Advent Blog - December 16th

Yesterday I mentioned the ornaments my grandma gives me for Christmas. This is my favorite one. It is ceramic and my grandma painted it for me when I was very, very little. I don't know why, but I love it more than the others.

Advent Blog - December 15th

Since I was little my grandma has given me a Christmas ornament for each Christmas. I love these ornaments. They are all homemade. Several of these ornaments are hand sewn felt ornaments. Here are two out of the many that hang on my tree.

Advent Blog - December 14th

As I mentioned yesterday, the holidays are all about family and friends. Yesterday I wrote about a few of my friends. Today I want to write a short post about my family. I have a fantastic family!! I didn't realize how unusually close my family was (and still is) until I became an adult. We were super lucky growing up because both of my parents worked at home. In fact, because my mom was always running and doing deliveries, my dad was home more often than my mom. I remember if I was sick at school, I always called my dad to come pick me up. I just thought this was normal, but as I got older, I noticed that many of my friends were not as close with their fathers. Not only am I close with my parents, I am also really close to my brothers. I consider the three of them my best friends. I found this picture frame at Target a few weeks ago and knew I needed it to display one of our Christmas pictures.

Advent Blog - December 13th

The holidays are all about family and friends and I think I have the best family and friends around. Yesterday I invited two of my closest friends, Christi and Kathleen, over for brunch and a movie. I told them to come on over in their PJs and I would make them delicious crepes (with Kathleen's help) and we would spend the morning watching the movie, The Holiday. I wanted to take pictures, but since all three of us (me more than them) looked like we just crawled out of bed, I decided against it. Anyway, I want to tell all my friends out there how much I love them and wish them a Merry Christmas.

Advent Blog - December 12th

I love this painting by Liz Lemon Swindle.

Advent Blog - December 11th

There were about half a dozen songs that didn't make the cut for my Christmas CD mix this year. I wanted to share the lyrics of one of those songs. Maybe it will end up the 2010 edition. Anyway, here are the lyrics to "The Rebel Jesus."

All the streets are filled with laughter and light
And the music of the season
And the merchants' windows are all bright
With the faces of the children
And the families hurrying to their homes
While the sky darkens and freezes
Will be gathering around the hearths and tables
Giving thanks for God's graces
And the birth of the rebel Jesus

Well they call him by 'the Prince of Peace'
And they call him by 'the Savior'
And they pray to him upon the seas
And in every bold endeavor
And they fill his churches with their pride and gold
As their faith in him increases
But they've turned the nature that I worship in
From a temple to a robber's den
In the words of the rebel Jesus

Well we guard our world with locks and guns
And we guard our fine possessions
And once a year when Christmas comes
We give to our relations
And perhaps we give a little to the poor
If the generosity should seize us
But if any one of us should interfere
In the business of why there are poor
They get the same as the rebel Jesus

Now pardon me if I have seemed
To take the tone of judgement
For I've no wish to come between
This day and your enjoyment
In a life of hardship and of earthly toil
There's a need for anything that frees us
So I bid you pleasure
And I bid you cheer
From a heathen and a pagan
On the side of the rebel Jesus

Advent Blog - December 10th

A few days ago I wrote about service projects my students and young women were doing for the homeless (to read it click HERE). Today is a follow up on that post. Last night my young women went to the Road Home's overflow shelter in Midvale to deliver the hats that they made (they ended up making 160 hats!!). I knew some of my students lived at the shelter so I had mentally prepared myself to see some of them there. I did and it was fine . . . at least it was until I got home. It was when I walked into my own home that it hit me - how different my home was from the shelter. The shelter was crowded, chaotic, and a little dirty. When I walked into my house it was warm, clean, and smelled good. It's spacious - way spacious for just one person. The families at the shelter had their bed and all of their possessions crowded into one tiny space - a space as big as my closet. Now I can't get my little students out of my mind. I pray that I may be able to help them - even if it's just being a good teacher and helping them for 45 minutes a day.

