It's the most WONDERFUL time of the year!

Christmas day is almost here, only two more days of work this year. Many of you know that I have been going to school for my elementary teaching certificate. I have recently decided that one of the main reasons that I have chosen this as my next profession is for the vacations and holidays. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about it for other reasons as well and have enjoyed my training thus far, but not having to worry about working on Christmas or Thanksgiving is a colossal plus in my book.
So, since it’s almost Christmas, I’ve decided list a few of my favorite things… you know, brown paper packages, whiskers on kittens, and whatnot.
1 – I love how nice people are at Christmastime. People generally are a little more giving and kind this time of year. Although there are still those crazies that trample each other in the store, but when there are people who really have the spirit of Christ in their hearts and their lives it’s almost tangible.
2 – The yummy treats! How many times a year do you get to make decorations out of candy?!?! We build gingerbread houses. We put candy canes on the tree. We give and receive plates of fudge and sugar cookies and homemade candies and everything else to inspire a diet related New Year’s resolution.
3 – Spending time with family. I love my family and now that we are all “grown-up” we don’t get to see each other very much. But this time of year we all try to make that extra special effort to get together…even if it’s only for a couple of days.
4 – Presents!!! Of course I like to receive gifts, but my favorite thing is trying to find or make something that I know will be perfect for someone else. This year I actually started my shopping in August (it seems a bit extreme, but it has really helped my finances this year).
5 – Christmas music. I know most people really enjoy Christmas music. There are even many of you out there who fanatically start the Christmas music the day after Halloween (I’m thinking of you my dear sister-in-law) or even listen year round. I am not one of those people. I do have a little rant about the “socially conscious” Christmas music. Don’t try to use the holiday to push your social cause on me! Although they are fine causes I’m sure…I just don’t particularly care for songs by “Band-aid” or about war and other social stuff. Maybe that is shallow, but I don’t want to hear about how there is no snow in Africa…is there ever snow in Africa?

Mostly I’m grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ. This is a great time to reflect on the greatest gift of all, the gift of our Heavenly Father’s son. I hope you all have an amazing Christmas full of miracles!
Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!!!

Meet my arch nemesis...

So, after some confusion I’ve decided to post for you all to know why Mark Ronchetti is my arch nemesis. Okay, it really isn’t to that point yet…but in all actuality I do blame him for most everything. The animosity that exists between us goes back quite a long way…to at least a year ago. Let me begin by explaining that part of my genetic make up is not to be a morning person (I’m not actually a night person either…I’m more of a late morning/early afternoon person, with a second wind between 7-9 pm). Well last winter I grumpily rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom for my normal shower routine. En route to the bathroom I usually pass by the big window in our front room…as was the case the morning of the first incident. Well, glancing out the window I noticed about seventeen feet of snow (It may have actually been anywhere from a light dusting to a couple of inches for all I knew in my befuddled morning brain…but for the sake of accuracy I will stick with my initial assessment of seventeen feet). My very first thought when I noticed Mother Nature’s wet wintery contribution was, “Stupid Mark Ronchetti…you ruin everything.” As soon as the thought passed through my mind, I laughed aloud realizing the fact that I couldn’t really blame the weatherman for the snowy day…or could I? Well, needless to say from that time forward I began to notice how much his rosy cheeked-guy smiley-grinning face annoys me. Honestly, whenever his face appears on the TV, I have to change the channel and the thought always comes…stupid Mark Ronchetti, making me change the channel…or stupid Mark Ronchetti, you don’t know...or something to that effect. Now it’s kind of an ongoing joke amongst many of my cohorts. In fact, last week we had two full days without power…I’m pretty sure that Mark Ronchetti was behind it. Okay, I suppose it’s a bit irrational. But if you have a scapegoat…why not use him?!
Anyway, we are surviving this week of snow just in time for Christmas. Other than the driving in it and freezing temperatures, it does put one in the Christmas spirit. It has taken awhile for me to really get into the swing of things but I now finally feel that familiar excitement for my favorite holiday. Our tree is up and decorated…although we decided to put it smack dab in the middle of the room this year…just because we can!!! On Sunday we took some young women and went over to an older lady’s house to decorate her tree. It was quite an experience…she wanted to put everything on a little tree. Her tree is definitely decorated now…in fact I don’t think there are any more branches left to decorate. That and the fact that her little dog peed on one of the girls made for an interesting afternoon. Oh the joys of Christmas. There are so many things I love about this time of year…what are some of yours?

My First 29th Birthday!!

No, I’m not dead…I was just in Utah. You draw your own conclusions. Shout out to all my Saltines!!! (That’s what I’ve decided to call you people from Salt Lake…I almost went for Lakers but it was a little overdone plus with the Saltines there’s a fun kind of cracker reference in there…it’s great on several levels) It was a blast and I got to see several of my good friends, my favorite big sister, my favorite brother and their families. Got to do the whole temple square light fun (we spent more time finding a place to park than actually at the lights but oh well) and several other Utah-type experiences. Way fun!!! Can’t wait to do it again in 3 short weeks!
Well, for those of you who don’t know….HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!! Yep, it’s that time of year again! (I totally just had a drug rep guy come in and tell me that it is also some catholic immaculate conception day and explained the meaning of it, which I kinda already knew…it was a little strange and uncomfortable.) So I thought I would share some of my sage wisdom and things I’ve learned now that I’m at a ripe old age (I’ve shared some of these with you so if you’ve heard this before…I must really mean it)
- You can go a lot further than you think you can when your gas light comes on. (This is one I learned literally this weekend, but I think it also has figurative layers there too…I’ll let you dissect that one for yourselves)
- Adolescence should be termed a mental disorder (Seriously, the pre frontal lobes of the brain don’t fully develop until a person reaches their late teens/early twenties which causes all kinds of impulse control issues and other problems. Looking back at my teenage years from a distance now and having several teenage acquaintances, I have to think of it as a mental disorder in order to keep my own sanity….which is somewhat connected to my next point…)
- Even if someone else’s problem seems insignificant or stupid to you, it’s still a problem for them…which is probably why it’s their trial and not yours. I think we all come across this in teenagers (see above mentioned mental disorder) as well as in other people where they are going crazy over something stupid or insignificant (which everyone may know is stupid or insignificant and which the person may one day look back and think of as stupid) but it doesn’t make their anxiety/pain/stress/problem any less real. I think we all need to realize that a little bit more and have a little more compassion for each other’s trials (even if we think they are stupid).
- Life isn’t made of checklists (although it would probably be easier if it was). I think we have all heard the saying “if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans”. Even though it’s painfully difficult sometimes, we don’t always get things in the order or at the time we think we should.
- When in doubt, blame Mark Ronchetti (This is one of those ones that most of you have heard me rant about before and I can pretty much pinpoint the decline of western civilization to him. He’s our local weather man…and he ruins everything).
So tell me some of the things you’ve learned so far…and go out and celebrate wherever you are!!!

