My life lately...

I don't post so often these days, mostly because there is really nothing new going on in my life. But for those who want an update (or at least a change in scenery on my blog)...

I dyed my hair brown. It's only temporary, and this picture makes it look darker than it is, but there it is.

I am still dating little Brandon. Here he is at the park with me; how cute.

I love chac mool statues. Here is one I saw at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico.

I also love Mexican popsicles. And isn't mom adorable?

Mom and dad were nice enough to take me to the zoo in Mexico.

And finally, I am thoroughly irritated that Utah thinks it has any right to be above 85 degrees in September. It is NOT cool for fall to arrive fashionably late.

A sad story with a happy ending

I took my beloved laptop to the computer doctor when I got back from Mexico. Sadly, I got a call a few days later with a diagnosis--it needed a new motherboard and would cost $750 to fix. My computer only cost $740 in the first place. Obviously, it was time to say goodbye. And after only three short months.

Here's the happy part. Little Brandon has a friend who offered to fix up a computer for me and sell it to me for only $35. This computer has more than my laptop did (which doesn't say much, since my laptop didn't even have Office.) I now have Photoshop, Office, and everything else I need. This is also thanks to little Brandon, who donated his 80-gig hard drive to the cause.

Moral of the story: Lindsey shouldn't make big purchases. Ever.

Goodbye, Mexico

Tomorrow I am leaving Mexico City, where I have been staying with my parents for the last month. It has been quite a fruitful experience-- I came to practice Spanish, and I sure did. Here is a list of things and experiences that I will so dearly miss when I am back in Provo.

Shopping with mom. Because when she sees me wearing something new she always says, "Ooh, maybe I should get that." And when I pick something up at the store she will sometimes say, "Are you serious?" But she still buys it for me. What a pro.

Getting calls from dad. He calls me from his office every day to tell me what time we will be seeing a house, tell me when he will be home, or ask if I need something printed out. And he always asks what time I woke up that morning, and he always laughs when I tell him. Hysterically. What is so funny about waking up at 1:30?

Hiding in my room when I wake up. Without fail, our maid or her husband is ALWAYS walking around the apartment when I wake up. So I have to wait in my room until she leaves before I can walk around in my underwear. Yes, I could put some clothes on, but having to do that in your own apartment is just ridiculous. But I guess so is hiding.

Pretty much anything that mom says or does. Asking our driver if he could "coger" us, saying "I'm glad I'm not sitting by you on the plane" after I ate some onions, or telling me to chase down a street vendor because a lady just walked by with lime sherbet, and she really wanted lime sherbet. I will have plenty of stories to tell thanks to her.

Fun-filled weekends. Mexico has so much to offer, and I have gone to Tequisquiapan, the zoo, and the National Museum of Anthropology all this month. In Tequis I befriended a delightfully bossy 10-year-old and sang and danced with Mexicans. At the zoo I got to listen to mom giggle because the sign on the exhibit said that the monkeys were classified by colored protrusions on their butts. At the museum today I felt smart because I was able to explain the characteristics of Mayan art. And dad didn't even get grumpy when we made him be fun.

Looking at houses with mom and dad. The houses aren't actually the fun part, it is listening to my parents and their stubborn ideas of what they want. And hearing my dad talk about fifteen different houses when we all know that my mom has already decided on one. Also, laughing with my mom about my dad's obsession with getting more square meters for the price. Because my parents obviously need a 5,500 square foot house.

Oh, Mexico. I will miss you.

Things I hate

Computer viruses. Especially when they come on a computer you have only had for 3 months. Even more when you then have to use your moms computer which has a spanish keyboard, so you dont know how to punctuate. But you can write ñ, ¿, and ¡.

How to one-up Poodle

1. Tell her that mom has offered you the pilot when you graduate since she stole the 4-runner.
2. Tell her that it has 3 rows of seats and is therefore cooler.
3. Brag about it all day long. Don't stop until you start annoying even yourself.

Question

What is the best way to have cute hair while it's growing out? I have been battling this dilemma my entire life. A few weeks ago I cut my hair short, and it looked really cute. Now it's already at a longish-awkward length. I don't have the patience to get a haircut every few weeks. What's a girl to do?

