i'll never let go, jack.

What's that you ask? What have I got going on this weekend? Oh, not much. I'll just be hanging out in my hammock. In Jamaica .... and the Bahamas ... and Grand Cayman. That's right, kids - it's my very first Caribbean cruise and needless to say I'm quite excited about it. I'm finally going to be warm again! I'll be sure to think of everyone while I'm dominating in shuffleboard, licking ice sculptures, and not falling overboard. Cheers!

(Sorry. Had to rub it in.)

i am ....

Miserlymonster Fussybottom.
That's my Grinch name.
Pretty, right?

http://www.yourgeekfriend.com/GrinchName/GrinchName.php?

hark! (the herald angels sing).

Ah, Christmas. What a fantastic holiday. Considering all of the twinkly lights to be seen, it's certainly my favorite. Personally, I enjoy listening to Christmas music year round, although others quite obviously don't agree. But since it's now socially acceptable to listen, here's my ever changing holiday play list (in no particular order, of course):

• Barenaked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
• Mariah Carey - All I Want for Christmas is YOU
• Sarah McLachlan - Song for a Winter's Night (Listen to this right before you go to bed. Works wonders.)
• Something Corporate - Forget December
• Josh Groban - O Holy Night
• Sufjan Stevens - O Come O Come Emmanuel (Let's just put a golden star by this one because it's fantastic.)
• Sarah McLachlan - Wintersong & River
• Dean Martin - Baby, It's Cold Outside (Or the Elf version. I'm not picky.)
• Destiny's Child - Carol of the Bells/Opera of the Bells (Don't be scared off by how weird it sounds. It'll grow on you .... maybe.)
• Martina McBride - O Holy Night & What Child is This?
• Colbie Caillat - Mistletoe
• 101 Strings Orchestra - Still, Still, Still (Pretty much consider this entry as "any Christmas song performed by an orchestra.")
• Burl Ives - A Holly Jolly Christmas
• Rob Thomas - A New York Christmas (For you matchbox twenty haters, c'mon. Give him a chance...)
• Jimmy Eat World - Last Christmas
• Brenda Lee - Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree (Is this one on Home Alone? For some reason whenever I hear this song I think of cardboard cutouts being danced in front of a window. I could be wrong.)
• Mannheim Steamroller - Carol of the Bells & Greensleeves
• Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song
• Elmo & Patsy - Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer (purely for nostalgic reasons)
• Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters - Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas)

Oh and one thing I can assure you I will NOT be listening to:

Sorry, Toby. Now wipe that cheesy grin off your face, uncross your legs, and stop making music.

Well, there you have it. Cause I know you were all going crazy wondering what I've been listening to. Thanks for humoring me :)

my list.

See ya later, November. It was good while it lasted. Okay to be honest, it was a really great month. It's obviously the perfect time to reflect upon those things that we're thankful for. Here is my unfinished list of both large and small things:

