Twitter-ites

A great musician (Molly Jenson) posted this on her new blog. It's good to laugh about how caught up I sometimes get in the social networking ploys. I thought about tweeting this, but that seemed like overkill. Enjoy.

Hawaii?

I think it's pretty safe to say that I'm excited about my new habitat for the next year. And that I get to bring a buddy along with me. Just in case you don't know what Hawaii looks like, here:



So, I got a sweet gig working at a audiology clinic in Honolulu, about a mile from the beach. The sound booth even has a window overlooking the water so patient's don't feel locked in. Strange, but I'll take it. In lieu of getting paid, our little apartment is furnished and paid for. Oh, and we get a bike to pedal around on.

I'm nervous/scared/excited for this next year's adventure. Come and visit. You know you want to.

New Obsession Alert!

Hello people.

I have been unable to stop listening to Anya Marina's new album "Slow & Steady Seduction: Phase II". It's quite fabulous.

In fact, if it were up to me, I would have played it on repeat for the entire drive from Cali to Utah. Never tiring of it. 'Cause that's just how I am. Obsessed.

Darling Dishes

My future sister-in-law introduced me to the new Orla Kiely houseware designs that Target is selling for a limited time about two weeks ago. We both decided it would be a good addition to the wedding registry, so she went on a search for anything she could get. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to get any dishes. But Orem's Target did not disappoint. The beau and I bought many dinner plates, bowls and glasses. Oh, and also two dope cork-board place-mats. So two months from today, we will be eating in style. Check out the cuteness (Isn't the apron just precious?):

Orla Kiely for Target

Best of '08

This was ridiculously hard, seeing as I went to over 25 concerts this year and all my fave artists came out with outstanding albums. I did my best.

Top 5 Concerts:
1. Bonnie Raitt at Red Butte Garden
2. Mile High Music Festival in Denver
3. Ray LaMontagne at The Saltaire
4. Ani DiFranco at Library Square
5. Wilco at Red Butte Garden

Top 5 Songs:
1. "Clean Getaway" by Maria Taylor
2. "Jesus, Etc." by Wilco
3. "The Greatest" by Cat Power
4. "Little Black Sandals" by Sia
5. "Right As Rain" by Adele

Top 5 Artists:
1. Greg Laswell
2. Sia
3. Ingrid Michaelson
4. Ray LaMontagne
5. The Weepies

Top 5 Albums:
1. Three Flights from Alto Nido by Greg Laswell
2. Some People Have Real Problems by Sia
3. 19 by Adele
4. Hideaway by The Weepies
5. Hello...x by Tristan Prettyman

Top 5 Movies:
1. The Savages
2. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
3. American Teen
4. Changeling
5. Wall-E

Top 5 Places:
1. Khao Lak, Thailand
2. Denver, Colorado
3. Orange, California
4. Faifield, California
5. St. George, Utah

Top 5 people:
1. Em
2. Max
3. KJ
4. Kate
5. Ane

Top 5 TV Shows:
1. 30 Rock
2. Project Runway
3. 90210
4. The Office
5. Grey's Anatomy

Top 5 Books:
1. The Giver by Lois Lowry
2. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
3. Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer
4. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
5. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Top 5 Experiences:
1. Tristan Prettyman singing "Void" just for me at soundcheck. Un-Real.
2. Falling in love with the boy. Getting engaged.
3. Seeing Tom Petty for the 2nd time with Em. Amazing.
4. Meeting Jason Mraz. Hugging his little waist.
5. Serving the people of Thailand and eating their food. Oh, and getting bit by a leech and riding an elephant.

Winter Song

I love Christmas. Well, except for that little snow detail in Utah. As far as Christmas music goes, I've always just been a fan of the classics. Bing Crosby, The Nutcracker, etc. I've never been one to buy an artist's Christmas album every year. For some reason, hearing Mariah Carey's rendition of Silent Night (I don't even know if she's done that) doesn't do anything for me. New holiday songs are also hard for me to enjoy. They just end up being cheesy and overproduced.

