Frankenstein buckets and toilet paper ghosts a happy girl make...

So I wrote the following on September 2, 2010...

I'm feeling insomniatic-shocker.

Happy 3:12am. It's a good time to be alive. And sitting in the dark listening do your roommate breathe and shift in her bed just a few feet away.

Guess what-I love my life.

Why? Aight aight...I'll tell you...

1. You know that roommate I mentioned? I adore her. We can laugh hysterically all day...and we do...But we can also discuss those more hard things in life and find incredible support from each other.

2. Anyone who ever talks to me could tell you I am obsessed with my job. I love it. I think about it-dream about it-look forward to it-hate leaving it...

3. Abode. The new apartment is cozy and a sanctuary. It feels like home. And my two other roommates are absolutely amazing. Sweet, laid back, and so much fun.

4. Weather weather-

And then I don't know what happened...I finally drifted off? That would have been a miracle. But either way- thankfully today, Halloween 2010, I still love my life and so...I will continue that post (look up) below...

5. I am still thrilled with all of the above mentioned things. Roommate Rachel-so wonderful and such a great example to me. Oh. And a blast to be around. Der. Work is still fantastic. Of course it is hard at times, that is to be expected, but I adore it and think about the kids constantly. The new apartment isn't so new but is still feeling nearly perfect. And we received this amazing Pumpkin Pie candle as a gift which makes home smell like heaven. And the weather, thought I'm sure it was warm back in September, is now cooling off. Leaves have changed and fallen, allowing me to crunch through them and relish in the sound and smell. Even the cold rain feels lovely and festive.

6. The Holidays are here/coming. The build up to Halloween this year was epic with pumpkin carving, The Haunted Forest, the delicious Pillsbury sugar cookies with pumpkins on them, candy corn, scary movies (AMC's Fear Fest is amazazing), reading Halloween stories at the library, Classic Skating in costumes, and finally...Trick or Treating with the nieces and nephews. And boom bam Thanksgiving is going to be here!!! And for the first time in ever (aka 4 years) I'm going home to celebrate it with my parents and most of my siblings! And then Christmas which is the most wonderful time of the year (the song even says so) comes and there are white lights, Christmas cookies, caroling, hot chocolate, family, friends, love, etc.

8. Dating JJCJ. He's great. Obvi. Huge understatement but ya know...

7. Family. Mom and Dad are funnier than ever. I made a habit of calling them more often and I just adore chatting with them. Matt and Keri and the kids are a blast to spend time with and I love that they are so close. Michael and Rachel and Co. are wonderful and I always love catching up with them. And they are meeting up with us in Chicago for Thanksgiving! And Michael is funny. Not the funniest. But funny. Jonathan and Chelsea have this new beautiful baby boy plus James and I love them all. Jonathan is brilliant and fun and sweet and loving and his wonderful wife is exactly the same. Ellie is ridiculously awesome and lately I keep meeting people who know her and all they do is rant about how great she is. I just feel proud and think "She used to copy me all the time...I'm glad she turned out better than I did!"

8. Everything else. I found an adorable and insanely comfortable shirt the other day at Banana Republic. I have the most amazing, understanding, loving, fun friends in the world. I go on lil adventures all the time. I laugh. I work with one of my best friends. I get to wear moccasins now! I have running water. And running WARM water. I have a good life!

Gracias.

Hodge Podge

Hey world/Michael (I'm writing to avoid the angry text messages...)

It's me. It's late. I'm feeling rambley. Doesn't take a mathematician to put this one together, folks...it's time for a list.

-See that picture up there? A little further...yeah...Kettle Corn...it's worthy of some sort of praise. Basically all the good things in the world combined Power Ranger style and fell into a bag more appropriate for bubblegum.

-I snatched my favorite blanket from The Tav over Christmas...it's a patchwork of perfection.

-"1984" is great. And thought provoking. And a million other things...I like to think I wouldn't break. That I would never give up the one I love. That I could endure endless pain to protect those closest to me. But rumor has it that everyone breaks eventually...

-I could wear the same outfit everyday and be happy. My closet should look like those KitKat commercials where the entire vending machine is filled with wafer goodness. White v-neck. Jeans. Toms. Winter modification: Ugg Moccasins and a hoodie.

-Speaking of...I believe that KitKats are the most underrated candy in the world. Also, throw them on ice cream and they reach their full potential.

-I'm bringing 'psych' back. Spread the word. Fan the wild fire.

-My life feels like a completed puzzle with my new job.

Sniff "Smells like space."

"Oh. Well what does space smell like?"

"Gravity."

"And what does gravity smell like?"

"Rocks."

"Well naturally..."

-The Bellagio water show...Mmm...are there words? I submit that there are not.

-We all make choices. We all make mistakes. Shrug. And we forgive and we ask for forgiveness. And that's okay.

-I'm grateful for: Lotion. Music. Stars. Spoons. Hope. Friends. Children. Books. Fruit. Family. Learning. Laughter. Water. Samples.

We have a problem...

Pretzel M&M's...apparently the new rage and I'll admit it-I saw them at Sam's Club and then began a 2 week personal mission to find them not in bulk. I found them. I rejoiced. I tried them. I deliberated. I decided to be slightly disappointed.