• Of course, my family. I feel as if this one is kind of a given. They all know me and still like me :)
• Living in Salt Lake. I honestly love it and feel as if this is right where I'm supposed to be at this point in my life. Which is a very comforting thought.
• Google. Nerdy? Sure. But given the number of times throughout the day that I visit the site, I can't deny it - I'm addicted. It knows everything. Except the future. But I'm sure they're working on it.
• The nun that I usually see walking every morning on South Temple. Haven't seen her lately; maybe she bought a car. Can nuns drive cars? I think Whoopi did in Sister Act, but I'm not certain that is the best thing to reference. Maybe I'll ask Google later.
• The Hog aka my car. She's a good car. AND she's red which is definitely a plus. At some point in her life she is also going to have the capability of starting herself and warming up while I watch from the comfort of my house. All in good time, Hog. All in good time.
• The discovery of Flight of the Conchords. Props to iMatt.
• The horrible Martha Stewart. I certainly don't care for her, but I love nearly everything her designers put out there.
• Song lyrics worth reading. And those who write them.
• Email. I seriously love getting emails. Really helps my work day go by a little quicker.
• Sleeping in.
• Good books. Good music. Good movies.
• York Peppermint Patties.
• Stretching after working out. Makes it all worth it.
• My newest magazine addiction: Real Simple.
• My job. I'm sure you've all heard me vent here and there, but in the end I'm very thankful to work where I do. Our office is full of very unselfish, hardworking people who just want to make a difference. How lucky am I to be there with them? Very.
• Hot showers.
• The Grammar Girl podcast.
• The feeling of accomplishment that passes over me when I accept water instead of soda.
• Tulips. Especially red, orange, and yellow ones.
• Twinkle lights. Well, basically anything that twinkles and/or sparkles that isn't kitschy.
• The older couple that I saw yesterday. They were holding hands. Still. After all these years. I'm taking notes.
• The smell of lilacs.
• Day old banana bread. Without nuts, of course.
• Jiffy Lube. For the first time in my life I paid someone to change my oil. And guess what? They also topped off my washer fluid. What a pleasant surprise.
• Mustard. The only condiment that can bring a smile to my face anytime, anywhere.
• My wonderful friends who are so patient and understanding and sarcastic and just all around great people.
• The man on South Temple who rides his unicycle to work. While wearing a bow tie. I suppose if you're riding a unicycle to work it only makes sense to wear the bow tie, if only for theatrical purposes.
• Fonts
• Peppermint chap stick. $1 at Big Lots.
• The smell of clean laundry.
• Colors. This one may sound cheesy, but I really do. We're surrounded by gorgeous colors - it's a shame we don't always notice them.
• Pineapple. Fresh. Grilled. Mmm.
• A roommate who can't stand wrinkles and therefore irons all of my unacceptably wrinkled clothing.
• Holidays. And holiday traditions.
• The validated feeling I get when the credit card machine at the store tells me I'm approved. Thanks.
• The four huge windows at work that I get to look out of everyday. They provide a great view of the mountains.
• Art. Especially Vermeer. Oh and the sculptor Bernini.

To be continued...

presenting....

Shanna. The girl who introduced me to Mansfield Park. The miracle worker who is slowly selling me on choral music. And guess what? She recently had a birthday.

We decided that a girls' dinner was in order and Shanna chose The Red Iguana. The only downside of the night was that our dear Vanessa couldn't make it due to an irritatingly boring sick streak. She was certainly missed.

Pictures are below. Isn't the green wall bright and fantastic? There were also yellow walls, red walls, purple walls, etc. Quite the colorful little setup they've got. Maybe it's all psychological and brighter colors make you eat more? If so, mission accomplished. I practically had to roll myself outta there.

Anyway. Back on topic. Good company + good food = great night. Thanks for having a birthday, Shann. We love you!

watch out, kids.

PG. That's what I get. In the same league as most cartoons. The reasons are as follows: the use of the word whore two times and the word dead five times. Thing is, I'm not sure they understand that dead is simply in reference to a plant. Oops, sorry - my cactus succulent which, by the way, is really shootin' up there. Show you later. Anyway - it is certainly not referring to blood, slaughter, guns, guts, gore, trolops, murder, and/or anything else equally disconcerting. Think I've upped myself to PG-13 yet?
P.S. Happy Wednesday that is doubling as a Friday. I wholeheartedly support three day work weeks. If anyone comes across something that will help make the day go by faster, let me know. I have a feeling it might be a long one.

those sneaky ninjas...

This was a much needed bright spot in my day. I'm almost ashamed to admit how long I laughed at it. Oh those sneaky ninjas...


Ninja Parade Slips Through Town Unnoticed Once Again

ode to ash.

Anyone sick of odes? Cause I'm not. They help remind me why I love all the great people in my life. This ode is to my dear friend Ashley who is celebrating her birthday today. Ash and I met in Logan when we lived in the same apartment building. We didn't really get to know each other until about halfway through the year, but that's all that was necessary for me to know that everyone should have a 'lil bit of Ash in their life. She is one of the most accepting and genuine people I know. It wasn't hard to come up with a few things that I love about her...

