Social Quarantine

And once again, the Halfway House has been hit with sickness. We've considered putting up a "Quarantined" sign on our door to keep unsuspecting visitors from entering and contracting this disease that has hit not one, not two, but all three of us lovely and victimized young women. I think we're all on the mend again, but none of us have been very happy campers in terms of health this week. Please, let it end!

Surprisingly, this is Becky healthy. ;)

Last Saturday, when I was still healthy, I got to see my cousin Stephanie! She dropped in to Provo and gave me a call, which was really unexpected, but also fun. I was glad that she thought to call me, because I had a good time catching up with her, etc. That night, Becky and I went to a free concert in Provo to see our friend Rick's band (about which has already been posted, I know . . .). I think what really made the night, aside from the rock star-esque mannerisms employed by our fellow 227th-ward-member, was the foosball table! Now, I don't profess to be an expert at foosball. In fact, I stink at it. But when it became available, I dragged Becky over there with me, where we had a good time making fools of ourselves trying to play the game and remember to spin the players in the correct direction.

Kaila and Alecia. Hooray!

Sunday was, as ever, a good day. I sang in sacrament meeting with Lindsay, Dallin, and Mike for the special musical number. For having been thrown together twelve hours earlier, it turned out really well, so kudos to my fellow singers for that. Hooray! After church, Kaila and Alecia invited us over for cabbage soup (excellent!). Is this sharing meals at 777 becoming a trend? I think it is! (It also inspired esther to get the soup recipe and make it herself later this week . . . would have been a good addition to the meal plan if all of our health issues hadn't reacted badly to the smell . . .)

Roommates (oh, becky) and our favorite part of a meal

I went out for dinner with my old friend Chris on Wednesday evening. He is one of my Oregon buddies, and I haven't seen him for over a year. Not good! Unlike the food, which was good. (wingers) And Chris, while he has changed in some ways, really hasn't changed at all. Total flirt. But then again, so am I. Good fit. It's always nice, though, to be reminded that there are guys in the world who are gentlemen. Chris is flirty, yes, but he really knows how to treat a girl the way she deserves, even if it's a girl that he's not necessarily trying to impress (i.e., me). Hope in men is restored!

Last night, Esther and I took advantage of our fleeting benevolent moods and made dinner for Becky and Noah, then left them alone to enjoy the rest of their evening together without any fear of us bugging them or them bugging us. We basically ordered Becky to not arrive home before 6 o'clock, so I'm sure that her suspicions informed her we were doing something that involved dinner, but I'm sure she didn't suspect rose petals strewn across the living room floor (a last-minute addition so that they'd know they'd have to go to the kitchen). It was excellent timing, actually. We had just set everything on the table, lit the candles, and gotten the dishes put away when we heard Becky's laughter, so when they walked in, we just walked right out. After which we went to Carabbas. Mmm. And we all know how I feel about Carabbas. Scrumptious.

-Me

"It's no longer a question of staying healthy. It's a question of finding a sickness you like." -Jackie Mason

I Wanna Be Sedated

Sometimes I wonder if everybody has multiple personalities. Some are just better at masking them, so they're not clinically diagnosed. Becky and I went to a concert on Saturday night to see our friend Rick's band play. I wouldn't ever describe Rick as being shy, but he does come across as a bit reserved. But to watch him sing up there with his band was so fun because he suddenly became a rock star! It just seemed so out-of-character. But as I reflect on my friends, he's not the only example I can think of about a person who has seemingly become someone else. Case in point: Esther Morris. She's the nicest person in the world, and you think she would never do anything at all "mean" to others, when, at the moment you least expect it, she gets this mischievous glint in her eye and "Ishtar Morrisse" emerges. Before you know it, she's jumping on people who think they're all safe and sound in their beds. Not only that, she's laughing this evil chuckle, reveling in the destruction of someone's rest. (Or when she orders someone to do something. Esther doesn't give orders!)

Take me, for instance. I like to think that I'm a pretty normal-ish adult-esque young woman. But put something that relates to Disney or the Muppets in front of me, and I'm five! Like when I got Beauty and the Beast, and I leaped around in joy about it; or that I chose to watch The Muppet Movie on Thursday night when I was in a movie mood; or that I bought a Disney songbook and was laughing myself silly while playing "Under the Sea" and "Be Our Guest". Who does that, really? Some bizarre five-year old personality of me, that's who. She just takes over. I don't know what to call that version of me. And then there's "Gan Nelson", who's like my evil twin and is responsible for all the strange occurrences in the Halfway House, like all the cookies going missing (although I think the several personalities of Esther and Becky help out in such instances, too).