But.

The true disappointment comes with Coconut M&M's. Because they are truly amazing. Classy even. And they can only be found in the small bags. No pound bags. No party bags. No Costco bulk of sweet goodness. Just the little check-out line sized bags.

Dear M&M's-I love you but please right this wrong...

Though I'll admit it-I love the Pretzel M&M's commercials. I see them while I watch LOST (Season 1 Episode 19 tonight-) and chuckle-that Orange M&M is goofy/charming.

Heavy

I want to run. And run hard and fast until my body dissolves into dust and disipates up into the night sky and to just float for a while.

Sometimes I find the world to be saddening. The news screams of bodies found, conspiracys discovered, unsolvable wars being fought, and differing tragedies that hold mankind firmly in this state of unrest.

It's all about love.

And I don't mean romantic, 'Lady and the Tramp'-noses-touching, love.

Just love. Just taking care of each other-physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, etc. Just giving up on being selfish, on being spiteful, on being cold...

Why is it that night always brings reflection? To me it is simply that it is night. The darkness makes people feel like they are hidden, they are protected, they are a little less vulnerable and so...in this darkness...people often open up the most. Not to mention the fact that we have been worn down by a day of work/adventure/interactions/learning/thoughts and our mind is scrambling to organize it all-nearly aching for sleep to come and the filing system of dreams to sort the chaos.

And so-it is during the night that I often find myself laying in bed thinking, "What am I doing?" as I review the day behind me and the future before me. And sometimes it feels heavy. It just feels heavy and unrelenting and the map keeps changing and never stays clear. But it is in these moments that I find clarity. I don't know how to answer all of my questions. I don't know when I will know how to answer all of my questions. But I know this...If I love and allow others to love-then nothing can ever be that bad.

Life is love.

And maybe I'm naive...I don't know...and maybe I don't care to know...because I'm going to live like this forever and when I see that future...it's nothing heavy.

Because eating isn't a chore...

So for some reason I have had endless "Food Thoughts" lately...

-Dear blueberry muffin, yes. Yes. I will run away with you to the coast where we will be in love for a very long time.

-Triscuits. They really are the best cracker out there.

-Slipping into a food coma...Mmm Chipotle...

-The thought of waffles with ice cream make me feel like a kid in a candy store...awesome...redundant? Nope. Delicious. Yes.

-Fruit is solid sunshine. Num num.

-Peanut Butter & Jelly, Milk and Oreos, Chocolate and Peanut Butter...all of these famous "couples" bring us joy...7-layer bars take that joy and quadruple it...

-Odwalla. I held a 'Red Rhapsody' like a baby while watching a soccer game Saturday morning. Delicious and healthy.

Favorite 'Food' Moment of the Week:

-Brooke walked up to her soccer game with a cup of Mt. Dew and said, "Let's all just pretend this is Gatorade."

Runner-ups:

-Eating strawberries, pineapple, and cantelope up the canyon.

-Devouring my Chipotle burrito in 7 minutes.

-SIL Keri giving me 6 jars of jam/apple butter. Angel. Domestic, adorable angel.

Running Tour

Nearly every day we take to the street of The Prov and fall in love with the lil gems we find. So one day we just took my crappy camera with us and documented a few. This is really only a glimpse of 1% of the things we see and talk about but hey, 1% of one hundred billion dollars wouldn't suck...

We love blossoms. LOVE. Them.

Pretty trees. Pretty mountains. Pretty 7-Peaks? Sure.

Hi!

This is why I love Utah springs and summers...

So. These are the most beautiful blossoms ever. Magnolias. We saw them and had to stop running to investigate. And by investigate yes, I mean knocking on a random door and asking what kind of tree it was. We talked to the sweetest older man and woman ever for like 15 minutes. Felt like we were all great friends and they even invited us to rest on their bench (see below) because "Sometimes exercise is a waste of human energy," to quote our new best friends.

Dangling blossoms. Oh hey, I'm in a fairy tale.

Brooke hides. 

And eats...?

So every time we run by this-I want to jump and grab it and swing about for a bit. So I did.

She's so strong...

Urban chic. Sweat totally goes with that, right?

 To quote Brooke "Is that NOT the creepiest thing you have ever seen?"

Reminds me of London. And caution tape is always cool. And I'm awkward. Modeling future killed.

Oh McGraw...

This is the thing...I'm not crazy big into country. I don't mind certain songs. And there are a few that sneak their way into my head/heart...and so...

I was enjoying my morning commute today, alternating between listening to my book and the radio, when Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying" flooded into Coche. And I loved every second of it because A) He has a lovely voice. B) I like the melody. C) And the message (Cheesy? I know-thank you very much).

Get Inspired.

"My line" is...

And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter and I gave forgiveness I had been denying"-

So yeah-live like you are dying. Give your all. Risk. Be happy. Breathe. Jump. Experience. Belt out country songs as you drive to work. Laugh while running. Love. Jump off things. Hike. Move where you feel drawn to. Try new foods. Pull pranks (of the friendly variety). Climb. Make new friends. Grow. Bake. Create. Feed your friend with giant wooden utensils.

Live.