funnies

Kelli, in a Russellville, AK, rest stop: "I hate this whole place."

Mom: "I'm as cool as a coupon!"

Grandma: "People are going all hotsie potsie on me!"
Me: "What does that mean?"
Grandma: "It means no one wants to have ice cream."

Rachel: "Why does water stay logged in your ears?"
Dad: "Capillary action, I presume."

Kelli: "What famous person would you be?  You can keep the good parts and get rid of the bad parts."
Rachel: "Helen Keller.  Minus all the bad parts."

Grandma: "I've got more gloves than Peter has Paul."

Grandma: "What are you doing with all those pictures?"
Mom (joking): "Throwing them out."
Grandma: "Oh yeah, you are... like the bird in the bush."

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[The tent] was now packed inside the beaded bag, which, Harry was impressed to learn, Hermione had protected from the Snatchers by the simple expedient of stuffing it down her sock.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

If I could talk to my younger self,

these are the appearance-related things I would tell me:

1. If you stop brushing your hair back into a ponytail (the key word here being brushing, not ponytail), you won't get those flyaways by your ears.

2. Your teeth after braces rock as much you think they will!

3. Your weight is appropriate.

4. Yes, there is a way to have a higher success rate with wearing your hair curly.  Once you figure out the trick, it's faster, less stressful, more consistent, looks better on the second day, and looks more flattering on you - all of those things compared to both how you're doing it now and straight hair.  Maybe that's why you were born with it. :)

5. What Alyssa Priest told you about blush is true.

6. I'm glad it didn't bother you when that person told you to get those above-your-eye bumps removed.  You were right - people don't really notice them, and they don't bother you when you do your makeup or start dating like that person warned they might.

7. Slip shorts are not just a dream!  They're real! and pretty inexpensive!!  Buy some.  They will make skirt-wearing much more comfortable (especially with heels), just like you imagined they could.

8. People you don't even know will tell you you can pull off red lipstick.  Use that information however you want.

9. Hair stylists will tell you that bangs flatter your face.  That's true, but also be aware that you usually hate having them in your face.  Don't cut them so short you can't pin them back.

10. It sounds cheesy, but you will learn a lot from watching "What Not to Wear."

11. Don't waste time on cheap eyeliner pencils.  Go straight to Maybelline Define-A-Line (which is also pretty cheap).

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"Are you planning to follow a career in Magical Law, Miss Granger?" asked Scrimgeour.

"No, I'm not," retorted Hermione.  "I'm hoping to do some good in the world!"

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I must be in California.

("West Coast Friendship," by Owl City)

We went to California!  It was my first time ever being there and was so fun!  We went with some friends who had a conference going on and were only there for a couple days, but Joel and I both loved it and want to go back sometime.  

The first day there was a hiccup with the rental car, so we hung out around the hotel.  Going for walks, swimming in the hotel, taking naps, eating microwave burritos, finding out my Smiths card worked in California... it was awesome. :)

Day 2 featured Olvera Street, the California Science Center, and deeeelicious tacos with jamaica (horchata for Joel).

And the star of Day 3 was the beach!  We only got to be there for a couple hours, but we loved it.  I did some research as to which beach in the Los Angeles area would be clean and not too busy, and Seal Beach was everything people online promised.  California beaches are also different from the ones I'm used to, so that was interesting.  I'd never seen a lifeguard hut on a beach before. :)

See you later, LA!  We'd like to come back and visit again sometime. :)

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"I'm nearly done, I'm just waiting for the rest of your underpants to come out of the wash, Ron -"

Ron's splutter was interrupted by the opening of a door on the first-floor landing.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

birthday pie

I love pie.

This year for my birthday, I had a chocolate chip pie.  It's kind of like a giant deep-dish chocolate chip cookie, easy to make, and also amazing.  

People ask me for this recipe ALL THE TIME (not realizing that it's on Nestle's website), so I thought I'd share it.  Try this!  If you like chocolate, pie, and cookies, you will loooove it.

