sunday scribbling: big

Where are you going to go with this one? You could go anywhere! What do you make of big?

Well, the first thing that comes to mind is BIG decisions and BIG things happening in the very near future. Namely, my graduation from my internship in May and then I have to grow up, i.e. find a real job and start earning big (ha!) bucks. But that entails figuring out WHERE I am going next (don't even get me started on this....Boston pleaseohpleaseohpleaseOHPLEEEEASE) and WHAT specific area of dietetics I am going to go into and on and on and on and on. Of course I'm freakin' out and stressing out and panicking and hoping and praying I find a job ASAP and figure out my next step/place. Geez. No fun. I feel like I'm having a midlife crisis and I'm not even a quarter of a century old yet. AHHHHHH!!!!!


In other BIG news...my best friend Jenna had her beautiful baby girl Clara (I mentioned it before but it's SO fantastic that it warrants mentioning again) and I got to talk to this dazzling new mom Saturday and I'm glowing with excitement for her. Congratulations again my beautiful friend!!!!! Aunty Gabe WILL be spoiling her :)


And in OTHER BIG NEWS....my amazing boys, the BYU basketball team have earned themselves a NUMBER 3 SEED and it's March Madness time, perhaps one of my most favorite times of year (aside from baseball season and the NBA playoffs)!!!!!!! I sure do hope they go far. In order to get pumped I recommend you watch this and practice your stuff (or just laugh because the video is pretty swell!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAUVV8BXwlI

I've only watched it about 20 times....today.

sunday scribbling: progress

SO?! We are two days in to 2011 - any progress yet?

Why yes. This year I've decided I'm really going to work at being more optimistic. So, yesterday came: the day I had to leave home....


Usually I've very negative because I want to stay in New England, not go back to the west. But yesterday was progress. I think a lot of it had to do with the great day I had with my mom. We just explored the North Shore (including Whole Foods-yum!) and I soaked up every molecule I could before I left. It was great. I didn't cry when my mom dropped me off (I know, I'm 23 and sometimes I still get teary-eyed when I have to leave home. It happens.) and when I landed in Tucson I was ok. I was kind of happy to be back and now I'm excited for my roommates and friends to get back too. I think I'm going to like 2011.

sunday scribbling: curious

#238 - Curious

What do you make of curious?

I like this prompt. A lot.
Are you one of those people who when they get a call from an unknown number choose not to answer?
Well, I am not. More often than not, I answer it because I am too curious! I have to know who is calling!
In high school I discovered the website howstuffworks.com while doing a project and loved it. Also once I discovered the beauty of Google, I had vast amounts of knowledge at my fingertips. Fascinating. I think this is one of the reasons I fell in love with the medical field; I was and am so amazed and curious about how the human body works. I mean seriously, think about it. You get hurt and your body heals. You eat food and miraculously your body breaks it down and uses it for fuel. Fascinating right!?!? Yes! But not just the medical field. There are lots of things that are fascinating. History, art, music. So interesting. I recently when to a Philharmonic concert and how one human being can compose such a beautiful piece is beyond me but I love it. I guess I always equate curiosity with learning because they go hand in hand. It's a beautiful thing.
So, what are you curious about!??! Go read! Go learn! Go watch Mythbusters!

sunday scribblings: treatment

Such an ordinary sounding word, but filled with layers of power. Whether it is your treatment of someone or their treatment of you or whether it's treatment for a serious illness or to make you more beautiful or youthful or comfortable, treatment is never an ordinary word.
What do you make of treatment?

The first word that comes to mind is antidote, which I then associate with an incredible power or force over something physical (a headache), something mental (fear, despair, discouragement), something emotional, etc. I like in the prompt it's described as something "with layers of power." Similarly, it's multifaceted, like a gem.

My favorite treatment: laughter. The gut-busting, gasping-for-air laughter. If there is one quality I so love in my family and friends, it is their ability to make me laugh, which I truly believe is the best remedy to everything. It's no secret that I've struggled in Tucson but I've found some pals that make me laugh, really laugh. Additionally, two of the many qualities I love and admire about my brothers and mom and is their ability to make me giggle, and their quirks, which makes us all bust up laughing. I was able to talk to all of them yesterday and they each had me laughing. Also, I spent the better part of my day exploring Tucson with a new friend who is h i l a r i o u s. I haven't laughed that hard or that much in a while. Laughter is truly a remedy.

In connection to the above, I have to say one of the best remedies is good friends. Everything is better with a friend. And laughter and friends certainly make me feel more beautiful, youthful, and happy. No need for creams, diets, and other money-drainers.

I also believe music is an antidote and how wonderful to have so many genres to choose from! Today my music of choice is Josh Groban, something a little slower for Sunday. The man has a voice that is indescribably mesmerizing. I'm instantly in love with him, then in the next song I'm transported to a foreign country, then I'm calm, then I'm empowered. Music is splendid.

Thirdly, and perhaps a tad solemnly, faith, which also overlaps with optimism. Or perhaps I should put this one first. Either way, it's definitely worth mention because without it, where would any of us be? I'd suggest, and in fact know, this is the one treatment that will never fail.

