To Do List . . .

1. Put music on new iPod Nano.  Jam out while doing rest of to do list

2.  Eat cinnamon bears while reading papers for classes

3.  Kill spider living in mailbox

4.  Blow up 250 water balloons with Cannon

5.  Party like a rock star

Introducing Stacey Stradley Photography

Many of you many know our dear friend Stacey Stradley, photographer extraordinaire.  She was kind enough to take our family photos last week and they turned out awesome!  I can't get enough of looking at them so I decided to post some of them here so you could appreciate them too.  Guess who's going to be doing my bridals when I get engaged . . .

 

 

Best breakup song ever

New Beginnings

Dear friends,

There are two types of people in the world. The first, which is the type that most people belong to, are Planners. We Plan all the great things we want to do, the trips we want to take, the changes in ourselves we want to make. And we fully intend to do all these things, someday. The problem is there's always something else that comes up to stop us from completing our goals - we get busy, it's not the right time, we don't have the money, etc.

My cousin passed away in October after a fierce battle with leukemia. He was an amazing person who was always laughing and was friends with everyone. And while his passing was extremely difficult and saddening, it was also inspiring because Jared was a Doer. He had accomplished more of his dreams in his 25 years of life than most people accomplish in their whole lifetime. He didn't wait for the time to be right, or the comfort of being financially secure, or someone else to lead the way - he just went for his dreams and he achieved them.

Like most people in life, I have been a Planner. I had great intentions, and I even followed through on a lot of my Plans. But I am not satisfied with being a Planner anymore. This year I'm ready to take charge of my life and Do things to make my dreams happen.

Dream one: Get Lasik. Check.


P.S. I wanted to post the video here of them actually performing the Lasik process on my eyeballs, but I couldn't figure out how to. If you want to see it though all you have to do is ask :)

Why I'm a Geologist

People often give me strange looks when I tell them I am a Geologist. Here is why, in a nutshell, I love Geology.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1VfDva/www.mediadump.com/hosted-id186-most-fascinating-geological-wonders-on-earth.html

How can you not be awestruck and intrigued?

All the things I know I learned from Dr. Suess

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go..."
~Oh the Places You'll Go


“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.”
~Dr. Suess


“A person's a person, no matter how small.”
~Horton hears a Who


“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It's not.”
~The Lorax


“I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!”
~I had trouble in getting to Solla Sollew


“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”
~Dr. Suess


“If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good.”
~Dr. Suess


“So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. And remember that life's A Great Balancing Act. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed)
~Oh the Places You'll Go


“You’ll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut.”
~I can read with my eyes shut


"If we didn't have birthdays, you wouldn't be you.
If you'd never been born, well then what would you do?
If you'd never been born, well then what would you be?
You might be a fish! Or a toad in a tree!
You might be a doorknob! Or three baked potatoes!
You might be a bag full of hard green tomatoes.
Or worse than all that . . . Why, you might be a WASN'T!
A Wasn't has no fun at all. No, he doesn't.
A Wasn't just isn't. He just isn't present.
But you . . . You are YOU! And now, isn't that pleasant!"
~Happy birthday to you!


“Today is your day, your mountain is waiting. So get on your way.”
~Oh the Places You'll Go

27 random tidbits

1. The smell of dill makes me sneeze

2. I also sneeze when I'm excited

3. I still don't have my ears pierced

4. Papayas genuinely taste like throw up to me

5. I love water balloons. And throwing them at people.

6. If I could choose only three colors that the whole world would be made of, I would choose teal, brown, and white. I could look at those colors together forever and not get sick of them

7. I had a security blanket when I was little that I carried around with me everywhere. Even once I stopped carrying it with me I still slept with it on my pillow every night til I was like 12

8. I went through a phase in high school where I got really into spray painting. I spray painted our croquet balls, my sister's dresser, even the shed in our backyard - bright blue walls, black doors, and a solar system all over the roof

9. October is my absolute favorite month

10. The last time I threw up was when I was 12 years old

11. I love Aquafresh toothpaste. Mmmm it's the greatest ever

12. I couldn't swallow pills (of any size) until Margaret taught me how our first year rooming together

13. Graphing calculators give me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. Yes, I'm a nerd

14. I have never had the chicken pox, even though both my siblings exposed me to it

15. I fastidiously wax my car, Rickie, every six months

16. I collected jolly ranchers when I was little. I had some pretty crazy flavors too - rasberry lemonade, tangerine, banana pineapple

17. I love melk with all my heart

18. I once rode an elephant. But I was only 1 so it doesn't count

19. I have a goal list I started in junior high with 73 things on it. #7 is Go to all the dances in high school. Oops, guess I missed that one

20. Goal #63 is to learn to whistle

21. Goal #56 is to climb to the top of the crow's nest in a ship

22. From 5th grade until I hit high school my favorite book was The Lord of the Rings

23. There was a 10-foot wide canal running between our high school and our seminary building and my favorite thing to do in high school was to leap across it. Occasionally my classmates would try and imitate me and once or twice someone wouldn't make it all the way across and would get all muddy and smell like a rotten egg for the rest of the day. It was hilarious

24. I once had over 300 digits of pi memorized. But now I'm down to 110

25. I would love to get way into scrapbooking but I don't know where to begin. Plus it takes so much time

26. I currently have a bag of groceries sitting my car waiting for the next time I pass a person with one of those cardboard "Need Help" signs

27. I have a new favorite sport. It's called Ultimate Balloon and I intend to get a group together to play it one of these days