Blueberries.

Just as a little side note, and perhaps to counter my undying cynicism, I do like cuteness.

So when Brandon 'surprised' me with blueberries... um, way better than chocolates.
And the flowers weren't too bad either. The thought behind them was adorable.
Or the fact that he shaved.
And wore my favorite shirt (of his. A straight man who looks good in a v-neck? YES!).

Brandon = winner.

PS Mom, yes, he is my boyfriend. Yes, I like him a lot. No, I do not like his profile picture right now. (Dead things... grossssssssss.) But other than that, he's definitely the best one yet.

Valentine.

Here it goes, my ramble.

I think Valentine's Day is the STUPIDEST holiday ever. Like, seriously? We need a specific day to show people we care? It's essentially just a giant excuse for the ignorant men of the world to snatch that last tiny scrap of romance and make their equally ignorant (or sometimes not-so-ignorant and not-so-impressed) wives think that they are still the wonderfully charming men they married.

PUH-LEASE.

Like, seriously? Chocolates and roses on a day where EVERY GREETING CARD COMPANY IN THE WORLD is drilling into your head that if you don't buy her chocolates and roses you will be eternally scorned? Yeah, right! If my future husband gives me chocolates and roses on Valentine's Day, he's spending the night on the couch for lack of originality. Seriously. Valentine's Day spawns an enormous lack of creativity and thoughtfulness in the male gender. Oh and don't even get me started on jewelry. So, you spent 500 bucks on a necklace that I'll probably only wear once to make you feel good when you KNOW I need a new saddle? Gee, thanks babe.

Perhaps it's because I am just so not a romanticist, but I think that the hearts and the roses and the candles and everything else are completely gag-able. If you want to be ROMANTIC, do something out of the ordinary, not only from your own perspective, but from the perspective of commercial America. I'm not even going to tell you what that is, because if I do, it won't be your idea. But here's a hint: Do something out of character. I'm not saying go buy me that new saddle, although that would admittedly be a million times romantic to me than a necklace. More than a million. A bajizillion. Yeah, I can't even count how many zeros that is. I'm saying do something that will make me think 'Oh my goodness, where did I find this absurdly perfect man?!' Another hint: buying me chocolate/roses/jewelry will NOT make me think you are perfect. Or anything close to that. It will probably be a thought more along the lines of 'Ugh, seriously? I thought I married someone different from the cattle-like mass of men buying stupid greeting cards and roses.' Sorry, but it's the truth.

And if you feel you really MUST give me chocolates and roses, do it on September 14th. But I would recommend steering clear of Jared. Or the letter K. Always.

Yoga.

It's almost certainly one of my favorite things in the world. I am terrible at it because I am incredibly UN-flexible, but I just love the feeling of dedicating a certain amount of time to zoning out of the world and forgetting about literally everything but my own breathing, my body, and the voice of whoever is guiding me. Usually it's Rodney. He's the bomb.
Anyway... just thought you should know that I'm still alive.

I've created another blog. http://thegreatestthingsinceslicedbread.tumblr.com/
I know, I know, I know. But this blog is meant to be more of an outlet for my silliness. This blog is going to be about my actual life, and quiet thoughtful musings and such.

May I just say that balance is hard to find? Oh, and I love Ray LaMontagne. Be Here Now.

Jimmer.