And come on, who doesn't love a good cookie?

Sunday Scribblings

The prompt this week is: view. What's the view from your window? What's your view on life? On the current world situation? What's the best view you have ever seen? Had? What's your dream view? Have you expressed your views?

Well, it's been quite a while since I've done one of these!

Current view from my window:

Dream view
(I have lots but high up on the list would be waking up to this!):

sunday scribblings: Big Dreams

In honour of the Olympics and the amazing things that people are capable of, the prompt this week is: big dreams.

Wow this weekend was awesome. I feel like I can do anything and I'm pumped. But since I feel like I just wrote a prompt that fits for this week's Sunday Scribblings, I'm not going to write another, because, well, it'd be too similar.

Click here to see read about Gabe's Big Dreams

Happy Sunday!

sunday scribblings: Milestone

Ever been to New England?

Yes it REALLY does look like this!

No?

You should visit. Why? I'm from there so trust me, I know. Its beauty will never be justified by the written word. Your eyes will hardly be able to take it all in. And your breathing will stop to realize that such as place as stunning as this actually exists on earth. At first I wasn't really sure what to write about milestones. When I think of milestones I think of something important, something big, something that has left a lasting impact on me. I'm graduating...but heaven knows I've written enough about that! I'm 22 and that's not really that exciting, I mean it is, but you know, for milestones....not really.

One of my favorite, favorite, favorite, faaaavorite places to go on the coast

So then I thought of a milestone that meant a lot to me. I've officially spent most of my life living in New England: 12 years. I was actually born in Nevada and moved to New England when I was 10.

What's so special about New England you ask? Lots. But I won't go into everything because I could write a book about that! I'm quite certain that I was meant to be in New England.

Our beautiful, cheery yellow house

First, my family and I endured a very trying hardship shortly after our move to New England. Endured well, I think that each hardship has the potential to reap a plentiful harvest of blessings. New England, my friends, is a very fertile place. There are people who have come into both my family's and mine own life who are just blessings. Such swell people (I'm into the word "swell" today, maybe tomorrow will be jolly?). I do love New Englanders. They are a very loyal people (the Red Sox, hello! Have you ever met a people more dedicated than Red Sox fans? NO. You haven't. And try extending that loyalty to friends, whoa baby). New England breeds a fine quality of people and I love them. (Don't misunderstand, I know such a quality does certainly exist outside of New England; I'm not so naive nor am I ignorant or stuck up).

Part of our backyard; it's like my own secret garden!

Secondly, there is so much to do and see. It's almost overwhelming. Every time I go home my mom always comments about how much of New England we still have to explore. And seriously, there's a lot left to cover. I've hardly scratched the surface of Boston. I know northeastern Mass pretty well, but not nearly well enough. Hardly covered Vermont. I could go on but you get the point. SO much to do and see! Exciting! I do love adventures!

A light dusting

Thirdly, New England is just bursting with history. My house was built in 1764. We weren't even a country then!!!! And some of the towns are 100+ years older than our country. Take Portsmouth, NH for example. Settled in 1623. Yes, you read that correctly. I took a friend to Boston last summer and we were checking out the Old State House. Did you know, it is the oldest surviving public building in Boston. It was the center of politics in the colonies. THE Declaration of Independence was read from the balcony on the east side of the building. Also the Boston Massacre took place but a few feet in front of the building. FEET. I stood there. I mean seriously. How cool is that?!?!?! And going into Faneuil Hall is an experience unlike any other. Well, I've never been to D.C. but it's still incredible to think that our Founding Fathers came to Boston and here discussed and planned the foundation of our country. In a word, wow.

Fourth, New England's beauty just baffles me. My mom often describes New England as heaven on earth. I have yet to see anything that contests her statement (we're talking as a whole here; there's always some sketchy, unappealing part of any place). The colors are like eating pop rocks; your eyes and mind just pop! with incredulous amazement. Then you get this warm, fuzzy, calm, peaceful, sweet feeling (akin to actually eating the pop rocks, to continue on with our pop rocks analogy....) when you can sit outside on a summer or autumn evening and take it all in. That, my friends, is true bliss. And this is something no amount of prose will justify; you have got to experience it yourself.

Portsmouth, NH--quaint New England village that I LOVE to visit

I do hope that someday one of your milestones will be to visit New England. Trust me, you will NOT regret it!

sunday scribblings: Yes

What are you saying yes to in your life? What have you said yes to that changed your life? How has yes been a part of your year so far? Do you practice yes or no? Maybe there is something you need to not say yes to. What writing comes to you from yes?

I was recently talking to my roommate (pictured below) because she seemed rather stressed out about school. She said she is a perfectionist. So am I, but I'd like to think I've detoxed my life of a need for perfectionism, at least in an academic sense. Allow me to explain.

