Farewell, my noble steed

This week was the week to move from Provo to Colorado. We're subleasing our duplex so we had to move all of our stuff out - I hate packing. My top five lessons learned from packing:

1. Don't break down and cry on the couch
2. Start sooner
3. Don't break down and cry on the floor
4. Try to organize what you're packing - i.e. don't pack your tupperware away while you still have tupperwares in the fridge
5. Don't break down and cry in the closet

Anyways, it was a rough day, but we got it done. We put all the stuff we won't need in Denver in storage and loaded up the cars. The next day we started our trek to Denver. We both had to drive b/c we would need both cars in Denver, since we'll be here for almost 4 months. I was really scared about driving through the mountains, but I had my walkie talkie and Greg was helping me know what to do. Little did I know, our 8 hour trip would turn into a 16 hour trip, I would walk away from the day one car poorer and 2 citations richer, and we would spend 5 hours in Rifle, CO. (What's that? You've never heard of Rifle? Imagine that! Well, they have a Wal-Mart!)

When we were about halfway there, it started to snow. It wasn't sticking on the road (or so we thought), and Greg and I decided we didn't need to slow down. Everyone was still going 70 mph and I lost control of my car and crashed. It was really scary, but I didn't get hurt. Martha (my car) on the other hand... well she's a goner.

As I described in excruciating detail on the police report: I was going east in the right lane and started to merge left to avoid a car with its hazards on that was parked on the side of the road. When I started to merge, the car slid on ice and I lost control. It fishtailed for a while, and I eventually slid into the guard rail on the right side of the road, which spun me into a 360, across the median (which was actually a ditch), across the westbound lanes of traffic, through a barb wire fence, and finally came to a stop at on a little hill. It was terrifying, but I didn't get hurt at all, just a little bit of wiplash today. But holy cow, how lucky was I? Everyone was travelling 70mph and no one hit me. When I was going across the other lane of traffic, a car was headed for me, but I got out of his way and he didn't spin out. I thought I was going to die, but, thankfully, here I am.

There were 6 accidents on that half-mile stretch of road within 30 minutes of mine (and not caused by mine, thank goodness). Oh, and my citation? Careless driving. What the heck?

Martha - my noble steed

RIP Martha. You've been a good girl. Your bench seat will be sorely missed.

One Year Ago

I was out shopping for Christmas presents for Greg today (by the way, shopping for Greg is so stressful!) and I thought about how this is our first Christmas together. Not only our first Christmas together as a married couple, but our first Christmas even knowing each other.

"Are you kidding me!? You married someone you've known for less than a year? You're crazy!"


Yes, I did marry someone I knew for less than a year, but no, I'm not crazy. I guarantee we will have a happier marriage than some people who date for years before even getting engaged. Dating is about finding someone you're compatible with. That's pretty easy to tell early on. From that point on, it's about being selfless and committed. Greg and I had enough time to tell we were compatible. Now we work to nourish our love for one another as we grow as individuals, and, more importantly, as a couple.

Thinking about this made me think about where I was in life one year ago. The missionary I had been writing for a year and half had "broken up" with me. After a few days of being down in the dumps about it, I realized I had already pretty much moved on. That left me to just feel frustrated with love. I dated about 5 guys while Sam was gone, and could never feel a real connection with any of them. Part of that was because I was conflicted and always worrying about the future with Sam, but another part of it was just because there was no chemistry. So once I was really truly 100% single, I felt like I would never find love- and I had a track record to prove it. Granted, Sam wasn't perfect for me and there were a lot of things that really bothered me about him, but he was pretty much all I knew. I felt like I would never find anything close to that ever again. I was tired of liking guys who didn't like me or having guys like me who I didn't like or dating guys where there was mutual "liking" going on, but it just wasn't what I wanted. I had pretty much decided to stop worrying about it so much and just let whatever happened happen. I would try to be more social and involved, but I would stop thinking about guys so much.

Where was Greg one year ago? Last year, Greg was home for Christmas break telling his family that he didn't want to get married and that he had no intentions of meeting someone in college. He was enjoying being single and being able to do whatever he wanted with his friends, and he didn't want to be tied down! Marriage is for squares!

And then January 3rd rolled around. There was a social event type thing in our apartment complex. I was brave and went, even though I didn't know anybody. I kept trying to join in conversations, but everyone already had their own groups. Right before I was about to leave, I saw some girls who I kind of knew. They were talking to this really cute guy. I went up and joined in on the conversation, and before long, this guy's attention shifted to me. The other girls left at some point and this guy and I talked for a while before he had to leave.

And the rest is history.

(Greg being too awkward to put his arm around me on our second date)

In this last General Conference, Neil L. Anderson quoted this blog post in his talk called "Children." I'm not in any rush to have kids, but this article gave me a different perspective on what it will mean to one day be a mom. I'm always so worried about what being a mom means giving up - but there is a beauty in sacrificing to bring children into this world and to raise them to be good people.

Public accounting as a career is a huge time commitment. It's not a family friendly job. You hardly ever work just 40 hours a week. Most of the people who come to BYU to recruit are men, or women who aren't married or who don't have children. All of the men who have children have wives who stay at home with the kids. Sometimes, this really frustrates me and I feel stifled, knowing that I will have to balance my career aspirations with my family aspirations. I can't work 60 hours a week and raise my children. I'm frustrated by men who don't understand this, and I'm even more frustrated by an accounting program that encourages more women to participate but doesn't acknowledge this inconsistency. The inconsistency of having men come as guest speakers who tell the class "Don't leave public accounting until you've been there for 5 years" or who try to acknowledge a place in the profession for working mothers, but admit that you probably won't be offered that flexibility until you've been working for 3 years. Sometimes I am really, really bothered by this, bothered that even at a school like BYU, they don't address this issue. Bothered that the focus at BYU says "Big 4 Accounting or failure." I get stuck in this mindset that in order to be successful and use my degree, I have to dedicate my life to public accounting - or else I threw my potential away.

But, when I take the time to really think about it, I remember the importance of family. Traditional family roles aren't what everyone wants, but they're what I want, and if that means I have to give up some career aspirations in order to be the kind of mom I want to be, then so be it. If the career I had my eye on gets in the way of me being a mom, it's time for me to look for something else.

(But seriously, read the article if you have time. Way good.)

Hockey Fans

I've attended a few of Greg's hockey games, enough to know my way around being a hockey fan. Who cares about the rules when you can just scream mean and angry phrases all night? Here's a beginner's guide:

- When a player from the opposite team slips and falls on the ice, yell something demeaning like "Hey, nice twirl!" or "Ooooh, you're so pretty!"

- When a player from the opposite team gets anywhere near a guy on your team ( I mean anywhere near), start accusing the enemy player of pushing or checking. Make sure you're screaming at the top of your lungs. This tends to get some players frustrated, and maybe they will start pushing and checking later and get a penalty. *Note: Greg's league is non-contact, so they're not allowed to push or check. In a "real" hockey game, this would be pointless - everyone is pushing and checking. See below.

- When your team has the puck and a person from the other team is trying to swipe it away, yell threatening things like "Punch him!" or "Throw him on the ground!" *In Greg's league, they wouldn't actually be able to do this and get away with it, but it's fun to yell!

- Along with the above, when a player from the opposite team does get a penalty, voice your opinion about how dirty you think he is. "Get in the box you creep!"