• She has enough hoodies to clothe a small army. You think I'm joking...this girl LOVES her hoodies.
• Her Harry Potter accent is dead on.
• You could fit a small child in her purse. This is how I know she and Hilda will get along.
• She's pretty much BFF with Joshua Radin.
• After years of friendship, I still cannot manage to spell her last name correctly.
• The dancing. Every single time her phone rings.
• She thinks that I talk weird and can't resist teasing me about it. Which I secretly think is funny.
• She's gives excellent advice.
• When she forgets someone's name, she just calls them "whore" instead.
• She talks like a pirate on days besides September 19th.
• She has this really fantastic corner shelf that I'm convinced she will give to me someday.
• When she has absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, she's not afraid to tell me. And make me start over. I appreciate your honesty, Ash. I realize I can be quite vague sometimes.
• Even though she's from Idaho, she's not a farmer. In fact, I'm not sure she even likes potatoes.
• She can spot a stinky boy from a mile away.
• A couple of summers ago she worked at Red Robin. And I love anything associated with Red Robin. (Unlimited steak fries - who's with me?)
• She wears so many layers I'm not quite sure how she moves. Think ... Ralphie in A Christmas Story. Okay maybe not to that extent, but close.
• She shares my love of Wentworth and his prison breaking antics.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is a sampling of the many reasons I'm so glad to have Ashley in my life. But the main reason is because she has the incredible ability to make everyone feel as if they are worth something. Which I think is more important than everything else on this list. Like I said - everyone could use a 'lil bit of Ashley in their lives. If you don't, talk to me. I can point you in her direction.

apparently i have a secret.

Two posts in one day. I know - horror of horrors. But I'm doing it anyway.

So a girl I work with studies palm reading. When this was discovered, we jumped at the chance to have her take a look at our palms and tell us wonderful things. Much to my disappointment, my reading was quite short. Despite this, she did have a couple of things to tell. Not sure I am ready to base my life upon what my palms are saying about me. But all in all, it was certainly very interesting. Anyway - here's the rundown:

So it turns out I have two types of hands - who knew? My right hand is an air hand while my left is a water hand. The air hand indicates someone who is very contemplative - whose mind is always going and thinking about things. The water hand signifies someone who is very motivated by feelings and also very adaptable in various situations. Interesting.

My palms also said that ...

• Good communication is very important to me.
• I try to be diplomatic and tactful.
• I enjoy working with my hands.
• I have a secret. Hmmm. I think she may have thrown that in there to add a bit of drama.
• I am a lover of all things beautiful.
• My family is very important to me.
• I have two overlapping lifelines. I can't recall what she said this meant, but I don't remember her saying I was going to die or anything. So I'm not worried.
• I will have one deep love in my life.
• I work hard to see situations from both sides.
• And last but not least - I need more sleep. C'mon now - I could have told you that.

So there you have it. A chiromancy take on the life of Jess. Strange, I don't recall her telling me that I'll die fat, happy, and filthy rich. Maybe she didn't look hard enough.

spooktacular.

Another Halloween come and gone. This year was spent at Hilda's ritzy mansion. That's right - mansion. She's a pretty big deal :) Got some great pictures:

I have to admit, though - I was sad to miss seeing my nieces and nephews all dressed up and excited to go trick-or-treating. But Jennie sent me some great pictures (Kambri will be added asap):

Princess Aubree

Soldier Dude Trace

Soldier Dude Riley

P.S. A great big Happy Birthday to my sweet nephew Trace! The big 7 ... getting so old. Trace, hope your birthday wasn't a "wip off" ;)

help!

Friends, I need your help. My phone had an unfortunate accident during lunch today and is no longer functioning. It still makes sounds and lights up, but the screen is completely white. Pretty, however not very functional for my purposes.

Does anyone have an extra Verizon phone lying around that I could temporarily borrow? I promise to be good to it and not drop it on the sidewalk like I did this one.

I'm going through withdrawals already...

**UPDATE**
Please cancel this urgent cell phone request. The kind fellows at the Verizon store simply replaced my phone with one exactly like it. Gracias, Verizon.

tgif ... part II.

So it's Friday. Happy Friday, everyone. Know what I like with my Fridays? Something to laugh at. These worked for me - hopefully they will do the same for you.

Flight of the Conchords. I've been hearing about them for awhile now, but haven't taken the time to check them out. My friend Matt has a fantastic sense of humor so when he jumped on board, I knew it was time to see for myself. They're a comedic duo from New Zealand and I'm told they now have a show on HBO. Give this video a shot. My favorite part: "You're so beautiful ... you could be a part-time model..."




And of course, something from The Onion News Network.

In The Know: Is The Government Spying On Paranoid Schizophrenics Enough?

Now get back to work, slackers.

exhibit a.

Why I adore Hilda Henriquez - Exhibit A.