Hey Baby, what's your sign?

Have you ever noticed all the signs that people put up on the road? Of course there are the yard sale signs and the garage sale signs and the estate sale signs. Because I live in a “historical” area (the Spanish conquistadores settled Espanola as the first capitol in what we now consider the United States before moving it to Santa Fe well over 300 years ago…and you’re welcome for the history lesson) there are often signs pointing out special historic tours. There are however, once in awhile, some signs that are intriguing. Not too long ago there was a sign up on the highway by my house that said “barn sale.” What the heck is a barn sale? I had kind of imagined a sale of barns or maybe a sale of barn type animals…you know, a table full of baby chicks…4 for $5. I know, it’s a little sick, but it does make for a funny mental image. Well it turned out to be an art sale (not that I went, but I heard the buzz around town). How lame is that?...an art sale disguised as a cool barn sale (there are also a lot of artsy fartsy weirdoes around here…sorry, I mean creative geniuses…okay, I really mean artsy fartsy weirdoes.) Well for the last couple of days there have been signs out around town that have “O ’ K” with an arrow pointing in what I assume is the direction of whatever that sign means. I’ll be honest, I’ve been tempted to follow the arrows just to see where they lead and what the heck that sign means. So, I was thinking that maybe I should make up some weird signs with arrows and paste them up around town. I was thinking that I could either stick them up so that they lead in just a big circle or have them lead to a really strange destination (I don’t know, maybe the city dump or something). I wonder how many people would just follow it to see (probably all the people like me). Anyway it was just a thought.
On a completely different note, my homegirl Bettie had a totally scary encounter at the Little Caesar’s the other night. So like any city of respectable size, Espanola has its fair share of vagrants. Every so often one is approached for spare change or whatever else a vagabond may need. Well in this manner, she was approached by a guy who asked for change…she gave him a couple of dollars. Well, he proceeds to tell her that he is trying to get to Albuquerque because he just got out of prison and was staying with his brother…but, that was working out because he just beat his brother up. She said that as he got closer she saw that he was all bloody and he then started following her to her car until a different car drove up. Totally freaky. Of course, when she got home she was totally an emotional wreck…which is way better than I would have been. Needless to say we will not be venturing out of our car at night alone anymore.
That reminds me, a couple of months ago there was a guy in Santa Fe with a sign that said “Trying to get to San Francisco, I’m Korean.” I’m glad this guy has aspirations, but really, do we need to bring race into it? I think if I were going to make a sign for myself, it would say “Need a vacation, every penny helps" or maybe "Need a new pair of shoes, please help."
So, what would your sign say?...And avoid bloody men in dark parking lots...or just in general.

Paranoia, paranoia, everybody's out to get me..

Although I hate to admit it, I find that I am something of a conspiracy theorist. Now don’t get me wrong, I generally don’t think that the government is out to get me (most of the time, but I’ve had to bust out my evasive driving tactics a few times…okay not really, but I sometimes take an unnecessary turn if I feel like someone has been following me too long which is totally not a joke)…and I’m pretty sure that the moon landing actually happened (I watched a Myth Busters about that one). When I see an abandoned car on the side of the road I automatically assume that there is a dead body somehow involved…particularly if the car is in a remote place. I’ve also noted that there haven’t been very many low riders around lately. In fact, I haven’t seen one in quite some time. My homeskillet Bettie and I were discussing this fact over the weekend. We finally concluded that just as video killed the radio star, gas prices may have killed the low rider. Don’t get me wrong, I am ecstatic over the recent price dropping (I hear the gas is down to $2.05 in Albuquerque…its still $2.39 here) but I wonder if there is a greater conspiracy at work. Perhaps there is a granola/tree-hugger environmental rage which has many a cholo upending their roots and heritage. Maybe this is why there is such an advent of the previously mentioned low-rider bicycles (see blog posted 9/11/08). I don’t have the answers, but it’s one of those things that make me go hmmmm.
I also wonder if many of these small so-called used car dealerships really are what they say. In these hard economic times I question their staying power. There are two particular ones that I am thinking of, one in Santa Fe and one in Espanola. These two “dealerships” have been around for many years…probably as long as I can remember (which isn’t saying much since I can’t really remember what day it is most of the time). Anyway, both of these “dealerships” (I’ve decided to use quotes to emphasize the fact that I don’t really think they are…if I were talking to you I would probably even do air quotes) frequently have high end cars (and I’m not just talking BMW/Mercedes high end, but like Astin Martin high end) in their crummy buildings that I’m sure were built post WW II to be gas stations. Add to that the fact that I never see anyone actually frequenting these places, I’m pretty sure that they are front for something. Mind you I don’t plan on stopping by to find out for what…like I need some guy named Guido pulling out a nine and “taking care of me” (Okay, so I watch too many movies…and maybe I’m a little less gangsta than I think I am).
So, as I was pondering my conspiracy theories I started to wonder what other people have paranoid theories about. What are some of yours?...and kudos to those of you who got blog title! (hint: it's a song)

As for me and my house...

I know that I can be a little silly and often make jokes (albeit lame ones) on my blog. But this is something I am passionate about.