NESTLÉ Toll House Chocolate Chip Pie

1 unbaked 9" pie crust (I always use a frozen store-bought one)

2 eggs

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I'm a slave to milk chocolate.)

optional: 1 cup chopped nuts (mmmmmm, pecans)

Preheat oven to 325.  Beat eggs in large bowl on high speed until foamy.  Beat in flour and sugars.  Beat in butter.  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.  Pour into shell and bake 55-60 minutes (or until knife inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean).  Cool at least a little before eating, and then try not to devour the whole pie in one sitting.  

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"This isn't your average book," said Ron.  "It's pure gold: Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches.  If only I'd had this last year I'd have known exactly how to get rid of Lavender and I would've known how to get going with... Well, Fred and George gave me a copy, and I've learned a lot."

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

the seventh goal in the seventh month...

Ok, most of the previous months had more than one goal, so it's not actually the seventh one.  Oh well. :)

July goals!

1. Go on dates with Joel (not just stay-home dates)

2. Learn to love (and hopefully be good at) my new calling - being Primary chorister

Go on dates with Joel (not just stay-home dates)

Joel and I have a great marriage.  We like staying home, and most of the time, splitting a cake-in-a-mug and watching a movie are a good-enough date for both of us.  I like to leave home, too, though! and sometimes I get bored of staying home with the same routine.  In the past, we've had a budget for eating out and a budget for other dates, but we almost never used the "other dates" budget.  This month, I combined and lowered the budgets to be more realistic and we set a rule - we had to use all the date money!  It was fun!  We still used a lot of it for eating out, but we ate at more fun + new places.  I picked Joel up from work one day for a middle-of-the-week lunch date at a new place.  We went to a Young Entrepreneur fair and loved spending $3 for (fill in the blank) because it came from our date fund and was for that!  I want to keep this up, moving away from eating out with most of the money.  There are a lot of fun things to do around here!  Having a date budget keeps me from feeling guilty about spending money on things that logically feel "frivolous" things but are fun, like eating at a restaurant nicer than Wendy's or going bowling. :)

Learn to love (and hopefully be good at) being Primary chorister

When I got this calling at the end of June, I didn't want it.  I didn't want to leave my old calling, and I didn't believe I had time for something new.  If I had to have something new, I didn't want this - it just seemed so hard with a lot of planning.  Being positive about it seemed like a good goal, all things considered.  Thankfully, I had a pretty great resource to call!  My mom's been her ward's Primary chorister forEVER, and she loves it.  So I called her immediately in hopes of getting pumped up.  She gave me a lot of great ideas, but I was still ner. vous!  When my first Sunday rolled around, I prayed that it would go perfectly.  "I know it won't always be perfect.  I know there will be some really hard days, just like with teaching.  But please let the first day be perfect so I won't feel so nervous from now on."  And it *was* perfect.  Heavenly Father is merciful.

I've only had a couple other weeks since then, and there have definitely been times (and days) when I felt overwhelmed with this calling.  It's not a ton of hard work, but it's work I'm not used to.  For most of the month, I never felt caught up.  It felt like people were always asking me to get things done sooner, be more ahead, give more people your early-made lesson plans.  But I think I'm finally starting to come out on top with the planning.  As far as the presentation goes, well, that's always fun. :)  I'll get closer to this goal as I start to feel more comfortable with the expectations, but it sure made my first month go better!  Attitude makes a big difference!

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“Are you threatening me, sir?” he said, so loudly that passersby actually turned to stare.

“Yes, I am,” said Mad-Eye, who seemed rather pleased that Uncle Vernon had grasped this fact so quickly.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

goals: fifth and sixth editions

I know what you all are thinking.  "Alison hasn't posted anything about her resolution since she was complaining about having too many goals in May... She must have given up like the rest of the world."  Wrong!  Guess again!  I've been just as diligent as ever (just less diligent about writing about my diligence).  Here we go!

May

As some of you may recall, my initial goal in May was to try doing all the goals from the previous months.  I wanted to make them more firm habits.  Well, I was over my head, what with school ending, so I decided my new goal for May was to finish the school year with grace.  Good news there!  Things were crazy and hard, and I didn't get much done outside of school, but everything I wanted to accomplish *in* school, I did, and I'm really happy with how it went.  Did I tell you about the ten kids who spontaneously showed up in my classroom to help me clean it an hour before my checkout appointment with the janitor?  They were wonderfully amazing, I love them, and Heavenly Father is merciful.  And thus ended Month 5.