My dearest friend Shawna should be a life coach for perfectionists. Seriously. She taught me to enjoy life. I was one of those students that would stress anally about schoolwork and how I should probably be home studying and how I should be doing this or that or the other thing. I would stress about grades and how I had and needed to do well on this quiz and that test and that assignment. Blah, blah, blah. You know those kind of people? Yes, I bet you do, especially if you live in America.
There is one line she often repeated to me and it has and always will stick with me, "10 years from now is that _____ [quiz, test, paper, assignment] really going to matter?" Well, quite honestly, in the grand scheme of things no. Is life all about grades and getting 35/35 points on a paper. I certainly hope not. What a horrid life. And so, I've learned to say yes to hanging out with friends and going to game nights and doing midnight Wendy's runs during finals week, or going sledding when I should be studying. Why? Because those are the memories I want to have with me when I graduate. And college is not solely about grades and GPAs and impressing professors. It's about memories! It's about fun, silly 1 am dance parties, Malt Shoppe shakes, youtube adventures, pillow talk, snowball fights, 12:30am baking, and the fun you have with the people that matter the most.

This is probably one of my favorite pictures ever.

I'm starting to sound ridiculous.

Let's wrap this up.

But seriously, how sad to look back at my college career and only remember those nights in the library envious of my friends out having fun. Yuck. No thank you. I chose nope. So my dear homework, you will always and forever plague my academic existence. But how often will I have that opportunity to do something fun with my friends? Only once and you better believe I'm going to take it! Ha! Take that!

So my take home message is, for goodness sakes live a little!!!! Be slightly irrational. Have some fun. DO IT!

sunday scribblings: The Good Ole Days

#198 - "The Good Old Days"

I have a pet peeve, a big one.

Allow me to preface my pet peeve with the following statement/explanation. I have texting and I use it, well, often. It's nice to sent a quick text to a friend or roommate with a question or random message. I mean you might be in class or maybe they are and calling might not be feasible and it's more likely they can answer your text than call. Know what I mean? Whatever. And it's kind of exciting to check your phone and see you've gotten a message or two! You get my point if you text, which in this day and age, just about everyone does. Thus I sometimes miss the good old days when we didn't have texting.

Ok, here's where I leap onto my pedestal.


There are certain rules, like them or NOT, that apply when texting. Embrace them, write them down, and follow them. If I catch you breaking these rules, trust me, I'll say something to you and/or throw your phone.

1. If you have become one of those people that checks your phone every 2 minutes to see if you got a text, you need to get help. Texters Anonymous (TA). You need to go. It's ANNOYING.

2. This one just happened to me and it made my blood boil, especially since I was one of the hostesses. If you are at a party, PUT YOUR PHONE AWAY or LEAVE my party. Unless it is an emergency, of course. If you're at a party, be at the party. Mingle, eat, dance, laugh, enjoy. Do you really need your phone? No. You look ridiculous, rude, and classless.

3. If you are hanging out with someone, put your phone away. Give them your attention. In the words of Hitch aka Will Smith, "LISTEN to what [he or she] is saying." I cannot stand it when I am talking to one of my friends and then they bust out their phone and all of the sudden, I'm having a conversation with myself. Rude. Again. Thank you for making me feel bad. This also applies when in large groups of friends. You are hanging out so BE THERE. Hang out. It means the world to people. Seriously. Be a good friend or at least a decent person.

4. If it takes you longer to text something than a 1 minute phone call would to relay the message, CALL them. Conversations are meant to be had over the phone or in person, NOT through texting (there are very few exceptions). It's just annoying.

5. Texting using abbreviations, no go. Do not pass "GO." Spell it out or at least make it readable. Seriously. I should not have to bust out my texting translator (which doesn't even exist, get the point?) to read your text.

6. Don't try to be sarcastic over texting. It doesn't work and more often than not, it comes across incorrectly.

7. Answering a text with one letter, "k."

8. NO SERIOUS CONVERSATIONS OVER TEXTING; lovey-dovey, serious, angry, whatever. NONE. Be an adult and discuss them through a phone conversation or in person.

9. When people who you know have their phone with them 24/7, don't answer your texts OR they take hours. That completely defeats the purpose of texting!!!

10. Texting during church. Absolutely rude. Texting on a date. You are a bad date. Shame on you.

10.5 because it relates to #10 sort of: DO NOT, under any circumstances ask someone out on a date over texting. It means a WHOLE lot more, and shows you are a classy person, when you ask them out in person or through a phone call.

Ok, I think I've hit the major annoyances. I'm off my pedestal. For now anyways. Please have texting etiquette. Please. I beg you. For the sake of my sanity, my blood pressure, and my blunt/honest self. Please. Make the world a better place by texting properly. Thank you from me, your mother, your future spouse, your spouse, your boss, your Sunday School teacher, your friends, your grandmother, the person sitting next to you, your classmate, your professors, your uncle, and...your inner self.

sunday scribbling: extreme

#197 - Extreme

Yesterday was an extreme day for me. Why? One word.

Snowboarding.

Technically it was my second time going. My first time was when I was 12, and since that was a decade ago, basically this was my first time.