We go to the store for something dumb like fingernail polish and one hour later, this is all we have to show for it.

not dead.

As you can imagine, the update requests have just been pouring in and since I live to please, here you go. May I present to you my not dead Cactus Succulent:


By not dead I mean still alive which means three cheers for me - I haven't killed my plant yet! Notice how full she's gotten. I did find her a new white bookshelf to sit on and I have to wonder if that has played a part in her growth.

However, I must admit--I have yet to see this "prickliness" that was advertised. Not a deal breaker, though--I'll still water her sparingly either way. But I do look forward to great things...

what are the chances?

Marme brought this to my attention yesterday. I'll be honest with you -- I feel a bit robbed.

http://www.myspace.com/chineapplepunksonline

ode to marme

I feel that where there's a birthday, there needs to be an ode. And today's ode is a very special one: an ode to Marme. For anyone who is confused, let me bring you up to speed: Marme is my mother. I've called her that ever since I read Little Women. I found it to be a cute little nickname/term of endearment and thought I'd give it a go. It stuck and now seems strange to call her anything but Marme. Anyway--back to the ode. Marme's oh so special day was October 14th and in honor of this, I find it necessarily to inform the world of how great Marme is. Below I've listed some of the highlights. I'll be adding things as I think of them, so who knows how long the list will get....

• We both enjoy watching Friends. Despite the negative reviews it receives in the 4th Ward Relief Society.
• Sully likes both of us equally; although I think she tries to pawn him off onto me anytime I spend the night.
• Despite not being real, she sees Scooter as a part of the family. As he should be.
• She continually humors me anytime I tell her I am going to legally give myself a middle name. I'll never do it; she knows it.
• She hides my medicine in fruit snack boxes. Half eaten Carebear fruit snack boxes.
• She makes fun of me. Which awards me full rights in returning the favor.
• She drives an SUV. Cause cool moms drive SUV's.
• I'm her favorite child. Or at least I like to think so.
• She has a deep love in her heart for conjoined twins.
• One might consider her the queen of text messaging. Believe me - this woman is good.
• She takes "19" pictures for me. She knows the way straight to my heart...
• Even with a full shopping list, she can make it in and out of Walmart in 20 minutes flat. On a Saturday.
• She manages to close her eyes in nearly every picture taken of her. She has pretty much perfected it.
• She made it through my Buffy phase like a real trooper.
• No one does bed head quite like her. It's quite amazing, actually.
• She humors me. More than she probably should.
• She knows more about computers than the average person.
• She enjoys certain dragon jokes just as much as I do. If not a little bit more ;)
• Through continued hand slapping, she has reduced my horrible hair picking habit by 25%. This has also been accomplished through her threats of me going bald.

Basically all I'm saying is that hands down, my Marme is better than your mom. Don't challenge me on this cause you're bound to lose.

Happy Birthday, Marme!

i heart mormons

Thanks to Hilda, I had the opportunity of attending the Sunday morning session of general conference last weekend. In my opinion, this session was the best one to go to. Before conference started, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performed in Music and the Spoken Word, which was fantastic. Those who know me are aware that besides Christmas tunes and a few other select songs, I’m not generally a fan of choral music. However, this seemed different and has caused me to rethink my opinion on the subject. Conference itself was excellent and it was nice to be there in person when President Hinckley spoke. How lucky are we to have such an incredible person leading us?

Saddened to find ourselves camera-less at the Relief Society session, this time we came prepared. Seeing as how we do not possess any qualities commonly seen in the chosen conference Ensign photographs, it was necessary to document the morning ourselves. This is what we concluded—in order to get a photo in the Ensign, you must have one of the following attributes: be foreign or at least foreign looking, gently cradling a baby, appropriately snuggling/holding hands with a member of the opposite sex, a member of five generations of women or men (all present of course), pondering the scriptures whilst writing in your journal, etc. The list goes on and on. Yet, even with this knowledge, Kathleen and I have thus far been unsuccessful in making the conference issue. Maybe someday. Until then, these’ll have to do.

one night.

