Thirty-six ...

is the number of roommates I have had in my lifetime. 

Not including sharing a room with sibling-twins Kelli and Kevin when we were wee lasses and lads.

And I have liked them.

Welll, most of them. Most of the time. ;)

Being so experienced with having roommates, I have decided to share a "How to" with you today. And the best thing is this, it not only works with roommates, but husbands and children too!

Without further adieu ...

How to deal with roommates when they are cookin' your grits

Now, you may not believe me, but there is only ONE, key, essential step to this.

When your roommate {or anyone else you live with} is cookin' your grits ...

You ...

Lock them in a suitcase.

As you can see, I did have assistance from Brother Brent {no, he isn't really my brother}. But the assistance isn't even needed. 

For Mindy, I just threw candy in there and told her to get it.

For Claire, I told her she had a letter from a missionary from Virginia. 

And there you have it.

No applause necessary, just throw money in my general direction.

Next week, a riveting "How to" on sneaking into a parade. 

Happy Sunday, people. :)

Starting Over

I think one of the major issues I have had in keeping up with this blog was actually finding a direction of where I wanted the blog to go. I feel like I just needed a purpose to my blogging.

I toyed with many different possibilities. A travel blog. A happy Mormon mommy blog. A recipe blog. A knitting blog. A political blog. A curling blog. 

Oh, the places I could go!

After much contemplation, I think I have finally found one - my passion!

FASHION.

And I am going to start today (!!!) with a TOP 10 Hot Summer Fashions that you should be sure to incorporate into your wardrobe for a sizzlin' summer!

Ready to take notes? You should be.

1. Aprons are the IN accessory this season! That is why I am wearing two! Aprons can get quite pricey, depending on where you purchase them. So if you can only afford one - that is sooo okay!

2. Solid-colored two-piece bathing suits is where it is at! Make sure you pick out a color that works with your skin tone. Purple works really, really well with pastey-white, as you can clearly see. 

3. They say black is slimming - and it is so true! Garbage sacks are a great way to express your inner Lady GaGa, but in a more conservative manner. 

4. Layered Pants. You might think this is a strange combo for summer, but they are oh-so-in! (Kind of like when shorts and Uggs were all the craze.} 

5. If garbage sacks are too out there for you, you can also use a slimming, black cloak. We all knew that Harry Potter revolutionized the literature world, and now it's hitting the fashion world with a big bang!

6. This amazing fashion trend is one that has been long overdue! For decades your dog has been able to sport a cone, and now (!!!), you finally can too! Although, don't be fooled. This does not impede you from being able to scratch or lick yourself at all. Maybe one day they can make a more progressive one that serves both purposes, but for now this will have to do! So enjoy it!

7. Any and ALL Beach Boys paraphernalia will make you an immediate, epic FASHION ICON.

8. While sweat pants and jammies have always been OUT, gym shorts and t-shirts promoting a college student running for office are IN, IN, IN!! It immediately brings your age back to 20 when YOU were a college student, regardless of how old you actually are or how old you look. Anti-aging secret - revealed! Give it a go!

9. One-piece jammies! This is only recommended for home with AC, naturally. 

And finally ...

10. GOTH-IT-UP! Now, I am sure you remember the goth kiddos being a little whacked up back in your day, but NOW ... Oh, now! All the kids with the pumped up kicks are Gothin-it-up! It is one sure way to have a HOT summah! 

So, what are you waiting for? Get to it!

As a resolutionist ...

It's strange that I have not made any thus far this year.

Yet, I am still going to. Can you really make New Year's resolutions in late January or February? I mean, I have ideas floating around. Are ideas floating around concrete resolutions? Absolutely not. But who said they ever needed to be concrete?

One of the ideas floating around in my head is becoming a better blogger. Read as: a more frequent blog writer.

I know, I know. "Surely you must be joking," you're thinking.

But I am not.

At least I think I am not.

This is why it is not a concrete resolution, peeps. Just a floating idea.

So, having said this ... you might be seeing a lot more of me.

{But don't expect it, because that seems waaay too concret for my current liking.}

I'lllll be baaaack!

Remember ...

How I own a blog and have for over a year-and-a-half?

Oh, and how in that year-and-a-half have only written six posts?

Yeah.

I need to work on it.

Here's the deal, I feel like I would want to blog more if I felt a little more blog love.

If I can get 10 or more comments on this "boring post", I promise to update my blog at least bi-monthly for the remainder of the year.

Does that even sound somewhat convincing to anyone? Because something in my gut says it doesn't ... but something in my heart says it wishes it was.

I might even begin to leave comments on your blog ... but then again, that might be asking too much, eh?

Happy blogging to you, world!

Fuh-ood ...

