I thought High School was over with

So I never get tagged. I haven't updated my blog in a bit, so thanks to Alyssa for the open ended tag!

1. Did you date someone from your school? Technically no. I went on dates with people from my school but my high school boyfriend went to another school. What can I say, that was the "cool" thing to do. And I was just that cool ; )

2. What kind of car did you drive? A 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS. I still drive that car and love it. My parents tried to teach me that things don't make you happy but my car still makes me happy!

3. Did you pass your driver's license test on the first try? Yep. I actually took my test on my 16th birthday, so good thing I passed, or that would have made a lousy birthday.

4. Were you a party animal? Define party animal. I wasn't wild and crazy (unless you were in dance company with me, then you know about our parties after performances, wink wink) but I did like to have fun.

5. Were you considered a flirt? Absolutely.

6. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? No.

7. Were you on any varsity teams? So this tag totally discriminates against dancers. I was on the Dance Company. I didn't have time to do anything else.

8. Did you get suspended/expelled? No. But I probably should have been. I might have skipped class a lot my Junior year but I still got all A's, so it was okay, right?

9. Can you still sing the school song? No. Which is sad because apparently I am related to the guy who wrote it through Neil's family. In fact, our family song is to the tune of the DHS fight song. Yes, they have a family song and it is awesome!

10. Who were your favorite teachers? Mrs. Ashton and Kim King. Mrs. Ashton taught Psychology and that is what made me decide what I wanted to do. Kim was the Dance Company coach and was so much fun to work with.

11. Where did you sit during lunch? If I didn't go out, then wherever my friend's were--in the cafeteria or by the vending machines.

12. What is your school's full name? Davis High School.

13. School mascot and colors? Brown and gold. We were the Davis Darts. Lame, I know. Apparently, we were named after a runner. He ran like a dart. Get it? Ha Ha. Honestly, being a dart wasn't that bad, it was just the colors.

14. Did you go to Homecoming? Sure did.

15. If you could go back and do it again, would you? Probably not. I absolutely loved high school and have wonderful memories but I like being a grown-up now.

16. How many people were in your graduating class? I think around 700-750.

17. What do you remember most about graduation? I felt weird. I actually only went to DHS my sophomore and junior year because I went to Weber State University for early college my senior year. So I showed up for graduation after not seeing everyone and being a part of the "high school experience" for a year. So I don't remember any hilarious moments.

18. Were you in any clubs? Maybe this is where dancers fit in. I wouldn't consider Dance Company a club but the school probably did.

19. Have you gained some weight since then? Seriously? Did you really just ask that? I bet you want to know how much money I make now too, huh? I thought it wasn't polite to ask people how much they weigh. Obviously, I have issues and yes I have gained weight. I danced at least 4-6 hours a day between Dance Company and my other teams, so when you stop exercising like that, it is bound to happen.

20. Did you have a job while in high school? Oh, don't remind me. Yes, I worked at Taco Maker.

21. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? Probably not. Refer back to question 17. I don't think anyone would remember me. Plus, most of my friend's were in the grade ahead of me.

Rise and Shout

I am beginning to think that I am a bad luck charm for BYU. The game was a nail biter. We were literally tied the entire game. It was so close up until the very ending when we were finally able to stop UNLV's offense. But it was still so much fun to actually be there and not feel ridiculous cheering and singing the fight song in my parent's family room.

I Voted

Did you?
Took advantage of early voting.
Wanted to avoid long lines.
Glad to be an American.
Can't wait to find out the results.

In other news, my last post was my 100th. So this is 101. I should have had a cake made congratulating me for my 100 posts. They do that for TV shows. So why not for blogs? Realizing I have now written over 100 posts makes me reflective. What I have written about? Has it contributed to society? What could I possibly have come up with for over 100 posts? Why do I blog? Some days I really reconsider this whole blogging thing. What's next?

