I'm in a ...

Being single sucks. But dating is so complicated...

As expected...

New Moon was total and complete drivel. I knew what I was getting into having read the book. Bella was equal parts annoyingly helpless and viciously heartless to Jacob (and a dash of horrible acting) and has a habit of going cross eyed every time she is in a tight shot. Edward actually managed to not come across as much as an abusive boyfriend as he does in the book. As in Twilight, his lipstick is so dark and obvious it is distracting. The music was loud and melodramatic. But I still give this movie two thumbs ups. I give this movie TWO ALL CAPS THUMBS UP!!!! (with exclamations). I give this movie TwO aNnOyInGlY CaPiTaLiZeD tHuMbS Up!!! And that is because for most of the movie you are treated to this lovely sight: A closer look... and from the side...

I don't think there is much I can type that can adequatley express my appreciation for the fact that he is shirtless for 80% of the movie. I can definitely put up with Kristen Stewart's heavy breathing and overacting if it means more Jacob time.

Yes! Yes!

http://www.racialicious.com/2009/11/26/running-with-the-wolves-a-racialicious-reading-of-the-twilight-saga/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Racialicious+%28Racialicious+-+the+intersection+of+race+and+pop+culture%29

Semi-nudity, murmering and RS

Mormony church blog ahead. Lots of LDS terminology. Bear with me. Remember this post where I was venting about attending the most unfriendly congregation on the planet? Well, there's an update. I was home one evening two weeks ago when I looked around the living room and decided I could no longer tolerate it looking as though a bomb had hit it and I began to frantically clean up. As I was cleaning I somehow noticed how dusty and icky the TV stand is and I sort of accidently got the whole sleeve of my shirt covered in dust. So I decided to just rip off my shirt and use it as a dust rag. I had a sheer tank top camisole thing underneath. After my cleaning binge I was relaxing on the couch watching some Big Bang Theory when the doorbell rang. I went downstairs to open the door expecting it to be, like my neighbor with a piece of mail that had been delivered to their house accidently and I could just sort of stick my arm out to exchange pleasantries and not reveal my see-through top. Instead I discovered two men: my home teachers. One of them attended my high school when we were kids and was a few years older than me and is evidently the new EQP. The other I had never seen before. More on him in a minute. They said they had tried to call, but couldn't reach me. I invited them in, awkwardly trying to cover myself up. Fortuneatly I had a sweatshirt hanging on the upstairs banister I could throw on and thankfully I had just cleaned the whole living room so they didn't have to navigate through the debris as they would have any other day that week. We discovered they couldn't reach me because the phone number the church has listed is my parents old house number. Huh. It was sort of the get to know you visit; no real message. Somehow it came up that I am still somewhat back and forth from the singles ward and I said something about how I keep going there when I can because I don't feel comfortable in the family ward. The one misunderstood and said "Oh I hated attending the singles ward." I tried to correct him a few times to explain that I liked attending the singles ward but he kept not understanding until finally I ended almost shouting "No! I don't hate the singles ward! I HATE YOUR WARD!" So then I figured since I had opened the flood gates so to speak, I rolled with it and next thing you know I am like, choking on a lump on my throat and telling these total strangers that I have attended since May and no one knows who I am, no one talks to me, how I sit alone in every class and during Relief Society there is this awkward get to know you chit chat thing and how I sit there pretending to read my scriptures because no one will bother to chit chat with me and how I still don't have a calling, even though I am very capable person and I am totally willing to take on a calling and how even though I have been coming for like 8 months I can count on one hand the number of times someone has even introduced themselves to me or said hello. I went off about how hard it is to be single in a family ward and how somehow they have put me on the e-mail list for the single adult activities and how, for crying out loud, I am only 27, I don't want to go to Potlucks and mingle with widowers. I also said something about how no one in the bishopric had ever approached me or welcomed me or even spoken to me and how that was culture shock coming from a very friendly singles ward where the Bishopric generally approaches you within five minutes of you setting foot into the chapel for your first time (and that is truly not an exaggeration. P3 takes fellowshipping and welcoming very seriously) And then I stopped. And they just sort of stared at me. And then the non-high school one cleared his throat and was like "Well, I'm in the Bishopric, so I could definitely see about getting you a calling." ***Awkward*** I gave a half hearted "No offense" but it was a little late since I put it all out there. But anyways, this past Sunday EQP's wife came and introduced herself to me and then sat next to me during Relief Society. And two other people talked to me so that definitely helped me not feel like such a pariah. So maybe my home teaching rant was not in vain...