I eat food.

Daily.

It tastes nice.

Especially when it's rice.

Okay, false. I don't recall the last time I ate rice.

But in honor of some changes that I officially have made this week, I am going to tell you my top favorite-est foods.

I know, contain your excitement. I update my blog quarterly and your biggest concern is what food I want to eat. And, in no particular order:

1. Cheese. I am pretty sure I have at least three to five different variety blocks in my fridge at any given time. When I went on my cruise (Oh, hey! I went on a cruise - I suppose I could be blogging about that? But notice how I am not.) I asked my roommates to do their part and eat a large portion of it so it wouldn't go to waste. Either that or freeze it. But seriously, who freezes cheese?

2. Toasted bread with mozzarella cheese chunks and tomatoes. Yes, I did just say chunks. Saying slices would be a straight up lie.

3. Chik-fil-a. Heaven.on.earth.baby. Possibly an addiction. Ho-well.

4. Spinach here. Spinach there. Spinach everywhere. I am strong to the finish because I eat my spinach ... Yet, my name is not Popeye and I am not a sailor. But whatev.

5. Chocolate ice cream with peanut butter swirls provided by Tillamook. Loooooooove it. Waaaaaant it. Neeeeeeeeed it.

6. Greek yogurt. Honey flavored. Of course, when I am not eating Activia (I just sang that as I wrote it, sooo you probably should have sang "Activiiiiia" as you read it).

7. Popcorn. With cheese and garlic salt. Wasn't lyin' about the cheese fetish. But let's be honest, I will eat any popcorn. Movie popcorn. Microwave popcorn. White cheddar popcorn. You name it. I will eat it. Unless it has Essence flavoring on it. I really don't like it.

8. Pizza. I blame EFY for this. I blame EFY for a lot of things, like why I am still currently sitting in khakis and a polo (was I wearing this outfit the last time I posted - why yes, yes I was). There is a difficult transition from EFY to the real world ... like, people actually eat other things besides pizza on Wednesday nights???? Really? Like what?

9. Golden Corral. Against my the entire world's better judgement, I like Golden Corral. So sue me. But don't. Because then I couldn't afford the $12.99 weekend price when prime rib and steak are available.

AND

10. Diet.Coke. Who needs tiger's blood when you have Diet Coke running through your veins?

But this is me longing for and wishfully reflecting on tastier days ... Today I sit drinking chilled water while watching the Biggest Loser. And definitely not crying (my goal this week for the show this week).

And maybe with these changes I am making this week, I can make more changes like actually updating my blog on a regular basis. Buuuut, then we might be getting to optimistic there, no?

Peace out.

I own a blog ... what?

I realize that the last blog post I wrote started off with, "I realized this morning that it's been months since I've written on my blog." And now I want to say ... I realize that it's been five months since I have written on this blog.

I excuse this by saying I don't have anything exciting to write or anything I do want to write is too personal to actually share with the entire world wide web. But notice how those are just excuses. So, here I am today.

Things that are new:

I am back in Logan! And, while EFY is over, I still get to wear polos at my new job, which look exactly like EFY polos. So, that's nice. Although, I would prefer to wear my clothes, I don't think Macey's grocery store, which is still your family's favorite grocery store and mine, cares too much about said clothes.

I moved into this adorable little house:

And I moved in with these girls:

Let's not tell them I just posted a photo of them on my blog, mm-k? Let's forsurely not tell them I stole those photos from their FB pages. Which reminds me, I need to give them their Christmas presents still. For reasons unknown to all, I have decided they have to receive them at the exact same moment. That moment is clearly not now.

Other big news is that I have a guilty pleasure for these little itty-bitty pizza bite rolls that you can only purchase at, drum roll please ... gas stations.

I also feel that it is important that I share with the world wide web at this time that I really, really love the sound at the beginning of Law and Order after the introduction of, "In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories."

DUN. DUN.

And I suppose that is all I have to say today. And at the rate I have been going ... I guess I will see you in six month? :)

a summer that changed my life

I realized this morning that it's been months since i've written on my blog, not to mention even looked at it. So with FUNemployment on my mind, it's time I wrote just how life-changing my summer really was. And i can't even do it justice. For those who have worked efy, they know i am right. For those who haven't, just try to understand.



I spent 4 weeks of my summer in beautiful Cache Valley, UT on Utah State University's campus. (The other 5 weeks were spent in Provo, UT; Montpelier, ID; & Santa Barbara, Cali.) Spending time on the campus of my Alma Mater was one of the highlights of the summer. But let's just see if i can put into words some of the moments that mattered most....