So how many personalities do I actually have? Hmm . . . who knows, really? I can think of several. And there's no telling when which one will surface. There's shy Megan, loud Megan, diva Megan (believe me, diva megan is conceited and a total drama queen . . . I'm really trying to suppress her) . . . Too bad there's not a kind, fun, talented, charming, just-the-right-noise-level Megan personality. Although, she would be a pretty unstoppable force. So maybe it's good that all my different personalities have only a few good qualities. That way, I don't have a personality that's so incredible that people are intimidated by me. (hahahahahahahahaha)

-Me

P.S

Hello everyone! This is Esther (for reals, not the personality of Megan that thinks she is Esther) I just wanted to verify Megan's theory that we may all have multiple personalities by letting you all know that just a few moments after she read me this latest post I found myself cowering under a barrage of pillow beatings from Gan Nelson. She came out of nowhere! One second I was chatting with the wonderful, sweet Megan-who despite what she may think, has so many good qualities I can't number them-and the next minute Gan was upon me with the pillow beating. No harm was done, even Gan does not try to maim people, but she is definitely proof that there are, at least in the Halfway house, too many personalities and too few people to contain them all:)

Back in the Saddle Again

Shock of all shocks, I didn't do anything overly special on my day off for President's Day. Not terribly surprising. On Sunday, Esther made enough stew to feed an army, so we invited Alicia and Kaila over for dinner, and we had a good time eating with them. I think Esther and Kaila are kindred spirits. If they weren't Mormon, they'd be Jewish. That's all there is to it. Once we were done eating, Alicia stuck around and helped me listen to Esther play her viola. I'm not sure when the last time Esther got it out was, but I was glad she did, because I got to play with her a bit, and I really like being able to do that. It's always really fun. We also danced around to "Hava Nagila" like idiots. It was cool. Nerdy, but cool. (wait, is that possible? being nerdy and cool? hmm . . .)

Esther and me with the Valentine's Day flowers . . .
we bought ourselves.

Monday morning brought Alicia and Kaila over to our place once more for a yummy breakfast (hooray for bacon!) and watching Everything is Illuminated, which Esther immediately fell in love with and promptly ordered once we finished. I really liked it, as well, so I'm glad that Esther bought it and I live with her so I don't have to buy it to watch it.

More pictures of us lovely women

Esther also got the "Spruce Moose" from her sister, so that now means that come Wednesdays, I don't have to drive her to and pick her up from the temple anymore! It was kind of weird to not have to do that when Wednesday rolled around this week. I've gotten so used to it. Now I don't have to be the constant chauffeur. Well, at least for Esther I don't. Although now we get to play "musical cars" in the morning when I leave for work, because it's usually the Moose that parks behind Douglas in the driveway rather than the other way around.

When I left the temple on Thursday, it was just too beautiful a day to not take a couple of pictures, even with my wet hair that didn't look terribly attractive

I resumed running this week. Now that it's no longer ten degrees outside, I'm willing to run outside again (which is the only way i run, so the last time i went running was probably in november . . . oops!). Don't get me wrong; it's still plenty cold. But it's warm enough that I'm willing to brave the coldness of it (which sounds a little oxymoronic, but it makes sense in my head) to run once more. I just need to make sure my ears are sufficiently covered, because cold ears is usually the most excruciating experience of running in the cold for me. (although, my lungs wanting to explode on me yesterday was no picnic, either.) But I'm feeling good about getting back in the habit. Hooray for good habits! (especially since i have so few of those . . .)

-Me

"The second half of a man's life is made up of nothing but the habits he has acquired in the first half." -Fyodor Dostoevsky

What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love

My amazing roomies whom I love.

So, in honor of this totally overblown holiday (says the bitter single girl), I have decided to make another list of those things that I love, just as I did last year. So here goes:

1. My family
2. Heavenly Father
3. Jesus
4. My roommates
5. Grover/Douglas/Old Faithful/Compy (all inanimate objects, mind you)
6. My friends
7. Really good books
8. Really good movies
9. The hope for spring
10. Sunshine on snow (because it looks pretty, and it also makes the snow melt)
11. Laughter
12. Music
13. Simple pleasures (avocados, sleeping in)
14. Ways of saying "I love you"
15. Food
16. Mom's annual package of sugar cookies shaped like hearts

Once again, there are several things that could make this list go on and on, but I will stop there to save you from an overdose of sweetness. Clearly, despite my comments of Valentine's Day being an overblown holiday, I am still a big fan of love. I hope to do better at expressing it every day, and not just once a year. (really, it's me, the biggest sap in the world . . . how could i not be a fan of love?)