Our friend Jim had a wonderful idea that I’d like to participate in and as well as pass along. Here is the email he sent out to everyone:

Now that softball is coming to a close and depression will soon set in, I've been looking for something to fill the void. And as of late, I’ve been thinking I should do more service.. you know.. that charity thing that makes one feel good inside and more importantly, makes others feel good. I've been thinking of dedicating one night a week to doing something good for someone somewhere. The who, what, where and whys will come from our huge network of friends. Everybody knows someone, somewhere who needs something... so I was thinking that each week we could do something different. Have one day every week set aside. It could change as needed but at least there would be one day a week people could count on to get their feel good on. Ideas could be submitted via email. Winter is setting in and it’s a tough time for the elderly. So most definitely clearing of driveways, walkways, sidewalks etc will be in order. And, I imagine, there will be so many more opportunities out there.

I will be starting this next Thursday the 11th of October and am planning on doing something every week. If there are two of us we are good to go.. but the more the better. So for starters I have set up an email. If you are interested in getting the mass email as to what that weeks service project will be or if you want to submit ideas please return a response to thegoodworks@gmail.com. Also, after the projects, the meeting home can be the place of gathering and mingling. Some herbal tea and crumpets, maybe. So in summary, if you wanna do some feel good good works, return a response to thegoodworks@gmail.com with your name. Or if you have ideas or people you know that need our help also send that info to thegoodworks@gmail.com. Someone said repetition helps one remember something. So again.. thegoodworks@gmail.com will be our cyber place for info. Feel free to pass this on to friends.

I was impressed by his motivation to get this all going for everyone. And let’s be honest – we all need to do a little service every now and again. So why not set aside a night for it?

I’m basically saying this: everyone and anyone feel free to join in! Life gets hectic and we all know it might be difficult to participate every single week, but what a great habit to try and take on. As Jim said, ideas can be sent to thegoodworks@gmail.com and a blog has recently been set up at http://www.ourgoodworks.blogspot.com/. It is also listed in my ‘blogs I ♥’ section so check it out.

ode to k-rad

So we just celebrated a birthday at the House of Blonde. Kathleen turned the big 24 this last week. Hilda and I wanted to give her a very special present that only she would appreciate, so naturally we decided to go with a "dragon" theme. The gift included the following: a cape (to wear while reading her fantasy novels), very wild looking dragon poster, magical sword, 2008 dragon themed calendar (the gift of dragons all year round!), shiny dragon keychain, and cute 'lil stuffed dragon promptly named Twinkles. Oh, and her real present - a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble so she can buy more fantasty novels to read while wearing her cape. Overall, I think she was pleased.


She chose Happy Sumo for dinner, a definite fan favorite in the past. Personally, I'd rather slam my fingers in the door than eat sushi. However, out of necessity, I've discovered some very pleasing chicken options that make me a very happy girl.

Dinner was great - Kathleen opened some more presents, I practiced my use of the chopsticks, Hilda collected rice all over her shirt, and everyone really enjoyed their food. A good time was had by all. Needless to say, we called the night complete after a quiet cuddle with our superstar, Karl.

To be quite honest, I'm not sure how we ended up cuddling with Karl. At that point in the night, pretty well everything was funny, so please go ahead and humor us. Point of my entire post is this:

Many thanks for tuning in. Have yourself a great day.

yes, I do love raymond. just like everyone else.

Am I going crazy? Is it a Monday? It feels like a crazy Monday. Not a Wednesday.

I realize it's only noon, but I'm tempted to just call it a day; which I would do in a heartbeat if we did not have board meeting tonight. And the only thing keeping me interested in that is I get to sit next to Elder Bateman from the Quorum of the Seventy. I'm anxious to see what ideas he has for our agency. But even so, I can still think of nothing better than a nice soft blanket and a late afternoon nap. And a little bit of Everybody Loves Raymond. Please cross your fingers that I make it there unscathed.

Thanks for listening, friends.

i guess i'm a witness?

So a couple of nights ago, some of us decided to go to a movie. We met at the theater on 33rd South and State and chose to see Hairspray, which I thought was pretty cute. The John Travolta as a woman thing kind of weirded me out, but started to feel normal by the end. Anyway. Movie gets out and we start walking to our car, walk around the corner, and what do we see in the parking lot but this:


Some random car completely engulfed in flames - airbags popping, things melting, etc. The fire department hadn't shown up yet and everyone was just standing there staring at it which seemed quite eerie if you ask me. No one was inside, no one was standing around screaming "my car, my car!" Just everyone silently staring at it. Ricky jokingly said that he thought it was a promotion. On fire. In the middle of a parking lot. By lots and lots of others cars. Right :) Anyway, the fire department and police then showed up and proceeded to quickly put out the fire.





