the love fern

don't know what made me think of this; but i once received a love fern. i wasn't always the most kind to boys back when it happened, but i imagine his face looked a lot like hers when he asked if i had smashed the pot and killed the plant and i answered, "well, i didn't, but the garbage truck probably didn't help"

goodbye triathlon

it's amazing how quickly some things come and go. one second i was running in a soccer game and the next it hurt to run so i stopped. i have no idea what i did because i was being lazy and not playing anywhere near the ball or other people when my knee just starting hurting so i decided to sub out of the game. the next day my right knee was twice the size of my left and as it turns out i have a torn meniscus. it's only a small tear and it's not very painful, but my physical therapist just gave a little chuckle (a, it's not happening chuckle) when i mentioned triathlon. so maybe next year.

the real housewives of orange county

ok, so I don't watch the show, but happened to be flipping through channels when I heard this gem. "I don't need a 6 carat diamond ring! a 2 or 3 carat would have been fine."

triathlon (well sprint triathlon)

i'm taking on a new challenge - a triathlon, sprint distance. for some, this is a walk in the park, but not for me. i've only been doing yoga lately (which i absolutely love) so my training for everything else is at an all time low. i've found that I can run the full distance, and bike the full distance - I am just really slow; swimming is a different story. I commend all you swimmers out there, it's hard. I will get there, and i'm excited to give this a try even if I come in last. so if you're looking to find me, i'll be at the gym

so yesterday a friend says to me, "You should marry [a certain boy] because he will make a lot of money and you are going to be expensive."

so much for love, apparently I need to look for money

new new years tradition

I've always wanted a good New Year's Eve tradition, but nothing has ever set in. last night I think I found it, a New Years' Eve Make-Your-Own-Pizza Party! of course, being me, I forgot to take pictures, but it was a lot of fun.

I made the dough, had tons of toppings, and everyone got to be creative with their dinner. we cooked everything on the grill so the kitchen didn't get hot and it made clean up a bit easier. plus, it gave everyone something to do--if they weren't eating, they were creating (we made them small enough for everyone to eat 2 or 3 or 5 for some) and it took us about two hours to get everyone fed and full. so we killed two birds with one stone--the creating gave us an activity for the night and it got us fed (sometimes hard things to accomplish on a long night like New Years'). it was the perfect activity for a group of 10-15 people-at least I think so.

I really am quite pleased with my idea, and it's really perfect for any party with a smaller group; it's a keeper for new years' parties to come.

Weapons Classes for Priesthood Brethren

my dad signed up for a series of weapons classes for the up-coming year. this was done through his elder's quorum and this is the list of subjects to be covered:

jan - concealed weapons training
feb - using laser sighting for your hand gun
mar - shoot gun home defense
apr - sniper rifle training
may - most effective kill points
june - .30 caliber air cooled machine gun training
jul - automatic weapons training (we have the opportunity to purchase 45 cal. Thompson hand held machine guns)
aug - dillon aero M134 6000 rounds per minute gatling gun training
sept - how to use and maintain 3.5 hand held anti personal rocket launcher
oct - hand held stinger missile training
nov - light armor training
dec - heavy armor training

it is concluded with this sentence "wimps and sissies are not allowed or welcome. our motto is "don't tread on me" or "blood, glory, and guts."

all i can say it that i am staying far, far away from wherever they hold these classes, someone is going to get hurt.

the woes of a pb & j

this past week all I wanted for lunch was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich - a simple request that just couldn't be filled. why you ask? I will tell you

sunday night: we had no bread

monday night: the peanut butter had disappeared

tuesday night: I forgot to plan ahead and woke up too late wednesday to make the sandwich

wednesday night: finally, I made my pb & j for the next day, and then remembered that we were bringing lunch in on thursday (and I was not saying no to a kneader's turkey bacon avocado)

thursday night: I was already prepared to take my sandwich on friday

friday: I went home for lunch and made a grilled cheese sandwich because it was warm and I was cold

all I wanted was a simple pb & j, but the universe didn't seem to want me to have one. maybe I'll have better luck this week.