I would love

your fabulous and easy soup recipes. Please share!

A quick word regarding Christmas

I feel really bad for Thanksgiving. It is such a cool holiday. It has a historical basis.

It celebrates the harvest and all things autumnal.

It makes people slow down and consider their blessing and helps the whole country cultivate an attitude of gratitude. It brings family and friends together. It always falls on a Thursday so you always get an extra day off of work. But I feel like it is getting overlooked. Three people in my neighborhood already have their Christmas trees up. One even had their tree up before my birthday (November 17th) which is crazy. I love Christmas probably more than the average person. Black Friday all of my decorations will go up, and it probably won't be long till I buy a tree. But we have to take time to savor Thanksgiving/Autumn! There is still plenty of time for Christmas after that!!!

Do the Shuffle

(the above title is meant to be sung to the 70's hit Do the Hustle)... So here's how you play:Turn your iPod on, go to Shuffle Songs, and name the first 10 songs that come up. No skipping songs! (Especially those you'd rather not admit that are actually on your iPod. That would be cheating.) 1. Mercury by Counting Crows - Of course, I love Counting Crows, but this actually isn't my favorite song by them. It makes me think of both Nicole and Kathleen, who both love it. It is awesome live. 2. We're Okay - from Rent - great play. This song she is going back and forth between like three phones. 3. Slow Dance - John Legend. "Let the music make you moooooooooooooooooooooove". When I saw him at the Electric Factory he pulled a girl up on stage and they slow danced to this song. It's fabulous. It makes you wanna dance with somebody. 4. Mary Jane's Last Dance - Tom Petty. For a while summer wasn't summer without seeing Tom Petty in concert. I've seen him in Jersey, Ohio and Pittsburgh. I remember in high school cruisin around in my old Lebaron blasting this song. 5. Mad About You - Belinda Carlisle. Reminds me of one of my roommate's in college Jamie. It's so happy and upbeat. 6. Freakum Dress - Beyonce. Makes me think of hot summer nights cruisin around South Street with Alti. A fabulous album to play when you are getting ready to go out. (Not that I do that much anymore). 7. Hot Stuff - Donna Summer. It's random that this came up. I guess it is on my gym mix. 8. Let's Forget About It - Lisa Loeb (acoustic version from the old Y-100 Sonic Session cd). Remember her? She wore the plastic glasses before they were trendy. 9. Start the Commotion - Wise Guys. Another one from my gym mix. My sister and I borrowed our fabulous friend Meagan's cd collection for a weekend and that is how we inherited this one. 10. Cave In - Owl City. I have been listening to Owl City literally non-stop for the past two weeks. Isaac is always pleading for me to put on anything else. Like the whole album it's happy, electro-pop with interesting fresh lyrics. Sadly besides Owl City I haven't added anything current to my ipod in ages. Do the shuffle and let me know your recomendations!

Random thoughts

Got this from someone else's blog, so I can't take credit. But I sure relate to most of them!

* Was learning cursive really necessary?

* I wonder if cops ever get ticked off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit?

* Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

* I wish Google Maps had an 'Avoid Ghetto' routing option.

* More often than not, when someone is telling me a story, all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better- but also more directly involves me.

* The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.

* Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Kids today are soft.

* I think that everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure that I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really really gets it.

* I would rather carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips from the car to bring my groceries in.

* LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

* Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely terrifying.

* I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent someone from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

* MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my own neighborhood.

* Bad decisions make good stories.

* Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they're from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem...

* You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

*Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVD's? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

*I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I didn't make any changes to.

*I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. "I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?"

*I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

* When I meet a new boy, I'm terrified of mentioning something he hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

* I like all of the music on my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle- then I like about one in every fifteen songs on my iTunes.

* Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...

* As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation- I always hate cyclists.

* Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

The best thing about PA

We're pretty into fall around here.... =)

Oh my gosh...

Love, love, love. It's like a spreadable peanut butter cup. So delicious....

Whoa!

I just noticed my work laptop has a webcam.

Now I must play with it and post pictures despite the poor lighting and my post-shower hair which makes me look like a total creepster. So here is a

Quick update on my life...

work webcam style...

I'm watching...

Very clever. My friend loaned me the first two seasons. I don't think it will take me long to get through them.

I'm reading... the new post secret book. And unlike the other three which were gigantic, this one is cute and post card size.