Advent Blog - December 9th

For the past 6-7 years my family has gone to the Hale Center Theatre to see their annual production of A Christmas Carol. I love Hale Center Theatre and think they do a phenomenal job on all of their productions, A Christmas Carol being no exception. This beloved story from Charles Dickens has always been my favorite. I have seen my many renditions of A Christmas Carol and have loved them all. My top three include:

A Muppet's Christmas Carol

Mickey's Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol with Patrick Stewart

Advent Blog - December 8th

For the past 6 years I've been making Christmas CD mixes for Christmas gifts. I started in 2004 because I hardly had any money and I knew it would be a cheap gift. The CDs were such a success that I've continued to give them since then. Every year I have people waiting with anticipation to receive the current edition of Mandy's Christmas Mix.

Advent Blog - December 7th

Christmas is the Season of Giving. I've been working with both my students at school and my young women at church on service projects for the homeless. My students are making blankets for the Midvale Family Support Center and my young women are making hats for the Road Home. Here are a few pictures:

Some of my students tying a quilt.

Two more students working on a baby blanket.

Hats I've made.
My young women have made dozens more.

Advent Blog - December 6th

Yesterday I wrote about one of the three Christmas ornaments my grandfather gave me for my first Christmas tree. The first ornament had been one from the set my grandparents had when they were first married. My dad told me he remembered it hanging on the tree when he was little (see yesterday's post). These are the other two ornaments my grandpa gave me:




He told me that they belonged to his mother, my great grandmother, and that they were the ornaments he remembered hanging on the Christmas tree when he was a child. They aren't much to look at, but I love them. They're basically old, scratched pieces of tin, but I wouldn't trade them for anything!!

Advent Blog - December 5th

This is my 5th Christmas in my house. I didn't put up a Christmas tree during my first two years so I didn't get my first official Christmas tree until 2007. That year my Great Aunt Olive and Great Uncle Martin donated their old Christmas tree to me. I was so excited. My grandfather and I went to their house to pick it up. After we had picked it up, my grandpa said he had something he wanted to give me. He gave me a box that contained three different Christmas ornaments. This post is about the first ornament. Tomorrow I will write about the other two. This is the first ornament he gave me:


He told me that it was from the set that my grandma and he had when they were first married. I love it. That year I placed it in a prominent place on my Christmas tree. When my parents came to see my tree that year my dad noticed the ornament and said it looked just like the ornaments he had on his tree when he was a little kid. He couldn't believe it when I told him it was one of the ornaments that hung from his family's tree when he was a child. I love this ornament. It will always have a place at the top of my tree.

Advent Blog - December 4th

Last week I was asked what I wanted for Christmas. At the time, I couldn't think of a single thing that I wanted. However, I've been mulling over the question for the past week and have come up with a short list.

Dear Santa,
This year I would like the following items for Christmas:

• White Socks
• Head Phones. I really like the ones that came with my iPod so I'd like similar ones.
• Pedometer - a really nice, accurate one.
• Glee - Volume 2 CD
• Terminator Salvation DVD
• Star Trek DVD

The first three items I really need and will buy them if I don't get them for Christmas. The last three items, I would never buy for myself, but I'd enjoy them if I got them as a gift.

Advent Blog - December 3rd

My mom made all of our family members' Christmas stockings. She made mine when I was just a toddler. I love this stocking. As a child, I loved trains so it was the perfect stocking for me. It still is. The best part, it's bigger than any of my brothers' stockings. I love to remind them of this every year.

Team Edward vs. Team Jacob

This is not part of my Advent Blog, but I wanted to write about it. Today I had planned to play a game with my students. I started by saying, "We will be dividing into two teams." I was about to go on and say , "Team 1 and Team 2," but I was interrupted when a student (a male student) asked, "Can we be Team Edward and Team Jacob?" I started laughing. They are ridiculous kids who apparently like ridiculous books.

