What is the deal?

I have a problem. A big problem. I've had it for as long as I can remember and there is no end in sight. I'm afraid it's just getting worse. I'm not referring to my embarrassing sports skills, my obsession with Tootsie Rolls, my bad blogging habits lately, or my distaste for showering (don't worry I still do it daily.) No it's even worse than that.

Quoting.

I have a few theories. Maybe I have this problem because I watch too many movies? Maybe because I watch the same movies over and over again? Or maybe sometimes I don't know what to say so I'll steal what someone else said. (Usually it's the Grinch. You see what I'm saying?)

There have been a few times my quoting has been really embarrassing. For example:

-A few days a go my friend was asking me what I was doing for the weekend. Well it was Friday so I said I was going to kick it in the front seat and then kick it in the back seat. He had no idea what I was talking about. Awkward. (In case you don't, do yourself a favor and watch this: Friday)

-I quoted 101 Dalmatians (animated version) on a date a few weeks a go. The worst part is I was quoting one of the dogs. That's way bad!

- When our teacher asked us what the first thing is that we think of when we hear the word Disneyland I yelled out "That Thing You Do!" Probably not a normal thing to think of. But don't you think it's so funny how the bass player says, "Disneyland!?"

- There are so many other examples but I'm getting embarrassed thinking about it. So that's the end of examples.

Well one day when work was slow and I was updating files for different clients I decided to write down what came to my head when I read different names. Here are all the quotes that popped into my head from seeing names in 45 minutes:

Billy -> Did you say, "Billy I love you"?

Joseph -> And Ralph over there, he'll be the Joseph

Conrad -> Who cares about your speech? We wanna hear Conrad.

Blood -> Nut. Date Nut. Choco Choco Chip.

Harry -> I'm Harry Potter, Harry, Harry Potter.

Tulusa -> Talula? Where'd you come up with a name like that?

Cohen -> I got you a job with Webster, Webster, and Cohen.

Francesca -> That's fun to say.

Burns -> I am not a Unice Burns, I am the Unice Burns.

Rudolph -> Rudolph! She's here.

Howard -> Hello Mr Privilege it's a Larabee to meet you. No that's not it.

Barrow -> Ms Marrow? Brad Allen.

Rita -> Jack? It's RITA!

Dorinda -> If he can't respect my art, he can't have my heart.

Dorothy -> And she said, "My boy, you have got it. And AHHH." Dorothy Gish. True story.

Keith -> Come away with me to mem'ry island.

Steve -> He's Steve, he's the one.

Elaine -> That's E-L-A-I-N-E

Vicky -> You can call me Aunt Vicky.

Troy -> Troy's back! Troy's back. East High is suffering from a Troy-attack.

Charles -> I've got Wagner for the vicious. It's for dogs.

Diane -> Diane Dane! That's a, that's a gold dress.

I'm sorry. I know my quoting is annoying, but believe me when I say I really do try to hold most of them back. The best is when I try and explain the quote. It usually takes a few minutes to give the background, then the context, then the quote comes out and I usually end up saying, "I guess you have to see it."

My roommates are super nice and have turned my quoting into a game. After I say something they'll quickly yell out what movie it's from. The best is when I say something weird and they ask what movie it's from. Then I get to tell them, "uh that was just me being weird."

If you've ever been confused by something I said, lets assume it's because I was quoting. So how about if from here on out whenever I say something weird or strange you just assume it's a quote. Likelihood is it probably is.

Thanks for the memories.

Is it really over? No way is it done.

I can't leave Cali yet, I've had too much fun.

The bags are packed, the ticket is set

I am leaving, but this journey I won't forget.

My first day of work I went in so scared,

but they were all welcoming, they really cared.

I learned the art of taxes, found a work family,

I loved what I did and they kept me busy

I looked forward to work, I was lucky I know,

People were constantly helping me grow.

I thought I was fine today saying goodbye,

Wishes, flowers, hugs - those made me cry.