Hanging out with.... My new kitty (and the old one too). Isaac is at my mom's tonight. She was not such a fan of the webcam. Cody flat out refused to come on. Who's surprised about that?

Isaac...

Just so you all know, I am the mother of the most hilarious four year old on the planet. Several times over the past few days I have overheard Isaac singing some pop music which totally cracks me up. In the car I definitely overheard him singing this little diddy by the ubiquitous Miley Cyrus: This one he was singining the bathtub, which I thought was terribly cute ("She's cheer captain and I'm in the bleachers"). This is my personal favorite though, since I have been listening to this album basically non-stop. I have overheard him singing this while he was in his room alone playing with toys. I love the fact that some part of him appreciates electronica, even if it is Top 40.

Wednesday

Happies * The kitty cats are now fixed, introduced, and friends. Pictures to follow. * Cody is definitely less play aggressive towards us now that he has a friend to play with. I think Saffron is a little tired of him though. * She is very sweet and long suffering. Especially considering Isaac's new favorite thing is carrying her around like a baby. * It's not dark now when I wake up for work. Makes it sooo much easier to get up! Crappies * I have a slow leak in my one tire. * The washing machine broke. Booo. * Now that I am heating the house my electric bill is out of control. And I keep forgetting to turn down the thermostat before I leave for work. * I have to buy a cord to charge my camera up. So pictures are (temporarily) down again.

Ugh

How long would you keep going to a ward where absolutely no one ever talked to you, or sat by you or made any effort to get to know you? Where literally the only people who ever, ever even acknowledged you were in the Relief Society presidency? Where you had never been home taught, or approached about having a calling? If it was November first and you had been going since May, and had never even been greeted by someone in the Bishopric a single time, would you want to go back? I'm really struggling to like the ward that I now have to attend...

Five things I Was Doing Five Years Ago

1. Trying to schedule as many classes as I could in this gorgeous building:

2. Trying (half-heartedly) to pass Logic. What on earth posessed me to take that class?

3.. Working out a lot. Sophomore year of college I definitely went to the gym at least once a day. My roommate and other girls on my floor definitely helped keep me motivated.

4. Sleeping on the top bunk. That year we did have bunk beds.

5. I believe that was the year we got into Temptation Island. Trash TV at it's finest.

Five things on my To Do List 1. Organize the office, which still has half unpacked boxes and scrapbook stuff everywhere. 2. Vacuum pretty much the whole house. 3. Finish cleaning the bathroom. All I did was the floors and littler box, still need to do toilet, sink and mirrors.

4. Pay some bills

5. Figure out someone who can fix the washing machine (and figure out how I am going to pay him/her).

Five things I'd do if I was a Millionaire 1. Pay off my school loans and mortgage. 2. Pay for Isaac's college.

3. Buy a newer, nicer car. 4. Go around the world on a big vacation. 5. Have a big party with fancy imported cheeses and other exotic foodstuffs.

Five Things I'd Never Do Again 1. Bottle feed a kitten. It was good while it lasted, but way too much work.

2. Attempt to paint the bathroom on my own again. Unless my painting skills seriously improve. It took my sister, like 24 straight hours of work to fix my mistakes and make the bathroom the fabulous pink it is now.

3. Call a parent (of one of my students) from my home phone. Not that anything bad happened that time, but it is something I would never take a chance on again.

4. Have a fish. Cleaning a fishtank is not my favorite thing.

5. Dramatic Rock Lobster death scenes. In public anyways... I think I'm too old for that now. Even if I do go to the YSA Christmas Dance...

Five Favorite Toys 1. Hmmm. Laptop.

2. My classroom laminator. Nerdy I know. But I do love lamination.

3. Photo printer.

4. Pizza pan. Very into making my own pizza lately.

5. Um.... does hand held vacuum count as a toy? When you live in a three story place, it is pretty critical.

Five Things I've Read Recently 1. Blogs, blogs, blogs.

2. Lawrence's mission letters. To know him, is to love him. He is taking San Diego by storm. 3. I've still not finished The Time Traveler's Wife that I started at the beach. It is a really good book. I just knew once I left the beach I would never finish it. 4. US and PEOPLE magazines that my mom sent over after she was done. I read anything that comes my way. 5. I am supposed to be reading Classroom Instruction that Works and Failure is Not an Option for book studies at my work as part of new teacher induction. Also considering adding The Illusion of Full Inclusion... but that's a different story.

Five People I’m Tagging Whoever is reading this and really wants to do it.