"And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. -Joshua 24:15"

I stole the following from my friend Kera's (who lives in California) blog. I couldn't have said it any better so I did a little cut and paste.

"As most of you know, California voters passed Proposition 8, banning same-sex marriage. It suprised me to know there were still many people who were willing to stand up for their morals. It also surprised me to see the anger and hatred from other people. There are people who are "blaming" the fact that this proposition passed on the Mormons. The one thing that doesn't surprise me is that the Church is being attacked once again. Yesterday there were protesters marching in West Hollywood, and somehow they ended up at the Los Angeles temple grounds. There were so many people, carrying signs calling the church bigoted, and saying go back to utah, so many people that the temple had to close. I haven't heard anything today about it, because I don't always follow the news, so I don't know if they are still there or if the temple is open again. It makes no sense, because there were so many other churches and organizations backing the amendment. But of course, they chose the true church to hate on... Anyway, here are some words from Elder Neal A. Maxwell. They gave me a renewed perspective and motivation, and confirmed my own personal faith. Like I said, very powerful and prophetic. (this is from 1978, by the way)

From Elder Neal A. Maxwell:
"Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life..'


"This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ. . . . Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . . . This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions.

"Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened....

"Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel.

"There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself.

"Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, 'summer is nigh.' Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat."

A More Determined Discipleship By Elder Neal A. Maxwell"

Liar liar pants on fire

Is it just me or has everyone been having a crazy life lately. Mother Teresa said “I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much.” (even though I’m sure that that is a translation, I wonder if you’re supposed to put quotes around a translation…hmmm) That is definitely how I’ve been feeling the last week or two or three…Anyway, lest you think that I’ve fallen off the face of the earth or am hiding under a rock, I’ve decided to post on my blog today. Which totally reminds me that my parents used to tell us that they found us under a rock…I wonder what kind of psychological damage that has had…thanks a lot guys!...I think I will use that, sorry I’m such a weirdo but my parents told me they found me under a rock. That has me thinking about some of the other lies that parents tell their children. I don’t have any children, but I’m not exempt from lying to children. My nephews have been told many a tall tale by me (sorry sis) and I’m sure that any future nieces or nephews will also be subject to stories. I even lie to the little kids at church. I had several of them convinced that my sister was a real vampire at the ward Halloween party. I’m sure this builds confidence for all the parents of my future students. I have yet to tell stories to the kiddies at the school where I am doing some of my student teaching so that has to be promising.
So, today is Election Day! Woo-hoo! It’s almost over! I hope you all have voted or are planning to cast you vote sometime today! Today I’m wearing a “My Vote Counted” sticker that I got when I voted this morning. When I was voting there was a guy there with his son who looked at his dad and said, "Is this boating?" in a very disappointed way. Apparently he understood boating when his dad told him they were voting today. I won’t get all political on you but as part of being an American I urge everyone to take advantage of your right and to take responsibility. On a sadder note, because it is Election Day all the regularly scheduled TV is out the door. I for one don’t care to listen to all the political commentary on every single channel. I do care who wins, just tell me when it’s all over.
On a completely separate note, Happy Birthday to Ralph Macchio! Can you believe the karate kid is 47!?! Which means that he was 23 when they did the first karate kid!!! More like Karate Man…I suppose that doesn’t have the same ring to it.
So, I’ve written a broad range of thoughts today…so I expect a lot of comments! Tell me some of the lies you tell your kids…or you can tell me about your voting experience…or about your feelings on the Karate Kid!...And go vote!

Ode to Christian Slater

Any gal around my age who grew up in the late 80’s/early 90’s would probably agree with me on the merits of Christian Slater. I know in an earlier blog I had expressed my anticipation of Christian’s new show (yes, we are on a first name basis…okay not really, but if I really knew him, I bet we would be…and then I would call him Chris…or maybe Tian…I’ll let you know if/when that happens what we decide on). The new show – My Own Worst Enemy – has aired and let me just say, I am NOT disappointed! I was a little afraid to watch it because, lets be honest, it could’ve gone either way. So, I had it DVRed for a week before I built up my courage to bite the bullet. NOW I love it! It has only been on for two episodes but I encourage everyone to watch it…primarily so it will stay on the air and I will be a happier person.
So, to honor his new show I’ve decided to devote this blog to extolling the virtues of Christian Slater. I don’t know about you, but as a young teen/pre-teen I watched the movies Robin Hood and Kuffs (thanks mainly to my sis Trudy) an inordinate number of times. Although I know he has had a few personal problems through the years (I’m definitely not casting any stones), I’ve decided to list some of my favorite things about CS.
1- His voice. It’s very unique and dare I say, it makes him seem even more attractive.
2- His acting chops. This may come as something as a surprise to some of you, but he is actually a pretty good actor. If you don’t believe me watch the new show, he plays two completely different characters and you can totally tell which character he is playing purely based on his acting!
3- His boyish good looks. I know he is pushing 40 but he sure does make pretty good eye candy!
So, my question today is what is your most/least favorite thing about Christian Slater? Or you can tell me what your favorite/least favorite Christian Slater movie is!!...and watch the new show!!!