- When a player from the other team has the puck and winds up for a powerful shot and then misses the puck, make him feel like a real loser. Phrases like "Nice hit!" or even a simple "You suck!" do the trick quite nicely.

- Of course, make generic comments about defense and offense, at the appropriate times. When they're near your goalie, cheer for the defense. When they're on the other side, encourage their offense. Who cares what's really going on.

- And last but not least, yell embarrassing comments at the goalie like "Wow, Greg is such a hottie!" The best way to embarrass him is to cheer for him when the play is nowhere near him

Well there you go! Now... come to Greg's hockey game next Monday! It's at 9 pm and they're playing Vivint, who is the jerk team they played a couple weeks ago where Greg got a penalty for throwing a puck at someone and Greg's brother, Nathan, punched a guy. We had a really loud crowd for the last game and it's looking like we'll have some good fans for this one too! So come! It will be fun!

What a hunk!

The Dirty "F" Word

I am thankful for my feminist friends for encouraging me to really ponder what it means to be a woman. I'm thankful for debates they've caused in my mind as I battle these issues out. And I'm thankful for the strong women that they are and for everything that they stand for.

Feminism is somewhat of a dirty word in our culture. When I say our culture, I don't just mean BYU or even the church as a whole. For many people in the US, feminism brings up images of manly women, bra burners who don't shave or wear make-up as some sort of protest against femininity.

I don't remember who it was, but someone posted this article a while ago. As I read it, I thought "Holy cow! Of course I'm a feminist! Women are equal to men! Women are human beings!" I  talked to Greg about it and we were discussing the stigmas (stigmata? the internet said both were acceptable?) associated with feminism- you know, "Feminazis," man-haters," etc. Because of these people, some women are afraid to associate themselves with feminists - even though we all want men and women to be treated equally.

After I read this article, I considered myself a feminist. But over time, I have become more uncomfortable with feminism again. Why? I feel like a lot of people who focus on the idea of "feminism" spend way too much time being offended by things. Take for example this article, which attacks Victoria's Secret for selling sexy underwear because women shouldn't need to be sexy in order to feel good about themselves. Uhh... really? What is wrong with women wanting to feel sexy? I know you can go into all the psychology of it and say that the reason women like to feel sexy is for men and that's not fair! We're empowered women! But really? It's a store (a store that sells very high quality underwear and bras, I might add).

Another issue I have comes from seeing how some people struggle so much with their identity as women in the church because of their feminist beliefs. I've even noticed myself picking up on the slightest comments about the role of womanhood and becoming defensive about them. In the contexts of these struggles, this line in the first article stood out to me:

"Feminism also isn’t about trying to make women the same as men – in contrast, feminism recognizes the difference between the sexes and asks that both sides be treated fairly and equitably based on their unique needs."

So how is that different from the church saying that men and women have equally important but different roles in a family? What use is it getting offended about the truth of a mother's role as a nurturer? Maybe I just believe in a loose interpretation of some of these ideals, but I don't think that the core beliefs of the church limit women at all. The family proclamation doesn't say women should not be educated and should be stay at home moms. It just says "Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children." I think some cultural quirks have developed, which lead to the frustration felt by many women. But I think that women in the church have the freedom and the power to do whatever they want with their lives and to still be OK in God's eyes- as long as they remember their most important role as a wife and mother. Travel the world. Work full-time. Work part-time. Be a stay at home mom. Do whatever you want! Just remember who you really are.

I've ultimately decided that I'd rather be a feminist than not be one. But I'm not going to be one of those feminists who gets offended by everything.

Megan is always right

I am thankful for a husband who cooks. And washes dishes. And vacuums. And folds the laundry. And grates the cheese for me. And kills spiders. And showers on a regular basis....

Uhh... I swear I do things?

Anyways, time for a Greg related story (have no fear, this is not a mushy story)

Greg and I were playing a game with his family over the break. Greg kept fiddling with my chapstick. After the game I couldn't find it. I NEEDED my chapstick. Greg got in bed while I started searching everywhere for it. Finally I told him to get his butt out of bed and help me look because he had it last and I was going though withdrawals and getting crusty crust lips. He was not very happy with me, and insisted that he had given me the chapstick. But he begrudgingly got out of bed and helped me look. We couldn't find it anywhere, and Greg still claimed that he had given it to me.

Flash forward to two days later when Greg puts on his jacket to go to his hockey game, and what does he find? My chapstick. Moral of the story? Megan is always right. (I may or may not have had him repeat that a few times...)

Bootylicious

Before getting married, I needed to get measured for some articles of clothing that I had never worn before, and which have unusual sizing. The people at the first place I went to were not very helpful. This lady measured me and told me that I needed a size 30 on the bottom. I didn't know what that meant, so I just went with it.

Then I started talking to other people to see what sizes they were. All the people who were about my size wear a 22 or a 24. So I went to another store to get remeasured. I explained my concerns to the lady who was going  to measure me. She looked me up and down and said "Yeah, that seems too big."

Then she started measuring me. She measured my waist, which further confirmed her belief that the size they told me was too big. She said I was more like a 22....

Then she measured by hips and said, "Oooh.... yeah.... I definitely wouldn't go any smaller than a 28."

What can I say? I've got some junk in the trunk.

Last week, my accounting group met early in the morning and had a guest speaker in the afternoon, so we went out to lunch together. I don't remember how the topic came up, by the other girl in my group joked about being baby hungry and said "I'm way more excited to be a mom than to be an auditor."

I can't really say that I feel that way. That's not to say that I never want to be a mom. In fact, sometimes I see young moms at church with their cute little babies and I think about carrying a baby inside of me and loving him/her so much and it melts my heart a little bit. But then I think about how much babies cry and how they become toddlers and teenagers and how I'm responsible for raising my babies to be productive members of society and followers of Christ and making sure they don't get pregnant/get someone else pregnant and making sure they don't become ax murderers and I'm like.... mmm yeah.... maybe not.

The idea of being a parent terrifies me. How am I supposed to know how to teach my kids about the gospel? How am I supposed to know what to do to help that little baby stop crying and to get her on a feeding schedule and how to get her to sleep through the night? What if I'm a bad mom? What if I do all the things I swore I'd never do. I know all of these moms that I admire, who are calm and loving and patient. I'm none of those things on a regular basis. I want to be a better person before I become a mom. But will I ever be that person?

I'm not ready to be a mom. Besides, Greg and I have been married for 3 months and I have two more years of school, so I don't feel guilty about taking my time on that front.

But part of me wonders when that desire will kick in. I wonder if it will catch me off guard when I least expect it, overthrowing all of my plans. I wonder if it will ever kick in, or if a few years down the road I'll still be too scared.

But, the moral of the story is, when I pee on a stick and two pink lines show up, I want that to be a happy day. Not an "Oh no... I'm not ready for this" day.

Enough with the self esteem already

One of my teachers assigned an article called "Enough with the self-esteem already." Kind of weird, since self esteem is such a big part of our world, and a goal for everyone. The author points at that in our efforts to help people feel good about themselves, we have created a sense of entitlement.

The article talks about how many young adults feel like they "deserve" a career or good grades. The author expresses a hope that maybe with this recession, we will see a turn away from this entitlement and once again realize we must work hard to get jobs and to keep them. As she says, "Perhaps we are on our way back to the time when not getting fired was all the "self-esteem building" one could ask for."

