10 Things About a Guy That Turn Me Off

This was our prompt for TGT tonight. Here's what I came up with:

1. Only opening my door on the first date and thinking he can get away with not opening it again after that.
2. Not listening when I'm talking (I can tell by the dumb questions he asks later).
3. Not adding to the conversation - We'll be sitting in dull silence if I'm not doing the talking.
4. A mustache.
5. Ending a phone conversation without saying "good-bye" or some other form of conversation ender.
6. B.O.
7. Too much attention early on in the relationship.
8. An annoying lip-smacking tick.
9. Not wanting to make decisions about the date (restaurant, activity, etc.)
10. Too feminine. (Enough said)

We had some new girls (I don't know why I call them girls; everyone's married but me) come tonight, and it was fun to have some new blood in the group. I hope Alisha and Jenny come again, and maybe some more new people. Does anyone who reads my blog live in this area and want to join Two Good Things? It's only for women who are interested in getting together to write, listen, talk, laugh, and eat dessert.

HELP!!!

I've realized that my life has become a little wrapped around the blogs I read. You wouldn't think so, with how infrequently I post on my blog, but that's because all of the time that I spend in the blogging world is spent reading and not writing! And when I do post, it's usually a tag, or posting my writing from Two Good Things. Things have GOT to change!

I want to consider this blog as my journal that I don't mind people reading...and pretty much my only journal right now. I haven't written in my journal since August. So that means that I need to start including my feelings and thoughts about events in my life, or I'm really going to start feeling like this blog is pointless.

So, first on the menu: cutting down on the blogs I read. That's the only answer. And I'm afraid that it's going to have to come from those blogs that I blog stalk first, which are kind of my "candy" blogs. I really like reading Seriously, So Blessed, and It's Complicated, but if I have to give up one of them it's going to be It's Complicated. It's an interesting blog about a divorcee's return to single life, but she's a complete stranger, and it's not as interesting as Seriously, So Blessed. I can easily give up The Sartorialist, but that's one that takes very little time to read (It's mostly just artsy photographs). I have decided that I won't give up Three Beautiful Things because it also takes very little time to read, and it brightens my day. And the rest of the random blogs I follow post so infrequently that it doesn't seem worth it to unsubscribe from them to save time.

So, then it comes down to choosing between my friends' and families' blogs. You guys are so good! You post things all the time, and they're interesting things! I don't want to have to cut anyone out! (And when I say "cut someone out" I mean unsubscribing to their blog on Google Reader. I'll still have the links to all the blogs on my blog so that I can visit whenever I want. And I could even resubscribe once this semester is over, probably. I'm just too busy right now!) What this all basically comes down to is this: I might not be reading your blog. And even if I am reading your blog, I probably will not be doing much commenting or responding to tags. You may think this is lame, but I have to do a revamp of my blog to survive (Hence the new look!).

Hmmmm...Yeah, it feels good to have decided that.

Photo Tag

I got this tag from Jo's blog. Someone had already tagged me for this one, but I forgot to do it, and then forgot who it was! :)

I am to go to my photos folder. Go to the fourth folder and the fourth photo and post the photo on my blog. Well, the 4th photo in the 4th folder was of the soda bath, which I've already posted on here, so I thought I'd go to the 5th photo in the 5th folder. And here it is:


This is a picture of some of my hiking-mates when I hike the Subway in Zion's this summer... a most excellent trip!

I tag anyone who feels like doing this one.

Tagged by my cousin Kristen

Who: I tag Christen, Ginger, and Emily.

Subject: Wonderful Qualities. List every member who lives in your home. Include 5 wonderful qualities each member holds.

The Catch: You must include yourself.

Why: It's easy to just go about each day and forget to be grateful.

I decided to include my roommate Lorie, myself, and the two guys that spend a lot of time at our apartment: Alec and Jonny.