Let them eat cake

Is it just me or has life been a little crazy lately? When it rains it pours and all that jazz. Don’t worry, I don’t plan on boring you with all the gory (okay, and kinda boring) details. Last weekend we went to Hobbs (shout out to all the Hobbits!!!...no, that’s not what they are really called, but how cool would it be if they were?!). It was a lot of fun and we discovered the greatest food ever invented…SNOWBALLS!! You Hobbits know what I’m talking about (if you don’t you should definitely investigate it). For everyone else who hasn’t had the pleasure, let me tell you a little about them. I know most of you have had some sort of shaved ice/snow cone concoction but imagine for a minute a cup full of heavenly snowflakes perfectly flavored throughout (my mouth is watering just thinking of this divine delight). The flavor that I had was called ‘Birthday cake’ and I’ll be darned if it didn’t actually taste like I was eating a birthday cake!! I was so good! They apparently also have one called ‘wedding cake’ which tastes like a wedding cake and not like birthday cake. They are also very reasonably priced, a “jumbo” is ONLY $2 (in this economy anything for $2 is a steal…not really, I don’t condone theft either). I tried to return for one last fix before leaving town but I guess they decided to be closed on the Monday holiday too (I was so bummed out, we had to settle for a Dairy Queen treat…you know, DQ something different…it was definitely different). I’ve been home for several days now and can’t stop dreaming about it (they must put in an addictive chemical that makes you crave it fortnightly). Hello, my name is Amanda and I’m a snowball junkie.
This new addiction has got me thinking about what some of the foods that we can’t seem to get enough of. If any of you are like me, you dread the thought of what’s for dinner… only cause it’s one more thing to put on your brain and quite frankly I don’t have that much room to spare up there (as I’ve mentioned before, it’s reserved for mundane and non useful trivial facts…like the slogan for DQ and random quotes from So I Married an Axe Murder). Here are my top favorites which I would indulge in far more frequently if the stars were to align. 1. Outback steak, baked potato, and French onion soup. 2. Homemade lasagna (Stouffer’s frozen in a pinch) and 3. Roast beef with all the fixin’s. So, what are some of your food faves or secret food addictions?

Eenie, meanie, miney, moe...

I don’t know if you noticed or not, but today is the deadline to register to vote! I’m sure, like me, you all have been enduring the nuisance of political advertisements. I don’t care what your political persuasion is (okay, I do care… but as long as you have a legitimate argument, the constitution and proper human decency dictates that I should respect your opinion…if on the other hand you don’t have a legitimate argument I highly encourage you to become educated on what you and those running believe…otherwise I retain the right to mock you mercilessly) no one can enjoy the relentless barrage of political propaganda. I know that I for one am ready for November 4th to roll around, if for nothing else to give us all a break from having to watch the commercials (yes, I too have noticed that they are on every channel) and read other peoples’ political opinions off the back of their cars (as if having your candidates name plastered all over the back of your hybrid makes you somehow a political guru….I did see one bumper sticker that I enjoyed, it said “Annoy a Liberal, work hard and be happy”….I was trying to be non partisan, but it’s my blog and I’ll partisanize if I want to). There are also the endless signs along the road, as if reading one candidates name eight hundred million times will somehow change my opinion and/or sway my vote (don’t get me wrong, seeing a few more “Nader 4 Prez” would make me smile or maybe “Bob Barr - ‘cause 72 Libertarians can’t be wrong”). On a semi unrelated note, last month Obama came to Espanola and there were about 7 billion Obama signs posted throughout the city. Most of the signs were the typical ones that I’m sure dot the entire country, but some of them were hand made painted signs. The morning before someone went around and painted over these signs and put an “S” over the “B”. I thought it was funny…but, take note kiddies I don’t condone vandalism.
I know I may ruffle a few feathers with this blog, that’s what’s so wonderful about being American, we all can express our views and feelings…and we don’t have to take anyone else’s if we don’t want to (someone should really inform Oprah about that). So this fine October day I would like to encourage all my fellow Americans who aren’t registered to vote to get registered. If you don’t vote, I don’t want to hear you complaining about it later.
At this point the tide is shifting and we are down to the wire which means even more playground mud slinging campaign ads. So, take heart, close your eyes and hold on tight, and grin and bear it, and all the other clichés you can think of, it’ll all be over in a month. So, what do you think about all this political hoopla?

Come listen to a Prophet's voice!

Well, I couldn’t possibly let the day pass by without noting the super General Conference!! Although I had to endure the torture of school all day yesterday (it really was like torture…luckily I barely escaped with my fingernails still attached) I did get to watch conference yesterday night (I cannot stop singing the praises of the greatest invention of the 21st century…the DVR). I still have one more session waiting for me to catch up.
I thought I would share with you some of the highlights that really stood out to me.
First of all, how cool is it that they announced 5 new temples?!!? I will admit that I was one of those who gasped audibly at the Rome Italy temple. Anyone who knows me well knows that I have a really strange, possibly unhealthy, obsession with Italy…now in a few years I will have yet another stop on my “someday” tour of the Mediterranean.
There were so many wonderful talks that I couldn’t just pick one favorite. It seemed to me that a lot of the conference focused on hope. I really enjoyed listening to Elder Wirthlin talking about learning to laugh. Elder Holland’s talk about angels, both seen and unseen made me cry. Of course President Uchtdorf’s discourse on hope was amazing and really touched my heart. I think that sometimes we get so caught up in the everyday that we forget to have joy and hope. I know I get mired down in my own self pity, trials and problems way too often when I know that I am truly blessed beyond my own comprehension. So it’s my new resolve to follow President Monson’s council to find joy in the journey, because whether we notice it or not, change is always happening and it goes quickly. It’s like all of the talks were connected in a way. I love that we have a loving Father in Heaven who wants us to be happy and sends us prophets to guide us through troubled times, both on a global and on a personal level.
Another of my favorite part of conference was the primary choir on Saturday afternoon. I loved that they were trying so hard to be reverent, even when you could tell that they could see themselves in the monitor and were trying not to look. My very favorite part was when one of the boys in the choir was singing with his hands in his pockets and his buddy next to him must have reminded him that he wasn’t supposed to have them in his pockets so he jerked them out with a face that obviously said “there are you happy now?”
If you missed conference this weekend…don’t despair! You can still watch all of them at lds.org or wait until Thursday and they will have the print version.
So, what were some of your impressions from conference?...and Hurrah for Israel!!!

It's FALLtastic!!!

Yesterday as I looked over a couple of the mountain ranges that surround my beautiful hamlet…my thought was ‘What the heck is wrong with the mountains?’ After a few minutes I realized that the diseased looking yellow/brown/red spots of the mountain were the symptoms of autumn. (Now that I know what it is, it is quite pretty) It seems like just last week I was complaining about how stinkin’ hot it is and now I’m wishing I had grabbed a sweater and am having to turn on the car’s heater in the morning. It’s that time of year again, the early morning air is crisp, the days are shorter and the trees are starting to shed. It’s fall once again! I don’t know what it is about this time of year, but I just love it. So, I decided I would compile a few of my favorite things (now as I am writing this Julie Andrews is singing in my head) about fall.

