My Turn

So Laura tagged me in this. Can you actually tag someone on a blog? I still don't know any of the tricks about blogging. Someone teach me someday? Thanks. Anyway, I am supposed to answer these questions:

you just won 1 million dollars. you have to spend it all in one month. no investments allowed. it all has to be gone in one month. what do you buy/do?

EASY. First, I would pack up my belongings and move here:

Then, I would buy this:

Then I would take trips to places like these:

Then I would buy TONS of Christmas decorations...

Then I would hire someone to buy me lots of cute clothes and boots and more shoes. And then I would give the rest of the money to my Aunt Becky's foundation, Foundation for Children in Need.

you are being forced to listen to either EFY music or boy a cappella group music for the rest of your life. which one?

Oh freak. How do I answer this? I hate with a fiery passion both genres. Alright fine. Boy a capella. NSYNC's bound to have some a capella songs right?

if you were famous for something...what would it be for?
Author or athlete.

what did you do to get boys attention in junior high? for example i smeared glitter all over the top of my flat chest before church dances. it didn't work.
Yeah, Laura, you taught me that glitter trick. Remember that little pink bottle of roll-on glitter? I sure do. Probably still have it somewhere.

I liked to put sparkly eyeshadow on so I could bat my eyelashes and probably blind them at the same time because they were so distracted with all the sparkle and glitter. Yikes.

Now what? I tag people? Do I have to come up with questions now? I want these people to answer the same questions:

Charley

Al

Melissa

Lu

The Goose is Getting Fat

So in the last about . . . month and a half there have been a couple of occasions where I got so anxious/excited/taken back/pumped or something to that extent where it upped my heart rate to about a million beats a second and I probably started breathing hard and sweating. Well it happened again tonight. Guess why.

No actually don't. I'll just tell you.

There's already CHRISTMAS decor in Pier 1 Imports!!! (Right now I can picture Allison saying, "Oh boy" to this. Hehehe). I couldn't help but be distracted the whole time I was working there tonight! Psh, I thought the Halloween decorations were good. The smells alone of the new Christmas candles outdo the Halloween stuff. Like Peppermint Creme...mmm heavenly.

Ok. So I wasn't breathing heavy or anything like that, but seriously, I love Christmas and I got really excited when I saw the Christmas stuff. When I was young (actually up until like two years ago) I would always get depressed the SECOND after we were done opening up presents because then I would have to wait a whole year for Christmas to come again. Alright, that still kinda happens. BUT it's not so bad anymore because time FLIES so its always here before I know it.

I have this memory (I'm sure you all remember it well) of Charley waking Seth up like two weeks before Christmas and saying, "Seth! Wake up! It's Christmas!" Seth stumbled downstairs and lo and behold, Charley had stuffed pillows behind the 8 presents that were out so that it looked like the loot was BULGIN. Seth tends to be one of the sleepers in the family and it therefore took him a little while to figure out what was going on, but when he did he was TICKED. So funny, yet so sad. Poor Puppy.

Anyway. Are we exchanging names for presents for Christmas or what? Alright, we don't need to think about that right now. I'll enjoy Halloween and Thanksgiving but you bes' believe I'm startin a countdown. 73...

Speaking of Halloween, I need a good costume. Any suggestions?

Help

My title has two meanings. I finished The Help. Oh here's an idea Kathryn Stockett. END THE BOOK WITH SOME FLIPPIN CLOSURE. The ending was sad to me, but I loved the book nonetheless.

But I also need help. And when I say that I am not really asking for anyone's help (I have a hard time doing that anyway) I am just expressing the stupid position I put myself in. Tomorrow I am supposed to have read Guns, Germs, and Steel and have a 3-4 page paper written on it. So I am not very far into the book. Alright, who I am kidding...I never started it. It's a huge book about agricultural development and industrialization and BORING crap like that in 13,000 B.C. . . .or something like that. You think I am going to read a huge book about that? I don't think so.

But who knows, maybe it's a good book. Has anyone read it? Anyway, my procrastination lives on. It makes life more exciting that way.

So call me a nerd-bomber, ( I give credit of that phrase to DJ on Full House) but apparently in a marriage prep class at BYU students have had to take a test/survey that determines how "ready" he/she is for marriage, or at lease it measures something to that degree. I MUST FIND THAT TEST. Not because I believe that will be even a slightly accurate determiner, I am just curious. There has got to be some truth to it though, right?

So here are my next two reads. I started this one

and am about to buy this one. Yeah baby.

Uhhh...

Yeah I couldn't think of a title that would work for this blog post.

Not sure why I came to my Geography of the Middle East class. We are just watching a movie--well, the rest of the class is watching a movie and I am writing this blog post. I am seriously impressed with people who can write interesting blog posts on a regular basis. I struggle to write one once a month, and most of the time they aren't even interesting. Some interesting things have happened though.

I got rear ended on Saturday. Got some serious whiplash. My sunglasses went flying from my face when I got hit. Good thing I was wearing a seatbelt.

I realized that I am ambidextrous. For example, when I am at work in the mail room, I sort with my left land. I do this thing with my rugby ball where I toss it up in the air and spin it and I always do it left handed. When I play soccer, I prefer to play left defense, because I have more control of the ball. When I play cards I deal left handed. But in everything else I am right handed. Be jealous, y'all. Alright it's not that cool, but I feel slightly cooler for being able to say that I am ambidextrous.

On January 30, 2011 I am assuming I will not be married. In fact, I know I won't. On that day I will have passed the date of being the person in the family to get married the youngest. Not sure why I thought of that.

