Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mama's birthday. 

Here are some things that I love about her: 

She is a nice and sweet version of Martha Stewart.  She can imitate a good meal she finds at a restaurant without needing a recipe, and can tell you how to make a crafty thing she sees on television just by looking at it! 

She is stylish without breaking the bank.  She'll go to expensive stores or catalogues for inspiration and buy similar {or better} things at her favorite bargain stores.  A trait I am loving to learn! 

She is the "baby whisperer".  She soothes every crying baby she touches.  It's jaw-dropping.  Again, something I hope to inherit. 

She works really hard for her family and hardly ever complains when there are tough times. She is a rock!

Although not as noticeable, she can be goofy too!  Just us girls were grocery shopping late at night while we were staying up in Park City.  I saw her sneakily snag two chocolates from the candy bins at two different times and pop them into her mouth. Love it! 

Look at this beach babe!  

MLIA

MLIA.com = my life is average.  I am bound to get a good laugh every time I go to this site.  It's a bit addicting, so ye be warned.  A lot of the posts are written by high school kids, which is probably why you may not have heard of the site. Basically they tell a very brief story of something awesome and unusual that happened to them, and facetiously add MLIA at the end, read with a "eh, no big deal" feel.  I always wonder how kids use social networking these days/ I am concerned for all our popularity status. If you want to be cool, you gotta know what the cool kids do, right?  

The more you read, the more themes you'll discover, such as: 

Team Harry Potter >  Team Jacob or Team Edward 

Mystery Google, now named Mystery Seeker 

you type in a question and the response is a link from what the previous person searched for. 

Provides for funny coincidental relevance to your questions. 

Google v. Yahoo searches.  Google always wins.

Pokemon. {I have no connection with this.} 

Ninjas, ninjas, ninjas. {Although I never played ninja as a kid nor aspire to be one, the stories are hilarious.} 

Doing something unacceptable/irreverent/childish in a classroom. 

Teacher thinks it's great and joins in / No homework. 

Here are some funny ones: 

This happened to me, just ask my mom: 

And my curiosity got to me every time I read about their conversations with "clever bot."

So I tried it.  You type in random questions and this "bot" will answer you, and vice versa.  The computer's words are in blue:

If you haven't laughed at least once during this post, then you are not a child a heart. Ok, that's a little harsh. Maybe you're just more mature than I am. 

big plans: defined

I had a longer post written here, but it entailed the long process and emotional roller coaster I rode in order to arrive at this "big plan".  I'll save you from all details and keep them for my future grandchildren when they need a lesson about making big life-changing decisions. 

LONG STORY SHORT:  I AM GOING ON A MISSION! 

I started my paperwork at the beginning of March, and will hopefully in a few weeks receive a big white envelope that includes not only a mission call but also the most suspenseful occasion you could imagine - except for maybe a Lakers' playoff game in overtime. 

College grad? Check. 

On to the next adventure! 

why life is rockin' right now

 - enjoying fun things in Utah with my family

{I'm related to the cutest little kids on the planet}

- seeing this beautiful temple during the springtime

"I'm going there someday..."

- knowing what I will do after graduation 

I figured out what I will do for the next little bit. 

A few years ago I created an image in my head of what I would like my graduation day to entail, and it's amazing how close I got {about 99% of what I wanted!} 

√ 1.  a more grown-up look {pierced earrings and bangs help} 

√ 2.  immediate + extended family present for all the celebrations! 

3.  in a serious relationship  {hey, you know- I am happy, and it's all about timing. Everything happens for a reason! : ) } 

√4.  weighing as much {or should I say as little?} as I did in high school.  

I am back to what I weighed my junior year... when I was 17.  It was a long obstacle, and I hope I can keep it up and be even more fit! 

√ 5.  knowing my next big adventure 

I'll tell you soon . . . 

. . . but right now I have to:

 pick up my cap and gown

pay a parking ticket {bahaha} 

buy a BYU basketball/Jimmer T-shirt

go have a dessert party with my lovely friends

oh yea, and graduate from college. 

: )

little finds on and off the web

FILM:
Adam

Snippets of Dead Poet's Society
{Emie was watching it. I need to see it from beginning to end.}

King's Speech.
I saw an edited version at the Academy Theatre last weekend!
The cinematography is wonderful.  Simple, limited, and includes some untraditional framing which I loved.

Modern Family {TV}
Hilarious.


BOOKS:

I read the first book of the Hunger Games series.  It was good! After 40 pages of reading the second, I lost interest. I don't like how picky I have become with the books that captivate my interest.  I think I need to find some good historical books.
Any suggestions?

I love words.
New word: surreptitiously - done in secret because if discovered it would most likely not receive a seal of approval.

SITES:
There is something about reading guys' blogs that makes me so content.  I feel like I have scored secret access into the way they think.  And men, real men, don't normally blog at all, so it's a nice find.

dayswithmyfather.com

A son captures amazing photos and a sad story about his father. 

tomywife.tumblr.com

Little notes of what this man will do for his wife.  Witty, honest, a bit blunt; collectively adorable. I love these:

soon to be graduate

Guess what I am doing in a little over a week? 

Tossing my cap up in the air as a BYU graduate. 

Cool, right?

I haven't been thinking too much about all the excitement until now because of work and various projects and other things, but now I am really looking forward to seeing my friends who are still up there, and other fun BYU things such as: 

Eating at the Skyroom

Seeing the blossoms and pretty flowers on campus

Hopefully running into Cosmo

NOT feeling stressed during finals week, cuz hey! I have no finals!  HA!

Buying a Jimmer T-shirt, or two 

And I'll be in Park City. 

Oh how I love Park City!!! 

quote_me

I have a bit of free time on my hands, and I spend a lot of it on my laptop.  {Surprise surprise!} I like to stumble on stumbleupon.com and recently have started to browse through Pinterest, = overload on beautiful style photographs, design ideas, and anything artistic.  The images that catch my eye are most often quotes with fun typography.  Sometimes I would find an old familiar quote that I have written down in my quote book, but there are many that haven't been illustrated.  

And then I had an idea:  Why don't I make my own? 

Here is the first.  And it's actually not a quote by anyone famous, it's just one of my life mottos that I love.

Hopefully the first of many to come...