It's nice to know whatever path I ride

I'll have family in Burbank on my side.

But there's another family that's blessed me this time,

I've lived with the Kings, and it's been just sublime!

All growing up I've always loved the Kings,

Now from them I've learned so many things.

Uncle Dennis has shown me how to reason,

We've had great talks amidst this crazy tax season.

From Aunt Patti I've learned just how to host

Serving others - that's what she does most

Alison taught me at least once a week

But I saw from her example how to be sweet, kind, and meek

The Goeckeri family showed how to be friendly,

They welcomed me in, I was soon their Aunt Becky

The Halls were always so loving and nice,

They would invite me over and give great love advice. :)

Nate taught me bowling, guitar, and cooking,

He could probably make me an omelette eyes closed, no looking!

Misty and Joanne I was blessed with along the way,

They were so kind and also make me want to stay

Newport Beach, family dinners, movie nights,

Psych, bowling, seeing the sights.

Talking with family for so many hours,

Enjoying the weather, seeing a winter with flowers?

Creating memories and relationships that will last,

Those will linger even after this is past.

That's what I leave with, and it's just the start.

We'll keep getting closer even when we're apart.

The list goes on, there's much more to say

There are so many people I can never repay.

I'm thankful I had this opportunity,

It's helped me get closer to being the best I can be.

The Perils of Tax Season

I just got back from work and on the drive home I kept looking at my hands in disgust. I've never been a huge fan of my hands. They are the exact same as my brother David's. He has nice hands. For a boy. I also have nice hands. For a boy. Oh well.

Today they were looking particularly bad because I keep giving my self paper cuts. Brilliant I know. I realized I had 4 band-aids on my hands which is pretty ridiculous. I haven't even noticed how clumsy I am until I added it up today. So I'm clumsy and smart. Nice.

My hands also look nice because I've been fighting with the "SCANNED" stamp lately. First it took me forever to take it apart to fill up the ink. Well now the ink is full. Too full. So I had to tear it apart and now I'm waiting for it to dry. Well my cuticles look like they're bleeding. So far the stamp is winning.

So now you're wondering how bad my sausages are. I'll show you....

See my bloody cuticles on my thumbs? Stupid stamp. At least I took off the two old band-aids, and washed off most of the ink so you didn't throw up. Additional perils of tax season include but are not limited to; bad hair (I have no desire to wake up early to make it look decent), double chin, talking to myself, and bad communication skills. I've failed at blogging, calling, texting, etc. Sorry!

Mmmm...California

(Picture Faye from That Thing You Do saying that.)

Life is great right now. For those of you who don't know, I'm living in California with my aunt and uncle. I'm doing an internship at KKAJ, an accounting firm. For those of you who do know, same thing. Here are just a few of my favorite parts:

• I've loved living with my Aunt Patti, Uncle Dennis, and Cousin Nathan. It has been awesome getting to know them better!
• One weekend I went to Irvine to watch Jessie in a dance competition. It was fun to meet up with her and see how much she's improved!
• Nate (my cousin) is really good at everything I'm bad at. DDR, guitar, bowling, cooking, etc. But he's a really great teacher. He helped me figure out a song on guitar, pass a really hard song on DDR, and get a 132 in bowling (that's good for me.) Now I just need to learn how to make his scrumptious omelets...
• Movie Nights. I love having my aunt, uncle, and cousins show me movies that they love. They have great taste and I love watching movies so it's been great! I finally watched the Bourne series, The Happiest Millionaire, Somewhere in Time, The Importance of Being Earnest, and many more.
• My cousin Alison works at Universal Studios so I went to a pre-screening of The Adjustment Bureau with her. It was fun to be on the lot with her and the movie was pretty interesting.
• U Dennis, A Patti, Alison and I went to a really awesome show in Los Angeles called Traces. It was SO AMAZING! I wish everyone had the chance to see it.
• I've gone to the single's ward a few times with my friend Joanne and it's fun to be with her and get to know new people.
• I went to the Los Angeles Temple for single adult night with Joanne. It was amazing to be in an overflowing baptistery (especially in LA.) Afterwards we walked around the grounds and Joanne told me her conversion story. She was baptized less than a year a go and is such an example to me!
• Work is great and I love it, but I always look forward to my lunch breaks. Why? Everyday I take my lunch breaks outside in the beautiful sun. I've never been warm in February or March and I'm loving it. I may even come back a little tan!
• This last weekend I drove to Las Vegas with Cheralyn (my cousin) and her family, met up with Jessie, David, and Heather there, then went to St George to spend time with the rest of my family that weekend. It was so good to be together! The ride back in our 'girls car' was a blast!
• I really like my job. The people are so great, and I like what I do. I really do look forward to going to work and not many people can say that. Here's my desk. See the two monitors? I'm spoiled.
• My favorite part of my desk are my Valentines from all my nieces and nephews. I know February is over, but they're staying there for a while. They make me feel right at home and they just light up my little workspace.
• There is a bit of a commute to work (30-45 min) but I love it. My uncle and I will talk about life or if we're really tired we'll listen to the news and grunt in disgust at some of the things going on.
• I've driven to Malibu, Santa Barbara, and Irvine. These drives have shown me how beautiful California is! I'm definitely falling in love with it.
• I have loved being part of the King's get-togethers. They have welcomed me into their family and I'm just loving it. I even get to go to part of their reunion starting tomorrow at Newport Beach.

How lucky am I? Am I living the life or what?

I Love Magic

This one's for all those Harry Potter fans!

In the 4th Harry Potter movie Harry walks into what he thinks is an ordinary tent to see this magnificent tent on the inside. Then he says (in a really weird tone I might add), "I love magic." I have to tell you the whole time I was at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter I had that quote in my head.

The Hogwart's Express is the first thing you see when you walk in.

If you're lucky you get to meet the conductor!

Hogsmeade Village.

We went on a Tuesday and there was still a huge crowd so we didn't go into most of the stores.

Isn't it beautiful? Love it.

Hogwarts!!! Also, check out the crowds.

Amazing Castle. You could see it from the freeway and Emma and I were freaking it. It's huge and it looked so cool at night. Unfortunately, none of those pictures turned out well.

This is Kate and me when we were waiting in line for over two hours to get in the castle and on the awesome simulator ride.

More waiting in line.

They didn't have the main characters walking around which I thought was fair, otherwise I would've criticized how little they looked like the actual character. However, they had the conductor by the train and then these characters from the 4th book in front of the dragon challenge roller coaster.

Lunch at the Three Broomsticks. Delicious.

Inside the Three Broomsticks.

Hagrid's hut was next to the ride that was "on" Buckbeak. (The hippogriff)

Castle. So COOL!

Butterbeer = Delicious. Pumpking Juice = Nasty.

The best part of the whole park is the ride inside the castle. It is the most amazing similuation ride I have ever been in. I won't spoil it for everyone and say what's on the inside, but I will say they did such a great job fitting 7 books into 1 ride. If the wait wasn't over 2 hours I would've gone on that ride all day long! Seriously Harry Potter Land was awesome. (A huge thanks to Nelsons who took me!) I highly recommend it to ALL fans!

Meet My Second Family

When I was 13 I started babysitting the Nelson family. At the time it was just little Emma. I quickly came to love her and she was my favorite to babysit. We'd walk to the very little park and swing forever, or we'd play golf with this little set. One time when I was at their house I saw a lot of papers for new houses. I realized that Nelsons were moving and I wouldn't be able to babysit Emma anymore. I was heartbroken. Eventually they moved, but we didn't lose contact like I thought we would. One of the first times I went to their new house it was to meet their second child, Kate. She was a gorgeous little redhead and Emma was such a sweet big sister. Nelsons were so patient and sweet to drive 1/2 an hour one way to come pick me up so I could babysit their kids.