For the first time in my life, I am desperately trying to find a book to read. I like to read now! Today I saw Team of Rivals on tape in the BYU Bookstore and I was so pumped until I saw that it was 40 BONES which means I can't afford it right now. BUT I have The Glass Castle on special order right now so I am excited to read that. But I need some good suggestions of books to read.

Well that's all. Wow, that is PATHETIC that those are the most interesting things I could think of. I did it for the sake of putting up a new post though, so don't hate.

Peace.

Change

I have had quite a few changes in my life recently.

First off, you know when someone asks you if you want to go out and do something with some people, and it sounds lame so you make up some pitiful excuse not to go? Well, life's great right now because I don't have to do that. 90% of the time I really can't go and do that lame thing with them. The reason I bring this up is because some guys that are probably in my ward (I wouldn't really know) just knocked on my door and said "Hey so uh we're getting a big group of people together to go bowling--you want to come?" (As I was writing that sentence I was saying it in a macho, beef cake man sort of way, even though they didn't say it that way).

First of all . . .

1. Bowling? Come on.

2. I have this class called ECON 110 that is pulling me along by a string.

3. I just got back from rugby and reek of sweat, dirty mouthguard, and grass. Fat chance.

So that is one of the changes in my life. I am really busy. It has its perks, but man do I miss being lazy.

Another change is that I am a bottomless pit. I don't get full. You would think that I would be puttin on the pounds left and right, but I am pretty sure that I am the same weight that I usually am. All my clothes still fit the same. I am convinced that me getting sick in Haiti is what I suspected all along; a sick nasty tape worm. Bet I still have it. Livin in my intestines. Eatin all my grub. Dude that's just SICK.

Thirdly, my night-owl days are over. Getting up at six for work at seven Monday through Friday BITES big time. But I gotta do it. Which means going to bed no later than 11. And you know I'm hatin myself every morning for even going to bed that late.

I actually wish I had time to read. No, no not my stupid textbooks; real books. Books that make me happy. Books that keep me sane. Before I know it I'll be calling that insane asylum up the street my home with all this textbook reading. I just want to finish The Help dang it! Last time I read I was getting to the good stuff, too!

So this last change isn't a change in my life, but a change in attitude of many people. Why the crap am I feelin all sorts of judged when people ask if I want to go on a mission and I say, "no."? Well FORGET YOU if you are going to judge me for not going on a mission. I don't want to. Nothing wrong with that. That says nothing about my testimony or of my relationship with Christ. I want to go to school and live my life here in Provo for the next couple of years. Sue me. Really though, the number of sister missionaries is skyrocketing it seems like. I can honestly say that I am sure some girls are feeling pressured to do it. It's great for girls who have gone and loved it and for girls who are excited to go on a mission because they WANT to. Power to them. But I am shocked that there is a pressure creeping up. Don't worry, I'm not feeling that pressure. I'm just noticing a difference in people's attitudes about girls going on missions.

Well, that's all for now. Maybe I should actually do econ so that I don't feel like a liar to those dudes that showed up on my front doorstep. I had to do something to keep me sane, so I feel justified in writing a blog post.

Oh yeah! One more thing. Guys, I have always loved Halloween. So let me enjoy a good month and a half of having a Halloween themed blog background thing.

Alright, Peace.

Post Haiti, Pre Hell

Starting tomorrow, I am homeless. No worries, I've done this before. I'll find a place to live. And yet here I am, blogging. Well anyway...

My trip to Haiti was incredible. I don't even want to explain everything, because a) I won't do it justice AT ALL, and b) it would take a long time and I know how boring that can be to people. So, I'll give some highlights in no specific order.

1. Lesly's (sp?) orphanage. Those kids are so dang cute and happy.

2. The crazy rain/thunder/lightning storm on the first night we were there.

3. Riding around everywhere in the back of the truck.

4. Bony, Michelet, Jimmy, and Patrick.

5. Painting the orphans' faces/hands/arms.

6. Our incredible group of volunteers. All great people.

7. All the kids in general.

So before I left for Haiti I was in a funk. A BAD funk. And I'll admit, I am still pulling myself out of the last bit of funk. I have been starting to realize lately how awesome it is to be free. Especially when I am single and can do anything I want to. And so that is why I will be sure to go to New York sometime (hopefully when John and Laura live there) and I will move into some new place by myself, and HOPEFULLY (I am praying hard for this one) I will be able to come up with the funds to go to JERUSALEM, yo! Next fall for a study abroad, that is. And that is IF I get accepted. And I can study whatever I want to in school, and I can spend time with whomever I want--you get the idea. Anyway, I am starting to realize that I should forget my trials because right now is the best time for me to do what I want with no other big commitments tying me down--of course while still trying to be the best person that I can be. That knowledge cheers me up. Also, God is really looking out for me right now, so that is another reason why life is good right now.

So I write all of this because I came to another realization, and that is that starting on Monday, August 30, 2010, my life will be insane. Two jobs, school full time, rugby. GULP. So if I write another post in the near future about me being a stress ball or some sort of mental/emotional train wreck, someone refer me to this post so I can remember the positives. Thanks.

That's all folks!

Haiti

So Mom picked me up from the airport tonight and the first thing she said when I got in the car was:

"We're going to Haitiiiiiiiii!" Nothing like, "Oh Audrey, I am so glad that my favorite child has come home" or anything like that.

I am so glad that I get to experience this trip to Haiti with my mom. I'll tell about my experience when I get back.

For those of you who did not know that I am going to Haiti tomorrow, don't feel bad. I didn't know either--until this morning.

My first time out of the country will be quite the experience.

This picture has nothing to do with Haiti, but I love it anyway.