I'M A DUDE

i saw this on lauren's blog and gave it a shot. in both photos, i came out looking like the same dude, william moseley! either i am very manish... or he is way too girly!

THE BF

my medoll got lonely and i had some spare time... so i made her a boyfriend. they are so cute together and he treats her like a queen!

THE PERFECT ME

okay, so all my friends were doing it... so i jumped too. this activity turned out to be quite cathartic. you should make one of yourself (if you haven't already).
just click on my medoll and have fun!

PIZZA


she took pride in her pizza shop
the best in town.
in her day customers came and went
but there was this one customer
he liked her pizza and ordered all the time
the same order... never anything different.
sometimes it made her laugh
other times she was annoyed
but, patiently, she made him his pizza
the way he liked it... because she cared.
"your pizza is the best in town" he'd say
"the most perfect pizza i have ever tasted!"
she always answered the same
"nah, nothing special... but i do care...
maybe that's what you taste."
months and years went by
each day she hoped that when he would come
he would try something new
but alas... it was never to be and she knew it
one day... she hopefully asked...
"what'll it be today?"
hoping, wishing that the order would surprise her.
as he handed her his order ticket
she winced.
her heart sank
she knew it was time.
quietly, she went to work
putting all of her love into this pizza
she took her time;
smiled to herself as she remembered all of
the other pizzas she had made for him
good times, good memories.
as he turned and walked out the door
she slowly followed him
held the door for him as he left
watched him until she couldn't see him any more
she pulled the blinds, shut off the light
and locked the door.
"it's time for a new shop," she whispered
and her tears hit the pavement as she walked away.

FOUND IT!!

ellen's opening schtick at the ACADEMY AWARDS!

if you have 10 minutes free- take a look

THE GREEN OSCAR
and i don't mean the grouch


i watched the oscar's last night. have to say that ellen degeneres did a smash up job as the host. her opening act was worth the entire show. i looked and looked on youtube to see if there was anything posted from last night... no go. will keep my eyes out, though.

jennifer hudson's acceptance speech is EXACTLY what makes the oscar's magical

ellen degeneres asking steven speilberg to take a picture of her and clint eastwood... classic... i nearly wet my pants when she reviewed the picture and made him do it again... this time "making it even on both sides."

loved that ennico moricone (LOVE his stuff) took home an oscar... music to THE MISSION is one of the best pieces composed.

true, i'm not a huge fan of hollywood pushing their own agendas at the oscar's (it's acting people) ... but i do support what al gore is trying to do... and i LOVED the joke they made at the end of his speech with leonardo dicaprio! hilarious!

have to say that i was really disappointed that melissa ethridge won last night. sure the song is fine... but, to me, it sounds just like all of the rest of her stuff... and compared to the music from dreamgirls??? really... it was better??? okay academy... whatever you say!

okay so i didn't see peter o'toole in his movie... but are you kidding me??? give the guy a stinkin' oscar already! he's freaking lawerence of arabia!

jack black and will ferrell singing about comedy actors... brilliant. nuff said.

all and all... i rather enjoyed watching. yes, 3 1/2 hours is WAY too long for any award show... but it's been a few years since i've gotten to see it and wasn't too disappointed.

GETTING SOMETHING FOR NOTHING


yesterday night, rach and i ventured out to find food. greasy-fatty food, to be exact. it's been a really long week and it was particularly hard day.

how to find comfort? food!!! (is that wrong?)

anyway, i was craving mexican food and the first thought was QDOBA (sp?)! so we drove on over to porter sq, braved the scary parking lot and made our way into the warm establishment.

rach went first and ordered the chicken quesadilla and as we were jokingly cursing qdoba for charing extra to add black beans, one of the guys walked up to make sure that everything was okay.

whooops... sorry... J/K!

then he proceeded to take my order. i wasn't shy... i ordered the nachos and i told him i would pay extra if he would load that bad boy up to the nines, with extra cheese sauce stuff, and chicken and beans... etc. i told him it had been "one of those days," and sort of laughed when i told him that these nachos were my ticket to a happier me... but i wasn't joking.

so he did what i asked. i flitted my eyelashes at him. then i spied the cookies in their little basket and grabbed two (i promise you i wasn't going to eat both... ummm... one was for rach... yeah... for rach...honest engine) and then made my way down the line to order my drink. but there was rach... trying to pay for me!

no, you can't do that! i'm too stubborn. i refuse to let you! rachel was shouting back and a HUGE fight ensued. okay, maybe not a HUGE fight... but we WERE making a fuss.

then out of nowhere, the guy behind the cash register said...