It was wicked fun. I really like snowboarding but it was intense. I could NOT get up and stay up on my first run and I was getting very frustrated. I just kept falling and falling and falling. And, you are not supposed to fall on your wrists because you'll break them. Ha. Did I fall on my wrists? Yes. Did it hurt? YES. Bad idea but it was just a reflex. I was told to fall dramatically to lessen the impact of the fall. It works. Trust me. Me and the earth became very well acquainted.

After my first run (which took approximately 45 minutes to get down), the rest of the runs were much, much quicker and much more fun. After about 3 hours, and still lots of falling and getting stuck, I was done. On one ride up with my friends Dan (my lifesaver. He has got the patience of a "Yodaman" because he stuck with me the entire time I was boarding and was VERY patient. I owe him a lot. Or at least 3 hours of fun since he spent most of those lying in the middle of the run eating snow waiting for me) and Jake, I decided I would go 2 or 3 more times and call it a night. Well, as I was getting off the ski-lift (my very least favorite part), I was using the chair for balance when all of the sudden it pushed me and

whooooooosh

down the little ski-lift exit hill thing I went. BAD. Bad, bad, bad. Why? I'm horrible at getting off those things so with added speed, it just spelled disaster. I biffed it hardcore and fell SMACK on my back, my lower back and tailbone. OH my pain. Serious pain. I wanted to cry. Then I heard the ski-lift controller turn off the ski lift because I was blocking the way for others to exit. Embarrassing. So I hopped up biting back tears and with wounded pride dragged myself out of the way, strapped on my board and decided that this was my last run because if I took another fall, I was certain I would seriously hurt myself. I made it down the hill falling maybe once.

Yes!

It was fun. And now I know I really need to work on my ski-lift exiting. Among a plethora of other things. Would I go again? Most definitely.

Sorry there are no pictures. We all forgot our cameras. I will tell you this, I couldn't board like a legit boarder, but dang I looked it! That's what my hardcore friend said. Yay!

sunday scribblings: new leaf and chocolat

For the New Year: a new leaf. Any thoughts?

Yes actually. I'm not one to make all these new resolutions because they have a bad connotation and only seem to last for the first month. I will say that I am going to try to once a week or every other week, to learn something new and to blog about it, something fun, random, and odd. Really I'm just feeding my curiosity! Today I decided to learn the history of chocolate because I'm currently drinking organic hot chocolate for breakfast! Yum.

"You can deprive the body, but the soul needs chocolate."

Etymologists trace the origin of the word "chocolate" to the Aztec word "xocoatl," a bitter drink brewed from cacao beans. The Latin name for the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao, means "food of the gods." How delightfully appropriate!

The Mayans were the first to discover the delicacy of the cacao during the Classic Period Maya (250-900 A.D.). Although, I did read somewhere that Honduras may have used it as far back as 1400 B.C. Dang. Wowzers. Mayans believed it was nectar of the gods (which is one of my mom's favorite sayings!). The hot chocolate they drank wasn't the sweet one we are accustomed to. Rather, it was a bitter drink. They would first make a paste and then mix it with water, chili peppers, cornmeal, and other things to create a frothy, spicy drink.

Chocolate was also used in religious ceremonies. Maya couples would drink it as part of their betrothal and marriage ceremonies.

The Aztecs were introduced to cacao around 1400 when they would trade with the Mayans. Cacao seeds were the currency of the time. The Aztecs believed that cacao was brought to earth from paradise and that wisdom and power could be had by consuming the seed.

It was the Spaniards in the 1500s who would sweeten chocolate into the delicious version we know today. Legend has it that the Aztec king Montezuma welcomed the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortes with a banquet that included drinking chocolate, having mistaken him for a reincarnated deity instead of a conquering invader. Cortes actually described it as "a bitter drink for pigs" (FOOL!)– but once mixed with honey or cane sugar, it quickly became popular throughout Spain, and later the rest of the world.Because Spain was one of the first countries to colonize the Americas, it had a monopoly on chocolate for many years. Like the Aztecs, only the wealthiest and well-connected nobility could partake of and afford the expensive import.

In the 1600s, the Europeans, specifically Sir Hans Sloane--president of the Royal College of Physicians--introduced mixing the chocolate drink with milk.

Madame du Barry, mistress of King Louis XV of France sipping chocolate

Solid Chocolate

In 1828, a Dutch chemist, Coenraad Van Houten, founded the cocoa press (pictured), a way to make powdered chocolate by removing about half the natural fat (cacao butter) from chocolate liquor, pulverizing what remained and treating the mixture with alkaline salts to cut the bitter taste. His product became known as "Dutch cocoa," and it soon led to the creation of solid chocolate.

The creation of the first modern chocolate bar is credited to Joseph Fry, who in 1847 discovered that he could make a moldable chocolate paste by adding melted cacao butter back into Dutch cocoa.

By 1868, a little company called Cadbury was marketing boxes of chocolate candies in England. Milk chocolate hit the market a few years later, pioneered by another name that may ring a bell – Nestle.

n 1875, Daniel Peter and Henri Nestle added condensed milk to solid chocolate, creating a milk chocolate bar.