1.HALLOWEEN!! This is definitely one of my top five favorite holidays (After Christmas, Thanksgiving, my birthday…which I totally consider a holiday, and flag day…okay, maybe before Flag Day but a definite toss up for the 4th of July). I love dress up and honestly how often do we get to play dress up as adults? By the way, I have changed my costume once again and yes…I did start planning my costume in August…I even started sewing it last month!!! Plus how great is it that we can legally petition complete strangers for candy and fully expect to get some?!! Whoever thought of this holiday was a GENIUS!

2.The shorter days…I like waking up when it’s still dark and being able to stay up for hours in the dark. I totally sound like a vampire person but I can’t stay up late or wake up too early (it sounds like someone won’t let me, but honestly I’m too tired and can’t handle it and you do NOT want to be around me when I need some sleep).

3.The smell…Am I the only one who loves the early morning smell of the air when it’s fall? It reminds me of being a kid and standing at the bus stop. I’m a little surprised that this is a positive memory, because honestly I wasn’t a fan of going to school most of the time.

4.Fall TV programming!!! I’m totally a dork but I love TV and enjoy living vicariously thru fictional characters…lets be honest, I know I will never get to really experience West Beverly Hills High School or be able to investigate any sort of crime (thank goodness) but I can enjoy the fake reality world of television.

5.College football! I don’t claim to be a football aficionado, but I am a Cougar thru and thru. I can’t help but get excited for the thrill of victory! I am also one of those nuts who screams and yells at the top of my lungs at any sporting event I attend (even the ones that I only marginally understand). I do however understand football thanks to my uncle Tommy for explaining it my freshman year and taking my to my very first Cougar football game!

I just love so many things about fall. So, tell me what are some of your favorite things about fall?....And GO COUGARS!!!!

Fear Not!

Happy October everyone!! The Halloween countdown is on...as is the BYU v. UNM homecoming game countdown. I hope you all are as excited as I am!!!

I was reading a devotional from the 'Time out for Women' website and found this gem in one posted by John Hilton III. I figured it made me laugh so I should share it with you all. The whole of the article was about persevering and not fearing. It gave me a boost today.

Sacrament meeting was about to begin and a mother couldn't find her son. She searched everywhere and finally located him sitting outside on the curb with his head in his hands. She said "Son, we have to go in now. Sacrament is about to start." He responds, "Mom, I’ll give you three reasons why I won’t go. 1. Nobody will talk to me, and 2. Nobody likes me. 3. I’m scared of the youth.

The mother said, “I’ll give you three reasons why you should go. 1. You need to take the Sacrament. 2. You’re 42 years old 3. You're the Bishop!”

Hope it brightened your day!!!

Did that guy just flash me?

Sometimes I feel a great camaraderie with the human race. Often times this camaraderie is sorely tested when I am braving my daily commute. I spend A LOT of time in the car. My commute used to be approximately 30 minutes long until “the man” changed a big stretch of the drive from 65 MPH to a whopping 45 MPH and added an extra 15 minutes to the expedition. Now this is an each way ordeal so I spend a lot of time alone with my fellow commuters/human beings. Mostly they irritate me to no end and I sometimes try to return the favor. Admittedly I am a “granny” driver (this is in no way a derogatory term and I would proudly proclaim it in bumper sticker form if I actually believed in posting my every opinion and thought to the back of my car). I proudly abide the speed limit…within reason (okay, I usually keep it a couple of miles above…but only because I figure that no two speedometers and/or radar detectors can be calibrated to the exact correct measure…I know that I’m no scientist, but I do know the word calibrated…so that has to account for something). This apparently is going to kill most of the drivers with whom I am destined to share the road. I am often the target of a tailgate conspiracy (and yes, I am that jerk who will sometimes tap my brakes…and who often sees “the bird” fly past my window). I don’t love going the speed of molasses! I don’t love watching the bicyclist pass me in far shoulder! I don’t love being passed by snails or turtles or any other shelled animal! And yes, I usually am late too. But, I cannot fathom any person being able to frivolously flush away money on a speeding ticket. I know I sure can’t. So, while I have not yet honed my psychic spidey sense to the point of foreseeing any lurking law enforcement I will continue to be the 28 year old granny driver.
However, once in awhile my faith in humanity is restored! Along my commute there is a particular spot where every branch of law loves to lay in wait in what most people affectionately refer to as a “speed trap.” It is right at the bottom of a really big hill with a speed limit of 40 MPH. This is almost an impossibility, even for a granny driver like myself. Unless I want to spend thousands of dollars in brake replacements periodically, I too feel it my duty to go with the flow of traffic…aka the speed of light. So, I cannot tell you how grateful I am when fellow motorist will flash their lights to warn oncoming traffic of the trap ahead. For a few seconds I feel that we are joined together as a great secret army… comrades in arms (not in the scary communist way, but the good brotherhood sort of way)…against “the man.” So to all you flashers out there, I tip my figurative hat to you and tell you to keep up the flashing, I will do the same.