Lessons Learned

I can’t believe that I am publicly going to admit my stupidity but I figured we could all use a good laugh at my expense. Last year was my very first fall season in Logan and my co-workers informed me of a Logan must see, The Pumpkin Walk. In an effort to take advantage of what Logan has to offer while we are here, I told Neil we HAD to go. Well, every time we planned to go something came up, so we didn’t make it. Well, good thing we are here for another fall season, so once again I insisted that this time we HAD to go. I am not one to do something on the spur of the moment, so I meticulously planned our schedule of when would be the best time to go. Which happened to be last night. We had something come up that kept us in North Logan all afternoon and since that is where The Pumpkin Walk is, we decided that would be the best time to go. Along with my meticulous planning I even looked it up on the internet to get the exact address. I perused the website and even read the warning that it gets crowded and if you come after 6:00 you will need to take a shuttle to the park. Well, we got there just before 6:00 and had no problem with parking. In fact, there weren’t any crowds. So we figured we hit the jackpot. Well, as we start walking around we noticed that people were still setting up. I was confused. I thought it was an all day thing. I also began to notice that we were the only ones walking around. Then, I became irritated because half of the displays weren’t even finished. We even were asked to help hold up some pumpkins while someone finished dressing her scarecrow or something. We were like, “You should have been done hours ago.” So we left not all that impressed. I decided that maybe it was just an evening thing and we came too early. But I was still confused because the website seemed to indicate they were open before 6:00 PM. It turns out we were an entire day early. I thought The Pumpkin Walk went through the month of October. It turns out it is just a limited time thing. I feel a little stupid now that while checking their website I didn’t notice the dates but at least we beat the crowds!

The Solution to Exercise

As I grudgingly finished my exercise routine last night, I thought it would be so much easier if exercise resulted in immediate results. I think that America would not have such a problem with obesity if the result of exercise were immediate. I struggle with exercise because I don’t have a lot of time to exercise let alone the desire and energy. But if after only one or two days of exercise I actually lost some weight or if my stomach became flatter than I would be much more motivated to exercise. I also have this problem that when I get depressed about something the solution is to eat ice cream. So it is just not working to exercise daily but then get depressed by the lack of results thus resulting in the need for ice cream. Therefore, I am considering saving up for liposuction and a tummy tuck. Those results are immediate. I’m all for taking the easy way out.

Feeding the Addiction

I have probably made it very clear that I like BYU football. Some might even say it is bordering addiction. I recently told some friends that I would seek help but after the football season of course! I have not had the privilege of attending a game this season which has caused some major football blues. So to help me out and feed my addiction, my Dad was able to secure 4 tickets to the BYU vs. UNLV game this Saturday. I've already done my research on the other team, they have lost more games then they have won this season. They have not beat us in years (and yes, I include myself as part of the team). I am still recovering from last Thursday's loss but I am hoping that this Saturday will make me feel better. I am so excited to go. It will be a perfect fall football game.

First Stages of Bargaining

I am highly superstitious. Well, I do things “just in case.” So I am trying to figure out happened to my football team. I start blogging about how awesome they are and some harmless taunting with the director at work and I find myself wondering, what happened? Was I too overconfident? Perhaps. When I came in this morning the director asked me how I was. I answered, “Good, so far.” He looks at me puzzled and says, “Even after last night?” Then, the horror that I had tried to block out came rushing back. Then, I remembered that in fact I was not good. I am depressed about Cougar football. I didn’t get to watch the game but I heard the final score. Then, I read the news reports about the game which had titles such as “Worst loss since 2005” and “Winning streak over at 16.” I should have called in sick. How can I come to work and face the Utah fan director of mine just after I left him some BYU memorabilia in his box telling him I would only take it back if BYU lost to Utah (with a side note stating that was very unlikely). I don’t want to give up hope yet but it’s not looking good.

Primary Day 1

Neil and I spent a couple of hours over the weekend preparing an awesome lesson on reverence for our primary class. We probably put way more time into it then most people would think necessary but I wanted it to be perfect. I even enjoyed coloring pictures for a lesson activity and Neil got to find items for a game. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to teach our lesson because we didn’t have any kids to teach! I was so nervous to teach but I put so much time and effort into the lesson that I at least wanted to give it. We ended up “helping” the sunbeam teacher. We didn’t really even need to do much, so we just got a lesson on reverence aimed at 4 year olds. However, the sunbeams did not disappoint me. I knew they would give me some good material. Here are a couple comments they made:

Context: The teacher was showing pictures of various bugs doing different activities. The children were asked to say which ones were reverent and which ones were not.
Little Girl: My Dad ate grasshoppers when he was in Thailand.