It doesn't help, either, that the lady who cut my hair cut too many layers in the front. Now it looks like I'm growing out a mullet. And when I try to put my hair up, all these pieces fall out and into my face. Maybe I should shave my head.

Things that make me laugh...

Hearing little Brandon sing a song over Skype, except when it was supposed to say "Mandy" he inserted "Lindsey."

Hearing him sing another song in a high, falsetto voice.

Seeing him dance to "eat it" on a web cam

And then they offered me a job, too.

I will be teaching a basic-level English conversation class for an hour and a half each weekday for the next three weeks. So anyone who thinks I'm not doing anything in Mexico (Ashley) can kiss it.

Then she made me laugh so hard I almost fell out of my chair

by saying, "people that listen to punk music scare me."

Brag post

Everyone already knows this, but I have the coolest mom EVER. Today she scored a job teaching at one of Mexico's top medical schools. And she didn't even apply for it! Way to go, mom the bomb.

I could get used to this

Tonight my parents and I went out to dinner to get shrimp tacos at a restaurant called Fishers. (We are in Mexico City, by the way.) We went to the counter to order from a youngish-looking Mexican boy. Awhile after getting our food, my dad went back to the counter to get some napkins and said youngish-looking Mexican boy gave him a CD and simply said, "para ella," and pointed to me. So here is my post to say that for once in my life, I LOVE being blonde, if for no other reason than because Latins like blondes and therefore I get free stuff.

I also have to say, if you ever thought Mexicans aren't high-class, think again. This morning I ate breakfast with TWO forks. It was about the fanciest thing I've ever seen.

the short-lived attempt at a road trip

It turns out that our 10-day road trip to Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Canada ends in Idaho. After spending an exciting day floating the canal and visiting the Potato Expo in Blackfoot (yes, Blackfoot's entertainment options are exhausted pretty quickly) Chris wanted to come back to Provo. So sadly our trip ended at that.

Many thanks to Brandon for not being a quitter, even though all our other friends eventually bailed on us.

I am so excited!

Tomorrow I leave on a 10-day road trip to Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Canada. The day after I get back, I go to Mexico for a month to practice Spanish, hang out with my mom, and volunteer at various places. Oh, and I chopped off all my hair and this is what it looks like.

Happy 4th, everyone

In case watching this guy strap fireworks to himself and ride down the street on a tricycle wasn't entertaining enough, I got to see a hot air balloon collapse in the street about a block from my house. Rocket man was great.

I just like this next picture because we all have such attractive facial expressions.

COLORADO!
Who would drive a sixteen-hour road trip just to be with her sister for a weekend? I would. Because I am a nice sister and I am just that fun and I love road trips that much. And I needed an excuse to buy this cute blue dress, and what better excuse than a wedding reception?

This is possibly my favorite picture of Poodle, partly because it's a classic Poodle pose and face, and partly because this is what she wore to go BACKPACKING.

Isn't this gorgeous? Seriously, it's something you would see on a postcard. BEAUTIFUL. And Poodle just had to include me putting my hair up.

Another gorgeous picture. My first backpacking trip, and it was fabulous.

10 things I will miss about Ashley

1. Having someone who loves to jump on me and to be jumped on
2. Singing monster ballads, Bon Jovi, and Roger Creager
3. Not being able to find my clothes in the morning (wait, that's a lie!)
4. The notes she writes to me on our etch-a-sketch
5. Tucking her in
6. Telling her about all the awkward/embarrassing moments of my life and thinking they were worth the trouble just because she is so entertained by them
7. Having her scare away boys, friends, and aquaintances because anyone too weak to handle our family isn't worth my time
8. Being asked who is older
9. Being bossed around
10. Salsa dancing

I am so sad!

This blog makeover is dedicated to Mom the Bomb.

The tiles on my blog title are the same ones which I used on the table I built a year ago. When I was showing these tiles to mom, this is what she said about them:

"oh, look, they have a uterus."

Apparently the white designs between the tiles look just like a uterus and the fallopian tubes. You rock, mom.

If I (by some miracle) have to go on a fancy date this summer, I will wear this.





However, the chances of that are about as slim as my chances of spending $438 dollars on those shoes. Still, that's a cute dress. Maybe I should convince one of my friends to get married so I can wear this to their reception.

Sometimes I forget

that there are people in this world who have only my blog to update them on the events in my life. So I apologize that this is a late notice.

I changed my major to Spanish and my minor to International Development. I figured out that the humanities are not for me, because I will never really try at any classes that I can BS that easily. As stated in a quote my Humanities teacher read:

"The key to success in a Humanities class is to say things that no rational person would ever say. Any sane person would say that Moby Dick is a big white wail. Not so for a humanities major- he would say that Moby Dick is fate, masculinity, or the future of America."

Obviously, this was not for me. I rediscovered that I really love Spanish while I was helping someone with a literature paper. I ended up explaining more than needed to be in the essay, inclding the history of the author and the Spanish revolution. And I liked it.

I thought international development would be cool just because I really want to live in a shack for the rest of my life.

I feel like this right now:



I finally have "gumption."

If you haven't seen the Holiday,I don't expect you to get it.

I thought this was funny. Sean is so in love with his legs, he sent me a picture of one.

On Sunday I got the best surprise of the summer-- I found out my soul sister Emily is coming to stay with me for a couple weeks in June. So, in order to officially make this the coolest vacation ever, I am taking suggestions for things to do while she is here. I've started the list, and I'm counting on my blogger buddies to finish it.

go to the Spanish Fork hot springs
take a road trip to either Moab or Yellowstone
go to that place with the mechanical bull; ride it (Poodle, I need your help with this)
go mountain biking
go fishing
go night rafting (I will need my friend to hook us up with that, but I think he'll do it for me)
and basically have a blast.

My Birthday Party

It was actually a blast. I used to fear that I could never be a good partier because nobody would ever come to my parties. Well, that's because nobody is as cool as these people. For example, in the above picture, Wes and I are showing off our birthday bling. (He's wearing the ginormous ring I just bought.)



This was a priceless Sean moment. I saw him with a hot dog in each hand and one on his shirt and I had to take a picture. I think he ate about 5.



And at last, Mary, Chinese Chris, White Chris and I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean at midnight. And yes, Mary made us all dress up as pirates. I think I look more like a house cleaning lady.

And best of all, I am writing this blog on my very own laptop. Yeah, kiss it.

Don't let my big blue eyes fool you

Jay Bishoff once told me, "You look like a really nice girl until you open your mouth." This isn't the first time I had been told that, either. I'm pretty sure that if a guy ever knew what he was getting himself into when he asked me out, he would never do it in the first place. The thing is, I really like it that way, and my friends seem to enjoy my eccentricities as well. I happen to be very proud of the fact that I was on the spelling team in high school, that I saw the Lizzie McGuire movie in theaters twice, that I can listen to both 90's grunge and Texas country, and that I have the uncanny ability to make people feel extremely uncomfortable if they haven't grown up around doctors. I am a bundle of surprises, not for the timid-hearted.

Crap or get off the pot.

Easier said than done. I kinda like the pot.
I used to think I was good at making decisions. Wrong. I suck at it. How can I be so sure of something for so long but not even know how I feel about it when the time comes to make a decision? It's a vicious cycle. I try to step back and analyze situations logically but it's impossible to make a good judgement when I am too freaked out to act normal. I am officially clueless.

On a brighter note, I finally ordered my Chacos- and I'm getting them for $54 instead of their original $95. Not that it matters, since mom and dad are paying for them, but I feel good whenever I save money. Now I can sport hiking sandals and nail polish on the same feet.

My summer (the beginnings)

Here I am with Ashley at her graduation. Four (or more) years of tests and lectures and all people want to do is take pictures and sit through a boring ceremony. Seriously, who invented graduations?

After a tiring day of shopping, Emily, mom, and I went to the Cheesecake Factory. I bought 2 shirts from Anthropoligie, one of which I'm wearing in this picture. Poodle would be proud. I have to say, I'm much more willing to buy there when it's on mom's bill.

Caroline thought my cowboy hat was way too much fun.

You might think that I'd wear cowboy boots in Texas. Wrong! These are none other than my dewberry-picking boots. Sexy knee-high rubber ones. This way I can stomp all though the thorns and not get hurt.

Here's Caroline.

I don't know how I feel about it but tell me if you like it, Bex.

Masques feel so weird. They also make you look like a freak.
But what makes you look like a freak even more is going to Smith's in one. Yes, this is what I did this week on a dare. But my friend in the top picture did it with me so I wouldn't feel too awkward. It was probably the first time I was dared to do something since about 5th grade.

Okay, Mom, this is my shady lamp before

And this is my shady lamp after. And don't worry, the skirts are still wearable, just a little mutilated.

Correction on the last post

As you all may know, internet personality tests suck, so I took the real color personality test and got completely different results. Here is my profile:

I am a white. That surprised me more than anything. Apparently, I am flexible, but more stubborn than people think, because I won't be bossed around. I work well with other people but I shut down if they are too demanading. I am willing and eager to talk about myself, but I don't give information out unless someone asks for it, so I'm usually very quiet. My major weakness is lack of motivation, and I will probably never be a very carreer-oriented person.

I also have some strong blue traits, which make me a high-maintenance girlfriend. I seek to be very close to people in relationships, and I always want to do everything together. If a friend doesn't want to spend every waking moment with me, I can easily feel neglected.

In decision making, some red shows through. I am always sure of myself and I am very independent. I'm also more logical than most blue-whites.

Congratulate me,

Because I finally have friends up here. And the best part is that I'm going to be living with them this fall. I was with them last night and we watched Swiss Family Robinson, Mr. Smith goes to Washington, and did some weird quizzes online, from which I found out that:

I was most likely a skunk in a previous life (there might be some validity to that statement)
If I were a mythological creature, I would be a centaur
And finally, in the color personality test, I am a yellow. Possibly the only one in my red-dominated family.

When your mom calls you "Shady," you know you're socially awkward

I recently found out that some people think I'm rude, shallow, and even slightly unintelligent because I'm quiet.

I guess they didn't get the memo about my nickname being "Shady," my unnatural fear of talking to people, or the fact that I never left my room for the majority of my teenage years. Or heard the story about how I worked 3 hours with a 102 degree fever because I was too shy to ask my boss if if I could go home. As far as I'm concerned, I've come a long way.

My apologies. Next time I see you, I'll make sure to give you a big fat hug and ask your how your day went, and if you would like some homemade cookies. That'll prove I'm smart.

Wow, I have so many choices.

I think the one thing keeping me from having fun lately is the stupid ideas that people have put into my head about being responsible and what I can and can't do. I've caught myself hesitating on certain things because everyone teaches you that you can't do that.

Like this weekend, when I wondered wether or not I should go to a friend's barbecue up in Sandy, because it's a long drive and I might waste gas.
Or Monday, when I was having a bad day but it didn't occur to me that I could go anywhere because it was a school night.

And this is coming from the same girl that Ashley used to have to wrestle to bed every night (literally). I'm acting like an old person.

So last night I had fun thinking of all the little things that I can do, even though people might think it's weird.
I can wear my pajamas to campus. There's no rule against it. In fact, if it's ugly and unflattering, BYU's all for it.
I can eat ice cream with, or even for, breakfast. Mom does it all the time. I don't know why I didn't think of this before.
I can go get a fish taco at 2 AM if I want to. I don't have a bedtime. It's no use pretending I'm not going to more than make up for any lack of sleep with naps the next day.
I can grow a jalapeno plant in my room. That way, if there is some kind of disaster and Utah runs out of food, I can live off of those.
I can even put a George Foreman grill on the floor by my bed so I can wake up to the smell of bacon every morning. Too bad I'm not Michael Scott, so I'm not going to do that.

I have finally come to terms with all the possibilities of being on my own, and I am really excited about it.

I got a job for the summer!

And I'm not excited about it because I do anything fun. Actually, all I do is take phone calls. But we are allowed to do homework and surf the internet when it's slow. Getting paid to do nothing and mess around-- that's pretty much my dream job.

Which reminded me of a Seinfeld episode, and I realized my attitude is alot like George's. Anyone remember the one where he applies for a job at an industrial smoothing company?

George: It's the perfect job for me!
Jerry: Sure, but what does it have to do with the Yankees?
George: That doesn't matter! The place is a mess-- there is no organization. I could go crazy there!

And that is exactly how I feel.

A startling realization

came when last Saturday I sat down to watch Nacho Libre after a barbecue at a friend's house for the first time since I had dressed up as Nacho himself to see the movie on opening day.

The movie really isn't that great.

Perhaps the people I was with, getting to curl Ricky Huizar's hair, or stuffing a pillow down his shirt so he would look like a fat Mexican kid made it good for just that one time. But I sadly wouldn't recommend the movie to anyone.

Happy Birthday, Sean

Actually it was yesterday. Here he is with the cake I made him pretending to lick it. He's weird.

And here he is again at his show. They played really well, and it was a ton of fun. I tried to get a picture of him looking up but he never did. He gets really focused on playing.

Ruth and Renae came to the show, too.

And here's the whole band. I thought this was a cool picture. They went crazy on stage.

It wasn't me!!!

I am posting this to let the world know that I DO NOT fart in front of boys, despite what Sean and his roommate think. They might fart in front of me, but I don't return the favor.

This all started last night when something smelled terrible-- obviously a fart. We looked at each other and then Sean looked at his roommate and said "hey, did you just fart?" After his roommate denied it, I said, "It wasn't me." I guess that was the wrong thing to say because for seriously 10 minutes after that they were blaming it on me and trying to convince me that it HAD to have been me, because if it was neither Sean nor his roommate, who else was left besides me? I was hounded with "Just admit it- you're blushing!" and "I smelled it out of my left nostril, and that means it came from YOUR direction." His logic was pretty convincing. After awhile I couldn't even remember if it was me or not. "I don't know... I think I would have noticed something like that... I can't remember if I did it or not! Am I crazy?" Maybe I am. But at least it made him laugh.

San Diego
We celebrated Chinese New Year in our hotel because Ruth is half chinese. I'm eating Thai food in this picture, though, but we decided that if we at least have Asian food, it could count. Ruth thought it was really funny that I was eating Pad Thai while lying down, so she took this picture. It is a perfect representation of why I love taking road trips with only girls-- I can look butt ugly and do really gross stuff and still not care what they think.

This is Jasmine and I at the beach when we went at night. This was shortly before Ruth's cell phone was eaten by a wave. Renae, Ruth and I also got hit by a huge wave that night, so we were fully clothed and soaking. It felt so nice to get back to the hotel after that.

The San Diego Zoo was the bomb. It was raining the entire time, hence the ponchos, but that just meant that it was much less crowded. In this picture I'm standing in front of some monkeys that were really cute.

In this picture Ruth was making fun of Renae for climbing the rocks and being such a little indian girl. I thought it was a cute picture, though.

This trip was also the first time I had been to a beach in a few years, so I thoroughly enjoyed it. Ruth and I were even crazy enough to go swimming. And if anyone has ever been to the Pacific in February, it's not exactly warm. I could barely feel my butt when I got out of the water.

I thought this picture was cute, too. I took this as Jasmine, me, and Renae went for a walk on the beach. We also saw a transvestite who was having fun walking on the beach. I think this picture was taken before we saw him, though, because we wouldn't have looked so cheerful and innocent if it had been taken afterwards.

It was really nice to get out of Provo and have an entire weekend to spend with girls, especially ones who are my age. There are certain things that you just can't do around either guys or older people, which include listening to the Lizzie McGuire soundtrack, playing Truth or Dare, and talking about High School. I can't wait for the next trip. Still, I was excited to get back mainly for one reason...

Shot through the heart

This cookie was our tribute to Bon Jovi, because it looked like it had been shot. Sean isn't the best cookie decorator, but this one turned out pretty cool.

Sunday was fun too mainly for five reasons:
1. I gave a talk and didn't trip or fart on the way up, which I am always scared of doing
2. I got a ton of compliments on my red and white dress, and people would even come up to me and ask if they could feel it
3. Sean got a note during church that said "I think you are a cool guy, and I also think your girlfriend is cute"
4. I got a note that said "cup of water does not equal rolling pin" (referring to when Sean and I made cookies and had to use cups as rolling pins)
5. I got a free dinner compliments of Mike and Sherri

ROAD TRIP!!!!

San Diego, President's Day weekend. Beach, zoo, the works. I am SO EXCITED!

My 2 favorite terms learned from Sean Graham

Crotch inserts are the technical term for the padding in biking shorts. Only someone like Sean who owns more biking outfits than normal clothes would know that. When I heard those two words put together for the first time, it took about 15 minutes for me to stop laughing. And he says I'm so mature for my age.

Butt connectors are little tube things that connect two wires. Sean taught me this while I was helping him connect the reverse lights on his truck to the rear defroster switch. Now anytime he wants to back up, he can simply press the rear defroster switch and his lights turn on. What I don't think he understands is that that is still more complicated than just having them turn on when he puts his car into reverse. He thinks it's a great idea, though, becase he can turn them on if someone is tailgating him on the highway. However, if he wants to defrost his rear window, it won't be that simple.

Mom,

This weekend I think I'm going to go trapse around Provo. Just thought you'd like to know that.

For Naomi

Who's rockin the peacock? Oh, right, that's me.

Rated: R

Alright, this post is for everyone who wanted to see what I did this weekend. So I posted the picture of me and Matt's old mission companion that we are going to send to him (we're also going to tell him we're dating), the picture of my friend and his Rated R cake, the picture of the dress I bought (so mom could see it) and the picture of my new swimsuit (so Ashley could see it). These are all the people and things that make living in Provo not so bad.

I'm moody

Why did I never realize this before? It really just occurred to me. Last night when I was going to see a movie, I looked like I wanted to kill someone on the way there and on the way back I was laughing hysterically. So I wanted to post this to say sorry to all those who have been with me when I was well... less than chipper. I'll try to do better.

P.S. Mom, my swimsuit came in the mail, so thanks. It's so cute I even modeled my blog colors after it. And if you want to know why I had to get a swimsuit in January, don't ask, because I don't know either.

I miss...

Yes, I'm back in Utah. I don't really know what to say about that because it has its advantages and disadvantages. I really miss Texas. There's something about the Guadalupe and warm weather that makes me want to stay outside forever. It's my home.

I got to see my best friend over the break, too. If I believed in soulmates, I would think she was mine, although her being a girl would make things a little complicated. She has the talent of making me giggle like a 12-year-old girl. I've never known anyone who understands me so well and who I can talk to about ANYTHING. She hasn't changed since we were eight years old, and it makes seeing her a ton of fun, and leaving her totally depressing.

So here I am in Provo, craving barbecue and fried catfish and all those southern comforts that I had to leave behind. I guess this is my homesick post, and an opportunity for me to vent about snow and cold and Provo in general. It's going to be a long four months.

Coop the Poop doggy dog

This morning my mom comes running up to me giggling and says, "Hey, did you see Cooper's poop?" So my response was, "No... was I supposed to?" and she told me that she wanted to show it to me, because it was just too funny. My dog has had an obsession with these cat slippers that my mom got from someone at her office. They were too ugly to really wear, but running around the house with Cooper chasing your feet was fun, so we got some good use out of them. Well, yesterday Cooper not only chased them, but ripped them open and ate the fluffy filling out of them. He also has a fascination with paper, which is funny because if you show him a napkin and say "treat," he WILL eat it. Mom was explaining that this morning Cooper left his usual surprise in the garage, but when she sprayed the garage out, everything washed away except the part she showed me. It was a big ball of white fluff.

Eye mull of mush sheen

Everyone do me a favor and say that quickly in a very loud voice. Today at church, my friend Naomi brought a card from Mad Gab. In case you've never played that game before, there are cards that have a bunch of words that sound like other words. You are supposed to say the words and guess what you're trying to say. The words above make "I'm a love machine." She succeeded in getting my dad, Poodle, and two missionaries to say it out loud over and over again. It was pretty funny. So we had my dad walking through the hall saying, "I'm a love machine. I'm a love machine. I don't get it." Hilarious.

What does my mom think of me?

(Christmas morning, I open a box with a red silky shirt in it.)
Ashley: That shirt looks like lingerie.
Mom: I know. Why do you think I gave it to Shady?

(Looking at a shoe advertisement)
Mom: Ballerina flats. Those look cute.
Me: Yeah, but I don't look good in them.
Mom: Oh, yeah. That's because you have cankles.

(This morning)
Me: Do I have a big butt?
(Mom looks up at me and starts to laugh)
Mom: Wow, yeah, you sure do.

I think I get it from my dad

And by "it" I mean my dancing and coordination skills.
Apparently, at my dad's company's Christmas party this weekend, he decided to steal the spotlight and perform his Russian dance in front of everyone. However, he lost his balance and did a somersault backwards into the crowd of spectators. Thankfully, he's Michael el Jefe and everyone still thought he was cool. And who wouldn't? He's 52 and can still Russian dance. That might be even more cool than riding into the party on a donkey. Way to go, Dad the Bad.

From What about Bob:


I'm FREE!!!!!


I'm done with ALL my assignments. No more Spanish paper, no more Anthropology anything! Now all I have to do is sit on my butt and feel it grow (and then work it off after New Years). Yay!

Some of my favotite foods

ice cream
shakes
yogurt
cereal
milk
cheese
cream cheese
sour cream

So I don't even have to say what an unpleasant surprise it was to find out this weekend that I'm lactose intolerant.

Mom is hilarious

(on the phone a couple weeks ago)
Me: Sean's roommates are funny. Yesterday they were talking about how they like cute girls more than hot girls.
Mom: Oh, really?
Me: Yeah, apparently, hot girls have no personality.
Mom: So you're just cute? Well, my daughters aren't just cute. My daughters are hot. I hope you tell them that some hot girls do have personality.

And Poodle, I am a good cook. I made enchiladas this week and Sean said they were so good I'm practically Mexican.

Things I'm thankful for

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I would like to pay tribute to each member of my family for doing such a bang-up job of entertaining me and making me weird. Here is what I'd like to thank them for:

Mom: Thanks to you, I know that winning (or at least finishing) really is everything. If it weren't for you, I'd still be 100 feet in front of the finish line at the Pioneer Day race. And you weren't even ashamed to have a daughter that didn't think she could finish a 5k. Maybe your athletic genes may not have been passed on to me, but that drive did transfer over to spelling and Spanish. Where would I be if I didn't know how to spell otorrinolaringologo?

Dad: I have you to thank for my impressive sense of fashion. You have more purses than I do, and nicer ones, too. You taught me that dark shirts look good on us because we have light hair. No one else can say that their dad wears Sean John suits with black shiny shirts and looks good in them.

Bethany: I'm thankful for you because you humble me. Anytime I think I'm pretty cool, all I have to do is look at you and I know I have a long way to go before I'll be perfect. I used to think that all married people were boring but you proved me wrong. You are the official source of advice in our family because everyone trusts your opinion. Even mom listens to you. And I copied your kayaking hobby-- that should show you how much I want to be you.

Brother: If it weren't for you, I'd be a girl. Well, at least a really girly one. You taught me to whistle to songs, burp really loudly, and make fun of mom. You are so fun to play Chinese Checkers with, especially when you won't let me go to bed until you've beat me at least once, because I'm just that good. You also taught me cool ways to jump off rope swings on the Guadalupe. Good times.

Poodle: We are kindred spirits. I'm so glad I'm not the only shady person in the family. Life would be no fun if people didn't think I had a twin. You introduced me to blogging and speed scrabble, although you're still the best at both of those. I can always turn to you for advice on how to be pretty, for which I am very grateful. You're the golden standard for the perfect career, because who doesn't want to spend all day getting hit on by teenage boys?

Fernash: You are my voice. Thanks to you, people actually know things about me, including at exactly what time I get home every night and what boy I was with is and what he looks like and how long I've known him. You even tell people things I don't know, like how long my relationship will last and why I'm being so shady today. I probably wouldn't get called if it weren't for you, either, because you've given out my number to more people than I have.

Bexar: I'm thankful for you because you went to high school with me and actually got along with me. While siblings in other families were having feuds, we went on drives, ate lunch together, and actually told each other things. We were friends even on my most hormonal days. Because of that, I still call you every time I meet a cute boy. You made my freshman year fun.

My halloween group. I love you guys.

My wish list... because I love looking at pretty things

My cute new hair

Happy Birthday Matteo!!!

You're 20 now, and that's OLD.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHLEY!!!

You're gonna love your present.