Ever Since Kindergarten, I've Wanted a Pet Elephant.

This is fantastic.

30 Goals for 30 Days

Right now I am taking a leadership class through the Residence Life program so that I can be an RA next year. I'm probably a nerd, but I absolutely love the class! Yesterday we talked about developing and maintaining healthy lifestyles. We discussed that health is not just physical well-being, but it encompasses emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and social well-being as well. It is a two-hour class, so I'll spare you the details, but I just wanted to share one thing that we did that I think everyone should see.

To end the day's class, the instructor presented to us the idea of a "Daily Decision Log." It is simply a list of daily behaviors that you want to develop or maintain in order to maintain your ideal healthy lifestyle. These things need not be hard or complex, just small simple things that you can do without having to schedule them into your day. You turn them into yes or no questions and put arrange them into a checklist, then you use the checklist for 30 days and see how you improve. I took my own view on it, dividing each item into different categories and coming up with a total of 30 items (which was more than the example he gave us) so I can have 30 goals to work on for 30 days. Here is the list that I came up with.

**Note: I uploaded this as a googledoc, so the formatting is a little screwy. The real version looks better, but it gives you an idea. Let me know if there are any problems with the link.

I'm going to start marking my lists on Monday, March 1. I am excited to start this project and give you all permission to copy this idea and make your own!

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a Pirate's Life for Me!

Tomorrow is two of my roommates' (Christine and Lindsay) birthdays. Of course, the only way to celebrate this event was with a Saturday afternoon pirate party!

The festivities started off with a trip to Smith's for food and then to Dollar Tree for decorations and pirate supplies, including eye patches, collapsible pirate telescopes, and of course, glow in the dark swords.

We began by decorating the apartment with flags, a birthday sign, and a skeleton in the window...

...which only naturally involved dressing up as fierce rogue pirates.

Lindsay and Christine made incredible Monte Cristo sandwiches which are served at the Blue Bayou in Disneyland. They were the most spectacular thing I've ever eaten! But don't forget! It isn't a pirate party without...

...the rum! Or cream soda for us Mormon Pirates.

Eating was followed by a showing of Pirates of the Caribbean, and then a quick game of pin the tail on the donkey (Yes, that is very much a pirate game!).

Do we know how to throw birthday parties or what? Stay tuned for two more coming up shortly! A nerd party to celebrate Brooklin's birthday which is on the 28th, and then a princess party after spring break to celebrate mine!

Stop and Listen

I just like this song tonight.

John Mayer - Stop This Train

FOOD!

Welcome to Friday. Today I FINALLY got to go to the grocery store. I haven't been for about two weeks, and I was very much out of food. No milk, no bread, no graham crackers (yes, those are as important as milk and bread), no nothin'! Before I went to good ol' Smith's, the only thing I had eaten today was a dinky Chewy granola bar. Not very sustaining. I bought a lot more food than usual (including a bakery markdown giant cream cheese single serve brownie... mmmboy!) and made myself a great big sandwich (with MEAT, not peanut butter) as soon as I got home. Do you know what I had along with my sandwich and baby carrots? A great big glass of delicious 1% milk! This is the first time I've had milk all week and boy was I grateful to have it! In fact, I think I'll go pour me a nice big glass right now. After all, I did just eat that whole giant cream cheese "single serve" brownie. Is my stomach going to be mad at me for it? You bet ya. Was it worth it? Ooohh yeah!

Today

Today, I felt stunningly beautiful. (Which doesn't happen very often. Mostly because I very rarely get myself ready for the day when I have no where to go but school.)

...Too bad I didn't have anyone I wanted to impress.

Oh well! Thanks for the new clothes, Mom!

Go Aggies!

Today, Thing 1 and Thing 2 screamed at each other for way too long. It took all of my self-control not to scream back at them. Then I went to the basketball game where I screamed my little heart out.

It was a great game. Extremely close and intense. I got some good screaming in.
And we won.

Go Aggies!

Passion Never Dies

I was introduced to the most fantastic movie this weekend. Wicker Park, starring Josh Hartnett, is perhaps the most brilliantly written and directed film I have ever seen. Ever. Really. Watch it.

The story is about "a young Chicago advertising executive [who] believes a woman he sees in a café is his long-lost love. His conviction leads to obsession, as he puts his life on hold to trail her." (IMDB)

Okay, I know that it sound cheesy, but it was mind blowing. The first half or so of the movie, you basically have no idea what is going on. The story goes back and forth between present time and flashbacks from different characters (which is a brilliant directing choice considering the plot, but I'm not going to tell you.). But when it all starts fitting together... oh boy. Hold on to your seats! And, for my fellow Shakespeare lovers, there is even a small dose of William thrown in there for us.

Okay, enough from me. I don't want to give anything away, so GO WATCH IT!

(For some reason the embed code is cutting off the left part of the frame, so here's the link if you want to see the whole picture: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UONKjg0Q-ho )


And now back to my homework.

...Seriously though. Watch it.

Just a Thought

"I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make a life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whethere a crisis will be excalated or de-escalated and a person humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be we help them become what they
are capable of becoming."

-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

(emphasis added)

Further Proof I Don't Go To BYU

Today while walking to my U.S. Institutions class, I saw a very large, bearded man wearing... brace yourself... a skirt. Now, this was not a kilt or some sort of traditional dress of another culture. It was simply a long, black women's skirt accompanied by a too-short screen tee, sneakers, and a windbreaker. Classy.