated! Sure, I was messing up, but I was better than I initially expected! What a wonderful discovery!

What will I discover next week, I wonder?

-Me

"There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened." -Douglas Adams

Tell Me the Stories that I Love to Hear

2010-06-03T20:11:00.001-06:00

It's an enormous understatement to say I like books, a fact that most of you well know. One of my favorite summer relaxing activities (this is inherited from my dad, i'm pretty sure) is just to sit outside and read a book. (I stress one of my favorite activities, because i like plenty of other activities, too.) And I think I've discovered a pretty good reason as to why some of my favorite books are my favorite books. I relate to different aspects of these characters! Lately, in perusing some of my lovingly worn tomes, I've discovered different quotes that remind me of myself and different situations I have found myself in. Examples follow.

#1 Elizabeth Bennett, Pride and Prejudice

"How earnestly did she then wish that her former opinions had been more reasonable, her expressions more moderate! It would have spared her from explanations and professions which it was exceedingly awkward to give ..."

Now, I've never fallen in love with a guy I formerly professed to abhor and had to retract my previous opinions, but I've definitely had those moments when I've wished I hadn't expressed a negative opinion of something or someone so readily. It doesn't even have to mean that I was wrong or that I've changed my mind; it just means that I wish I'd kept my mouth shut more often.

#2 Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables

"'It's about Diana,' sobbed Anne luxuriously. 'I love Diana so, Marilla. I cannot ever live without her. But I know very well when we grow up that Diana will get married and go away and leave me. And oh, what shall I do? I hate her husband--I just hate him furiously.'"

I think I've managed to not hate my best friends' husbands. They're all decent chaps. In fact, it's quite easy not to hate them. It's harder not to like them, actually. So maybe that last sentence doesn't quite fit my attitude. But it's a humorous addition to a hilarious lamentation on Anne's part that makes even hard-nosed Marilla collapse in laughter. And I must admit, this line ran through my head when Esther told me she was engaged. I can live without her (and have done so for several months, in fact), but I just had that "best friend" sadness that comes along when you feel that your friends "go away and leave" you. They don't, really, but you know what I mean.

#3 Sarene, Elantris

"Unconsciously, she found herself judging his height. He's tall enough for me, she thought offhandedly, if only barely. Then, realizing what she was doing, she rolled her eyes. The entire world was toppling around her, and all she could do was size up the man walking next to her."

I think this one requires no explanation of how I relate to it.

#4 Margaret Hale, North and South

"'Where's the Pearl? Come, Margaret ...'"

"...one of the girls was stumbling over the apparently simple word 'a', uncertain what to call it. 'A, an indefinite article,' said Margaret, mildly."

Okay, first quote. Pearl? Hello, why do you think I call myself Pearlie Meg? Probably because Megan is a form of Margaret, which means "pearl". Case closed. Second quote. Margaret knows her grammar, and if I didn't know mine, I wouldn't have a job.

Now maybe some of those examples are stretching, but I have honestly thought of myself when reading those particular passages. And if it's true that I really am like these literary heroines, I've got quite the combination of these guys coming my way.

I guess I can live with that.

-Me

"From the moment I picked up your book until I laid it down, I was convulsed with laughter. Some day I intend reading it." -Groucho Marx

Life is a Highway; I Want to Drive It

2010-05-30T20:19:00.001-06:00

You know you feel dirty when you walk into a Maverick and think, "Paradise! It's so clean!" And that was after just a day of "roughin' it". I went down to southern Utah with Betsey, Lisa, and Sharalyn for the last couple of days, and it was the quite the experience. Being Memorial Day weekend and this a somewhat-last-minute idea, there were no camping-ground spots available for us gals around Moab. Now, I don't know about you, but I've never camped adventurously, unlike a couple of the girls I was with, so I have to admit that I was a tad nervous (i.e., scared) when we found our first spot for the night, far away from man and plumbing facilities. (probably about twenty miles south of moab) Fortunately, we didn't get attacked either of the nights, so I'd say it was a success camping "in the wild". And boy, did we have fun setting up the tent in the wind, especially the second night. What an adventure! (i'd love to say i had a fabulous attitude throughout ... that would be a lie ... i let my nervousness win out for a while ... gotta work on that ...)