"well, since it's been 'one of those days' this one's on me"

rach and i both stopped dead in our tracks. eyebrows raised and mouths wide open... excuse me? what?

the guys smiled, typed in his manager code and rang us up as FREE OF CHARGE!

that has to be one of the nicest things EVER to happen to me. i just couldn't believe it. donald (that was his name), little did he know that he just made my whole week!

here's to people doing nice things for others.
here's to bad days that end well.
and
HERE'S TO YOU DONALD... my new best friend!

MERRY-LAND and DIET COKE (i mean... DC)

i just had the best time. there are no other words.

sure we got stuck in nyc for much longer than we expected, both going to and coming home.












but i had breakfasts and lunches and dinners made for me... and not just any old food... real-life, home-made...yummy to your tummy good food. (mor mor's incredible sweet rolls too!) and the table done up just right for presidents day! delish!

i sat around a guitar and piano and sang to my heart's content: 80's love ballads, weezer, bert bacharach. dave- you are a musical giant and tiffany you make it all fun!!!


i got to visit the temple that my family was sealed in when they joined the church in 1975. it's gorgeous and it made me miss my wonderful family just thinking about that special day!

i shopped to my heart's content with three of the cutest and loveliest ladies i know. fun boutiques, disappointing mexican food, a chocolate cupcake and a giant flamingo... sounds like a good day to me!

i made a new best friend. max. totally the cutest, happiest dude around. loved playing with him. could "eat you up!"

i oohhed and ahhhed appropriately at downtown georgetown. it's absolutely beautiful. and i nearly wet my pants with anticipation when we drove up pennsylvania ave... pres. bush, here i come!

i was humbled walking past all of the names on the vietnam memorial. my dad served in okinawa, japan for two years during this war. how blessed i am that his name is not one that was added to this bone-chilling long list.

i celebrated that i finally made it to the lincoln monument. i had waited my whole life to see old abe... he looks much older in real life. hmm.

i huddled with seth, jenni and linda as we tried to stay warm on this blustery day. here we are snuggling under the massachusetts tower at the world war ii monument.

i attempted the impossible! they said i couldn't go into the white house without special permission... we'll see about that!!!

okay, fine... rather than be arrested, i will just pose nicely for the camera and be on my way!

i fell in love with the first guy in uniform that i met. can you blame me??? so what if he's only 18.

i cried (turning into my mom) at the movie "bridge to terebithia." i never read the book... sheesh at least someone could have warned me!

i ate one last meal with the rueckerts! sigh... i don't want to go home... you guys make me feel at peace. look at how cute you are and look at that fantastic spread with the makings for some awesome taco salads!!! yes please!

this weekend couldn't have been more perfect. linda, your family is amazing. i'm going to miss your dad's long talks about the gospel and his crazy driving skills... and i'm going to miss your mom's sweet way of asking about boys and her warm hugs. i'm going to miss playing and snuggling with amanda and talking like cocoa to cocoa! i'm going to miss talking to mor mor (love my new hats!) and playing with dave, tiff and max... you are good people!

can we go back now??? pretty please?

HOME

i just have to say... coming home after a really great vacation is surreal.

the end.

more to come...

MARYLAND OR BUST!!!


YAY, YAY! i'm going away!
i need this vacation more than i can say!
gone for some days and a couple of nights
i'm out the door
hit the lights
DC not the coke is where i am bound
and the reuckert's warm home's
where i'm to be found
laughing and singing and spiritual feast
and really great cooking, hope there's a who-beast
away from the streets of boston and s-ville
away from the ice that is trying to kill (me)
away from the drama of the dirty old man
away for a weekend but no chance of a tan
hey gotta run, my ride's already here
don't forget me when i'm gone
i love you my dear!