What really struck me was her reference to a study described in the New York Times where it was discovered that students think they should get good grades for just gracing their seats in class. At the University of California-Irvine, "a third of students surveyed said that they expected B's just for attending lectures, and 40 percent said they deserved a B for completing the required reading." Granted, that's not everyone, but that's a pretty significant chunk of people.

The article's main point is that excellence and effort are not the same thing. It does not matter how hard you work on something if your work is crap. You don't deserve anything that you don't work for. What is with this sense of entitlement? "Well, I obviously think I'm pretty awesome, so therefore everyone should think I'm awesome. I deserve to have an awesome job, a nice car, and a sweet house."

Somewhere along the line, we entered this realm where everyone expects the same things everyone else is getting. "I studied just as long as him, therefore I deserve the same grade." But... he did better than you on the exam. "I applied for so many jobs and did so much recruiting, and she barely did anything, so she doesn't deserve a job if I can't get one." But... they liked her better than they liked you.

Granted, it's easy to feel disappointed and inadequate when your efforts fail you. Clearly I am not immune to this. But I think what we all need to watch out for is this idea that we deserve something. Times are tough, no one is going to hand you an awesome career on a silver platter. Many people around you are just as awesome as you are, believe it or not.

Whenever I have these thoughts, I think of what my more liberal friends would say. "What about the people who can't get a job, that's not fair." or "Some people are born into different circumstances and don't have all the opportunities you do." I understand that. And I hope that one day our country has done more to help these people be on level footing. And by that, I don't just mean our government. I mean our culture. But I really don't think the answer is saying that people deserve a job just because they have a degree/because they breathe. If that were the case, you would end up with way too many people in some fields, and everyone will make less money, unless the government funds their wages (and that's what we need, more government spending). That, or companies will have to hire people who won't help their productivity and companies will struggle even more to grow and turn a profit.

What do you think?

Ramblings

Having opposable thumbs, which allow you to hold a camera, does not make you a professional photographer. I have seen some people start their own photography companies and their pictures are beautiful and it is a way for them to make a little money doing something they love. But others.... yikes. Maybe you should just use that camera for some family photos. I understand that you want to follow your dream... but let's be realistic.

There are two doors- one for going in and one for going out (here's a hint- keep to the right). I'm all for using the wrong door if someone just came through it and it's already open - but only if no one else is trying to come through after them. My favorite is when people deliberately wait for a long stream of people coming through the door, just so they don't have to open their own door

Just because Mitt Romney believes in the Book of Mormon and you believe in the Book of Mormon does not mean that his political ideals align with yours.

Making a joint facebook account after you get married is just weird. What's the point? You are no longer individual people? Am I the only one who is weirded out about this? What does it accomplish? How do you know which one is talking when they post a status or a comment?  Two accounts were just getting to be way too difficult to manage....?

"My facebook was hacked!" Actually, no, it wasn't.... you left yourself logged in and someone sat down at the computer and changed your picture and wrote embarrassing things.

Life Advice

Some life advice

- Do not whine about how poorly you did on an exam and claim that the exam was "unfair" because you have never heard of some of the things on it... and then follow up that comment with a nonchalant "Yeah, I never even pay attention in that class. I just zone out and play online" or "yeah, I never do the reading for that class." I promise, I'm not judging you. I don't think you're lazy or stupid. You made a decision about how to spend your time, and for you, avoiding listening to a boring lecture is what made you happy. That's perfectly fine. Buuuuuut... don't whine about not doing well in the class.

- If you are a pedestrian, don't just walk out in front of a moving car. Yes, I realize that you have the right of way in a cross walk, but what if they're not paying attention? Granted, if they hit you, they would be in the wrong, but that won't matter when your brains are splattered all over the ground. Oh, and newsflash - if there isn't a crosswalk, you don't have the right of way.

Don't believe me? Check out this website http://headsuputah.com/ about pedestrian safety. I realize its hard to a pedestrian, but be smart. Waiting a few seconds to cross the street rather than just blindly walking out will not inconvenience you that much.

- Cars- south of campus, there are a lot of 2-way stops. If you are driving perpendicularly to those who are stopped at a stop sign, just keep driving. I understand that you want to be nice and stop so that they can go, but you're going to cause an accident. First of all, someone could rearend you and it would be your fault for obstructing the flow of traffic. Second, the person you are trying to help has to cross 2 lanes of traffic, and there might be someone coming from the other direction - therefore, even if you wait, they might not be able to go. Unless traffic is really bad, and the person at the stop sign does not stand a chance to every get out, just drive. 

- What else? Mustaches are gross. Guys should never wear flip flops with jeans. Occupy Wall Street is a joke. Marry a man who vacuums. Show your work clearly on exams or I will never give you partial credit. Men's deodorant works better than women's....

Winter Internship

I promise this won't be a whiney/raging post, so please, read on.

I got a call from the guy who interviewed me at Ernst & Young. I was on their "wait list" and they were waiting to see how many people from their first round of internship offers accepted vs. rejected. He told me that the trend they were seeing was that there were a lot more people turning down their winter internship offers  than summer offers. What this means for me is that if I decide I'm willing to do an winter internship, I can have one. Whether or not there will be space in the summer remains to be seen (they're still waiting to hear back from people).

A winter internship runs from the beginning of January to the beginning of March, 9 weeks. It's actually a better internship because it's the "busy season" and there will be more to do than there is in the summer, and it will be a better taste of what the profession is like.

But here's the thing. Greg has 10 credits he needs to take to graduate. He's planning to graduate in April, so he will need to stay here in Provo to finish school. If I decide to do the winter internship, here are the options:

1) Greg stays in Provo to finish school, and flies to Denver every other weekend or so. This way he can graduate in April and start working full time.
2) Greg comes with me to Colorado and tries to find a job/internship for only a few months on short notice. Then he comes back and still works part time and finished a couple credits during spring/summer and then the last of his classes during fall semester, and finishes in December
3)Greg comes with me to Colorado and tries to find a job/internship for only a few months on short notice. Then he comes back and starts working full time and spreads out the ten credits so that he takes another year to graduate, so he'll finish April 2013 with me

If I don't take this internship,  I can still apply for full time next year. But the internship is a great way to see if you know what you're getting yourself into and if its what you really want to do. Plus, I will make bank! I'll be an hourly employee and will get tons of overtime since it's busy season. But I don't like the idea of not being with Greg. But I also don't like the idea of him delaying graduation because he's so close and he hates school! Right now, I'm leaning towards the whole me just going by myself thing, but I'm not totally sure how I feel about that. It is only 9 weeks, but he's more important to me than my career. Is going by myself putting temporal things before eternal things?

What do you guys think?

"Yes I'm a girl"

"Yes, I'm a girl. I push doors that clearly say PULL. I laugh harder when I try to explain why I'm laughing. I walk into a room and forget why I was there. I count on my fingers. I hide the pain from my loved ones. I say it is a long story when it's really not. I cry a lot more than you think I do. I care about people who don't care about me. I try to do things before the microwave beeps!! I listen to you even when you don't listen to me. And a hug will always help. Yes, I'm a girl!!!!! Re-post if you're proud to be one."


I saw this on facebook the other day, and I wanted to die. But, instead of dying, I will just blog rage a  little bit.


Seriously?! It might as well say "I'm a girl and I'm the inferior gender and I do dumb things but I'm cute!"