Crazy people; crazy hair.

In terms of actual events, I still remain a pretty boring person, despite all my hopes to be more cool. However, last week I experimented at Esther's suggestion (meaning, her "force") and made German food! Spaetzle, Rotkohl, a roast; I was a bit nervous about how it would turn out, but it actually turned out well, which was a relief. So Dad's jealousy that he couldn't partake was well-founded (although he paid me back this last week, sending me pictures and texts from him and mom in hawaii . . . how rude).

The German spread
(and yes, i know the spaetzle looks like scrambled eggs)

I also had my Kelly cousins over for dinner on Sunday, which ended up being totally fun. It kind of is stinky of me that I don't do very well at keeping in contact with the family that's even in Provo. So I determined to change that and invited them over, and all was good. Especially when Brett started doing the dishes without even being asked (which is occasionally more than my roommates will do . . . j/k, j/k, j/k!). But good times to be had all around.

Big news on the Megan looks department: I got a haircut last Saturday, and I'm pretty excited about it. I am such a wimp when it comes to my hair, and I don't remember the last time I had it up to my shoulders . . . probably four or five years ago. I still value my long hair, and it was kind of amusing when Alesia (the stylist) had combed out my wet hair and asked me, holding the scissors before the first cut, "Are you ready for this?" But I tell you, I should get drastic haircuts more often! Everyone (well, every girl) in my ward that saw me last weekend at stake conference (which was a fair amount, considering i was an usher for the sunday session) told me how cute my hair was! Boosted my confidence about five levels. Maybe even six!

Before


After!

And now it's President's Day weekend, and I still have yet to figure out what I'm going to do with my day off. Hmm. Must think.

-Me

"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow man, and I hate people like that!" -Tom Lehrer

You've Got a Friend in Me

So, okay. I find it thoroughly annoying when I get sick within a semi-short amount of time. I had a lovely cold less than two months ago, and last week, I got caught with another one! I find that quite disgruntling. Fortunately, it's pretty much passed and I can speak without sounding like my nose is being slowly but surely squeezed by a vice. Ends up that it's a good thing that I blanked on the musical number I was supposed to get together for church last week, because there was no way I could have sung anything without sounding like a frog every time I opened my mouth last Sunday.

Last week we had another dance night, only this time it was a dance party held at the Birdhouse. Pretty fun, and quite a few people showed up. I only stayed for about an hour, but I did kind of wonder if all the Birdhouse girls were really all right with music blasting in their house all night long. I would have eventually wanted to go to sleep. Oh, well. I didn't hear any complaints from them.

Posing with Amy, Tasha, and Liz at the dance party

Earlier that same day, I met up with Kim and went bowling! Totally fun. And thank goodness my friends are just as bad at bowling as I am. What was amazing was that in our first game, we were totally dominating! Every time Kim made a strike, she would turn around with this incredulous look on her face, because bowling well is NOT typical for either of us. The second game was terrible in terms of our score, though, so clearly our moments of awesomeness and attractiveness were just that--moments. We went to Pudding on the Rice (scrumptious!) after bowling and gabbed away for another hour or so.

"I love it! Bowling for buzzards!"

Friday night was extremely entertaining. Esther and I hosted a North and South night with a few girls in our ward. It ended up being a really awesome night, because about half the girls there hadn't seen it, and their reactions to everything were just priceless. I had to keep myself from laughing when it came to certain scenes because I knew how much they would love or hate something. (especially the last scene: i knew how happy they were all about to become, so i literally stuffed my face in my pillow to not laugh out loud.) Needless to say, they were all very happy we had invited (or forced, what you will) them to watch it.

What a bunch of girls.

Seems that going out to eat with old friends is becoming a trend. Last Saturday, I also went to lunch with my ELang pal Charity. (Mmm . . . California Pizza Kitchen) What's sad is that we live about eight blocks away from each other, but it's been nearly a year since we've seen each other face to face. I like the going-out-to-eat trend, but I don't like the not-seeing-friends-that-still-live-close-by trend. It's a stupid trend, and I need to get out of it. I also saw my friend Andrew earlier this week when we went to "Thoroughly Modern Millie" together on Tuesday. Good to see him and catch up on our lives, and also awesome to see "Thoroughly Modern Millie", which is such a toe-tapping musical for me. (i always want to get up there and tap with them.) Really fantastic production.

