be still my heart...

I just finished reading this book:

North & South
by Elizabeth Gaskell

Wow.

I mean WOW! I fell in love with the BBC movie last time I went home for a visit. (Mom and I both fell in love with it.) I loved the plot and the characters...(especially one Mr. Thornton).

And, okay, it's taken me a rather long time to read the book, but the reasons are threefold: 1-It's got tiny print. 2-I had to flip back to the index a lot to get some extra insight into the story. And 3-I haven't had tons of time to read. Those're the reasons it took me so long; this book is a delight. If you like Jane Austen, you'll pretty much love this book.

The book and the movie are the same, but so different. The thing that really got to me is that you had to wait till the very end for the fireworks; you know at the very beginning that Margaret Hale and John Thornton are going to end up together, and you agonize throughout the entire dang thing as to how the devil it's ever going to happen. And as the minutes/pages flash on by, you realize time is running out; there's not much time left for the story to fulfill its entire purpose...but then...it does! And it's magical!

I highly recommend this book.
And the movie, too. Obviously.

Ma, I'm bringin' it home with me this weekend. We shall discuss it at length when you're finished. (And I feel quite confident that you'll finish it in less time than it took me, but only because you can't put a good book down...)

thank you, thank you!

This here blog was nominated for an award by Forever Rhonda. (Thanks, lady! Right back at ya!)

My [Award]

I'm supposed to pass this award along to 7 other people, and then tell y'all 7 things about myself. Here goes:

Seven Blogs I Love...
(Alphabetically! Just for fun...)

1*Brooker-Because she's random and says it like it is. And I like that.
2*Jill (a friend's private blog)-Because she's witty and funny, and so are her little girls.
3*Make It and Love It-Because I love the idea of being creative and crafty...
even if I can't sew a straight line...
4*Nat the Fat Rat-Because to read her is to love her.
5*Picky Palate-Because the recipes are pretty much awesome.
(I'm totally gonna make the Green Chili Chicken & Lime Soup soon!)
6*Screwed Up Texan-Because she's funny, takes great pix, and shares some stellar recipes.
7*Travels With Gilly-Because he's my brother and he makes me laugh.

Seven Things About Moi...

1.When I was going to school at USU, I loved the bakery on campus (Hazel's); they sold amazing cheddar/salsa bread on Fridays. Toasted, with a bit of cream cheese spread over the top, it was the most delicious thing. Ever. (Like a party in my mouth. For real.) Lately I've been thinking about this bread, searching the internet for a similar recipe. So far, no luck. And this is a bummer because I can't stop thinking about this bread...
2. Something about blue skies really lifts my spirits. (Probably because it means it's not winter.)
3. Having said that, I love clouds. I wish I had taken a meteorology class in college or something. I love lying on the grass on a warm day, looking up at the clouds. Also, looking down on the clouds when flying is pretty darn cool.
4. I'd love to make a yearly pilgrimage to Disneyland to appease the child within. I went for the first time last July and it truly is the happiest place on Earth! It's like...magic.
5. My friend Cameron called my yesterday to tell me of a book called Monster Golf. (Actually, he called me to be a sassmouth, to annoy me because it was snowing. But I'm focusing on the positive here...) Apparently it's an autobiography of Mr. Alice Cooper and I think that's rad. Cameron said I can borrow it when he's finished. Neat-o!
6. I'm gonna be an aunt again this year! Once in August and once in September. I LOVE THAT! I love being an aunt! And since I'm not reproducing, I'm super excited that my family are!
7. Although I'm afraid of heights (and falling from them), my favorite amusement park rides are the ones that shoot you up high and then plummet you down at terrifying speeds back towards Earth. (Namely Blast Off/Re-entry at Lagoon, and Tower of Terror at California Adventures.) I'm seriously giggling thinking about it right now...

iLove...

I'm not really big on chocolates. You know, the boxed assorted chocolates? That's what I'm talking about; there are only a few flavors I really care for...