Unless you have been hiding under a rock for the past few months, chances are you've probably heard of a guy named Jimmer Fredette. If you've heard of him, you've probably heard that he's one of the greatest college basketball players in the country right now, and one of the best in BYU history. The kid is crazy. Crazy awesome. He lights up the scoreboard and the crowd every time he plays. And even though he'll never read it, I have a few things I want to say to this soon-to-be legend.
Dear Jimmer,
I love you.
You've only met me once, and I'm sure you don't even know my name.
But that's okay.
Since your arrival at BYU four fateful years ago, I have always known you were different. Originally I just thought you had a super cool name, but the more I watched you play, the more I realized you're unlike anything I've ever seen in my almost 20 years of watching college basketball.
BYU has a history of turning out stars. I mean, hello, Danny Ainge. But even those who don't go on to have storied NBA careers were stars in their time at BYU. Rafael Araujo... Lee Cummard... Trent Plaisted... Okay I will admit these are the only ones I remember. But you and I both know there are more. The Marriott Center is sacred, in a way.
But you? I have never seen anything like you. You are at a different level. Your way of putting up shots that look impossible but somehow get nothing but net. The way you somehow magically dance around your guards and leave them in a daze of "What just happened?"
I'll tell you what just happened. They just got Jimmer'd.
Of course, like all great athletes, you have your fair share of hatred. 99% of the time those haters are just insanely jealous that you don't play for their school, or idiots who think that what conference you play in matters. Need I remind you which conference won the 2011 Rose Bowl?
Anyway, I don't really want to focus on that. I want to focus on how you have made going to BYU worth every penny of tuition I pay.
No, seriously. I have only missed two home games in my entire time as a BYU student. Granted, that's mostly because I am obsessed with BYU athletics to the point that it could be considered extremely irrational, but I will unashamedly admit that watching THE Jimmer make some magic is a huge highlight. Using the word 'magic' may sound corny, but I'm serious - that's the only word I can come up with.
Magic.
And I just have to say, I think everyone needs a little magic in their lives.
Days when all I can think about is money, grades, and getting out of bed in the morning somehow turn into some of the most memorable days of my life. For two short hours every game day, I am completely captivated, and that is something difficult to achieve. So thank you for that.
I don't know where you'll end up. I don't know if you'll go on to be a rockstar (athletically speaking... or maybe not?) or if the doubters are right and all this hype is for nothing. But Jimmer, I have faith in you. I believe in you. I have been waiting so long for something this good to happen to BYU. Just keep believing in yourself, and remember that you have a whole lot of people whose names you also don't know who completely adore you. We can't wait to watch you and this incredible team show the world what we're made of here at BYU. Just don't forget about us.
Good luck, my friend.

Momentum.

The biggest (and best) climbing gym in the whole state of Utah has a late night climb every month. 10-2, $5, climb all you want. Well, kind of all you want. To call it a madhouse would be a huge understatement. There were SO MANY PEOPLE THERE! I wish I had taken my camera. Oh well. Maybe in February. ;) It was seriously so crazy. People were standing in lines four or five deep to wait for a rope. Any rope! It was fun though. I went with Brett, who I haven't seen since last summer, and even though I still cannot put that kid in a box, it was a blast. I miss climbing. I haven't been since November eighth, with Jacob. ~unidentifiable 'mer' face~ Although right now I have skiing to distract me, I still miss climbing. I really need to get started working out for climbing season. My arms are so weak. I can't even really pretend to be Sharma anymore. :(
On another note, I hate my printer. That is all.

But I love Saturdays. I love homemade applesauce and ~drumroll please~ tonight Brandon and I are going to attempt to make homemade MARSHMALLOWS!!!! I know, I know, crazy. But I'm really excited. Next weekend it homemade fig newtons. :) Yum.

Oh yeah, and I kinda got a job. More on that later.

DANCE!

[Safety Dance, Glee Version]
I freaking love this song, for the record.

And I love being a Ballroom Minor!!! It's basically the greatest thing in the world. Okay, maybe not the GREATEST, but one thing you should've figured out about me by now is that I like to hyperbolize. (Is that a word?) Anyway, I finally got into my International Bronze class, and it's completely different than any ballroom class I've ever been in. We're learning a ROUTINE. Weird. But I guess it makes sense. It's not 'social' dance. It's ballroom. No matter, I still love it. It's just strange to learn a dance without a partner! That's one of my favorite parts of ballroom, for obvious reasons. ;) But anyway, my dream of being on the team still stands! Something probably about as realistic as being on the track team, but ballroom is something a lot easier for me than track I suppose. It comes naturally to me to dance. I guess that's what I get for starting ballet at three. :)

Anyway, I'm still looking for a job, but I'm really liking my classes so far.