In 1879, Swiss chap Rudolphe Lindt invented the conch, a machine that rotated and mixed chocolate to a perfectly smooth consistency.

By 1907, Milton Hershey's factory was spitting out 33 million kisses per day. Oh baby!

Today, Hershey makes more than 80 million HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Chocolates every day at its chocolate factories in Hershey and Virginia.

In America, chocolate was so valued during the Revolutionary War that it was included in soldiers' rations and used in lieu of wages. While most of us probably wouldn't settle for a chocolate paycheck these days (I would!), statistics show that the humble cacao bean is still a powerful economic force. Chocolate manufacturing is a more than 4-billion-dollar industry in the United States, and the average American eats at least half a pound (try 2 for me!) of the stuff per month.

...Fun Facts...

*The military is what introduced many to chocolate

*The Japanese weren't introduced to chocolate until WWII.....!?!?!? Oh how sad!
-In fact, many Asian cultures have never really developed a taste for chocolate (a crime!). The Chinese, for example, only eat one bar of chocolate for every 1,000 the Brits consume.

*In countries like Ghana and the Ivory Coast, chocolate is rarely eaten because, sadly, it's worth more to trade than to eat.

*While it's not known exactly how KISSES got their name, it is a popular theory that the candy was named for the sound or motion of the chocolate being deposited during the manufacturing process.

*It takes approximately 95 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Chocolates to equal one pound of chocolate.

*If stranded on a desert island, more than half of Americans surveyed would rather have an unlimited supply of HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand SPECIAL DARK Chocolates than their favorite book.

*Chocolate is America's favorite flavor. A recent survey revealed that 52 percent of U.S. adults said they like chocolate best. The second favorite flavor was a tie (at 12 percent each) between berry flavors and vanilla.

*U.S. chocolate manufacturers currently use 40 percent of the almonds produced in the United States and 25 percent of domestic peanuts.

*The melting point of cocoa butter is just below the human body temperature (98.6 degrees) — which is why it literally melts in your mouth.

"All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!"-Lucy Van Pelt in Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz

Many thanks to:
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/Chocolate/about.html
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/brief-history-of-chocolate.html?c=y&page=1
http://www.google.com
http://www.facts-about-chocolate.com/chocolate-history.html
http://www.hersheys.com/kisses/about/funfacts.asp
http://www.candyusa.com/Candy/FunFactsDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=976


Any ideas for my next curiosity-feeding adventure????

sunday scribblings: delicious

I hope that whether you celebrate Christmas or not that you have had a great weekend and that you have spent some time sitting around a table with your loved ones! The prompt for this week is: Delicious.

Delicious is....

...Subzero temperatures and windchill...deliciously chilly and oh-so New England!

...a white Christmas!...my mom's dozens and dozens of treats. Our freezers are packed with sugary delights and I am in sugar heaven!!!! How I will control myself for one more week, I do not know. I have something sugary with at least each meal.

...being lazy and watching lots and lots of movies. While You Were Sleeping. check. Home Alone 1 and 2. check, check. Avatar. check. 3 Men and a Baby. check. 3 Men and a Little Lady. check. Sherlock Holmes. check (LOOOOVED IT!). Blindside. check (also fabulous). Spiderman 2 check. And of course sports...Bruins game. check. Patriots game. check. Celtics. check. It's a good life.

...getting a 4.0!!!! About time. I've been one A- short the past two or three semesters from a 4.0 and it makes me really mad. Not this semester. And this was a Christmas miracle because I did NOT do too well on the finals for my two hardest classes. YAAAAAAAY!

...going to Boston not once but twice! ...talking to my brother in Arizona!

...working on my internship stuff and almost being done. THANK GOODNESS.

...deciding that I'll probably stay in UT for the summer. I'm really quite excited about this.

...being told that if I decide not to do dietetics, I should try for a comedian.

...going to Trader Joes for the first time ever with my mom and buying biscotti. Delish.

sunday scribbling: brave

#193 - Brave

This week the prompt is: brave. Write about it, but also be brave in your writing. Push yourself. Go on, you can do it!