Also, I'm not a big fan of caramel. For real. (I've been called a Communist over this little "issue" so whatever slander you want to throw my way for this, bring it.) I especially dislike chewy caramel. Something about it just ain't right. (Something about the gooey caramel is less offensive to me.)

Having said that (it all ties together right here!), I love Chocolate-Covered Macadamia Nuts With Caramel. A gal I work with just got back from a trip to Hawaii, and she brought a couple of boxes of this culinary delight to share with the rest of the office. I could eat my weight in Chocolate-Covered Macadamia Nuts With Caramel. WOW!

Moving on...

This past weekend, Goose Janel and Marshall came up to North-of-Zion to fix Brent's car. They picked me up on their way to the 'burg and I got to hang out with them for a few hours.

Whilst Brent watched Goose fix his car, Janel and I took Marshall up to the university bookstore to kill some time. (Don't judge, okay? We'd have loved to play at a park, but North-of-Zion decided to snow on Saturday, so the park wasn't so much an option.)

I.Love.Bookstores. Now you know. I love them so much.

After murdering a couple of hours there, we dined at Craigo's for a pizza buffet. (If one must eat buffet, it might as well be pizza! I'm not wrong, am I?)

Then we all came to my place and napped/watched a movie. It was a totally stellar, relaxed day with the fam: PERFECTO!

Marshall bein' all "thug" in a gangsta hat we found in the bookstore...

Marshall learned "thug" from this guy...
(Like father, like son)

Very "Jason Mraz" don't you think?

Marshall and me...
I LOVE THIS KID!

I'm bummed this picture is so blurry, but otherwise love it.
(Marshall, Goose, Brent)

Dang me, this is the only picture I got of Janel.
Oh well, she's still beauty-ful...

lessons learned (in Moab)...

Roughly 2.5 years ago, I went on a road trip to Moab, Utah, with a group of my closest friends. I cannot think about that trip without smiling...

I remember having a super unlucky day our first full day there:

*I got food poisoning off of what must have been bad cream cheese.
(All I had for breakfast was a bagel with cream cheese, and orange juice)
*Said food poisoning made me vomit once at the hotel.
*We went mountain biking and said food poisoning made me vomit once on the trail.
(Don't worry, I ran away from a potential audience in my friends)

*On our way down the rocky trail on our mountain bikes,
I went over the handlebars of my bike.
Scary as it was, I didn't snap my neck or my spine or crack my noggin: SCORE!

*Oh yeah, I shredded my pants with the biking incident. In the front.
From knee to waistband. (Talk about humiliation!)
*Oh yeah, and my legs got pretty bruised from "the incident" as well.
*I lost my wallet that evening too. Yep, I had my purse, but my wallet was gone.
(I found it at the restaurant after I called and asked them about it; they said it wasn't there,
but I went back just in case; I found it under the table.)

Throughout the ordeals of that day, I was able to laugh it off. (Except maybe for the shredded pants part. That wasn't funny to me for weeks, and I couldn't handle my friends laughing about that part in front of me until the weekend was over.) Anyway, I'm pretty sure the reason that crummy day was so bearable is because I was surrounded by amazing people who cared about me.

Lesson #1: Friends make even the crappiest situations so much better.

I'm not the only one who learned lessons on that weekend. Oh no; the girls (unintentionally) enlightened the fellas on that trip.

Poor Jason. Poor Cameron...the girl:boy ratio was 2:1, and our guys learned 3 very important lessons. The hard way. In quick succession...

The day after vomitting and diving over my bike, proved to be another day to remember. The night before, we didn't get much sleep; we were on vacation, after all...

We got up early-ish and hiked to the Delicate Arch, and made our way around Arches National Park to see all that we could see. The remainder of the day was spent jeeping/off-roading in the Canyon Lands. We had a cooler full of food and 6 bodies crammed into the Amigo: we were off!

As it turns out, the fellas had a desire to see everything the Canyon Lands could offer...when we found ourselves at a new arch, etc., we'd jump out for a photo-op and then back into the jeep and drive to another beautiful location.