They went on to do this until I got my license and could make the drive. Every once in a while I'd get lucky and I got to babysit the kids overnight and basically play mom for a few days. My favorite part of this was waking up to them crawling into bed with me. Now they have Noah and he is just so much fun and the perfect addition to their family.

Ever since I started babysitting 7-8 years a go, I have been blessed by their friendship. They've taken me on trips to Park City, Mexico, and Florida. They always give such sweet, generous gifts. (Tiffany's necklace, iPod, camera, Coach purse, Kindle, etc.) Most importantly they trust me with their kids and those kids have played a large part in my life. I have loved that and I miss it when I leave.

A few months a go they invited me to go to Florida with them this January. Am I the luckiest girl ever? Yes. So January 8 - 16 I went on the perfect vacation with my second family to Florida and it was amazing! We went to all of the theme parks out there and it was just a ton of fun. I have no idea how to sum it up in one blog post, so I'm going to talk about my favorite memories with each of them.

One day when we were walking along the pier we were talking about funnel cakes and I mentioned I had never had one. The last night we were there Brother Nelson left for a while and came back with a funnel cake because '[I] had to try one before we left.' Also one time while we were waiting in line he jumped out to scare Emma and scared me instead. That was great.

One night we came back exhausted. Okay that was all nights. However, on this night Sister Nelson and I were just wanting to relax and watch TV. Well there was nothing on so we watched Minute to Win it, possibly the worst reality show ever. Also when we were at Harry Potter World we went on this scary roller coaster and it was night so it was like Space Mountain. We were freaking out in line and the little boy behind us was laughing at us. Also we'd always get lost when Brother Nelson wasn't there. (Even in the hotel!)

Emma is a crazy Harry Potter fan like me so we were in Paradise there! We kept talking about the movies saying, "Remember when...." or "This is just like...." Also one morning Emma, Kate, and I read Tangled on Kate's leapfrog thing and it was so much fun. Also at the end of the day we'd pretend like we weren't exhausted and skip and hop over the lines on the sidewalk the whole way home.

Kate always woke up wanting to play games so to start off our perfect days we'd play Princess Go Fish, Phase 10, or do a puzzle. Also, on the flight over once Kate discovered I hadn't seen Toy Story she pulled it up and we watched it on her ipod. Don't worry though I didn't see the sweet ending then. I didn't start crying on the airplane. Nope that would be in the hotel.

Noah kind of loves me you could say. He especially likes me because I took him on the Nemo ride. A lot. So much that I could sing you the song that's on the ride. (In the big, blue world...) So much that I'd sing it in the morning and get in everyone's head. Sorry. Also we'd sometimes hang out while everyone else went on rides. He'd get out of his stroller and we'd just wander around aimlessly.

Are you jealous yet? Because you should be. :) The Nelsons are awesome and I've been so lucky to know them. Thanks Nelsons for taking me to Florida and for being my second family!

20.10.

2010 was a great year. I don't think I'm ready for it be over. Maybe that's because 2011 sounds ugly. I can't decide which is worse 20.11. or two thousand and eleven? Or maybe I'm not ready for 2010 to be over because it was really was a great year.