Advent Blog - December 2nd

Two years ago I went over to my mom's house and discovered a large box of Christmas decorations in the trash. This decoration was one of them. I asked my mom, "Are you throwing this away!?" When she told me she was, I couldn't believe it. My mom has displayed this decoration for as long as I could remember. When I look at it, all I see are Christmas memories from my childhood. I knew I had to have it. I rescued it from the trash and have been displaying it at my house every Christmas since.

Advent Blog - December 1st

I've been a bit of a blog slacker so I've decided to do an Advent Blog to count down the days before Christmas. Similar to an Advent Calendar, I'll make a post everyday up until Christmas. All of my Advent posts will focus on Christmas.

My first post is dedicated to a tradition my parents started about 15ish years ago - The Christmas Puzzle. My parents decided our family would put together a Christmas themed puzzle every year. Once it was finished, my mom had it framed and everyone who had worked on the puzzle was able to sign the back of the frame. The puzzles were then hung in the house during the Christmas season. Because my parents started this tradition about 15 years ago, you'll find about 15 Christmas puzzles displayed throughout their house every Christmas Season.

When I bought my own house, my parents let me choose one of the puzzles we had done growing up to display in my own house. They've also let my brothers choose a puzzle for their own homes. I love this tradition and decided to start it at my own house last year. Everyone who visits during the month of December is welcome to add a few pieces to my puzzle and sign the frame, thus becoming a permanent part of my Christmas every year. Here are a few pics:

The puzzle my parents gave me.
My family did this puzzle in 1999.

Some signatures from the back of the puzzle.

Me and Tom working on my puzzle from last year.

The puzzle from last year, framed for this year.

This year's puzzle.
Come on over and add a few pieces.

WWII in HD

The History Channel just finished premiering the series, WWII in HD. This series features rare footage from WWII shot in color. The footage was found during a two-year search through archives and basements around the world. WWII has always fascinated me. I'd describe myself as a huge WWII buff. Because of this, I've seen and read a lot on WWII. I wondered if WWII in HD would be all that different from the many other WWII documentaries. Let me tell you, it is. I was awestruck while watching it, literally gasping at some parts. It's amazing how different it is to see something in color. Explosions, the Pacific Ocean, Hitler - they all look so different. It was like seeing some things for the first time. The color footage was awesome, but so are the stories the series covers. The war is told through the eyes of 12 different Americans, including a female Army nurse, an African American Tuskegee Airman, a Jewish Austrian who immigrated just before the war, and a Japanese American soldier. If you're even slightly interested in WWII, this is the series to see.

So, When did French Kissing Start?

Yesterday at work I was talking to my students about life in the late 1700s. One of the things we discussed was propriety between men and women at that time. I mentioned the standards of dress women adhered to and the fact that they would never be alone with a member of the opposite sex without a chaperone. This opened the door for a lot of questions. It just so happened that yesterday I was focusing on the learning profile trait, inquirers, which encourages students to develop their natural curiosity and conduct inquiry and research. Because of this, I would usually have loved to hear their questions and talk to them about the answers. This was not the case. Our conversation went something like this:

Students: "What? They couldn't be alone? What about making out?"

Me: "That would have been considered inappropriate. In fact, it would have been fairly scandalous."

Students: "So, not even kissing?"

Me: "No. Many people wouldn't have kissed until their wedding day."

Student: "So, when did french kissing start? Did it start in France?"

At this point I was dying. The students were so sincere in their questions and I was trying to be good with my answers, but I lost it and burst out laughing. Luckily, the bell was about to ring and I put an end to the inquiry by having them clean up.

