11.29.2010

quote of the day

"This isn't open-mic night, dude!"

- Said by my co-worker, to our other greasy-haired hipster coworker who felt it was appropriate to not only bring his guitar to work, but to actually PLAY IT IN BETWEEN SURVEYS.
OH.MY.GOSH.

11.25.2010

I'm Thankful For...

My family.

My warm bed.

The opportunities I've been given, and especially the chance to get an education.

Parents who support me completely - personally, emotionally and physically (as well as financially during my first few years at college)

Sisters who are hilarious, loyal, and loving.

My jobs, and the opportunity to be employed at all during these hard times.

My stinky car Delilah.

Chocolate.

Friends, both old and new, that I'm able to stay close to even though I live out of state half the year.

My health.

The miracles of modern medicine that help to keep me healthy.

Never having to know what it feels like to go hungry out of want.

My weird dogs.

My membership in the church, and all of the temporal and spiritual blessings that come with that.

The beautiful things in life like music, great books, art, and nature.

My life. Just in general.

Happy Thanksgiving!

11.18.2010

2 things I love.

This article was recently put up on the LDS Newsroom site, and I love it. It expressed very clearly what I always struggle to convey to people who mistakenly believe that since Mormons don't support gay marriage or homosexuality, they must hate or seek to oppress gay people. The precise wording of the church on this topic will make it so much easier for me to explain our religious stances and the reasons behind them to people who are curious or misinformed.

In other (more magical) news, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is premiering tonight. At midnight. I. AM. SO. THERE.




I really hope I don't cry. That would be embarrassing. PMS is not on my side though. I cried three times when I watched 'Eclipse' (also whilst PMS-ing), and it wasn't. even. sad. I kept needing to covertly wipe my eyes during the scene where Jacob walks into Bella's graduation party; I wanted to yell at the screen, "She just doesn't love you enough, Jacob, okay? Give up!"

If that movie and those characters reduced me to a sniveling pile of damp kleenex, then I don't stand a chance of maintaining any kind self respect tonight in the theater.

Especially during any scenes that feature a certain towel-wearing free house-elf.



I get emotionally touched very easily sometimes, ok?

11.07.2010

25 years young and Nano Wrimo 2010

I had an excellent birthday last week. I got up at 9:00am (on a Saturday!!!) and went to breakfast with my Meggie. My sister made me a beautiful cake. I got a snuggie and many other very fun things, and had fun just hanging out with my family.

That night, I went out to dinner with (most of) the fam-dam. The main conversational themes were: near death experiences (apparently, we are a dangerous bunch) and our weirdest/most memorable dreams. When we get together and start re-telling our favorite memories and stories, we just can't stop. We definitely took pictures, but I have no idea whose camera they are on. When I find them, I'll put them up.

ALSO!

I have probably mentioned this to quite a few of you (ok, probably all of you) already. November is National Novel Writing Month, and I am participating for the first time!

I have stalked NaNoWriMo for the past 2 years, just to get tips and tricks on writing, but never thought I'd participate. It is such a cool experiment in creativity. Also - it is ok if my little story totally sucks! Its about word count, baby.

At first when I decided I was going to participate, I swore I wouldn't tell anyone. I don't know why. I think I was embarrassed, and worried that people would think I had deluded myself into believing I was a 'real' author, so I was going to write a 'real' book and get it published. I'm definitely not. I'm using it as an exercise in creativity, but nothing beyond that.

Whenever I read authors say that 'they are their own worst critic,' I want to say, "Ho-hum. How humble and gracious of you. You can't possibly mean it that you are literally your own worst critic."

I totally get it now.

My characters are flat. My plotline? Weird and improbable. The dialogue is cringe-worthy. The worst, though, is when I'm especially impressed with how awesome a certain plot point or character development or narrating technique is and I scribble it down at work in between calls thinking to myself, 'Oh my gosh. I am so clever and imaginative.' Then when I get home and type it onto the computer screen, the stupidity of it reaches out and slaps me across the face and it takes all of my willpower not to erase it. That, however is the beauty of writing where quantity matters more than quality. I am temporarily banning my inner editor.

And who knows? Maybe some of the things I currently find laughable and shamefully dumb may turn out to be kind of clever, or at least interesting, when I go back through it all to edit. Knowing that kind of unlocks all of the ability to imagine and be creative, because I'm allow myself to ignore that annoying little voice in the back of my head that tells me my ideas are stupid. That voice kind of deserves to get shut up.

So...

I'm writing a novel.


11.01.2010

This is Halloween.

I had quite a fantastical Halloween this year. We stayed home, made yummy food, passed out candy to trick-or-treaters, painted pumpkins, watched 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' and tried to keep our dogs from engaging in mortal combat.


I believe this is the 5th or 6th time I've dressed up as a cat. Shameful.

The pumpkin cookies and cocoa puff spiders were delish; I wish I could say the same for my batch of warm butterbeer. It was YUCK. Here's a tip: When making this warm, frothy, magical beverage, be sure you boil the cream soda before you add butterscotch chips. Or else it turns brown and looks like basilisk vomit.


Dad was even into the spirit. He used this mask to terrify both trick-or-treaters and puppies alike.


Lady left her hat on for approximately half a second.


Don't be jealous of our multi-movie franchise pumpkins! (Bellatrix pumpkin; Queen of Hearts pumpkin; Joker pumpkin; Frankenstein pumpkin)


On to my birthday! I love that my birthday comes a week after Halloween. I get so excited for Halloween festivities, I forget that it is coming up, so it's like a nice little surprise. A birthday surprise.