THE FROZEN SILVER LINING!


so last night i was on my way home from a friends house. we had stayed up WAY past my bedtime talking and when the clock finally ticked 1 something in the morning... i decided it was time to brave the cold and get myself home!

so i race out to my car, fling it open, turn it on, scrape as much ice stuff off the windows as i possibly can, get in the car and... shut the door... umm... i said... shut the door... no, mr door... you didn't hear me right... i said i SHUT THE DOOR.

okay fine... we've played this stupid little game before; where you get too cold to cooperate and you won't shut. and i know that all i have to do is shut you really quickly and lock it... lock it... no... i said i just need to lock it and then.... grrr... why won't you lock either????

at this point i was so TIRED... FREEZING and ORNERY. i wanted my warm, cozy bed.

so, i said a quick prayer in my heart... tugged my seat belt even more securely across my chest... and pulled at the door handle with all of my might. put the car into drive and we're on our way.

i couldn't help but laugh (it's better than crying) at the fact that i was driving 15 miles per hour down route 2, holding on to dear life to a door that could fling open at any given point, my back passenger side shocks or struts or something are trying to win a revolution with their cannons AND the latest and greatest feature of my "dirty old man..." the BRAKE LIGHT comes on every once in a while... just for kicks. and the fact that the most recent "brake job" done on my car was a "do-it-myself-with-the-help-of-a-friend-job," doesn't ease the anxiety i feel whenever it decides to "light up the night" with its red glow.

i have a friend that keeps telling me that i "should run my car into the ground before getting a new one." umm... does this count? have i officially run it? will you finally back me up???

anyway... i am grateful for the 2 other cars on the road... because well, there were only two. and i finally drove the last stretch of turf down my street, with my hand aching to let go of the door handle and my nerves shot from the cannon blasts, i luckily found parking fairly close to my house. i squeezed into the spot that was left, got out of my car and had resigned myself to just leaving the blasted door half-way shut, went to give it a perfectly good slam and...

shut. it shut. perfectly. without hesitation or force. figures.

but the frozen silver lining of this whole story? most cars had been frozen into the ground that night... the snow melted, had become rain and water, then it froze again and every car on my street but mine had been frozen solid and stationary.

watch me smile as i drive off without incident... i deserve it!

OH TO BE WOOED WITH THIS MUCH PASSION...

happy v-day

EASE ON DOWN...


sometimes we make bad choices. those choices lead to consequences that we will regret. its easy to get caught up in the heaviness you feel when that happens. sorrow is a part of making bad choices.

but something i'm learning... it won't do me any good to sit around and boo-hoo about that bad choice made... it just won't.

just like lehi told his sons, in the second book of nephi in the book of mormon... chapter one versus 21 and 23... to be exact:

..."arise from the dust my sons and be men and be determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all things, that ye may not come down into captivity.

"awake, my sons; put on the whole armor of righteousness, shake off the chains with which ye are bound and come forth out of obscurity and arise from the dust."

somehow, my thoughts have gone to the scarecrow in the wizard of oz... don't ask me.

you see, the scarecrow was bound by his own self. he allowed others to tell him where he should be and he agreed with them when they told him he was weak. until dorothy came along, he didn't have the courage to move on... to stand on his own two feet. but sometimes, that's all it takes... to believe that it's possible.

then, you find strength in friends who are traveling the same road. you become united in mind and spirit. and before you know it... you are "easing on down that road." you might stumble at first... it might be a little shaky... but the minute you realize how to put on the whole armour of god... it becomes possible. and your reality becomes joy in the journey. the skipping and laughing.

no one could possibly illustrate my point better than diana ross and michael jackson. this is a throw back to my childhood...

THE WIZ

NIGHT'S LIKE THIS

it's a saturday night and i just tucked three kids into bed.
tucking is a very loose term for tickling them and smoothing down the sheets.
we spent most of the night laughing.
i introduced them to all that is good about the movie ghostbusters.
they of course laughed at all of the same parts i did when i was their age.
(i can't believe how old this movie is... yikes)

"listen.... do you smell something?"
"where do these stairs go?" "they go up!"

it was freezing so we snuggled under the blankets.
it was awesome to hear anna laugh when she saw who (or what) the "destructor" was she couldn't breathe for 10 minutes when the stay-puft marshmallow man walked down the street.
most people would think it's rather lameski not going out on a saturday night
but i wouldn't have traded this memory for all of the dates in LP2

FORGIVE ME, MY FELLOW DIET COKE ADDICTS...

for i have sinned.

no, i haven't gone over to the dark side and joined up with the freakish pepsi-loving weirdos. no {sob} but i have betrayed all that is right and good about drinking diet coke by...