The Book Thief

So, I finally finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It has been one of the hardest books to read. I had a hard time getting use to the narration (the narrator is Death) and some parts were so very tedious. Despite these difficulties, this book moved me more than any other work of fiction. I know, it's weird. I didn't particularly enjoy reading this book, yet I loved it. Again, a weird contradiction. So, why did I love The Book Thief? The book talks about the power of words - I love that. Unfortunately, Zusak isn't very consistent with his own words - some sections of The Book Thief are masterfully written, while others are a rambling mess. Here are a few I consider masterful:

She was the book thief without the words. Trust me, though, the words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like rain. (page 80)

People may tell you that Nazi Germany was built on anti-Semitism, a somewhat overzealous leader, and a nation of hate-fed bigots, but it would all have come to nothing had the Germans not loved one particular activity: To burn. The Germans loved to burn things. Shops, synagogues, Reichstags, houses, personal items, slain people, and of course, books. (page 84)

There was once a strange, small man. He decided three important details about his life: 1. He would part his hair from the opposite side to everyone else. 2. He would make himself a small, strange mustache. 3. He would one day rule the world. The young man wandered around for quite some time, thinking, planning, and figuring out exactly how to make the world his. Then one day, out of nowhere, it struck him - the perfect plan. He'd seen a mother walking with her child. At one point, she admonished the small boy, until finally he began to cry. Within a few minutes, she spoke very softly to him, after which he was soothed and even smiled. The young man rushed to the woman and embraced her. "Words!" he grinned. "What?" But there was no reply. He was already gone. Yes, the Fuhrer decided that he would rule the world with words. "I will never fire a gun," he devised. "I will not have to." His first plan of attack was to plant the words in as many areas of his homeland as possible. He planted them day and night, and cultivated them. He watched them grow, until eventually, great forests of words had risen through Germany . . . . It was a nation of farmed thoughts. (page 445)

She tore a page from the book and ripped it in half. Then a chapter. Soon, there was nothing but scraps of words littered between her legs and all around her. The words. Why did they have to exist? Without them there wouldn't be any of this. Without words, the Fuhrer was nothing. (page 521)

It's Here, IT'S HERE!!

My couch arrived yesterday. Here are the pics. I love it!!

Pure Joy!!

I'm feeling pure joy. Why? Because I'm a shallow, materialistic person. What does that mean? I finally ordered my new couch!! It's taken forever because I had to apply for a new credit card and I had to order it from the Portland West Elm store. It's being shipped to me via UPS and should be here in the upcoming week. YAY!! Plus, the best part is they're giving me a $600 gift card to reward me for my purchase. Another YAY!! To see more pictures, click HERE.

You Know it's the End of the Quarter When . . .

You know it's the end of the quarter when:

• You've spent the last 3 days doing nothing but grading papers.
• You have students who are suddenly interested in their grade.
• You have students who suddenly start turning in work.
• You have parents you've never heard from calling several times a day trying to find out what their child can do "to be successful in your class."
• You have parents who call to make excuses for their children.

Harry Potter Party

The Pettit's Harry Potter Halloween Party is always the best Halloween party of the year. They've been throwing this party for 8 years now. It took me 5 years just to get an invitation - The invitations have become one of the hottest and most coveted invitations of the Halloween season. We had a ton of fun with food, Quidditch, The Headless Hunt, and lots of trivia. Here are some pics:

The Pettit's go all out with the decorations.

Professor Trelawny and Moaning Myrtle
(aka Me and Christi) being sorted.

Yay!! We're both in Gryffindor.
Maybe we can be roommates.

Picture Time.

Professor Trelawny, the Grey Lady, & Moaning Myrtle
(aka Me, Lori, and Christi)

The Grey Lady explaining the rules for the trivia/Quidditch match.

Me with my cute Harry Potter cupcake.

Voting for the best costume.
Bellatrix LaStrange (aka Dusty) couldn't believe
I would vote for myself - she doesn't know me that well.

Two Trelawnys?

I Love Glee

I love Glee!! It is totally my new favorite show on TV. I laugh when I'm watching it, I laugh when I'm thinking about it, I'm even laughing right now as I write about it. Below you'll find a short video about Glee and some of my favorite quotes.



Favorite One-Liners:

• Puck: It was a message from God - Rachel was a hot Jew and the good Lord wanted me to get into her pants.

