Thanks a LOT, Mother Nature

It's APRIL!!!!

Oh wait, we're in Utah. It's April.

This was my commute this morning (and yes, those are my gloves on the vents, drying off after getting soaked brushing snow off my car):

Great April Fool's joke, Mother Nature. I'm laughing really hard. Really.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Chr... Wait...

The past few nights that I've taken the dogs out for walks, I've smelled Autumn. You know that smell... turtlenecks and sweaters and colored leaves and football. I know, it's really just people turning their stoves and heaters on. But for half an instant, I sigh that "I love Fall" sigh and start to think about Thanksgiving, as I tromp through the snow and ice on the ground... and then my thoughts come to a screeching halt when I remember:

IT'S MARCH. The calendar says it's Spring. The trees in the backyard are trying their hardest to bloom, and are interrupted by flakes of snow heartlessly landing on their buds. My brother Shawn's hammock is hanging limply, wet with snow and ice, just waiting for the sun to shine and someone to come out and swing. And I'm in the front yard, scraping two inches of snow and a layer of ice off my car AGAIN.

*sigh* One of these days, it will be warm enough for me to drive to work in the morning with my sunroof open. It'll be warm enough to wear (joy!) sandals. It'll be warm enough to leave my jacket home. It'll be warm enough to go CAMPING and sit in the sun... MMMMM...

(I stole this photo of me getting some sun from my sister Melissa's blog, hehe.)

It's Just a "Thing."

Everyone's quirky. EVERYONE. Don't even try to pretend that you're not, because you are. We all have things we do that make other people raise one eyebrow at us and say, "What on earth...??" Don't get me wrong - quirks are a good thing. They contribute to our individuality in a big way. They help define us. They even draw people to us. Unless your "thing" is to slap people's rear ends as they walk by, or burn puppies, or see how long you can go without showering; then people will probably stay away from you.

Anyway, this is one of my "things."

I can't stand grape or purple candy. I'm sure I've shared this before, but I usually try to buy candy that doesn't have any purple or grape flavors. Well, for some reason, lately I've been addicted to Skittles - I don't know why. I think one of my Facebook friends put "(so-and-so) is tasting the rainbow" as his status update, and someone left a comment mentioning how yummy Skittles are, and I thought - HHMM. That DOES sound good. So for two weeks (or more) I had Skittle everywhere - in my desk, in my car, at home... it was a sickness. I even went to Wal-Mart and bought a ginormous bag of them.

But you better believe I left all the purple ones in every single bag I bought!


I ended up throwing away hundreds of purple Skittles... I gave some to my brother Shawn once, just to not be SO wasteful. When he saw me eating a bag in St. George last weekend, he said "Don't be throwing those purple Skittles away, give them to me, I'll eat 'em." DONE. I haven't finished the bag yet... as a matter of fact, I'm going on 5 days of Skittles sobriety. But don't worry, Shawn, that bag will eventually be gone and you can have all the purple ones.

Oh yeah, and I also have to arrange the Skittles I DO eat into a rainbow pattern before I eat them... most of the time. Red, orange, yellow, green - in that order. Maybe that's beyond a "thing" and bordering on OCD. Who knows.

Anyway, this little rant reminds me (as most things do) of a Scrubs episode where Elliott is dating someone and she's having a hard time keeping her "crazy" hidden.




Embrace your "things", people!

Best Girl Night EVER.

Isn't Friday the 13th supposed to be some freaky superstitious holiday? Well, in February, my Friday the 13th wasn't freaky at all.

IT WAS AWESOME.

I got to have a "girl night" with my pal Erin! Good friends since high school, we both have birthdays in February - mine toward the beginning, hers toward the end. So, we planned a girl night where we could celebrate our birthdays together, starting with Leatherby's, an ice cream place in Taylsorsville that was a high school favorite - they have the BEST ice cream in the valley, I swear.

We had tickets to see a dollar movie after our yummy dinner of ice cream and fries, but we had time to kill beforehand... so we went SHOE SHOPPING!! My favorite thing EVER! We just went to Payless and tried on anything and everything we could find, whether we liked it or not.

Then, we saw the sappiest chick-flick ever - Twilight.

This movie probably should have been a box-office flop, and yet - this was my fourth time seeing it. It is not the best movie I've ever seen, and it's enough to make me gag. ME! The QUEEN of sappy movies and music! But for some reason... I just LOVE it. Probably just because it's Twilight, and Edward Cullen fills every romantic expectation for women young and old.

When can we do it again, Erin??? :)

Happy Birthday to Me!

My birthday was a week ago, and I've been meaning to post a picture of the BEST BIRTHDAY TREATS EVER.

MMMMM. Mini Rainbow Frogs... on CUPCAKES... two of my most favorite things ever! Seriously, do my Emily friends know me, or what?? Thank you, Emilys!

I like birthdays for one main reason - you get to pig out for a week straight. You have friends and family that want to take you to lunch or dinner or make you treats to celebrate, so you spread them out over a week... or two. My birthday was a week ago, and I went to dinner with a friend tonight for my birthday, and I'm going again tomorrow night with another friend who also has a February birthday - so technically tomorrow night we're both celebrating. Yes, I have to work twice as hard at the gym, but... those cupcakes with mini frogs... SO WORTH IT.

For those of you who hate having your birthday recognized, or being fussed over for the day (or week), at least celebrate privately that you're alive. There is so much beauty in the world, in spite of all the garbage around us. If all else fails, look up; see the clouds, or the sun, or the moon and stars. Or a really cool sunset.

This helps me gain a little perspective, and to be grateful that I'm alive and able to be amazed every day. :)