BEING A DIET COKE WASTER!!! {wwwwahhhhhhh}

yes.... yes it's true... and i have to come clean. i can't help myself. i pour a full glass of the luscious beverage and that first sip is so, so... satisfying. then as the minutes pass and the fizz abates... and that freezing cold touch grows warm... i just... well... i just lose interest.

then i end up with 8 glasses, bottles and mugs half-filled with the sweet nectar of life... all of it, gone to waste.

i'm so sorry!!! please, is there any room for mercy???

YOU DID WHAT???

so i just got off the phone with the crippled sister. i miss her. she is one of my best friends. i can hear the sound of the cute squeals and giggles of her sweet baby maddy in the background {sigh}. she tells me about stubborn-ly telling her OBGYN that she WILL deliver this baby (due in july) the way every one else does, instead of having a c-section. you go, my sassy red-haired vixen of a sister

then, she talks about how she is not giving up on her dream of being a published writer and she urges me to pursue my own talents and i smile with pride... truest, bestest sister to the end. just before she hangs up she reminds me of one of the big fights we had as kids and how, apparently, i kicked her... in the crippled legs. i don't remember it and she laughs it off.

whatever whit... like it really hurt! {evil grin}

then i remind her that her line of defense (if she couldn't run us over with the chair) was pinching. i think i still have nodules on the back of my arms where the skin is permanently squished together. plus, what she lacked in physical aggression she made up for in her (sometimes) cruel and quick wit. i didn't stand a prayers chance and she knew it. boo, you big meanie. i tried to get her back. but i could never quite penetrate- i think that the alloy her chair is made of contains a magic force field of sorts. be that as it may... i never did stop trying and never did stop failing miserably at getting back at that dear, sweet sister, 3 years my senior.

but then again... there was that one time... that one fateful day... the day we didn't even tell mom about til approximately 5 years after it happened. that one spring morn... i remember like it was yesterday {cue cheesy fade away music}

1995 was a good year. the 49er's won their 5th superbowl title... oj simpson attempted to squeeze into the "tiny gloves"... forrest gump changed the world with one simple phrase- "stupid is as stupid does" (how fitting for this story) and I-- I GOT MY LEARNER's PERMIT!!!

whitney, had already graduated high school and gotten herself a cushy little job at the marriott hotel and with her big ol' paycheck purchased herself a new, sporty little car.

(by the way... yes she can drive... they attach what looks like a bike handle to the steering thingy {technical term} and she uses that to control the gas and brake)

okay back to the story: whitney, being the awesome big sister that she was and me, being the pushy get what i want little sister had a deal. whenever we were driving short distances: the store, mall and such, she would let me drive to get practice... yesss!

this particular sunday, in my mind, was no different. we were just leaving a church building, where we had attended the mission farewell of a good friend of ours. i always carried the keys, because even if i wasn't driving, i was responsible for opening the trunk to insert her chair after she had gotten into the car.

on the way up to the car, whit mentioned that she wanted to drive. no way... our bargain... remember? i wanted to drive, for real... it was like three streets away. but she was insistant. and so with all of my deming stubbornness i opened the driver-side door, got in and shut it behind me. i looked at whitney through the shiny glass as she sat on the sidewalk... with her pissed face... arms folded.