Context: The children were peering in the hallway waiting for their parents to pick them up.
Little Boy waves and says hi to another little girl who passed the classroom.
Little Boy: I was just saying hi to Eva. I am going to marry her when I am a Daddy.

Meet Kirby

Neil and I are harboring a criminal while my parents are enjoying a cruise. Kirby is my Mom's African Grey Parrot. African Grey Parrot's are considered the most intelligent species of bird and I would say of any animal. Kirby talks and asks for the things he wants. For example, he asks to come out of his cage, he asks to be petted and asks for spaghetti (his favorite food). He even sings and makes up songs. The cutest thing he has done so far is that he keeps calling for Gizmo (my dog but my parents have custody). I guess he misses him. Neil has decided to teach Kirby to say "That's what she said" (from The Office), so my parents will have a pleasant surprise when they get him back. So far he hasn't had much luck. I just hope I don't kill him.

Drum Roll Please

I was very pleased with your contributions and humoring me in the speculating process. It turns out that Alyssa guessed right. And Megan and Adrienne, I know it would have made for good blog material to be called to the same thing for the third time but I am sure glad you were WRONG!

In order to keep the drama to a minimum, Neil and I have been called as “Primary Workers.” We will be teaching the CTR 6 class. I just have to say, that I am so relieved. I am even excited but very nervous at the same time. I seriously had the thought, what if they don’t like me? What can I talk to a 6 year old about? I even asked Neil if 6 year olds still color. This sure is going to be an eye opening experience.

I am the youngest in my family. So my experience with kids was kept to a minimum. I have a dozen nieces and nephews and they are great but I don’t see them on a regular basis. I am keeping the hope that Leonora is right, that I will like my own (my mom assures me of that too). I do plan on having kids, someday. Because I am an extensive planner, I made sure to study child and adolescent psychology in college. I figured since I planned on being a mother that would be the best way to go. But now that I am facing the reality that I will be teaching six six-year olds each Sunday, it just might be useless. I could tell you all about how they are supposed to develop and think. I could name countless study after another about children and teens and how they should react in various situations. I could go into great detail about how neural patterns are developed in children and how to stimulate neural growth but will that do me any good? Probably not. I even studied attention spans. I can at most get 15 minutes (if I’m lucky) of their attention. How is that going to work when 40-45 minutes is set aside for “lesson” time?

Keeping things on the bright side, I am almost positive that those kids will provide a lot of excellent blogging material along with my fear of those kids.

To Speculate or not to Speculate

Earlier this morning I got the call. I’ve been waiting for it and had almost given up. Two weeks ago our ward was split for the second time in 16 months. I guess that is what happens when you live in a new development area. Even changing wards twice we still have managed to be called as the “food storage specialists” twice. I have to admit it has been a great calling for us because we have diligently been working on our food storage. But after the last few months of canning the entire ward’s orders ourselves because no one thinks it might be polite and responsible to help out, we’ve been wanting a change. So with the announcement of the ward change, I have anxiously been waiting for the call. We are meeting with our new Bishop tonight at 6:50 pm. I immediately called Neil and left him a message and hoped he would call me back so we could speculate. I love speculating. But, I was once again reminded that men think much differently than women. Neil got my message, put it in a box in his brain, and went on thinking about engineering stuff, with no desire to speculate about what the outcome of our meeting would be. So when he FINALLY called me back hours later, I had to check and make sure he got my message. Because if I got that kind of message, I would have at least called to talk about it but oh yeah I am working with a man here. After receiving the confirmation that he indeed did get my message, I asked him what he thought. But before he had a chance to speculate, I had to give him MY ideas because I’ve had hours to think about it. In which his response was, “We’ll see tonight, won’t we?” Then he wanted to talk about engineering stuff. But I wasn’t done! I wanted to know what he thought. Because I am a woman and can’t let things go, I ambushed him 30 minutes later, demanding why he wouldn’t speculate and his response, “I don’t like to speculate, I would just rather wait and see. I am either going to be right or wrong, so speculating is just a waste of time.” Well, I KNOW that..... but speculating is fun. Speculating lets me go through all the possibilities so I will be prepared for the outcome.

