meet the cat.

have i ever posted about the animal that took my place when i moved out? oh wait... he got run over. so this is the animal that replaced the animal that replaced me when i moved out.

he's most likely a member of the gay feline community. we're not homophobic
he drinks out of toilets and leaves his muddy pawprints on the seat....
and he has got a serious staring problem.

leo fritze + my dad = best friends forever.

thoughts for a wednesday.

my sister got one of those mega-magnifying mirrors for christmas. can i just say that those things don't do a thing for a girl's self esteem? i mean, can you think of  a single instance when you've walked away from finding hair in places you didn't even know existed anything less than a little bit scarred?

i've been tango-ing with liquid eyeliner... and i am learning very quickly that there is LITERALLY a very fine line between cat eye and drag queen.... and my hands just aren't steady enough to do anything but the drag... even with the help of that magnifying mirror.

christmas break is a great time to get dressed up in new christmas clothes and have no place to go.... so just know i am sitting at my house wearing clothes with price tags sticking out the back. no worries, though... i've only managed to make it out into public sporting the anthro price tag once. heck- i just want EVERYBODY to know about the good deals i've been scoring.

i am toying with whether or not to buy the kindle fire. i've got christmas money burning in my pocket, people! they're so shiny and cheap! it is either that or perhaps loading up on some goods at the vs semi-annual sale. unmentionables, or books? oh the decisions i am faced with. speaking of books, i'm currently mildly obsessed with the glass castle. oh, and reading it on my sister's HUGE bed that i've claimed as mine for the time-being.  she's got so many pillows and pillow pets... i never want to leave.

the new year is coming that means resolution time is just around the corner... i'm still working on that list of 21 things before i'm 21, so i'm thinking any other goals are gonna go on the back burner. BUT i am 21 in less than 3 months... crazy right? where is my life? the semester is starting a WEEK from today, which seems a little unreal. last night i bought a huge spanish book that i can't even pronounce the name of, and justified buying a new coat because i just remembered all the walking that will commence in seven short days all those cold wintery days that are going to last until mid april... or later! however, i'm ready to get this show on the road and for the madness to begin... but let me master the make-up and pull all the tags of my new clothes first.

honey i'm home

getting here was quite the debacle, but i am proud to report that I AM HOME and i just must say that i stink at airports and flight in general. i won't go into it too much, but let's just say i only arrived at the airport 30 minutes before my flight, barely caught the luggage lady attaching a tag labeled PHX instead of BOI to my 6 lb overweight suitcase, and nearly lost both my driver's license and my mind through the process. those places turn me into a BASKETCASE.

anyways, i got home nice and safe to a city free of both snow and cares. yay. what did i do to celebrate my boise? ate a load of chex mix and set out on a 21 mile run with diana. feel free to re-read that last sentence, but you aren't dyslexic and that wasn't a typo. a couple weeks ago she told me about her harebrained scheme to run 21 miles on her 21st birthday, and for some sick reason i agreed... and so that is why i found myself running for 3 hours, 49 minutes, and 48 seconds yesterday.

 as sick as it sounds, it really wasn't that bad... things actually went pretty well until mile 17. that's when my legs started screaming and life started to suck. before that, it was actually kind of fun! the greenbelt is wonderful and i am jealous of all the people that get to take advantage of it's sheer greatness on the daily! anyway, what a way to celebrate, eh? i figure for all that, i am now exempt from working out for the rest of christmas break.... and not because i want to be, but because right now i can hardly walk.

will somebody please rub my feet?

simple things

move over, toms

there is some new footwear in town

and this sweet corn dominated dinner the other night, obviously.

boise is so great.

 more pics and words to come, but at another date when time is not so much of the essence.

note to self

it's a bad idea to chop onions and jalepeños then rub your allergy stricken eyes.
it's like a fiery inferno up in my eye socket right now.
but hey, at least i can blog about my misfortunes from my back porch with griffey wandering aimlessly around the patio.
i love being home.

do a little good

done any good in the world today?

if you're like me on most days, the answer feels like a no


BUT. you can change all that right now if you click here.

Now I Can is a provo based organization that helps children with club feet and other physical ailments get the therapy they need. tonight a group of girls in my ward went there to learn a little about their program and help out their cause.

vivint, another provo based business, is holding a contest here, and to make a long story short, the charity with the most votes wins. so vote for Now I Can! it's easy. click the link. log onto facebook (like you aren't already logged on) "like" vivint and vote for this charity.

you can do so every day until august 27. help them win 250,000 bones to help children get the physical therapy they need! it's worth it. it'll make you feel good.

and happy first day of summer. how did you celebrate the summer solstice? i got yogurtland, then ate a sizable amount of pineapple. mmmmmm. i also tired out "turbo kick" at gold's... not for me. i left early. even the elliptical is better than pretending to punch air.

going home tomorrow and gonna have to make a conscious effort not to speed, i just wanna get there asap.

happy mother's day

mostly i just couldn't resist posting this picture.
seriously, did the drug me for this picture? my dad's tie is probably back in style now. he could sell it to some trendy hipster for a couple bucks- i should tell him that. mom's dress, on the other hand.... no hope. none. zero. good try, ma.
i love my mom. she's the best and i wish i lived a little bit closer to her so i could see her more (and so she could drag my lazy behind out of bed and to the gym each day) she is wise and friendly and active and selfless. i want to be like her. i wish i was home to make her breakfast in bed and steal her chocolates at church. (guess i better pass those roles on to the siblings)
happy mother's day!