How about this: "Yes, I'm a girl. I score just as high as you on our exams. I am just as funny as you are. I know why I am here and where I am going. I can learn difficult things just as well as you can. I will contend with you every step of the way to get what I deserve and what I have earned. I am strong. And I won't take crap from anyone. Yes, I'm a girl."

My last post was about my internship interviews. Everyone was so impressed that I got interviews with these big national companies. I was pretty impressed myself, especially cuz Denver is a pretty small, competitive market. I've been planning on doing an internship in Denver this summer for about a year now. I've mentioned it to it to people like it was a fact. Because, in my mind, it was. Everyone gets an internship. They practically throw themselves at you. So I wasn't really worried about it. I applied for three of the five firms, so that I wouldn't be overwhelmed. One that I applied for decided not to do a summer internship program, so it was down to two.

When I was out in Denver, I thought to myself "I just don't know how I'll choose between these to firms! I really like both of them."


Well, lucky me! No need to choose. Not only did I get rejected from Deloitte, I also got rejected from Ernst and Young. Well, it's still kind of on the line with them. They sent out their first round of offers, and depending on how many people turn the offers down, I could have a chance. But I'm not counting on it.

I feel like such a loser. Everyone else is getting multiple internship offers. I couldn't even get one. I did my best. I was friendly and myself. I've worked my butt off in school. For what? My plans are totally screwed up.

I can still apply for these firms for a full time position next year. But what am I supposed to do this summer? I had this all planned out. I already put so much effort into this plan, and it's so frustrating to have to start over.

I feel so mediocre. Like I never excel at anything. In ballet, I was there everyday and still got shafted and got crappy parts. Summer fairy in Cinderella? Have you ever seen a more boring part? Especially comparing myself to the girls who danced that part the last time we did Cinderella... yeah apparently I really sucked. I was sugarplum but that's like the easiest lead part ever, you hardly do anything. There are other lead parts that like carry the whole show, like Cinderella or Aurora or even Ariel in Little Mermaid or Wendy in Peter Pan. Nothing.

When I applied to be an RA, I didn't even get the job at first. I only got it because someone else bailed and I had gone to the office to talk to them about it so they knew I wanted it.

I suck at making friends. I'm not crafty or a good decorator or a good cook. I'm not immensely spiritual. I'm not saving the world by going to Africa and helping people. I'm not athletic. I'm just mediocre.

The only thing I'm good at is school. Maybe I should just be a student for the rest of my life.

At the beginning of the week, I flew out to Denver for some interviews for internships. The plan is that you do an internship and if you don't totally screw it up, you get a full time offer. I got to spend time with the Palmers which was so fun, as always, and then they took me to my hotel in downtown Denver.

First of all, I was so spoiled. I got to fly right out of Provo, and I got to stay in the Grant Hyatt, with a king size bed! I had interviews with Ernst and Young on Monday and Deloitte on Tuesday. It all went well (except for almost forgetting to wear a bra the first day). For each one, we met in the morning and they fed us and then we did some interviews and then they took us out to lunch. I liked everyone I met at both firms and was wondering what I would do if I got an offer from both.

Not to worry. I already got a rejection call from Deloitte. It hurt. I cried a little. But it'll be ok. She told me that there is just a lot of interest in the internship and that everyone liked me and that I did really well, but there wasn't enough room. I'm not sure how much of that to believe, but whatever. I'm still waiting to hear back from Ernst & Young. Hopefully I'll get an internship offer... otherwise my summer plans totally fell through. There's another change in January, maybe I could get in with one of the smaller firms in Denver?

Now I just wait, and hope and pray.

My Homies

I'm supposed to be working on my technical accounting research paper right now... cuz that sounds like a whole lot of fun right?!


Instead, I found myself perusing facebook, and seeing a picture of us at Annette's wedding reception last night. Someone commented and said "I love seeing that former co-workers still get together and share great events in life!" That made me think about the people in that picture. It's this picture right here:

Yeah... it's not the most flattering picture of some of us (explanation: there were two people taking pictures and I think a lot of people were confused about where to look and when to smile). But looking at this picture makes me realize how glad I am that I was a CA last summer. The job SUCKED. Going through room after room after room putting out blankets and towels, searching for miniscule scratches that your bosses wanted you to put in work orders for, waking up early to take out the trash from disgusting little EFY children, getting yelled at by high maintenance menopausal women who want 4 towels. Not fun. But the people - oh my goodness. Some of the best people I've ever known.

I've been talking to Greg a lot this week about how I don't know how to be myself around people in my major because no one seems to understand me. Every time I am silly or crack a joke, I get weird reactions. So going to Annette's reception last night with my homies was a blast. I could be crazy, bust a move, laugh really loud, and say dumb things and no one looked at me like I was a freak.

Shout out about Annette's wedding reception- I've only been to like 3 receptions but holy cow, Annette's was beautiful. The venue was gorgeous. Her dress was gorgeous. Her bouquet was phenomenal, her hair fancyy. Her husband suit was stylin. The food was yummy. The events were well planned. Loved it.

For your amusement...

An embarrassing story:

My old roommate Shelbey has the cutest clothes and is very fashionable. After we were no longer roommates, she told me she had a shirt that she didn't really like how it looked on her, but that she thought would look cute on me, so she gave it to me. I loved it! It was a really cute shirt, totally my style.

In January of this year, I had just met Greg, and we made plans to go to the Condaleeza Rice forum together. I wanted to look good. So I put on my skinny jeans, my new gray boots, and my new hand-me-down shirt. I walked to the Marriott Center, and when I got there and took off my coat, I noticed a foul stench. During the forum, I realized that the stench was coming from me! I was so grossed out - I've never smelled anything like it before. Granted, I did walk to the Marriott center in a coat and I sweat a little, but didn't I put on deodorant?!!? I just hoped Greg wouldn't smell it. I was so humiliated- not to mention concerned.

After the forum I took a lengthy shower, trying to scrub away that nasty smell. I considered buying a new deodorant. I was disturbed by this foul odor.

Later that week, I saw Shelbey and told her my embarrassing story. Halfway through she started laughing and said "Oh my gosh, I think I used to wear that shirt back when I had really bad sweating problems, and I don't think I washed it before I gave it to you!"

What are friends for.

PS Luckily Greg did not notice the smell. I confirmed that later when I knew him better.

A late night stroll to Seven Peaks

A story of how awesome of a wife I am:

On Monday, Greg plays hockey for a rec league in Provo. He's the goalie and I love going to his games when I can. I didn't get to go to any over the summer since I was up in Salt Lake, so I really wanted to go to his first game this past Monday.

This week is insanely busy for me, and as Greg got ready to leave for his game, I had way too much homework to get  done to go. His game was at nine, which means getting home after 10:30. So I told him that I wouldn't be able to go, and that I would try reeeally hard to go next week.

Well, since Greg has to get there so early, by the time 9 actually came around, I was done with my hw. So I decided I would go to his game and surprise him. One problem - Greg's car has been overheating, so he drove my car. I had no car to drive to Seven Peaks (the ice arena). I looked it up, and Seven Peaks is less than a mile from where we live. So I decided to walk!

It was 9pm and there was no one outside. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a very nervous and jumpy person, so the whole way there, I was freaking out. South Provo isn't a bad place, but I was walking through the areas where students didn't live... I was walking in the south Provo "ghetto". And I didn't like it one bit.