Well, that all changed last year when Sister Carlile came out with "The Heartache Can Wait". Pure genius. It was depressing in just the right way to keep my holiday spirit up. Weird, I know, but I have a feeling some of you know what I'm talking about. Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson have done the same thing for me this year. They make beautiful music together. Seriously. I haven't heard a song this pretty in a while. I wish I could have embedded their darling video for it here, but the link will have to suffice. Enjoy

Winter Song

iSuicide Update

Pessimistic view on Big Poppa's life. Everything booted up fine, except the touchscreen sensors are completely gone. Bummer. Hopefully, that can somehow by replaced cheaper than buying a new iPhone. We'll see.

Note to self: Next time don't purchase ridiculously expensive items that can jump in the toilet. It's somewhat traumatic and sad. Oh, and if you do make the mistake of buying something so attractively bad ass and expensive, don't get so attached. It will make the after-jumping-in-the-toilet transition a lot easier.

Music Mondays

Last Tuesday, Ray LaMontagne came to town. The night was highly anticipated after he bailed on us as an opener for Guster in 2006.* But he did not disappoint. There were many "What-Ever!" moments that evening. It was unreal. Oh, and did I forget to mention that Em scored us great VIP seats right as Ray went on stage? Well, yeah. She did. The night was perfect.

An even more pleasant surprise was the opening act of Leona Naess. Her voice is simple and beautiful. "Heavy Like Sunday" is by far my favorite song on her album. The video is a little hectic, but just take a listen. You won't be disappointed.





*I must say, however, that I don't know if I would ever put Ray and Guster together. That just seems like an odd combo. Very different in style and mood. Things work out for the best sometimes.

Quirky-Quirker-McQuirkerson

I may be a little quirky. 6 things you didn't need to know about me, but now you are so glad you do:

1. I find it hard to share drinks with anyone. Even family. Even that special someone. There's just something very unappealing about putting my mouth where someone else's just was. Cooties. Ew. Don't take it personal if I swig your beverage without touching the opening. I've gotten really good at it.

2. I have an irrational fear of sharks. I've never had a bad experience or anything remotely close to that, but with the losing of my innocence, I also became extremely afraid of these enormously, gigantic, sharp-toothed, man-eating sea creatures. I know. Completely irrational.

3. Every time I go shopping, I have to find the nearest bathroom, quickly. Mostly it's when I'm shopping for clothes or presents for other people. I get a little nervous/excited and have to eliminate. Come to think of it, I should have made this quirk #2...

4. I have come to grips with the fact that no bra will fit me perfectly. This realization has led me to becoming an amateur seamstress. I've even used staples as a quick fix to loose straps. Don't knock it til you try it.

5. When I decide something, I decide! No matter how big or small the decision seems to be, if I make up my mind to do one thing, I'll follow through. For example, if Ingrid Michaelson's CD comes out today, I will drive to every CD store to get it that day. Nothing will stand in my way.

6. I blow dry my hair completely naked. It's not that I like to check myself out or anything, I just do it. No explanation. (Maybe I should lock my door now...)

I apologize for the over-share, but I was tagged by my good ol' friend #5. I now hereby tag: Lindsay, Steph, Ciacci, and Chanel.

Unmotivated

I decided I wanted to change the look of my blog about 15 minutes ago. I ended up with this Blogger template because I was too lazy to figure out how to download a free template from the interweb.

In recent news, my iPhone committed iSuicide in the toilet a couple hours ago. It may be days before we know if it will make it. Sad day. Sad day.

Forever My Friend

I just want to share with you some of my favorite engagement pictures. I can't show you all of them...there wouldn't be any surprises!
OpieFoto LLC

OpieFoto LLC

OpieFoto LLC

OpieFoto LLC

Selfishness

A couple weeks ago, the beau and I decided to take a ton of pictures of ourselves. Professional ones.

For the last week and a half I have been replaying the photo shoot over and over again in my head; did I smile too big, were my eyes closed, did we take too many kissy pictures? The anticipation of their finished state was almost too much for me to handle. But I made it through the waiting and couldn't be more impressed with Opie's work. She made us feel extremely comfortable the whole time and I think it comes across in the pictures. Even those kissing shots turned out great. Well, at least I think they did.

