If I were stranded on an island

then I don't think I'd have 5 books, 5 movies, & 5 CDs. But I guess this is hypothetical.

Books.

1. Scriptures (Yes I'm including them all as one book.)
2. To Kill a Mockingbird
3. An Old Fashioned Girl
4. Pride and Prejudice
5. Ella Enchanted

Movies.

1. Anne of Green Gables (Even though this doesn't include the awesome hug, it doesn't have Morgan Harris and Emmeline so I'm going to pick Green Gables over Avonlea)
2. The Three Amigos
3. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
4. Emma BBC version OR Pride & Prejudice A&E version. Can't decide which long movie I'd pick.
5. Scarlet Pimpernel

CDs

1. The Messiah - Handel
2. Glass Houses - Billy Joel
3. Within - William Joseph
4. Hopes & Fears - Keane
5. Les Miserables

Confession Time: Movies

1. I hate scary movies. So much. One time I watched 15 minutes of a scary movie. I was under a blanket. I was so scared from those 15 minutes that I went home and watched Oklahoma to get it out of my head. It worked.
2. I own the movie Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure. But come on, what 21 year old girl didn't get that for her birthday?
3. I've seen an anime movie. I read the book Howl's Moving Castle, which was awesome, and then my roommate had the movie. It was definitely anime and apart from thinking the people looked creepy I actually liked it.
4. I LOVE long movies. I love doing movie marathons and as I get busier I'm learning to love watching a movie over the course of a few days. Favorites include Sound of Music, North & South, Emma, Wives & Daughters, Anne of Green Gables (and Avonlea), and of course Pride and Prejudice. Speaking of which...
5. I watch the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice at least once a year.
6. I love soundtracks and I say every soundtrack is beautiful or gorgeous. I may have yet to hate a soundtrack.
7. I hated the movie UP, but I love this sequence. I think it is the sweetest thing and sometimes when I'm putting off homework I like to watch it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GroDErHIM_0
8. I still haven't seen the last Harry Potter movie and I keep putting it off. This will sound lame, but I'm not ready for it to be over. So if I never watch it that means it's never over, right?
9. I watched Star Wars for the first time this last winter. Everyone would freak out when they heard I had never seen it before. So many boys begged me to watch it. I wouldn't watch it for anyone until my Uncle Dennis asked me.
10. I cry in movies. Sometimes. Okay almost every time.

Fast Forward Please.

I am a big fast forwarder. Some people hate watching movies with me because I fast forward so much. But come on, can you blame me for not wanting to sit through "When you're in Love" from 7 Brides for 7 Brothers? The meditative walk along the beach scene from the Award? Or the painful Emma and Mr Churchill being jerks at the picnic scene? That's what I thought. I'm sure you fast forward to, or if not I'm sure you've wanted to!

Well there are some times in life when I think it would be a lot nicer if there was a fast forward button. I know I'm supposed to not be ornery and make lemonade from lemons, but I don't really like lemonade. But I guess I could stop waiting for the storm to pass and learn to dance in the rain.

This semester has been the most academically difficult semester for me. By far. I've taken my usual amount of credits, but they are all hard classes now. A week from today about this time I will be DONE! Done with Harvard cases, done with Brother Taylor tests (His tests have 3 parts: Write-on, Excel problems, & a bubble sheet part. And they're timed. I have two classes from him so I have double the tests from him), done with investment meetings where I try really hard to understand what everyone is saying, done with going to bed way late and waking up early to do homework. DONE! Don't get me wrong there have been some great parts about this semester, but I have been looking forward to it ending for a while.

So a week from right now I'll be on my way home with this semester in the rear view mirror! I'm so excited to go home and spend time with family. I'm excited to spend time with friends, especially my friend Scott who just got back from his mission. I'm excited to have time to exercise and just be outside! I'm excited to sleep. Unfortunately there is a lot to do between now and then. Well rather than getting it done and being productive I'll day dream and waste my time. Like right now.

I would love to fast forward this week. I guess that's impossible though so I'll get through it and I'll try to be positive while I do it. How? While I do my homework I'll listen to beautiful soundtracks (Anne, Emma, Sabrina) or gorgeous songs like this help me out (Hold On). Those always put me in a good mood. I'll enjoy every moment with my friends out here before I say goodbye to them for a while. I'll try & study hard so I can feel good about my final tests, projects, presentations, etc. And every once in a while I'll day dream by pushing my imaginary fast forward button.

Washington with the Thomas Family

A few weeks a go I got to visit my sister Chrissy and her family. It was my first time to Washington and it was so beautiful. Unfortunately the whole drive, when I wasn't reading, I kept picturing Twilight. Ugh.

The day I got there was actually my birthday and they were so sweet to go all out celebrating it. My room had balloons all over it and it was just fun to have little people following me around saying, "Happy Birthday Aunt Becky." Chrissy was so sweet to make me a big birthday dinner and have all these fun presents for me.

It was my first time to their new house (which is so cute) and most importantly, it was my first time meeting my new nephew, Brigham. He was such a calm, sweet baby. I loved holding him. During church I couldn't let him just sit in his car seat, so I held him while I listened to Chrissy teach sharing time. (She was awesome.) I even took a few naps with him, but those pictures will not be displayed. Good news is now my mouth is closed in sleeping pictures (yay nose surgery). Unfortunately I have yet to master sleeping with only one chin. Huh... Back to Brigham though, I think he really likes me.