There were quite a few times where I was too scared to go the direction I needed to go, so I took the long way through familiar apartment complexes until I made it to the main road. Getting there took like 20 minutes! But I finally made it and was so proud of myself!

When Greg was done playing, he skated off the ice and saw me and was really happy that I came. He started talking to me about it and I proudly declared "I walked all the way here!" He was like... "Really? Why?"  "Well, because you drove my car... duh!!"

"No I didn't. My hockey pads don't fit in your car so I just took mine."

Seriously???? I walked to Seven Peaks in the dark when my car was parked at home.

A story of how silly I am.

Lately I've been noticing a lot of groups of friends that surround me. I look at pictures on my friend's facebooks and I see them living with the same people for the last couple of years, or doing fun things with the same group of people- with their friends. And it makes me realize that I have spent three full years in college and I don't have any friends.

<This is not meant to be a whiney post, and I am not seeking pity>

The friends I have made in college have faded over time. Between dating boys and being busy with school, I haven't really done much to maintain some friendships. The closest friends I've made in college have been my sophomore roommates and my CA co-workers.

Out of my sophomore roommates, one already has her own group of close friends, one is now on a mission, and one has shown zero interest in staying friends. When school started after the summer I was a CA, I was so busy with the Junior Core that I could never hang out with any of them. So they all became better friends without me. Now when I try to join in on that friend group, I feel awkward, cuz it's not my friend group anymore. I feel like an intruder.

I've never made friends in my classes. I don't have that group of friends who I've always lived with and always hung out with. I look around and see all these people who meet up for breakfast or lunch on campus, who do fun things together like mud races and warrior dashes and gallery strolls and Zumba and dance parties, or even just a silly night of roommate fun.

Why don't I have any friends? I really don't know how to make friends. I have a hard time relating to people. A while ago I posted a personality test I took which told me I am disagreeable. We learned in class that disagreeable people don't like fake people and don't like not being able to be themselves.

Maybe I'm just weird; I've learned that when I try to talk to the people around me in class and when I joke and am myself, they don't like me. They don't get me. They never try to talk back to me. So I've given up on that. It takes me a while to feel comfortable enough around people to be myself and I'm so boring when I'm not myself- naturally no one wants to be around me. I hate that awkward time where I'm not comfortable enough around people to be myself, so I avoid ever being in that position. That means never stepping outside of my comfort zone to make new friends.

Obviously being married means that I wouldn't have girl roommates and giggle fests or whatever girls do when they hang out. This is more of a reflection on my lack of friend-making pre-marriage. And trust me, the making friends thing isn't any easier once you're married.

Things I have learned in the first month of marriage:

-Square neck garments are the way to go. The silky kind especially.
-I become very loving and caring in my sleep. I always end up cuddling up right next Greg and I have been known to pat him on the cheek and as if he is ok/ask him what he's thinking about, all while dead asleep
-I only know how to make approximately 10 meals
-I have no friends
-Don't throw raw egg or raw chicken in the trash and leave it there for a couple days
-It's going to take awhile to get used to this new last name
-I like our married ward much better than any single ward I've been in. There are less people trying to call attention to themselves and people actually prepare their lessons
-Maybe we should have gotten all sports passes, cuz mooching off our friends' tvs for every major sporting event is going to get old really fast
- I say the phrase "Ugh that makes me want to vomit. Seriously, I want to throw up" all the time, about anything that slightly grosses me out. Drama queen?
-Hundreds of dollars in target giftcards can actually disappear pretty quickly
-Greg is just as awesome as I ever thought
-We actually live approximately 7 blocks from the Tanner Building, slightly more than the 4 blocks I originally thought it was
-I have zero sense for decorating
-I don't like the birth control pill
-There is nothing wrong with going to bed at 10 every night, or even earlier

I was really crabby yesterday. Why was I crabby? Uhhhh, since when do I need a reason?

Anyways, a few tiny things went wrong and I am a big hormonal baby sometimes and so I was in terrible mood all through church. We were in sacrament meeting and Greg asked me for a sheet of paper. I looked over later and saw this:

He came up with all those and had three spots for me to make requests haha. He's great

Anyways, don't worry, I have no intentions of posting obnoxious posts about how sweet my husband is all the time. I just thought this was too cute to not share.

Personality

In my organizational behavior class, we were talking about personality. We took this test called the big 5 personality test, which is apparently the best personality test there is. What did I learn? I'm uncreative, anal, antisocial, critical, and anxious.

Oh dear. Poor Greg.

Wanna take the test? Its pretty interesting! http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/

Openness to Experience/Intellect
	High scorers tend to be original, creative, curious, complex; Low scorers tend to be conventional, down to earth, narrow interests, uncreative.
		You prefer traditional and familiar experiences.	(Your percentile: 1)
Conscientiousness
	High scorers tend to be reliable, well-organized, self-disciplined, careful; Low scorers tend to be disorganized, undependable, negligent.
		You are very well-organized, and can be relied upon.	(Your percentile: 95)
Extraversion
	High scorers tend to be sociable, friendly, fun loving, talkative; Low scorers tend to be introverted, reserved, inhibited, quiet.
		You tend to shy away from social situations.	(Your percentile: 22)
Agreeableness
	High scorers tend to be good natured, sympathetic, forgiving, courteous; Low scorers tend to be critical, rude, harsh, callous.
		You find it easy to criticize others.	(Your percentile: 14)
Neuroticism
	High scorers tend to be nervous, high-strung, insecure, worrying; Low scorers tend to be calm, relaxed, secure, hardy.
		You are a generally anxious person and tend to worry about things.

I have three moms.

No, this isn't some weird Mormon polygamist thing. Let me explain.

My mom's name is Sandy. My parents got divorced when I was a baby, so got to see her once every other week while I was growing up. When I was a teenager, I got really busy with dance, and stopped going down there on the weekends. She never complained - she wanted me to be happy. But, despite not seeing each other, we developed a great relationship. We talked on the phone at least once a week, for hours. I would tell her everything, things that I wouldn't tell anyone else. I could always trust her to lend a listening ear, or to give great advice. She taught me how to not care what other people think. She instilled in me my love for games. She taught me to be honest and hardworking. Even though I didn't live with her, she taught me so much and was definitely integral in raising me.

I grew up with my dad and stepmom. My stepmom's name is Robin. As long as I can remember, I've considered her a mom. She married my dad and got my brother and I as a package deal. She went from being single to having a family of four. From what I understand, that was a hard adjustment for her to make. But she came to love us as her own. She was always there to take care of us and always made sure I had the best. Robin is so hardworking as well. She's also a great cook. Our tradition was to watch movies together. When I was a freshman in college, I told her that I wanted her to be there for my wedding in the temple, especially since I knew my mom wouldn't be able to be there. She laughed and asked for me to give her two years to become worthy (mostly because she didn't want me getting married anytime sooner than that haha). She made some difficult sacrifices and was able to go through the temple with me and to be at the temple when Greg and I were married.

And now, I have a third mom - Greg's mom. Jackie is patient and understanding. She understands each of her children and what they need, and she has an open relationship with each of them, a relationship where they can really talk about things. She always supports her children. Jackie has accepted me into her family with open arms and has already taught me so much. I can only hope to be as great of a meal planner and organizer as her! Jackie is so full of compassion and warmth.

I can only hope to turn out as amazing as these women - confident, fun, hardworking, loving, compassionate

Wiener Beans

GUYS. Let's face it. I'm not a good blogger.