When in doubt...put some green tea on it

It’s been kind of a crazy week. Let me give you the abridged version. A lot of school, a lot of work…a lot of things I don’t like doing (stupid being a grown-up, you ruin everything). In mutual last week we had a combined activity where the youth played a live-action clue game. It turned out pretty well and we had a fair number of people. Saturday I went to a jewelry party and did a lot of school stuff. I also had the opportunity to see the movies ‘Ghost Town’ and ‘The Women’ over the weekend. I highly recommend ‘Ghost Town’ to anyone with a sense of humor.
This weekend I was also thinking about commercials. I have often expressed my dislike for watching or listening to commercials (yet I will generally watch the specials on funniest commercials…go figure). Thanks to the magic of DVR I no longer have to endure most of the torture that is commercials…except when I am on live TV (I still push the fast forward button continuously…you know, just in case). Well I came across some interesting commercials this weekend. The first one that got my attention was for a dentist….in JUAREZ!! No joke! I know I live in NEW Mexico, but I’m at least a good eight hours from the border…and still in American territory. That wasn’t even the craziest part of the commercial, if I had called “NOW”, they would have arranged free transportation to the best dentist in JUAREZ! I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t build my confidence a whole lot. Of course, my imagination was going wild about inadvertently becoming a drug mule while being sedated for some dental work (bet they don’t advertise that in the commercial!). The second commercial that really stood out was for the WWE. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not a commercial snob…I don’t hold one brand or product to a higher standard than the next…my standard isn’t even very high for any commercial. Although I respect many a WWE fan, I cannot in good conscience let this one pass. When the phrase “ladder match” comes up, it makes me question the validity of this “sport.” Apparently a “ladder match” is a wrestling match performed ON ladders…to get the title belt, which of course is dangling from the ceiling (I know that is where I would keep my belt if ever I got one). I don’t think my response was what they were going for when they were marketing this event.
Finally, I wonder if I am the only person who thinks that they are putting green tea in EVERYTHING!?!?!?!?!....from lip gloss, to shampoo, to joint pain cream…you name it, I bet green tea can make it better! Apparently green tea is the miracle cure we’ve all been anxiously awaiting. Who knew!?!
So tell me what commerical you love/hate the most.

Gorillas are cute...but I don't want to marry a gorilla!

Okay, so we all have our celebrity crushes…some a little more strange and disturbing than others. I think this is because they give us an outlet from our humdrum lives of normalcy to the exciting world of fake dreams and unrealistic expectations. The return of the ‘New Kids on the Block’ has sparked a debate between me and my good friend Cecilia. Most gals from my generation know what this debate is, it usually goes something along the lines of …I love Donnie…I love Joey…etc. This was a common theme of conversations throughout my elementary recess time. With the return of this boy band (why do they call it a band when none of them even pretend to play an instrument?...I suppose that’s one for the philosophers) many of these old conversations are reemerging. I will take a moment now (even though I know I may lose a few readers due to this admission) to note the fact that I do not love any of the New Kids (Or should say Old kids) and have been vehemently opposed to their regime since the playground days. Cecelia, on the other hand, (who knows my of my indifference to NKOTB and yet we remain friends) is mad about Danny…don’t worry, I’m sure her husband is aware of this obsession. Now, to me Danny in his younger days looked like a gorilla but now looks like a Ken doll who has had his face melted ever so slightly. Of course I can’t tell on her without telling on myself. I love Dwayne Johnson and LL Cool J and actually carry on an unhealthy obsession of my own. (My dad actually called me on DJ's b-day...we celebrated by going out to dinner...we were going to take a cut-out of him with us but figured other people would be perturbed by our craziness...not something I usually put on display...but sometimes I just can't hide it). We both have a thing for quirky British actors (which is some kind of inexplicable thing…I think there must be something hypnotic about a foreign accent) and also for Anderson Cooper (maybe it the silver hair and fact that his teleprompter makes him sound incredibly smart).
Although I enjoy the secret obsessions (totally could be the name of a fragrance) of celebrity crushes, there is one thing that I can not tolerate….celebrities who think their opinion is more important than mine. I consider myself relatively well educated and informed. Just because you are rich and have chosen to give up your privacy for the sake of wealth…you don’t get to choose what I think about things!! Okay…that was a bit too serious…but that is my rant today.
So…tell me who your celebrity crush is…Or you can leave me silly NKOTB lyric...'Ahh it's so crazy, you're like baby, I'm like Swayze" (from the song Dirty Dancing...no joke)...

Proud to be an American...and an Espanolian...is that a word?

Today being September 11th and all, I feel I should express my sentiments on being American. I was going to write an essay on what it means to be an American to me…but then I remembered that I’m not a 1950’s 3rd grader. So instead I will tell you a little about my American experience. I was pondering this as I was driving home from work last night as I passed the people selling newspapers on the street. In the city where I live, there is one main newspaper that is published weekly…and sold by newsies in the street (like the movie Newsies with significantly less singing and dancing…and I have yet to see one that looks like Christian Bale). They slow down traffic every Wednesday evening as people stop in the middle of the road to buy their paper…and I am sorely tempted to run them over (I haven’t yet committed vehicular manslaughter…but it is sometimes tempting). There is also a woman who wears a huge pioneer type bonnet as she sells papers out of the trunk of her car. I recently found out that we also have two prostitutes in our town! Who knew!! We call one of them the dog-faced prostitute and the other one we just call the other one….I’ll be honest I’ve never actually seen either of them but I hear they hang out around the abandoned Taco Bell building and since I don’t really have occasion to kick it in abandoned buildings, our paths haven’t crossed. We are also the low rider capitol of the world. I have a good friend who lives in Arizona who had to call me up to let me know she learned this about good ol’ Espanola in her Chicano studies class. We even have low rider bicycles…complete with velvet banana seats, chain handle bars and plenty of murals of the Virgin Mary…I even saw one of them yesterday. Even though we have our eccentricities, I’d say in a lot of ways we are pretty similar to most American towns. We shop at Walmart, we eat at Chile’s, we love our stadium seating movie theatre (shout out to Dream Catcher Theatres…way to go on your expansion, mad props on the 10 screens and more bathroom stalls), and we cruise the Sonic’s (we have ‘em on each end of town to make a good loop…even though now they extend them to the gas station in front of the Walmart with their tricked out cars…and block the parking lot, but that’s a rant for another day).
I think that there are so many interesting and wonderful things about being American! What I think is so great is that everyone’s experience is a little different and so much the same. Let me know some of your unique American experiences!