The beauty wasn't lost on me: I was in paradise, really! But...when lunchtime came and went without a mere mention of stopping to eat, I became concerned. At 2:30 or so, I mentioned some foody thoughts and was basically ignored. The driver (one of the menfolk who shall remain nameless) said, "But we have to make it to Island in the Sky before sunset!" I'm sure he was only thinking of his feminine travel companions, sure in his heart of hearts that we'd be stunned by the beauty of the sun setting over that amazing patch of earth. So I kept my mouth shut and went along for the ride.

-When I say "I kept my mouth shut" I mean I began to shut down. I'm a big fan of breakfast, but can't fit much food in me in the morning; the last thing I had eaten was a granola bar on the trail to Delicate Arch at around 9:00 that morning.

As we made our way to Island in the Sky, it started getting chilly and all I had was a light jacket and a baseball cap; hardly the kind of gear to stave off falling temperatures...

I'll have you know we made it to Island in the Sky just in the nick of time: we ran to the Edge and watched the sun set over the glory that is God's Canyon Lands.

Nameless driver glanced in the direction of his lady friends, I think expecting us to be dabbing our teary eyes from the sight we had just beheld...and nameless driver was taken aback when he saw something else entirely. I daresay we (all the girls) had blank stares on our faces.

And then I asked our driver for his keys: I was making a sandwich, and I was making it NOW!

Please remember, I hadn't eaten since 9am, and it was somewhere near 6pm by then: I WAS HUNGRY! Also, I was running on not much sleep: I WAS TIRED! And let's not forget that it was November; night was falling and we were on an island in the sky: I WAS COLD!

That's when the boys learned to avoid what we have coined the nasty Trifecta...

Lessons 2-4: To keep girls happy, make sure they're well-fed, well-rested, and warm. Apparently guys don't stop to think about such trivial things when they've got a goal in mind...which is totally beyond me, but whatever.

Lessons: learned.

Here's to The Crew: I love you guys, always!

watch out...

Not much has happened this past week. Same-old, same-old, really. Except that guess what?! The sun has shown his beautiful face each and every day since, I think, last Sunday; isn't that the most glorious thing in the world? Even though I live where I do, and winter is likely to rear its ugly head again, I don't care, because Spring is on its way! Callooh! Callay! Anyway, get yourself ready for random, won't you? Because that's what's up right here...

*Anchorman has got to be one of the most quotable (not to mention most hilarious) movies of all time. My friend Wade and I can text quotes back and forth till our fingers very nearly fall off, and I think it's terrific. We got a group together on Monday evening to watch Anchorman, which was stellar; Wade and I had never watched it together, so it was fun when both of us would crack up before the punch lines even came. And know what else made it awesome? A handful of people who watched with us had never seen it before. I liked the entire evening. Just sayin'.

*Growing up, all the boys in my family followed different football teams. Also, all the boys in my family can (and still do) talk sports. I mean, they really talk sports. You'd think I'd have a big fat wealth of knowledge of all things football growing up the way I did, but it just ain't true. I thought my brother Aaron made up the term flea-flicker. Twice, I thought that. (Turns out it kinda stuck with me after I watched The Blind Side and saw a real flea-flicker in action.)

But I digress...

Somehow, through all the sports talk, I didn't die from boredom, and I can say some big names in football. Watch this: Troy Aikman. Joe Montana. Peyton Manning. Ty Detmer. Steve Young. (Are all of these men quarterbacks? I want to say yes, but I'm not entirely sure...)

Anyway, even if I can't tell you anything worthwhile about football, I do recognize some names from all the sports talk I endured as a lass (and I still endure every Thanksgiving too, when the boys get together to watch some football). I definitely remember the name of this guy:

His name is Emmitt Smith, my friends.
(And is anyone besides myself astounded at how short he is next to Goose?
I mean, I realize not everyone can be 6'6" like Goose can, but still!)

*One last thought: although OK Go's new CD isn't as amazing at their first two, they sure do make awesome music videos! See for yourself:

Umm...I think I might be done for now. Random post: finished!