I'm working on my bravery. I don't know what happened but I used to be very brave. I wasn't afraid of anything. Now, I am. I think it has to do with growing up, leaving my adolescence and that psychological thinking that nothing will hurt me.
For example, (a silly example) I went sledding last night. It was a blast but I took a pretty rough spill, several in fact, but one rough one in particular. It hurt, badly. I went over a jump and landed on my left side. It was one of those times where your head snaps and you slam it into the ground along with your shoulder. My elbow dug into my rib cage and knocked the wind out of me. Oh it hurt, but of course I "walked it off." Today I have a headache and I can't turn my head all the way to the right. Great. Truth be told I was a little shaken, and all I wanted to do was go home and take aspirin and lie down. And I had a headache. I'm all about "getting back on the horse," but usually a little later. Not wanting to rain on my friends' parade, I kept going the rest of the night. I had a few other minor spills, one where my face was dragged on the snow and I have a sweet "snow burn" (think of a rug or floor burn) on my face. Nine of us went down the hill on a surfboard. It was AWESOME. Scary, but so fun. And we biffed it three or four times before we got it right. It's not that I don't like to have fun, it's just scary. I've never broken anything, and I'd like to keep it that way. I also have a track record of getting hurt around finals week and I'd rather not add to that list, thank you.
But in all seriousness, I'm learning to be brave accepting adulthood, real life, yadda yadda. It's scary and a lot of times I just want to pretend it's not happening, but that of course gets me no where. And in all seriousness, it's really quite exciting. I'm grateful for my program director, Dr. Nyland, who has such great perspective. We had our last day of class, internship prep. class, on Thursday and of course it was a free-for-all asking questions about anything relating to internships. Now of course I'm freaking out, panicking, scared out of my mind, and excited to no end. Dr. Nyland made a good point though; that being that this internship is only 1 year of my life and if I don't get in where I want to, or get in at all, it's ok. It's a blip and it's not the end of the world. Really I was just grateful that she pointed out that it was only 1 year of our life, the internship that is, because I'm scared I won't get in to any of the Boston internships I'm applying to and then the world will end and I'll never go anywhere as good, and then I'll never be a dietitian and so on. Silly. So thanks Dr. Nyland. I'm ok now and I'm practicing being brave. Life's an adventure afterall, right?

"The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it."-Thucydides

Ok. Bring it on. I like a good challenge :)

Sunday scribbling: adventure

Since I'm waiting for my laundry to finish up (at midnight...I need to wear a specific shirt tomorrow), I decided to finish this blog that I started a few days ago....

So tell us about adventure: have you been on one lately? Are you planning one? Do you see adventure as something you can have daily or do you save it up for a rainy day? What are your thoughts on adventure?

As a matter of fact I have had quite a splendid adventure! It's called Halloween and it's probably one of my favorite holidays. My costume this year was probably my favorite ever though. Three of my friends and I decided to originally dress up as the Planeteers from Captain Planet. If you remember the show there are actually five planeteers and since we were missing a fifth, we decided to stick with the idea but dress up as the elements rather than the Planeteers. I think it was FAAAAABULOUS!

Earth, Water, Wind, Fire

So that was one adventure. It was positively blissful! I had so much fun!

Now on to my real thoughts on adventure:
I'm about to embark on a real adventure. I'm graduating in April from college and I'm scared. For the first time, my life isn't planned. I mean, it is. I know what I want to do, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will happen (which is usually the case, except I'm usually fairly confident in what will happen. For example, I wanted to get into BYU, got in. I wanted to be a dietetics major, I got in, you what I mean?). I may or may not get the internship of my absolute dreams. I may or may not do an internship. I may or may not have to change my life's course. It's frightening and scary and sad. And yet it's also exciting. I mean I can do whatever I want!!!! I can go anywhere! That is so cool!I'm almost overwhelmed with the freedom. But there are so many "what ifs." I just don't like that. So part of this adventure will indeed be a trial of faith and patience and will include prayer and deep breathing. Lots of deep breathing. And stress balls. Good thing I only have about 5 stress balls (one is a peanut...I love it!). Eh hem...I digress....
But seriously, I'm excited. Life after college consumes my thoughts daily [which might I add, I cannot wait until this process is over. The whole consuming my thoughts and causing me to cry, panic, freak out, and cry more is really quite tiring]. Where will I go? Who will my new friends be? Where will my new favorite hang outs be? I know one thing for sure. I need to be around people. I go OUT OF MY MIND being by myself for extended periods of time. Humans were definitely made to interact. I dislike being alone. It's the extrovert in me...

I think adventures are fabulous. And I also think we have small adventures daily and, obviously, larger ones (graduating, marriage, kids, etc.) too. I'm having an adventure growing up. It's hard. I'm not always a fan. Sometimes I just want to call my mom and have her tell me everything will be ok and to give me a hug. Except there is a 2 hour difference and she's 2500 miles away. Sad day. But that's life right?

Speaking of life, I bought a book today. This one:
It's great. I highly recommend it. It's just filled with little tidbits and pieces of advice Brown originally wrote to his son when he started college. I love it. I may start a blogging adventure and blog about some of the treasures in this book!

Laundry's done!

sunday scribbling: cheese

The prompt for this week is: cheese. Okay! Now before you go rolling your eyes and judging the prompt, I'd like to explain. Cheese can be a great many things, and have a great many emotions attached. You say, 'Cheese' when someone takes a picture. You eat a certain cheese when you are a kid depending on where you are from. Things can be cheesy in attitude and in flavour. Think outside of the box a little and let us know what you think of cheese.
I LOVE cheese.
As a kid I was all about cheddah and American (yellow, not white).
Now I have expanded my cheese palette to include almost exclusively provolone, swiss (a tad sharp please), and mozzarella (mozzarella, tomato, and basil anyone?? YES PLEASE!).
Although I will say that a good grilled cheese sandwich is best done with cheddah.