Check one, check one, syphilis, syphilis

It’s that time of year again, the New Mexico air smells of roasting green chile and the weather is starting change ever so slightly. IT’S STATE FAIR TIME!!!! So me and my homie (okay it was just my sis) headed to Albuquerque for the 70th-ish state fair (they announced what number it was while we were there but I was too mesmerized by a mermaid and some diving people to really pay attention). It was a blast! We mostly went to see the state fair concerts (Blake Shelton and Gary Allen for you country fans…who actually may be interested) but spent a good four hours looking at a bunch of strange things that don’t normally occupy my day (see above mentioned mermaid). There was a petting zoo…complete with miniature pigmy goats, a kid’s jump rope team (who even knew these existed outside of the Disney channel?!?!), “rainforest animals” doing tricks (it was actually just a single monkey…and yes they played the Tarzan sound track), some freaky china dolls (they actually had “Donny and Marie” dolls), and a whole lot of “New Mexico” junk that they were trying to peddle (honestly, how many dream catchers does one person need?). The best part of this and I would submit any fair has to be the food!!! Where else can you pay $20 for a thimble full of fresh squeezed lemonade…with actual pulp and seeds? Plus, who doesn’t love seeing a fellow fairgoer eating an entire turkey leg and ear of corn…not since medieval times has food been so handy. I must admit that I did succumb to the siren call of the cotton candy…it does have a mystic hold over me.
The concerts were GRRRRRRRRREAT (in my head Tony the tiger just read that last sentence). I must say that I did enjoy the Blake Shelton one better. He was very entertaining and personable…and his sound guy was awesome (I could actually understand what he was saying when talking). The show was fast paced and entertaining and he played familiar songs. Gary Allen’s was good as well but the sound quality was poorer and I didn’t know a lot of his songs…plus he had one too many guitar rifts for my taste. On his plus side he did do like 4 encores and did rise up out of the floor. Overall it was a great day! We got home about 2 am and I had to get up in the morning to take the YW hiking! It was awesome (note the sarcasm)!!
Okay, it wasn’t actually that bad. We only hiked about 3 miles and saw a lot of ruins. It was pretty cool. I had fun with the girls that went. They had me laughing the entire time. At one point the park had planted two small corn stalks in the middle of the trail…I think as a way to point out what the original inhabitants would have eaten (like we don’t know what corn is). One of the YW responded by saying, “Cool! We should jack it!” (Why would we want to jack corn stalks is beyond me…they were only two feet tall with no corn) Obviously we have to have a lesson on “jacking” other people’s stuff. Needless to say we didn’t end up jacking anything…that I’m aware of. The other leader and I had a great time explaining the zombies and other things along the way (we didn’t want to buy the guide book that explained what things actually were, so we kinda made some stuff up). It was a great weekend. Hopefully yours was great too!

Happy Birthday Silver Bullet!

Last night I was home alone for several hours…which is usually the beginning of trouble. So, I got to thinking (a dangerous pastime, I know) about what to have for dinner. I took some chicken out of the freezer and stuck it in the oven and that’s when the wheels started turning in my head. Hmmm…what could I possibly make to go along with chicken….RICE!!! Okay, for background purposes I must inform you at this point that my experience with rice is limited to microwaved minute rice…of which I’m probably the greatest chef EVER. Well, I decided that I could probably make some kind of interesting rice and I would try making real rice (as opposed to the fake minute rice). After several attempts to make it look like regular rice I have come to the following conclusion: It turns out that I can’t make regular rice. My sister (aka my favorite guinea pig) was kind enough to try it when she got home. Her response was….hum, its kinda mushy and crunchy at the same time (which was a very adept observation even to my biased opinion). Just so everyone doesn’t think that I’m a terrible cook, I want you to know that it tasted pretty good…it just had a pretty funky texture. The chicken turned out D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!! It was so good I had to spell it. It was the result of a different kitchen experiment several months ago which turned out to be a stroke of genius…which we repeat on a fairly consistent basis (I call it Cesar parmesan chicken…or tasty for short).
On a completely unrelated note, today is my car’s second birthday! I can’t believe how fast time goes; it seems just like yesterday that we were still in that new car smell stage. We’ve been through so much…many thousands of miles of fond road trips, a couple of moves, two flat tires, a new side view mirror, and a lobotomy (that’s right a lobotomy…we went though a freak change out of engine computer chip this last summer). It really has been a great ride so far…get it, a great ride…and I look forward to many more great miles and years. So, go out and have a cupcake…to celebrate the Silver Bullet, I know I will!

A Three Year Old Ruined My Dark Knight!

Happy Labor Day!! Okay, so it’s a day late…and a dollar short. I hope you’re not expecting to get paid by reading this. It will only enrich your life marginally, if at all, and definitely not financially. So I was thinking about why we celebrate Labor Day. So being the inquisitive person I am…I googled it. (I’ll be honest, if it weren’t for the internet and the joy of google, I would be a lot less educated on the trivial facts that I tend to fill my brain with...like Lou Diamod Phillips was born Lou Diamond Upchurch...nothing useful mind you, but I do know a plethora of random facts on stupid things which will be of no use to anyone in this life or the next. I also wouldn’t have bothered looking up any information on this or most other subjects that I wonder about). So in case you were wondering…. “Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.” So to honor the hard working achievements of my fellow Americans…I did absolutely nothing yesterday. I watched other people work in a several hour marathon of Dirty Jobs on the Discovery channel. I didn’t even get out of my pajamas (apparently the neurons in my brain associate “labor-day” with “lazy-day”, it’s practically the same thing…right?) I did do a couple of productive things…I experimented with a new dinner. Experiment being the key word. Let’s just say that it is not something that I will be trying again in the future. Just FYI, orange was not the color I was going for…and it tasted about as good as it sounded. I finally gave up trying to eat it half way through…we resorted to having cookie dough for dinner (the one major upside to being a grown-up). At least dinner ended on a high note!
The rest of the weekend was good too. Friday I babysat for a friend whose husband is into downloading movies. I watched Wall-E (unless you’re REALLY into robot love, I wouldn’t waste my time). I was going to watch Batman after the kiddies were in bed…but due to some unforeseeable events involving a three year old and the remote, that plan didn’t quite work out. So, the moral of this tale….I still haven’t seen Dark Knight. While going to watch House Bunny I saw a preview for a tv show with Christian Slater…with split personalities!!! I know, I had to pinch myself too!! I will leave you with my favorite quote of the weekend from the preview of this show… “Roses are red, violets are blue, I’ve got a split personality…and so do I.” Can’t wait for this gem!