because i am sneaky

i snuck home this weekend.
no one knew i was coming- heck i hardly knew it until 4 or 5 days before leaving, and it was fun to give the fam a little heart attack by knocking on the back door late at night, then seeing the delight on their faces when I was forced to tell them who the intruder was at the back door out of fear they might leave me there all night.
it was a pleasant weekend. in fact, my mom basically beat me to the deets, so if you're interested, click.
my own weekend additions? i brought home the guitar and am learning to play. so far i can play "leaving on a jetplane" and brown eyed girl". please notice, however, that i didn't say i could play either very well . maybe once my fingers toughen up a little bit, the story will be different. a girl can hope, right? oh, and emily and i made it back to provo in about 5 hours if you don't count the gas stop, food stop, and bathroom stop. don't ask me how- i hardly sped. the only feasible conclusion we could draw is that maybe they moved provo a little closer to home while i was away. either that or my speedometer is broken. nah, i am going with the first.
now it's back to the grindstone. ps do you like the nip/tucks made on this ol' page? i was feeling something new, but i am too chicken to change too much too soon... plus i am pretty html inept. one day i dream of sections with food and life and travel buuuuuuuut until then my weak attempts at the three will just conglomerate in the same small space. there is always summer to learn and expand, right?
summer. i like the sound of that. this semester is almost halfway over.
time flies.

i've been away too long

and I know it because I just looked out my backyard window and saw that the tree we bought as a twig all those years ago is probably the size of the one in Rockefeller Center. what happened?
The flight home was wonderful. much better than any old drive would have been! the flight from SLC to BOI is wonderful because you basically ascend into the atmosphere, stay there about 10 minutes, and then it's back down and you're descending into beautiful Boise! I do love it.
I seriously love Christmas break already. I have nothing to do. NOTHING. When Pat asked me what I was gonna do over break, I told him I was gonna read and sleep on my couch. Well people, I accomplished both those things yesterday- I read one page of Hunger games and was out cold. I like it.
As for finals, they went meh... they're over. I think I slid by with some pretty average grades but whatever I NEVER HAVE TO TAKE ACCOUNTING AGAIN. That is truly a Christmas miracle.
I feel like I should do some kind of first semester recap of all the great things that happened... okay you talked me into it.

BEST PARTS:
Anatomy and feeling smart when I hear the doctors saying smart doctor-y words at work.
Me and Pat's really great dates.
Living with great people.
Cooking with Anita
Chase Baker and his wonderful shows.
Going to St. George and leaving Happy Valley.
Dinner parties and other gatherings.
Working a great job.
Lots of other things.

WORST PARTS:
4 tickets in 6 months. 2 speeding, 2 parking. Honestly UPD. Get off my case.
Liberty Square Maintenance. Pretty sure we spend a good half of the semester living in darkness. Seriously, how many maintenance workers will it take to screw in a lightbulb?!
That's really all I can think of.

Alright, well guess it's time to play carpool again. Since I'm home all the sibs just think they can make me come pick them up whenever they like. And I do. I'm whipped.
Cheers

I would just like to say...

GO BSU.

ahhh getting back to my roots feels nice in this stuffy ol' Cougar town.

and a shoutout to Payton and Daddy down in Arizona riding the FUN BUS for 20 hours- make some memories. haha

Wisdom Wednesday

Honey, I'm HOOOOOOOOME.

That's right, and it feels pretty dang good. ... the only things disconcerting me are the fact that the light switches in my apartment are higher up on the wall than those at my actual house, so I have to concentrate when turning on a light, and the fact that there is a disease infested furry impostor at my dwelling. I hate you, cat.

ANYWAYS, I digress. I am so glad to be home. Did I mention that I love being home? Ahh it's nice.

However, there is one little issue, a little mental note for myself for the next time I travel.

WW38- Don't forget Antonio.

You see, when I decided to come home, my phone decided to stay in Provo. He just really likes it there, I guess. I'm just fine with being disconnected for a few days, but the only problem it poses is the fact that I have a handful of friends here I am dying to see.... and currently, I have no way to get in touch with those individuals. Yes, this is when telekinesis would come in handy.

Weekend

Picture this:

Eyelids closed, blankets around your cheeks, light streaming in through a window whose rays you cannot see, but can feel. Waking up naturally, opening your eyes, and realizing you are in your own bed. You're home.

That is what I experienced Saturday morning as I began my first weekend homebound from college. Ahhhh it was great. I mentally jotted some of my objectives for this particular weekend as Courtney and I drove to the city of trees Friday night. They were

1. To eat too much. Check.

2. To go to the gym to counteract all the ingestion. Check.

3. To sleep all I wanted and wake up natural

ly every morning. Check.

4. To hang out with the family and do what they did. Check.

Sometimes the simple expectations are the easiest to meet! Labor day weekend was splendid in all these facets, plus more.

Saturday was full of Payton's football, fast food, bi

rthday shopping, much time spent in the car, and a party at the Hruby's house.

Sunday was Mom's 29th Birthday. We celebrated all day by doing what she loves best- going to church! However, we had to open presents, first. This was her favorite gift ever in the history of her 29 years.

the Snuggie. In fact, not only was it a Snuggie, it was zebra. Let's just say Kourtni has the best worst birthday present ideas ever.

After church, we ate some good dinner, she was showered with more gifts from a plethora of adoring friends, and we ate cake- not any kind of cake, though... better than ANYTHING cake!

We proceeded to take some more pictures...

(ps. my head isn't really that big.. I was just way further forward than everyone else, alright?)

It was great. To wrap up the celebrating, Lindsay, Mom, and I did Mom's other favorite thing ever- go on a long walk/trek/10 k. She is not human. However, it was a good time, and shout out to Mom- You're great. I love you! ... and your protein powder you insisted I take back to school spilled all over the back of Courtney's car.