Hooray! Jeremie visited us, too.
(and was clearly very happy to do so)

The big news of this week is that Becky finally got the ring on her finger, so she and Noah are finally officially engaged. She picked up her wedding dress earlier this week, and she put it on for us and Paola on Thursday night before we went out for dessert to Gloria's (a "celebratory" event that esther paid for because she's been feeling very happy lately), so it's probably about time that she got the engagement ring. So it's all happy, and Esther and I bought tickets to go out to D.C. for their wedding in May. Lots of fun plans going on around the Halfway House as we try to integrate ourselves back into society.

"A marriage is always made up of two people who are prepared to swear that only the other one snores." -Terry Pratchett

-Me

See that Girl, Watch that Scene

I declare us the dancing queens! Last week, we went salsa dancing, and it was awesome! What was especially great was that the guys were actually asking us, the girls, to dance! Amazing when that happens. Not that I'm especially great at the dancing part yet, but I think I did okay. I'm pretty sure Esther did, too, because I saw her spinning around like a top at one point. Pretty entertaining. Also very tiring. We didn't go to sleep until close to 2 that night. Needless to say, Friday at work was especially long for us poor, tired folk. When we got to that evening, trying to watch "The Two Towers" without falling asleep was quite the task.

I got to go to lunch with my friend Megan on Saturday, which was fun. It seems to be "tradition" for us to go to Red Lobster, but it was pretty funny when I suggested it and she was relieved that she didn't have to be the one to suggest it. It's always good to catch up with gal pals. That night, Esther and I braved the cold to drive out into the canyon and stand by a fire for about half an hour with some friends in the ward. I don't know what possessed Teresa to plan it, considering the lovely chill of winter around us, but at least it was an opportunity to do something.

Our bishopric was released on Sunday, so we've got a new set of guys. It will be good, I'm sure, but I was pretty sad. I really loved our old bishopric, mainly because they were under some weird impression that I was this really cool person. (Remember, Bro. Atwood did declare me queen!) Well, it shouldn't take too long for the new bishopric to figure out what a fantastic individual I am. (har) And on that note . . .

"The more things change, the more they remain . . . insane." -Michael Fry and T. Lewis

-Me

Tale As Old As Time

Basically, I'm totally bi-polar when it comes to the snow. I write about how I want it to go away, and then the very next day, I go tromping through it like a five year-old as though it's the greatest thing on earth! I suppose I simply cannot make up my mind. And I'm kind of okay with that. Last week, on a night when I didn't have anything to do, I put on my snow boots (because i finally didn't have to lend them out to esther) and went for a walk. There's an elementary school about a block away from our place, and it is clear that the kids are not allowed on their soccer field during recess in this weather. It was almost completely unmolested! So I had a good time running through the snow, laughing at myself the entire time. The top layer had kind of crystallized because it was sunny that day, and it had melted a bit, then re-frozen, so I couldn't do much in it. My attempt at a snow angel was sadly lacking. Oh, well. It was a good evening.

And to add to my "nerdiness", I had reason on Friday night to jump around in absolute joy. So incredibly child-like of me as to my reason to rejoice, but I don't really care. I received Beauty and the Beast, and I was completely ecstatic! Of all Disney cartoons, that really is the best. I have always loved it. Esther wasn't necessarily leaping through the hallway like I was (and really, it was only one little bound on my part), but she was pretty excited, as well. We've both been wanting to watch it for a long time, so naturally we watched it on Friday night right before watching Fellowship of the Ring, which was the original Friday-night-movie choice. (I also received The Lion King in the mail yesterday, and while I hopped a little bit for that, I wasn't nearly as excited as on Friday.)

I was once again reminded in the last couple days of what a great ward I have. I have a supportive bishopric (some might say too supportive, depending on the topic) and the people in it are just good quality! We had a little mishap during the intermediate hymn on Sunday, what with people singing different verses all at once and making me crack up on the piano bench while I was playing it (which in turn caused people to laugh at me . . . i saw them, i know). But everybody's reaction and attitude about it was awesome, so we have yet another good story for the ward. I went to ward prayer on Sunday night for the first time in who knows how long, really, and while that may not necessarily become a regular event, I was still really glad I went and got to talk to a couple of different people that I think are amazing. We also had a ward FHE last night, and it ended up being a really fun night, especially after Bro. Atwood quieted people down enough to tell them that I was "Queen for the Day". Embarrassing, yes, but highly entertaining.

"The monarchy is extraordinarily useful. When Britain wins a battle she shouts, 'God save the Queen'; when she loses, she votes down the prime minister." -Winston Churchill

-Me