Since I can’t get anywhere with my man, I thought I would speculate here and maybe you can speculate with me. But you will have to be fast as my fate will be decided in nearly 4 hours. I am 85% sure it will be nursery. I don’t know how we have avoided it thus far. It is inevitable. I was just hoping since we weren’t contributing to the bunch we could fly under the radar. Plus, I am terrible with kids. I am embarrassed to admit it because I am suppose to ogle over babies and such but I couldn’t care less. Seriously, I was that girl who when my mother-in-law tried making me hold a baby once, I actually refused. I wanted nothing to do with it. Maybe she thought it would be inspire me or something. In any case, unless I can talk intelligently with an individual and as my brother says “they can go the bathroom by themselves” then there is a problem. Neil on the other hand loves nursery. He is great with kids and knows how to talk to them. Our three year old neighbor girl has a huge crush on him because of his charm with kids.

Anyway, if it is not nursery, then we will probably continue our sentence as “food storage specialists.” Honestly, I would love a calling in the Relief Society. I would be good at that. But that is why it is probably nursery. Somebody needs to babysit all 60 kids on Sunday.

Did I say that out loud?

I've learned my lesson. Never publish your football score bet on the internet. Never. Even if you want to, just don't do it. I think that is why the Cougars fell apart. It has become a long standing tradition that my Dad and I both predict the score and put imaginary money on it. When I got extremely in debt with my imaginary money, we stopped betting imaginary money. But we still like to predict the score. I thought it would look cool when I posted my bet and I actually would be right and then everyone would think I was amazing. Here is how the predictions went last night:

Me: 65-0
Dad: 44-13
Neil: 42-0
Mom: 56-3

As you can see my Dad won (the final score was 34-14). Lame (which is my new word, just so you know). I also think our extreme confidence in the Cougars led to the infamous downfall. During the first quarter we just laughed because BYU only possessed the ball for like 3 minutes and 14 seconds but had already scored twice. Pretty pathetic for the Aggies, right? Well, 12 penalties later (a loss of 128 yards), a sacked quarterback (first time this season), and a missed field goal and well, the score speaks for itself. I will give credit to the Aggies, they played hard. They must feel great that they were able to score against BYU's defense when UCLA and Wyoming could not. They must feel even better that they were able to take down Max Hall for the first time this season. But in my defense and to make myself feel better, the score would have been much different if BYU had been on their "A" game.

I've learned my lesson though. It will just be less dramatic when I report that I won the bet after the fact. Lame.

GO Cougars

So I know this is totally unoriginal but today is GAME DAY and it just feels more exciting because the Cougars are in town. Plus, I took a chance and wore my BYU shirt to work. I am putting my bet in for 65-0.

Throwing Caution to the Wind

Because Neil has to write 20 papers this semester, I have become his official proofreader. As I have been proofreading paper after paper, I have become happier and happier that I am done with school. I no longer have to take tests. I no longer have to write papers and I especially love that anything I write does not have to be submitted for a grade. I am thrilled that I no longer have to follow MLA or APA guidelines each time I write. I also can start my sentences with “And” and “Because” and I can be very generous with my commas (I love commas!). Honestly, the rules about writing change every few years, so I don’t even know what is correct or incorrect these days. Once upon a time you were not allowed to use “I” in a paper and it was the ultimate taboo to start a sentence with “And.” And I don’t know why. I think it is so cool. But I have also realized that sometimes it was nice to write a paper and be validated by having it returned with a big red A+. I even further realized that because I have thrown every writing rule out the window with this blog in order to contribute some humor to the world, some might find my writing down right atrocious. So I offer my deepest, sincerest apologies to those who find my blog appalling. To those who don’t, I sure wish I could get that big red A+.

Therefore, my point is that I have no point and I just needed to take a break from thinking about Neil’s papers.