After that, the flames were out and the show was over so we then took off. Although, I must say we were a little bit sheepish about starting the car. Who knows what is going to blow up and what isn't. We still have no idea what happened. If anyone heard anything, you should let me know cause I'm dying to find out. But until then, it sure made for some cool pictures. And I have to admit, I feel the world just might be a better place with one less Dodge Neon in it.

tonight!

I just felt the need to post a little something to get all you Prison Break fans excited for the premiere tonight. Here's to another season of suspicious glances, unrealistic plot lines, and Linc's chest revealing button down shirts. But most of all, here's to having a regular Monday night date with my Wentworth again. It's been a long summer.

introducing...

I'd like to take this time during my too-short break from work to introduce my latest endeavor. Everyone please give a warm welcome to my new plant!

Ikea calls her Cactus/Succulent and I can't resist a name like that. She is to avoid direct sunlight and only needs to be watered sparingly; pretty low maintenance and therefore my kind of plant. Her label warns she will become prickly, which increases my desire to keep her alive. I have no doubt it'll be wild.

Until then, she sits at my work on the tiny bookshelf behind my chair. Stay posted for further updates. I know -- exciting, right? Right :)

a 'lil ink. or henna.

My most recent California trip was filled with a whole grundle of exciting things, one of those being my very first henna tattoo. Fantastic design, only stays for about 2 weeks - definitely a good souvenir. When we got home, I was excited about it and decided to order a kit online so I could create my own henna. The kit came, I got busy, and it was set aside. To be honest, I forgot about it.

Cut to a couple weeks ago. I'm cleaning my room and what do I discover? My henna kit. Very exciting, yes? Certainly. So I started the search for an interesting pattern to use, and can I just say that I am even more fascinated than before? The examples I saw were incredible. People create these amazingly intricate designs all over their entire bodies. If you have time, do a Google search and take a look. It's pretty interesting. But anyway--that got me excited and also made me realize I needed to start small. I can only imagine the disaster I would encounter by trying to do an incredibly detailed design my very first time. After more web searching, I decided to just create my own. A sort of simplified compilation of some of the designs I looked at.

Well Ladies and Gents, today's the day. Without further adieu, I'd like to introduce everyone to my very first attempt at a henna tattoo! Right now the color is pretty dark, but after about 6 hours the layer of henna will flake off and an orange color will appear. Give that a day or two and it will turn into a nice shade of golden brown. Needless to say, I'm very excited to see the finished product. And believe it or not, I really enjoyed drawing it. In school I sometimes struggled to make it through my 3 hour drawing classes, but this was a tad more intriguing to me. Probably because I'm not being graded on it. And because essentially it's just a bunch of squiggly lines that a five year old could draw. But that's besides the point :)

Anyway. Just wanted to share my excitement with everyone. Thank you for humoring me. G'day.

TGIF

Today is Friday. And that makes me smile. Here are some other random things that have made me smile today:

• Singing to "The Race is On" by Sawyer Brown as I drove to work. And then having it my mind all morning.
• The crazy-haired man on the pay phone at the 7-11 on 3rd East who told me my shirt was "pretty."
• Email
• This little kid that came into my work with his mom. She was busy getting training information and he was obviously pretty bored. He came wandering over to my desk and told me "Nice place ya got here." Glad to see it impresses someone, cause we all hate it. Ahh, kids.
• My long lunch spent wandering around Target. Love you, Target.
• Hilda Henriquez.
• The really pleasant man who cut me off on I-15 and then proceeded to flip me off as if it were MY doing. Thanks for making my drive a tad more entertaining, sir.
• Listening to my newly downloaded Timbaland song 7 times in a row. And I wonder why I get sick of songs so quickly. But you'd better believe I had a smile on my face the entire time.
• This picture. Although technically it makes me smile every single morning, so I suppose this one isn't so Friday specific. But I can't help but hope that it's a product of Photoshop or this poor girl will be mocked her entire life for her unfortunate resemblance to Chris Farley.

• The UPS man who brings me a flower when he delivers packages to my office. He's older, so it's cute opposed to creepy.
• Stars
  

really?