I also enjoy cheesy things. Cheesy clichés for example. And who doesn't use and/or like them? I mean we all use them. Yes, yes you do. It may not be out loud, but we all know you at least think of them! I also have fun doing cheesy things with my friends.
Such as: True Blue Football. This entailed a slip-n-slide with blue foam. SO. MUCH. FUN.

BEFORE

AFTER

Or how about good 'ole fashioned cupcake/frosting fights? This was potentially one of best nights ever.

I took a food science class a couple of years ago and one of our labs involved tasting a W I D E variety of cheeses. Some of them....nasty. I can't believe people actually eat them....
Blue cheese. Gross. It's MOLDY! I wouldn't bite into a block of moldy cheese so why on earth do people like it? Gag me please!
Roquefort cheese. NO. That one was horrid.
Those are the only two I remember in particular causing me anguish and disdain for cheese. Maybe my palette just isn't meant for mold. I'm okay with that. Ick.

All in all, cheese is great whether it's the food, a good cliché, or a good time. I have some provolone in the fridge....bedtime snack??

sunday scribblings: adult

What are your thoughts on adulthood? What do you want to be when you grow up? Are you scared of being an adult? Have you been forced to be the adult in a relationship? Do you have an adult child who won't grow up? Are you glad to finally be an adult? What do you think?

It's quite ironic that this is the question/topic since I've been doing a lot of thinking about this whole growing up thing for a bit.

I'm actually really looking forward to being an "adult" as I begin my final year of college. Now, my definition of being an adult may vary from the definition of others. I can't wait to be financially independent, done with school, in my own apartment.
I can't wait for the day when I purchase my own car; when I can buy things for a real apartment and home someday instead of for a college apartment (and therefore cheap, mostly).
I can't wait to pay my own bills. No seriously. I know that's completely weird but I can't wait. I mean bills that are not school related.
I can't wait to buy my first real suit, go to my first real interview.
I can't wait to be married and to have my own family and alllllll the stuff that comes with that.

I can't wait to grow up! I can't wait!

sunday scribblings: indulgence

It has been a little bit too long since we were indulged. What do you make of that?


I like to indulge in lots of things.

One of my favorite things to indulge in is books. I really do like to read and I'll start just about any book (i.e. I gave Twilight a chance even though I hated the first 50-100 pages). I find that once I find an author I like, I tend to indulge in that author's books. Last summer I read just about every book written by Tess Gerritsen because her books absolutely thrilled me (she writes thriller, suspense murder mysteries-my kind of stuff!). So, I indulge in books.


I also indulge myself in movies. I know it's cheesy but I enjoy the escape, kind of like books. I can go anywhere in the world, or the universe (Star Trek), even to make-believe worlds (Harry Potter; Hook). I do love movies.

I also enjoy indulging in shoes. Stereotypical of a girl maybe but in my case, it's a true statement. I love shoes, especially high heels.

Music. I LOVE music, especially to blast it in my car or in my room when no one is home. I don't have a specific genre but if I had to choose one, it'd be jazz like Frank Sinatra, Rat Pack, Michael Bublé, Harry Connick Jr. That kind of jazz. But I'll listen to just about anything. I love hip-hop, country, some rap even, rock, pop, alternative, rock n' roll, oldies, classical. It depends on my moods too. And I do that thing where if I like a song I'll buy it and listen to it over and over and over and over again until I'm so sick of it that I can't listen to it for a very long time. All the same, I love music.

And ok, I wasn't going to go here but I have a few things to say so I will. I like to indulge in food. But I don't mean in a greedy, slothful, eat-just-because-it-tastes-good way. I like to taste things and experience different textures. Like rice. Did you know there are tons of varieties of rice that have different textures and taste, not just brown or white rice. That is SO cool! And chocolate. Ok, well what percent of cocoa? Milk, white, dark? With nuts, fruit, caramel, what? Hersheys? Ghirardelli? Cadbury? German chocolate? Swiss chocolate? Bitter chocolate? And I like to experiment with different recipes and different ingredients. I mean food is so fabulous and fun and exciting and different. I love it! I love that there is so much to do with it and all the different ways different cultures cook and eat. Isn't it just fabulous!?!? I wish I could be a traveling food critic. I know so little, yet I crave to know so much.


And on a completely unrelated, random note: Do you ever have those days where you are just so blah with the way things are going, or so utterly mystified with something you just found out that you just want to do something completely random and spontaneous, irrational? I do. I feel like doing something completely out of character right now. Sometimes I wish I was filthy rich so I could just call my pilot to take me and my private jet somewhere, anywhere and I could backpack through some foreign place and ignore phone calls and To-Do lists, and jobs. Or I could just fly to Paris because I can. I want to go to Paris so badly you have no idea. *sigh*

sunday scribblings: soul mates

"Soul-mates are people who bring out the best in you. They are not perfect but are always perfect for you." -Author Unknown

When it comes to love.....

....no I don't believe in just one soul mate. There are several reasons for this and I don't feel like going into detail because I have something else to say about the matter. What I will say about love and soul mates is I believe over time that mate (for lack of a better, general term) becomes your soul mate. That also means that yes, I do believe more than one person can become your soul mate. It makes perfect sense to me. Over the years and decades you are together, you get to know each other on a more intimate level than ever fathomed or comprehended. You learn every little thing and quirk about each other; You learn likes and dislikes about silly things; You learn to predict reactions to certain things and he or she to you. You become one. You become soul mates.