• Will: We'll get you sobered up... find you some underwear. It's not too late for you.

• Quinn: I had sex with you because you got me drunk on wine coolers and I felt fat that day.

Favorite Dialogue:

Will: "Since 1992, 95% of your Cheerios [cheerleaders] should have flunked Spanish. And I, for one, am not gonna be a part of it anymore!"

Sue: "Ohhh, Will! We all know your devotion to that dying language!"

Will: "Dying language?!"

Sue: "Let me break this down for you, okay? I empower my cheerios to be champions. Do they go on to college? I don't know...I don't care. Should they learn Spanish?...Sure, if they wanna become dishwashers & gardeners.

Fun Weekend

I haven't been much of a blogger lately. I'm not sure why, but I haven't felt like writing or posting many pictures. I'm going to try to be better. I had a pretty good weekend. Zack and Mitch came over Friday night while Jeanine and Doug went to the Jordan River Temple. Zack, Mitch, and I decorated Halloween cookies. We also popped a ton of popcorn and watched Transformers. Jeanine and Doug came by and picked up Mitch, but Zack spent the night.

On Saturday Zack, Lesli, and I went to Cracker Barrel. We go there for breakfast every time Zack sleeps over. The kid loves that place!! He ate 3 pieces of French toast and an egg - this coming from a kid who never eats!! That afternoon Adam, Jackie, Doug, Jeanine, Zack, Mitch, and I went up American Fork Canyon. We BBQed and did a little fishing (I was the only one to catch a fish). We also went up to Cascade Springs and hiked around.

Overall, excellent weekend. Here's some pics:

This is how Zack sleeps. It's hilarious!!

Me and Zack at Cracker Barrel

Zack and Mitch scaring all the fish.

At Cascade Springs

I hate this pic of me and Jackie, but I thought I'd include it.

Adam and Jackie

Me, Mitch, and Zack

I Work with Idiots

I work with idiots (if I work with you and you're reading this, you probably are NOT included in the group of idiots I'm referring to).

This morning we had a professional development meeting. Our assistant principal divided us into groups, put a person in charge of each group, and gave us an assignment to complete. Unfortunately, half of my group was made up of idiots. This is what happened in my group:

The person in charge read the directions and told our group what we needed to accomplish. Half of my group (the non-idiots) started discussing the assignment, the other half (the idiots) completely ignored us and continued having their own conversations.

After we had held our discussion, we started writing down the assignment (something that everyone was suppose to do). The non-idiots began writing down the information. The idiots realized that they had no idea what we were doing. The following conversation occurred:

The idiots: "Wait!! What? We're suppose to write this down?"
Our leader (a non-idiot): "Yes, write it down."
The idiots: "Why? Can't you just email us the information?"
Our leader (a non-idiot): "No. Write it down. You'll learn the information more if you write it down yourself."
The idiots: "Wait!! What are we suppose to write?
Our leader (a non-idiot): "Okay. The first thing is . . ."
The idiots: "Wait!! I don't have any paper. Can I borrow a pen?"

At this point, I was LIVID!! I know I should take responsibility for my own actions and I usually never make a statement like this, but their idiocy MADE me say a string of curse words. SERIOUSLY - I have to deal with lazy, apathetic students all day. I shouldn't have to deal with lazy, apathetic colleagues (if you can even call them that) too.

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod is a series of books written by Heather Brewer. The first book in the series is Eight Grade Bites, the second book is Ninth Grade Slays, and the third book is Tenth Grade Bleeds. The books follows Vladimir Tod, a half-vampire/half-human teenager, as he tries to live a normal teenage life - well, as normal as can be expected when you are a blood-drinking vampire. Not only does Vlad face the problems of an everyday teenager (school, grades, bullies, girls, etc.), he also has to deal with life as a vampire. And it's not an easy vampire life for Vlad - hiding the fact that he drinks blood, avoiding garlic, improving his mind-control abilities, and battling the evil vampire, D'Ablo. Fans of the vampire genre, will certainly enjoy these books.