Stop yelling at me Lenny Kravitz!!

The thought crossed my mind last night when on my way home from work as I reached over to change the radio station ‘Why is Lenny Kravitz yelling at me?’ Has anyone else had this sensation? I suppose I was lost in my thoughts as the music in my car settled into the background until I was rudely interrupted by Mr. Kravitz giving me a what’s for in the form of a song. I don’t pretend to be a connoisseur of good music. Some may actually say I have no taste in music at all. I don’t have an extensive music collection or even own an i-pod for that matter. I don’t stick a particular genre of music…one minute you may hear a rap song…followed by a country song…followed by a little Dean Martin…followed by a little Justin Timberlake…blaring from my car on any given day. I’m an equal opportunity listener….unless you are a commercial (as anyone who has ever sat in a car or watched television with me can attest to). Is it really too much to ask that you don’t yell at me? (I know, I know…some of you are thinking ‘Well why don’t you just turn it down princess (this is the new nickname I just decided on trying out…feel free to use it at your leisure) ?’…the answer to that of course is that I refuse to be old and will therefore listen to my radio as loud as I want especially when flying solo).
Anyway, on a little less of a ranting front….I had so much fun with the Young Women last night! For those of you who may or may not know, I’m the YW pres in my ward. I’ve had this calling for a little over a year now… and needless to say it can sometimes present something of a challenge. Last night the girls had planned to “learn to sew” which roughly translates to me having to “teach sewing” to the YW. Let’s just say that I was less than enthusiastic about the prospect (especially following the great tablecloth disaster of ’08…lets just say the RS won’t be asking us to help with service anytime soon). So…I decided to go back to the basics…we were learning how to sew buttons on a swatch of material (FYI it is the material I bought for my Halloween costume…I was going to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz…but now I’m not…it’s a long story but it ends with fangs and a toupee). After the button sewing fun, we ended the night with paper airplanes (one of which got stuck on the roof of the church), delicious bread (this is funny because it was lemon cake and was actually blessed as delicious bread in our closing prayer), and lots of giggles. Overall a good time was had by all.

The Mormon 500

So this weekend was pretty eventful. I took myself a 4 day weekend from the stress of work. Okay, so my job isn’t that stressful…but who couldn’t use a four day weekend, right? Friday was my mom’s birthday and so my parents made the loooooong trek from the far reaches of the badlands of New Mexico to Espanola. It’s only about a 6 hour drive but with long stretches of nothing broken up by little towns with nothing it feels like it’s at least a 3 day trip. On the plus side, you do go through Roswell and the McDonald’s is built like a spaceship!
So, it was a birthday weekend extravaganza…which we celebrated by going stake conference. I’m not exactly sure when it happened but somewhere along the way I apparently became an adult. I realized this while at the “adult” session of stake conference on Saturday night. I live now in the same ward and consequently in the same stake I grew up in. People actually come and shake my hand like they know me…separate from my parents. Totally weird! I don’t feel like I should be hobnobbing with the grown-ups but I find myself in that situation over and over again. I told my mom that I’m not a grown-up I just play one at church.
Sunday morning we were on our way again to conference and that is when the race is really on!! THE MORMON 500!!!! Okay, so it generally takes about 45 minutes to drive to our stake building from our house. There are several other wards coming from the same direction to descend early on the sleepy city of Santa Fe. It’s really surprising the speed and agility of those Mormons. And they usually pretend they don’t see or recognize you (even though you just saw them at Sam’s club the night before yesterday’s conference). I think I actually saw a guy wearing driving gloves! It really is like being in a race for your life…your celestial life! The race begins at least a half hour before conference actually begins. I assume the reasoning for the race has to do with the limited number of cushioned pews at the church. As one missionary put it, it is the celestial section of conference. The atmosphere is more subdued (I’m not sure if its reverence or smugness over the fact that these people get to be the cushion sitters….as you can tell I wasn’t celestial material). The next group of course is the terrestrial section. (I always seem to land in this group) Just past the pews it’s the few rows that still try to maintain some semblance of reverence while sitting uncomfortably on folding chairs in the gym. The decibel level is just a bit higher than the celestial sitters and it’s a lot easier not to pay so much attention to the speakers…they definitely can’t see you as well when you accidentally nod off anyway…as long as you don’t fall off your metal folding chair. The last section of course is the telestial group. This is the group that doesn’t even try to pretend that they aren’t sitting on metal at the back of a gym. They carry on conversations, color, play games and spread out on the floor for nap time…this is the adults of course. This is usually the general area where, during a prayer you hear a loud thud and then crying come from (those badminton games sure can get out of hand). There of course is the outer darkness group who sit in the kitchen making lunch instead of even coming into the same room as actual conference.
Well, I made it though another round. It’s time again to start my training for the next go round of the Mormon 500. Maybe in 6 months I will actually make it to the celestial seating!

Welcome

Well, since the rest of the world has joined the blogging world I figured I would join in too. In case you were wondersing I guess the answer would be yes, I would jump off a bridge if my friends did. Since I get to stalk some of my favorite people I figured I should make it equal opportunity and start one too even though I will warn you all now that my life isn't super exciting or interesting. Once in awhile I have interesting thoughts that I wish I had some outlet to realease them. After reading this you may all be cursing Bill Blog...or whomever it was that invented the blog. Last weekend my sister and I were out and about shopping. We stopped for lunch at the Eatza Pizza buffet and arcade. (Great idea, crappy food...don't buy into the hype.) Well, the mens Olympic water polo team was playing on the 72 big screens surrounding our table. Is it just me or does Olympic water polo look like code for professional keep away? Don't get me wrong...I have to give mad props to the stamina of these athletes, and I can more than appreciate their svelte physique, but when the go-to move seems to be the fake-out pass I begin to see the similarities to my skills in the timeless tradition of water keep away. Maybe I've just been a secret agent water polo player in disguise...okay, maybe not...but it definitely gives me something to think about. Well, this is probably the sort of drivel that you can expect...if you choose to stalk me too. Enjoy!!