I do think soul mates exist when it comes to friends. I have several people in my life who have profoundly influenced me and I am absolutely certain our friendship was divinely appointed, indeed soul friendmates (new word??). For one-my mom. I'm certain we were meant to have each other in this life. If not for her, for me. I know I may sound like a broken record, but I really can't tell you how amazing and how highly I think of my mom; she is the most incredible woman ever. What she has done and does for my brothers and me is, at a very fundamental level, the epitome of motherly love. She teaches me something every day and it's always some way to better myself, even though it might not like it or know it...yet.

"What is a friend? A single soul in two bodies."- Aristotle

Jenna and Shawna. Jenna Jo and I have been friends for, gosh, 16 years! WOW! Shawna and I have been friends for 3 1/2 years (ironically enough, through Jenna). I'm quite certain we were the dearest of friends in the life before this. There's the quote that goes something like Best friends are the sisters God forgot to give us or something like that. That's what I think of Jenna and Shawna. I don't have any sisters and these two are about as good as it gets. I love them dearly and can't even begin to tell you how blissful that make my life!

sunday scribblings: covert

Sorry-that last picture was a tad offensive and I didn't realize it until days later!

I enjoy being sneaky. It's fun.

When I was a youngster, about 11 or 12, my brother and I were in our library and we were arguing over whose turn it was on the computer (in all honesty I, being the oldest, was probably explaining to my inferior younger brother that I was in the middle of something very important--either an extensive AIM conversation or some computer game (The Sims? That game rocked!); clearly important stuff). I might add my mom was out running errands with the youngest brother in tow leaving the two of us to ourselves. Anyways, our disagreement progressed to intense arguing, raised voices, and then a full blown fight--in your face sort of thing.
There is behind the desk chair a table (a rather wobbly one I might add) with a lamp and a potpourri dish. I think I must have shoved my brother, but in all honesty I don't remember how it happened. The point being that all of the sudden the lamp broke.

Well, we found ourselves in quite the quandary.

Being terrified of our mom's response (I think it was one of her favorite lamps) to breaking her lamp, albeit accidentally over the computer, we went dead silent for a good 2 minutes just gaping at what had happened. I remember bursting into tears, apologizing profusely and then begging my brother to help me fix it while making a pact with each other not to tell Mom.

We fixed the lamp with divine precision (of this I am sure) and she didn't notice until years later when she accidentally hit the table and the lamp "broke" suspiciously clean along the same lines it had broken years ago (they were large chunks thank goodness).

Covert? I think so.

But I also enjoy indulging in covert operations to surprise people. My favorite thing to do is bake scrumptious treats for people and anonymously leave it on their doorstep. I just like to do things for other people to make them smile ya know? Makes me happy and I enjoy the thrill of being covert, trying to do it without being caught or ever discovered. I don't always succeed but it's still fun all the same. I also enjoy pranks but that's for another time.

sunday scribblings: worry

I have no creative way to write about this, nor do I have any particularly amusing stories about this and since I've been on ranting spree the past week or so, I'll refrain from going down that road....

All I can really say is: YES.

I worry about a lot of things. My major concerns are as follows (and they may or may not have some explanations):

1. School-I'm almost done but last year was ridiculously hard. I hope I can survive my senior year. *optimism!!!!*

2. Money-I hate it but I need it and I can't live without it. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Greedy people (*cough* politicians *cough*) ruin it for the rest of us. Can't we just barter?

3. My future-where the heck am I going to do my internship? Boston where I have only dreamed of living or to stay in the west????

4. My future self-will I ever grow up? Will I ever get married? Will I ever know as much as my mom does? Will I be successful? Will I become one of those people that dreams about all these things but never does them (I shudder at the very thought!)? While I'm paying for all the baby-boomers to survive in nursing homes and to get medications, will I be able to support myself and my family??

5. My future children. The world today sucks. Enough said. Good luck kids, I'm here for you. This is probably my biggest worry. I struggle with my youngest brother. I can only imagine what it'll be like with my own chick-a-dees someday.

6. My youngest brother-I'm the oldest and the only girl so I've inherited the annoying-2nd-mother gene. My youngest brother is just finishing up his freshman year of high school and he can be obnoxious, arrogant, narcissistic, selfish, hormonal, emotional, rude, and stupid. I worry that he'll make bad decisions, that he'll do what is cool by society's HORRIBLY twisted standards instead of what's right, that he'll cut himself short, that he'll slack off and won't push himself to his potential. Oh the teenage years. I know there's a good kid in there somewhere, and sometimes that good kids surfaces. I wish I could see him more. I miss him. My poor Mother-sorry I was such a punk Mom!

7. Our society. There's far, far too much to say on this so I'm not even going to go there.

BUT I still remain hopeful and optimistic. I have good friends and good family and that's the best way to cope.