First camping location and morning "looks"

I'm the lump in red, Sharalyn you can see, and then Lisa

Our chief purpose in driving down was to make a trip to Four Corners, the only place in the United States where four states meet (utah, colorado, new mexico, arizona). We headed down from our first camping spot on Saturday morning, stopped by the Monticello temple for a quick photo opp, and had a nice chat with a friendly fellow who lives across the street from the temple. When we told him we were heading for Four Corners, he immediately asked, "Why?" and proceeded to tell us about other places that would be far more worthwhile to visit. Nothing daunted, we still were determined to make the drive there and then visit other pretty places with the rest of the time we had in the day.

Once we arrived, we realized that the guy was probably right in warning us away. Why? Because the dang monument was CLOSED! We had a pretty good laugh at our expense and still took pictures. Really. We thought it was more funny than anything when we saw the sign. And we probably wouldn't have stayed there much longer than we did, anyway; we just didn't get to be officially in four places at once. Oh, well. The laugh was worth it.

From there, we wound our way back north and headed to Canyonlands Nat'l Park. We took a short hike on the sliprock to see some pretty fantastic views. I was amazed at how quiet it was. Because we were there in the pretty late afternoon, most of the traffic of hikers had probably been there and gone, wanting to avoid the hotter part of the day. It was just beautiful. I'll need to go back just for Canyonlands, because we barely made a dent in what we could have seen there.

Before the hike at Canyonlands

Me and the Needles

Pointing things out

Taking a quick rest in the shade

We made camp Saturday night a few miles from Dead Horse Point, north of Moab, where I got a tad jumpy after hearing a rattling sound when I retrieved my sleeping bag from the car. My friends calmed me down, but I was careful to not walk anywhere by myself the rest of the night. Wasn't difficult, considering we all stuck to the fire before retiring to bed. (and yes, i know i'm a wimp ... i'll try to be better ... i think i'm better at camping when it's in a designated campground and i don't have to squat behind a bush to use the facilities)

Second camping place

Came back today after we made the final decision to not drive through Arches, which was still a possibility up until we packed the car for the fourth time. By the way, Betsey is a champion car-packer. I was incredibly impressed by her organizational prowess. Lots of driving this weekend, but fun talks, random music sing-alongs, and beautiful scenery made it pretty worth it. Now I have the rest of the weekend to recover and sleep on something softer than a rock.

-Me

"Some national parks have long waiting lists for camping reservations. When you have to wait a year to sleep next to a tree, something is wrong." -George Carlin

Go to Sleep, You Little Baby

2010-05-27T23:13:00.000-06:00

I've got a burning question on my mind. Why don't Americans have siestas?

From a combination of staying up too late, being pretty much on-the-go again this week, and spending four hours this morning raking and weeding in the Orem cemetery, I was exceedingly tired this afternoon and evening. Alas, I could not give in to my desires and even take a power nap, because again I was kept kind of busy and I knew that napping late in the afternoon would severely weaken my chances of a good night's sleep tonight. Oh, well. That just means I'll sleep really well tonight. I hope. Heaven knows I hardly even remember turning off my lamp last night.

Garfield has it right.

Whatever happened to the days that I could stay up until or past midnight with the greatest of ease? Or at least could do so without feeling like I was going to collapse from exhaustion the next day. My, ahem, ... older ... readers may scoff, but this is one habit in which I can tell I'm getting old. I want to go to bed at a decent hour. I want to get a good night's rest. I want a steady bedtime. In some ways, I would love to be three years old again and take a nap in the middle of the afternoon. And I know several people who would gladly stand up with me in agreement (or lie down with a blanket, as the case may be). Which brings us back to the opening question: why don't we have siestas? Just food for thought.

I'd love to think that I'll be able to catch up on sleep this weekend. That won't happen. I'm going camping with my roommates, and despite my best efforts, I never sleep my best in a tent. I sleep, but never as much as I need to. Give me a real mattress any day. Don't get me wrong; I'm looking forward to the trip. It'll be great fun. I'll just really miss my mattress. Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.

-Me

"When I woke up this morning my girlfriend asked me, 'Did you sleep good?' I said, 'No. I made a few mistakes.'" -Steven Wright