"get out of the car... i'm driving this time." i could hear the muffled sound of her demand through the "shield" that kept my toes safe from becoming road-kill.
"no... just let me drive to eric's!" i shouted back.
"no... get out!"
"no" insert heels into the dirt and bear down. and with all of my pre-16-year-old defiance, i locked the door to prove my point. i was NOT getting out.

did i mention that i am the only blonde in my family? all 4 of my sisters are sass-o-frass red heads. did i mention that you should never cross a red-head? don't test me on this point. did i tell you that, by this age, i should have learned my lesson? yeah, i hadn't.

at this point, i put the key in the ignition and turned it on, rolled down the window and with a softer approach tried to manipulate my sister into giving in and letting me drive.

no dice!

whit rolled past me without saying a word and parked her chair right behind the car... nope... we weren't going anywhere until i relinquished. and boy, did she ever have another thing coming!!!

it's this point in the story which i have paused to think about, on more than one occasion. that moment when a thought forms and one makes a decision. that moment when one REALLY needs to think through the consequences of that decision... long before acting. yet, it is this moment in time that i can truly say illustrates all of the reasons why-- teenagers are stupid!

in my 15 and 3/4 year old brain, a little thought popped up. "put the car in reverse and let the car slowly back up... like you're going to hit her... then she'll move and you will have one-uped her... BRILLIANT!!!" yup. i know. you can already see where this is going... can't you?

- hand to gear shift
- gear shift to reverse
- nothing... no movement
- pause to think about this
- must keep going with the plan
- but the car didn't move
- how to make the car move?
ah-hah...
- apply the slightest amount of gas

let's do this as it was all happening in slow motion... because i swear it did...

- apply gas
- car jolts backward (because that's what happens when one applies WAY TOO MUCH pressure to the gas peddle)
- BOOM!!!!
- look into rear view mirror and see my crippled sister's, lovely crippled legs flailing through the air as she does a swan dive into the pavement.
- apply brake
- throw car into park
- throw out a couple of swear words that cannot be written at this time
- race out of the car to run to the aid of my injured sister
- stand there looking like the stupid idiot that i am... not knowing what to say

then... out of nowhere, i look up to see her... relief society lady.

running toward us, arms full with books, doilies and a vase full of fake flowers. having witnessed this awful crime, she was mortified at the sight of the writhing crippled girl who was sitting on the ground, nursing an injured wrist and glaring at me.

with all the venom that one human can possess, this sweet RS sister bored searing red-hot holes into my head and hissed at me with a low growl...

"YOU HELP ME GET HER UP!"

i could do nothing but obey.

the rest of the story is pretty much a blur. we somehow managed to get whit into the car and in dead silence, drove home. i mean... SHE drove us home. and true to her character of always trying to protect me, she lied and told my mom that she was trying to do a pop-a-wheelie off the curb and fell. mom, thankfully bought the lie and took whitney to the ER where they told her she had (luckily) only sprained her wrist.

without hesitation, this probably has to be the absolute stupidest thing i have ever done. it's so stupid that i don't even allow myself to think of all the possible outcomes of that stupid decision... they are too painful.

however, at least i had one thing to hold over whitney's head from that time forward. every time we were ever in a fight... all i would have to do was look at her and say "vroom, vroom." ha! just to remind her that i can always run her over with her car again... if she wasn't careful... or was it she who was saying "vroom, vroom" to remind me that all she had to do was tell mom the truth and i would NEVER get to drive the car in my life, ever again... DRATS! FOILED AGAIN!

WELCOME BABY BRYLIE

my best friend cassidy (since the 7th grade) had her first little tot a few days ago

she is beautiful and i can't wait to meet her

CONGRATS GUNNELL FAMILY!

HAPPY FIRDAY EVERYONE!!!

come on- get up and DANCE!

A BIT OF NEW ENGLAND

there are just some things in this world that i never had the chance to do, until i moved myself to new england. skating on a real-life frozen pond is one of them. there may have been frozen ponds in ut... but i didn't know about them.

the kids belong to a club out here that just so happens to have a pond, fully equipped with a "hockey rink," sleds to be pushed around in AND a pond house where a really cute guy hands me a hot chocolate and puts another log on the fire.... yessss please!

(please note: the creepy squirrel with skis(?) on.)

i'm not good at skating. i have only been a handful of times. and most of those times have included the kids... where they skates circles around me and laugh at how i look knock-kneed. shut up guys!

okay so it's true. but don't worry, it's worth the teasing i endure. this place is beautiful, and quiet and exclusive (i'm turning into such a snob). what a great memory!