I try to be awesome, but I'm just not a very good writer, and the things that are funny to me aren't funny to anyone else, except maybe Greg... and they're probably only funny to him cuz of how much I laugh (more on that later).

Anyways, speaking of bad bloggers, here are some types of blogs I hate (disclaimer: some of these types of blogs I actually really like. Others, not so much):

- Study abroad blogs: no one really cares about every little detail of your itinerary. Tell me a funny story about the homeless person on the bus or the handsome Italian you met. I don't want to hear about every historic landmark you've ever been to, especially if you have nothing exciting to say about them.

- "I just got married and now I think my life is about 100x more interesting so I'm going to start a blog and tell you about the most mundane details of my life": If anything, being married made you more boring. And I get that you love to use the word hubby, but it's kind of gross. Does he have a name? Tell me a funny story about your husband having gas or about how he accidentally put your underwear on.

- The mom who is obsessed with her only child: thank you for a picture a day of your kid. And please let me know how normal he turns out after you constantly have a camera in his face his whole childhood. Tell me a funny story about how your kid picked her nose and wiped in on your face. Heck, even just tell me the boring mundane details... just try and say it in a funny way!

Ok ok ok, I'll get off my rant. Now for a funny story (this ties back to the whole "I'm the only one who thinks some things are funny): One night I was talking to Greg about beanie weenees. Has anyone else ever had this? I think I used to eat them as a kid, can't really remember. Anyways, isn't a fun name? Beanie weenees! They're just beans with cut up hot dogs mixed in. Greg said, "yeah, I had those... we called them hot dogs and beans." Hot dogs and beans? What a boring name! Of course I had to make fun of him for calling them "hot dogs and beans." After my relentless teasing Greg proclaimed, "Well, at least I don't call them WIENER BEANS!"

Wiener Beans???

I think I almost wet my pants from laughing.

(Sometimes I’m convinced that when I type things how they make sense to me, they don’t stand a chance of making sense to anyone else. Oh well…)

Every now and then, I have these “revelations” about what getting married means. They’re usually at very random times. Like the other day I was using the toaster oven at my grandparent’s house and I noticed all the crumbs at the bottom and I thought to myself, “One day, I’ll own my own toaster oven, and I’ll have to clean the crumbs out of the bottom.” Weird right?

It’s kind of funny the things I think of. Greg probably thinks I’m a weirdo when I tell him about them. But holy cow! Being married means taking on a lot of responsibility (*Disclaimer*: I knew this before I made the decision to get married. I wasn’t just like, “Ooooh, being married sounds fun!” Give me some credit here people). Still, in spite of already knowing that marriage means really growing up, it still surprises me in some ways.

That nasty ring around the toilet? Can’t for someone else to clean it! Oh no, we’re out of toilet paper? Can’t wait for someone else to buy it! My car breaks down? Can’t wait for my parents to pay to get it fixed! I want our home to be decorated? Can’t wait for someone else to do it! That pile of dishes? Can’t wait for someone else to put them away! (Obviously Greg will help with the cleaning. He’s not that much of a chauvinist).

I feel like I’ve always done a pretty good job of being clean and taking care of myself. And I think cleaning with be a million times better when you don’t have to clean up stupid roommate’s messes. But being married will take it to a whole new level (does anyone else besides me use the phrase “a whole nother?” It definitely doesn’t type out very well). Greg and I will be responsible for a home, all of the bills (no more splitting with roommates), cleaning… and one day we’ll be responsible for actual little humans!

This marriage thing most certainly isn’t frivolous fun. (It is fun – just not frivolous fun  )

Greg and I get married in approximately 21 days 20 hours 50 minutes (not that I have a countdown on my homepage). It’s fun to think about living with my best friend, coming home to him, seeing him when I wake up in the morning, calling him my husband, participating in married hand-holding (yes, I did have a church leader who called it that- awkward), not having a curfew, etc. But I’m really glad that I realize all the effort that it will take. I think people who don’t realize how much responsibility they’re taking on with a marriage are in for a rude awakening. Obviously I’ve never been married so I can’t fully understand what it will be like. But I’d like to think I’m a very practical and realistic person.

It’s just surprising to me how there are certain things I’ve always known have to change when I get married. For instance, we can’t let anyone else make our decisions for us. We need to remove that desire to always to what our parents want and we need to focus on what making our own decisions. It just shocks me sometimes how close I am to being married – It’s always been a matter of “when I’m married, I’ll….” But soon I’ll be married and those things won’t just be decisions anymore. They’ll need to be actions.

Anyways, Greg is great. I was just joking when I called him a chauvinist.

PS Two marriage posts in a row!? I apologize
PPS Jessica Callahan, congrats on taking the MCAT!

Twoo Wuv

Something that’s been on my mind a lot lately…

MARRIAGE!!

And no, not in terms of “Oh my gosh, I’m getting married soon, this is so exciting, yay wedding!” More like “How does the world view marriage?” “Why is it important to me?” “Why do some people see it differently?”

I think it’s fair to say that most people don’t really value marriage. Maybe they want to be married *one day*, maybe they never want to get married. And I can hardly blame them! Marriages have been on a fast decline. How many people actually get married and stay married? And how many of the people who do stay married are happy?

Today one of my coworkers asked “What’s the rush?” in response to the classic stories of “my friend so-and-so only dated his wife for 3 weeks before they got engaged and then they were engaged for 2 months and blah blah blah.” It made me think – why are people in a rush to get married? Or, rather, why do people perceive most Mormon’s and being in a rush to get married?

I came to the realization that it is due to our desire to get married. I think that is a much more accurate description than saying we’re “in a rush.” We equate “family” and “happiness” and “love” and “home” with marriage. Naturally it’s something we value and desire. We know that true happiness comes in a loving home.

Oh, but aren’t we just so unrealistic to think that marriage is happy? Isn’t it so stupid of us to think that marriage is more about the hard work you put in after you say “I do”/ “Yes” than it is about knowing each other for years beforehand? Why should we have to work in a marriage? Aren’t we so naïve for wanting to work for a marriage? Shouldn’t we just take more time to look for the person who everything will be perfect with? Aren’t we so dumb for not dating for years and years and years before we get married so we can really be sure that we can get along with this person?

Whoah whoah whoah… let’s talk about naïve for a second. How naïve is it to think that being with someone won’t take work? How naïve is it to think that, with time, you will find someone who is *perfect* for you? How ridiculous is it to think that a marriage isn’t successful or isn’t worth it if you have disagreements?

I’m sure most of my friends were SHOCKED when they found out I was engaged. Greg and I met in January and were engaged at the end of March. Trust me; I never thought that would be me. I totally judged people who got engaged quick. But guess what? I am 100% sure of my decision. I know I still have a lot to learn about Greg – but people who have been married for years are still learning things about each other all the time. I know marriage will take work – but not matter how long we dated, marriage will still take work.

I know that Greg can drive me crazier than anyone else on this planet. But I also know that when I’ve had a bad day, when I’m feeling insecure, inadequate, hurt, scared or even when I’m super happy, Greg will be right there to share in that with me. I know marriages can become stale, relationships can become static. But the thought that I will always be able to turn to him when I need someone, or that I will be able to be there for him when he needs me makes it all worth it.