Today our forum speaker was Condoleezza Rice. Yes, the former Secretary of State. Yeah, I know! It was so cool. Jordan scored us seats on the SECOND ROW, so I was like twenty yards away from one of my honest to goodness heroes. It was AWESOME. She gave an incredible address about education. She is so amazing. I seriously could not believe I was honestly listening to Condie Rice. I felt like I was at a rock concert or something.


"As educated people, it is our responsibility to be optimistic." -Condoleezza Rice

I have something to confess. I like a 'smart people' class. A LOT. It requires work. But I like it. (Sign of the apocalypse, I know!) I enjoy the readings we have to do (which there are admittedly a lot of) and I enjoy the discussions we have. I seriously love that class. It's PWS 375, Environmental Policies and Laws. It's required for my major, and I felt like taking at least one somewhat challenging class. And it has turned out to be so interesting. Definitely my favorite academic class. Obviously my favorite class is skiing (der der der) but that barely counts as a class. I have so much to learn and improve on! I'm pretty stoked to be a better skier. I'm already noticing little differences. I can't wait to go to class again next week!

Overall, I really like my classes, and my professors. My Book of Mormon professor talks about missionary work ALL THE TIME, and I love it so much. She is great. I really like her. My French teacher is actually really cute, and single, and turning out to be a great teacher. We don't speak any English, which is crazy, but so effective. I like it a lot. My RMYL 189 professor is a baller, and we're going on a field trip to CALIFORNIA at the end of February. And, yes, we're going to DISNEYLAND. I am so freaking excited. It seems unreal to me! My ballroom teacher is gorgeous, and I think once things get a little more under control I'll love that class. I missed the first two days though so I'm just playing catch up, which is more intense than I would've expected! And Neil, my ski instructor professor, is just great. I think that might be it... Other than Dr. Aanderund, who seems cool, but I love his class and the readings he assigns so I guess that means I automatically love him!

Anyway, life is going good other than my nagging stress about money and my constant inability to get out of bed in the morning. I'm working on both though.

On a side note, most of the people I work with at ChaCha are complete morons. Just thought you should know.

Meeting.

So I was chatting with my friend Kevin on Facebook chat today, and I was remembering how we met, and then I started thinking about all the interesting/funny/random ways I've met people. Here are some of the best.
Kevin Graham - saw some pictures that I took of a mutual friend, wrote me a message telling me how impressed he was by my 'skills' and we started talking. For a while we talked on the phone every night, it was so entertaining. He has the greatest laugh on the planet.
Johnathan Lyman - met my best girl friend Sara through Facebook and I friended him to make sure he wasn't a bad kid. We ended up being better friends than him and Sara. :)
Brandon Mortensen - waiting in line at ridiculously early hour of the morning for a parking pass at our apartment complex. I knew his brother from my freshman ward and we started talking because hey, what else is there to do standing around in line?
Brett Bingham - lived in one of my best friends' apartment complexes, thought I was hot, and somehow we randomly became friends. I don't really remember all of the details.
Trent Hunsaker - was friends with this super hot guy who I flirted with at work the summer after my senior year. (That was random too.) I don't talk to the super hot guy anymore, but I absolutely adore Trent.
Caden Bloxham - has a really awesome laugh, that I remembered when he ended up in my seminary class. Somehow we became Facebook friends, started emailing, and now we're super tight.
Erik Buss - met me at work at Aspen Grove. He later added me as a friend. He's a funny kid. And he still owes me ice cream.
Matt Berghout - ran track for Ogden High. When I saw him for the first time at Region, I thought he was quite literally the hottest thing I had ever seen in my entire life. So I had my friends go ask for his number, even though I didn't think they'd really do it. But they did, and we started texting, and he is still to this day the hottest thing I have ever seen in my entire life. Especially up close. Wow.
Emily Hales - had a friend waiting in line for the BYU basketball home opener sitting next to me. We hit it off and became friends, and ended up sitting together at the game. It was great.
Cory McLeod - was a close second to the hottest thing I'd ever seen. He was standing behind me at a football game and I thought he was gorgeous. I flirted my guts out with him and ended up getting his number, but he turned out to be a dud. That was lame.
Salena Sykes - was my pen pal in 6th grade! Woot woot!
The list goes on, I'm sure.... but I can't remember. LOL. Great times.