I finished Twilight yesterday. Sure, cheesy at parts, but I'm not complaining. At the end of the book, the author kindly offers you a sampling of the sequel, New Moon. So basically, I read the first chapter of New Moon, get all jazzed about it, run to my laptop to check availability at the library, and guess what I find? 85 holds on the next returned copy.

EIGHTY-FIVE.

Anyone else feel as if that is a ridiculously large number? Is this some kind of cruel joke? By the time I get my hands on this book, I probably won't even remember much about Twilight. And I only allow myself to buy books I already love, so that option is out. I fear I am, as they say, stuck between a rock and a hard place. It's the pits here.

Point being: anyone know someone who knows someone? C'mon friends. Hook me up.

vamps.

Some of you may know about my strange fascination with the subject of vampires. It all began when Spike fell in love with Buffy. The vast amounts of mystery and angst were too much to resist, and it unexpectedly snowballed from there. Now, clearly I am not so overzealous as to dye my hair dark, wear all black, pierce who knows what, and invest in a ten year supply of black eye/lipliner. I’m blonde, unpierced, and only wear black because of its slimming capabilities. However, I must admit I perk up at the mere mention of the word “vamp.” Which leads me to my next thought.

Shanna has been reading a book called Twilight. I’d heard bits and pieces about it, but never paid too much attention. My “books to read (but rarely have the time to)” list is already hefty enough. However, that all changed when Shanna informed me one of the main characters in Twilight is a vampire; a smooth, well dressed, mysterious, wickedly handsome vampire. Yes, please.

At that point, I had no choice but to patiently wait until she finished. It has since been passed along and I am now about 150 pages in. I can wholeheartedly say it was well worth the wait. Nearly everything that attracts me to my vampires can be found in this book. And then to find out there are sequels. Steal my heart. I can only hope there is a movie or two in the works. I already have several actors in mind.

On a side note, I must say I’ve forgotten how much reading relaxes me. I’ve always been one that enjoys it, but things get crazy and suddenly you realize it’s been weeks or even months since you’ve sat down with a good book. It’s been so relieving to slow down and block everything else out for the time being. And what better way than with my beloved vampires.

Thanks, Shann.

And now for my random question. When I lived in Logan, someone told me I needed to read this certain book about Dracula. The title was one word, and it was a best seller at Barnes and Noble for awhile. I cannot remember the name of this book and countless Google searches have turned up unsuccessful. Help? Anyone?

urgent blog recall.

I just discovered something very troubling. The world's #1 Erasure fan (me) just discovered her favorite song is in fact not sung by Erasure. "Send Me An Angel" is actually the creation of a band named Real Life. My world is turning upside down and I'm now questioning everything.

i like erasure. so sue me.

So I was driving to my parent's house for dinner this last Sunday and had the sudden urge to hear "Send Me An Angel" by Erasure. I couldn't think of a better way to spend the drive than singing along to such a fantastic song. Thankfully, I had it handy right there on my iPod. After a couple good rounds of it, I realized I wanted more. Fast. When I arrived at mom and dad's, I furiously began downloading anything and everything "Erasure." The result is an amazing cd filled with Erasure goodness. I listened to it the entire way home that night.

Naturally, I wanted to share this goodness with my friends. Imagine my horror when Kathleen and I are in my car and she informs me she "doesn't listen to Erasure" and asks to turn it to the radio *gasp* The very next day, my dear Erasure received the same cold shoulder from Hilda. And I call these people my friends? I suppose true colors are now shining through.

Anyway. Point of my post is this: Erasure fans unite. And come for a ride in my car.

all together now: PINK?!?

What is the world coming to? This morning I was listening to the radio and heard this really fantastic song. Seeing as how Google is my best friend, I immediately jumped online and searched for the name of the song and artist. To my dismay, Google informed me that the song was by none other than PINK. Now please keep in mind I've always been a little frightened by Pink. I feel that she wouldn't hesitate to beat a girl like me up for no apparent reason other than the thrill of a good punch. However I'd like to formally announce that as of today I am officially altering my opinion. I no longer feel threatened - in fact this song makes me want to give her a warm hug accompanied by a swift pat pat on the back.

Anyway. Without further adieu, I present to you my new BFF - Pink. http://music.aol.com/video/who-knew/pink/1652242