Lorie

1. A home-maker. Lorie makes everyone who comes into our apartment feel comfortable and at home.
2. Good sister. Lorie's younger sister is in her first year at BYU, and Lorie is always talking to Lisa and hanging out with her, and I'm sure this makes it a much easier transition to college life than it would be otherwise.
3. Wonderful cook. Lorie not only cooks great meals, but she shares them with me sometimes! Yum!
4. Generous teacher. Lorie spends a lot of time on her job, making sure that her little 3rd graders have a great experience. What a great teacher!
5. Clean. Our apartment is clean most of the time, and I think that most of the messes are usually mine. So Lorie does a good job of keeping things orderly and looking beautiful.

Alec

1. Hard working. He is always working on homework, and is dedicated to doing well.
2. Kind. He always has kind words for Lorie and the things she's doing.
3. Service-oriented. Alec was Lorie's and my home teacher when we first met him at Alta a year ago. He cared about our needs, and always did what he could to help us out.
4. Friendly. I've never seen Alec unhappy with anyone.
5. Handy. Alec is always ready to do anything that we might need done to fix up the apartment.

Merry

1. Cheerful. I usually look on the bright side of things, and try to recognize the positive things that outweigh the bad things that I experience.
2. Changeable. I like trying new things, and I will add them to my routine if I like them enough.
3. I'm getting better at being organized. I know my limits (as far as mental organizational skills go), so now I use a planner and the reminders on my phone to make myself a much more responsible person than I used to be.
4. Musical. I love to sing. And I love to listen to all kinds of good music. It's just fun.
5. Dedicated. I like to stick to my task. Once I have committed myself to something, it's hard to persuade me to let it go.

Jonny

1. Cute. I think Jonny's one of the most attractive men of my acquaintance.
2. Playful. He likes to do fun things and will never think an activity is too silly.
3. Caring. I can see this when he talks about the residents at his work, the Provo Care Center. He deals with mentally handicapped residents every day, and he really does care about them. And I saw this tonight, also, when he didn't win Skip-Bo on purpose so that I could catch up from way behind, which really isn't his preferred technique because he is...
4. Competitive. Jonny likes to compete, but also just to play competitive games. He doesn't always have to win, but he likes the game.
5. Comfortable. Jonny makes anyone feel instantly comfortable around him. He is a people person that can get along great with all kinds of people.

You're it!

No Two Good Things this week. It was canceled. But I do have this tag from an email my dad sent. You share your list of recent woes, joys, adventures, challenges, accomplishments, and failures, in no particular order.

Joy: I am in a wonderful relationship right now! I'm dating this guy named Jonny. We've been dating a little over a month now, and we've had a lot of fun together. He's from Spokane, WA. We met in our ward. We spend time together everyday, and it's the highlight of my day.

Woe: I don't have enough time! I should say, I sometimes feel a little overwhelmed with how many things I have to do with my time. I have classes, and work, and volunteering, and Jonny! But I've talked to Mom quite a bit about this, and I'm starting to feel like there are some things that I can do to make my time more productive. I've also started asking Jonny to do homework with me so that we can spend time together AND get things done! So things are working out.

Failure: I still have a sense of failure when I don't get everything done that I want to. I am trying to tell myself that some things just need to be cut out and that it's okay, but I have been and probably still am a perfectionist (you told me so, Dad) and some of those tendencies are hard to give up. I want to do well in school my last semester!

Accomplishment: I am graduating in December. Besides having served a mission for a year and a half, I'd have to say that this is the biggest accomplishment of my life so far. I am so looking forward to it. I know that it will represent years of my life, not only working hard at school and grades, but also the fun and growing experiences I've had here at BYU. What a thing to look back on with satisfaction!

Adventure: I found a job for after I graduate!! Yes, I'm going to have a real job! So, the funny thing is that it's really at the office that I work in now, but I'm going to be paid more, and I'm going to be working on more language related projects which I haven't been working on. So this experience will actually be helpful on my resume, rather than just being a nice paying secretary job, like it has been. I am adventuring into adulthood!!!