Kuoldit Sudanese Restaurant

Last night Alina, Tom, & I decided to try the Sudanese Restaurant, Kuoldit. It is located in West Valley at 1895 S. Redwood Road and it's open Monday - Saturday from 10 am - 9 pm. Because we wanted to sample a little bit of everything, we ordered the small Family Combo. This was advertised to serve 3-4 people. This was NOT true. It could easily have served 6 people. In fact, it was brought out on a huge platter that took two people to carry. It was awesome!! Plus, it was super cheap. The whole thing cost $30. If you really did split that between 6 people, that's a great meal for 5 dollars.

Some of things in the combo were delicious, some okay, and some not so good. I loved the Chicken Sheia, Sudanese Beef Kabob, & the Chicken Sambosa. The Kirsa and Dinka's Assida were okay. I did not like the Tilapia Sheia or the Akop (altough Tom really liked both of them). If you're planning on visiting and want to play it safe, I would recommend the yellow rice and chicken sheia. If you want to try something a little more flavorful, but still stay relatively safe, go for the beef kabob. I think everyone would like these two selections.

I have to say, the best part about this restaurant were the people that worked there. They were so friendly. As we entered, they introduced themselves and shook our hands. It was very nice. They were also good about our ignorance about Sudanese food. They explained the menu to us (even though it is very self-explanatory). They were awesome. To read a little about the owner, click HERE.

Everyone should plan on visiting this fine establishment soon.

It's me . . . Mandy

Several weeks ago my family and I were sitting in my parents' living room after Sunday dinner. We were all sprawled out and chatting it up. My father was laying on the floor, half asleep. I recognized this as the perfect opportunity to teach my 5 year old cousin, Zack, a lesson on teasing. As the oldest sibling of my family, I've taken it upon myself to teach Zack, the oldest sibling in his family, how to be a tease. Now usually, teasing is reserved for younger brothers, but Ronnie (my dad) was in prime position for teasing.

I took Zack by the hand and took him outside for his lesson. First, we looked around the lawn until we found the longest blade of grass. I then demonstrated that this blade of grass could be used in one of two ways: first, it could be stuck up the nose; second, it could be stuck in the ear. Both of these would yield the same result: teasing. I then explained that the blade of grass could be used when the object of teasing was asleep (like Ronnie) or being pinned down (a lesson I had taught him previously). Zack seemed well instructed so I figured it was time for some independent practice.

We walked back in the house and Zack crept up to my dad, gingerly holding the blade of grass in his hand. He quietly knelt down and proceeded to stick the blade of grass up Ronnie's nose. It didn't quite make it up his nose, just grazed it. My dad didn't open his eyes, although there was a slight smile on his face. Zack waited a few more seconds before trying again, but this time he whispered in my dad's ear, "It's me, Mandy." He then stuck the blade of grass straight up Ronnie's nose. With that, everyone, including my dad, burst into laughter. Zack then ran up to me and yelled, "I tricked him so he thinks it's you." Seriously, what a character.

More On-Line Shopping

So if you thought I was nervous about buying a $38 bracelet on-line (see last post), you can imagine the anxiety I feel about buying a $3000 couch on-line. So I've been looking for a sectional for my basement family room for ages now (seriously, like 18 months). I knew exactly what I wanted it to look like. I wanted a three-piece grey sectional . . . very contemporary with nice, clean lines. I had yet to find one, until I stumbled across this:


I love it!! I LOVE it so MUCH!! I have the website book marked on my laptop and I look at it like 10 times a day. So where does the anxiety come from?

• One, do I dare buy a couch I've never sat in? What if it's uncomfortable? I have recruited a few people to go to a West Elm store and test it out for me, but is it something I really need to sit in myself?
  