20 Highlights (or random things I remembered while writing this):

1. Playing in a recital dedicated to my mom. All of the kids participated and she was so surprised and loved it!
2. Going to ND and Ogden to visit my sisters. It's always fun to go to their homes and be with them and their kids.
3. Doing an internship in human resources and discovering it really is what I want to do with my life!
4. Three of my best friends got married. Even though I wasn't able to be there for all of them, it is so fun to see them now so happy with their husbands. I'm so lucky to be surrounded by examples.
5. Two of my Jerusalem friends, Bridget and Daniel, came and visited me in Rexburg. We had so much fun together.
6. Getting surgery in my nose. (See how I bolded in? That's important.) Maybe I'll be able to breathe in 2011.
7. Going through all of the Psych episodes with my little brother Benjy and my cousin Barbara. We had so much fun doing that.
8. Running a company last semester for one of my classes. We were the Green Screen and we were awesome!
9. Going camping with my company at Badger Creek. There was a ropes course there and it was so awesome, except the stupid pole you had to jump off.
10. Falling in love with the guitar and practicing horrible, ugly songs for my class.
11. Living with Tia and Danielle, they're practically my sisters now and they made my apartment home.
12. I bowled a 99. I'm still bugged it couldn't have been 100, but just round up.
13. I read the Book of Mormon with my family in 4 months. We even had weekly quizzes (Thanks David), and summaries. We read the last chapter on Christmas Eve all together. It was awesome.
14. At the beginning of the year I passed my 1/2 way mark through college. This kind of scares me.
15. I had a random old lady stop me on my way to school, tell me I was walking wrong, and teach me how to walk the correct way. Definitely a highlight! :)
16. I finally watched a scary movie. And by watched I mean I hid under a blanket for 15 minutes before I walked out. Good stuff.
17. Weekly sleepovers with Barb (when I was home). Maybe I mention these a lot. Probably because they're all EPIC!
18. Finally getting a calling in my ward. (I've never had a calling up at school and it's been 3 years!) I was on the activities committee for 2 1/2 months and I loved it.
19. Having the whole family (17 and two halves!) together for the Christmas season.
20. Living in Jerusalem!

Obviously the biggest highlight of my year, and maybe my life so far, was the last one. So here are 10 dedicated just to that.

10 Things I thought I'd Never do, but I did in 2010:

1. I lived in Jerusalem for a semester!
2. I hiked Mt. Sinai and watched the sunrise.
3. I rode a camel along the Nile River.
4. I rafted down the Jordan River.
5. I saw the pyramids.
6. I went to Petra (and rode a horse there.)
7. I welcomed in Shabbat at the Western Wall.
8. I had the chance to play the part of Mary in the shepherd's fields overlooking Bethlehem.
9. I took New Testament classes on the shores of Galilee.
10. I went to Gethsemane and the Garden Tomb every week for 4 months.

Yep 2010 was perfect. So it's going to be pretty hard to beat it, but let's go 2011...bring it on!

I Feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty

I decided to end this year off with the ugliest picture taken of me all year. Okay who am I kidding, Sister Jackson took worse pictures in Jerusalem, but this one is still pretty bad. I mean look at the size of my hands!

Why am I donning a paper mustache? Well I decided with the new year maybe I'd try a new nose. Just kidding. But not really. My nose has never really worked. I've always struggled breathing through it which is why I sit in class with my mouth wide open or why I refuse to sleep in public unless my mouth is closed or why I'm always carrying around a big wad of tissues. Looking back my stinking stuffed nose has caused quite a bit of embarrassment. So Wednesday I went in to the hospital dressed in my first hospital gown, got my first IV, and received my first surgery. (I've been so lucky to be healthy and never have a broken or sprained anything, or stitches so this was quite the step.) The procedure took twice as long because when the doctor (My awesome sister in law's dad) was done he realized the cartilage inside my nose was still so crooked and it would still give me problems so he went in and fixed that as well!

I'm feeling pretty great and even though I can't really breathe out of my nose right now because there's a big tissue there I know I will be able to one day and that's exciting. I'm so grateful for modern medicine and technology that have allowed me to get this done. I'm grateful for my awesome mom and all my siblings who are treating me like a queen, to my sweet Aunt Margaret and Uncle Lynn who brought me flowers, to my cousin Barb who brought over a bunch of movies and watched some with me, and great friends who keep texting me to see how I am. I feel so loved, and yes I feel oh so pretty!