10. My Team: Mama Rachel & Crazy Uncle Braden were quite the pair of coordinators! Jon (he's the Asian one...just ask him), Shane (the one who'd sneak out to golf) and Taylor ("where is my jump drive!) were the best male BC's I could have asked to work with this summer! Of course, there's Miss Meggie Margaret Winn (always said in perfect enunciation) and Lisa (my saving grace of laughter) who stood right beside me every step of the way. I love this photo of all of us in our element: Rachel and Meggie discussing logistical matters. Shane and Taylor organizing the monstrous playlist. Braden preparing for his rockstar debut. Lisa being the informative BC and texting her counselors something important. Me drinking my beloved Diet Coke. Jon is off somewhere doing his actual duties instead of posing like the rest of us... :)

9. Site office parties!! Like the time I was eagerly searching for my specific mambas with the letters to my name on them, while trying to push off everyone else doing the same thing, and ended up walking into a closet only to have Taylor lock me in with the weight of his body (terrible run-on sentence, i know!). Or when I won me and Shane the first ice cream dish but he was too busy sleeping. Eating salsa/cream cheese with Sister Roe. Watching Bear Grylls survive in the dusty Moab desert. Being interrupted from a much needed nap with the site office ringtone of Mario Brothers.

8. LOVE BUCKETS!!! Thanks to Jonny Maruji for affectionately naming this one, and ensuring that my water bottle was always chock full of ice water. :)

7. Having bronchitis for the last 3 weeks in Logan. Hacking up a lung, having the BC's ask what color my mucus was (gross!!) and trying to suppress it during nightly devotionals. What a
distraction I must have been!


6. Beautiful Santa Barbara, California! For two weeks I worked as a counselor on the coast of UC Santa Barbara. There I fell in love with the DLG (and gained 8 pounds by eating there daily!!), the game Bananagrams, and beautiful overcast mornings. Rarely did I go outside without a jacket, and games night was spectacular with mists of fog hovering over our field. (Thanks to Patrick for capturing this awesome moment!)
One of my favorite moments from Santa Barbara was during scripture study, the building we were placed next to was under construction. Not soon after we began, the construction crew began playing slow-jams...a not-so-perfect addition for background music. One of my girls came up to me after and said, "I think this is what the scripture meant when it says we should be in the world, but not of the world." She truly grasped the concept of that!


5. As a counselor, you are paired up with one or two other counselors and together you become a company. How did I luck out with so many great and amazing co-counselors!!? From each one of you, I learned so many lessons: patience, the importance of scriptures, how to go with the flow, how to love unconditionally, being yourself is the best thing you can do, those who encouraged me to be better, and many others. To Taylor Brower, Joe Cochran, Elyse Bradley, Christina Cecchitini, Mark Olsen, Kelli Meacham, Harrison Davis, and Patrick Law, I owe you the world. You have made me a better person.

4. I hate to be biased, but my favorite co-co of all summer was definitely......drum roll please..... Kelli Angela Meacham! Being co's with my sister was one of the

best moments of my summer.
During Logan stay-at-home 3 I learned just how incredible she is. She can teach the gospel and offer insights that so many youth would latch on to. She loves unconditionally. She's up for any adventure. She put up with my craziness of thinking i was an actual rockstar. We sang together, along with Lindsey Robb, for a morningside. She made me realize just how awesome my family really is. She is, in all honesty, a hero of mine. Love you girl! :)

3. Although this countdown really isn't in any particular order (just as they came to mind) I can't help but put out a personal shout out to our cruiser mix. I'm a lover of all types of music and I love, absolutely LOVE, hearing new kinds of music, new artists, and people's personal faves. Props to our tech-specialist, Jake Scott, for introducing our team to jUmP rOpE!!!. May it forever remain engraved in anyone's heart who listens to it. (It may or may not be the first song you heard when you jumped on the blog today) :)



2. The Lawrence Welk Show! Shimmy Punch, Shimmy Punch Punch!! Shimmy all over Logan! Watching Logan put on a snuggie for his variety show talent. I will forever love Shane for always forgetting his line, "With my by myself!" Please, does anybody have our team on video?? For the sake of not, hopefully a photo will be sufficient to help recreate the memories of anyone present.

1. I think this really deserves the #1 spot, for it was the best part of my summer. Watching people's lives change, including my own. As we understand our relationship with God, our Father, and his ultimate plan of happiness for us, at once our lives begin to change. Our relationships with others start mean more. Our knowledge for all things righteous begins to increase. We want to read our scriptures more, pray to the Father more, and utilize the Atonement of Jesus Christ on a daily basis. Helping the youth learn this principle, and watching the transformation within is one of the most rewarding benefits of working with efy. Working with girls like Lauren, Megan, and Hannah, among many others, i have realized more perfectly that I am His daughter. I have a lot to offer the world.