Years down the road, we’ll have kids and will be super busy and we’ll spend more time with our kids or at work than we will with each other. Some people might never even see us show affection to one another. But I know that at the end of the day, he’ll always be there for me. I’ll be able to lay down in bed and tell him what’s on my mind. And that’s totally worth it. No matter how much our relationship changes from how it is now, no matter how much the romance dies, he will always be my best friend and my confidante. He will always be there to dry the tears and heal a hurting heart.

Plus he’s super hot. Who wouldn't want to marry him?!

I'm not a very good blogger.

Let's be real- my life right now revolves around work, greg, and wedding planning. No one wants to hear me talk about accounting anymore than I want to talk about it. (Side note - whenever the people I work with go out to lunch together, I think I'm the only person who would rather talk about personal life things than work/accounting. And for the record, I don't think accounting jokes are funny, nor do I think it's funny to say things like "Oh, I guess that's the accountant in us," or "we're such typical auditors!" I am not a freak) The last thing anyone wants to read is some mushy post about how perfect Greg is . And nobody but me really cares that much about my wedding choices.

Hmph.

Survey for people who have nothing better to talk about on their blogs:

1. What feature of the opposite sex do you notice first?

I don't really know... probably mostly height and face.

2. Do you talk to yourself?

I don't think so... maybe I just don't realize that I do. I do sing in the car, and sometimes when I'm rehearsing what I am planning on saying to someone/what I wish I would have said to someone, I find myself saying it out loud.

3. What is your current relationship status?

Engaged... its kinda freaking me out that I get married in a month. Not freaking out like a "Aaaah, what am I doing?!" but like a "Holy crap, will everything get done in time??"

4. Do you have a garden?

No... I foresee myself trying it at some point in the future, but we'll see how long that lasts

5. What is your favorite licorice flavor?

Licorice is gross

Sometimes I feel guilty…

Greg is graduating in April 2012. If I finish my master’s degree at BYU, I will graduate in April 2013. My plan has always been to get my MAcc (Master of Accountancy), at least ever since I started at BYU. But what does that mean for Greg? It means he has to bum around Provo for a year, meaning more limited choices for his options in starting his career.

Why is it so important for me to get my MAcc? Your options are so much more open if you get a master’s degree. If you have a bachelor’s degree, you’re pretty much stuck in a cubicle making journal entries, doing the same thing day after day, week after week, month after month, capping at an average salary. You can go far, but it’s a lot harder. You will have a much harder time getting into the jobs that will give you the experience necessary to get into even better jobs.

Let me break it down for you – most people would say the best thing you can do for your accounting career is to work for the Big 4 for a couple of years. Who are the big four? Ernst & Young, Deloitte, KPMG, and PWC. These are accounting firms who audit other businesses. They’re a super huge deal. You get so much experience, and once you have one of them on your resume, you’re set for life. Well, the Big 4 only want to hire you if you’re CPA eligible because they want you to get a CPA. Each state has different rules for the CPA exam, but most states, while they don’t exactly require a MAcc, they do require a high number of upper level business and accounting classes that are kind of hard to reach without a MAcc.

So, if I don’t do that MAcc, I can get some boring accounting job and maybe pursue a MAcc later in life. But that means living somewhere else long enough to establish residency, and taking the GMAT, which I don’t have to worry about if I do the MAcc at BYU. Or, yeah, I could probably get those required classes for the CPA without doing the extra year for the MAcc (if I worked my butt off and took 18 credits winter semester)… but, not gonna lie, some of the MAcc classes really interest me! They have classes on investing, real estate, financial planning – stuff that I feel like I can really use to benefit my future family.

So what is my plan? Ideally, I want to work for the Big 4 because they will pay for me to get my CPA (and that’s an expensive test to take – they’ll even pay for my test prep!). Then I will have Big 4 experience and a CPA certification on my resume – I can walk away from work for awhile, have a family, and then when my kids are older, I can walk back into the business world and say “Hey, I’m kind of a big deal, I have Big 4 experience and a CPA and you will hire me and pay me well and let me work a flexible schedule so I still have time with my husband and children.” And they will say “Oh my gosh, yes please, you are so awesome, we would love to have you, take as much time off as you need, whenever you need it, and here, take a million dollars per year!” (I wish). No, but really – I’d have some sweet skills to offer, and they’d be sooo much more willing to let me work a flexible than if I didn’t have such a strong background.

But is it really fair for me to ask Greg to put his career on hold so I can get mine in full swing? Especially if we’re planning on him supporting us once we start having children? Especially since he wants to pursue an MBA and needs strong business experience to take that route?

Warning: this will sound extremely judgmental. Probably cuz it is: I have a few female friends/friends of friends/acquaintances/random people from my home town who I creepily blog stalk who are just following their husbands wherever they need to go. “Oh, you want to move to Europe. Ok!” “I’m not gonna be able to graduate cuz you are starting a job across the country? Ok!” For some of them, it’s because they have strong career opportunities no matter where they go (power women, with strong degrees, like nursing or business! You go girls!). For others, it’s because they have zero opportunities no matter where they go. Maybe I should be more like those girls, and just give up this idea of being a power working woman. Maybe that’s what would be best for our family?

Lots to think about …

My Driving Pet Peeves
1. Tailgaters
2. People who try to pass me on the right when I’m already going 5 over the speed limit- I will speed up and cut you off so that you can’t pass me
3. People who change lanes during bumper to bumper traffic just because the lane next to them inched forward slightly faster than their own
4. When you’re driving on the freeway and you come up on someone going slower than you, so you prepare to pass them on the left. But the left lane is kind of full right now, so you wait it out. Then someone else comes behind you, and now two of you are stuck behind the slow car. So you put your blinker on to merge over when you see an opening in the left lane, and the jerk behind you steals the opening before you ever get a chance!!
5. When everyone knows that the lane ahead is ending, but people still wait until the last possible second to get over. In fact, they don’t ever merge over – they just drive in the ending lane until it fades in the next lane. Then everyone behind them has to watch out for them so the car doesn’t just swipe into them.


And now for another episode of this survey (courtesy of google):
1. What is your favorite yogurt flavor?
Not a huge yogurt fan. The consistency kind of makes me gag after a few bites (same with applesauce and sometimes mashed potatoes). But the kind I will usually start to eat is strawberry or vanilla. Putting granola in it makes it much more bearable.

2. Ankle or knee socks? White socks or colored??
White ankle socks. Greg wears knee socks cuz he doesn’t like ankle socks and there’s this super funny picture in our engagements where you can totally see his socks cuz his pants are hiked up a little bit. Here it is! Enjoy!

My little old man!

3. How is the weather right now?
Cloudy and a little rainy, in the 80’s. I don’t mind it when it’s cloudy sometimes, as long as it stays warm and doesn’t last for too long!

4. Are you a fast typer?
Decently. Last I checked I was around 70 wpm, w/ 0 errors! So yeah, I’m kind of a big deal!

5. Red or White Wine?
Dr. Pepper

Can I have some cheese with this WHINE?

Once upon a time, I was super tired this morning. All I wanted was to sleep in... but I had to go to work. I was in too much of a rush to have a good breakfast. I started to back out of the driveway and realized I forgot my phone. After going back in for my phone and starting to walk out the door for a second time, I realized I forgot my keys. On my way back down the stairs, I tripped and fell and landed on my knees on the hard ground. I just laid there and cried.

Today just wasn't meant to be a good day.