12 Memories of Christmas

1. It was finally our turn to have Mutti (my grandma) for Christmas. It was so fun to have her with us for all of our festivities. I wish I could remember all the details, but I have one memory that I love. In our family it's a tradition to all sleep in the same room. Well even though Mutti lived around the corner she insisted on joining us in our tradition. Then she insisted on 'sharing the bed with at least one other person.' So my cute 70 year old grandma slept in a little room with seven crazy kids that Christmas Eve and created a memory I'll never forget.
2. Sledding with the family behind the four wheeler. This is the true way to sled, after all you don't have to walk up any hills and the ride is so much longer! I don't know why more people don't do this. I can just picture my family all bundled up fitting three to a sled sometimes as we rode around.
3. It's always hard to come back to school after Thanksgiving break. Last year I was feeling especially down the whole ride to Rexburg. When I walked in the apartment though I was welcomed by tons of Christmas decorations and my roommates were there to welcome me. Amidst our crazy end-of-semester times we still found time to celebrate Christmas. We had a fabulous Christmas party and even sent out Christmas cards. Aren't we adorable?
   
4. Long, long a go we were caroling in our beautiful blue van. I don't remember exactly how it happened but the sliding door broke off so we went around that night holding the van door up as we drove from house to house. I don't think we ever made it through the caroling song that night without one of us laughing remembering the broken door on the van.
5. One of my favorite traditions is we get to open one present on Christmas Eve. Well one Christmas Eve we got back from caroling and all went to change into our pajamas. When we came upstairs we found Benjy, who was probably 5 at the time already playing with the truck/construction set that he had decided to open from Mutti. For some reason I thought this was the funniest thing.
6. One year I really wanted a motor scooter. Mostly because I'm lazy and it seemed nice not to walk everywhere. Well as Christmas got closer there was this big box under the tree with my name on it. I was so excited, I was going to get my sweet scooter! Christmas day came and I opened it to discover...an air purifier! This was also the Christmas that I got contacts in my stocking! I love to tease my mom about this because even though at the time it seemed weird...these are the two gifts that I've used the most and I've loved them.
7. When Sara was a student at BYUI I remember feeling Christmas didn't quite start until she came home. One year her ride was dropping her off in Draper so we all loaded into the car and listened to Christmas music as we drove to pick her up. The weather was really bad and the older folk were nervous but Marie and I seemed oblivious so we just had a party in the backseat as we waited in this mall parking lot for Sara to come. I remember being SO excited and having a blast with Marie.
   
8. I have many memories of Christmas recitals, especially my mom's recitals. These recitals were sweet because they were sing alongs. Well they were sweet when you knew the song. If you didn't know the song the singers didn't wait for you so you had to hurry and catch up. Fast.
9. When Jessie, Marie, and I all shared a room we had a tradition in the winter time. We always woke up to the heater turning on. So we'd grab a big blanket, crawl under it, and then put it over the heater. Then as soon as it was over we'd crawl back into bed. I don't know why our room was always cold at night...
10. Two years a go our family was all together for Christmas. It snowed a ton and we wanted to get out so my brother Chris suggested we go play soccer. (Of course that's the sensible thing to do with a ton of snow.) We put on a gazillion random layers and went to Westridge to play soccer. We could barely run the snow was so deep and we were so bundled, but it was so much fun. Plus we looked really cool:
11. When I was 17 I had the opportunity to be in Savior of the World. This allowed me the chance to bear my testimony of the Savior's birth through song all through the Christmas season. I found it impossible to forget the true meaning of Christmas this year. It was such an amazing experience, I wish everyone could have it.
12. I have so many memories of opening thoughtful gifts Christmas morning and being so touched. There is NO way I could name them all, so I'll pick one of the earliest I remember. On Christmas Eve I went into the laundry room to find Marie ironing which seemed odd. Well she quickly hid what she was doing and so I ran out. Later that night I found out that Chrissy had made all the girls matching pajamas and Marie had made little outfits for our dolls. I'm still so touched when I think of the hours that Marie (who couldn't have been more than 13) and Chrissy spent on those pajamas. This is just one example of so many. Every year gifts like these remind me of the true meaning of Christmas.