Opie was kind enough to post some on her blog.

Check it out: www.opiefoto.blogspot.com.

(I will post some of my faves later...)

Honesty

...is in the finer details.


Thanks to Anna for this find. It has truly been uplifting.

More Facebook love <3

Here's another great Facebook funny.

SWPL Facebook

Facebook has taken over the world.

So, I realize that Steph has already posted this, but I can't sit back and not share the funniness that is this video. Enjoy.

A New Confidence

I would like to bare testimony of my new bra. If anyone knows me, they know that I have an extremely hard time finding a bra that: 1) fits and 2) uh...fits. (Isn't that the most important part?)

I strolled into Nordstrom's the other day, just dreading the fact that I had to find a new piece of underwear. It's almost as bad as the annual swimsuit shopping event. But I knew Nordstrom's was the best, so I started there. I was surprised- shocked, even- to find more than one style that was in my size. Usually I settle for a size or two smaller than what I should get and make some household adjustments when I get home, like sewing the straps smaller or something like that. So, not only were these bras in my size, they actually fit and looked nothing like something my grandma wore in 1955. There are even comfort straps! I would call that a success.

For any of you full-figured women, such as myself, looking for a good time in bra-wear, check out the Natori style 7233495. It's fantastic!



(p.s. That isn't me in the picture...)

Cloud 9

So this is what it feels like, huh?

The beau proposed last night and I couldn't have said YES! any faster. I'm just a little excited. Okay, I'm super excited.

To your left you can see the ring of authority (and I only call it this because now I don't feel dumb buying bridal magazines or trying on wedding gowns). It's funny how such a little detail gives a girl some confidence.

So here goes something! I really don't think I could be happier.

Quote of the Night:

"I can love Jesus Christ AND vampires at the same time!"

-Ms. Jones

Budget? What's that?

I've decided to start myself a little budget. I just feel like I should have a little more control over where my money goes each month (I don't have much of it, so it shouldn't be hard). I managed to buy a columnar pad, which I think my grandma was the last human to use one. Ya know, the cute little accounting tablets. Looking back, I think I took a class at Utah State in Family Finance. In fact, I think everyone who graduates from USU takes that class. The only thing I can remember is the book we read, "Don't Shoot the Dog!". Oh, and how I always took my online quizzes with a classmate.*

I can't, for the life of me, remember how to set up a budget on paper. I know there are different categories of spending, and there is also a place for your income. But it just isn't coming back to me. I know I can probably look this all up online, but I want to set it up to fit my needs. I do remember the first assignment. We were supposed to track a month (or maybe a wee) of all our money flow. I figured this would be a great place to start. I should figure out where my money is going and then set up a budget to monitor that.

So the first page of my green book is what I spend my money on. Most of it consists of food and bills. Just know, that my future budget will never cut the amount of concerts I see. I think this may be the one thing I can't budge on. At all. There will always be a need for music; food, not so much.

Wish me luck.




*What? The professor never said we couldn't do that.

Work, Work, Work it out.

I started going to the gym again. This seems to happen at the beginning of every new semester. I get the urge to get in shape and find the free membership to the campus gym to be quite appealing. I am still amazed at the workout attire people choose to wear, but I've already gone there. Moving on.

Yesterday, I didn't bring any reading material to keep my mind occupied while my body sweat and suffered. I can only read so much while on elliptical until my eyes go cross-eyed and I spew. SO, I found myself people watching (dang it). I managed to spot my freshman year crush (that was 6 years ago, people, 6 years!) and took a step down memory lane for a minute. Then, it hit me. I felt really old. Yeah, I know. I'm only 24. I got it. But have you seen the BABIES that are starting college this year? I don't think they've hit puberty yet. It's amazing. I feel like walking around with a sign that says "I'm too old for you" or something to that affect. I'm not saying I get hit on while working out, but if I could prevent it in any way, I would. I probably have nothing to worry about, since I still work out in orientation shirts dated in 2002. But a girl can never be too cautious.