Anyways, I started on of those daily blog prompt things a while ago, but it was a super lame one. So I'm trying again. I found this one through google, looks pretty promising:

1. What was the last piece of candy that you ate?
I had like 4 peppermints at work, ya know, the hard candy ones. Pretty tasty! Greg told me that's what he did to stay awake when he drove buses. It worked pretty well.

2. Do you "read" in the bathroom?
First of all, why is "read" in quotes??? Second of all, no, I’m usually not in there long enough. When I was younger, I used to read in the shower... Weird? It’s kind of sad, I haven’t really gotten into a good book in awhile. The latest book I tried to read was Sense and Sensibility, which was nowhere near as good as Pride and Prejudice. Disappointing. The last few books I've picked up (namely Sense and Sensibility and Eat, Pray, Love) just haven't piqued my interest enough to want to continue reading them. Any suggestions of good books?

3. I can't stand when people _________?
Oh geez... where do I start? Question things I say and act like I don't know what I'm talking about? Challenge me? Beat me in competitive games? Don't listen to me? Try to hard to be funny by saying what they think other people want to hear?

4. Do you do daily, weekly or monthly grocery shopping?
I’m kind of in limbo right now, and I haven’t really been doing any regular grocery shopping. However, in my normal life, I shop every Friday. Seriously, are there really people who go every day? What a waste of time! I mean, there are always gonna be little things you're going to end up needing to run to the store for, but really, isn't it so much easier to just plan ahead?

My Arch Nemesis

Despite my efforts to avoid this piece of technological, it has found me at my job. Until now, I have only had to face it for a few airport visits each year, where its use has been unavoidable.

No, I'm not talking about a metal detector, I'm talking about this:

THE AUTOMATIC SOAP DISPENSER.

Seriously, am I the only one who has major issues using this contraption??? I put my hand under it and.... nothing. I move my hand around and.... nothing. After looking like a total fool to any fellow bathroom users and contemplating walking out, hands unwashed, I somehow get lucky and make a magical swoosh with my hand, and there comes the soap.

At this point, I become very proud of myself. "You figured it out!" I tell myself. My next bathroom trip (usually about an hour later - I drink way too much water at work), I feel confident in my ability to DOMINATE the automatic soap dispenser. I walk up to it, show it my moves and.... NOTHING!! I can never figure it out!

It's gonna be a long summer.

And don't even get me started on automatic paper towel dispensers! (you seriously think I can dry my hands with that four inches of thin paper????)

I try to be nice (most of the time), but most of you who know me know that I can be a little... sassy? rude? witchy? tempermental?

Ok. I'll own up to it. I'm not perfect. I have a temper. People annoy me. I'm impatient.

HOWEVER: apparently when I actually want to be rude to someone... I can't do it.

Something fun I wanted to do this summer was to take some drop-in ballet classes down in Salt Lake City. I found two studios that offered classes for $10 each, something within my price range. Last week I called the Salt Lake City Ballet and was informed that there was an open class at 8 PM. I was so excited! I talked to Greg on my way there (hands free call, of course) and I was giddy with excitement. The studio is right in the heart of salt lake city and so the building doors are locked at night. I was told to call the office phone when I needed to be let it.... so I did. I called and called and called... and called somemore. No one ever answered. So eventually I just went home. I emailed and they apologized. Apparently the class was actually at 7:30, not 8, so they weren't expecting any more people to arrive.

Today I decided to try again. I checked their facebook to see if class was still on. I called thirty min before and left a message double checking the time and location. Once again, I was sooooo excited to go dance! I got there and called.... no answer. How am I supposed to get in a locked building when no one will answer the phone that they tell you to call!? I was so sad

I talked to Greg about how I was going to send them an email being like "I am wanting to come to your studio and spend $10 for a class, and you don't even answer the phone, even though you tell people that's how to get ahold of you." I was soooo ready to let them have a piece of my mind!! Like fo' real, I was about to get all up in thurrr grill.

Then the studio called back. I was so ready to be rude on the phone and to be like "WHAT THE HECK?!?!?! You people are so disorganized! I'm sick of driving down here and not being able to take class!!"

But I'm a wimp. She apologized and explained how people are usually able to get in when other people are leaving the building. I was polite. Ugh. Overrated.

The simple things

I got my wisdom teeth out last week and have had a few problems since then. The worst part of it all is that I have some kind of infection in my gums. The oral surgeon described it as being similar to a cold sore, only in the gums. He prescribed more antibiotic and an antiviral pill to take over the next 7 days.

My gums hurt so much. These sore are on 4 gum surfaces and brushing my teeth is so painful.

Anyways, I was really tired last night when I flew back to Utah. Greg picked me up at the airport and we spent the evening together at my grandparent's house, where I will be staying this summer. I was telling my grandpa about my mouth and we got a flashlight and I actually saw how bad the sores are. I got really freaked out. My gums hurt and I was tired and I felt like it was only going to get worse. Even eating and drinking hurts.

I was not looking forward to brushing my teeth, but my grandpa has suggested some things I could do that would help. Greg came into the bathroom with me and stood by my side, scratching my back. There I was, taking parting in this extensive oral hygiene procedure (boring, not too mention kinda gross) and Greg stood by me and comforted me. Now that's love.

So, to all the people who acted like I had no idea what I was doing when I got engaged so soon... you don't know anything. Love doesn't have a timeline.

Day 4: A picture of your night

what does this even mean? Right now a picture of my night would be me strung out on Loritab, drooling on a pillow (I got my wisdom teeth out, no need to panic).

A typical night since I've been home in GA would involve a skype to Greg.

A picture of your night? what a lame prompt

My Opinion on Recent Events

I've read so many facebook statuses and blog posts about Osama bin Laden being shot and killed. I've read news stories about how it was wrong to bury him at see, how it was wrong to shoot him rather than having a trial, how it was wrong that his code name was "Geronimo."

My response- seriously people? Get over yourselves. Why are we so easily offended? We take something and just tear it apart looking for something to get bent out of shape about. I read an article this morning that said:

"Loretta Tuell, staff director and chief counsel for the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, said Tuesday it was inappropriate to link Geronimo, whom she called "one of the greatest Native American heroes," with one of the most hated enemies of the United States.

"These inappropriate uses of Native American icons and cultures are prevalent throughout our society, and the impacts to Native and non-Native children are devastating," Tuell said"

Devastating? That's probably just a little dramatic. And let's be real, I doubt much thought went into the decision to call him Geronimo. It's just a code name. I really don't think someone was like "Let's make Osama's code name be Geronimo because Geronimo was a dirty Native American." Almost any code name they could have named him would have had some link to some thing.

I've read the quote from MLK Jr. on people's statuses and facebooks, you know the one I'm talking about- the one where he says he could never rejoice in the death of an enemy. It's a beautiful quote and I agree that it was a little bizarre for people to go out and celebrate Osama's death - despite being a total dirtbag, he was a person. But I have to admit that I felt a little bit of justice when he was dead. I wouldn't say that I rejoiced or was happy about it, but I felt like it was right. And I don't feel bad for feeling that way.

The last thing I've heard controversy about was his "at sea" burial. Frankly, I don't really care if he received a proper Muslim burial because he wasn't a proper Muslim. If Mormons had a specific death ritual and some guy who considered himself a Mormon but who corrupted everything we believed in didn't have a proper burial... oh well.

Sorry world. No one liked Osama bin Laden. Now stop looking for controversy in every little thing. It's annoying.