I hit a lot of progress with these kids on my trip. Now they listen to me read stories. (I loved reading to them.) Now Landon likes me. :) Now Brigham knows who I am. (I think I'm favorite aunt so far. Maybe he hasn't met the others, but hey I'm favorite for now.) Now April will even cuddle with me. At least she did once. After a nap. Look, here's proof:

It was fun just being with this awesome family and spending time with them.

We went to a fun museum, walked around the neighborhood, ate delicious food, and just relaxed at the house. After the kids went to bed we looked through old scrapbooks, played games, and watched movies. Maybe Chrissy and I had to get our Jane Austen fix and watch the long BBC Emma. Don't worry - we waited until after Kevin was gone to do this one. :)

Here's a picture from when I visited them in North Dakota:

Look at how much their family has grown:

I'm lucky - I've been able to visit the Thomas Family twice. As hard as it is when my siblings move away it definitely makes me excited to go and visit them.

Thanks Thomas Family for making my trip awesome!

I like my birthdays every one, each brings a greater joy to me...

I've often heard people say that the older you get the less exciting and fun birthdays are. Well I beg to differ. My last birthday was just as exciting as last year's which says a lot considering last year I had an Arab dance party in Jerusalem on my birthday. Why are my birthdays awesome? Two words: Family. Friends.

Every year I am reminded how lucky and blessed I am to be surrounded by so many awesome people. Well this year was no different. I was so touched by everyone's kindness. The packages, phone calls, facebook messages from strangers, letters, all made me feel very loved. I'm pretty sure I have the best family and friends ever. I wish I could elaborate and tell about every single person who made my birthday special, but I don't have time. I do want to tell you how awesome my roommates are though:

I love my roommates. They are so thoughtful and generous. On my birthday I had 7:45 class and right afterwards I headed to visit my sister in Washington. Well my roommates got up at 6 AM (which means a lot coming from them) and made me a delicious breakfast of German pancakes. I told them a while a go that my family used to have a tradition of waking up the birthday girl/boy with singing "Happy Birthday" and presents. This was their plan. They were going to wake me up with German Pancakes, singing, and presents. I feel badly because I ruined it by waking up earlier than I had said I was going to.

Still it was such a fun way to start the day eating a delicious, gourmet breakfast with them. After breakfast they brought out all these presents. Do I have the best roommates ever? Yes. After my class I headed to Washington where I got to see my sister and her family. They also made my birthday so special. However, my next blog post is going to be about my visit to see her so I'll talk about that later.

Even though I was gone on my birthday my roommates threw a party for me when I got back. The party was at my apartment's lounge and it was a lot of fun. We played around the world ping pong, Scrud, DDR, and just talked and ate. The night before my roommates said I couldn't come in the desk room because they were working on a 'secret project.' They spent hours in there and I started feeling guilty knowing they were doing whatever they were doing for me. Well at my birthday party I found out what they were doing. This is my birthday cake:

You see those little people? Tia and Danielle made them. Out of clay! If you don't know what those creatures are click here. Part of my really immature sense of humor is thinking Potter Puppet Pals is hilarious. Can you believe they made all of those? For lil' ol' me? They're so artistic and clever. They are also so thoughtful and I'm so grateful for them!

I'm sad I didn't get a picture of all my awesome friends at the party, but here are some pictures:

Me trying to peek at my cake.

This is Danielle playing pool with our FHE brothers. She won us dinner!

Me with my awesome cake. (There were more than two people there, you can only see two though from this angle.)

Chatting it up while eating chips and salsa people brought.

Tia vs Thom. Look at that concentration!

Awkward posing from Will and Cam.

Me with Sarah, Tia, and a creeper. (Danielle)

Thanks Tia and Danielle!!

Best Hike Ever.

A few weekends ago my roommates and I decided we wanted to go on a hike. I made sure I got all my homework done earlier that week so I could afford to not spend Saturday at the library (a new past time of mine.)

We left for the hike about one in the afternoon. It was a beautiful, sunny day so I put on my shorts and Chacos. (Ever since Jerusalem I use any excuse I can find to wear these.) I had my frozen watter bottle and snacks all ready. We started the drive to the mountains and about half way there I realized, "Hey there's white stuff on the mountains." I started doubting my Chacos decision. A little later it started raining. That's when I doubted my shorts decision. Then we were next to the mountains and they were under a white blanket. That's when I started wondering what on earth I had been thinking that morning. My conclusion? I wasn't.

Well we got a little lost trying to find the hiking trail, but we passed beautiful scenery and ended up in Wyoming. These are my awesome roommates Danielle (on the left) and Tia (in the middle.) Not pictured is Dan the lucky boy who got to join us on our excursion.

After a nice drive by the mountains and through some pretty humorous towns we finally found the trail and this is what it looked like. I think it was closed for the season. Weird. My outfit is pretty great, huh? I am so smart.

So that was our hike. Some might call it a failure. Well it wasn't. It was an adventure complete with a Michael Buble CD that was played probably 4 times in a row. (Poor Dan) Getting lost. Stopping for pizza in a little town. Watching Dan spend 3 minutes ordering his chocolate milk to perfection. Looking at the beautiful scenery. Freezing when we got out for pictures. Laughing at my roommates making slush angels. Laughing at my ridiculous outfit.

The problem is I still want to go hiking. Maybe I'll try again in 4 months...

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!