Challenge: Because I have decided to stay in Provo, I'm now looking for housing for January. I actually need a place to live starting at the end of November because my roommate is getting married, and for some reason she and her then husband won't want me living here with them! Curious... So I'm looking for a place to stay, preferably not too expensive. I have a couple of leads of places I can stay in the same area I'm living now so that I can still attend the same congregation. Hopefully that works out.

I am tagging Xan, Emily and Benjamin, and Alisha.

Two Good Things - Part VI

I'm a little late putting up my Two Good Things post this week. Our prompt was to choose three songs that have influenced our lives and write about them.


-Each Life that Touches Ours for Good
-On an Island in the Sun
-When They Really Get to Know You, They Will Run

I like "Each Life that Touches Ours for Good" because of all of the good people who have touched me for good. Especially by my parents and my best friends from high school, I have been blessed with great influences that have guided me to who I am today.

And who I am today is someone who really enjoys the good things in life, including the gospel of Jesus Christ, school, family, good food, and sunny afternoons. All of these things can be summed up in my optimistic attitude. And a song that exemplifies this attitude is "On an Island in the Sun." I love this song! It brings me so much happiness to sing along because of the memories of so many good times I've had singing that song with friends, my cousin Geneil, and knowing that life was good.

Another song that i just discovered that has to do with being who I am is a song about being who you are, "When They Really Get to Know You, They Will Run." It's about not putting on a show for peopole when you realy want them to like you, and I like it when people show me that I can just be me aound them. That makes me feel valuable and worthwhile.


Okay, so this session might have produced writing that's a little cheesy. What of it!?

Feel like playing along? You can only type ONE Word!

1. Where is your cell phone? floor

2. Where is your significant other? school

3. Your hair? brown

4. Your mother? giving

5. Your father? happy

6. Your favorite thing? Jonny

7. Your dream last night? funny

8. Your dream/goal? teach

9. The room you're in? living

10. Your hobby? sudoku

11. Your fear? failure

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? anywhere

13. Where were you last night? home

14. What you're not? finished

15. Your favorite muffin? poppy

16. One of your wish list items? books

17. Where you grew up? Flagstaff

18. The last thing you did? awake

19. What are you wearing? pajamas

20. Your TV? off

21. Your pet? none

22. Your computer? slow

23. Your life? busy

24. Your mood? content

25. Missing someone? Erin

26. Brand of your car? Porsche (I wish!)

27. Something you're not wearing? contacts

28. Favorite store? Target

29. Your summer? camping

30. Your favorite color? blue

32. When is the last time you laughed? kissing

33. Last time you cried? movie

34. Who you tag? everyone

Two Good Things - Part V - Presidential Blurb for Grasshoppers

Our prompt tonight was to write a two minute speech (as if we were a presidential candidate) about our favorite cookie and why it was the best. These were hilarious, and we were talking politics all night!


Well, I would have to say that Grasshoppers are the best cookies out there. They are the perfect blend of mint and chocolate, and besides that, they have a crispy crunch that satisfies. I firmly believe that eating Grasshopper cookies makes you a better person!

Now, some people might try to dissuade you from eating Grasshoppers. They might say that Grasshoppers are too sweet to eat. I say no! No, they are not too sweet! No, they are not too fattening! We should all strive together for a country where a cookie will be judged, not by the content of its ingredient list, but by the rich flavors of chocolate and mint. A country where all will be free at last...to eat Grasshoppers.


On a side note, the breezy weather was absolutely gorgeous tonight. Jonny and I went on a nice walk, and it was cool enough to feel very comfortable in a sweatshirt. The fall is coming!

October Poem

Vagabond Song

There is something in the autumn that is native to my blood--
Touch of manner, hint of mood;
And my heart is like a rhyme,
With the yellow and the purple and the crimson keeping time.

The scarlet of the maples can shake me like a cry
Of bugles going by.
And my lonely spirit thrills
To see the frosty asters like a smoke upon the hills.

There is something in October sets the gypsy blood astir.
We must rise and follow her,
When from every hill of flame
She calls and calls each vagabond by name.

by Bliss Carmen

I love this poem. It is a beautiful way to welcome in the month of October, and all of the very autumn things in it. Enjoy!