June

I was out of town for almost the whole month spending time with my family, so my goal was a little different in June.  Habits I develop on vacation don't tend to stick around when the vacation ends - life is so different, the goals don't carry over very well.  I flew home and then drove with my family to my grandma's house to help her clean some stuff out and have the world's biggest garage sale. :)  

I had two goals for June:

1. Enjoy every minute with my family as much as possible (and not spend my mental energy missing Joel, who was a peach to let me be gone so long).

2. Strengthen my relationships with them, especially focusing on my younger sisters.  They were who I'd be spending the most time with + one was leaving on an 18-month mission soon + the other is starting college soon + they've always been who I've had to watch my tone around the most, so it made sense to try to make the most of our time together!

Basically, I wanted to avoid arguments, judging, and Facebook (ie, not being present), and be helpful.  :)

Man!  Focusing on thinking before speaking makes a difference!  There were many instances where thinking first came in extremely handy, and a couple where I was almost physically biting my tongue to keep negative comments inside.  It worked!  Peace and harmony abounded.  :)  It was an AWESOME trip, and I am extremely happy with how both of my goals turned out.  

Stay tuned for July!

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“He somehow could not find words to tell them what it meant to him,

to see them all ranged there, on his side.”

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

five years

This happened five years ago today!

I'm so happy to be married to this guy!  He's really great.

Here's a taste of what we've done over the last five years...

gotten season passes to a water park

survived each others' studies abroad / business trips

learned about blending two families and establishing traditions

participated in the world's biggest (at the time) water balloon fight

made some really great friends

graduated college (both of us)

attended our first rodeo

bought a sweet piano

gotten grown-up jobs

shaved Joel's head

bought a house

learned how to maintain a house

increased our Lego collection

started a garden

planted four trees

seen two siblings get married and three have babies

sent one sibling on a mission

gone camping

finished a basement

lost one set of wisdom teeth

given many surprises

hosted many guests

read Harry Potter together (and other books)

become proficient bocce players and curlers

Here's to infinity more years of fun!

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“The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives….The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies….”

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

but what do I DO?

When I was 15, I was in an accident on a church youth trip.  I miraculously escaped practically unscathed, with just a few bruises and needing a few stitches in my elbow. After the accident, I was given a priesthood blessing  in which I was told that, were it not for the intervention of angels, I would have died in that accident.

In the year or so that followed, I often wondered why I had been saved.  Did I have a special purpose in life waiting for me?  What would I do that would be worth saving me for?  What was I doing now to show I was thankful for the gift of being alive?  It's been ten years since that day, and I still think about it often.  Whenever I make new friends, start something new, finish something, or give advice, I think about it.  I think about things I learn from those people and experiences, but mostly I think about the influence I have on those around me and try to make sure it's a positive one.  

I think a little about milestones I've reached, but I prefer focusing on people.  I don't think my life was spared so I could graduate from college; I think I'm here to establish good relationships with people.  When my students tell me how much they love me, I ask myself, "What would their Spanish education be like if I hadn't been here?"  I know they would've been fine, but I'm thankful for what I've been able to teach them.  I think of my husband, to whom I'm so happy to be married.  I think about my family and fun things we've done together in the last ten years.  I often think, "Maybe he / she / they / that experience was why I'm here."

I strongly believe this is something we all should do - often.  Think about why you're here.  Think about those you're interacting with.  What are you doing with your life?  Who are you supporting, teaching, loving?  Is your overall influence positive?  What are you doing - every single day - to show you're thankful for the gift of being alive?  

I like when that question pops into my head as I'm stuck in a time-wasting rut - whether with television, the Internet, or something else.  It reorients me.  

Are you stuck in a time-wasting rut?  How will you change your life so it means more?  What are you going to DO?

Focus on doing good.  Then when you look for positive influences you're having on the world, you will find them.

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“It would be nice if you stopped jumping down Ron’s and my throats, Harry,

because if you haven’t noticed, we’re on your side.”

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix