My Christmas Vacation So Far...

I'll start with my drive home. Mapquest told me it would take 12 hours and 53 minutes. I knew I could beat that. You can always beat a mapquest time. But driving that long is going to require gas and food breaks which I raced through, the sole intent being to beat the Mapquest time. I was halfway home at 5 hours and 15 minutes and feeling good. I gave a little honk as I passed the NASCAR speedway in Bristol. The sun was shining and I was listening to "The Old Man and the Sea" on CD. Then my grandmother called and told me a winter storm was headed my way and when I got 50 miles from home I would hit it, so I should just stop and get a hotel. I'm so sure I was going to drive 750 miles then stop when I was just 50 miles from home. She demanded this actually with a tone that instilled enough fear in to me to consider not answering the phone if she called again. But then she would probably think I had been killed in the winter storm. You see, my grandmother is an alarmist. Once she called my mom at work and told her I had been kidnapped after she demanded the landlord let her into our apartment where no one was answering the door. Where was I? At school, where any good 12-year-old girl would be in the middle of the day.

As I drove along, the rain started and just as she had warned me it started getting bad about 50 miles from home. Because of the weather I had slowed down to 50 mph. I said to myself "only one more hour to go." Then at 40 miles from home, I had slowed down to 40mph. "One more hour to go," I thought. And at 30 miles as the weather increasingly worsened, yes I was going 30mph. I determined at this rate, I would never get home. Finally I did and as I ran down the hall to the restroom, I made my mom call my grandmother to tell her I had arrived because I was too scared to talk to her.

All in all, my trip ended up being 13 hours 45 minutes. Mapquest wins.

My 4-year-old brother hates buttons. I don't know where this came from but all his clothes must have only zippers, snaps and velcro. Sometimes we chase him with buttons to make his scream. When he sits down to breakfast at the dinner table he asks if there is a button in his orange juice. When you come up to him, he makes you open your hands to make sure there are no buttons in it. He likes to call them butts for short. He probably learned this from me and Carly. When he says "fish" it sounds like "B**ch." He grabs my cheeks and makes a fishy face and says "you are a B**ch" over and over while my mom and I laugh until we cry. We are crossing our fingers he doesn't do this in front of my grandmother who will think he has learned it from us.

I found out my mom is more irrational than I am. First of all, her heat is set on 85 degrees. She thinks Ruby Tuesday's is the greatest restaurant ever. "Think of how fun it is to eat here," she said. "They have those delicious black croutons." She also sleeps with her blinds partially open so she can see any terrorists who may try to break in. I guess there probably are a lot of terrorists in Jackson, TN breaking in bedroom windows.

My grandfather asked me how much I got paid and then went around telling everyone. My grandmother told me, again, that I need to watch Brigham City. You can only appreciate this by knowing that at least 3 times a month she tells me I need to watch it, relaying the same stories about how my cousin Ryan said it was the best movie he's ever seen, etc, etc...Seriously, I cannot believe how much she talks about Brigham City. So my mom and I were sitting at her kitchen table and she had her back turned to us and said, "I'll tell you what you should have gotten at Blockbuster." I quickly looked at my mom and whispered, "Brigham City." My grandmother immediately launched into her same stories about it and I was laughing so hard I was crying. She turned around and asked what was so funny. My mom was giving me a dirty look but I couldn't help myself. I just made up something about Ethan and moved on.

Last night we were playing Balderdash after Christmas dinner, a tradition at my uncle Cotton's house. This is always a treat because Cotton is hilarious and loves to talk in funny voices during the game. Last night he was doing his "Mississipppi Delta" accent. And really, what is funnier than people with Southern accents making fun of people with even thicker Southern accents. And my aunt Karen can't win for anything so she just resorts to making us laugh by writing things like: The definition for Shilleebeer "Shumting to drink when you are feeling a little bit Shillee."

So now I have written a really long blog that is probably one of those "You had to be there" things. Hope you all are enjoying the Holidays...

Why I won 20 Questions...

even though Emily declared at the end, "Well I think if we were to declare a winner, it would have to be me."

(Emily also thinks the objective behind 20 questions is to pick a general, easy enough person, place or thing, to ensure the other person is able to guess it.)

Here's what happened. You be the judge...

A little after midnight on a fun-filled Saturday night, Emily and I decided to stop by a diner for some breakfast. On the way there, Emily found the deck of cards in my passenger car door "52 Things to do in the Car." She said we had to do whatever she pulled out, which happened to be 20 questions.

So she picked something first. She happened to pick the main character from the movie we had just seen. I got it in 3 questions.
Marcy: 1, Emily: 0

For my turn, I picked Juliette Binoche. Of course I admit this is a tough one, but Emily is a connoisseur when it comes to foriegn/artsy/independent films. And I thought of JB because she is in Chocolat with Johnny Depp, star of the movie we had just seen. She got it narrowed down to a brunette actress over 30 who is alive and probably doesn't live in Hollywood. A good springboard. She never got it though, even after I gave her the following hints:

in a movie with Johnny Depp, who plays a river rat, set in France, also starring Dame Judi Dench, and she wears a red cape in the movie and her daughter's character has an imaginary pet kangaroo.
Marcy: 1 , Emily: 0

Next Emily picked a smurf. While I determined it was a cartoon character, she threw me clear off when I asked, "is it an animal?" and she replied "yes." Okay how many of you out there think of Smurfs as animals? Exactly. She then gave me the hint, "Ask about time periods" Then when I asked if the cartoon was set in Medieval times, she replied, "I don't know... I don't really know what time period it is." So of course I never got it and when she finally had to tell me, we commenced the ongoing argument of "smurfs: people or animals?"
Marcy: 1, Emily: -1 (smurf = animal penalty)

Next, I did George Clooney to give her a break. We had both recently seen Oceans 12 , and she got it fairly quickly by asking, "Is he in Oceans 12?" Then she just went through the 3 actors she knows in the movie and got it.
Marcy: 1, Emily: 0

Next she did a Christmas tree star. I got it narrowed down to a lot of vague facts that she wouldn't give a yes or no too...meaning it is a thing, smaller than a breadbox, worth less than $10, she doesn't have one but wants one, sometimes metal, sometimes different colors, sort of shaped like a triangle. What? So the triangle thing really threw me off and so finally she said, "think along the lines of Christmas ornaments." I immediately got it after this huge hint.
Marcy: 2 Emily: 0

Finally I decided to do Stephen Tyler. I knew she not might know his name, but any sort of description letting me know she knew who it was would have won her the point. She got it narrrowed down to a dark-haired rocker in a band, between ages 40-60, who had had hits over many decades. She couldn't get it.. Never did, even after I gave her the following hints:

He has long hair, a huge mouth, has a famous actress daughter, his first name starts with S and his one word band name starts with A.
Marcy: 2, Emily -1 (penalty again, for not getting it even after having been given more v. obvious hints than questions answered)

We then paid and left the diner, having had no conversation the entire time except for our ongoing game of 20 questions. We spent the drive home discussing the previous topic, "Smurfs: People or Animals?" and decided we are not compatible 20 questions players.

At Home to Re-Group

I quickly came home because I needed to put a stop to the "Series of Unfortunate Events" that has been going since I woke up this morning.

I went to Target where I looked at a lot of things for my little brother and cousins, couldn't decide if they would like them or not and ended up buying none of them, which means I am just going to have to go somewhere else or back to Target to get their presents. This took an hour and a half including the time I retraced all my steps inside Target looking for the list I dropped containing everything I need to do over the next few days and never found.

I then went to the post office to mail Kacy's prize for my new "Name That Song" contest. I jumped in the Express line and when I was next in line the lady in front of me said to the cashier "Those are mine," pointing to about 35 boxes stacked near the desk. I don't know who let this lady in the Express line but peeps were getting angry. Then I got out to my car and couldn't find my keys. I looked all thru my purse and pockets, just as I had done when I couldn't find my list in Target. I looked in my car to make sure they weren't locked in there. Meanwhile someone was waiting for my parking spot. I went back into the post office and the cashier had them. Normally I am not this scatterbrained.

I concluded that part of my problem/mood was the fact that it was 2 and I hadn't eaten anything. I whipped through the Burger King drive through where the lady handed me my drink with a loose lid. You can probably guess that as I took it, I spilt it down the front of my shirt. My new soft pink fleece that I have been wearing every day this week with my new pink moccassins (both from shopping trip with Carly) and planned on continuing to wear them for the next few days.

So that is why I came home to regroup and rewrite my list.

I can also attempt to put on my new windshield wipers while it is still light outside. Next week, I'm going to drive home (12 hours) and my dad told me to get new wipers and check the air in my tires. Well, being a good daughter, I picked up some new wipers today and even bought valve extenders for my tires b/c I can't seem to get the gauge up to it properly. So today, I'm going to attempt to measure the air in my tires also. Not that I know what the level should be, or even how to add air if I need to....It also worries me a little that I don't know how to change a tire. I don't have a jack or anything anyway, but I think this is something I should find out. It can't be that hard, I watch them do it in NASCAR all the time. And last year when a tree branch knocked out my tail light during a storm, I bought and installed a new one myself. Well, at least I have a cell phone, and maybe next time the home teachers ask, "Is there anything we can do for you?" I'll hit them up for a little automotive instruction.

Last night, I exchanged gifts with a couple of friends. One girl gave us all these really nice ornaments. There were "Angels of ________" and I got the Angel of Learning, who was holding a book. I was thrilled that out of all of them she had thought of me when she chose the learning one. Just when I was feeling proud and literary, she informed that she chose it for me because it had "shorter blonde hair, and you let me borrow that church book once." Indeed, I have been humbled.

Name This Song

A small prize will be awarded to the first person who can E-MAIL me (see my profile page to email) with the correct title and artist of the following song:

"You ask if I love you, well what can I say?
You know that I do and if this is just one of those games that we play.."

Please include your mailing address. Best of luck.

How I Overcame My Fear of Robbers Through Hospital Attendance

My first memorable experience in the hospital was when I was 13. I had an outpatient surgery on my eyelid. It had been bruised when I was born and so for the first 13 years of my life, my left lid drooped slightly lower than my right. This surgery was traumatic for me. After the old doctor with hair in his ears fixed me up, I woke up in the recovery room, caused a lot of trouble for the nurse there, and finally declared to my family that I would never have surgery again.

A couple of years later, my grandfather was in the hospital at Vanderbilt. I went to visit him and when I walked in his hospital room and saw the tube of blood coming out of his neck, I almost passed out. I immediately walked out of the room and laid down on the floor in the hallway.

Then in college, I had a roommate who got her appendix out. I went over when I got off work to sit with her. She was just coming out of the anesthesia when I arrived and was still pretty loopy. And sick. I held the bedpan that she continuously threw up in. Then her hometeachers came in for a visit. When they walked in she yelled out in a British accent, "I'M TOTALLY NUDE!" I held in the laughter and told them it was fine to come in because, in fact, she had on a hospital gown. I did find out later that she was totally nude underneath that gown, when I saw a lot more than I bargained for as I helped her to the restroom. Finally I was relieved by someone else and as I walked out of the hospital room, I started to cry. I called my mom from a payphone in the waiting room. A kind older gentleman saw me crying and brought over a chair for me to sit in and offered me his condolences. Of course, he thought someone must have died with the way I was acting.

Later, however, I did feel pretty good that I had done what needed to be done when it needed to be done, even if I did have a minor breakdown afterwards.

I had always been afraid that when a moment of emergency comes, I would freeze up and not be able to react as I should. This fear stems from two separate experiences. As a child, I had an irrational fear of robbers. (Are you surprised that I would have an irrational fear? ) I felt it was not a matter of if, but when our house would be broken into.

One weekend I was visiting my dad and my sister and I were sleeping on the daybed and trundle in the nursery where my new baby sister was asleep. I woke up in the night and saw two figures moving and whispering outside my window. I knew I needed to do something and I was so convinced that the window screen was being cut that, had there been a phone in the bedroom, I would have called 911. I was so mortified that I couldn't even move. I kept whispering "Jenny" until my sister finally stirred. I told her that someone was breaking into the house. She told me to shut up and then rolled over. It took me about 5 minutes and all the strength I had to push off my comforter and actually fall off of the bed and onto the floor. I slowly crawled to the bedroom door and when I opened it, my dad was standing there. I screamed and then started hyperventilating. He asked me what was wrong and I said men were trying to break in. He quickly ran outside where he found that the wind had blown a chair from the porch up against the window and the flag on the house was making shadows on the window from the streetlight. He had heard me fall off the bed through the baby monitor and had come to see what was going on. My family still gives me a hard time about this by acting scared and saying, "There's a flag outside my window!"

Less than a year later, I woke up one night and was really hot. I decided to go downstairs where it was cooler and sleep in the guest room. I did and was still hot, so I decided to sleep on the floor next to the A/C vent. I laid down and looked up and saw a man pearing in through the bottom 6" of the floor length window where the blinds were not quite pulled all the way down. Again, I froze and didn't move. I just laid there staring, with every muscle in my body all tensed up for who knows how long. The man left quickly and I continued to do nothing. Finally after some time, I was able to get up and wake up my mom.

Basically after these two experiences, I realized that despite Ally McBeal-like daydreams I have of myself chasing someone who might grab my purse and then beating him to the ground Alias-style, I am really a huge wimp who, when confronted with her fears, does nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Now the hospital experience was obviously nothing compared to what a real break-in would be like, but it gave me the confidence to realize that, yes, I can cope with unpleasant situations and do what needs to be done, even if I need to have a small emotional breakdown immediately following it.

Celebrity Spell Check

Dear Readers:

I know I have mentioned in the past that Britney is dead to me. And she is. It all started when the shocking picture of her with a cigarette came out and spiraled continously downward from there...ending with the recent wedding. Did you see those "bridesmaid dresses," I mean, velour sweatsuits?

But as I have been reading your blogs (and I'm surprised how many of them mention her), I have always found her name misspelled.

The proper spelling is B-R-I-T-N-E-Y. She even courteously spelled it out for us in her song "Intimidated." Email me (see my profile page), if you would like to hear it. She also has a weird line in the song that says, "And if my pgo’s o, no, don’t give up to that" I have no idea what this means. Before she was dead to me, I emailed her to ask, but she never wrote back.

I read in How to Win Friends and Influence People that you should never correct people and I like to stick to that. But I figured a broad generalization like this wouldn't offend anyone, would it? Well, anyway there is no offense meant.

Sincerely,
Marcy Dibbleblotts

A Visit from Clete

These are just a few of my favorite highlights from the past few days:

Picked up Carly at 1 a.m. Thursday. She told me that Mike had said to get some rest and not stay up all night talking. We talked til almost 4 a.m.

Mike told me not to let Carly spend too much money while she was here. The first place I took her was Potomac Mills with 10 neighborhoods of Outlet shopping.

Everytime we ate, Carly called Mike to tell him what we were having and how good it was.

A strange conversation at my roommate's birthday party about tongues touching eyeballs. I don't understand it or why that would ever happen.

Wasted $4 on blinking Red nose that will never wear.

Read "You Can't Kill the Rooster" in Books-A-Million to see what all the David Sedaris hype is about.

Was told I like comfort foods after rambling on and on about restaurants and food. Carly and Neil, food is not the only thing I know. Although I do know quite a bit about it.

Ate the most delicious macaroni and cheese EVER. Seriously. Hands down the best.

Sat behind a girl in Relief Society whose crack was showing. After conferring with everyone around me, finally told her to pull up her skirt.

Carly constantly was talking about needing to go through my closet, look at my stuff, how she felt attached to my wardrobe and was upset that we lived so far away and doesn't know what I wear anymore.

My mom called to tell me that my little brother found his Santa Claus presents. She told him they were for a poor little boy who has no presents until she can figure out a solution.

Watched Dodgeball. I would have a hard time being good friends with someone who didn't think this was funny.

I was debating on a dress I had on in the dressing room at J.Jill. Carly told me it was a sign that I needed to buy it when Coldplay came on.

Just asked Carly what she is doing right now. She said she is blogging a list about her trip. I better hurry up and finish this one so mine will be up first.

Luckily, my mom called yesterday to interrupt the awkward moment when the Target clerk was ringing up my 5 whoopee cushions.

Crap, Carly beat me with her blog. Just read it. Hers is funnier. Don't know if I can post this. Oh well, for a funnier version of this post, please see Carly's post.

The Contents of My Purse

2 front pockets:

keys
cell phone
paper clip
a dime
a hair barrette
2 old empty reese's cup wrappers
one old post it note containing Target shopping list
one silver jelly roll pen
one piece orbit gum

Inside the purse:

first section
1 pair black pantyhose
1 container undeveloped film (approx 3 months old)
1 religious pocket calendar sold to me for $2 by my nun great-aunt
1 flyer about helping iraqi school children with spit out gum inside
1 3x5 card containing goals for 2005
1 CVS pharmacy receipt
a list of what i want for Christmas
ATM receipt from 11/24/04, withdrawal $40
notecard with math re: how much tithing i should have paid this year
Church program
Christmas shopping list
3 empty gum wrappers
1 quarter
2 dimes
1 red pen

center section:
$10 (yes!)
Tithing settlement printout

last section:
Visiting Teaching message
wallet
tithing slip
ATM withdrawal slip, today, $40
dry cleaning pick up slip
check book
tithing check (can you tell I have tithing settlement tonight)
throat lozenges (generic citrus)
dental checkup receipt
nail file, Wet and Wild with purple lips on it
ibuprofen
mirror
2 bottles hand sanitizer
1 red pen
2 black pens
1 purple shell bracelet (from Costa Rica, souvenir from Stacie's Thankgiving trip)
3 empty gum wrappers
1 quarter
1 empty package of Extra gum
chap stick
1 pair of earrings

Just call me Mary Popppins.

Gratitude Journal: Coming out of the Blog Closet

As I mentioned in my 100 things post, I have basically been a secret blogger. It's because I used to hate the idea of blogging and think it was a waste of time. Well, maybe I still do, but that hasn't stopped me yet. I am an ashamed blogger.

But as of 3:50pm today, I have come out of the blog closet with Loco, Schatze and Roxy....now I am a guilt-free blogger. I can breathe a sigh of relief. I mean, the only reason I hadn't told them is because I was ashamed...I thought they would think I'm crazy or ridiculous, basically because I think I'm crazy and ridiculous for doing it.

Coming out of the blog closet has not been easy for me but I'm glad I did it. And I'm glad that my friends are such good friends that they still love me despite my flaws, of which, blogging is probably not the worst.

Back By Popular Demand

Ok well back by Rebecca's demand.

So last night I was at the First Presidency Christmas Devotional and afterwards there were refreshments and carolers, etc...So I was talking with my friend Ashley (who sometimes does the stand alone thing with me at Institute) and I said, "If you had to kiss someone in here right now, who would it be?" After she said who she would like to kiss, I said I would choose Jonas. Now I don't really know Jonas very well, but he is cute and funny and, after all, it's not like it was real. Almost immediately after this conversation, I was talking to my roommate Wayne and Jonas came over and asked her for a ride home. Go figure. We had driven separately because I had come early. So when I saw that they were behind me, I drove home really fast. I don't know why. I thought he might think it was cool that I was driving fast, even though he probably didn't even know it was me. But if he did know it was me, I'm sure he thought it was cool.

Oh well, Jonas thinks I'm crazy anyway because these are the only things I have ever said to him:

1.) Wayne invited him to our annual Summer BBQ in June and he came in through the gate to the back yard and I was ready to greet him and his brother as any good hostess should. He walked up and we stood there with a branch in between us, blocking our vision of each other, but neither of us moved out of the way. Then I said, "I don't think we've been formally introduced. I'm Marcy, I'm glad you could come to our party." I might not have felt so stupid or as if I had acted like I'd just stepped out of a Jane Austen book if he had not replied with "Oh, is this our formal introduction?" and an are-you-crazy-smile.

2.) At the same BBQ I went out the front door to take out some trash and Jonas was standing all alone in the driveway in the front yard. I was caught by surprise that he was out there and exclaimed, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT HERE?" He mentioned he was just looking around and that he had never known our street existed even though he lives 1/2 mile down the street... to which I replied, "Oh, well our house is the place where squirrels go to die." Then we stood there by the garbage can and I proceeded to tell stories about the dead squirrels in our yard and how I disposed of them. Then we walked to the back yard in silence.

3.) Finally, a few months ago we had these "small group dinners" in our ward where you sign up and they assign you into groups of 10 or 12 and then you all have a potluck dinner together. So Schatze, Wayne and I were assigned to Jonas's house. When we were leaving, I said, "I have a question for you." When I said this everyone stopped to listen which really was not good because already I was trying to make my comment low-key. Anyway, I then proceeded to ask him about a t-shirt he had worn approximately 2 years before. He said he didn't have a t-shirt like that. And I looked stupid and crazy...but I'm telling you he has this shirt. The reason I KNOW is because he wore it to institute a few years ago and on the back it said "Nu-Seal." Schatze and I noticed because just the weekend before she had to have her trunk resealed and this guy from Nu-Seal did it. He had us meet him in some parking lot and he looked like Bon Jovi. It all seemed a little shady but worked out in the end. So of course we noticed when Jonas wore this shirt that said Nu-Seal on the back. I definitely should have just asked him about it then though, instead of waiting two years.

Also, earlier yesterday on the way to church, I was driving down the Interstate and I looked and Jonas was behind me. We did not acknowledge each other. Me because I feel embarrassed whenever I see him. Him because he thinks I am crazy. He then passed me. Then I passed him. Then I exited and he didn't. I decided to race him to see which way to the church was faster. I won the secret victory. Then on the way home last night, when I was watching Stacie and him talking in my rear view mirror I thought, "I should have said something funny to him tonight like, 'You didn't know it, but I raced you to church today.'" Then I thought about these 3 past examples of our conversations and was grateful that, for once, I held my tongue with Jonas.

Thanksgiving Gratitude Journal

I had birthday cake for breakfast. Today I will make my first ever green bean casserole from simplest recipe found online. Is Thanksgiving and can eat and watch movies and nap all I want without guilt. Today can try out Kacy's "doing" routine on stairs without anyone seeing me. Am charging cell phone because expecting many birthday calls today. Carly arrives two weeks from today. Enormous zit magically shrank over night. Can watch as much Seventh Heaven as want without ridicule. Has been raining, so no yardwork this weekend. Have loads of sweets to eat because friends feel bad must be alone on birthday. Have received 2 cakes, cookies and cheesecake bars. Love being alone on birthday to eat said sweets and be lazy and watch movies, etc.

Must go now to get on with day of guilty pleasures. Happy Thanksgiving.

100 Things

1. I have never seen any of the Star Wars films.
2. My family's heroes are John Wayne, Thomas Jefferson and George Patton.
3. My nickname is Marcy for no reason at all.
4. I led my city basketball league in fouls in high school.
5. My mother tried to convince me to legally change my last name to Monroe so I could be like Marilyn.
6. I could probably recite The Parent Trap and Sabrina from memory.
7. When I was 4, I pushed my 2-year-old sister off of a 3-foot high wall onto the sidewalk. (She is fine.)
8. I love multiples of nine but my favorite is 27.
9. I have always thought I will get married when I am 26 because I declared that I would in a prophetic childhood moment.
10. I saw 10 Things I Hate About You 3 times in the theater.
11. Monkeys are my favorite animal.
12. I prefer Spearmint to Peppermint gum.
13. I buy a lot of beauty products solely based on packaging.
14. I would like 3-6 kids. This could change once I actually have ONE.
15. I prefer creamy soups.
16. My great aunt is a nun.
17. I have one sister (24), one step-sister (19), one half-sister (13) and one half-brother (4).
18. My brother is named Ethan after a John Wayne character in The Searchers.
19. I love to bowl.
19. I have never broken 100 in bowling.
20. My birthday is on Thanksgiving day this year.
21. When I get home from work at 6:30, I plop down on the couch for 30 minutes of relaxing, take a load off of my feet television. The problem is nothing is on at this hour. So I have embarassingly started watching Seventh Heaven reruns on abcfamily during that time.
22. I have 2 tapes of solid "Leave it to Beaver" episodes from a marathon on TVLand.
23. My roomates don't know I blog.
24. There is a great little dive around the corner from my house called Taso's. Joanna and I (the only non-Hispanic people ever in there) go so frequently that their one waitress (she doesn't speak English so the owner would have to come out to take our order) now comes out and just asks us if we want what we usually get. "Steak and cheese, no onions? and coke in a bottle?" Si.
25. I have never had a cavity.
26. Two weeks ago, I was intrigued and paid $4.99 for 4 Grapples. The label said "Looks like an apple tastes like a Grape." The label should say "Looks like an apple, tastes like Grape Soda."
27. My great-grandmother Josephine escaped from Lithuania.
28. I was home schooled for first grade and part of second. Went to public school for third. Went to Catholic school for fourth thru eighth. Back to public for high school.
29. I fell asleep during Shark Tale and Shrek. I thought they were v. funny but I have about a 45-minute attention span for cartoons.
30. I feel like my movie star counterparts are Liv Tyler and Kirsten Dunst.
31. I went to an allergist in elementary school. I was allergic to everything they tested me for.
32. I bought my first car last summer.
33. My favorite TV show is 24.
34. I had a t-shirt when I was 2 that said "I Shot J.R."
35. I hate pickles.
36. In 10th Grade, I begged my piano teacher and she let me play "Bridge Over Troubled Water" in our recital instead of something classical.
37. I'm the 1st first-born daughter in 6 generations on my mother's side NOT to have the middle name Ellen.
38. I have seen Britney Spears in concert.
39. In high school, I was a car hop at Sonic Drive-In.
40. We call our house the Limp Bizkit.
41. When I was 17, my boyfriend was leaving on a mission. I was so devastated that he would not be able to go to my prom that I had my own fancy prom in my living room before he left.
42. The summer of my senior year, I dated a guy two years younger than me. And because I skipped a grade, he was a freshman.
43. I lived in 7 houses/apts in the same city before I graduated from high school.
44. I majored in Geography in college.
45. President Bush smiled at me in the Rose Garden.
46. I prefer dark chocolate to milk chocolate.
47. I got an F in Honors Chemistry 111 at BYU my first semester of my Freshman year.
48. I want to name my first son Peter.
49. I used to give the fake name Lily to hostesses at restaurants. This backfired on me in the Cougareat once.
50. I make an effort to only buy Exxon gasoline.
51. I have found 3 dead squirrels and a dead bird in my back yard. I scoop them up with the shovel and carry them out and chuck them into the ravine across the street. Well, the first one I buried, but there are just too many to keep doing that.
52. I saw Signs alone. I went alone and I was the only one in the theater.
Scary.
53. I also saw The Others alone. I go alone to movies sometimes because I have Fridays off. I was sitting in the theater and no one else was in there. A man walked in and was coming toward me. I was getting nervous when he came and sat down right next to me in the empty theater. Just as I was about to stand up and walk out he turned to me, looked surprised, and said "You're not my wife!" Certainly not. He got up and moved and his wife came in a few minutes later.
54. My favorite pasta sauce is pesto. mmmmmmmmmmm
55. In high school I got caught by the janitor playing "Light My Fire" on the organ at church.
56. There was a cute guy I referred to as "lefty" in one of my Geography classes at BYU. One day, I struck up a conversation with him after class. We walked outside together talking and before the conversation was over I had invited him to go to SLC to the Aerosmith concert with me that night because Carly had mono. He did not go, nor did he ever make eye contact with me again. Three years later he turned up in my ward in DC. Still no eye contact.
57. For the past 2 weeks I have either had chocolate cake or brownies for breakfast.
58. Terms of endearment between my mom and me consist of derogatory terms like Ho or Hooker or Prostitute.
59. I really hate to run. A lot.
60. I really don't know if I can come up with 40 more things.
61. Once I got a really long, tight, unexpected and uncomfortable hug from my friend's father.
62. The only time I have ever fainted, I was home alone and woke up to my dog licking my face.
63. The guys I like always have a code name. This is v. different than a nickname. Some past examples are: M&M, fratello, manchild, lui (pronounced Louie), cool ranch and hambone.
64. Oprah bugs the crap out of me.
65. One of my favorite things about Counting Crows' songs is how Adam Duritz writes girls' names into a lot of them.
66. At a time before Britney went too far, my friend Carrie and I would take a song a day of hers and memorize it. Then we would quiz each other on the lyrics by one of us giving the first line then alternating lines back and forth until we finished the song. Britney is now dead to me.
67. Sometimes when friends ask me what a word means over instant message, I look it up really fast and then tell them, pretending I knew all along by saying something like, "I think it means something like this...."
68. About once a month, my roommates and I say we are going to have a small dinner party. We then agonize over a guest list and never have the party.
69. I always lose earrings. Right now I am down to one pair.
70. Approximately two nights a week, I wash my face with the hand soap in the bathroom, instead of my real facial cleansers.
71. My friend Camille and I shared a cd making business called EAR (Earth Angel Recordings). Okay so it wasn't a business. We just burned mixed cds for people with our logo and name on the back.
72. In high school I read a biography of James Dean. My mom was looking at it and was very upset that I had it because it had a V. bad picture in it. The thing is, had she not gotten so upset and pointed it out, I would not have known what the picture was or what was going on in it.
73. I learned about the birds and the bees from Redbook in my grandmother's bathroom.
74. 74 is the age of an adorable gentleman who is a consultant in our office who wears boat shoes and shorts and a shirt that says "Captain Smasharoo." He calls me babe.
75. Once I saw 3 different movies back to back in the theater.
76. I have an ongoing debate with myself about whether I would rather sleep with my bedroom door open or closed.
77. Two years ago, I sent an anonymous valentine to Hambone.
78. There is a huge bush next to my front porch where I stop and spit my gum out on the way into the house after work.
79. I own the video Darrin's Dance Grooves and learned 1/2 of the N'Sync "Bye Bye Bye" Dance.
80. Embarrassing moment: A girl at my ward Thanksgiving dinner last week yelled out to me, "I still need to return your Bellydancing video."
81. This morning I actually thought, "I need to warn Carly before she gets here that all my shoes are ugly."
82. I have a church program in my scriptures where I have all the Presidents of the United States in order written on them and I try to memorize them in order. I am no good at this.
83. Sometimes I get distracted watching the clock or the VCR counter, etc waiting for the numbers to be multiples of 9.
84. My instant message screen name is Catherine Zeta-Jones.
85. My favorite shows as a child were "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" and "Moonlighting."
86. I have never done a pull-up.
87. I really really wish I had some cheese puffs right now.
88. I yell out the answers to Jeopardy whether or not anyone is around.
89. The only time I have ever made mashed potatoes, I was taking them to a dinner at a rude girl's house who is a brilliant cook and makes her mashed potatoes with real cream instead of milk. I felt a lot of pressure and made mine with real cream also. However, I whipped an awful lot and that night at her dinner party we had a bowl of pudding-like mashed potatoes. Oddly enough, the rude brilliant cook was the only one who was nice about them.
90. To no avail, I have googled myself.
91. I can sing along to all the words of "Gangsta's Paradise."
92. I have no idea how much I weigh.
93. I have a computer monitor on my desk that is used solely as a gathering place for post-it notes.
94. My car's name is Rosario but goes by Ro-Ro.
95. 4 years ago in Montana, I was thrown from a horse, almost drowned in a river, and one of my closest friends was kissing the guy I liked all in the same day.
96. I used to be a member of the Weezer fan club.
97. I went to see Cher in Richmond on her Farewell Tour. The first Farewell Tour, that is.
98. I cut my own hair.
99. I have a picture of me with Rupert in the Hello Deli, and an even better one with "The Naked Cowboy."
100.Once a mannish UPS delivery woman winked at me.

Just Say No

There are some things I tell myself I will never do again. But in time, my convictions wane and I give in, only to disappoint myself. For example, regularly I have a yogurt in the morning at my desk. Then out of sheer laziness, I will throw the used yogurt container into the trash under my desk instead of walking to the trash can in the kitchen, even though every afternoon when my office smells like sour milk, I vow to give up my laziness the next day, in favor of my afternoon comfort.
I am also mad at myself everytime I order a soft taco at Taco Bell. I am definitely a crunchy taco girl. This only happens about once a year when I think, "I'll just get one of each, that sounds good." And then I am super mad at myself when I am eating the soft taco and wishing it were crunchy, especially because I have been making and breaking this rule of "no soft tacos" since I was 11 years old.
Not all of these disappointments have to do with food...although I could go on in that regard.
I also continually fall for "get something for nothing" scams, like emails that say "Win a $250 gift card for trying some free samples," which inevitably ends in me calling different companies to have charges and memberships removed from my credit card.
I also like to put my business cards in those fishbowls at restaurants that say "win a free lunch," or something of that nature. I'll be honest, if it weren't for these win a free lunch bowls, I would only need about 10 business cards a year for actual work purposes. Now that I've found out that these win a free lunch contests are actually ploys that other companies use to bring you a free lunch from that restaurant and have you eat while they try and sell you something, I don't know what I'm going to do with the remaining 1,324 business cards in my desk drawer.

Emotions Run High on Veterans Day

HB and I have a long history together. This history consists solely of four years of me liking him from afar. That history comes to an end today, Veterans Day 2004, because he is moving far away. He will be gone but not forgotten. Just like some veterans.

Did we ever go on a date? no. But that does not mean I don't have any heartache on this day of remembrance.

I knew I liked HB when, 4 years ago, I went to a Superbowl Party at his apartment where there was a framed picture of Lavell Edwards on the mantle. Then he was passing out frozen treats from a huge Costco box for everyone. We were all digging in to what we thought was a delicious ice cream treat. When he finally took a bite of his and realized they weren't really that good, he got the box out of the trash and told us "Oh, I think I was supposed to cook these."

How could I not be smitten with this guy who was also the host of our ward Gong show, where he came on stage wearing the famous J-Lo "slit-down-to-there" dress. And then in the ward talent show, he did a Neil Diamond lip-sync.

A couple of weeks ago, after four years of liking him but not really having a lot of courage to try and flirt and or do anything about it, my roommate and I came up with a really great junior high type plan. That plan was that she would tell him I wanted to go out with him. Perfect! We were pumped and ready to go, but in a shocking turn of events, the very next day he posted his room up for rent on our ward list and said he was moving away. Talk about poor timing. Instead of just giving up on the plan, we decided to speed it up. Since we only had two weeks prior to his departure, Joanna replied to his email and said "Are you leaving??? You should ask [Marcy Dibbleblotts] out before you go. She has always wanted to go out with you."

His reply: "Yes, i'm moving yada yada...(new paragraph) Ask out Melissa, eh? No promises, but I'll see when I can work it into my schedule. I just say no promises because the next couple of weeks are going to be nightmarish." I re-read this every ten minutes for a few days. I realized this wasn't healthy so I deleted it, but luckily I read it enough to remember it verbatim for blogging purposes.

Well you can imagine this was not the response we were hoping for, but the whole point was to get it out in the open and be able to move on. A couple of weeks and few panic attacks later, it all came to an end.

Last Sunday, we were avoiding eye contact with each other like children do, but on the way to Sunday School we ended up walking right toward each other in the hall. My mind was racing and grasping at something brilliant and normal to say and when I got right up to him, all that came out was, "Oh! I thought you had already gone!" in a really high and nervous tone. I don't know why this is what I said as opposed to something like "Hey, how's it going?" The worst part is, he just kept walking as if I had said nothing. Then about 3 steps later, he stopped, did a weird outloud laugh and said "What?" I turned and there we were... finally face to face (but 10 feet apart), for the first time since the email. Nothing came to my mind and I stood there like a silent fool with too much makeup on and then he said, "Thursday. I'm leaving Thursday. You'll be rid of me soon enough." Then he abruptly turned and kept walking. This was almost as weird as the time he was nudging me and making horse noises by the clerk's office. And that was before he even knew I liked him.

Well, that's how it ended between me and HB. What a sad tale for a 29 and a 25-year-old who were MFEO, but couldn't find a way to act like adults.

Random Music Musings

Well, last night on the country music awards, my new heart throb Dierks Bentley sang my blog title song "How Am I Doin'?" He didn't look as cute as I normally think he is because he had a scruffy face. I have decided that I can go for a little 5 o'clock shadow but not too much facial hair. Also I don't really like any facial hair on peeps with really light hair. But I thought it was sort of cool that all the clothes he was wearing were sent to him by fans. Or maybe he is just cheap. I don't know. Maybe I will send him a razor.

Once my former stepdad said he wrote a song about me. This was back when I was in high school and then a few years later I heard the song on Sliding Doors. This does not make my former stepfather a famous musician but a plagiarizer and liar.

Don't you love it when a song goes perfectly in a movie? GOSH I LOVE IT. This happens in Wicker Park, a different movie and maybe not that great, but I really liked it nonetheless. In the end it has Coldplay's "The Scientist" and it couldn't fit any more perfectly. It is a great song on a great CD anyway, so you should check it out.

Cletis and Cletis

Reminiscing about College...
This Top Ten list is dedicated to Carly...who taught me the beauty of top ten lists although I tend to forget that I should number them backwards.

Why Carly and I Were Destined to be Friends...(and other hilarious things we did)

1. "Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket: A Girl's Guide to College Dating." We co-authored this workbook and thought it would be a hit in the BYU bookstore. We made actual eggs and baskets to hang on our wall and included wise advice for distributing eggs with typical dating scenarios in the workbook. We started a small "egg" craze amongst our friends and at one point a guy in our ward said he wanted all our eggs. He didn't really know what he was asking for...but after that his code name became "Eggs for Brains."

2. We went to Wendy's about 3x a week really late at night often waiting til the clock struck midnight on Sunday, making it early Monday morning (We believed in living the letter, not the spirit, of the law). We loved their chicken nuggets for 99 cents. We called them CG's even though their real intials would be CN's.

3. The first time we ever talked was in the JKHB hall before Italian class where I told Carly I thought she was going to get kissed that night and she did. We have been friends ever since.

4. We both call each other Cletis, or Clete for short.

5. We went through a small phase where, instead of talking to each other, we could only sing everything to the tune of "Jeepers Creepers."

6. Once some "friends," in what they thought was a hilarious joke, ransacked our apartment. We THOUGHT it was the girls upstairs and so in the middle of the night we decided to toilet paper and tie cans to their cars. When we were done, we realized we should have used empty cans because we didn't want to damage their cars. So we stealthily sneaked back out to the driveway to fix the situation. Instead of untying the elaborate knots we had made, we just took out the can opener and let the contents of the cans plop onto the driveway.

7. Once I decided I wanted to make a giant pancake that filled the skillet and Carly came in and yelled out, "Cletis, NO!"

8. We bought some really ugly dresses at DI and signed formal contracts that we would each go on a date every week for the last summer of our senior year. If one of us did not go, she had to wear the ugly dress to church on Sunday. Somehow we never wore them, except on the night of the contract signing for picture taking purposes.

9. Italian class:
We made the funniest video ever for our 4th semester Italian class project. In it we dressed alike, were both named Gloria, acted out parts of "Laverne and Shirley" and "The Patty Duke Show" (all in Italian), did Dick Van Dyke kicks and interviewed actual restuarant owners in Provo who were from Italy. We interviewed them on camera with a toy fuschia and lime green "Muppets In Space" microphone that made weird space noises if you shook it that we got from a Wendy's Kid's Meal.

We also had to do a 3 person skit for a project in Italian. We wanted our group to include Adrian because I liked him but we knew Ada who sat next to him would ask him first. She was scary and so we came up with elaborate plans to get him in our group before Ada could. Luckily the teacher announced the project while Ada was on a bathroom break and when she came back she said she wouldn't do the project anyway and would take a 0. I would like to add that Adrian inserted a spontaneous hug between him and me in the skit.

We were both in love with all of our male Italian teachers.

We made a friend from Italian named Christian who started a "girls club" for us where we talked about guys. Months later, to our shock, she confessed she was 38. After class ended and just before Christian's wedding, she told us that our teacher Fabio (Carly and I both thought he was gay at one point, and both loved him at one point) had confessed his love for her. Luckily by that point, we both thought Fabio was crazy. A year after I graduated, I was up in NYC for New Years Eve staying with some friends of a friend and who walked in but Fabio! He was roommates with the friends of my friend and so I ended up staying there in his apt on the couch. Weird, small Mormon world.

10. We often buy "items of mystery" to boost our self-esteem.

Gavin's Crisis

Okay, this entire time I have been thinking Gavin DeGraw was singing, "I'm surrounded by an energy crisis....everywhere I turn." I just found it's IDENTITY CRISIS.
Even though that makes much more sense and I thought it was weird that he said energy crisis, that is really the part that kept me listening. Now I think I don't really like that song anymore.

My own top ten list

I am constantly being told I am irrational, here are 10 examples of why...

1. I feel hideous when I'm not tan. I think fair skin is beautiful on others, but it's MY splotchy skin on my facial features that I can't stand. I know it is irrational to feel good about my appearance in the summer and like a hag in the winter but I do. When people talk to me (September - May), I am often actually thinking "I feel so bad that he/she has to look at me." This could also be why I am a poor conversationalist.

2. I cry fairly often for no reason at all. Once while having dinner with my mom at O'Charley's, I started crying so hard that I had to spit out my chicken tenders because I couldn't swallow. She kept asking what was wrong and I really didn't know.

3. I think how fat or thin I look is directly proportionate to the type of shoes I am wearing.

4. Sometimes I can't sleep at night because I think the furnace is going to explode.

5. I constantly worry about the level of air in my tires.

6. On my first day of classes in college, I always chose my seat based on which direction the unflattering artificial light was going to hit me.

7. My practice of trying to stand alone at Institute (see Civility and Productivity).

8. I have actually spent time sitting at my desk imagining __________ and ________ (insert various handsome celebrities' names here) walking into my office together. They both love me and I must choose between them. This is a very important decision which requires a lot of time and deliberation.

9. When I wear a watch, I wear it on my right arm because a decade ago, my 15 year old boyfriend and I agreed that we both always would. Was there a reason why we wore our watches on our right arm? no. Do I think he still does? no. Do I think he even remembers our pact? no.

10. I feel like John Wayne is a part of my family.

Word I love: Gubernatorial

Song lyric I love:
"Here you come again, lookin' better than a body has a right to."
--Dolly Parton

Election Day in D.C.

I was over an hour late to work this morning. It was not my fault though. The blame is on the hour and 45 minutes I stood in line to vote.

This afternoon I got in the elevator and noticed in my reflection in the elevator door that my "I voted in Arlington" sticker didn't look very good. I had it on the left side of my sweater just under the cute row of buttons that go from my neck down to the top of my left arm and it created a weird, unbalanced look and drew away from the cuteness of the buttons. So I moved the sticker to the right side. This was a bad idea. My sweater is a lambswool/angora blend and is pretty fuzzy. When I took the sticker off to move it, so much fuzz stuck to the back of it that it will not stay on very well now. So I have actually taped my "I voted" sticker on to the right side of my sweater. Maybe I'm a nerd, but I look much more symmetrical now and I can get a free taco for wearing it into California Tortilla, which I plan on doing after work today.

I "voted" in their burrito poll last week. During October for their "Burrito of the Month," they had 2 Presidential burritos, a Bush and a Kerry, and you could vote by ordering one or the other and they kept track of the results. And they put cute stickers of the candidate's face on the outside of your burrito. I thought this was a fun idea and went up last week to cast my vote. When I got there I found out the Bush burrito had mashed potatoes and BBQ sauce in it and the Kerry burrito had Boston Baked beans with caramelized onions and ketchup in it. Add those ingredients to some chicken, lettuce and salsa and wrap it up in a tortilla and you have yourself two really nasty burritos. The question is--who's the bigger idiot--the people who designed these burritos or me??? ...because I still got the burrito just for the fun of the poll and curbed my hunger by making myself sick on Halloween candy all afternoon.

(FYI: Kerry won the Burrito poll by about 100 votes. I think the results ended up being 1800 and something gross Kerry burritos to 1700 and something gross Bush burritos.)

"Here's to all my sisters out there keepin' it country ...

Some great country songs I love right now:

Suds in the Bucket--Sara Evans
I Bought the Shoes--Dierks Bentley
Remember When--Alan Jackson
Watch the Wind Blow By--Tim McGraw
Better Man--Clint Black
Beer for My Horses--Toby Keith & Willie Nelson
You're My Better Half--Keith Urban

Okay these are just a few off the top of my head--songs I would listen to right now if I could. I wanted to include this post because I've been thinking lately about how I hated country for almost my whole life simply because I didn't think it was cool to like it. (Yes, this is true even though I grew up in Tennessee.)

I still LOVE all kinds of other music, but I am happy to have recently added the country genre to my tastes. I can say I have now listened to enough country to even start developing opinions about it---for example:

I don't like Terri Clark. That hat bugs me and I don't think it looks good on her. I also haven't heard a song by her I like...unless maybe there are some from my pre-country-listening days. (Why is Johnny Depp/Captain Jack Sparrow in her "Girls Lie Too" video?? This makes no sense and I hate this song.)

I don't like the lead singer's voice in the band Rascal Flatts (this does not mean I hate all RF songs).

I like George Strait less than I thought. (I still like him, but my attraction level has gone from an 8 to about a 4).

I like some Tim McGraw songs. I am more attracted to him than I used to be (2 to a 7), but he is more of a showy superstar than a real country singer...He knows how to pick a chart topper and is a good showman but not a lot of substance there. I could listen to "Watch the Wind Blow By" all day though (and I have).

The cheesiness of a lot of the lyrics doesn't bother me like I thought it would. I also really enjoy their story-lined videos.

Dierks Bentley (pronounced Durks; it's his mother's maiden name, which makes it better but not okay) is my new heart throb.

www.dierksbentley.com

Also, does it really make sense to become a NASCAR fan and be intolerant of country? I don't think so. So my new metamorphosis into a country girl has begun. If only I could get my thick Southern accent back. I'll work on that, ya'll.

Looking back on the weekend

Friday night:

What I did:
Went to Wendy's (where a nerdy fellow was standing in line with his mother and as we walked in stared unrelentlessly while turning 180 degrees and never taking his eyes off of us as we walked around the room to get in line. Then after he ordered and the cashier said, "who's next?" the starer thrust his pointed finger about 3" from my face and yelled "SHE IS!" There was also a sign on the counter that said Wendy's was short on tomatoes due to the hurricanes in Florida and you only get them if you request them. I requested them and did not get any, while my friend did not but got some).

Went to ward Halloween pajama party (not even my own ward, pathetic)where they toilet papered the gym and ate cereal and pop tarts. How old are we again?

What I should have done: Stayed home and blogged.

Saturday:

What I did:

Slept til 11am, did a little cleaning, ate dinner at Chipotle (4 steak tacos) went to my own boring ward Halloween party where there was apple bobbing, cookie decorating, pumpkin carving and Howard Jones music. Had second dinner at McDonalds and watched "A Cinderella Story."

What I Should Have Done:

Slept til 11am, did a little more cleaning, picked only one dinner, stayed home and blogged.

Sunday:

Did what I should have done (except for listening to the talks instead of staring at all the new couples and watching HB).

Blogs Lost in Cyber-Space

I am really upset about my two blogs last week that have disappeared. I worked hard on them, and they just disappeared?? Gosh, I don't really have the energy or wit to re-write them but maybe I'll just summarize the main points in case there are any comments.

Breaking from Tradition:

Last week was the first time I have missed an episode of "The Bachelor" (or "The Bachelorette" for that matter) in all its seasons.

Why have I been so addicted? I don't know. But I feel good about stopping the addiction.

The Bachelors:
#1 Hated
#2 Hated (but made eye contact with in NYC last month)
#3 finally liked
#4 Hated
#5 Hated
#6 (current season) hate (Byron, the long haired profession bass fisherman)

I prefer "The Bachelorette" as I think all women should. But I am mad that Jen is coming back as bachelorette #3. SHE ALREADY WON on "The Bachelor" and that didn't work. Then she dated Bill from "The Apprentice." I think she needs to give another no-name hooch a chance at finding love on national television.

And for those of you who read this before it mysteriously disappeared(it must have been ABC who pulled my blog), I DID go to abc.com to look at who got kicked off in what was, I'm sure, the most shocking rose ceremony ever.

I used this joke in my first blog and was happy to find that there is an article in this week's People magazine called "How to Fix 'The Bachelor,'" in which they used my same "most shocking rose ceremony ever" joke. Good job to me on coming up with same joke as nationally syndicated writer.


The #48 Car

This blog detailed my month long rise as a NASCAR fan. I was first turned on to it at a 3-D IMAX about NASCAR narrated by Kiefer Sutherland (also love him). I also love to write/type NASCAR in all-caps.

Anyway my driver is Jimmie Johnson (#48), who, by the way, has NOW come in first place out of forty-something cars in the last 2 races. I am so proud.

I used to think NASCAR was only for rednecks. Now I know that is not true. Or maybe I am just becoming a redneck. It really could be either one. Whatever the case, I look forward to actually attending a race in Richmond next season to cheer on Jimmie.

Well, there are the 2 blogs which now just seem factual and much less interesting without the funny quips I took time to compose in the first go round. Sorry to disappoint (however I happen to know that both my readers already read these posts anyway)...moving right along...

Strange Conversations

1.) Everyday when I get on the elevator to go home, it stops on the 8th floor, where a few girls who work at the "Feminist Majority" get on (They are unmistakeable because they all have all these pink pins all over their purses that say "The Feminist Majority"). I like to eavesdrop on their conversations, which is perfectly acceptable since we ARE in an elevator.
Anyway, the other day this was the conversation I heard:

Feminist #1: My dad's hero is Fidel Castro.
Feminist #2: Really?
Feminist #2: Yeah, I mean, he could really do better on a few social issues, but other than that we think he is a great leader.



2.)On Fridays, I volunteer at the Washington temple. Because it is during the day when most people my age are at work, I am the only person under 65 on my shift. This is nice because I get a lot of special attention and everyone thinks I'm lovely. This past Friday, I had this conversation in the locker room:

Sister McQuivey: How long does it take you to get home?
Me: Oh, depends on traffic, usually about an hour.
Sister McQ: Oh! Well let me help you! I have learned a trick to getting ahead of the traffic on the Beltway.
Me: Oh really? what is it?
Sister McQ: Well, I get off on every exit I can and then get right back on to the Beltway ahead of a lot of people who were in front of me. I take a 94 year old lady home and everytime she just shakes her head and says "I can't believe we do this every week. Are you sure it is legal?"

Then she laughed and was hunting for a piece of paper to draw a map on of how I can get off at each exit and get back on a little further up the road. She drew a diagram for me and commented "you might get a few honks, but don't worry about it."

Anyway, I thought this was odd that this woman would be giving me, an intelligent 25 year old, aggressive-driving tips. And I laughed at the thought of people honking at these 2 little ladies exiting and merging, exiting and merging. And maybe you have to know Sis. McQ to even find this funny at all.

But on the way home, I tried her trick and cut off over 15 minutes of travel time, by sneaking ahead in the stop and go, rush hour traffic. Of course, it is probably people like me who are constantly exiting and merging who are causing the stop and go traffic in the first place.

Hmm, there was a 3rd convo that I can't really remember now, but if I think of it later, maybe I'll post it.

Breast Cancer Awareness Faux Pas

Okay, I think fighting breast cancer is a great idea, who doesn't?

HOWEVER, here are 2 seriously embarrassing breast cancer awareness ideas:

1. Washington, D.C. upcoming 2nd Annual "Bosom Ball" concert with the proceeds benefiting a local mammography program. Advertising for this concert includes cartoon bras/bikini tops with performing bands inside.

http://www.moremusic104.com/?sid=29552&nid=144


2. Joanna tells me that this month, because of a bill that passed in the House and Senate, the St. Louis arch will be lit up in pink lights.
Oh yeah, this will REALLY help find a cure for breast cancer--by shining pink lights on this National Landmark and Gateway to the West so that it looks like a giant pink breast. Great idea, Congress.

Civility and Productivity

Update: Well, my stakeout last night was foiled by 1) serious rain, 2)a friend called at the last minute and wanted a ride (and not a good enough friend to say, "you go on in, I need to stay out here and wait for a fake arrival time" and 3) the absence of HB.

I don't like to do anything unless I can cross it off a list. Doesn't it make you feel good and accomplished when you can cross things off? Once I was making my bed, actually stopped to go over to a list and write "make bed" just so that I could cross it off when I was done.

Today I need to: 1. go to Enrichment and learn about financial planning 2. straighten up the house 3. call my dad (or send e-card) b/c today is his bday 4.watch game 7 with the Yankees/Red Sox so I will feel cool.
I will stop boring you with my list and start writing it on a post-it note to stick on my desk for crossing off purposes. Sometimes I relate my job productivity with the number of post-it notes on my desk with crossed off things on them. (# of post-its currently on my desk: 19 good. going to have v. productive day today.)

So, at institute we have 4 classes and then afterwards there is a huge "Munch and Mingle" in the gym. I have fooled myself into believing that if I were a little more approachable and not always in a pack of my friends, guys would actually come over to meet me and ask me out. Sadly enough, believing this does actually make me feel better. So for the last several weeks some friends and I have been doing an experiment. We go in to the M&M, talk to some friends, and then force myself to go stand alone in the crowd for at least 2 minutes.

# of times I have done this: about 6
# of times a guy has come to talk to me: 1
# of times that guy has asked me out: 0
# of times a girl has come to talk to me: 2
# of times someone has said "I saw you standing all alone so I thought I'd come talk to you" : 1

I'm wondering if I'm only alienating myself by blogging. Should I be revealing this munch & mingle experiment and my stake-out plans? I don't know, but it's who I am. Maybe that's the problem. Somehow, though, it makes me feel like Bridget Jones and there has to be another Colin Firth out there somewhere.

Stakeout plans

What I'm going to do tonight:

Arrive in the church parking lot at 7:30pm and wait in car. I am prepared to fake cell phone calls from inside the car in case anyone should see me just sitting in the car and wonder if I'm on a stake-out (which I will be). Then I will wait until HB arrives and casually get out of my car and act surprised that we've both arrived at the same time and what a perfect opportunity for us to chat. Great, now I've revealed that I'm sneaky and conniving... but (insert rationalization here)!

My First Blog of Nonsense

Well, here I am in the world of blogging--a place I never thought I'd be. But having now bookmarked Carly and Kacy's blogs and constantly checking for their new posts, I decided to join in the fun. Although, I am intimidated by their wit because I just know that mine will be far less amusing.

Where do I begin with my first blog...I'll just start from right now as if anyone reading this (Carly), already knows what's going on with me (she does), so I won't have to explain everything I write. That is what I always do when I go to write in my journal and it has been like 9 months or 2 years or however long since my last entry. So then I start trying to summarize everything that has happened since I last wrote which eventually ends up being such a long entry that I dont' want to write again for another 2 years.

Maybe I'll start by explaining (which, in my last paragraph, is the only thing I said I wasn't going to do in my blog) my name of Marcy Dibbleblotts. Marcy, while having nothing in common with my real name except the letter M, has somehow really stuck as my nickname for the last couple of years. Even a few people in my ward call me that. But I actually like it so I won't complain. Now Dibbleblotts is a little more complicated and probably pretty boring. But last week while watching "How to Marry a Millioinaire" I proposed that Joanna's nickname be Shotzy because, well I like it and for four years now we haven't been able to give her a nickname that sticks...so then Camille decided she wanted to be Loco (Betty Grable's name in the film) so that left me to be the Marilyn Monroe character (again, can't complain). So we listened with bated breath (I also have always thought it was baited too, but I learned otherwise from blog by Eliza who is connected to Kacy, whose blogs I have also read almost all of. So while pretending to be afraid of blogging, I have already become obsessed and am reading every blog in sight.), to hear what Marilyn's name was. Well it ended up being Pola (pronounced Paula) something French, Debuvouis or something like that that no one could pronounce so ended up just being Dibbleblotts. And somehow Dibbleblotts has also stuck.
So there you go, Carly ;) a lot of info that doesn't really matter. Which I've decided is sort of what blogging is. I also think that I should write a lot of blogs really quickly. That way, this isn't the only one hanging out there and I feel bad about it and wonder if it's good enough.
Yes, that's what I'll do.