• Two, what if it doesn't fit down my staircase. The worst part about my house is the staircase to the basement. It is a killer to get things down the stairs. Have you ever seen the Friends episode where Ross buys a couch and tries taking it up the stairs to his apartment? That episode is no longer funny to me . . . I've lived it.

• Three, what if it doesn't look like the picture? I love the way it looks on-line, but it could be totally different in person. What if the dimensions look different, or the color?
• Finally, is $3000 a ridiculous price to pay for a couch? I only wanted to spend $1800. That was 18 months ago, but desperation is making $3000 sound not too bad.

Anyways, what do you think?

On-Line Shopping

I'm thinking of getting this bracelet. What do you think?

Update

I haven't been very good at updating my blog this summer. I've had a few people bug me about this so I thought I'd do a little update . . .

• Summer was great. I went to Pennsylvania, Phoenix, Lava Hot Springs, and Boise. I also went camping (something I usually HATE, but I had a good time). This summer wasn't as full as my summers of the past . . . which was nice. I was able to stay home and watch my brand new TV and get a lot done around my house.
• Summer's over and I'm back to work. This is my 10th year at my school. Can you believe it? An entire decade in one place. Crazy. I'm having a really hard time learning names this year. I don't know if it's because I'm getting old or because I'm totally unmotivated to learn them. I figure, I'll learn them eventually.
• Holy Hell, it's been hot. My building doesn't have air conditioning which makes my 8 hours of work miserable. That's all I really have to say about that.
• My Grandma and Grandpa Ault are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary on Monday. My mother is throwing a little party (okay, it's not so little) next weekend and I've been helping her. It will be nice to see our family come together to honor our grandparents.
• TV. This summer my TV watching has been filled with various HGTV shows and previous seasons of The Big Bang Theory. I've always loved HGTV, but my love for The Big Bang Theory is new. Very funny show.
• More TV. New TV shows start next week. I'm super stoked. A whole post will be dedicated to this in the upcoming weeks.
• Church. I was skeptical, but I really like teaching in Young Womens. I thought it would be hard to be with teenagers all week at work and then more of them on the weekends, but it's not been bad.
• The Gangrene Film Festival. Last night I went to the Gangrene Film Festival to see some short films. It was a really nice evening (it's outside) and it was fun to be with some old friends and watch some funny films.

All right, that's about it.

Fortune Cookie

This past weekend I received the following fortune in my fortune cookie: "Lucky you. Get out your party clothes." Love it!!

(500) Days of Summer

So I went to see (500) Days of Summer with Kyle and Megan. Loved, Loved, Loved this movie. Watch the first 30 seconds of the trailer and you'll know why.



(500) Days of Summer tells the story of Tom Hansen, a twenty-something, helpless romantic who falls for his co-worker, Summer Finn. The movie flashes back and forth between the 500 days of Tom's obsession with her. It's hilarious (and has a fantastic soundtrack). GO SEE IT!!

Vacations, Vacations, and More Vacations

The past two weeks I've been out of town a lot. First of all, I went to Lava Hot Springs for a small George family reunion. We had a lot of fun. We played Texas Hold 'Em, went tubing down the river, went to the pool, and had a horse shoe competition for cash prizes (I lost). I was only there for two days, but we did a lot in those two days.

When I got home, I had a few days off before going to girls camp. I wasn't super stoked for girls camp, but it ended up being a great time. Because I was on the stake committee I didn't get to spend a lot of time with my ward, but it was fun working with and getting to know the stake leaders better. I was able to spend some time with the young women from my ward and I now feel like I know them better and that they know me a little bit better. Here's a picture of the girls from my ward:

I'm on the left.
You know, the one wearing a garbage bag tutu.

After camp, I had a few more days to relax before heading up to Idaho to visit Kyle and Megan. I'm actually still here (in Idaho). Our time has mostly been spent vegging out. We've done some shopping, gone out to eat, went to the movies (a separate post will be written about this), baked some cup cakes, and watched lots and lots of Prison Break. I know, fun week.